US3861095A

US3861095A - Method and apparatus of building construction

Info

Publication number: US3861095A
Application number: US437232A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herbert E Eoxworthy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1974-01-28
Filing date: 1974-01-28
Publication date: 1975-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 1992-01-21

Abstract

A prefabricated frame building. The outer walls of the building are secured to the roof and foundation together by eye-bolts and catches forming the outer perimeter walls. The eye-bolt is secured to the top and bottom end of one of the outer walls and roof section which is lockingly engaged with the catch secured to the top and bottom end of the other outer walls and roof section. The outer walls are mounted upon a concrete foundation which has a pair of eye-bolts mounted thereon which are engaged with a pair of catches secured to the bottom ends of the outer walls. Each outer wall and roof section includes a plurality of panels secured together by a plurality of tongue assemblies. Each wall and/or roof tongue assembly includes a plurality of bolts extending interiorly of the building having blocks mounted thereon as needed. The floor joists thereby transmit load from the floor via the bolts into the tongue assembly and walls. Insulation is provided within the outer walls and roof sections plus within the tongue assemblies.

Description

United States Patent [191 Eoxworthy [475] Jan. 21, 1975 METHOD AND APPARATUS OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION [76] Inventor: Herbert E. Eoxworthy, 11932 Forest La., Carmel, Ind. 46032 22 Filed: Jan. 28, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 437,232

[52] US. Cl. 52/90 [51] Int. Cl E04b H48 [58] Field of Search 52/57, 82, 90, 262, 270,

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,203,145 8/1965 Raynes 52/90 X 3,335,536 8/1967 MeCord 52/593 X 3,640,043 2/1972 Querfeld et al 52/274 X 3,646,716 3/1972 Jenner 52/90 Primary ExaminerJ. Karl Bell Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Woodard, Weikart, Emhardt & Naughton [57] ABSTRACT A prefabricated frame building. The outer walls of the building are secured to the roof and foundation together by eye-bolts and catches forming the outer pcrimeter walls. The eye-bolt is secured to the top and bottom end of one of the outer walls and roof section which is lockingly engaged with the catch secured to the top and bottom end of the other outer walls and roof section. The outer walls are mounted upon a con crete foundation which has a pair of eye-bolts mounted thereon which are engaged with a pair of catches secured to the bottom ends of the outer walls. Each outer wall and roof section includes a plurality of panels secured together by a plurality of tongue assemblies. Each wall and/or roof tongue assembly includes a plurality of bolts extending interiorly of the building having blocks mounted thereon as needed. The floor joists thereby transmit load from the floor via the bolts into the tongue assembly and walls. lnsulation is provided within the outer walls and roof sections plus within the tongue assemblies.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJ I975 3.86 1 D95 sum 2 or 5 PATENTED JANZI I975 SHEEI 3 BF 3 FIG. 7

METHOD AND APPARATUS OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention is in the field of building construction; and more specifically, prefabricated building construction with constant temperature and air circulation relating in contributory energy and operating reduction.

2. Description of the Prior Art A number of U.S. patents have been granted on various types of constructions which include prefabricated walls having tongue and groove arrangements. A representative sample of the prior art is shown in the following US. Pat. Nos.

2,341,757 issued to Brenneman;

2,782,463 issued to Bergvall;

3,177,618 issued to Jacob;

3,490,187 issued to Stauffer; and,

3,712,015 issued to Nelson.

The prefabricated building construction disclosed herein has several major advantages over the prior art. First, the outer walls and roof sections forming the frame construction are secured together by a gate catch and eye-bolt secured to the top ends of the outer walls and roof. The outer walls are first located in position and then contacted together providing for the automatic engagement of the eye-bolt and gate catch. Once the eye-bolt and catch are secured together, the outer walls and roof are permanently locked together since the catch is unaccessible and may not be unlocked. Likewise, the outer walls are secured to a concrete foundation by a similar eye-bolt and catch arrangement thereby providing for the quick and easy erection of the main frame of the building.

Each outer wall and roof section is constructed from a plurality of panels secured together by tongue assemblies. Each panel includes a pair of walls spaced apart by insulation into which a tongue assembly extends thereby securing the panels together. The tongue assembly is particularly advantageous as compared to the prior art devices in that the assembly transmits floor loading into the outer walls. In addition, the tongue assemblies allow for the relatively easy assembly of the panels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One embodiment of the present invention is a building structure comprising a first main wall including a first pair of spaced apart parallel walls and a second pair of spaced apart parallel walls, the first pair of walls including insulation therebetween, the second pair of walls including insulation therebetween with the second pair of walls being aligned and parallel with the first pair of walls, a tongue assembly fitted into and securing the first pair and the second pair together, the tongue assembly including a projection extending outwardly of the first pair and the second pair and forming a seat, the tongue assembly including a plate through which the projection extends, the plate being slidably fitted into and securing the first pair and the second pair together, and a floor mounted upon the seat.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved building construction.

A further object of the present invention is to provide building panels secured together by a tongue assembly.

ject of the present invention is to provide industrial,

commercial, residential and A-frame buildings having outer walls mountable upon a foundation with the outer walls secured together and to the foundation by means of an eye-bolt and latch combination.

Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary end view of an A-frame building incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the top end of outer wall 11 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the top end of outer wall 12 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged cross sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 6 is across sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

' FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6 and viewed in the direction of the arrows using A-frame design as sample.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to only the inventor, who is skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown an A-frame building 10 having a pair of outer walls 11 and 12 secured together and mounted respectively upon concrete foundations l3 and 14. Outer wall 11 (FIG. 2) has a pair of spaced apart and

parallel walls

15 and 16 with insulation 17 positioned therebetween. Likewise, outer wall 12 (FIG. 3) has a pair of spaced apart and

parallel walls

18 and 19 with insulation 20 positioned therebetween.

The top end 21 of outer wall 11 is provided with an eye-bolt 22 fixedly secured to block 23

spacing walls

15 and 16 apart. Likewise, the top end 24 of wall 12 is provided with a gate latch assembly 25 fixedly secured to wall 26 mounted between

spacing blocks

27 and 28.

Walls

18 and 19 are secured to

blocks

27 and 28. Top end 21 is complementary to top end 24 thereby allowing walls 11 and 12 to mate in the configuration of an A as shown in FIG. I. Eye-bolt 22 is positioned so as to pass into gap 29 of latch 25. A movable arm 30 is pivotally mounted to the gate latch and normally closes gap 29. Any pressure exerted into gap 29 exterior to arm 30 is an automatic engagement. String 31 extends through block 26 and is attached to member 30 if used. Thus, by pulling on string 31, arm 30 is caused to pivot thereby allowing arm 30 to release eye-bolt 22. By releasing string 31, arm 30 then locks the eye-bolt within the catch 25 thereby preventing walls 11 and 12 from becoming disengaged.

Best results have been obtained by positioning eyebolt 22 at an angle of from the longitudinal axis between wall 11 and wall 12. This is, angle 32 (FIG. 4) is approximately 10 and is formed between

axis

34 and 33. Axis 33 extends centrally through eye-bolt 22 whereas axis 34 is parallel to walls and 16.

The bottom ends 35 and 36 of walls 11 and 12 are secured to

foundations

13 and 14 by means of an eye-bolt and gate latch combination similar to that previously described for securing the top ends of walls 11 and 12 together. A pair of latches 37 and 38 (FIG. 1) are mounted to the bottom ends 35 and 36 of walls 11 and 12 whereas eye-

bolts

39 and 38 are mounted to

foundations

13 and 14. The eye-bolts project perpendicularly toward walls 11 and 12.

Each outer wall 11 and 12 includes a plurality of panels secured together by a plurality of tongue assemblies. Wall 11 will now be described it being understood that a similar description applies to wall 12. Wall 11 includes a plurality of panel assemblies, two of which are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 as

panel assemblies

41 and 42. Each panel assembly includes the pair of

walls

15 and 16 spaced apart by wooden spacing members 43 and insulation 44. Tongue assembly 45 secures

panel assemblies

41 and 42 together.

Tongue assembly 45 includes two

walls

46 and 47 mounted together with insulation 48 extending therebetween. A pair of

metal plates

49 and 55 are provided within the tongue assembly. Plate 55 is located immediately inward and adjacent wall 46 whereas plate 49 is positioned approximately midway between

walls

46 and 47. A pair of

gaps

50 and 51 are provided within

blocks

52 and 56 and slidably receive the opposite ends of plate 49. Thus,

panels

41 and 42 are secured together by the friction existing between

blocks

52 and 56 and plate 49. Likewise, blocks 52 and 56 are positioned inwardly from the adjacent ends 53 and 54 of

panel assemblies

41 and 42 thereby allowing for the positioning of the tongue assembly within the two panel assemblies. Friction also exists between wall 47 and wall 15 and between wall 46 and wall 16.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross section of the tongue assembly. In addition to the pair of

metal plates

49 and 55 which are parallel, the tongue assembly includes a pair of

metal tubes

60 and 61 with opposite beveled edges fixedly secured to

plates

49 and 55.

Tubes

60 and 61 extend horizontally whereas

plates

49 and 55 extend upwardly in the direction of wall 11. A pair of threaded

bolts

62 and 63 extend through

plates

49 and 55 and

tubes

60 and 61. The headed ends of

bolts

62 and 63 are positioned within wall 11 so as to abut against plate 49 and wall 47. Tube 80 fits between the headed bolt ends and plate 49. The opposite threaded ends of

bolts

62 and 63 extend through a pair of

blocks

64 and 65. Each block is provided with a hollow cavity 66 in which a pair of tubes 67 are positioned.

Blocks

64 and 65 extend horizontally through each cavity 66 forming a stop 68 against which tubes 67 abut. The opposite ends of tubes 67 are beveled and abut against plate 55. The top surface 70 of block 64 forms a seat upon which the floor 71 may be mounted. Likewise, a bottom surface of block provides a surface upon which ceiling 72 may be mounted. Tubes 67 contact nuts 75.

A three ply laminated wall 73 is secured to the ends 74 of

blocks

64 and 65 thereby concealing the fastening nuts 75 threaded onto the ends of

bolts

62 and 63. A tongue assembly identical to the tongue assembly previously described is provided for wall 12 for securing floor 71 and ceiling 72. Likewise, a pair of blocks and 81 (FIG. 1) are provided in the tongue assembly in a manner similar to

blocks

64 and 65.

Many variations are contemplated and included in the present invention. For example, in the embodiment of the A-frame building shown in FIG. 1, angle 82 which is the included angle between walls 11 and 12 is 60 however, the included angle 82 may be greater than or less than 60. A sufficient amount of tongue assemblies securing the panels of each outer wall together are provided so as to adequately support floor 71. Likewise, a sufficient number of latches and eyebolts are provided at the top end and bottom end of walls 11 and 12 to secure walls 11 and 12 together and to foundations l3 and 14. The floor loading from floor 71 is transmitted directly through the threaded bolts into the plates and eventually to outer walls 11 and 12.

It will be obvious from the above description that the present invention provides a new and improved building construction. It will also be obvious from the above description that the present invention provides an A- frame construction including means for automatically locking the outer walls together and to the foundation. Likewise, it will be obvious from the above description that the present invention provides means for securing a plurality of wall panels together and for transmitting floor loading to the outer walls of the building.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.

The invention claimed is:

1. A building structure comprising:

a first main wall including a first pair of spaced apart parallel walls and a second pair of spaced apart parallel walls;

said first pair of walls including insulation therebetween, said second pair of walls including insulation therebetween with said second pair of walls being aligned with said first pair of walls; tongue assembly fitted into and securing said first pair and said second pair together, said tongue assembly including a projection extending outwardly of said first pair and said second pair and forming a seat, said tongue assembly including a plate through which said projection extends, said plate being slidably fitted into and securing said first pair and said second pair together; and,

a floor mounted upon said seat.

2. The building structure of claim 1 and further comprising:

a second main wall secured to said first main wall, said first main wall having a movable catch mounted thereon with said second main wall having an eye-bolt secured thereto being lockingly engaged with said catch.

3. The building structure of claim 2 wherein:

said tongue assembly includes a second plate spaced apart from and parallel to said first plate, said assembly further includes a tube fixedly secured to said first and second plate, said projection is a threaded bolt extending through said first and second plate and said tube.

4. The building structure of claim 3 wherein:

said tongue assembly further includes two walls between which said first and second plate are positioned and mounted, said two walls are slidably fitted between said first pair of walls and between said second pair of walls, said tongue assembly further includes a block mounted upon said bolt with said seat located on said block.

5. The building structure of claim 4 and further comprising:

a concrete foundation having a second eye-bolt mounted thereon, said first main wall having a second movable catch thereon lockingly engageable with said second eye-bolt securing said first main wall to said foundation.

6. The building structure of claim 5 wherein:

said first main wall and said second main wall abut each other at an angle less than 90 forming an A- frame building.

7. A tongue assembly for securing a first wall and a second parallel wall comprising:

a pair of spaced apart and parallel panels secured together with said panels projecting into said first wall and second wall;

a first plate located immediately inward of one of said panels;

a second plate positioned between said panels and secured to said first plate;

a tube extending between and securing together said first plate and said second plate; and,

a threaded member extending through said tube, said first plate and said second plate, said threaded member having a headed end abutting said second plate and a threaded end projecting outwardly of said panels.

8. The tongue assembly of claim 7 and further comprising:

a block having a first hollow chamber with a stop at one end through which said threaded member extends; and,

a second tube within said chamber surrounding said member and abutting against said first plate and against said stop.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIGN Patent No- 3 861 O95 January 21 1975 Herbert El Foxworthv It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Please change the inventor's name from "Eoxwo rthy" to --Foxworthyin both the heading of the patent and also by number [76] on the same page Signed and sealed this 17th day of June 1975 (SEAL) Attest C. IARSHALL DANN Commissioner of-Patents and Trademarks RUTH C. MASON Attesting Officer

Claims

1. A building structure comprising: a first main wall including a first pair of spaced apart parallel walls and a second pair of spaced apart parallel walls; said first pair of walls including insulation therebetween, said second pair of walls including insulation therebetween with said second pair of walls being aligned with said first pair of walls; a tongue assembly fitted into and securing said first pair and said second pair together, said tongue assembly including a projection extending outwardly of said first pair and said second pair and forming a seat, said tongue assembly including a plate through which said projection extends, said plate being slidably fitted into and securing said first pair and said second pair together; and, a floor mounted upon said seat.

2. The building structure of claim 1 and further comprising: a second main wall secured to said first main wall, said first main wall having a movable catch mounted thereon with said second main wall having an eye-bolt secured thereto being lockingly engaged with said catch.

3. The building structure of claim 2 wherein: said tongue assembly includes a second plate spaced apart from and parallel to said first plate, said assembly further includes a tube fixedly secured to said first and second plate, said projection is a threaded bolt extending through said first and second plate and said tube.

4. The building structure of claim 3 wherein: said tongue assembly further includes two walls between which said first and second plate are positioned and mounted, said two walls are slidably fitted between said first pair of walls and between said second pair of walls, said tongue assembly further includes a block mounted upon said bolt with said seat located on said block.

5. The building structure of claim 4 and further comprising: a concrete foundation having a second eye-bolt mounted thereon, said first main wall having a second movable catch thereon lockingly engageable with said second eye-bolt securing said first main wall to said foundation.

6. The building structure of claim 5 wherein: said first main wall and said second main wall abut each other at an angLe less than 90* forming an A-frame building.

7. A tongue assembly for securing a first wall and a second parallel wall comprising: a pair of spaced apart and parallel panels secured together with said panels projecting into said first wall and second wall; a first plate located immediately inward of one of said panels; a second plate positioned between said panels and secured to said first plate; a tube extending between and securing together said first plate and said second plate; and, a threaded member extending through said tube, said first plate and said second plate, said threaded member having a headed end abutting said second plate and a threaded end projecting outwardly of said panels.

8. The tongue assembly of claim 7 and further comprising: a block having a first hollow chamber with a stop at one end through which said threaded member extends; and, a second tube within said chamber surrounding said member and abutting against said first plate and against said stop.