Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
  • E04B2/00—Walls, e.g. partitions, for buildings; Wall construction with regard to insulation; Connections specially adapted to walls
  • E04B2/84—Walls made by casting, pouring, or tamping in situ
  • E04B2/86—Walls made by casting, pouring, or tamping in situ made in permanent forms
  • E04B2/8611—Walls made by casting, pouring, or tamping in situ made in permanent forms with spacers being embedded in at least one form leaf
  • E04B2/8617—Walls made by casting, pouring, or tamping in situ made in permanent forms with spacers being embedded in at least one form leaf with spacers being embedded in both form leaves
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04C—STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS; BUILDING MATERIALS
  • E04C1/00—Building elements of block or other shape for the construction of parts of buildings
  • E04C1/40—Building elements of block or other shape for the construction of parts of buildings built-up from parts of different materials, e.g. composed of layers of different materials or stones with filling material or with insulating inserts
  • E04C1/41—Building elements of block or other shape for the construction of parts of buildings built-up from parts of different materials, e.g. composed of layers of different materials or stones with filling material or with insulating inserts composed of insulating material and load-bearing concrete, stone or stone-like material
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
  • E04B2/00—Walls, e.g. partitions, for buildings; Wall construction with regard to insulation; Connections specially adapted to walls
  • E04B2/02—Walls, e.g. partitions, for buildings; Wall construction with regard to insulation; Connections specially adapted to walls built-up from layers of building elements
  • E04B2002/0202—Details of connections
  • E04B2002/0204—Non-undercut connections, e.g. tongue and groove connections
  • E04B2002/0206—Non-undercut connections, e.g. tongue and groove connections of rectangular shape

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a building unit and more particularly, to a monolithic foam panel unit employed in concrete wall construction.
• Delozier in U.S. Patent No. 4,223,501, discloses a concrete form in which the panels are connected by both expanded metal ties and second apertured ties embedded into the panels. This patent does not disclose a fusibly interconnected system to which finishing material may be easily affixed, such as that of the present invention.
• an insulated wall construction form comprising: a pair of spaced apart panels, each having an inside surface and an outside surface adapted to receive concrete therebetween, the panels comprising a first polymer; and tie members extending between and interconnecting the panels, the tie members comprising a second polymer compatible with the first polymer for fused engagement with the panels.
• the panels for use in the present invention comprise expanded polystyrene (EPS) and serve as a permanent form for concrete construction.
• EPS expanded polystyrene
• Such panels are particularly advantageous for using in building structures since speed of assembly is attractive as well as the exceptional thermal insulation properties.
• EPS depending on the thickness and density thereof can provide an R value of 200 or greater in excess of code requirements.
• expanded polystyrene does not deteriorate in service, is non- nutritive to pests, rodents and insects and is one of the least energy consuming types of insulation to produce.
• metal ties establishes a thermal bridge thus having negative energy consequences. Further, metal ties, such as those in the prior art are only surrounded by the material of the panel, rather than being fused to form a consolidated monolithic unit.
• the "surrounding" type of wall is plagued with problems.
• One of the primary problems is that once positioned within the panel, subsequent application of auxiliary coverings, e.g. wallboard is difficult and often results in fasteners used for the coverings becoming deflected or broken by the flange of the ties or missed entirely due to the size and shape of the flange.
• a further aspect of the present invention is to provide a mold for forming concrete walls, the mold having a pair of spaced apart foam panels comprising a polymer of a first type, the panels interconnected by tie means, the improvement wherein: the tie means comprises a material having a melting temperature less than a heat of formation temperature of the foam panels whereby when the panels are formed in contact with the tie means, the tie means fusibly engage the panels.
• Suitable adhesives may be optionally used in conjunction with the fusion system to further enhance the bond.
• a monolithic building unit comprising: a first panel and a second panel in spaced relation, each panel comprising an expanded foam polymer of a first type; and at least one tie member comprising a second polymer different from the first polymer, said tie means extending and fusibly connected to each panel, whereby the monolithic unit is an integral form.
• the tie when the tie comprises a plastic material, the same may be easily cut to accommodate electrical conduits, plumbing conduits, etc. without any significant compromise of strength in the monolithic units. This is in marked contrast to metal tie arrangements which, not only present difficulty in cutting, but also result in jostling of the metal tie which partially disconnects the contact of the metal to the foam. Clearly this is disadvantageous.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of the form according to the present invention.
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the tie members employed in the formwork.
• Figure 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the tie members
• Figure 4 is a top plan view of one possible arrangement for the disposition of the tie members between the panels;
• Figure 5 is a second perspective view of another embodiment of the tie members.
• Figure 6 is a third perspective view of another embodiment of the tie members.
• numeral 10 generally designates a modular plastic concrete form structure according to the present invention.
• the structure 10 is composed of a pair of spaced apart polymeric panels defining a space therebetween into which may be charged concrete.
• the panels may comprise any suitable material, however, in a preferred form, the panels comprise expanded polystyrene (EPS) .
• EPS expanded polystyrene
• Each of the panels 12 and 14 include an inside and outside surface, and a top and bottom 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24, 26, 28 and 30, respectively.
• the panels 12 and 14 may include any form of cooperating engagement members for stacking of similar units, illustrated in the example as a tongue and groove arrangement 32,34 associated with a respective top and bottom of each panel. Lateral engagement between units may be achieved by suitable cooperating engagement members.
• the tie members 40 extend between the panels 12 and 14 and include a broad portion 42 into which may optionally be located a plurality of openings 44, shown in dotted outline.
• the tie members 40 provide first and second opposed surfaces 46,48 of main body 42 with opposed ends 50,52 including flange members 54 and 56 extending generally orthogonally from body 42 relative to the length thereof.
• flange members 54 and 56 comprise fairly broad flanges relative to the length of the body 42; such an arrange- ment has structural ramifications when associated with the panels 12 and 14.
• the tie members 40 as illustrated in Figure 2 comprise a polymer which is "chemically compatible" i.e., a congener or copolymer of the EPS e.g. polypropylene-polyethylene, non- expanded polystyrene, etc.
• the tie members comprise HIPS (high impact polystyrene) in an extruded form. Use of such compatible materials results in a fused bond between the panels 12 and 14, flange members 54 and 56 as well as respective segments of body 42.
• Integrally formed reinforcement bar (not shown) or "rebar" openings 60 are provided within the main body 42 to frictionally retain the bars. Numerous rebar diameters may be accommodated in such openings.
• tie members 40 are not unduly restricted as to positioning between the panels; this is in contrast to conventional metal ties which must be sufficiently embedded within the panels in order to function.
• FIG. 3 illustrates a further embodiment of the tie members. Similar numerals are employed to denote common elements from the initially . presented embodiment.
• the tie members includes a plurality of apertures 62 extending through each flange 54 and 56 with the apertures 62 being on both sides of each flange, relative to the main body 42. Proximate each end 50 and 52 of the tie members 40, there is further included apertures 64 extending through body 42.
• the inclusion of apertures 44,62 and 64 has particular benefit in terms of the degree of contact between the foam material (not shown) and the tie members 40.
• apertures 44,62 and 64 has been found to be particularly effective in unit integrity.
• the positioning of apertures 62 facilitates increased bonding contact between the flanges 54 and 56 and the width or transverse direction of a respective panel.
• apertures 64 are particularly useful for enhanced longitudinal contact within a respective panel.
• the polystyrene that can be employed in the present invention may be a polystyrene resin, StyronTM' manufactured by Dow Plastics of Midland, Michigan having the following properties:
• the Styron is manufactured in numerous physical forms including extruded forms, beads for expansion, etc.
• this material may have a melting point of approximately 82°C (180°F) with the heat of formation of the foam panels of approximately 116 ⁇ C (240 ⁇ F) .
• a step or ledge 66 is provided on the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3 and extends the length of main body 42.
• the ledge has the advantage of urging an upper unit, when the units are superposed, into engagement with a lower unit. This can be realized when the stacked units are charged with cement. As the cement flows in between the panels, each ledge 66 is effectively an impedance to the flow. Accordingly, a downward pressure is exerted which, in turn, forces engagement between the tongues of a lower unit and the grooves of an upper unit.
• Figure 4 illustrates as an example, one positioning arrangement in which two panels 14 may be juxtaposed with the ends thereof terminating at the juncture of the flange 52 to main body 42 of tie members 40, while the opposed end remains embedded between two juxtaposed panels 12.
• flange 52 extends outwardly of the outside face of each panel 14.
• Figure 5 illustrates a further possible arrangement wherein both the flanges 54 and 56 are embedded within the juxtaposed panels 12 and 14.
• Figure 6 illustrates yet another embodiment of the arrangement, in which flange 54 is flush relative to the outside surfaces of each panel 14.
• the desired positioning between the tie members and panels will vary depending upon the desired application.
• tie members 40 in the manner illustrated in Figures 1 and 3 through 6, clearly provides a readily accessible and broad surface for the attachment of secondary finishing material thereto, e.g. wallboard. Since the tie members 40 comprises a rigid polymeric material, the same may be easily drilled, screwed or nailed without sacrificing the integrity of the bond, a feature notably absent from the prior art. Further, in view of the fact that non-metal ties are used, the use of metal screws, nails, etc. may be readily used as fasteners with the present invention without the drawback of thermal bridging between tie and fastener as encountered in the prior art.
• the tie members 40 may be formed by an extrusion, injection moulding or other plastic forming process well known to those skilled in the art.
• the tie members 40 are positioned according to the desired location and the foam material foamed therearound by well known foam panel manufacturing techniques.
• the flange 54 and 56 will preferably have a breadth from about 25 to about 75% the length of body 42. This range generally provides an adequate amount of surface for panel contact as well as providing a broad surface to receive nails, screws, etc. for mounting additional material, e.g. wallboard.
• the polymers for the panels and tie members to the foam will be selected such that the bonding temperature of the tie members is below the temperature of the heat of formation of the foam panels. This selection results in the fused connection of the tie members to the panel material, thus ensuring a strong bond therebetween.
• the tie will be positioned within the foam mold such that the foam surrounds at least the flanges of the tie members.
• the tie members for use in the monolithic unit may comprise a metal body, plastic body or any other suitable substrate capable of retaining a polystyrene coating or any other coating compatible with the material of which the foam panel is made. Further still, it is contemplated that the tie include only localized coated areas for fusible connection with the panel. In this respect, only the areas contacting the foam panel would require the coating.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Building Environments (AREA)
• Laminated Bodies (AREA)
• Load-Bearing And Curtain Walls (AREA)
• Panels For Use In Building Construction (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (3)

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ID=4153179

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

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Citations (3)

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• 1994
  • 1994-03-16 CA CA002119180A patent/CA2119180C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1995
  • 1995-03-14 AT AT95913625T patent/ATE187997T1/de active
  • 1995-03-14 WO PCT/US1995/002973 patent/WO1995025207A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1995-03-14 DE DE69514095T patent/DE69514095D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1995-03-14 NZ NZ283012A patent/NZ283012A/en unknown
  • 1995-03-14 AU AU21000/95A patent/AU685614C/en not_active Ceased
  • 1995-03-14 EP EP95913625A patent/EP0750706B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (3)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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