CONSTRUCTION OF CORRUGATED CARDBOARD PANEL, ASSEMBLY WITH THIS PANEL AND METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING

Abstract

 A panel made up of corrugated cardboard, to be used in constructions as a structural element of complete cardboard buildings or as a wall of buildings with structural members in concrete, steel, wood or other materials, and a method of making the same.
The alveolar corrugated cardboard panel (10) is composed of elongated box-shaped elements (11) with rectangular cross section made up of corrugated cardboard, opened at their opposite extremities. In coaxial direction with the external elongated box-shaped elements (11) are disposed inside a middle layer composed of a block of tube-shaped elements (12), which are fastened to each other with glue and metal tapes and an internal layer composed of tube-shaped elements. At the uppermost and lowermost extremities the panel is closed by two wood boards (21, 21') with some connectors (22, 23) that are inserted inside the box-shaped corrugated cardboard elements (11).
The alveolar corrugated cardboard panels (10) of the present invention are mutually mountable and demountable by not specialized workers, they are reusable many times and totally recyclable at the end of their useful lifecycle. These panels (10) may be covered with fire-resistant and water-resistant materials and may be filled with melted materials, foam or sheets of various shapes and nature.

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention concerns a method of construction of buildings and other structures that aims to employ corrugated cardboard, whose properties of lightness, mechanical resistance and availability are well known, to create structural alveolar panels mutually mountable without any difficulty, in a few time and in ever place. These panels may be used to build emergency shelters, commercial and exposition locals, temporary or not, low price, low ambient impact houses with high energetic efficiency and thermal-acoustic comfort, but also external walls or internal ones for buildings with structural members made of concrete, steel, wood and others, in the vest of classical constructions materials, energy-consuming, pollutant and not-recyclable, such as bricks, mineral fibers, aluminum, plasters, cements and the like.

[0002] The invention of a construction technology for buildings and other structures that uses a lightweight and resistant material like corrugated cardboard, gives two extraordinary vantages at the field of construction that are manageability which favors installation and the almost total indifference to earthquake actions that depend in their nature on the weight of the propagation substrate.

[0003] The present invention wants to overcome the current field of application of corrugated cardboard, as packaging or transport, driving the use of such material towards the maximization of its extraordinary mechanical and thermal-acoustic properties, by creating alveolar structural panels on the base of the assembly of corrugated cardboard boxes, produced of cardboard industry, easy to place, highly resistant, with good properties of thermal-acoustic insulation, economy and reusability.

[0004] Such panels may be used in several sizes totally customizable, from a simple element, indicated for temporary usages, up to panels that are conveniently treated and finished off to improve their characteristics of resistance to atmospheric agents, by increasing their durability and by characterizing their finish, then suitable to build permanent structures. The filling of the internal gaps with melted materials, foam or sheets of various shapes and nature, allows to optimize the ambient comfort and the mechanical resistance.

[0005] The state of art, at the present, does not know a method of construction with poor material that can satisfy efficiently all of the purposes above indicated.

[0006] U.S. Pat No. 5,425,207 registered by Shayman is a way of construction that uses sandwich panels made up of corrugated cardboard, drywall and fire-resistant foam. Shayman differs from the present invention in the realization of a panel that is not totally recyclable, due to the internal foam layer, and due to the method of anchoring to external structures, which has low resistance to horizontal loads.

[0007] U.S. Pat No. 4,827,690 registered by Viger is a method of construction that employs corrugated cardboard elements, which are produced ad hoc by gluing sheets with opposite warpages through a dedicated machinery, thus in a lesser economical way than in the present invention. Moreover the anchoring point of the elements to each other and to the foundation structures is solved in a way that is less resistant to the mechanical stress and to the atmospheric agents.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0008] The present invention concerns the manufacturing of alveolar corrugated cardboard panels, the method of their realization and their assembly to construct entire corrugated cardboard buildings or structures in general.

[0009] The satisfaction of the oldest need of men, the inhabiting, is associated, by the present invention, to the current unavoidable necessity to build with total respect of the environment, with materials which can guarantee load resistance and thermal-acoustical comfort, which are not energy-consuming neither during the production process nor during the lifecycle and nor in the dismantlement.

[0010] A purpose of the present invention is to provide an ecological construction material, easy to source, cheap, with good thermal-acoustic and mechanically performances, reusable and recyclable, which is made up by corrugated cardboard.

[0011] Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a plurality of alveolar corrugated cardboard panels, prefabricated and customizable, to construct entire corrugated cardboard buildings and structures in general.

[0012] Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a method of dry construction by using alveolar corrugated cardboard panels, which are lightweight, cheap, easy and fast to mount and unmount by not specialized workers.

[0013] Another purpose of the present invention is to provide an eco-friendly method of construction. Another purpose of the present invention is to provide an innovative method of creating alveolar corrugated cardboard panels, which are cheap, reusable and recyclable, made up of the corrugated cardboard boxes, which are fabricated in the well-established cardboard industry. According to the above purposes, the alveolar corrugated cardboard panels of the present invention provide the constitutive elements of entire buildings or part of buildings. These panels may be used like structural parts or to complete buildings with the structural frame in other materials in the way of walls, ceiling, roof, partition, expo and other elements.

[0014] The alveolar panel, of the present invention, is made up corrugated cardboard elements of different cross sections, opened at their opposite extremities, built with the well-known bending and shaping techniques used by cardboard industries to make boxes, disposed in coaxial layers and glued to form an alveolar panel closed at the extremities by wood boards with some connectors. The alveolar panel, before the upper closing, may be filled with some melted material, foam or sheet, of various shapes and nature, to increase the thermal-acoustic properties and the mechanical resistance, but also the final weight in order to the purposes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] For a better comprehension of the description of the present invention one will refer to the attached drawings which only represent an indicative and not reductive exemplification of the possible realizations of the present invention.

FIG.1 is a frontal vertical section of an alveolar corrugated cardboard panel.

FIG.2 is an horizontal section of an alveolar corrugated cardboard panel.

FIG.3 is a lateral vertical section of an alveolar corrugated cardboard panel.

FIG.4 A,B,C are details of horizontal sections of an alveolar corrugated cardboard panel.

FIG.5 is a perspective of an exploded cross section of an alveolar corrugated cardboard panel.

FIG.6 is a detailed exploded perspective of a closing lower board with the view of the different types of connectors.

FIG.7 is a detailed exploded cross-perspective of the box-shaped corrugated cardboard elements of the middle and the internal layers.

FIG.8 is a detailed exploded perspective of the wood junction elements of the box-shaped corrugated cardboard elements of the internal layer of the alveolar panel, apt to allocate the fasteners.

FIG.9 is a detailed perspective that shows a cross-section of an ideal assembly of some box-shaped corrugated cardboard elements.

FIG.10 is a perspective that represents the juxtaposition and the fastening of alveolar corrugated cardboard panels, of the present invention, to construct a possible building object.

FIG.11 is a detailed perspective of the assembly of two alveolar corrugated cardboard panels in axial position.

FIG.12 is a detailed perspective of the assembly of an alveolar corrugated cardboard panel in axial position with a lower adjacent panel.

FIG.13 is a detailed perspective of the assembly of two alveolar corrugated cardboard panels in corner position.

FIG.14 is an horizontal cross-section of an assembly of alveolar corrugated cardboard panels to arrange walls of a building object.

FIG.15 is a vertical cross-section of an assembly of an alveolar corrugated cardboard panel with external upper and lower elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

[0016] The alveolar corrugated cardboard panel, object of the invention, may be fabricated in many types of configuration which differ for instance in size, in the internal constitution, in the external finishing or in the technology of the fastening. In the following it is represented and described in a particular configuration. It is important to highlight that this exemplification merely has an explanatory purpose and does not want to reduce the complexity and the innovation range of the values and the purposes of the present invention.

[0017] FIG.1-4 display an alveolar corrugated cardboard panel 10 in particular sections, highlighting some possible connection devices. Each panel 10 is obtained by the method of construction and reproduction which is specifically represented in the following FIG.5-9.

[0018] In FIG.5-9 the procedure established by this invention for the creation of an alveolar corrugated cardboard panel 10 is shown, paying attention to its particular elements and to the method of producing the same.

[0019] In FIG.10-15 the assembly of a building object is displayed, formed by alveolar corrugated cardboard panels 10, constructed according to present invention. These may be covered by drywall, honeycomb cardboard or other materials, to increase the resistance to the atmospheric agents and to the fire, or to characterize their appearance.

[0020] Referring now to FIG.1-5, the alveolar panel 10, created according to the invention, has a stratified structure of elongated box-shaped elements made of corrugated cardboard which have the opposite extremities closed by wood boards 21 and 21' equipped with connectors 22 and 23. The alveolar panel 10, is composed by an external layer 11 made of corrugated cardboard, with an elongated rectangular cross section, open at the uppermost and lowermost extremities as shown in FIG.5. The box-shaped element 11 is internally stiffened by a certain number, which depends on the final size of the element, of tube-shaped corrugated cardboard elements 12 with a square cross section, or a rectangular one, open at their opposite extremities. These elements 12, which form the second layer of the panel 10, are firmly glued to each other, clamped by some metal tapes 35, which surround them together, and inserted inside the external box-shaped element 11, as in FIG.5. The external box-shaped element 11 has the purpose to surround the internal elements 12 and to determine the retaining of the total section of the panel 10, thus improving its mechanical performances. The system in this combination constitutes an alveolar structure with stiffing septa of corrugated cardboard, formed by layers 11 and 12, which are the load-bearing base structure of the panel 10. It is further stiffened by the presence of the tube-shaped corrugated cardboard elements 13 open at the extremities and sized in such a way to be inserted into the elements 12. The tube-shaped elements 13, which so form the third layer of the panel 10, have the height at least 1/3 of the height of the whole height of the panel 10 and are glued inside the tube-shaped elements 12 in alternate position or in the particular positions. In these positions they are mutually inserted to fill entirely the height of the panel 10. As shown in FIG.5, the connections between the various elements 13' and 13" are obtained by gluing the wood joints 24 and 25, respectively, which differ for the presence or not of the connection groove 30. The elements 13 are closed at the open uppermost extremity by the wood element 26. The wood elements 24 and 25 are also functional for the fastening of metal elements, as fasteners, bars 31i, 33i and the like, required for the mutual connection of several panels 10, and also for the equipment of the panel with suspended elements, such as furniture, finishing, bathroom fixture and others. With this system the problem of the bad resistance of corrugated cardboard to the fastening through boring which can cause the breaking of the layers is solved. The panel 10 is closed at the open uppermost and lowermost extremities by the wood board 21 and 21' respectively. These wood boards exhibit wood connectors 22 and 23 apt to be glued inside the tube-shaped elements of corrugated cardboard 12 and 13, 13' and 13", respectively, to make secure the anchoring to the closing wood boards 21 and 21'. As shown in FIG.1 and 5 the wood connectors 22 are fastened with glue, fasteners and/or joints at the wood boards 21 and 21' in correspondence with the elements 12, while the connectors 23 in correspondence with the elements 13, 13' and 13". The particular internal configuration of the panel 10, makes a disposition of the wood connectors 22 and 23 in alternate position on the board 21 and a disposition of the connectors 22 all over the board 21' but in correspondence of the elements 13, 13' and 13" where the connectors 23 are present. The distance between the connectors 22 and 23 is as large as the thickness of three layers of corrugated cardboard, whereas the distance between two connectors 22 is as large as the thickness of two layers of corrugated cardboard, as it is visible in FIG.1 and 2. The cavities 14 of the panel 10, shown in detail in FIG.4B, may be filled with some melted material, foam or sheets of various shapes and nature to increase the thermal-acoustic and mechanical properties as well as the final weight of the panel, in regard to the purposes.

[0021] Referring now to FIG.5 and 7, a procedure of assembling of an alveolar corrugated cardboard panel 10 is shown. The tube-shaped elements of corrugated cardboard 13 are closed on the uppermost extremity by the wood elements 26 and then are glued on the wood board 21 by means of the connectors 23. Two tube-shaped elements 13', a lower one and a middle one, are mutually jointed by means of the wood joints 24 and then are glued on the wood board 21 by means of the connectors 23. Two tube-shaped elements 13", a lower one and a middle one, are mutually jointed by means of the wood joints 25 and then are glued on the wood board 21 by means of the connectors 23. The tube-shaped elements of corrugated cardboard 12 are glued each other side by side and clamped by some metal tapes 35 to make a unique block. This block is fastened to the board 21 by putting it on the tube-shaped elements 13, 13' and 13", lower ones and middle ones, previously fixed to the board 21. The block of the elements 12 is covered by the box-shaped element 11, externally inserted with pressure up to the board 21. The uppermost tube-shaped elements 13' and 13" are closed at the bottom by the wood joints 24 and 25 respectively and then are glued inside their respective tube-shaped elements 12, already inserted inside the element 11. The board 21' is glued on the uppermost extremity of the elements 12,13' and 13" by means of the respective connectors 22 and 23.

[0022] Referring now to FIG.6 a procedure of realization of the base board 21 is shown and similarly of the upper board 21' equipped with connectors 22 and 23. The wood boards 21 and 21' have a rectangular shape and the same size of the profile of the box-shaped element of corrugated cardboard 11, in order to be in perfect alignment with it. On the boards 21 and 21' the connectors 22 and 23 are glued, fastened and/or jointed on the positions previously described. The connectors 22 are composed by four wood slats 221 jointed and mutually glued to form a box which has the same external profile size of the internal profile size of the tube-shaped elements 12. The connectors 23 are composed by four wood boards 231 jointed and mutually glued to form a box closed at the top by another wood element 232. The elements 23, in its final form, has the same external profile size of the internal profile size of the tube-shaped elements 13,13' and 13 ".

[0023] Referring now to FIG.8 a procedure of realization of the joints 24, 25 and 26, composed by wood boards 251, 252 and 253 variously combined, is shown. The wood board 251 has the same size of the internal profile size of the tube-shaped element 13. The wood boards 252 and 253 have the same size of the internal profile size of the tube-shaped element 12. The board 253 exhibits two grooves 30 with a size apt to allow the insertion and the screwing of nuts and washers 33ii, and two through holes in correspondence with the grooves 30, to allow the passage of the bars 33i. The wood joint 24 is created by gluing in axial sequence the boards 251, 252 and 251. The joint 25 is created by gluing in axial sequence the boards 251, 253 and 251. The closing element 26 is created by gluing in axial sequence the boards 251 and 252. Referring now to the FIG.9 one intends to shortly allude to a possible method of confection of the box-shaped and tube-shaped elements of corrugated cardboard 11, 12, and 13,13' and 13 ", as a consolidated procedure of the expertise of the cardboard industry. The corrugator machineries make the layer of corrugated cardboard, later cut in the required size and bent; the box is obtained at the end by bending and gluing the connection side to the adjacent one. Referring now to the FIG.10-15 a possible assembly of some alveolar panel of corrugated cardboard 10 to form a vertical element of a building is shown, although the panel may be used according to other methods and purposes. The assembling between panels 10 disposed in alignment, as shown in FIG.10 left side, or disposed in corner, as shown in FIG.10 right side, is obtained by means of the threaded bars 33i.

[0024] These bars 33i are fastened in the suitable holes 31 of an alveolar panel 10 and are inserted in the holes 33 of another panel 10. As shown in FIG.14 the bars 33i pass through the corrugated cardboard layers 11 and 12 and then are fastened to the internal wood joints 24 and 25, which are in turn inserted and glued to the tube-shaped elements 13' and 13". The assembly is guaranteed by the screwing of nuts and washers 33ii into the suitable groove 30 as in FIG.15. In FIG.10 central side, the assembly of a lowered panel 10' for sills or other uses is shown. The assembling is obtained by the same bars 33i fastened to another panel 10 and passing through the holes 33 of the panel 10'. As FIG.12 shows in detail, the assembling is completed by the screwing of the nuts and washers 33ii inside the grooves 34 of the panel 10'. Moreover in FIG.10 the assembly of the panel 10 to foundation elements 51 is shown, which is obtained by the disposition of angle elements 42 or plates elements 41, fixed to the foundation element 51 by plugs or the like. As an alternative the anchoring to the ground may be obtained by means of elements projecting from the foundation, grooves, tracks or others. Before the placement of the panel 10 an element 43 with waterproof coating made of sheath or the like is positioned. The panel 10 is fixed to the metal elements 42, 41 or the like, by means of fasteners 32i or bars 32ii, fastened into the holes 32 which are present on the panel 10.

[0025] As shown in FIG.15, the fasteners 32i pass through the corrugated cardboard layers 11 and 12 and are fastened to the wood internal connectors 23. The assembly of some panels 10 may be completed by the fixing of metal plates 44 and 45 as in FIG.10 by means of the fasteners 31i screwed into the holes 31 of the panels 10. The alveolar panel 10 may be finished off by the application of panels 62 of drywall, honeycomb cardboard or similar materials which can be conveniently treated to be water- and fire-resistant. The panels 62 are fixed to the panels 10 by means of the fasteners 31i screwed to the holes 31 of the panels 10 or fixed in other ways. Referring now to FIG.15 it is shown a possible fixing method of a panel 10 to a generic element of roofing 61, which may be another panel 10 horizontally placed, a floor slab made of wood or of other materials, a roof, a ceiling or other elements. The anchoring is achieved by means of metal corners 42, plates 41 or the like, fixed with fasteners 32i or bars 32ii, to the panel 10 through the holes 32 but also in other ways.

Claims

1. Alveolar corrugated cardboard panel (10) in the construction of load-bearing structures, complete buildings or part of them such as walls, partitions, ceilings, wall plugs, roofs, expositors and others, said alveolar panel (10) comprising:

an external layer composed by a box-shaped element (11) of corrugated cardboard which has a rectangular elongated section and open opposite extremities;

a middle layer composed by a block of some tube-shaped elements (12) of corrugated cardboard which have a square or a rectangular section and are open at the opposite extremities, that are firmly connected to each other side by side and surrounded by tapes (35), said block of tube-shaped elements has the same height of said external layer (11) and is positioned inside of it;

an internal layer composed by tube-shaped elements (13, 13 ; 13") of corrugated cardboard with a cross section smaller than the cross section of the said tube-shaped elements (12) of said middle layer, the height of said internal layer tube-shaped elements (13, 13', 13") is at least 1/3 of the height of said block of tube-shaped elements (12) of said middle layer and are positioned inside of it in alternate position, while they are mutually jointed to entirely fill the height of said alveolar panel (10) in other outermost and intermediate positions by jointing wood elements (24, 25);

a series of hollow gaps (14) inside of the elements of said middle layer (12) and said internal layer (13, 13', 13"), which can be filled by some various melted materials, foam or sheets, also cardboard or other materials, to enhance the thermal-acoustic and mechanical properties, the final weight or other properties of said alveolar panel (10);

a couple of closing wood boards (21, 21'), one positioned at the top and the other at the bottom of said alveolar panel (10) characterized by the presence of some wood connectors (22, 23) which have two different sizes to be allocated inside said tube-shaped elements of corrugated cardboard of said middle layer (12) and said internal layer (13, 13', 13").

2. Alveolar corrugated cardboard panel as claimed in the previous claim, wherein said external corrugated cardboard layer is composed by said box-shaped corrugated cardboard element (11) which is hollow to allow the insertion of said tube-shaped elements of said middle layer (12) and said internal layer (13, 13', 13").

3. Alveolar corrugated cardboard panel as claimed in the previous claims, wherein said middle layer is composed by said block of said tube-shaped corrugated cardboard elements (12), said block has the same external profile size of the internal profile size of said external box-shaped element (11) to be positioned inside of it.

4. Alveolar corrugated cardboard panel as claimed in the previous claims, wherein said internal layer is composed by said tube-shaped corrugated cardboard elements (13, 13', 13") each one having the same external profile size of the internal profile of each said tube-shaped corrugated cardboard element (12) of said middle layer, the height of said internal layer tube-shaped elements (13, 13', 13") is at least 1/3 of the height of said block of said middle layer and they are positioned inside of it in various positions, that are alternate, every other position, inside said block on its lowermost extremity and equipped with closing wood elements (26), while they are mutually jointed to entirely fill the height of said alveolar panel (10) by said jointing wood elements (24, 25), on the outermost and intermediate positions of said block of said middle layer.

5. Alveolar corrugated cardboard panel as claimed in the previous claims, wherein said box-shaped elements and said tube-shaped elements of corrugated cardboard of said external layer (11), of said middle layer (12) and of said internal layer (13, 13', 13") are boxes, sleeve or other shapes of corrugated cardboard.

6. Alveolar corrugated cardboard panel as claimed in the previous claims, wherein said jointing wood elements (24, 25), of said tube-shaped elements of said internal layer (13', 13") are composed at least by three wood boards glued to each other in axial sequence; two of said wood boards (251) have the same size of the internal profile of said tube-shaped elements of said internal layer (13', 13") and the other one (252, 253), positioned between the two previous ones, has the same size of the internal profile of said tube-shaped elements of said middle layer (12), to be positioned inside said tube-shaped elements of said internal layer (13', 13") to connect them and to entirely fill the height of said alveolar panel (10) in said outermost and intermediate positions, said jointing wood elements (24, 25) are used for accommodating the fastening elements required for the connection of said alveolar panels (10), between each other or with external elements, to create said load-bearing structures, said buildings or said parts of them, in particular on said outermost and intermediate positions of said alveolar panel (10), said jointing wood elements (24, 25) exhibit some holes (31, 33) for the fasteners, threaded bars, screws and the like, whereas on one of said outermost position of said alveolar panel (10), one of them (25) also exhibits two rectangular-shaped grooves for screwing nuts and washers, or other fasteners.

7. Alveolar corrugated cardboard panel as claimed in the previous claims, wherein said upper and lower closing wood boards (21, 21'), have the same size of the external profile size of said external layer (11), said closing wood boards exhibit said wood connectors (22, 23) which have the said two different sizes, the first one is equal to the internal profile size of said tube-shaped elements of said middle layer (12) and the second one is equal to the internal profile size of said tube-shaped elements of said internal layer (13, 13', 13"), respectively; said wood connectors (22, 23) are fixed on said closing wood boards (21, 21') in correspondence with said positions of said tube-shaped elements of said middle layer (12) and said internal layer (13, 13', 13"); said wood connectors (22, 23) of said closing wood boards (21, 21') are box-shaped wood elements with square or rectangular cross section, which differ in size to be positioned inside of said tube-shaped elements of said middle layer (12) and inside of said tube-shaped elements of said internal layer (13, 13', 13"), respectively, in order to secure the fastening of said closing wood boards (21,21') to said alveolar panel (10); said wood connectors (22, 23) of said closing wood boards (21, 21') also have the function of accommodating the fastening elements required to fix said alveolar panels (10), between each other or with external elements, such as foundations, roofs, ceilings and other elements of different functions and materials.

8. Building structure composed by a plurality of said alveolar corrugated cardboard panels (10) as claimed in the previous claims, wherein said alveolar panels (10) are provided in several sizes in order to create walls, partitions, roofs, ceilings, shingles, door apertures, windows apertures, skylights apertures and other structures, said alveolar panels (10) are mutually positioned side by side in alignment or in corner in correspondence with said outermost positions and with said intermediate positions.

9. Complete building of corrugated cardboard composed by a plurality of building structures as claimed in the previous claim, vertically placed to form vertical elements as walls, partitions and others, or horizontally or diagonally placed to form horizontal and oblique elements as roofs, ceilings, floor slabs and others.

10. Method of assembling of said alveolar panels (10) mutually or with external structures as claimed in the previous claims, wherein said alveolar panels (10) are mutually assembled by said fastener elements (33ii) screwed in said holes (31) of said jointing wood elements (24) of said alveolar panel (10) and inserted through said holes (33) on said jointing wood elements (25) of the adjacent alveolar panel (10) completing with the screwing of said nuts and washers through said grooves (30) of said jointing wood element (25) on said outermost position of said block of said middle layer, said assembling is further stiffened by fastening plates, metallic squares or the like in correspondence with said jointing wood elements (24, 25) and in correspondence with said closing wood elements (26) of said alveolar panels (10) and/or in other positions; said alveolar panels (10) are fixed to said external structures by the fastening of said metal elements such as plates, squares, angle elements or the like, to said wood connectors (22, 23) of said closing wood boards (21, 21') of said alveolar corrugated cardboard panels (10) as claimed in the previous claims.

Drawing