Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to a building panel made
of light-weight, moderately fragile material, capable of
receiving a final sheathing, comprising empty passages
adapted to be filled with adequate materials, said empty pas-
sages consisting partly of parallel tubes of cardb~ard,
plastics or similar material.
This invention is also concerned with an improved
method of constructing buildings by using panels of this type.
Many building methods have already been proposed which
imply the use of juxtaposed elements such as brick, blocks,
rough-casting, girders, reinforced-concrete panels or plaster
panels, and lost shuttering elements.
As a rule, these last-mentioned elements have a poor
resistance to concrete vibration and an insufficient trans-
verse bonding strength.
However, these building methods have other inconveniences.
Their implementation is both time-robbing and expensive. Brick
or block walls must be coated internally and externally, pre-
ferably with the interposition of layers of insulating mate-
rial. Walls made of reinforced concrete panels are sheathed
internally with plaster so as to leave therebetween a gap
subsequently filled with insulating material. Obviously, this
arrangement is thoroughly illogical for in winter humidity
condensates OII the inner cold surfaces of the reinforced con-
crete panels, and the insulating material is thus caused to
rot To comply with the laws of physics and avoid condensa-
tion, a concrete wall must be isolated on its outer surface,
but this is scarcely possible with hitherto known building
materials.
The French Patent N 1,495,245 to Paxellent discloses a
building panel consisting of juxtaposed tubular elements
adapted to be filled with concrete so as to constitute bear-
ing panels. The major inconveniences of this building panel
lie in the absence of transverse bonding between the tubular
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elements, so that the panel rigidity across the axes of
said tubes is not sufficient, thus limiting the use of panels
of this type.
The US Patent N 4,038,798 discloses cardboard tubes
embedded in synthetic foam,but the panel disclosed therein
is attended by the same inconveniences as the building panel
disclosed in the above-mentioned French Patent, i.e. the lack
of transverse bonding.
The present invention is directed to avoid the above-
mentioned inconveniences of prior art building panels by pro-
viding an improved building panel combining a light weight, a
good heat and sound insulation, and a high mechanical strength
with the possibility of implementing a particularly fast
building method. The panel of the present invention comprises
a plurality of coplanar tubes parallel to one another and
provided with radial apertures disposed along the coplanar
generatrices of the tubes, so as to constitute transverse
through passages extending throughout the panel width.
It is another object of the present invention to provide
a building method consisting in juxtaposing the above-describ-
ed panels used as lost shuttering elements into which, if
desired, insulating materials and/or concrete, reinforced or
not, are poured, of course after reserving the space to be
occupied by doors and windows.
The use of tubes made of cardboard, plastics or similar
materials for constituting the lost shuttering is ad~antageous
in that it is particularly strong when casting and vibrating
the concrete, the circular section of the tubes causing the
walls or partitions to be only traction-stressed. Thus, it is
unnecessary to make very thick walls or partitions, so that
a substantial reduction in panel weight and building cost is
obtained, and in addition the building method is particuIarly
-easy to carry out.
Many advantageous results can be obtained with the
present invention, and by using the technique of lost shutter-
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ing it is possible with this invention to construct solid-
concrete basement or foundation walls, story walls with the
interposition of an insuIating sheathing on the outer surface,
with inner partitions of light concrete, plaster or other
suitable material. The panels of this invention may receive
directly a final coat, such as a rustic set on the outer
surfaces and wall-paper on the inner surfaces. In addition,
the fact of reserving the space to be occupied by windows
and doors in solid erected walls before casting the concrete
greatly simplifies the construction process.
The following disclosure sets forth more in detail a few
forms of embodiment of the invention, given by way of example
with reference to the attached drawing.
Fig.1 is a front elevational view with parts broken
away, showing a first form of embodiment of a building panel
according to this invention;
Fig.2 is a plane view from above of the panel of Fig.1;
Fig.3 is a side elevational view of the panel of Fig.1;
Fig.S is an elevational view showing the manner in which
two adjacent tubes are assembled, according to a second form
of embodiment of the panel of this invention;
Figs.4 and 6 are side elevational views showing the two
opposite faces of this specific mode of assembling adjacent
tubes;
Fig.7 illustrates a third form of embodiment of the tube
assembling method, and
Fig.8 is a plane view from above showing the method of
building a wall made of panels according to this invention.
Reference will now be made firstly to Figs.1 to 3 of the
drawing, showing three orthogonal views of a panel 1 according
to this invention, which consists of two biocks 2 and 3 of
expanded polystyrene providing therebetween parallel hollow
cylindrical apertures 10 and transverse passages 14. The
cylinders 10 are lined with tubes made of cardboard, plastics
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or similar material 11, so that they can withstand the concre-
te vibration. The panels are assembled in coplanar relation-
ship by means of lapped joints 12,13 which, by alternating
male and female portions 12,13, respectively, permit the
jointing of the panels. However, groove-and-tongue or scarf
flat joints may also be used, if desired, for assembling the
panels with one another. The panels and the cardboard or
plastic tubes are provided-with radial apertures 14 extending
throughout the panel width.
If desired, the two blocks 2 and 3 may also be molded
into a single piece of synthetic foam. The radial apertures
14 extend throughout the panel width, from one face to another.
For this purpose, the tubes 11 of cardboard, plastics or
other suitable material are provided with radial holes 14
having the same diameter and relative spacing as in the
molded block. The tubes 11 are coated with glue and introduc-
ed into the block of expanded foam by causing their holes 14
to register with those of the molded block.
In a second form of embodiment illustrated in Fig.5, the
so-called interfitting tube panel comprises card~oard or
plastics tubes 11a which, instead of being somewhat spaced
from one another, are jointed side by side and assembled
along their generatrices by means of windows or ports 4 and
bridges 5 interfitting according to the well-known hinge
principle, as shown. Thus, along one generatrix of the card-
board or plastics tube 11a a row of windows or ports 4 are
cut so as to leave therebetween bridge portions 5 of a height
a matching substantially that of the single windows, and on
of
the diametrally opposite generatrix the height b/windows 6 is
about three times the height a of the bridge portions, so that
every third single window constitutes a transverse passage 15
corresponding to the central portion of the opposite window
6 having a height b which is three times said height a.
The thus assembled cardboard, plastics or other tubes
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11a are glued in the corresponding ca~ities formed in two
blocks similar to blocks 2 and 3 of Figs.1 to 3 of the drawing.
It is also possible to prepare a panel incorporating
tubular elements, as illustrated in Fig.7. In this modified
form of embodiment, the tubes 11b are assembled by interfitt-
ing, as described hereinabove with reference to Fig.5, and
coated on one side with insulating material 7 and on the
opposite side with plaster or other similar material 8.
Before implementing the above-described panels, their
main surfaces are covered with sheets or plates of a material
selected from a wide range of known materials such as vegeta- -
ble or mineral fibres, with or without the addition of agglo-
merated glass fibres, and with the addition of synthetic
resins, plaster or cement. Preferably,~a material of moderate
fragility will be selected, this material having preferably
a surface capable of receiving a final internal and internal
coat or lining.
The tubes may consist of ordinary cardboard, fireprofed
(phenolated) cardboard, or synthetic material.
If the panels of this invention are intended for erect-
ing basement or foundation shutterings, they can be made of
suitable synthetic (plastics) material and left in their
molded condition for both internal and external surfaces. Thus,
the conventional and hitherto necessary application of a water-
tight or moisture-repellent coat is unnecessary since these
panels have the required external water-tightness.
With the panels of this invention it is possible to
construct a house structure consisting of multi-tubular panels
and to finish the surfaces, for instance the internal surfaces,
with plaster panels or any other sheathing or linin~ material,
and the space between adjacent tubes may be filled by inject-
ing synthetic foam; the outer surface may be lined with a
suitable insulating material such as expanded polystyrene to
which a rustic set is eventually applied, and if desired the
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lining panels may match the configuratio~ of the tubes in
order to improve the adherence surface.
When the panels incorporating the tubuIar elements are
used for making basement walls or the li~e, it is possible
to either fill up directly against the walls thus construct- ¦
ed, or line the walls with fibrocement panels, polystyrene
panels or the like. The remaining grooves formed by the tubes
are useful for draining water.
In the case of internal partition$, 'the tubes are filled
with light concrete, mortar or any other suitable binder.
Of course, the panels according to the present invention
can be manufactured in various widths and different materials,
and also according to the various forms af embodiment describ-
ed herein. ~
With the method of this invention and the panels of this
invention it is also possible to build light temporary build-
ings; in this case, the panels remain unfilled and are assembl-
ed without using concrete, by simply cem~nting them. The space
for doors and windows is cut in the solid walls.
. 20 With the panels of this invention, which comprise trans-
verse passages 14 Lmparting a transverse strength through con-
tinuuus bonds, it is possible to erect a building by using
the method disclosed hereunder with reference to Fig.8 of the
drawing.'
By using flat panels 1 and corner panels 1'a, the solid
walls are erected by simply disposing the panels side by side
and cementing them. Then, the apertures for the windows and
doors are cut by using a saw. In the slits left by the saw,
sheets 16 of metal or other material are inserted. Then, the
iron fittings, duct means and other conduits are introduced
; into the free passages. Thenconcrete is cast into the verti-
cal tubes and ~ibrated to facilitate its penetration into the
~-horizontal passages, in order to provide continuous horizontal
bonds. When the concrete has set, the sheets are removed from
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the slits and the panel materi~l of the ~indows and doors is
also removed, 50 that the necessary frame can be fitted in
position and sealed ac~ording to the known method~
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