Building Structure and the Method of Erecting Buildings From Ribbed and Channelled Sheets

The present invention relates to a method of erecting buildings from commercially available metal sheets, as shown in FIG. 1 of the annexed drawing.

These sheets are available in standard width and are stiffened by ribs a which are obtained by pressing operations in a known manner. The sheets have also pressed out channels which--while also contributing to stiffening of the sheet--serve also for connecting juxtaposed sheets, as is required in the formation of a wall from several sheets. These channels are indicated by the letter b in FIG. 1, and as can be seen in FIG. 2, the connection of two juxtaposed sheets is brought about by placing the two sheets overlappingly one beside the other with a channel b of one sheet lying within the channel b of the vicinal sheet (as indicated by X in FIG. 2).

It is common practice to provide U-rails or channel sections at the top and bottom of an assembled wall, the upper and the bottom edge thereof being inserted in the said channel sections. Usually the unassembled ribbed sheets, the channel sections and auxiliary elements are transported to the site where the respective building is to be erected and the assembling of individual elements, their connection with one another, the construction of a roof and other incidental operations are performed at the site.

I have now devised a method permitting the greater part of the work being performed in a workshop and transporting to the site ready assembled walls and roofs, so that at the building site the ready walls have just to be erected--either on the ground or a previously cast or otherwise prepared base--and connected with one another. In order to be able to do this some novel steps have to be taken and the constitutive elements have to be appropriately shaped and prepared.

It is therefore the object of this invention to prepare the constitutive parts of a modular building of the kind referred to above in such a manner that the assemblage of these parts can be performed in a workshop while at the building site only the final placing of the walls and connection to one another and the putting in place of the roof is performed.

In performing my new method, I prepare the walls of the building by laying the standard widths of the commercially available ribbed panels beside one another in a manner that vicinal panels overlap at their vicinal edges and the outermost channel of one panel comes to lie within (or on) the outermost channel of another panel; I then introduce the so assembled wall into a bottom channel, connect all vicinal panels, prepare the top channel by partly cutting away the end portion of one of the side walls of the channel (for a purpose to be referred to later), the so prepared assembly may now be carried as a unit to the site and several such units, each forming a wall can be interconnected to form the final building which is then topped by a roof.

The invention will now be described in detail, referring to the annexed drawings.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective fractional view of a commercially available, ribbed panel.

FIG. 2 is a perspective, fractional view of a connection of two juxtaposed sheets.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of wall assemblies--prior to being interconnected--at the corner of a building.

FIG. 4 is a schematical, horizontal section of a corner of a building erected according to the method of this invention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective, fractional views of channel elements to be used in the method.

FIG. 7 illustrates the construction of a roof according to the new method, while

FIG. 8 shows a detail (on an enlarged scale).

As already stated above, the constituents of a wall unit are assembled in a workshop and are transported to the building site in a condition which permits the connection of walls to one another at the site. The individual panels are slid into the bottom and the top channel respectively, so that the vertical edges of two vicinal panels overlap and the channel b of one panel comes to lie within the similar channel b of the other panel. Now these two panels can be united by connecting them by whatever known means, such as spotwelding or rivetting. Where two assembled wall units indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4 by the numerals 1 and 2 are to be connected with one another to form the corner of a building, the marginal portion of one of the channels is bent off at right angles as shown at 3 in FIG. 4. As can be seen in FIG. 3 the individual panels are held in a bottom rail or channel 4 and a top rail or channel 5. The assembled units 1 and 2 arrive in that state at the building site. It will be realised--as can be seen in FIG. 3--that the bent off marginal portion 3 has to engage the marginal (unbent) portion of wall unit 2. That would have been impossible had not the side wall of channel 5 been cut in an appropriate way, as can be seen in FIG. 5. This step in the preparation of the constituents of the wall assemblies makes it possible to perform the assemblage in the shop and attend to the final connection of the units at the site.

Turning now to FIG. 7 showing the roof construction, this is composed of roofing panels 8 extending in an ascending plane and resting with their lower edge on a top channel 5, while the upper edge is engaged by a rail of substantially H-profile 9 which is supported by a king post 10. The rail 9 is placed with its web in the vertical while the two flanges are bent to an inclination to suit the inclination of the roofing panels 8. Thus the upper ends of these latter can simply be shifted into the confines of the rail 9, abutting against the web of the H. In a similar manner an inclined flange 11 is attached to and extends from the top channel 5 (see FIG. 8), so that the lower end of a panel 8 may rest thereon.