Modular Building Panels With Interlocking Coupling Portions
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Modular insulated building panels require significant lead time for custom fabrication and are often large and cumbersome, complicating transportation and on-site assembly, which necessitates skilled labor and specialized equipment.
Innovation Solution
The development of building panels with insulating members sandwiched between sheathing members featuring coupling portions with recessed and extension portions, allowing for interlocking and coplanar surfaces to facilitate easy assembly and reduce heat loss, enabling quicker construction with reduced labor and equipment needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If custom-fabricated modular building panels are used, then thermal efficiency and structural integrity are improved, but lead time and manufacturing complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The building panel is divided into modular components: insulating members with standardized dimensions and sheathing members that can be separately manufactured and assembled. This segmentation allows for standardized production of individual components while maintaining the thermal efficiency of the complete assembly, thereby reducing lead time without sacrificing performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adopts standardized dimension parameters for insulating members (e.g., 4x8 feet with 2-inch thickness) and sheathing members that can be produced using conventional equipment. These parameter standardizations enable mass production and reduce manufacturing lead time while preserving the thermal efficiency through maintained insulation thickness and material properties.
2Productivity
If large modular building panels are used, then construction speed is improved, but transportation and positioning become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The panel system is segmented into manageable insulating members and sheathing members that can be transported separately and assembled on-site. This segmentation reduces transportation difficulties while maintaining construction speed through rapid assembly of the modular components using the coupling portion mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows components to be nested or stacked for efficient transportation. The insulating members with coplanar side surfaces enable stable stacking, and the modular nature allows for compact arrangement during transport, reducing logistical challenges while preserving the ability to quickly assemble large structures.
3Stability of the object's composition
If specialized equipment and skilled labor are used, then positioning precision and structural stability are improved, but labor costs and equipment requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling portions are designed to enable self-aligning and self-locking of panel components. The recessed portion and extension portion geometry allows panels to automatically position themselves correctly during assembly, reducing the need for specialized positioning equipment and highly skilled labor while maintaining structural stability through the interlocking mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling portion acts as an intermediary mechanism between panel components, providing a simple mechanical interface that ensures proper alignment and stable connection without requiring complex equipment. The standardized coupling design facilitates easy assembly while maintaining structural integrity through the interlocking recessed and extension portions.
4Loss of energy
If coplanar side surfaces are used, then heat loss is reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The requirement for coplanar surfaces is applied only to the side surfaces of the insulating member, not the entire panel assembly. This segmented approach to precision requirements reduces manufacturing complexity while still achieving the heat loss reduction benefit by ensuring proper alignment at the critical insulation boundaries.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention specifies that only the side surfaces of the insulating member need to be substantially coplanar, rather than requiring all panel surfaces to be perfectly aligned. This parameter refinement reduces the overall manufacturing precision requirements while maintaining the thermal efficiency benefit through proper insulation alignment.
Data Source
AI summary
A building panel includes an insulating member having a first surface and a second, opposing surface, and a first sheathing member secured to the first surface of the insulating member and including a coupling portion. The coupling portion has a recessed portion, a first extension portion adjacent the recessed portion, and a second extension portion on the opposite side of the recessed portion from the first extension portion. A sum of a width dimension of the first extension portion and a width dimension of the second extension portion is substantially equal to a width dimension of the recessed portion, and at least one side surface of the insulating member is substantially coplanar with a respective side surface of the first sheathing member.