DESCRIPTION

This patent relates to the construction industry and in particular it concerns building panels for the construction of walls, pillars and other building structures.

Walls in buildings are currently built with prefabricated elements placed side by side and one on top of the other with the interposition of cement mortar.

The most common prefabricated elements used in the construction of walls are bricks, that is, squared clay blocks in standardized sizes.

Bricks are very expensive, are heavy, which significantly increases the weight of the structure, and are small, which results in time consuming operations to build walls.

There are known perforated bricks, that is, elements in clay with holes or other perforations consisting of a parallelepiped perimeter wall with partitions inside. The perimeter wall and the partitions are orthogonal to each other.

Perforated bricks are lighter than solid bricks, but still require a long time to build walls.

There are known panel elements, usually made of concrete or of two or more materials, both structural and insulating. Said panel elements have a high production cost and usually have larger dimensions than bricks resulting in a smaller number of them being necessary to build walls. However, they are heavier and bulkier so as to require the aid of cranes, hoists or several persons for installation. Anti-seismic regulations, in force in areas particularly prone to earthquakes, require that the structure of certain walls, such as load-bearing walls at least, include metal framework to stiffen the structure of buildings.

Nearly all buildings, depending on the climate zone, have external walls consisting of two partitions placed side by side with a layer of heat insulation material interposed between them.

Patent application US 2007/0277476 relates to a modular system for the construction of temporary walls made up of a plurality of panels suited to be installed one on top of the other and supported by lateral uprights. Each panel is internally divided into a plurality of longitudinal compartments, and on a face of the panel there is a through slot leading to one of said compartments for the insertion of T-shaped support elements.

U.S. patent 3151856 relates to a construction panel incorporating built-in elements for the connection with other panels installed laterally, above it or facing it. In particular, the connection between facing panels is achieved by inserting the T-shaped ends of the spacing rods into concave elements having a substantially linear shape and buried into the faces of the panels themselves.

This patent relates to elements for building applications suitable for constructing two side-by-side parallel walls, the space between which is filled with binder material and one or more metal reinforcing structures. The new elements for building applications comprise at least two or more panels, facing and parallel to each other, provided with at least one spacer and connection unit for said panels.

The design includes one or more panels made of insulation material, for example, interposed between said panels and held in place by said spacer and connection units. Each panel has a generally right-angled parallelepiped shape with a rectangular base.

Basically, each one of said panels comprises two vertical side faces with a rectangular shape, facing and parallel to each other, arranged with the longer side horizontal and interconnected by at least one upper and one lower horizontal face. Between said vertical and/or horizontal faces there are one or more vertical and horizontal partitions such as to define compartments arranged horizontally and open on the two shorter sides of the two vertical faces of the panel.

On one of the two faces, preferably close to the upper and lower longer sides, there are at least two linear openings, extending either horizontally or vertically, between said two shorter vertical sides of said panel.

In particular, said two openings are preferably linear and connect a compartment inside the panel with the external side of the vertical face. According to the invention, the upper face of the panel has a projection parallel to the longer side of the side faces and the lower face has a recess or a seat parallel to the longer side of the side faces complementary to said projection.

In an equivalent embodiment the lower face has a projection and the upper face has the complementary recess.

According to the invention, the vertical sides of said panel are at a right angle or a shorter vertical side of said panel has an arched convex shape and the other vertical side of said panel has an arched concave shape to complement said convex side.

Said panel is made of any suitable material such as concrete or, preferably, clay. The internal compartments of said panel not involved in housing the ends of said spacer and connection units may be filled with heat insulation material. According to a first embodiment of the invention, said spacer and connection unit comprises a connection element that is symmetric with respect to its centre and in turn comprises, starting from the end and proceeding towards the centre: a shaped portion suited to be housed in the compartment provided with the opening of each panel, a linear portion able to pass through said opening and slide through the same opening and a central connection portion.

Each connection element includes anchorage portions to lock the position of said insulation panels, as described and claimed below.

Each connection element may be made of any suitable material, preferably bent iron rod.

The panels and connection elements described above are used together to build structures consisting of two side-by-side and parallel walls between which one or more metal reinforcing structures are inserted and which are then filled with binder material.

Each one of the two walls is obtained by coupling multiple panels: each panel is joined to identical panels so that the vertical convex side of each panel is coupled with the vertical concave side of the adjacent panel forming a horizontal row of panels; multiple horizontal rows of panels are placed one of top the other so that the upper projection of each underlying panel is coupled with the recess or seat of the overlying panel.

The panels of the two walls are arranged so that the linear openings of the panels of one wall are facing the linear openings of the panels of the other wall. Essentially the two walls are made of panels placed side by side and one on top of the other with the linear openings facing the internal space between the two walls. In particular, the openings of each panel of a wall are at the same height and facing the opening of an identical panel of the other adjacent wall.

Each one of the connection elements is applied to two panels facing each other of the two walls so as to keep them connected and spaced.

In particular, each connection element is applied during the installation of the panels so that a shaped portion of it is housed in a compartment of the panel of one wall and the other shaped portion of said connection element is housed in the compartment of the corresponding facing panel of the other wall. The linear portion of the connection element close to each shaped portion passes through the linear opening of each panel.

It is preferable that the shaped portion of said connection element is housed in the compartment of a panel and in the corresponding compartment of the adjacent panel so as to decrease the number of connection elements required and increase the stability and solidity between the different parts.

The design includes the use of heat insulation panels joined to the panels and interposed between them.

These heat insulation panels have substantially the same width and height as each panel and an appropriate thickness.

Each insulation panel is secured to the corresponding panel with the aid of said anchoring portions of said connection elements which connect the mutually facing panels of the two walls.

According to the invention, said insulation panels have, on their vertical sides, some seats suited to house and allow the passage of said connection elements. In the space between the two faces of panels spaced and held together by said connection elements, or the space between the insulation panels secured to said panels, at least one reinforcing metal structure, typically made of electrowelded steel mesh and/or metal rods and binder material, typically concrete, is suitably installed.

To that end, according to the invention, the central connection portion of said connection elements may have one or more shaped parts designed to sustain and support one or more horizontal reinforcing bars parallel to the surface of the wall to be built.

The panels thus form formwork in which to cast the concrete.

The concrete and metal reinforcing structure are the resistant load-bearing structure of the building to be constructed.

Said connection elements contribute to the structure of the metal reinforcement.

In a second embodiment of the invention, said spacer and connection unit comprises, in combination with said connection elements, one or more additional spacers suited to keep said insulation panels interposed between the panels and to keep the metal reinforcing structure in position.

Each of said spacers is preferably symmetrical with respect to its midpoint and comprises, starting from one end and proceeding toward the centre: one supporting end or portion in contact with the face of the insulation panel and a central connecting portion, on which there is at least one shaped portion resting on the metal grid of the reinforcing structure.

Said spacers are placed on the metal grid of the reinforcing structure placed between the panels and said insulation panels are inserted in the spaces between said supporting ends of the spacers and said panels, where they are held in place adhering to the panels themselves. Said facing panels are then mutually bound by inserting said connection elements, which hold the assembly formed by the panels, insulation panels, spacing elements and metal reinforcing structures together.

The insulation panels give the building excellent heat insulation and soundproofing. In particular, the lateral seats of the panels made of insulation material for the housing and passage of said connection elements allow a portion of the construction bonding material to enter the compartment of the panel in which each connection element is inserted, securing it to the panel itself.

According to the invention, there are panels having an arched concave vertical side and the other vertical side arranged at 45 degrees with respect to the long faces of the panel, so that they can be used for the construction of corner walls or pillars. In addition, there are also union elements with a round vertical section, or in any case having two opposing arched vertical walls, suitable to join the arched vertical sides of two panels with the 45 degree vertical side placed side by side.

Such panels can be used to cover walls with the so-called "cladding" technique. In this case said panels are fixed to the walls using anchor plates having a substantially continuous face capable of being secured to the existing wall and one or more parallel profiled projections suited to be inserted into the compartments of the panels with linear openings.

It is possible to use spacers suited to be interposed between the panels forming the cladding and/or between the cladding and the wall, wherein said spacers could be symmetrical for cladding with a ventilated facade or asymmetric for simple cladding.

These panels may be used as a base or lower slab for the construction of reinforced concrete floors. In the attached drawings some practical embodiments of the invention are presented by way of example without limitation.

Figure la shows a vertical section of the elements for building applications which are the subject of this patent joined together according to a first embodiment, with panels (P), insulation panels (H) and spacer and connection units comprising connection elements (D) with anchorage portions (D3, D5) and shaped parts (D4') to hold and support one or more reinforcement bars.

Figure lb shows a vertical section of the elements for building applications which are the subject of this patent joined together in a second embodiment, with panels (P), insulation panels (H), connection elements (D) and spacer elements (S) suited to hold said insulation panels (H) in place and provided with shaped portions (S4) to lay on the reinforcement bars.

Figures 2a, 2b and 2c show three views of an embodiment of the panel (P) comprising two vertical side faces (PI , P2) with a rectangular shape, arranged side by side and parallel to each other, with the longer side horizontal and interconnected by one horizontal upper (P3) and one horizontal lower (P4) face. Between said vertical (PI , P2) and horizontal (P3, P4) faces there are vertical and horizontal partitions (P5) such as to define compartments (Pv), arranged horizontally and open on the two shorter sides (Pm, Pn) of the two vertical faces (PI , P2) of the panel (P). On one of the two faces (PI) there are at least two linear openings (Pa), substantially horizontal, extending between said two shorter vertical sides (Pm, Pn) of said panel (P).

As shown in Figure 2c, the upper face (P3) of the panel (P) has a projection (Pr) and the lower face (P4) has a recess or seat (Ps) that is complementary to said projection (Pr). As shown in Figure 2b, one lower vertical side (Pn) of said panel is arched and convex and the other vertical side (Pm) of said panel (P) is arched, concave and complementary to said other convex side (Pn).

Figure 2d shows a view of a second embodiment of the panel (P), with vertical sides (Pn, Pm) provided with seats or protrusions for coupling with the corresponding sides of other homologous panels.

Figures 2e and 2f show two views of a third embodiment of the panel (P), made of concrete or another suitable material.

Figures 3a and 3b show two views of the connection element (D) made according to a first embodiment.

In this example, the connection element (D) consists of an iron rod bent to obtain: a first shaped portion (Dl ) suited to be housed in the compartment (Pv) with opening (Pa) of each panel (P);

a first linear portion (D2) suited to pass through said opening (Pa) in the panel (P) and slide through the opening (Pa) itself;

a first anchorage portion (D3);

a central connection portion (D4);

a second anchorage portion (D5);

a second linear portion (D6);

- a second shaped portion (D7).

Each shaped portion (Dl , D7) consists of multiple sections of iron rod bent so as to generically follow the comers of a parallelepiped such as to be housed and slide in the compartment (Pv) with openings (Pa) of the panel

(P).

Each anchorage portion (D3, D5) consists of multiple sections of iron rod bent so as to form the shape containing the insulation panels (H) adjacent to the face (PI ) with opening (Pa) of the panel (P). The central connection portion (D4) has a substantially central shaped area (D4 ¹ ) suited to hold and support one or more reinforcing rods parallel to the surface of the wall to be built.

Figures 4a and 4b show two views of the insulation panel (H) with a width and height substantially equal to the width and height of each panel (P). Figure 4c shows a view of an embodiment of the insulation panel (H).

Each insulation panel (H) has, on its vertical sides (HI , H2), some seats (Ha) suited to house and allow the passage of the spacer and connection units (D, T).

The relative positioning of the panels (P), spacer and connection units (D, T) and insulation panel (H) is shown in Figures la, lb, 5 and 6.

The panels (P) are placed side by side and one on top of the other to form two parallel walls (Rl , R2).

Each panel (P) is placed side by side with identical panels (P) so that the convex vertical side (Pn) of each panel (P) is joined with the concave vertical side (Pm) of the adjacent panel (P) to form horizontal rows of panels (P).

For example, between each panel (P) and the following panel of a wall (Rl) one or more of said spacer and connection units (D) are inserted as shown in Figures 5 and 6, so that the shaped portion (Dl , D7) of said spacer and connection unit (D) is housed in the compartment (Pv) of a panel (P) and in the corresponding compartment (Pv) of the adjacent panel (P) so that the linear portion (D2, D6) of the connection element (D) passes through the linear opening (Pa) of at least one of said two panels (P). The other shaped portion (D7, Dl) of said connection element (D) is housed in the compartment (Pv) of a facing panel (P) of the other wall (R2) and in the corresponding compartment (Pv) of the adjacent panel (P) (Figures 1 and 6). During the installation of the panels (P) and the connection elements (D), the insulation panels (H) are also installed so that they adhere to said panels (P) and the linear portions (D2, D6) of said connection elements (D) housed in the seats (Ha) of the insulation panels (H). The insulation panels (H) are kept adherent to the panels (P) by anchorage portions (D3) of the connection elements (D).

In the space (C) thus obtained between the two walls (Rl , R2) of panels (P) and between the insulation panels (H) one or more metal reinforcing structures are installed and it is filled with binder material.

Figure 7 shows an example of embodiment of a column using the connection elements (D) described above and panels (P) with a vertical side placed at 45 degrees with respect to the longer faces (PI , P2) of the panel

(P).

Said embodiment uses union elements (O) that are generically round or in any case have two arched sides complementary to the concave arched sides

(Pm) of the panels (P).

Figure 8 shows an embodiment of a corner, with connection elements (F), provided with shaped and angled portions or ends (Fl , F7) with two parts forming the corresponding angle to be made.

Figure 9a shows the use of said panels (P) as a cladding application on existing walls. In this case the attachment of said panels (P) to an existing wall is achieved through the use of anchor plates (M) having a substantially continuous face (Ml) suited to be secured to the existing wall and one or more parallel profiled projections (M2) suited to be inserted into the compartments (Pv) with linear openings (Pa) of the panels (P).

Figure 9b shows the use of said panels (P) for a wall cladding. In this case the attachment of said panels (P) to an existing wall is achieved by using substantially elongated anchorage elements (Nl) suited to be driven in the wall (P) and one or more spacers (N2) suited to be interposed between the cladding panels and/or between the cladding and the wall.

Figure 10A shows a first example of use of said panels (P) as a base or lower slab for the construction of reinforced concrete floors.

Figure 1 Ob shows one example of embodiment of a connection element (T) specially shaped for the construction of reinforced concrete floors, comprising a shaped portion (Tl) suited to be housed in the compartment (Pv) with opening (Pa) of a panel (P) located externally while the linear parts (T3) are suited to be connected to the reinforcement bars of the floor.

In an alternative embodiment, illustrated in Figure lb, said spacer and connection unit comprises at least one connection element (T) and at least one spacer (S).

Figure 1 1 shows a view of an example of said connection element (T).

In this example, the connection element (T) comprises an iron rod bent to obtain: a first shaped portion (Tl) suited to be housed in the compartment (Pv) with opening (Pa) of each panel (P);

a first linear portion (T2) suited to pass through said opening (Pa) of the panel (P) and slide through the opening (Pa) itself;

a central connection portion (T3);

a second linear portion (T4);

a second shaped portion (T5).

Figure 12a shows a view of a first embodiment of said spacer (S).

In this example, said spacer (S) comprises a substantially elongated element, for example made of sheet metal bent to form:

a portion or end (SI) to be in contact with the face of the insulation panel (H); at least one first shaped portion (S2) to lay on the metal grid of the reinforcing structure;

a central connection portion (S3);

at least one second shaped portion (S4) to lay on the metal grid of the reinforcing structure;

at least one second portion or end (S5) to be in contact with the face of the insulation panel (H).

In this example, said shaped portion (S2, S4) to lay on the metal grid of the reinforcing structure comprises an arched portion (S21, S41) with downward concavity.

Figure 12b shows a view of a second embodiment of said spacer (S), where said shaped portions (S2 ¹ , S4') to be in contact with the metal grid of the reinforcing structure comprise two or more arched portions (S21 ¹ , S41') that interfere with each other to engage with said metal reinforcement bars.

In Figure 12c shows a view of a third embodiment of said spacer (S).

Therefore with reference to the preceding description and the attached drawings the following claims are made.