Angled Edge Wall Elements for Thermal Bridge Elimination

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional building methods, such as loose timber houses and prefabricated buildings, face challenges of prolonged construction time, exposure to weather, and high costs due to the need for expensive equipment and transportation.

Innovation Solution

A wall element design featuring angled edges and side elements with a rectangular cross-section, allowing for prefabrication to specific sizes, facilitating easy assembly and reducing thermal bridges, made from environmentally friendly materials like wood or paper, which can be recycled, and incorporating insulating materials to minimize energy consumption.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If loose timber house method is used, then building flexibility is improved, but construction time increases and exposure to weather damage increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebuilding flexibilityVSAvoidconstruction time
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The wall elements are pre-assembled with insulation and cladding in a controlled factory environment before delivery to the construction site. This preliminary preparation of building components eliminates time-consuming on-site assembly operations and protects materials from weather exposure during construction.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The building is divided into standardized wall elements that can be independently manufactured and assembled. This segmentation allows for parallel production of multiple wall sections while maintaining design flexibility through modular configuration.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Productivity

If prefabricated elements are used, then construction speed is improved, but equipment cost and transportation cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconstruction speedVSAvoidequipment cost
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The wall elements are designed with optimized dimensions and weights that can be handled by manual labor or simple lifting equipment. By adjusting the size and mass parameters of the prefabricated components, the patent eliminates the need for expensive heavy-lifting cranes while maintaining fast assembly speeds.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Productivity

If prefabricated elements are used, then construction speed is improved, but transportation cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconstruction speedVSAvoidtransportation cost
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The building is divided into modular wall elements of optimized size that maximize transport efficiency while minimizing individual component weight. This segmentation allows standard transportation vehicles to carry multiple elements, reducing the number of trips and overall transportation cost compared to moving fewer, larger components.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

4Ease of operation

If angled edges are used in wall elements, then assembly ease is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveassembly easeVSAvoidedge angle precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The angled edges are implemented only at specific locations where they provide assembly guidance, while other portions of the wall elements maintain standard rectangular geometry. This localized application of asymmetry simplifies the overall manufacturing process while still providing the self-aligning benefit during assembly.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3201406B1Wall element, wall section of said elements and method for building thereof
Publication Date: 2019.12.18 PARALOX
  • EP3201406B1 patent drawingFigure 1a~1b
  • EP3201406B1 patent drawingFigure 2a~2b
  • EP3201406B1 patent drawingFigure 3a~3b

AI summary

The present invention relates to a wall element (10) comprising an upper (21 ) and a lower (22) edge element, and two side elements (/25, 26) between the upper and lower elements. A rectangular board (27) is covering the elements. The edges (23, 24) of the upper and lower elements are arranged at an angle a with respect to a plane P perpendicular to an outer surface of the panel. The angle a lies within the interval 20° to 45°. The invention further relates to a wall section comprising at least two wall elements and a method for building the wall section.