DE69230839T2 - Construction methods - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to building structures, in particular roofs.

Self-supporting roofs or roof sections are known which comprise a plurality of extruded plastic profile elements connected side by side, each element having at least one longitudinal chamber and coupling members by which adjacent profile elements are connected to one another, and the opposing coupling members of adjacent profile elements engaging one another to form a duct (also called a channel, channel run or passage).

In UK Patent Specification No. 152E874, the couplings of opposing panels together form a duct through which a longitudinally extending closure member is inserted, the closure member having at least two opposed longitudinal edges which provide a sliding fit within said duct so as to prevent the closure member from twisting under load.

UK Patent Specification No. 1511189 further proposes that the longitudinal chamber of each element has an internal partition which is substantially parallel to the external surfaces of an assembly made from those elements. This partition is in principle intended to provide thermal insulation.

Further proposals for such profile elements were made in European Patent Specification No. 0070930 A in that multiple duct elements have main ducts and intermediate secondary ducts having serial internal partitions. The interconnection of elements is as described in UK Patent Specification Nos. 1511189 and 1528874. The multiple duct elements were proposed primarily to reduce construction time on a roof compared to using individual duct elements.

GB-A-2115452 discloses a structural system comprising a panel having a pair of parallel planar outer walls, reinforcing ribs connecting the outer walls to reinforcing shoulders at the intersection of the ribs with the walls, and a panel-connecting member for connecting the panels to an opposing panel by means of a sliding joint.

A further proposal for such elements was made in UK Patent Specification No. 2147334B in which upper coupling members consist of cylindrical grooved downwardly open flanges of such dimensions that a flange of a first element can be snapped to a flange of a second identical element. In addition, the lower end of a side wall of one element is integrally connected to a guide member which is intended to couple the anchoring member of an opposite element so that the lower ends of two opposite side walls are maintained in spaced apart relationship so as to form a close connection between such elements.

GB 2243170 A discloses a structure comprising hollow structural elements made of plastics material coupled together side by side, the elements having flat bottom walls, vertical end and intermediate walls and an intermediate wall between and parallel to the top and bottom walls to form a plurality of rectangular ducts in two superimposed layers, the elements further having integral coupling members on opposite sides.

Each of these elements must be secured, usually by means of screws, before the next element can be connected, which can be time consuming and does not readily allow for later adjustment of the element positions.

In addition, there is a limit to the reasonable span of such elements for strength reasons. Even multiple duct elements have a limited span because they have main ducts that are based on individual duct elements, which themselves have a structural limit to their width.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved building structure.

According to the invention there is provided a structure comprising hollow structural members of plastics material coupled together side by side, the members having flat upper and lower walls, vertical end and intermediate walls and an intermediate wall between and parallel to the upper and lower walls to form a plurality of rectangular ducts in two layers, one on top of the other, the members further comprising integral coupling members on opposite sides wherein lower coupling members comprise a formation on one structural element coupled to a second formation of an opposing structural element and are held between the elements by a stiffening member which fits over the formations.

Preferably, the intermediate wall of the component has a thinner cross-section than the upper or lower wall of the component.

The stiffening beam may be a single member having upper and lower formations for coupling to upper coupling members and for holding together lower coupling members.

A preferred upper coupling member has a flange which forms a channel section that can be coupled into a complementary channel section of the stiffening beam.

Preferred lower coupling members of structural members comprise a first member on one structural member which is a horizontal channel into which a second member of an opposing structural member fits, the stiffening beam comprising a formation which fits over the coupled first and second members to hold them together.

For coupled components according to the invention, it is advantageous to provide a cap or cover over the coupling area between opposing elements to prevent water ingress. Preferably, the cap or cover is fixable to the stiffening beams. The cap or cover preferably has sealing means in the form of a flexible resilient material. The stiffening beam preferably comprises a formation engageable with a formation of the cap or cover to hold the cap or cover in position. The stiffening beam may comprise a channel formation in which there are one or more depending projections of the cap or cover. Preferably the cap or cover comprises two such projections shaped to retain complementary formations on inner surfaces of the channel of the stiffening beam. The projections are preferably resilient and angled from one another, which when compressed tend to push outwards and so enhance interlocking in the channel formation.

The preferred structure of the invention is capable of enabling elements of greater width than previously possible, possibly in the range of 0.5 m. The above-described elements are generally only manufactured to about 0.25 m.

The invention will now be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of a component for forming a structure according to the invention; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing details of coupling elements of Fig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is shown a building element 10 for forming building structures such as roofs which is made from translucent plastics material such as polycarbonate by extrusion. The element 10 is hollow throughout with relatively thin walls. The element 10 has a flat bottom wall 12, upstanding end walls 14, upstanding intermediate walls 16, a flat top wall 18 and an intermediate wall 20 each parallel to and equidistant from the top wall 18 and the bottom wall 12. The intermediate wall 20 is likely to have a thinner cross-section than either the top wall 18 or the bottom wall 12. Thus, the building element 10 has a plurality of rectangular section ducts 22 arranged in two rows, one on top of the other.

At each end of the structural member 10 there are upper and lower coupling members. At one end the lower coupling member 24 is an L-shaped extension of the bottom wall 12 and at the other end the lower coupling member 26 comprises an extension of the lower side wall 12 with a horizontal channel portion 28 formed thereon into which the lower coupling member 24 of the other end of an opposing structural member can fit.

The upper coupling member 30 at each end of the structural element has vertical extensions 31 of the side walls 14 and downwardly open channel-forming members 32 extending therefrom. The upper coupling members do not actually couple with each other, but rather engage a stiffening beam 40 which is inserted between structural elements that have been brought together end to end.

The stiffener beam 40, preferably extruded from aluminum, has upper and lower formations (or also called projections) 42 and 44, respectively, whereby opposing structural members 10 are held together. The lower formation 44 has a downwardly opening channel 46 having a pair of opposing internal projections 48 which extend toward but do not contact each other. The formation 44 is sized so that when the lower coupling elements of opposing structural members are brought together, they fit between the projections 48, thereby holding them together.

The upper formation 42 of the beam 40 includes an upwardly opening channel 50 having its inner side walls serrated or toothed. Extending outwardly from opposite sides of the channel 50 in line with its base are L-shaped projections 52. The projections 52 are each sized and shaped to engage channel members 32 of the upper coupling member 30, thereby maintaining opposing elements 10 in a fixed relationship to one another.

The connection between a pair of components 10 is covered by a cover 60 (or also called a cap). The cover 60 has a channel section extrusion with flexible edges 62 for forming seals with top walls 18 of member 10 and a pair of internal, downwardly extending resilient projections 64. The projections 64 are angled from one another and each has a lip 66 at its distal end for engaging the serrations of the channels 50 of beam 40. In this way, when the cover, with the projections 64 inserted into the channel 50, is pressed downwardly, the projections 64 will be forced towards one another, but once the cover has seated itself, the projections will tend to press outwardly so that their lips 66 engage the serrations of the channel 50 to hold the cover in position with its sealing edges against the top walls 18 of the opposing member.

To construct a roof using structural members 10, the members are laid side by side on a structural support at opposite ends of the members with their lower coupling members engaged. The stiffening beam 40 is then pushed into the space between the members to secure the lower coupling members and to lock the upper coupling members of the members in place. A cover 60 is then pressed into the beam 40 until it is sufficiently seated on the opposing members to form a seal between the edges of the cover and the upper walls of the opposing members.

Claims (10)

1. A structure comprising hollow building elements (10) of plastic material coupled side by side, the elements having flat upper and lower walls (18, 12 respectively), vertical end and intermediate walls (14, 16 respectively) and an intermediate wall (20) between and parallel to the upper and lower walls to form a plurality of rectangular ducts (22) in two layers, one on top of the other, the elements further comprising integral coupling members (24, 26 and 30) on opposite sides, characterized in that lower coupling members (24, 26) comprise a formation on one building element coupled to a second formation of an opposing building element and are held between the elements by a stiffening member (40) which fits over the formations. 2. A structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the intermediate wall (20) of the component (10) has a thinner cross-section than the upper or lower wall of the component. 3. A structure as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that lower coupling members comprise a first member (28) on one structural member which is a horizontal channel into which a second member (24) of an opposite structural member fits, the stiffening beam (40) comprising a formation (44) extending over the coupled first and second links to hold them together. 4. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized by a cap or cover (60) over the area of coupling between opposing elements (10). 5. A structure as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the cap or cover (60) is fixable to the stiffening beams (40). 6. A structure as claimed in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the cap or cover (60) has at its side edges sealing means (62) in the form of a flexible elastic material. 7. A structure as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the stiffening beam (40) has a formation (50) engageable with a formation (64) of the cap or cover (60) to hold the cap or cover in position. 8. A structure as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the stiffening beam (40) has a channel formation (50) in which one or more depending projections (64) of the cap or cover (60) are located. 9. A structure as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the cap or cover (60) has two such projections (64) shaped to define complementary formations on inner surfaces of the channel (50) of the stiffening beam (40). 10. A structure as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the projections (64) are resilient and angled from one another, which when compressed tend to push outwardly and thus improve interlocking in the channel formation (50).