Panelized Warp-Corner for Buildings

Abstract

A corner construction with improved warping flexibility may feature two panels, or walls, hinged together to form a corner and then hinged to the underlying building structure or adjacent wall construction. Any flexible connection between the two panels in the central corner and the panels and underlying building structure or wall construction may be utilized, including hinges and flexible plate supports.

Claims

1. A corner construction for a building, said building having at least two walls, the corner construction comprising: two corner panels each having two vertical edges adjacent to one of the two walls; at least one connection between each panel and each wall, forming wall joints; at least one connection between the panels forming a corner joint; at least one of the connections being load bearing and supporting the weight of the two panels, transmitting the load to at least one of the walls; each connection being deformable, enabling rotation of the panels relative to each other and the walls.

2. The corner construction of claim 1, the connections being semi-rigid plates embedded in each joint.

3. The corner construction of claim 2, the semi-rigid plates being constructed from a material selected from the set of materials consisting of: metals, polymers, fiberglass, and composites.

4. The corner construction of claim 1, the connections being hinges at each joint.

5. The corner construction of claim 4, the hinges being selected from the set of hinges consisting of: axial hinges and shear hinges.

6. The corner construction of claim 1, the connections being selected from the set of connections consisting of hinges and semi-rigid plates embedded in each joint, with at least one of each being selected.

7. The corner construction of claim 6, the semi-rigid plates being constructed from a material selected from the set of materials consisting of: metals, polymers, fiberglass, and composites.

8. The corner construction of claim 6, the hinges being selected from the set of hinges consisting of: axial hinges and shear hinges.

9. The corner construction of claim 1, further comprising at least one additional corner support.

10. The corner construction of claim 9, comprising two corner supports hinged together.

11. The corner construction of claim 10, the connections being semi-rigid plates embedded in each joint.

12. The corner construction of claim 11, the semi-rigid plates being constructed from a material selected from the set of materials consisting of: metals, polymers, fiberglass, and composites.

13. The corner construction of claim 10, the connections being hinges at each joint.

14. The corner construction of claim 13, the hinges being selected from the set of hinges consisting of: axial hinges and shear hinges.

15. The corner construction of claim 10, the connections being selected from the set of connections consisting of hinges and semi-rigid plates embedded in each joint, with at least one of each being selected.

16. The corner construction of claim 15, the semi-rigid plates being constructed from a material selected from the set of materials consisting of: metals, polymers, fiberglass, and composites.

17. The corner construction of claim 15, the hinges being selected from the set of hinges consisting of: axial hinges and shear hinges.

18. The corner construction of claim 1, the connection of the corner joint being that the two panels are deformably fused together.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a corner constructed forming one embodiment of the invention.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a right elevation of the corner of FIG. 1.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a left elevation of the corner of FIG. 1.

[0017] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an alternate corner construction.

[0018] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the inner corner of the construction of FIG. 4, showing hinge placement.

[0019] FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of an axial hinge of FIG. 4, showing hinge placement.

[0020] FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of another alternate hinge placement.

[0021] FIG. 8 is a side elevation of one wall in the corner construction of FIG. 4.

[0022] FIG. 9 is a top plan view of an alternate corner construction, utilizing semi-rigid plates.

[0023] FIG. 10 is a top plan view of an alternate inner corner arrangement.

[0024] FIG. 11 is a top plan view of another alternate inner corner arrangement.

[0025] FIG. 12 is a side elevation of the corner construction of FIG. 9.

[0026] FIG. 13 is a top plan view of an alternate corner construction, utilizing additional supports.

[0027] FIG. 14 is a close-up view of the inner corner arrangement in FIG. 13.

[0028] FIG. 15 is a side elevation of the corner construction of FIG. 13.

[0029] FIG. 16 is a top plan view of an alternate corner construction, also utilizing additional supports.

[0030] FIG. 17 is a side elevation of the corner construction of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0031] With reference now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the panelized warp corner is herein described. It should be noted that the articles a, an, and the, as used in this specification, include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

[0032] With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the corner 20 has two walls, or panels, a right 22 and a left 24. Each wall is constructed of any known or later discovered material or methodology and may contain supports 26 of any design. Each wall 22, 24 is attached to the structure or adjacent wall of the building 10 by means of hinges, like shear hinge 32 and bearing hinge 34, or some other flexible structure. Likewise, the panels 22, 24 should be attached to each other by some flexible connective structure or hinge 36. These structures need to transmit force across their length between panels and to also allow for rotational moments. It should be noted that many kinds of hinges and other structures may be utilized, and the examples contained herein should be not taken as exhaustive and each one is interchangeable with each other in their use in the constructed corners 20.

[0033] At least one connective structure, such as a hinge, will be load bearing, which is to say that the weight of the corner structure will be supported on the load bearing structure(s) or hinge(s). The load bearing structures and the remaining structures will also serve to maintain lateral and vertical stability of the corner 20 with respect to the building 10. The number and placement of these structures will be dependent upon the size, weight and other requirements of a given project. In FIGS. 2 and 3, four axial hinges are utilizedtwo along the upper edge of the corner and two along the bottom. As seen in FIGS. 4-8, there may be four axial hinges (32a) connecting two corner panels to walls 10 and 2 corner hinges (32b), one at the corner of the panels 22,24 between the corner panels. Additional hinges and supports may be added as needed for a given project. Their orientations may also vary. The shear hinges 32b illustrated may be oriented one over the other in the corner hinge (FIG. 5). Lateral hinges 32a may be placed inside the joint (FIG. 6) or outside 32c (FIG. 7) as needed for a given project.

[0034] Semi-rigid materials may also be utilized, as shown in FIGS. 9-12. In FIG. 9, a semi-rigid plate 38 is embedded in each joint at supports 26. Being thinner and semi-rigid, the plates 38 provide a degree of movement necessary for the construction to work. Alternately, for the inner corner, the panels may be deformably used together 36. Likewise, a single plate 38a may be embedded in walls and/or panels (FIGS. 16 & 17). These semi-rigid plates may be manufactured of suitable materials such as metals, polymers, fiberglass, and composites.

[0035] Additional corner constructions are readily conceivable. These may include a double hinged corner, such as illustrated in FIGS. 13-15. In this embodiment, at least one additional corner support piece 28 is present in the central corner. This piece may be as simple as a bar or rod extending the height of the panel. As illustrated, two such pieces 28 may be hinged together 32 and the support pieces 28 connected to panels 22, 24, such as by the illustrated plates 38. Also, as illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17, bearing hinges 34 may be used in a double-hinged embodiment with supports 28. The combinations are limited only by known materials and may be assembled in any embodiment so long as the connection to the building walls 10 is flexible but sufficient to bear the weight of the corner 20 and secure it laterally in place.

[0036] Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention. No limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred.