WO1997021883A1

WO1997021883A1 - A building system

Info

Publication number: WO1997021883A1
Application number: PCT/AU1996/000810
Authority: WO
Inventors: Floyd Kok Kee Yap; Ross Eric Proud; Keith Mcconchie
Original assignee: Eco-Timbers Australasia Pty. Ltd.
Priority date: 1995-12-14
Filing date: 1996-12-16
Publication date: 1997-06-19
Also published as: AUPN715995A0; CN1214097A

Abstract

A building system is disclosed. The building system is based on the use of a plurality of modular wall panels (17) which form the side, front, and rear walls (3, 5, 7) of a building. The wall panels (17) are supported by a framework of elongate members (19). The elongate members (19) are supported in an upright position by anchor members (21) that are fixed to a ground surface.

Description

A BUILDING SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a building system.

In particular, the present invention relates to a building system that comprises modular components that can be conveniently transported to a building site and erected at that site.

According to the present invention there is provided a building system which comprises:

(a) a plurality of modular wall panels;

(b) a framework comprising a plurality of elongate members to support the wall panels; and

(c) a means to support each elongate member in an upright position from a ground surface;

whereby at least some of the wall panels are adapted to at least partially enclose the elongate members and thereby co-operate with the wall panels so that the elongate members support the wall panels in the upright position.

The basis of the present invention is the use of a framework of elongate members that can be supported in an upright position from a ground surface and which are adapted to co-operate with modular wall panels to support the wall panels. Optionally, the framework of elongate members can be constructed to comprise the major load bearing component of the building - with the wall panels requiring minimum load bearing capacity. This is a feature of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Other features and advantages of the preferred embodiment are described hereinafter and, more particularly, with reference to the drawings.

The elongate members may be of any suitable form.

It is preferred that each elongate member be a rod.

The rod may be of any suitable cross-section and be formed from any suitable material.

It is preferred particularly that the rod be of circular cross-section.

It is preferred that the support means for each elongate member comprise a member adapted to be anchored to the ground surface and adapted to receive and retain the elongate member in the upright position.

The construction of the support means and the elongate member that enables the support means to receive and retain the elongate member in the upright position may be of any suitable form.

In one arrangement, it is preferred that the elongate member be externally threaded at one end and that the anchor member have a bore with an internal thread to mate with the elongate member.

In another arrangement, it is preferred that the anchor member comprise a hollow section element having a slot in a top wall thereof and that the anchor member be adapted to be fixed with respect to the ground surface with the slot positioned to receive a lower end of the elongate member.

With such an arrangement, it is preferred that the lower end of the elongate member comprise a cross- member which is perpendicular to the elongate member and has a length that is selected relative to the length of the slot and the length of opposite side walls of the hollow section element so that, in use, the elongate member is received and retained in the upright position by aligning the cross-member with the slot, inserting the lower end through the slot to locate the cross-member in the hollow section element, and then rotating the elongate member to a locked position in which the cross-member is transverse to the slot and wedged between the opposite side walls of the hollow section element.

It is preferred that each wall panel be quadrilateral.

It is preferred that each wall panel comprise parallel side edges and parallel top and base edges.

It is preferred that at least one side edge of each wall panel comprise a groove for at least partially receiving one of the elongate members.

With this arrangement, the elongate members can be positioned at the junction of adjacent wall panels.

It is preferred that each wall panel comprise a frame which defines the perimeter of the wall panel and outer and inner panel walls secured to opposite faces of the frame. It is preferred that the panel walls be formed from a lightweight material.

It is preferred more particularly that the lightweight material be plywood.

It is preferred that the building system further comprises a plurality of channel members adapted to define the perimeter of the building and to receive and locate the base edge of each panel member.

It is preferred that each channel member comprise a central web and flanges extending from opposed sides of the web.

It is preferred that the central web comprise a plurality of openings for allowing access to the anchor members .

It is preferred that the building system comprises a pair of side walls, a front wall, and a back wall, each of which is formed from a plurality of wall panels .

It is preferred that the building system comprises a roof formed from a plurality of roof panels.

It is preferred that the building system further comprises a means to connect each end section of each roof panel to the side walls of the building.

It is preferred that the connection means be adapted to provide a ventilation space between the roof and the side walls.

It is preferred that each roof panel be bowed to optimise lateral stability of the side walls. It is preferred that the building system further comprises a means to support a plurality of the elongate members in a horizontal position.

ith such an arrangement it is preferred that the top and/or base edges of each wall panel comprise a groove for at least partially receiving one of the elongate members.

The present invention is described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

Figure 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a building constructed from a preferred embodiment of a building system in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the building shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a section of a wall panel of the building system that forms part of the building shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a cross-section along the line 4-4 on Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a partially exploded perspective view which illustrates the interconnection of a number of components of the building system that form a section of the building and the connection of a wall panel of the building system to a ground surface;

Figure 6 is a cross-section along the line 6-6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a partially cut-away exploded perspective view which illustrates the interconnection of a number of components that form sections of adjacent wall panels and the roof of the building system; and

Figure 8 is a cross-section along the line 8-8 of Figure 1; and

Figure 9 is a partially cut away perspective view which illustrates an alternative form of an anchor member of the building system to that shown in Figures 5 and 6.

The building shown in Figures 1 and 2 is erected on a concrete base and has a rectangular plan with parallel side-walls 3, a front wall 5, a rear wall 7, and a roof 9. The building further comprises doors 11 in the front wall 5 and in one of the side walls 3 and a series of windows 13 (only one of which is shown to simplify the drawing) .

The building is constructed from the preferred embodiment of the building system of the present invention. In this context, it is noted that the building system is not restricted to the construction of rectangular plan buildings as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and may be adapted to the construction of any suitable plan.

The main components of the building system comprise;

(a) a plurality of lightweight, substantially non-load bearing wall panels 17 which form the side, front, and rear walls 3, 5, 7 of the building;

(b) a plurality of lightweight roof panels 25 which form the roof 9;

(c) a plurality of support rods 19 which form a framework of horizontal and vertical members that supports the wall panels 17 and the roof panels 25; and

(d) a plurality of anchor members 21 and roof connector assemblies 23 which, respectively, support a number of the support rods 19 in an upright position from the concrete base and connect the roof panels 25 to the side walls 3.

With particular reference to Figures 3 and 4, each wall panel 17 comprises a timber frame 27 and inner and outer plywood sheets 29 nailed, adhered or otherwise secured to the frame 27.

A series of grooves 33 are provided in the outward faces 31 of the frame 27 (which define the top, bottom, and side edges of each wall panel 17) and, as can best be seen in Figures 4 and 7, the purpose of the grooves 33 is to allow the wall panels 17 to be positioned to partially enclose the support rods 19 so that the support rods 19 support the wall panels 17 in an upright position.

With particular reference to Figures 1, 7 and 8, each roof panel 25 comprises a roof member 65 supported by a bearer assembly. The bearer assembly of each roof panel 25 comprises a bowed rib 61 which supports each side of the roof member 65. As can best be seen in Figure 7, the lower ends of the roof member 65 extend beyond the terminal ends of the ribs 61 to define a roof overhang.

The support rods 19 may be formed from any suitable material, such as mild steel.

The support rods 19 comprise the major load bearing component of the building system and, as is indicated above, are provided to support the wall panels 19 and the roof panels 25.

In use, the support rods 19 are positioned in a framework of vertical and horizontal support rods 19. The vertical support rods 19 are supported by the anchor members 21 that are embedded in the concrete base. The horizontal support rods 19 are positioned in the grooves 33 in the top and the bottom edges of the wall panels 17 and extend along the length of the side, front, and rear walls 3, 5, 7 and are supported by the wall panels 17 of the adjacent walls that form the corners of the building.

The anchor members 21 may be of any suitable construction that can be anchored securely in the concrete base or other ground surface.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6 the anchor members 21 comprise anchor bolts with internally threaded nuts that can receive the threaded ends of the support rods 19.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 9 the anchor members 21 comprise a rectangular hollow section member having a slot 91 in a top wall 95 of the member to allow access to the hollow region. In use, the anchor member 21 can be embedded in the concrete base (or other ground surface) so that the slot 91 is flush with the upper surface of the concrete. With this arrangement, a modified form of elongate member 19 to that shown in the previous figures is used. The modified elongate member 19 has a cross-member 93 which is positioned at the lower end of the elongate member so that the lower end is T-shaped. The length of the cross-member 93 is selected to be less than that of the slot 91 and marginally greater than the spacing of the side walls 99 of the anchor member 21. In use, the cross-member 93 is aligned with the slot 91 and then inserted through the slot 91 into the hollow region and thereafter rotated through 90° to wedge the cross-member 93 between the side walls 99 and thereby lock the elongate member 19 in the upright position.

With reference to Figures 5 and 6, the building system further comprises a plurality of channel members 37 which form the perimeter of the building and locate the base sections of the wall panels 17. The channel members 37 comprise a central web 39 and opposed flanges 41. The channel members 37 further comprise slots 43 which enable the channel members 37 to be positioned over the anchor members 21.

With reference to Figures 7 and 8, each roof connector assembly 23 comprises a plurality of U-shaped brackets 45, 47. Each bracket 45, 47 comprises a central web 49 and opposed flanges 51 and a series of openings 53. The purpose of the connector assemblies is to connect the roof panels 25 to the side walls 3 so that there is a ventilation space between the roof 9 and the side walls 3. The height of the ventilation space is defined in large part by the length of the flanges 51 of the brackets 45.

With particular reference to Figure 7, in use, in order to connect a pair of adjacent roof panels 25 to the side wall 3, a bracket 45 is positioned so that a vertical support rod 19 in that section of the side wall 3 extends through the opening 53 in the central web 49 and the flanges 51 extend upwardly. Thereafter, a bracket 47 is positioned so that the support rod 19 extends through the opening 53 in the central web 49 and the central web 49 overlies the central web of the 49 of the bracket 45 and the flanges 51 extend downwardly and contact the plywood sheets of adjacent wall panels 17. It can readily be appreciated that in this position the flanges 51 assist in locating together the adjacent wall panels 17. Finally, the adjacent roof panels 25 are positioned so that the ribs 61 on the sides of adjacent roof panels 25 are received between the flanges 51 of the bracket 45 and threaded bolts (not shown) are positioned through the openings 53 in the flanges 51 and in holes 59 in the ribs 61.

The above-described building system can be connected together quickly and conveniently by a small team of workers without the need to use heavy duty lifting or other equipment.

Many modifications may be made to the preferred embodiment of the building system of the present invention described above without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A building system which comprises:

(a) a plurality of modular wall panels;

2. The building system defined in claim 1, wherein the framework of elongate members comprises the major load bearing component of the building system.

3. The building system defined in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each elongate member is a rod.

4. The building system defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support means for each elongate member comprises a member adapted to be anchored to the ground surface and adapted to receive and retain the elongate member in the upright position.

5. The building system defined in claim 4, wherein the elongate member is externally threaded at one end and the anchor member has a bore with an internal thread to mate with the elongate member.

6. The building system defined in claim 4, wherein the anchor member comprises a hollow section element having a slot in a top wall thereof and the anchor member is adapted to be fixed with respect to the ground surface with the slot positioned to receive a lower end of the elongate member.

7. The building system defined in claim 6, wherein the lower end of the elongate member comprises a cross-member which is perpendicular to the elongate member and has a length that is selected relative to the length of the slot and the length of opposite side walls of the hollow section element so that, in use, the elongate member is received and retained in the upright position by aligning the cross-member with the slot, inserting the lower end through the slot to locate the cross-member in the hollow section element, and then rotating the elongate member to a locked position in which the cross-member is transverse to the slot and wedged between the opposite side walls of the hollow section element.

8. The building system defined in any one of the preceding claims wherein each wall panel is quadrilateral.

9. The building system defined in claim 8, wherein each wall panel comprises parallel side edges and parallel top and base edges.

10. The building system defined in claim 9, wherein at least one side edge of each wall panel comprises a groove for at least partially receiving one of the elongate members.

11. The building system defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each wall panel comprises a frame which defines the perimeter of the wall panel and outer and inner panel walls secured to opposite faces of the frame .

12. The building system defined in any one of the preceding claims further comprises a plurality of channel members adapted to define the perimeter of the building system and to receive and locate the base edge of each panel member.

13. The building system defined in claim 12, wherein each channel member comprises a central web and flanges extending from opposed sides of the web.

14. The building system defined in claim 13, wherein the central web comprises a plurality of openings for allowing access to the anchor members.

15. The building system defined in any one of the preceding claims comprises a pair of side walls, a front wall, and a back wall, each of which is formed from a plurality of wall panels.

16. The building system defined in claim 15 comprises a roof formed from a plurality of roof panels.

17. The building system defined in claim 16 comprises a means to connect each end section of each roof panel to the side walls of the building.

18. The building system defined in claim 17, wherein the connection means is adapted to provide a ventilation space between the roof and the side walls.

19. The building system defined in any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein each roof panel is bowed to optimise lateral stability of the side walls.

20. The building system defined in any one of the preceding claims further comprises a means to support a plurality of the elongate members in a horizontal position.

21. The building system defined in claim 20, wherein the top and/or base edges of each wall panel comprise a groove for at least partially receiving one of the elongate members.