Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04G—SCAFFOLDING; FORMS; SHUTTERING; BUILDING IMPLEMENTS OR AIDS, OR THEIR USE; HANDLING BUILDING MATERIALS ON THE SITE; REPAIRING, BREAKING-UP OR OTHER WORK ON EXISTING BUILDINGS
  • E04G9/00—Forming or shuttering elements for general use
  • E04G9/02—Forming boards or similar elements
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04G—SCAFFOLDING; FORMS; SHUTTERING; BUILDING IMPLEMENTS OR AIDS, OR THEIR USE; HANDLING BUILDING MATERIALS ON THE SITE; REPAIRING, BREAKING-UP OR OTHER WORK ON EXISTING BUILDINGS
  • E04G9/00—Forming or shuttering elements for general use
  • E04G9/02—Forming boards or similar elements
  • E04G2009/023—Forming boards or similar elements with edge protection
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04G—SCAFFOLDING; FORMS; SHUTTERING; BUILDING IMPLEMENTS OR AIDS, OR THEIR USE; HANDLING BUILDING MATERIALS ON THE SITE; REPAIRING, BREAKING-UP OR OTHER WORK ON EXISTING BUILDINGS
  • E04G9/00—Forming or shuttering elements for general use
  • E04G9/02—Forming boards or similar elements
  • E04G2009/023—Forming boards or similar elements with edge protection
  • E04G2009/025—Forming boards or similar elements with edge protection by a flange of the board's frame

Definitions

• the invention relates to a structure for modular prefabricated poured concrete forms for making vertical walls, horizontal walls such as ceilings, slabs or the like, and columns or pillars, comprising a frame made of at least two studs or joists adapted to support at least one panel or a plurality of adjacent panels, which studs or joists are at such a distance from each other that each panel has at least two opposite end edges abutting against said two studs or joists and each abutting edge of each panel has a stepped cross section, whereas the surface of each stud or joist against which a panel edge abuts has a complementary stepped cross section.
• Structures of the this type are known, which are widely used in building, particularly for making forms or formworks, which are in turn used for making vertical and/or horizontal and/or inclined walls, such as floors, ceilings, slabs or the like, made of concrete.
• These structures are typically made of a plurality of studs or joists, generally made of elongate box-like steel elements, which are disposed in parallel and/or crossed arrangement and at a predetermined distance from each other so to form a frame in which a plurality of adjacent panels are mounted in order to form a poured concrete retaining wall.
• These structures generally have the advantage that they may be disassembled and reused.
• the face of said retaining wall in contact with concrete is substantially continuous and flat, therefore the studs or joists have stepped panel supporting surfaces having a depth substantially corresponds to the panel thickness, when seen in a direction orthogonal to the surface of each panel, as shown in greater detail in the description of the drawings. Nevertheless, due to unavoidable tolerances encountered in the mutual positioning of panels and studs/joists, gaps may occur between panels and studs/joists, which may cause concrete leakage or marks or impressions to be formed on the wall surface.
• These marks/impressions may be provided by the impression of the metal stud or joist, of the gap that may occur between the stud/joist and the panel and possibly of the panel itself, that may deform due to moisture.
• this panels or plates are coated with a waterproofing material such as layers of platic materials and/or of paint.
• the core layer of the panels is made by wood or similar materials such as chipboards or the like.
• the current state of the art comprises different kinds of combinations of panels, plates and stud or joists for building such walls. Two different kind of structures can be mainly differentiated one for building vertical or essentially vertical walls and the other for building horizontal or essentially horizontal walls.
• panels are known which are formed by plates mainly of wood or with a core layer or with a supporting layer of wood which are then mounted in the frames build by the parallel and crossed studs or joists.
• the plates are laid with the side at the edges opposed to the side facing the concrete against the studs or joists. Gaps between adjacent panels are then filled or closed with pasty material such as silicone rubber or the like.
• Ttiis operation is done by hand and has several drawback . First of all this operation is time consuming and tl ⁇ us costy. Furthermore the peripheral sides of the plates, i.e. the thickness sides are not optimally sealed against penetration of fluids and gases and particularly of water.
• silicone rubber may not fill completely the gaps for their entire depths and has also a very high compressibility.
• silicone rubber filled gap is subjected to the high pressure of the poured concrete then it is compressed below the surface of the panel facing the concrete so that grooves or channels are formed between the adjacent panels ad the gaps which produce marks on the finished walls .
• the panels according to US 3,137,909 are made of so called plywood and are mounted inside a metallic frame by means of filler or adapter strips having an L shaped cross section.
• This filler or adapter strips are secured to the frame sides by means of an adhesive and fits in a complementary seat of the frame sides thereby overlapping the edges of the frame sides facing the concrete.
• the shaped filler strips are flush with the surface of the plywood plate with the wing of the L shape superimposing over the said front side of the frame in order to avoid gaps or the like .
• the plywood plate is pressed in place inside the frame which is provided with the filler or adapter strips fixed to the frame sides .
• the strip are only mechanically compressed against the edges of the plywood plate or panel and does not provide for a water tight connection between the peripheral edges of the plywood plate and the filler or adapter strip.
• the exposure to penetration of water is increased considering the danger of the forming of steps between the strip and the plated edges due to compression of the said strips when the panel is forced in place in the frame provided with the said strips .
• the strip will not cover the entire thickness of the panel edges forming the above mentioned step and leaving free to water penetration a part of the thickness of the edges of the panel or plate.
• edge sealing is one of the most important topics of the panels to which the present invention refers which are have a layered structure, both faces of the panel being layered with a water proof sheet of platic material or paint or the like as disclosed above.
• a further drawback of the panel according to US 3,137,909 lies in the fact that the filler strips can only have a limited elastic compressibility and thus this strips can compensate only very narrow dimensional tolerances between the frame and the panel or plates . Indeed providing strips with a high compressibility would allow the compensation of higher dimensional tolerances between the frame and the plates or panels but on the other hand the strips would also be compressed by the fluid concrete thus forming grooves or depressions which result in marks in the finished wall .
• the plate Due to penetration of water or increased exposure to humidity at the peripheral edges the plate can be subjected to swelling in thickness .
• the risks in a material degradation and particularly in swelling are higher at the edges which can become thicker than the rest of the plate causing again irregular surfaces of the finished concrete walls .
• material degradation at the edges can cause breaking off of pieces of the plate at the peripheral edges particularly when the panels has to be used again and mounted in a new frame thus preventing the panle or plate to be used again..
• the mounting of the said known panels in the frames requests every time at least a control that this mounting has succeeded and that no step or gap has been formed between the plates the filler strips and the frames . If some of these defects is discovered an intervention by hand is necessary for manually filling gaps or eliminating steps with other materials such as silicone rubber.
• the present invention has the object of improving a structure as described at the beginning in such a way that in combination with achieving a perfect adherence between panels and studs or joists, so as to obtain a substantially smooth concrete cast, anyway free of the conventional unaesthetic marks or impressions left by prior art structures or wherein such marks or impressions are considerably reduced also a perfect sealing of the panels at the edges is obtained in a simple and relatively non expensive way.
• a further object of the present invention consist in the fact that without giving up the above mentioned object a balanced and symmetric fitting of the panel or plate in the frame is achieved which allows compensation of high tolerances relatively to the dimension and the shape of the frame and of the plate or the panel without incurring in the formation of marks in the finished concrete wall .
• Still another object of the present invention is to allow mounting and securing the panels or the plates to the frame in a simple, rapid and inexpensive way.
• the invention achieves the above purposes by providing that each abutting edge having a stepped cross section is integral with the panel or is made by a strip which is secured to the panel peripheral edges by means of adhesive of by chemical/physical bonding.
• adhesive any kind of bonding is meant such as soldering or thermal adhesion or the like as typically occurs by bonding plastic materials .
• the bonding of the abutting edges to the peripheral edges of the panels are such that a water sealing effect is obtained at the interface between the abutting edges and the peripheral edges of the panel.
• the abutting edges are made of compressible material such as rubber or rubber like plastic material or any kind of plastic material which has compressible elastic behavior.
• the abutting edges are formed by polyurethanes and particularly by polyurethanes obtained from the co-polymerization of polyols with iso-cyanates .
• the said polyurethanes can be molded either by casting at low pressure or by high pressure injection in order to obtain the strips forming the abutting edges according to the present invention.
• the polyurethanes can be also charged with inorganic charge materials .
• the panel is a laminated panel having at least two layers, one of which is a cover layer of plastic material, included thermoplastic fibers, and the other is a supporting layer of other materials such as for example wood or the like.
• the strips forming the abutting edges are bonded at least to the cover layer of the panel by means of chemical/physical bonding forming a water tight junction between the said cover layer of the panel and the strips forming the abutting edges .
• the said trips forming the abutting edges may also be bonded to the peripheral edges of the supporting layer.
• the panel is made of at least one supporting layer made of at least one layer of wooden material and which supporting layer is covered on both of the opposing surfaces by a cover layer of plastic material bonded thereto, the strip of plastic material forming the abutting edges being bond to the peripheral edges of the panel by chemical/physical bonding with at least each one of the peripheral edges of the cover layers and/or also with the peripheral edge of the supporting layer.
• the bonding of the strips forming the abutting edges of the panel are bonded with a water tight junction at least with the two cover layers of the panel .
• the panel provided with the stepped abutting edges integral with the panel itself or bonded thereto solves several of the drawbacks of the known panels .
• the fact of providing the said abutting edges integral with or bonded to the panel protects the peripheral edges of the panels against ruptures and allow a very simple handling and mounting of the panels in the supporting frames.
• the panels according to the present invention can be simply pressed inside a frame formed at least by two opposite studs or joists or by four stud or joists.
• the strong bonding of the abutting edges to the panel plate provide for the fact that the abutting edges are always flush with the surface of the panel plate.
• the junctions between the strips forming the abutting edges and the panel plate are water tight and any further manual work can be avoided.
• the panels can be at least provisionally or also definitively retained in position within the frames by simply pressing them inside the frame due to the compression forces acting perpendicularly to the peripheral edges of the panel plate and generated by the compression of the elastic or compressible abutting edges .
• the stepped abutting edges of the panel and the complementary stepped surfaces of the studs or joists of the frame against which the said stepped abutting edges of the panels abut has each one a surface which is essentially parallel or slightly inclined relatively to the surface of the panel and a surface which is essentially transversal or perpendicular to the surface of the panel.
• the surface of the abutting edges which is essentially transversal or perpendicular to the surface of the panel or which is essentially parallel or slightly inclined relatively to the direction of pressing the panel in the frame has at least one or more continuous projection or lip which is compressed and deformed against the corresponding surface of the stepped studs or joists of the frame when the panel together with the abutting edges is pressed into the frame .
• the stepped abutting edges are shaped in such a way that the external peripheral edges of the said abutting edges of adjacent panels adheres one to the other the surfaces of the said abutting edges parallel to the surface of the panel and oriented against the concrete, i.e.
• the concrete would form a depression along the abutting edges which would result in projecting marks or stripes from the surface of the finished concrete wall once the form has been taken away.
• the calibration of a correct hardness and/or compressibility of the strips forming the butting edges is of importance if it is requested that the finished concrete wall is perfectly plane and regular.
• the mechanical behavior of the strips forming the abutting edges satisfies every of the above functions of the said butting edges as disclosed above, namely the abutting edges allow the mounting of the panels in the frame by pressing simply the panels in the frame, ensures a water tight adhesion to the frame, the peripheral edges of the abutting edges of adjacent panels adhere one against the other without forming gaps, the said abutting edges provide for compensation of dimensional tolerances between the panels and the frame due to their construction or to thermal expansion or to expansion determined by swelling of the plates and the said abutting edges has sufficient dimensional stability not to be compressed by the concrete in a way that determines marks on the finished walls and also that the mechanical resistance of the abutting edges of the panels protects the peripheral edges of the panel from being mechanically damaged during handling.
• the abutting edges are made in such a way as to show different compressibility in a direction perpendicular to the syrface of the panel and in a direction parallel to the surface of the panel.
• the said different compressibility behavior is achieved by providing at least the surface of the abutting edges which is essentially transversal or perpendicular to the surface of the panel or which is essentially parallel or slightly inclined relatively to the direction of pressing the panel in the frame with at least one or more continuous projections or lips or with at least one row of discontinuous or dot or spot like separated and spaced apart projections or lips which are compressed and deformed against the corresponding surface of the stepped studs or joists of the frame when the panel together with the abutting edges is pressed into the frame itself.
• the said projection elements can be spot or dot like elements or elongated elements extending over a certain part of the length of the profiled element forming the abutting edges of the panel or plate.
• the said projections or lips can be provided of the same material of the abutting edges of the panel and provide for a different compressibility in a direction parallel to the surface of the panel due to their shape and dimension.
• the said projections or lips can be also made of a different material which has a different elastic compressibility. In the first case the projections or lips can be provided together with the profiled elements forming the abutting edges of the panel, such as by injection or extrusion or adhesion.
• the said projections can also be formed by co-injection or co- extrusion by injecting the said projections or lips on an already shaped profiled element put in the mold.
• the said abutting edges can be formed by a profiled elongated element provided in combination with separated projection elements or lips mechanical means being provided for securing the said projection elements or lips to the said elongated profiled elements .
• the said mechanical means for securing the said projection elements or lips are preferably removable securing means which allow the said projection or lips to be taken away and substituted with other element or lips .
• each differently dimensioned projection element or lips has a different thickness in the direction of protrusion form the surface of the profiled element to which they have to be secured.
• a preferred embodiment provides for projection elements or lips having a toothed securing pin which carries a projection head being made of compressible material, while holes are provided at predetermined positions on the profiled element in which the toothed securing pin can be removably engaged by elastic forcing the said securing pins in the said holes .
• the toothed securing pin is preferably made or relatively rigid material such as plastic material as polypropylene or the like.
• the projection elements can be made by co-injection or the like.
• the projecting elements can show an elongated shape extending for at least a part of the length of the profiled element forming the abutting edge of the panel.
• a supporting strip of rigid plastic material has one or more toothed securing pins at certain intervals one form the other while the strip carries one or more projection heads aligned along its length or a continuous projection element extending for at least part or for the entire length of the said supporting strip.
• On the profiled element forming an abutting edge of a panel there can be fixes a certain number of the said dot or spot like projecting elements in combination with one or more elongated projection elements .
• toothed securing pin indicates various possible pins having not a smooth surface.
• Particualelry suitable pins are the ones used in the automotive industry for fixing lining interior panels or other lining sheets to the doors and or ceiling or to other parts of then bodywork of a vehicle.
• the structure panel allows to be superimposed on the side of the stud or joist against which it abuts, and prevents said stud or joist from contacting the poured concrete thereby avoiding the formation of the resulting mark.
• stud or joist as used in this description, shall not be intended restrictively, but shall mean longitudinal elements for supporting prefabricated walls having any orientation whatsoever, for instance a vertical, horizontal or inclined orientation.
• the studs or joists that form the frame may advantageously be boxlike weight-reducing tubular elements, and have any design whatsoever.
• the panels may have a rectilinear design and be arranged on the same plane, more particularly parallel to each other.
• the panels may have any size and shape whatsoever, and be equal to or different from each other. Particularly they may all have the same rectangular shape.
• sets of panels may be provided, so that the panels within each set are identical in shape and/or size, and the panels of a set are different in shape and size from the panels of the other sets .
• the frame may be typically formed by at least three studs or joists, i.e. two at the ends and one in the middle.
• These studs or joists may be arranged in such a manner as to support two parallel rows of adjacent panels, each of which panels has a stepped edge abutting against an end stud or joist, whereas the opposite stepped edge of each panel abuts against the intermediate stud or joist.
• This intermediate stud or joist may advantageously have two opposed abutment surfaces, each having a stepped cross section complementary to the corresponding abutting stepped panel edge. In this embodiment, only two opposite terminal edges of the panels, abut against only two studs .
• the intermediate stud or joist may have a center longitudinal ridge on the panel abutment side, whose width is substantially twice the depth of each of the two stepped edges of the two opposite panels, as seen in a direction parallel to the surface of each panel. Thanks to this arrangement, the two facing surfaces of the two stepped edges of the two opposite panels are in contact with each other and the stud or joist is completely covered on the side against which said two abutting edges of the two panels abut .
• this first embodiment allow to eliminate the gaps between the panels and the stud or joist and, thanks to the fact that the stud or joist is fully covered by the stepped abutting edges of the panels, marks and impressions formed in the wall by the stud or joist are avoided or considerably reduced.
• a single minimal gap may remain between the two mutually facing portions of the stepped edges of the panels, to be filled with silicone or the like, with considerable time and cost savings.
• the intermediate stud or joist may be formed by two parts that are longitudinally separated along a median plane substantially perpendicular to the surface of the panels .
• each of the two end studs or joists may be substantially identical to each half of the intermediate stud, which may be formed by coupling two end studs disposed in mirror arrangement, i.e. with the stepped abutment surfaces turned against each other.
• the structure is formed by a plurality of equal studs or joists, and thereby provides considerable advantages in terms of construction and modularity.
• each stud or joist and each panel may have any design whatsoever, for instance a rounded or polygonal design. According to a preferred embodiment, they have a complementary rectangular shape.
• the opposite stepped abutting edges of each panel may be formed at the same time as the panel, for instance during panel molding and/or pressing, wherein the stepped edges are provided in the mold design. Alternatively, these stepped edges may be formed at a later time, particularly by removal of material, effected by milling or the like.
• the panels may be composed of a single element, made of a substantially homogeneous material, such as solid wood, particle boards or plastic.
• the panels may be composed of multiple modular members, such as wood blocks or the like, which are assembled together along a single plane and/or different planes by gluing or the like.
• the panels may have at least one outer coating layer, on one or both faces, preferably with waterproofing properties, for instance made of plastic, included termoplatic fibres, and/or paint .
• the panels may be of the multilayer laminated type and have at least one intermediate layer which may be itself composed of multiple layers and/or one or more modular members and/or materials, e.g.
• the opposite stepped abutting edges of the panels may be made of elements that are manufactured separately from the panels, for instance pre-shaped profiled elements to be attached to the two opposite edges of the panels, for e.g. by nailing and/or screw driving, and/or physico-chemical bonding, for instance gluing or even by injection.
• These profiled elements which form the stepped abutting edges of the panels may be made of one or more materials, different from the materials of the panel.
• the waterproofing layers that coat the two faces of the panels may also extend in the areas of the two opposite stepped abutting edges and possibly even to the other two edges. As is known, the peripheral edge is generally the most exposed portion of panels.
• the strip forming the abutting edges consist in pre-shaped profiled elements made of plastic, particularly polypropylene and/or polyurethane, and be attached to two opposite edges of each panel by physico-chemical bonding or injection, or gluing.
• panels may have both faces coated with a layer, also made of plastic, particularly wood filled polypropylene, also known as Woodstock®, which is sealingly attached to the stepped pre-shaped edge upon gluing of the latter.
• the mutually bonded facing surfaces of the pre- shaped profiled element as well as the panel edge itself may have a flat shape.
• these surfaces may have one or more continuous or discontinuous complementary ridges or grooves on or in the panel edge and on or in the facing edge of the pre- shaped profiled elements which form the stepped abutting edges .
• These ridges or grooves are in mutual engagement to increase the contact surface and provide a better anchorage, possibly by mechanical forcing, between the step profiled edge and the panel edge.
• the frame may be composed of a plurality of studs or joists oriented in a first direction and a plurality of crossbars oriented in a direction transverse to the former. These studs or joists and these crossbars separate each panel from the adjacent panel/s along the pairs of edges that extend in the two directions transverse to each other.
• each panel may have stepped abutting edges of one of the above mentioned types on at least four sides or on all of the sides .
• the crossbars may be made in the same manner as the studs or joists described hereinbefore, whereas the mutually facing edges of the panels of the same row may have stepped edges for abutment against the stepped edges of the crossbars, which may be also made in the same manner as described above .
• the frame may be only composed of a plurality of studs or joists extending in a first direction, the adjacent panels of each row of panels between two studs or joists being fastened together directly along direct contact edges of the adjacent panels of each row of panels .
• the facing direct contact edges between two adjacent panels of the same row may have complementary interlocking, wedging or similar profiles .
• the structure of the invention not only improves the aspect of marks on the concrete cast at the contact edges between panels, but also reduces the number of such contact areas because the structure has a higher load bearing capacity and allows to use larger and/or wider panels .
• the invention may be not only used for the construction of concrete forms for making several different structural elements of building constructions, the combination of joists, studs, crossbars, and panels according to the invention may be advantageously used to make prefabricated walls.
• the panels may be provided on one side only and/or on both sides of the bearing frame, thereby forming two finishing walls with a perfectly finished exposed face, which two walls are formed by individual panels, with the joists, crossbars, studs or the like being interposed between the two walls, and forming not only the bearing structure but also wall spacing members, to create an air gap there between.
• This air gap may be a housing for technical systems, such as electrical and/or hydraulic systems, or the like.
• a further advantageous application may be the construction of prefabricated building structures in which the combination of the bearing frame and the panel as described herein is used to form the outside walls of said structure.
• the use of the structure of the invention allows quick and on-site assembly of prefabricated building structures and is particularly advantageous for the construction of shelters or enclosures for civil protection purposes or in building yards .
• These shelters or enclosures may be totally closed or at least partly open structures or vaults like tunnels or the like.
• the panel of the invention provides considerable advantages . By reducing the number of joints, water- and wind- tightness is achieved more simply. The soft or resilient nature of the contact edges between panels makes a tight joint in itself, the edges having a gasket-like sealing effect.
• the metal frame is externally covered by the panel edge, the metal part of the structure, which has a higher heat conductivity, is prevented from coming in contact with the outside environment, whereby heat dissipation areas are avoided and thermal insulation of the structure is enhanced.
• the present invention provides also for a method for building a modular prefabricated wall particularly for a form for poured concrete which methods comprises the following steps: a) Providing a frame made of at least two studs or joists adapted to support at least one panel or a plurality of adjacent panels, which studs or joists are at such a distance from each other that each panel has at least two opposite end edges abutting against said two studs or joists; b) providing each abutting edge of each panel of elastic compressible material and with a stepped cross section; c) providing the surface of each stud or joist against which a panel edge abuts with a complementary stepped cross section; d) inserting the panel in the frame the panel being retained in position within the frame by the said abutting edges; According to the invention, each abutting edge of the panel is made integer or bonded stably to the corresponding peripheral edges of the panel and the panel is pressed together with the abutting edges integrated on it or
• Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a portion of a prior art structure .
• Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a portion of a preferred embodiment of a structure according to this invention.
• Fig. 3 is a view of a detail of fig.
• FIG. 4 is a front view of a structure of the invention wherein the panels of a row are fastened together with the interposition of crossbars .
• Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a detail showing a method for direct mutual fastening of the panels of a row.
• Figs . 6 and 7 show two particular embodiments of the inventive structure, for use in the making of prefabricated walls .
• Fig. 7 and 8 illustrate a further variant of the structure according to the present invention.
• Fig. 9 and 10 show a further embodiment of the invention in which projection elements of the abutting edge of each panel can be removably secured to the said abutting edges .
• Fig. 9 and 10 show a further embodiment of the invention in which projection elements of the abutting edge of each panel can be removably secured to the said abutting edges .
• FIG. 11 show the corner parts of a panel according to the invention which is mounted in a frame, the shape of the panel and of the frame being not precisely identical and the differences being compensated by differently thick projection elements.
• Fig. 12 show a front view on part of an abutting edge of a panel according to the present invention on which a row of spot or dot shaped projection elements is provided.
• Fig. 13 show a front view similar to fig. 12 in which continuous elongated projection element is provided.
• Fig. 14 show a lateral view fo the projection element of figure 13 while a part of the abutting edge is illustrated with discontinuous lines .
• Fig. 12 show a front view on part of an abutting edge of a panel according to the present invention on which a row of spot or dot shaped projection elements is provided.
• Fig. 13 show a front view similar to fig. 12 in which continuous elongated projection element is provided.
• Fig. 14 show a lateral view fo the projection element of figure
• FIG. 1 shows a structure for poured concrete forms for making concrete walls 1 or the like, such as vertical walls, horizontal and/or inclined walls and/or columns and/or pillars and/or similar poured concrete structures according to prior art.
• This structure generally comprises a plurality of studs or joists 2, 2 ' , 2 ' ' , generally consisting of elongate boxlike steel elements or the like, particularly having a rectangular section.
• Fig. 1 shows the portion of a prior art structure corresponding to a side end of the wall 1, whereby an end stud or joist 2 and an intermediate stud or joist 2' , 2' ' which is formed by coupling two elements 2', 2' ' that are substantially identical to the end stud 2.
• the studs or joists 2, 2', 2"' are designed to support a plurality of panels 3 that are disposed side by side in generally parallel rows.
• the end stud or joist 2 and the element 2'' of the intermediate stud or joist 2, 2' ' are placed at such a distance from each other that each panel 3 has to opposite end edges resting thereon.
• both the end stud 2 and the two studs 2 ' , 2' ' that form the intermediate stud have a longitudinal ridge 102, 102', 102' ' on the side turned toward the wall 1, said ridge having a height that substantially corresponds to the thickness of the panel 3 so as to generate stepped abutment surfaces 202, 202', 202", which allow the panel 3 to be substantially flush with the apices of the ridges 102, 102', 102''.
• gaps 4 may occur which unavoidably create marks on the surface of the wall 1 that faces toward the structure.
• the problem is only partly solved by filling said gaps 4 with silicone or the like, which further implies considerable time and cost requirements.
• Figs. 2 and 3 the portion of an inventive structure close to the intermediate stud or joist 2', 2'' is shown, wherein the above drawback is obviated, by providing that the ridges 102 ' , 102 ' ' of the two elements 2 ' , 2 ' ' that form the intermediate stud or joist have a smaller height than in Fig.
• each of the two opposed panels 3 has a stepped abutting surface 203, so that the two panels 3 may be placed in contact with each other and fully cover the intermediate stud or joist 2, 2', 2''. Thanks to this arrangement, the impression of marks on the wall 1 is positively obviated.
• each panel 3 has a stepped abutting edge in form of a strip consisting in a pre-shaped profiled element 5 at its edge facing toward the opposite panel 3, which element is made of a plastic, so that, when the two opposite panels 3 abut against the two elements 2', 2'' which form the intermediate stud or joist, the mutually facing ridge portions of the two stepped pre-shaped profiled elements 5 come in contact with and slightly compress each other thereby removing any residual gap.
• Each stepped pre-shaped profiled element 5 may be attached to the edge of the panel 3 by physico-chemical bonding, e.g. gluing or, for instance, by injection over molding .
• the stepped pre-shaped profiled element 5 has a plurality of longitudinal ridges 105 on the side that faces toward the edge of the panel 3, for engagement in corresponding grooves on the edge surface of the panel 3. Tlie inverted arrangement may be obviously also provided, i.e. the ridges may be provided on the edge surface and the grooves may be provided on the surface of the stepped element 5 turned toward the edge of the panel 3. Referring now to Fig. 4, panels 3 of the same row may be also engaged along the two remaining edges.
• crossbars 6 are interposing between adjacent panels 3 of the same row. These crossbars 6 are connected at their opposite ends to the studs or joists 2, 2', 2' ' and may be made in the same manner as the studs or joists 2, 2', 2'' described above, while the corresponding abutting edges of the panels 3 may also have a stepped shape as described above. Therefore, when required or desired, a frame may be provided that supports the panels along all four edges or along all the edges thereof. Referring now to Fig. 5, the possibility is shown of directly fastening together adjacent panels 3 of the same row without interposing crossbars 6.
• a pre-shaped profiled element 7, 7' is provided, that may be attached to the edge of the panel 3 by physicochemical bonding, e.g. gluing, and/or by mechanical means.
• ridges and/or grooves may be provided on the mutually facing surfaces of each of the pre-shaped profiled elements 7, 7' and the edge of the panel 3, for the purpose of increasing the contact surface therebetween.
• the pre-shaped profiled element 7 has a center longitudinal ridge 107 which is adapted for engagement in a corresponding center longitudinal groove 107' on the pre-shaped profiled element 7' , for tightly coupling the two panels 3.
• the two pre-shaped profiled edges 7, 7' may have any other complementary shape, for instance a stepped shape.
• the invention may be not only used for the construction of concrete forms for making several different structural elements of building constructions, the combination of joists, studs, crossbars, and panels according to the invention may be advantageously used to make prefabricated walls.
• the panels may be provided on one side only and/or on both sides of the bearing frame, thereby forming two finishing walls with a perfectly finished exposed face.
• Each wall, formed by a number of adjacent panels externally covers the bearing frame elements .
• the studs and joists or crossbars or any other elements of the bearing structure have the same construction on both opposite faces for abutment against the panels, i.e.
• the bearing structure elements i.e. the joists, crossbars, studs or the like are interposed between the two walls, and also form wall spacing members, to create an air gap there between.
• This air gap may be a housing for technical systems, such as electrical and/or hydraulic systems, or the like.
• the panels of the two walls may have different thicknesses. Hence, for example, in outside walls, the panels of the outer exposed wall may be thicker than those that form the parallel inner wall. Similarly, in horizontal or inclined, i.e. non vertical walls, panel thickness may vary depending on the bearing or non-bearing nature of such horizontal or inclined walls.
• the wall that forms the surface to be walked on may have a greater panel thickness
• the bottom parallel wall that forms the ceiling of the room below the horizontal wall, which has finishing purposes may have a smaller panel thickness.
• the above structure composed of panels and a bearing or support frame may be also used in any embodiment described for making building structures, such as prefabricated rooms, shelters or simple vaults, i.e. for wholly or partly closed structures.
• the particular panel edge design when combined with the resilience or softness of the material and with the particular shape of the joists or studs of the structure provides a few advantages .
• the modular prefabricated structure provides optimized transportability, as it can be very quickly assembled on site.
• the ratio between the volume of the element being carried and the weight thereof is optimized. With the same weight load, much larger shelters or rooms may be made as compared with those that may be only carried as prefabricated cells .
• the resilient or soft edges automatically provide, upon contact there between, an at least partial sealing action against weather conditions, such as water and wind, and are limited to a single junction line along the panel edges. These edges have somewhat a gasket-like action. Sealing thereof is quick and fast, a single junction line being provided for each contact edge between adjacent panels.
• the edges fully cover the outer side of the bearing frame, which is generally made of a metal material and has a high thermal conductivity, the fact that the frame is fully externally covered by the panel edges allows to enhance thermal insulation of the structure, by simply forming a thermally insulating barrier between the bearing frame and the outside and/or inside environment.
• the effect is further enhanced when two wall shells are provided, an inner shell and an outer shell.
• the air gap formed by the two panel shells may be filled with intermediate thermally insulating panels, such as foam panels .
• said intermediate thermally insulating panels may also have a predetermined size and shape, which is complementary and corresponding to the distance between elements such as the oists and the studs or the crossbars of the bearing frame.
• the above structure facilitates the construction of prefabricated building structures for the civil protection and military fields, for instance emergency shelters for persons or things . These shelters have the advantage of providing water and weather tightness and of having the function of thermal barrier between the support frame and the outer surface of the shell.
• each panel is formed by a panel plate and peripheral strips made by pre- shaped elements 5, 7 which are bonded to the peripheral edges of the plate or are provided by shaping with machines or molding the peripheral edges of the panel plate depending form the material of which the panel plate is made.
• the peripheral strips forms the abutting edges of the panels and are of elastic compressible material.
• a wall for a concrete form or a generic prefabricated wall may be mounted by mounting the frame and then mounting the panel or the panels in the frame by pressing it in the frame.
• the panel is retained in the frame by compression forces acting in a direction parallel to the surface of the panel.
• Figures 7 and 8 illustrates a further improvement of the structure according to the present invention.
• the surface of each or of at least part of the abutting edges which is essentially parallel to the direction of pressing the panel in the frame or essentially perpendicular to the surface of the panel plate has at least one continuous protrusion or lip which is also of elastic compressible material and which is indicated by 303 in the figures 7 and 8.
• This protrusion is compressed and deformed when the panel plate with the peripheral strips bonded to it is mounted by pressing inside the frame.
• the abutting edges has to ensure different functions which leads to different mechanical features, particularly relatively to hardness or compressibility of the abutting edges .
• the abutting edges has to ensure mounting of the panel by simply pressing it into the frame and also avoiding the formation of marks in the concrete wall or gaps between adjacent panels
• the said abutting edges has also the function of compensating dimensional tolerances between frame and panel and or different thermal expansions or shrinking of the panels and of the frame or other kind of expansions or shrinking for example due to different moisture content, of protecting the edges of the panel plate from damage and from sealing the panel edges from contact with water or moisture.
• the abutting edges of the panels must have sufficient stability so they are not compressed by the concrete.
• the elastic compressible projections 303 allow the compensation of high dimensional tolerances between the panels or plates and the frame without renounciating abutting edges which can stand the high pressures of the liquid, concrete in order not to be compressed causing marks on the finished walls.
• the projections or lips enhances the abutting edges relatively to their mechanical behavior in such a way that the abutting edges show different compressibility in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the panel and in a direction parallel to the surface of the panel .
• the said projection elements 303 can be spot or dot like elements or elongated elements extending over a certain part of the length of the profiled element forming the abutting edges of the panel or plate.
• This projections or lips 303 can be provided of the same material of the abutting edges of the panel and provide for a different compressibility in a direction parallel to the surface of the panel due to their shape and dimension.
• the said projections or lips can be also made of a different material which has a different elastic compressibility than the material out of which the abutting edges are made.
• the projections or lips are of the same material of the abutting edges they can be made together with the profiled elements forming the said abutting edges of the panel, such as by injection or extrusion or adhesion.
• the said projections or lips 303 are made of a different material as the abutting edges case the said projections can also be formed by co-injection or co- extrusion by injecting the said projections or lips on an already shaped profiled element put in the mold.
• the said abutting edges can be formed by a profiled elongated element provided in combination with separated projection elements or lips 30.
• mechanical means are provided which in the removable securing means, in particular toothed securing pins 31 which allow the said projections or lips to be taken away and substituted with other element or lips.
• the toothed securing pins 31 are engaged by elastic forcing in holes 40 in the abutting edges of the panel or plate. More than one elongated projection or lip 303 or more than one row of spot or dot shaped projection elements 303 can be provided on an abutting edge of a panel or plate. As it appears clearly form figure 11 the projection elements or lips are particulalry advantageous for allowing the compensation not only of dimensional differences between the panel or plate but also for compensating differences in shape or position This problem is solved by providing a series of differently dimensioned projection elements 303. In this case each differently dimensioned projection element or lips has a different thickness in the direction of protrusion form the surface of the profiled element to which they have to be secured.
• the projection elements or lips 303 are formed by a toothed securing pin 30 which carries a projection head 31 being made of compressible material, while holes 40 are provided at predetermined positions on the profiled element in which the toothed securing pin 30 can be removably engaged by elastic forcing the said securing pins in the said hole .
• a toothed securing pin 30 which carries a projection head 31 being made of compressible material
• holes 40 are provided at predetermined positions on the profiled element in which the toothed securing pin 30 can be removably engaged by elastic forcing the said securing pins in the said hole .
• Figure 12 illustrates a front view on an abutting edge 5 of the panel according to the present invention which abutting edge 5 is provided with one row of spot- shaped projection elements each one having its own toothed securing pin.
• the toothed securing pins 30 are preferably made of relatively rigid material such as plastic material as polypropylene or the like.
• the projection elements can be made by co-injection over molding or other known processes .
• FIG 13 and 14 an alternative embodiment of the projection elements is shown.
• the projecting elements has an elongated shape extending for at least a part of the length of the profiled element forming the abutting edge of the panel.
• a supporting strip 33 of rigid plastic material has one or more toothed securing pins 30 at certain intervals one form the other while the strip carries one or more projection heads aligned along its length or a continuous projection element 30' extending for at least part or for the entire length of the said supporting strip.
• toothed securing pin is to be intended as indicating various possible pins having not a smooth surface.
• Particularly suitable pins are the ones used in the automotive industry for fixing lining interior panels or other lining sheets to the doors and or ceiling or to other parts of then bodywork of a vehicle.
• a panel having the combination of abutting edges 5 and of projection elements 30 which can be removably secured to the abutting edge 5 can be finished for being mounted and secured in the frame by engaging the securing pin 31 of a certain number of projection elements 303 into the holes 40 of the abutting edges of the said panel.
• the said abutting edge can be provided with differently protruding projection elements as illustrated in figure 11.
• at least part of the said projection elements can be teared off the abutting edges and substituted by dimensionally more suitable different projections elements 303 which better fits the new frame in which the panel has to be secured. This operation can be done very rapidly and at low costs. Also the projecting elements are very cheap.
• a material is used for the abutting edges having a hardness shore A between 90 and 100 and/or a hardness shore D between 39 and 55.
• Particularly suitable material for the strips forming the abutting edges are polypropylene and especially polyurethane .
• the abutting edges are formed by polyurethanes and particularly by polyurethanes obtained from the co-polymerization of polyols with iso-cyanates .
• the said polyurethanes can be molded either by casting at low pressure or by high pressure injection in order to obtain the strips forming the abutting edges according to the present invention.
• the polyurethanes can be also charged with inorganic charge materials .
• the panel and the structure according to the present invention is particularly suited for prefabricated modular walls of forms for pouring concrete, the same structure can be used for easily and rapidly building walls and roofs of water resistant enclosures or rooms.
• the structure of the present inventin is particularly suited for building water resistant buildings for civil protection tasks or in every situation where an edifice has to be assembled and disassembled rapidly, ensuring nevertheless a high resistence to the water and wind and a good thermal insulation.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Building Environments (AREA)

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Citations (6)

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• 2003
  • 2003-12-23 IT IT000051A patent/ITSV20030051A1/it unknown
• 2004
  • 2004-12-21 WO PCT/EP2004/053636 patent/WO2005064099A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2004-12-21 EP EP04804970.4A patent/EP1718820B1/de not_active Not-in-force

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