Patent Grant
10801200
The following documents and references are incorporated by reference in their entirety, Aiken (U.S. Pat. No. 1,549,951), Bravo et al (U.S. Pat. No. 9,556,629), Cox et al (U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,776), LeBlang (U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2010/0058700 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,763,331), Swerdlow et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,759) and Perrin (U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,964).
The present invention relates to a system and method for the creation and use of wall molds, and particularly to a system and method for the utilization of wall molds which may be enjoined in various combinations, filled in situ with concrete, cement or similar aggregates and linked so that said when solidified, said concrete, cement or similar aggregates combines with said molds to form a continuous structural wall that may be used in the construction of dwellings and other such buildings.
In many locations, particularly the tropics, there is a predilection for concrete structures. These are traditionally built using individual concrete blocks, a labor-intensive process. Alternatively, they are built using concrete panels that are held by steel frames. This is a faster process, but usually requires powerful cranes or other mechanical contrivances to move them.
Many of the proposed solutions use mechanical linkages to form the two or more panels onto a wall, however, this creates a wall that over time will have the links (typically bolts/nuts) that form it corrode and fail. What is needed is a process by which structural walls may be brought and assembled and securely attached to each other to form a single entity that performs the wall functions, then filled with concrete, cement and/or similar aggregates in-situ, allowing for a solid result that requires the smallest number of heavy equipment elements.
This section is for the purpose of summarizing some aspects of the present invention and to briefly introduce some preferred embodiments. Simplifications or omissions may be made to avoid obscuring the purpose of the section. Such simplifications or omissions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinence of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art.
It is acknowledged that the term ‘comprise’ may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term ‘comprise’ shall have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term ‘comprised’ or ‘comprising’ is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.
In one aspect the invention is about a wall building module comprising two or more side walls, two or more internal walls, each said internal wall attached to each said side wall, forming one or more cavities along the height of said module, each end forming a join cavity, one or more rebars extending horizontally across the width of said module, going through said internal walls and extending into a portion of the join cavity at each end and one or more vertical rebars extending from the bottom of said module to over the top. In another aspect said side walls and said internal walls are made from one or a combination of: fiber cement board, cellulose fiber, fiberglass, carbon composite and/or plywood.
In one aspect, the invention is about a system for building walls comprising two or more wall building modules, each said module comprising, two or more side walls, two or more internal walls, each said internal wall attached to each said side wall, forming one or more cavities along the height of said module, each end forming a join cavity, one or more rebars extending horizontally across the width of said module, going through said internal walls and extending into a portion of the join cavity at each end and one or more vertical rebars extending from the bottom of said module to over the top, wherein two or more of said modules are concatenated so that one or more join cavities are formed at the juncture of said modules and upon filling by concrete, cement and/or similar aggregates, two or more of said cavities and/or join cavities one or more walls are formed. In another aspect said side walls and said internal walls are made from one or a combination of: fiber cement board, cellulose fiber, fiberglass, carbon composite and/or plywood.
In one aspect, the invention is about a method for building walls comprising providing two or more wall building modules, each said module comprising, two or more side walls, two or more internal walls, each said internal wall attached to each said side wall, forming one or more cavities along the height of said module, each end forming a join cavity, one or more rebars extending horizontally across the width of said module, going through said internal walls and extending into a portion of the join cavity at each end and one or more vertical rebars extending from the bottom of said module to over the top, wherein two or more of said modules are concatenated so that one or more join cavities are formed at the juncture of said modules and filling by concrete, cement and/or similar aggregates, two or more of said cavities and/or join cavities one or more walls are formed. In another aspect, said side walls and said internal walls are made from one or a combination of: fiber cement board, cellulose fiber, fiberglass, carbon composite and/or plywood.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon examining the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.
The above-described and other features will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, drawings, and appended claims.
This section is for the purpose of summarizing some aspects of the present invention and to briefly introduce some preferred embodiments. Simplifications or omissions may be made to avoid obscuring the purpose of the section. Such simplifications or omissions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
To provide an overall understanding of the invention, certain illustrative embodiments and examples will now be described. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The compositions, apparatuses, systems and/or methods described herein may be adapted and modified as is appropriate for the application being addressed and that those described herein may be employed in other suitable applications, and that such other additions and modifications will not depart from the scope hereof.
Simplifications or omissions may be made to avoid obscuring the purpose of the section. Such simplifications or omissions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinence of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art.
As used in the specification and claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, the term “a transaction” may include a plurality of transaction unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used in the specification and claims, singular names or types referenced include variations within the family of said name unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words “lower,” “upper,” “bottom,” “top,” “front,” “back,” “left,” “right” and “sides” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made, but are not limiting with respect to the orientation in which the modules or any assembly of them may be used.
It is acknowledged that the term ‘comprise’ may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term ‘comprise’ shall have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term ‘comprised’ or ‘comprising’ is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the cavities 202 and/or join cavities 204/206 are preferably filled with concrete, cement and/or similar aggregates in the entirety. Various concrete and/or cement mixes may be used, where in general concrete is a heavy, rough building material made from a mixture of broken stone or gravel, sand, cement, and water, that can be spread or poured into molds and that forms a stone-like mass on hardening. In alternate embodiments, one or more of the cavities 202 may be filled with lighter materials, including lighter versions of concrete and/or foam, etc.
The internal walls 108 are preferably attached to the side walls 104 via epoxy or similar chemical gluing means, but may also be mechanically attached via screws/nails and others such components. Rebars, also known as reinforcing bar, are typically made from steel, although other tensile strength (metals and composites) may be used. They are used in two directions within the module 100. One or more vertical steel rebars 102 extend along the height of said wall module 100, and one or more horizontal steel rebar 110 extend along the length of the module 100. In one embodiment, the vertical rebar 102 and horizontal rebar 110 are attached to each other, so that the openings 122 through which the horizontal rebar 110 crosses the internal/interior wall(s) 108 serve to keep the lattice of rebar centered.
The walls 104/108 (both external and internal) may be made of the combination of any suitable material. These include fiber cement board panels [typically comprised of Portland cement (as high as 90%), ground sand, cellulose fiber and selected additives], fiberglass (a composite comprised of epoxy and fiber panels), carbon composite, plywood or any other suitable similar material. An advantage of the fiber cement board is their non-combustible construction and their ability to repel water, so that the Covertec module on the outside may simply be painted.
One side of the module edge includes an inset 116 mounted against the module's edge so that it nests inside the edge 302 of another module (
When installing the unit 800 in the field the base slab 802 has one or more rebars 804 to act as floor attachments or similar mechanical features sticking out of the rebar surface. In this fashion, once the Covertec module 100 is installed, and filled with concrete, cement and/or similar aggregates, the floor rebar 804 becomes attached to the Covertec module 100 not at a point but along a significant height of the Covertec module and away from the mere joining area along the bottom 126 of the panel.
Successive modules 100 (902, 904, 906) in
The above has a number of obvious advantages, these include lower construction costs, including less carpentry and associated labor, high efficiency, faster construction, quality control and easier assembly. The system has a large number of NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines.
In addition to the above, the wall modules 100 may be customized to the house model being built, adjusting their height/width of the fiber cement side panels 100 by cutting them and/or attaching additional length (epoxy glued to the other side panel 100 as well as to the interior wall 108. The panels are clamped together until the epoxy hardens.
In concluding the detailed description, it should be noted that it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations and modifications can be made to the preferred embodiment without substantially departing from the principles of the present invention. Also, such variations and modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. Further, in the claims hereafter, the structures, materials, acts and equivalents of all means or step-plus function elements are intended to include any structure, materials or acts for performing their cited functions.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, particularly any “preferred embodiments” are merely possible examples of the implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Any variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit of the principles of the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the disclosure and present invention and protected by the following claims.
The present invention has been described in sufficient detail with a certain degree of particularity. The utilities thereof are appreciated by those skilled in the art. It is understood to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure of embodiments has been made by way of examples only and that numerous changes in the arrangement and combination of parts may be resorted without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description of embodiments.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/591,902 titled “Covertec System and Method”, filed on Nov. 29, 2017 the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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