Lightweight Concrete Wall Panel With Metallic Studs

Abstract

A wall panel is provided that is comprised of a plurality of spaced foam insulative blocks. Between each block is a metal stud that spans the height of the wall panel and provides sufficient strength to counteract any compressive loads the wall panel may encounter. The presence of the insulation panels provides large surface areas for the receipt of a thin layer of cementious or gypsum based material that is adapted to receive nails and be easily cut. In addition, the decreased weight of the exterior wall allows for the omission of reinforcing internal structure within the exterior wall which is found in the prior art, thereby providing a lightweight and easy to fabricate wall.

Description

[0001]This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 806,598, filed Jul. 5, 2006, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.[0002]This application is also related to pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 122,792, filed May 4, 2005, which is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 096,705, filed Apr. 1, 2005, which is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 772,148, filed Feb. 3, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,100,336, which is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 423,286, filed Apr. 24, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,908, 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. In addition, this application is related to U.S. patent applicat...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]As briefly mentioned above, the exterior wall of embodiments of the present invention is made of high performance or lightweight concrete. For example, the concrete may be comprised partially of sand expanded perlite or the like for aggregate with polyvinyl acelate (PVA) fiber embedded therein. Concrete of this type allows for the incorporation of fasteners, such as nails and screws and allows the wall panel to be cut like wood, which translates to flexibility in the construction of residential buildings. It is also another aspect of the present invention that the concrete layer be easily modified to accept any number of interior and exterior textures, surfaces or cladding materials. More specifically, the present invention is capable of being finished with stucco, siding, brick, drywall or other type of interior or exterior surface finish. More importantly, exterior claddings of bricks or stones for example, may be employed into the casting when the wall panel is being fabricated thereby yielding a finished exterior facade. Additionally, the exterior layer may comprise SHEETCRETE™ by Oldcastle Precast, Inc.” or glasscrete as an alternative material to concrete.

[0020]It will be appreciated that shipping the wall panels of the present invention from the factory to the job site will be enhanced because of the low weight of the wall panels. Building erection at the job site will be enhanced for similar reasons. For instance, buildings can be retrofitted by mounting the lightweight wall panels of the present invention directly onto the exterior of the building or by removing exterior layers of the building and then mounting the wall panels of the present invention onto desired sections of the building.

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 increased expenses arising not only from the amount of materials needed for fabrication, but also the cost of transporting and erecting the modules.

Building panel 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 integrating reinforcement materials.

In some previous approaches, wall panels were cast so as to include any necessary openings that require careful planning and design, thus increasing costs.

Such post-casting procedures, for example cutting through thick and / or steel-reinforced panels are labor-intensive and expensive.

Further, in many processes for creating openings, there is a relatively high potential for cracking or splitting of the wall panel.

The thickness of the exterior wall and the presence of metallic reinforcement makes the wall panel difficult to modify during construction.

The siding protects the buildings from rain, wind, snow, etc. which in turn can cause damage to the framing and other elements of the building.

However, the siding, while meant to protect the interior of the building from the elements, is often itself susceptible to deterioration from the elements.

This corrugated metal siding, however, is susceptible to rusting which can present an unsightly appearance along with allowing moisture and wind to penetrate into the interior of the building.

While using galvanized steel or other rust resistance metals can help prevent rust from forming, these are often not perfect solutions.

Additionally, in the case of corrugated metal siding mounted to the building structure, the insulation located between the metal siding and the building structure is often compressed therebetween, thereby reducing the R-value of the insulation.

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