Method and apparatus for fabricating a low density wall panel with interior surface finished

Abstract

A fabricated low density concrete foundation / wall panel is provided with a plurality of insulation panels and reinforcing ribs to improve strength and reduce the density of the wall panel. The wall panels are easily placed and interconnected together to quickly provide a foundation adapted to support the main walls of a home, for example. The fabricated wall panels in one embodiment generally includes an inner wall sheathing that is interconnected to the load-supporting segments of the wall panel during fabrication.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 60 / 697,169 and 60 / 744,736, filed Jul. 6, 2005 and Apr. 12, 2006, respectively, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties herein. This application is also related to pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 096,705, which is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 772,148, filed Feb. 3, 2004, which is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 423,286, filed Apr. 24, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 150,465, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,090, filed May 17, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 093,292, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,683, filed Mar. 6, 2002, each of the pending applications or issued patents being incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to building components, and mo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011] It is one aspect of the present invention to provide a composite wall panel that has superior strength, high insulating properties, is lightweight for transportation and stacking purposes and is cost effective to manufacture. As used herein the term foundation wall panel, wall panel, foundation / wall panel all refer to a manufactured, low density wall comprised at least partially of concrete and which can be utilized as a foundation wall or any other wall in a commercial or residential structure. Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention, a substantially planar insulative core with interior and exterior surfaces is positioned between concrete panels that are reinforced with carbon fiber grids positioned substantially adjacent to the insulative core. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the interior layer of concrete is comprised of a low-density concrete. Furthermore, as used herein, insulative core may comprise any type of material that is thermally efficient and has a low heat transfer coefficient. These materials may include, but are not limited to, Styrofoam®-type materials such as expanded polystyrenes, extruded polystyrenes, extruded polypropylene, polyisocyanurate, combinations thereof and other materials, including wood materials, rubbers, and other materials well known in the construction industry.

[0012] It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a lightweight, composite concrete wall panel that is adapted to be selectively interconnected to a structural steel frame. Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention attachment hardware is selectively positioned within the wall panel during fabrication that is used to quickly and efficiently interconnect the panel to a structural frame.

[0013] It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a low density concrete wall panel that has sufficient compressive strength to allow a second building panel to be stacked in a vertical relationship, on which can support a vertical load in the form of a floor truss or other structural member. Alternately, it is another related aspect of the present invention to provide a composite lightweight wall panel that can be utilized in a corner adjacent to a second wall panel, or aligned horizontally with a plurality of wall panels in a side by side relationship.

Problems solved by technology

Previous attempts to provide these types of building panels have failed due to the expensive transportation costs and less than ideal insulative and thermal conductivity properties associated with prefabricated concrete wire-reinforced products.

Further, due to the brittle nature of concrete, many of the previously used building panels are prone to cracks and other damage during transportation.

The relatively large weight per square foot of building panels of the prior art has resulted in high expenses arising not only from the amount of materials needed for fabrication, but also the cost of transporting and erecting the modules.

Module weight also places effective limits on the height of structures, such as stacked modules e.g., due to load limitations of the building foundations, footings and / or lowermost modules.

Furthermore, there is substantial fabrication labor expense that can arise from design, material, and labor costs associated with providing and placing reinforcement materials.

In some previous approaches, panels were required to be specially designed and cast so as to include any necessary openings, requiring careful planning and design, thus increasing costs due to the special, non-standard configuration of such panels.

Such post-casting procedures such as cutting, particularly through the thick and / or steel-reinforced panels as described above, is a relatively labor-intensive and expensive process.

In many processes for creating openings, there is a relatively high potential for cracking or splitting of the panel or module.

One other problem associated with metallic wire or bar materials used in conjunction with concrete is the varying rates of expansion and contraction.

Thus, with extreme heating and cooling the embedded metallic materials tend to separate from the concrete, thus creating cracks which may lead to exposure to moisture and the eventual degradation of both the concrete and wire reinforcement due to corrosion.

Although providing an advantage over homogenous concrete panels, the composite panel disclosed in the '375 patent does not provide the necessary strength and stiffness properties required during transportation and in high wind environments.

Further, the metallic wire mesh materials are susceptible to corrosion when exposed to water during fabrication, and have poor insulative qualities due to the high heat transfer properties of metallic wire.

Thus, the panels disclosed in the '375 patent may be more susceptible to failure when exposed to stresses during transportation, assembly or subsequent use.

Unfortunately, the insulative properties of this invention are relatively poor due to the physical nature of the concrete and steel.

Further, the excessive weight of the panels and inherent problems associated with transportation, stacking, etc. are present.

Previously known prefabricated building panels have also not been found to have sufficient tensile and compressive strength when utilizing only concrete insulative foam materials or wire mesh.

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