Frameless metal building
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 831,781, filed Sept. 9, 1977, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,245. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In the art of metal buildings, it is common to use a steel frame which provides for a low roof pitch and for resisting the loads on the building. Parallel spaced roof purlins and parallel spaced wall girts are secured to the frame, and corrugated sheet metal skins or panels are attached to the outer surfaces of the roof purlins and wall girts to form the outer covering or shell for the building. Usually the outer metal skin or sheet metal panels are corrugated in order for the panels to span the spaces between adjacent roof purlins and wall girts, but the frame supports substantially the entire static, wind and snow loads on the metal building. 
     There have been attempts to construct metal buildings without a metal frame, purlins and girts and to use the inherent strength of corrugated roof and wall panels to withstand the various loads on the building. Examples of such building constructions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,742,114 and 3,492,765. It has also been proposed to construct a metal building without the use of purlins and girts by erecting a frame and attaching to the frame heavy corrugated sheet metal panels, for exmple, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,596. The construction of a metal building has also been proposed from prefabricated roof and wall panels each of which includes inner and outer corrugated sheet metal skins tied together by braces or bars, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,064,771 and 3,500,596. Corrugated sheet metal panels have also been used or proposed to form a single skin sheet metal building, for example, as disclosed in above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,492,765 and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,156,070, 3,568,388 and 3,657,849. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to an improved sheet metal building structure formed of prefabricated sheet metal panels constructed and assembled in a manner which provides for substantially high total strength and thus high resistance to wind and snow loads, and which eliminates the need for a metal frame, roof purlins and wall girts. In addition, the metal building of the present invention significantly reduces the total time and cost for constructing and erecting a metal building and, in addition, eliminates the need for a crane to erect the building. The construction of the prefabricated sheet metal panels and the manner by which the panels are coupled together further provides for fast, simple and accurate erection of a metal building and utilizes the inherent strength of the sheet metal inner and outer skins or skin portions of the panels to support or carry substantially the entire loads which are applied to the building as a result of various weather conditions. 
     Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an end elevational view of a sheet metal building constructed in accordance with the invention and with the ends walls removed; 
     FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of two opposing roof panels used in the building shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating the system for coupling the roof panels along the ridge of the building; 
     FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the wall and roof panels used in the building shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating the coupling of the roof panels to the wall panels; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical section through the ridge portion of the building shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical section through an eve portion of the building shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section showing the assembled relation of two adjacent roof panels; 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-section of a typical roof panel shown in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-section of a typical wall panel as shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 9 is an inside perspective view of a portion of a single skin sheet metal building constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 10 is a fragmentary vertical section similar to FIG. 5, of the eve portion of the building embodiment shown in FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 is a fragmentary lateral section through the assembly of adjacent wall or roof panels used in the building embodiment of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 12 is a fragmentary vertical section, similar to FIG. 4, through the ridge portion of the building embodiment shown in FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 13 is a fragmentary vertical section through the assembly of a roof panel and an end wall panel of the building embodiment shown in FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 14 is a fragmentary horizontal section through the wall panels forming a corner of the building embodiment shown in FIG. 9; and 
     FIG. 15 is a vertical section similar to FIG. 1, through a modified single skin metal building constructed in accordance with the invention and with the end walls removed. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A metal building constructed in accordance with the invention has an end view as generally illustrated in FIG. 1 and includes a plurality of prefabricated rectangular roof panels 12 which are coupled together along the center ridge 13 of the building and which are coupled together and supported by a plurality of prefabricated rectangular side wall panels 14 and end wall panels (not shown). The vertical side and end wall panels seat upon base floor plates 16 which are bolted to the outer edges of a concrete slab floor 18. 
     Each of the prefabricated roof panels 12 is constructed of formed sheet metal and includes an upper or outer sheet metal skin 22 (FIGS. 2 and 7) having parallel spaced roll-formed ribs 23. Each roof panel 12 also includes a lower or inner sheet metal skin 26 (FIG. 7) which forms an inner liner for the building and also has parallel spaced ribs 27 to provide a corrugated cross-sectional configuration. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the thicknesses of the roof panels 12 and the wall panels 14 are somewhat exaggerated relative to the size of the metal building. 
     The rool-formed sheet metal skins 22 and 26 of each roof panel 12 are rigidly secured by blind rivets (not shown) such as &#34;Pop&#34; rivets to parallel spaced longitudinally extending spacer members 32 (FIG. 7) which are formed of sheet metal and have generally a channel-shaped configuration. The upper flange of each spacer member 32 has a V-shaped rib portion 33 which is secured by rivets to an adjacent rib 23 of the overlying outer skin 22, and the lower flange of each spacer member 32 has an inwardly projecting return rib portion 34 and is secured by rivets to the inner sheet metal skin 26. 
     The longitudinally extending spacer member 32 of each roof panel 12 are rigidly connected by laterally extending spacer members 38 (FIGS. 2 and 7) each of which is also formed of sheet metal and has opposite end flanges 39 (FIG. 7) secured by rivets to the spacer members 32. The upper and lower flanges of each laterally extending spacer member 38 has inwardly projecting rib portions 41. The upper or inner ends of the longitudinally extending spacer members 32 of each roof panel 12 are also rigidly secured by a ridge spacer member 43 (FIG. 4) which has generally a Z-shaped cross-sectional configuration with an upwardly projecting flange 44. The outer or lower ends of the longitudinally extending spacer members 32 of each roof panel 12 are rigidly connected by an eve spacer member 46 (FIG. 5) which also has a Z-shaped cross-sectional configuration and includes a downwardly projecting return lip portion 47. All of the spacer members 32, 38, 43 and 46 of each roof panel 12 are formed of sheet metal and are rigidly secured by rivets to the upper or outer skin 22 and lower or inner skin 26 to form, in effect, a box beam. A channel shaped strip 51 (FIGS. 5 and 7) of thermal insulation material is sandwiched between the lower surfaces of each of the spacer members and the inner skin 26 to avoid any significant heat transfer between the inner skin 26 and the outer skin 22. 
     Each of the side wall panels 14 is constructed or fabricated substantially the same as the roof panels 12. Thus referring to FIGS. 3 and 8, a rectangular wall panel 14 includes a corrugated or ribbed inner sheet metal skin 54 and a ribbed sheet metal outer skin 56 which are secured by rivets to a set of vertical or longitudinally extending sheet metal spacer members 58. The spacer members 58 are rigidly connected by horizontal or laterally extending sheet metal spacer members 62. As shown in FIG. 8, each of the longitudinally extending spacer members 58 has generally a channel-shaped configuration with outwardly projecting lip portions 63 which are riveted to the roll-formed inner and outer skins. Each of the laterally extending spacer members 62 is constructed similar to the spacer members 38 and has inwardly projecting return lip portions 64. The spacer members 62 also have end flanges 66 which are secured by rivets to the parallel spaced longitudinally extending spacer members 58 of the wall panel. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, the upper ends of the inner and outer skins of the wall panels 14 forming each side wall are rigidly connected by a channel-shaped horizontal spacer member 68 which has outwardly projecting lip portions 69 overlying the upper ends of the inner and outer skins 54 and 56. The top spacer member 68 is formed in sections and extends continuously the full length of the building and cooperates to align the wall panels. A similarly shaped channel-like spacer member 72 (FIG. 3) rigidly secures the lower end portions of the inner and outer skins of each wall panel 14 and receives the plate member 16 secured to the floor 18. While not shown, the end wall panels for the metal building are constructed substantially the same as the side wall panels 14, except that the end wall panels have a greater length or height and have upper ends which conform to the pitch of the building roof. One or both of the end walls may be provided with a large door opening according to the ultimate use of the metal building. 
     In the erection of a metal building in accordance with the invention, two or more side wall panels 14 are placed upon the floor plate 16 on each side of the building, and the overlapping skins of the wall panels are secured together by fasteners such as screws or blind rivets. The wall panels for one end of the building are also erected and connected to each other and to the adjacent side wall panels 14 at the corners of the building. A set of opposing roof panels 12 are positioned in place, and the inner end portions of the roof panels 12 are rigidly connected by the top plate or ridge member 76 (FIG. 4) of a ridge beam 78. The connection is formed by a set of bolts 81 which are longitudinally spaced along the ridge spacer member 43 and extend through the ridge spacer member and lower roof skin 26 of each roof panel 12 in addition to the ridge beam plate 76. Some of the bolts 81 also extend through the longitudinal spacer members of each roof panel. Thus the bolts 81 and plate 76 form a rigid connection between each set of opposing roof panels 12 and the ridge 13 and provide for transmitting substantial tension forces between the roof panels across the ridge. The next pair of opposing roof panels 12 are assembled, and the skins of adjacent roof panels overlap as shown in FIG. 6. The overlapping ribs of the skins are secured together by fasteners such as screws and/or blind rivets. 
     The ridge beam 78 also includes downwardly projecting side walls 84 (FIG. 4) and outwardly projecting bottom flanges 86, and is constructed in longitudinal sections which are coupled together as the erection of the building progresses from one end of the building towards the opposite end. The side walls 84 of the ridge beam 78 are also coupled together at longitudinally spaced intervals by rectangular ridge beam spacers 88 which are also formed of sheet metal and are secured to the side walls by rivets. The ridge beam 78 is also connected to opposite end walls of the building, and after the building is erected and the bolts 81 are completely tightened, a bottom sheet metal ridge beam cover 92 is secured to the bottom flanges 86 and cooperates to complete the ridge beam 78 in the form of a box beam. 
     After all of the roof panels 12 are erected and coupled together by the top plate 76 of the ridge beam 78, and the outer end portions of the roof panels 12 are coupled to the side walls 14, as will be explained later, a tapered wedge member 96 (FIG. 4) is inserted between the upwardly projecting flanges 44 of the ridge spacer members 43 of the roof panels 12, and sections of the wedge member 96 extend continuously the full length of the building. After the wedge member 96 is positioned so that it forms a snug fit between the flanges 44, the wedge member 96 is drilled with holes which align with performed holes within the flanges 44, and a series of bolts 98 are inserted through the holes to secure the wedge member in place. Thus the wedge member 96 functions to transfer compression forces between the upper or outer skins 22 of opposing sets of roof panels 12 across the ridge 13 and also functions to compensate for accumulated tolerance in the manufacture and assembly of the roof panels. A ridge cover plate 102 is placed over the wedge member 96 and is secured by screws to the outer skins 22 of the roof panels 12. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, the outer end portion of each roof panel 12 seats upon the upper header and spacer member 68 which connects the upper ends of the side walls panels 14 of each side wall. An inner attachment plate 105 slopes at an angle of approximately 45 degrees between the inner skins of the roof panels 12 and wall panels 14, and the inner attachment plate 105 is formed in longitudinal sections in a manner similar to the ridge beam 78 and wedge member 96. V-shaped ribs 107 are formed along opposite edge portions of each attachment plate 105 for purpose of reinforcement, and the attachment plates may be ribbed or corrugated at longitudinally spaced intervals to provide additional compression strength. 
     The upper edge portion of each attachment plate 105 is rigidly secured to the roof panels 12 by a series of longitudinally spaced screws 110 each of which is threaded into a preassembled nut 112, preferably in the form of a &#34;Rivnut&#34; manufactured and marketed by The B. F. Goodrich Company. Each &#34;Rivnut&#34; extends through the inner skin 26 and a laterally extending spacer member 38 and secures these components together. Some of the &#34;Rivnuts&#34; also extend through the longitudinally extending spacer members 32 of the roof panels. 
     The lower edge portion of each inner attachment plate 105 is also rigidly connected to the side wall panels 14 by another set of screws 110. Each screw is threaded into an aligned &#34;Rivnut&#34; 112 which connects the overlapping portions of the longitudinally extending or vertical spacer members 58 and the uppermost laterally extending or horizontal spacer member 62 of each wall panel. 
     As also shown in FIG. 5, a laterally extending outer attachment plate 115 couples the outer end portions of the roof panels 12 to the upper end portions of the side wall panels 14, and is also formed in longitudinally continuous sections. The upper portion of each section of the outer attachment plate 115 is connected by bolts 116 to &#34;Rivnuts&#34; 112 secured to the overlapping portions of the eve spacer member 46 and end flanges of the longitudinal spacer members 32 of each roof panel 12. The lower portion of each section of the outer attachment plate 115 is secured by bolts 116 which are threaded into &#34;Rivnuts&#34; 112 secured to overlapping portions of the spacer members 58 and 68 of each wall panel 14 and to the outer skin 56. 
     Referring to FIGS. 9-12, a frameless metal building is constructed in accordance with the invention using a plurality or series of assembled roof panels and wall panels each of which is basically formed from a single metal sheet, with the roof and wall panels having substantially the same construction. Thus as shown in FIGS. 9-11, a plurality of roof panels 120 are each constructed by roll forming a metal sheet to produce parallel spaced and longitudinally extending primary corrugations 122 (FIG. 11). Each primary corrugation 122 is formed by an outer skin portion 124 which integrally connects parallel spaced side wall portions 126. Each of the roof panels 120 also includes inner skin portions 128 and 129 which either connect or extend from the side wall portions 126. Each of the outer skin portions 124 and each of the inner skin portions 128 and 129 includes a plurality of longitudinally extending secondary corrugations 132 which project outwardly of the building in the same direction as the primary corrugations 122, but are substantially smaller than the primary corrugations. 
     The side wall portions 126 of each primary corrugation 122 are rigidly connected by a plurality of longitudinally spaced spacer members 134. Each spacer member 134 is formed from sheet metal and has peripherally extending border flanges which are secured or fastened to the side wall portions 126 and to the outer skin portion 124 of the corresponding primary corrugation 122. After the roof panels 120 are assembled as illustrated in FIG. 9, the inner skin portions 128 and 129 of the roof panels are rigidly connected to a series of longitudinally spaced and laterally extending tie members 136 (FIG. 11) and 137 (FIG. 10). As illustrated, the tie members 136 and 137 are formed of sheet metal and are secured to the spacer members 134 by fasteners 138 and to the inner skin portions 128 and 129 by fasteners 139. 
     In the metal building embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9-14, the assembled roof panels 120 are supported by side wall panels 140 which are constructed substantially the same as the roof panels 120. Accordingly, the reference numbers used above for the components of the roof panels are also used to identify the same components of the wall panels. Referring to FIG. 10, the assembled side wall panels 140 have upper end portions which are notched so that the primary corrugations 122 of each wall panel 140 projects upwardly into the corresponding primary corrugations 122 of the overlying roof panels 120. The roof panels 120 and side wall panels 140 are rigidly connected along the eve portions of the building by an inner elongated tie member 143 which extends longitudinally of the building, with fasteners 144 connecting the adjacent side wall portions 126 of the interfitting roof panels 120 and side wall panels 140. 
     The outer skin portions 124 of the roof panels 120 and side wall panels 140 are also rigidly connected within each primary corrugation 122 of the panels by an angular shaped outer tie member 147 (FIG. 10) and corresponding fasteners. As also illustrated in FIG. 10, the assembled roof panels 120 are rigidly connected to the assembled side wall panels 140 of each side wall by an inclined corrugated sheet metal brace member or panel 152 which extends the length of the building along the eve portion. Each brace panel 152 is rigidly connected to the laterally extending tie members 137 within the roof panels 120 and within the side wall panels 140. 
     Referring to FIG. 12, a formed generally L-shaped metal spacer member 155 extends laterally within each primary corrugation 122 of each roof panel 120 and includes an upper flange portion 156 which abuts the upper or inner end of the adjacent outer skin portion 124 of the corrugation. A similarly formed metal spacer member 158 extends externally between the side wall portions 126 of each pair of adjacent primary corrugations 122 of the roof panels 120 and includes an upper flange portion 159 and a lower flange portion 161. All of the spacer members 155 and 158 are rigidly secured by fasteners to the adjacent side wall portions 126 of the roof panels 120. 
     A ridge beam 165 (FIG. 12) extends the length of the building and includes an upper flange portion 167 and a lower flange portion 168 rigidly connected by a vertical web portion 169. The inner end portions of the roof panels 120 seat on the bottom flange portion 168 of the ridge beam 165, and fasteners 172 connect the bottom flange portion 168 of the ridge beam to the inner skin portions 128 and 129 of the roof panels and to the bottom flange portions 161 of the spacer members 158. A ridge cover member or plate 175 overlies the inner end portions of the assembled roof panels 120 and extends the length of the building. The ridge plate is connected by fasteners 176 to the upper flange 167 of the ridge beam 165 and is also connected by fasteners 177 to the upper flange portion 159 of the spacer members 158 which are located in an alternating manner on opposite sides of the ridge beam 165. Another set of fasteners 178 also connect the ridge plate member 175 to the outer skin portions 124 of the roof panels 120. 
     A filler or spacer strip 179 extends between the upper flange portion 156 of each spacer member 155 and the opposing upper flange portion 167 of the ridge beam 165. Thus the upper flange portion 167 of the ridge beam 165 and the ridge plate 175 cooperate with the fasteners to transmit compression forces across the upper part of the ridge portion and between the roof panels 120 located on opposite sides of the ridge beam 165. The lower flange portion 168 of the ridge beam 165 and the fasteners 172 connected to the inner skin portions 128 and 129 and spacer members 134 of the roof panels function to transmit tension forces across the lower part of the ridge and between the lower or inner skin portions of the roof panels 120. 
     FIG. 13 illustrates the connection of a typical roof panel 120 to a typical end wall panel 180 which is constructed substantially the same as a side wall panel 140 except that the upper end surface of each end wall panel 180 is inclined to mate with the slope or pitch of the roof panels 120. Preferably, this pitch of the roof panels 120 is less than 17 degrees, for example, on the order of 10 degrees. Since the end wall panels 180 are constructed substantially the same as the roof panels described above, the same reference numbers are used for common components. 
     A series of channel-shaped spacer members 182 extend between the side wall portions 126 of each primary corrugation 122 of each end wall panel 180, and an external angle strip or plate 184 connects the outer skin portions 124 of each end wall panel 180 to the inner skin portion 129 of the overlying roof panel 120. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 13, the bottoms of the side wall panels 140 and the end wall panels 180 seat on corresponding formed metal base plates 188 which are secured to the upper surface of the supporting foundation of concrete floor 18. A typical corner connection of an end wall panel 180 and a side wall panel 140 is illustrated in FIG. 14. At each corner, an inner skin portion 129 of the corner side wall panel 140 is formed at right angles around the corner and connects with the inner skin portion 129 of an end wall panel 180. 
     The &#34;single skin&#34; panel building described above in connection with FIGS. 9-14 is shown with assembled vertical side wall panels 140 and assembed vertical end wall panels 180. However, in reference to FIG. 15, it is within the scope of the invention to incline the assembled wall panels, for example, to incline the side wall panels 140&#39; so that the opposite side walls coverage towards the top or roof of the building. This results in the use of shorter rectangular roof panels 120&#39; and wider brace panels 152&#39;. Such a building configuration with inclined or tapering side wall is particularly suited for use in storing grains. The side and end wall panels may also be provided with separate sheet metal inner skins which extend at least partially up the walls to prevent the grain from filling the channels defined by the primary corrugations 122. 
     From the drawings and the above description, it is apparent that a metal building constructed in accordance with the present invention, provides desirable features and advantages. For example, after the roof panels and wall panels are assembled as described above, the assembled panels have a combined total strength substantially higher than the strength of each panel per se times the number of panels. This higher total strength of the assembled panels results primarily from the transmission of a concentrated load in one panel or group of panels to the laterally adjacent and/or opposing panels through the longitudinally extending ridge beam and eve attachment plates. Furthermore, the coupling of the roof panels across the ridge by means of a ridge member or plate and/or the wedge member along with the fasteners, provides for utilizing the high tensile strength of the inner sheet metal roof skins or skin portions and the high compression strength of the outer roof skins or skin portion for carrying the loads. In addition, as mentioned above, the use of a wedge member compensates for accumulated tolerances in the manufacture and assembly of the roof panels. 
     Another important feature of a building constructed in accordance with the invention is provided by the coupling of the roof panels to the wall panels by means of the inner attachment plates or panels and the outer attachment plates. These attachment plates or panels function to transfer the stress or loads from the roof panels to the wall panels and to utilize the inner and outer skin portions of the wall panels to resist bending of the roof panels. Thus the construction and assembly of the roof and wall panels effectively utilizes the inherent strength of the shett metal skin portions of the panels and thereby eliminate the need for a frame and its cost of erection along with the need for roof purlins and wall girts. 
     Since the sheet metal used for forming the components of the roof panels and wall panels are of substantially lighter gages than are commonly used for forming roof purlins and wall girts for a conventional metal building of the same size, the total weight of a building constructed in accordance with the invention is significantly lower than the total weight of a conventional metal building of the same size. As a result, the cost of metal used in constructing a building of the invention is significantly lower than the cost of the metal used in a conventional metal building. The relatively light weight of the roof panels and wall panels, for example, less than 160 pounds for a building having a width of 36 feet, also provides for a simple and quick erection of the building without the need for a crane. 
     The prefabrication of the roof panels and wall panels also permits quick assembly of the panels, beginning at one end of the building and progressing towards the opposite end. The precise placement of the prepunched holes in the ridge and eave members also assures positive location of the panels and permits erection of the building by labor less skilled than the labor normally required for conventional metal buildings. It is also apparent that the roof panels 12 and wall panels 14 may enclose a thermal insulation material when desired. With respect to the &#34;single skin&#34; metal building disclosed in connection with FIGS. 9-14, the spacer members or panels 134 within the primary corrugations and the continuous the members 136, 137 and 143 cooperate with the corrugated cross-sectional configuration of the panels to provide the assembled panels with a maximum strength/weight ratio. 
     While the forms of building structures and their methods of construction and assembly herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.