1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to building panels, particularly for the construction of houses. The invention is particularly concerned with a framework or skeleton panel which is formed as a grid of intersecting members, usually of wood-based material. The term "panel" will be used herein to include such a panel framework, and does not imply that this is a finished panel with insulation and/or facing sheets.
2. Prior Art
It is known to construct houses, and other buildings, from panels which are factory made, and which usually contain insulation. Examples of patents showing such panels are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,032, which issued Jun. 9, 1987 to Reynolds;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,105, which issued Aug. 23, 1988 to Tissington et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,974, which issued Jan. 23, 1990 to Mayhew et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,892, issued Jun. 9, 1987 to Ryther; and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,700, issued Apr. 8, 1997 to Wright et al.
Applicant has had considerable experience both with the panels of the last-mentioned '700 patent, of which he is co-inventor, and with those of the Tisssington et al. patent. Both these patents are concerned with factory made panels having a framework made of wood members, and insulated with rigid foam insulation injected between the wood members in the factory. In the last-mentioned patent, dimensional lumber is used to provide strength, while in the Tissington et al patent it is preferred to use board such as oriented strand board (OSB). OSB is cheaper than standard dimensional lumber and is more resistant to warping. These panels have been used to construct over one thousand buildings of many different types, with great success.
Panels of the type shown in the Tisssington et al. patent and in the '700 patent have great potential in export markets, since buildings can be erected with these panels using largely unskilled labor. However, it has become apparent that a serious drawback of these and similar panels, i.e panels fully assembled and insulated in the factory, is that the bulkiness of the insulation leads to high shipping costs which are disadvantageous for export markets. The shipping costs could be much reduced if it were possible to ship a kit of structural members which could easily be assembled into a panel on site, without the need to ship the insulation.
The present invention accordingly is concerned with a panel in the form of a framework which can be shipped in disassembled form, without any insulation. The basic structural members of the panel occupy about one-fifth of the volume occupied by a fully assembled and insulated, factory produced panel. The structural members of the panel can easily be assembled on site by unskilled workers to form a rigid panel framework. Insulation, and facing sheets for example of plywood, OSB, and many other materials, can be added in accordance with local requirements and availability.
The present invention makes use of novel structural members which can easily be put together to form a grid. Panels formed as grids of crossing, interlocking members, are not new per se, and the Mayhew and Ryther patents, as well as the '700 patent aforesaid, show such panels. However, the prior art panels have various drawbacks.
One drawback of many of the prior art designs is that the grid forming members, as for example in Mayhew et al. and Ryther, are too thin for their edges to reliably receive nails for the facing sheets.
Another drawback has been the need to use structural members additional to those of the basic panel itself. Firstly, such panels have generally needed some kind of rails or studs or side pieces to improve the appearance of any exposed edges of the panels, which otherwise show the ends of the lateral members. Such rails or studs are shown for example at 240 in FIG. 2 of Mayhew, and as 28 in FIG. 1 of Ryther. Secondly, the grid forming members in many cases have not been stiff enough to be used exclusively to form the panel; in Mayhew et al. the members 240 are in the nature of studs which add strength and stiffness. Accordingly, these prior constructions all require the use of members other than the basic grid forming members to complete the panel framework.
One special feature of this invention is that a panel framework can be entirely formed from a plurality of structural members of novel design, which can be all identical or can be of only two different designs. These basic members are used not only for the horizontal and vertical members of the panel grid, but also form its four edges, i.e. the side edges and end (e.g. top and bottom) edges of the panel, where they provide smooth relatively uninterrupted edge surfaces, while producing a panel of good strength and rigidity. The panel also has adequate nail receiving surfaces on both sides, even when formed of relatively thin material such as 3/4 inch thick OSB. Insulation and facing sheets can be added after assembly.
Furthermore, the novel structural members can also be used to produce beams and joists needed for building a house, and also floor panels which need higher strength than the basic wall panels. In fact it is possible to construct houses almost entirely from panels, joists and other parts produced from these one or two types of structural member, along with facing sheets, and insulation if required, which can be obtained locally. This avoids the need to organise shipments of the many different structural members usually needed to make a house, and avoids problems which frequently occur if there is a shortage or breakage of one or two structural members of a specialized design.