Patent Application
20100236181
The present description is directed to a component for building, and more specifically, to an exterior panel for a building.
Commercial buildings such as office buildings or apartments are expensive to build, maintain, and repair. The exterior of buildings can be damaged by weather or people. Other costs associated with buildings include temperature control.
An aspect of the present disclosure is a building component that protects an adjacent location, such as a building, from sunlight or other hazards. The component can be a panel that includes a body having a height and a width, a plurality of apertures in the body, and a series of undulations in the body, at least one of the undulations including a peak extending in a width direction. In an example, each of the undulations includes a peak extending in the width dimension and the undulations creating a repeating peak and valley pattern in the vertical direction. In an example, the plurality of apertures are parallelograms that include a corner at a respective one of the peaks of the undulations. In a further example, the plurality of apertures include a corner at respective valley of the undulation. In a further example, the plurality of apertures define an open area in the body in the range of about 40% to about 70%. In an example, the series of undulations include at least ten undulations in a height direction. In an example, the series of undulations form an angle from a peak to a valley up to an adjacent peak in a range of about 150 degrees to 170 degrees. In an example, the series of undulations form an angle from a peak to a valley up to an adjacent peak of about 160 degrees. In an example, the body includes a solid outer perimeter free of apertures. In an example, the body has a parallelogram shape and connection points at at least one of the corners.
In a further aspect of the present disclosure, any of the above examples can be part of a building system or a building that include a wall, an exterior connection system fixed to the wall, and a panel system connected to the exterior connection system. The panel may include any of the above examples or other details recited herein.
In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe similar components in different views. Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the present document.
The body 105 is defined by a continuous peripheral band 107 and an interior portion 109. The band 107 is a continuous strip of material, such as a metal. The band has a width of about 4 inches in an example. The width of the band 107 can be in a range of about 1 inch to about 6 inches. At various locations in the band 107, attachment points 113 are provided. These attachment points 113 can be through holes for receiving fasteners, such as bolts, screws, and rivets. In other examples, the attachment points 113 are adapted to receive other fasteners types, such as clamps, adhesives, etc.
The interior portion 109 includes a plurality of apertures 110 extending through the body 105. The plurality of apertures 109 are aligned in rows and columns. In an example, the number of rows equals the number of columns. In the
The panel 100 further includes an undulating pattern in the body 105. The undulation patter creates peaks 121 and valleys 122 in the body 105. At least one peak is aligned at one of the corners of the apertures 110 or at the intersection of the strips 115. The peaks 121 and valleys 122 alternate in an example. The peaks 121 and valleys 122 alternate along the entire height of the panel 100. The apertures 110 extend on two adjacent webs such that the aperture extends onto both an upslope and a downslope of a peak.
The panel 100 for ease of construction, durability, and strength is free from glass or polymers in the apertures and in the remaining body 105. The apertures are therefore through holes that allow light to pass through the panel 100. However, the interior web of the panel body 105 and the peripheral band 107 block some of the light and reflect it away from the back side of the panel. When the panel 100 is mounted in front of a building wall only a portion of the available sunlight directly impinges on the building itself. In an example, the apertures 110 create a panel 100 that has an open area of about 43%. In an example, the open area of a panel is in the range of about 40-70%. In an example, the open area of a panel is in the range of about 45-60%. The amount of panel open area depends on the application of the panel. For example, in a warm climate, e.g. Saudi Arabia, where it is desirable to keep buildings cooler during the daylight, a lower open area may be used to block more sunlight from impinging on a building. Examples of such an open area are 45% or less. In other applications of the present panel 100, it may be desirable to have more open area as the panel is adapted to protect the building from catastrophic events, such as severe weather, e.g., hurricane, typhoon, tornado, tsunami, etc. or human caused damage, e.g., riot, military action, etc. These applications may have an open area of 70% or less. In cooler climates, i.e., 45 degrees or greater north or south of the equator, there is a tradeoff in the amount of sunlight that is designed in the summer versus the winter. The undulations may assist in allowing sunlight from a lower elevations (winter sunlight), into the building while blocking light at higher elevations (summer sunlight). The webs in the panel 100 act to cover a portion of the aperture at higher inclinations and thus may block greater sublight in summer than in winter.
To fabricate the panel 100, a continuous sheet of material, such as a metal as described herein, is cut into individual panels 100. The apertures 110 are cut or punched into the interior body portion 109. The outside edge is left whole to form the band 105. If needed, the attachment points are also punched or cut in the area of the band 105. Various methods of cutting can be used, such as water jet, plasma, laser, etc. Thereafter, the panel 100 is placed in a press to form the undulation pattern, e.g., the peaks and valleys, in the entire body 105, i.e., the band 105 and interior body portion 109. In another embodiment, the panel 100 is roll formed after the apertures 110 are punched to form the undulation pattern.
The walkway 410 includes one deck section 421 extending between and fixed to two adjacent braces 407. An end of the deck section 421 extends onto half or less of the top surface of the brace 407 to allow adjacent deck sections to be fixed to the same brace 407. The deck section 421 has a web interior with apertures therethrough to allow moisture, air, and light to pass through the deck section. Various patterns can be used for the web interior of the deck section. Any pattern with apertures therein to allow moisture to travel through the deck section 421 can be used. In another example, a solid deck section is used.
The panel system 400 is shown on only one side of the building, nonetheless, it will be recognized that the panel system can extend around the entire building 501, e.g., all sides. It is desired that the panel system face at least the southern direction to reflect light from the exterior of the building. In another example, the panel system may face the direction that severe weather may impact the building 501. The panel system 400 can extend from the ground to the top of the building 501 in one example. In another example, the panel system 400 does not cover each floor, e.g., the first floor or lower floors may not be covered. Due to the modular nature of the panels 100 in the panel system 400, some panels can be left off and others can be partial panels, here, triangle shaped panels so as not to cover entire floors where it is desired to received full sunlight. The panels 100 are aligned with windows on the building 501 as well as solid walls to assist in blocking sunlight and keeping the building cool. In an example, the panels 100 can be removed from the support and reversed and reattached. This may extend the life of any coating on the panels 100. In a further example, different coatings can be applied to the two sides of the panel. The panels can be reversed as desired to change the exterior look of the building or the look of the panel system from inside the building.
The panels systems 400 and 600 are fixed in place, that is the panels remain in place once installed. The individual panels 100 in the systems 400, 600 are not slidable to control the amount of protection provided by the panel system. Accordingly, the amount of protection and strength of panel is calculated before installation and the panels are manufactured accordingly with a certain gauge of metal, size and shape of apertures, number of apertures, and the pitch of the undulations. The panel system 400 or 600 acts to block some sunlight from the building to assist in reducing cooling costs, while at the same time allowing some sunlight through to enhance the environment for the people working in the building and not require the building to be completely lit by artificial lighting.
As shown in
In a further example, the panels 100 of a system installed on a building are of different dimensions to create different effects and protections to the building. In an example, a plurality of panels 100 has a plurality of heights and widths. In an example, the open areas of different panels (percentage of aperture area as compared to the area of the whole of the panel) are different, e.g., a first group of panels can be solid, i.e., no open area and other groups of panels can have open areas as described herein. Accordingly, it can be said that a first group of panels has a first property and a second group of panels has a second property. The first property is different from the second property. The differing properties can be finishes as well as size of the panels or size of the apertures.
The panel systems as described herein may also be installed inside buildings or around the exterior of the building to divide the interior space for flow control or security. Moreover, the use of the presently described panels can be used to emphasize sunlight in some regions of a building such as an atrium or the entryway. This way be useful in region that lack sunlight whereby the amount of sunlight in a particular interior volume of the building can be increased by reflecting the light in a certain direction utilizing the pattern in the panels.
The above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or more aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. Other embodiments can be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in the above Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together to streamline the disclosure. This should not be interpreted as intending that an unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim. Rather, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a particular disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61161392 | Mar 2009 | US |
