Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02549707 2006-06-08
TITLE: INSULATED PANEL SYSTEM
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0o01] This invention relates to interlocking panels for use in roof and
vertical wall applications.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Insulated metal panels are typically used on wall and roof
building applications to form part or all of the building envelope. A
panel typically has opposing inside and outside steel surfaces with an
insulating foam core adhered between the surfaces. The panel can
then be mounted onto support structures to form the wall or roof
application in a building. The combination of steel and foam provides
for a relatively lightweight insulating panel that can span significant
distances between support structures.
[0003] One typical application is to use such panels to construct vertical
walls. In these applications, continuous steel supports which form the
shape of the walls typically run horizontally on the wall. The insulated
metal panels are oriented such that the steel supports extend parallel
to the width of the panels, as measured from side edge to side edge
thereof. A first panel is fastened to the support. Additional panels are
installed parallel to the first with one panel engaging the adjacent one
with some form of sidelap or joint.
[0004] Another application is to use insulated metal panels to construct
roofing structures. Similar to wall applications, the panels are screw
fastened to the support structure on the roofing structure. Additional
panels are installed parallel to the first with one panel engaging the
adjacent one and joined at a sidelap.
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[0005] One difficulty of roofing applications is that the exterior surface
is exposed to significantly more water and other elements than for wall
applications. While panels for wall applications are positioned
vertically, panels for roofing applications are typically positioned at a
non-vertical angle, often approaching a horizontal orientation. Thus,
water and other elements drain more slowly. In such applications,
there is the difficulty that water may penetrate at the joint where two
panels meet. The water may also penetrate any fastening screws
located at the sidelap.
[0006] One solution has been to the cover the screw at the sidelap with
an additional cap to hide the screw and to provide water tightness.
Another solution has been to use a concealed clip, often called a
sliding clip or support clip, to engage the panels at the sidelap and
then screwing the clip to the support structure. These methods may
not provide the most effective resistance to water penetration and may
involve additional components and/or field seaming to hide the
attachment fasteners.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention relates to an improved insulated metal
panel for roofing and wall applications.
[0008] In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is provided a
building construction panel for use in wall, and roof construction, and
wherein said building construction panel is connectable to a next
substantially similarly construction panel in first side to second side
relation said building construction panel comprising: an exterior skin
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defining an exterior surface of the panel; an interior skin positioned
opposite and parallel to the exterior surface and defining an interior
surface of the panel; first and second side portions of the panel
adjoining said exterior skin to said interior skin of the panel; said first
side portion of said building construction panel spanning between said
exterior and interior skin portions at a first edge of said building
construction panel, and comprising an sidewardly extending first flange
extending adjacent said interior skin; said second side portion of said
building construction panel spanning between said opposed front and
back portions at a second edge of said building construction panel
opposite and parallel to said first edge, and comprising a groove in
complemetary shape to said first flange, thereby adapted to accept
said first flange of an adjacent panel in slide fit engagement; an
insulative material disposed between said interior and exterior skins;
said first side portion including a first protrusion member positioned at
said exterior skin extending exteriorly from said first side portion, said
first protrusion member oriented inwardly of said first flange; said
second side portion including an exterior portion defining in part said
groove and extending over said flange and including a lip member
extending exteriorly from said second side portion, adapted to extend
over said first protrusion member of an adjacent said panel in flush
overlapping sealing relation therewith.
[0009] Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention
will be apparent from the following non-restrictive description of
example embodiments of the invention, made with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described,
by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0011] Figure 1A and 1B are section views of first embodiments of
panels in accordance with aspects of the invention;
[0012] Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional elevation of the sidelap of
adjacent panels in accordance with the first embodiment of the
present invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT OF THE
INVENTION
[0013] As can be seen in Figures 1A, 1B and 2, example embodiments
of panels of the herein invention are illustrated. Panels in accordance
with the invention each have an exterior steel skin 14 , an interior
steel skin 16 , and an insulating foam core 18 disposed between the
exterior skin 14 and interior steel skin 16. The panels further include
a first side edge portion 100 and an opposite second side edge portion
102 extending between the parallel interior skin 14 and exterior skin
16 surrounding the foam core 18.
[0014] Reference is made to Figure 2, which shows a cross-sectional
view of a sidelap between a the first side edge portion 100 of first
panel 10 and the second side edge portion 102 of second panel 11.
Such embodiments of panels are adapted particularly for roofing
applications, however, such could be utilized in other applications,
such as walls or flooring or the like.
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[0015] As shown, the panels 10, 11 are mounted onto a support
structure 12, as will be discussed further below. In wall applications,
continuous steel supports typically run horizontally on the wall, often
spaced vertically at 5 feet to 15 feet. In roofing applications, the
support structure 12 may be comprised of regularly spaced beams
extending perpendicular to the width of the panels 10,11.
[0016] Example embodiments of the insulated metal panels in
accordance with the invention have a thickness (measured from
interior skin to exterior skin) ranging from 2 inches to 6 inches, length
L (measured along side edges) of 1 to 60 feet (or as limited by
handling limitations) and widths measured from first side edge to
second side edge of 24 inches, 30 inches, 36 inches, and 42 inches. It
should be understood that other dimensions may be provided as part
of this invention and these preceding dimensions are listed as
examples only.
[0017] As shown in Figures 1A, 1B and 2, in first embodiments of the
invention, particularly designed for roofing applications, the first side
end portion 100 includes a trapezoidal protrusion 20 extending
exteriorly at the first side edge portion. At the second side portion,
the exterior skin 14 has a sidewardly extending lip member 22
adapted to extend over the protrusion 20 of the first panel 10 when
said first and second side edges are brought into slide fit engagement,
discussed below. In the example embodiment shown the protrusion
extends 35mm (or approximately 1.5 inches) exteriorly from the
exterior skin.
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[0018] Adjacent to the interior skin 16 is a flange 26 extending
sidewardly from the first side edge portion. The protrusion 20 is
positioned inwardly of the flange 26 to ensure proper sealing of the
joint is achieved and to allow the flange to be secured to the support
structure. In the embodiments shown, the flange 26 is adapted to
mate with a corresponding mating groove 27 in the second side edge
portion 102 of an adjacent panel. Groove 27 is defined in part by
exteriorly positioned groove wall 27a of an exterior portion 29 of the
second edge portion. The flange further includes a sidewardly
extending tongue 32 which is adapted to mate with a corresponding
groove 34 in the second edge portion 102 of second panel 11.
Preferably the tongue 32 is positioned offset from the interior skin 16
such that the tongue may be enveloped on its interior and exterior
side by the corresponding groove 34 of the second side portion 102.
The second side edge portion 102 of second panel 11 may engage the
first side edge portion 100 of first panel 10 by sliding the second panel
11 along the plane defined by support structure 12 such that the
tongue 32 engages the groove 34 in a slide fit. The tongue 32 and
groove 34 combination in part prevents the first panel 10 from
disengaging the second panel 11 in a direction perpendicular to the
surface of the support structure 12. In an example embodiment, a
sealant 42 is applied between the tongue 32 and groove 34 to achieve
additional water tightness. A sealant accepting region 43 may be
defined between the tongue 32 and groove 34. The sealant 42 may be
applied at the manufacturer site or on the building site. The tongue
and groove are defined by the outer metal skin S which forms the
exterior skin 14 and interior skin 16. In the embodiment shown, skin
S defining groove 34 terminates with a skin lip 77s.
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[0019] In the embodiment of Figures la, lb and 2, the protrusion 20
extends exteriorly from the exterior side of the first side portion 100 of
the first panel 10. The lip 22 of the second panel 22 extends over the
protrusion 20 for covering at least a portion of the protrusion 20.
Preferably, the lip 22 is generally the same shape as the upper portion
of the trapezoidal protrusion 20 and covers the top 20T and upper
portion of side portions 20S of the trapezoidal protrusion. The lip
covers the entirety of outer side portion 20S0. Since the engagement
between the lip 22 and the protrusion 20 is elevated with respect to
the exterior of the panels 10,11, there is less penetration of water at
the sidelap.
[0020] In the embodiment of Figures la, lb and 2, the lip 22 has an
end 24 defined therein which extends around the upper side edge
portion of the protrusion 20S. The lip is positioned and shaped such
that the end 24 does not obstruct the panels 10,11, when the first side
edge 100 of panel 10 is brought into slide fit engagement with second
side edge 102 of panel 11. In fact, the lip 22 may be resiliently biased
to snuggly fit over the protrusion 20, which allows the lip to deform
exteriorly as the end 24 engages the top of the protrusion, and then
return to position such that the lip snuggly engages the protrusion top
and sides 20T and 20S, when the side edges portions 100 and 102 are
engaged in slide fit together. A sealant 40 may be applied between
the protrusion 20 and the lip 22 to achieve additional water tightness.
In fact a water sealant accepting portion 41 may be formed in the
protrusion where such sealant may be applied. The sealant 40 may
applied at the manufacturer site or on the building site.
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[0021] As shown in Figure 2, as the second side edge portion 102 of
second panel 11 engages the first side edge portion 100 of first panel
in the slide fit, the exterior wall 27a of exterior portion 29 of the
second side edge portion which defines groove 27 thereby covers the
screw 28. Thus, additional caps are not necessarily required to hide
the screw or to provide water tightness.
[0022] The exterior skin 14 and interior skin 16 may be flat or near
flat. In embodiments shown in some of the figures, the exterior skin
14 and interior skin 16 may be fluted or corrugated. Such fluting or
corrugation may take to form of small grooves detailed in the panels
skin 10, 11 extending parallel to side edges 100, 102. Such
corrugated skin provides additional structural support to each panel.
The corrugations may be further spaced apart such as is shown in
Figure la and ib, and may be positioned on both the interior and
exterior skins as in Figure la or just one of same, as in Figure lb.
Additional protrusions 20 may be positioned at regular spacing across
the width of the panels for added support.
[0023) The skin 14, 16 may be formed of steel or galvanized steel with
protective coatings such as zinc or aluminum and zinc. Paint may also
be added for protection and appearance. The skin may also be formed
of other suitable materials, such as for example stainless steel or
aluminum or high density plastics.
[0024] The insulating foam core 18 may be any suitable rigid type
insulation such as polyisocyanurate foam, polyurathane foam or such
specific examples such as Owens Corning AF530/703, AF545/704,
705, Fibrex 1240, 1260, and/or Roxul RXL60, RXL80. The insulation
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should be of sufficient thickness to transfer gravity loads through the
roof panel system to the support structure. In a particular
embodiment, the panel has an R value of approximately 7.6 per inch.
[0025] A screw 28 secures the flange 26 of the first side edge portion to
the support structure 12, at the fastening region 26F of the flange 26.
A washer 28w is disposed between the head of the screw 28 and the
flange 26. Although the screw 28 is shown in the present
embodiment, it is envisaged that other fasteners or fastening means
may be used for mounting the first panel 10 onto the support structure
12, for example a rivet, bolt, nail or the like.
[0026] After engagement of the second panel 11 with the first panel 10
in the slide fit as discussed above, the second panel 11 is then secured
to the support structure at the first side edge portion thereof, by
means flange 26 positioned at the first side edge portion of panel 11 in
the manner discussed above.
[00271 In the embodiments discussed above tongues, such as tongue
32 extends from the first side edge portion with mating groove 34
positioned in the second side edge portion. It should be understood
that the tongue 32 may be positioned on the second side edge portion
with a mating groove on the first side edge portion
[0028] Although the invention has been described with reference to
illustrative embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is
not limited to these precise embodiments, and that various changes
and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art. All
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such changes and modifications are intended to be encompassed in
the appended claims.
