Airloop window wall for modular construction technology

An Airloop window wall system for use in modular construction technology. The Airloop window wall system is designed for installation of wall panels from the exterior of a modular unit. Additionally disclosed are horizontal butt joint panels to cover the horizontal butt joints between vertically-adjacent modular units, and Airloop vertical butt joint panels to cover vertical butt joints between horizontally adjacent modular units, while providing a continuous Airloop system for water-tightness performance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention is generally related to the building trades and more specifically to building envelope system designs applicable to an exterior window wall system for use in modular construction technology.

2. Description of the Background

In an effort to significantly minimize field erection time, the relatively new construction technology known as Modular Construction Technology (MCT) has continuously gained popularity. In MCT, the entire building is constructed by connecting multiple shop assembled shippable units in the field. Each shippable unit is shop fabricated with mostly completed interior finishes and weather sealed exterior walls. In this type of construction, the horizontal and vertical butt joints between two adjacent units must be sealed and finished in the field with the consideration of construction tolerances between the two adjacent units. Due to this field requirement, the butt joint cover becomes a special aesthetic feature of the wall, making it extremely difficult to maintain a smooth and uninterrupted appearance if a curtain wall or window wall is desired.

In addition, during the process of joining the units together, any exterior wall within a unit must be weather tight against water infiltration. In consideration of all the above difficulties, most buildings constructed by MCT use punched-out windows on the exterior wall. If a curtain wall is desirable on the completed building, providing a weather tight design along the unit perimeters and inserting a curtain wall panel at the unit butt joint locations are extremely difficult, if not impossible, due to the fact that the curtain wall supporting mullions are located outside of the floor slab edge.

If a window wall is desired, extensive design and field execution efforts are required to make the butt joint cover as a special aesthetic feature and to weather seal the butt joints. In addition, window wall systems in today's market are designed for on-floor installation from the interior side, eliminating the need for expensive exterior access equipment in high-rise construction. In MCT, each unit is one floor height sitting on the shop floor and it is desirable to complete interior finishing work such as installing toilets, kitchen countertops, plumbing, electrical, ceiling, drywall, paint, and carpeting, etc. without an enclosed window wall for easy access. Therefore, in MCT, it is desirable to erect the window wall on the unit from the exterior side after the completion of the interior finishing work.

An Airloop window wall system, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,001,738, which is hereby incorporated by reference, is particularly desirable for its durable water-tightness performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an Airloop window wall system for MCT.

One objective of the present invention is to provide an Airloop window wall system for erecting from the exterior side on a MCT unit with a complete weather seal along all four sides of the unit opening (base, ceiling, and two side jambs).

A second objective of the present invention is to provide an uninterrupted Airloop window wall system design across both the horizontal and the vertical unit butt joints with easy field installation procedures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements that may be well known. The detailed description will be provided herein below with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1shows the partial front view of a typical exposed frame insulated glass Airloop window wall system of the present invention, showing modular units joined at horizontal butt joint14and vertical butt joint15. The wall panels11and corner wall panels11bare shop installed panels. “Corner wall panel” refers to a panel at an end of a modular unit that will be joined to the end of an adjacent modular unit at a vertical butt joint. Slab edge cover panels12are field installed over the horizontal butt joints14of the modular units. Vertical butt joint panels13are field installed over the vertical butt joints15of the modular units.

Each wall panel11, corner wall panel11b, and vertical butt joint panel13has a head frame, two jamb frames, and a sill frame. The frame corners are miter matched such that the air spaces in the frame members are inter-connected to form an inner airloop. An outer airloop is formed through inter-connected air spaces surrounding the frame members. Specifically, the air space between a wall panel head frame and the ceiling positioning track28c(shown inFIG. 2), the air space between special jamb frame11cand vertical panel joint member33(shown inFIG. 3), the air space between jamb frame member lie and vertical panel joint member33(shown inFIG. 3), and the air space between a wall panel sill frame and the base positioning track24c(shown inFIG. 2) are inter-connected to for form an outer airloop. The outer airloop is exposed to exterior air via air holes, and the inner airloop is inter-connected to the outer airloop via air holes, providing pressure equalization of both airloops with exterior air. Application of this pressure-equalized airloop system achieves durable water-tightness performance. Implementation of the airloop principle in a window wall system is further described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,001,738.

FIG. 2is the fragmental cross-section at a representative horizontal butt joint14of two modular units taken along Line2-2ofFIG. 1.FIG. 2, therefore, shows the top (ceiling) end of one representative modular unit, and the bottom (floor) end of an adjacent representative modular unit. A horizontal butt joint cover panel12of the present invention may be employed to cover the horizontal butt joint. The top ofFIG. 2displays the floor21of a building story, while the bottom of the figure displays the ceiling25of the next lower building story. Accordingly, the sill end of the upper wall panel11band the head end of the lower wall panel11bare visible. Within the context of the entire building project, the structure of both the sill and head portions of the wall panels (as well as the structures for attaching the wall panels to the floor and ceiling, respectively) are repeated for each wall panel utilized, though only one set of representative wall panel ends are shown inFIG. 2.

In a typical modular unit, a shop finished floor21is supported on the floor perimeter beam22. A window wall base support member23is structurally secured and air sealed to the floor beam22. A base anchoring track24ais attached to the base support member23at the desired in-and-out position with a series of fasteners24b. A base positioning track24cis engaged with the base anchoring track24a, and secured at the desired vertical position with fasteners24d. Tight engagement of the base positioning track24cwith base anchoring track24afacilitates precise adjustment of the vertical position of base positioning track24c. The panel sill frame of corner wall panel11bis structurally engaged to positioning track24c.

The window wall ceiling support member27is structurally secured and air sealed to the ceiling perimeter beam26. A ceiling anchoring track28ais attached to the ceiling support member27at the desired in-and-out position with a series of fasteners28b. A ceiling positioning track28cis engaged with the ceiling anchoring track28a, and secured at the desired vertical position with fasteners28d. Tight engagement of the ceiling positioning track28cwith the ceiling anchoring track28afacilitates precise adjustment of the vertical position of ceiling positioning track28c. The head frame of corner wall panel11bis structurally engaged to ceiling positioning track28c.

When vertically-adjacent modular units are installed, they meet at a horizontal butt joint14. A horizontal butt joint membrane24espans the horizontal butt joint to prevent wetting of the floor slab and ceiling of the adjacent modular units, and to act as a drain flashing. The horizontal butt joint membrane24emay be made of a rigid metal base flashing, but membrane material is preferred due to its ability to follow irregular edge conditions of the floor slab, and for ease of installation and shipment of modular units, as described below.

Shop erection of the Airloop window wall system of the present invention may be completed with the following steps for each modular unit, typically after completion of most of the interior finishes of a modular unit. (1) Secure the base anchoring track24ato the base support member23at the desired in-and-out position with spaced apart fasteners24b. (2) Attach the horizontal butt joint membrane24eto the base anchoring track24a. The horizontal butt joint membrane24eis preferably a membrane material that can be rolled up and temporarily secured to the floor beam22for shipping. (3) Engage the base positioning track24conto the base anchoring track24awith vertical position adjustment if necessary, and secure the base positioning track24cto the base anchoring track24awith spaced apart fasteners24d. (4) Secure the ceiling anchoring track28ato the ceiling support27with spaced apart fasteners28b. (5) Engage the ceiling positioning track28conto the ceiling anchoring track28awith vertical position adjustment if necessary and secure the ceiling positioning track28cto the ceiling anchoring track28awith spaced apart fasteners28d.

Unlike the Airloop window wall system described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,001,738, which is designed for wall panel installation from the interior side of the building, the ceiling positioning track28cof the present invention is adapted for wall panel installation from the exterior side of a modular unit. In U.S. Pat. No. 8,001,738, a wall panel is installed by tilting the top of the wall panel outwardly from the interior side of the building, such that the head frame of the wall panel contacts a ceiling track. From the inside of the building, a head retainer is then installed to secure the head frame of the wall panel to the ceiling track. That installation procedure could not be used for wall panel installation from the exterior side of the building because the completion of interior finishes prior to exterior wall installation in modular units would prevent interior access needed to install the wall panel from the inside of the modular unit.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 2, a female joint28e, adapted for engagement of male lip11aof the head frame of the corner wall panel11b, is provided on ceiling positioning track28c. The female joint28epermits engagement of the head frame of corner wall panel11bwith ceiling positioning track28c, from the exterior side of the modular unit, as described below. A head retainer installed from the interior side is not necessary to secure the head frame of corner wall panel11bto the ceiling positioning track28c.

(6) Next, install the corner wall panel11bstarting from one modular unit corner by engaging male lip11aprovided on the head frame of corner wall panel11bwith female joint28eof the ceiling positioning track28c, and move the corner wall panel11bupwardly to clear the panel bottom for engagement of the sill frame of corner wall panel11bwith the base positioning track24c. (7) Move corner wall panel11blaterally to engage the special jamb frame11cof the corner panel11bwith the wall corner clip34shown onFIG. 3.

(8) Next, prepare the corner panel11bfor lateral engagement with adjacent regular panel11. The vertical edge of corner panel11bthat will be joined with regular panel11(i.e., the vertical edge that is not at the end of the modular unit, not shown) includes a regular jamb frame with the same profile as the regular jamb frame11eshown inFIG. 3. Insert a vertical panel joint member with the same profile as the vertical panel joint member33shown onFIG. 3onto the regular jamb frame. (9) Install regular wall panel11adjacent to corner wall panel11bin the same manner described for corner wall panel11bin step (6) above. (10) Move regular wall panel11laterally to engage regular wall panel11with corner wall panel11bvia the vertical panel joint member inserted in step (8), as follows. Regular wall panel11has regular jamb frames (not shown) on both vertical edges with the same profile as regular jamb frame11eshown inFIG. 3. The regular jamb frame is engaged with the vertical panel joint member in the same manner shown inFIG. 3. (11) Insert another vertical panel joint member and repeat steps (9) and (10) for successive regular wall panels. (12) Install a corner wall panel in a similar manner at the end of the modular unit.

The cross-section of the horizontal butt joint, as shown inFIG. 2, is the same for corner wall panels11band for regular wall panels11. The above procedures illustrate window wall erection from the exterior side in the shop.

The field installation to cover the horizontal butt joint of the modular units includes the following steps: (1) Install butt joint insulation material (not shown) if desirable. (2) If a membrane material was used for horizontal butt joint membrane24eand rolled up and temporarily secured to the floor beam22for shipping, then roll down membrane24eand position it to direct water to the outside. (3) Install the horizontal butt joint cover panel12by simultaneously engaging to the base positioning track24cat the top and to the ceiling positioning track28cat the bottom. A double engaging feature29at the bottom of the cover panel12can be designed to fit the required construction tolerance of the horizontal butt joint of the modular units. In a preferred embodiment, shown inFIG. 2, the horizontal butt joint cover panel12is engaged to base positioning track24cand ceiling positioning track28cvia a structural male lip provided on the base positioning track24cand a structural male lip provided on the ceiling positioning track28c. The other design features and functions of the Airloop window wall system such as air seal, water seal, and air holes etc. are the same as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,001,738.

FIG. 3is a fragmental cross-section of the vertical butt joint between two modular units taken along Line3-3ofFIG. 1. The two members31are the corner columns of the butting modular units. The walls32are the finished interior walls. The vertical butt joint wall panel13is a regular Airloop panel with regular jamb frames lie on each side. The vertical butt joint wall panel13is installed to cover the vertical butt joint of the modular units with Airloop vertical joint members33engaged inside the panel vertical joints.

The modular unit corner wall panels11bhave a special jamb frame11c, for the following reasons. In case of negative wind load, the wind load deflection of the corner jamb frame11ccan cause a gap at the corner of the interior finished wall32; therefore, the wind load deflection of the corner jamb frame11cmust be restrained. As shown, the special jamb frame11chas an inwardly extended part35with a groove and lip. A structural member or clip34is secured to the corner column31. The member or clip34has a male leg to cause structural engagement with the groove in the inwardly extended part35; thus, the wind load deflection of special jamb frame11cis restrained. The lip of the inwardly extended part35is provided for supporting and securing the end of the interior wall32. In this design, the same Airloop window wall system is continuous through the vertical butt joint of the modular units. The Airloop gap on both sides of the vertical joint members33will provide reasonable adjustability for the construction tolerance of the butt joint gap of the butting modular units.

The steps of field installing the vertical butt joint panel13are explained in the following figures.

FIG. 3Ashows the condition ofFIG. 3with the base anchoring track24aextended beyond the shop installed corner wall panel11bbefore the field installation of the Airloop butt joint wall panel13at the vertical butt joint of the modular units. The base positioning track24cends at a location near the outside edge of corner wall panel11b. The line36represents the end line of both the base positioning track24aand the base support23. The gap37between the two lines of36is designed to absorb the construction tolerance of the vertical butt joint of the modular units. Once the modular units are secured in position, field seal the gap37using conventional field sealing procedures such as using backer rod and caulk. Apply similar procedures to the ceiling anchoring track28a.

FIG. 3Bshows the step of field installation of a short piece of base positioning track24cbridging over the vertical butt joint of the modular units. The short piece of base positioning track24cis installed by engagement onto the anchoring tracks24aof corner wall panels11bof adjacent modular units. The joint gaps38at the ends of the base positioning track24care then sealed using conventional field sealing procedures such as using backer rod and caulk. Apply similar procedures to the ceiling positioning track28c.

FIG. 3Cshows the step of field installation of two Airloop vertical joint members33with the deepest engagement onto the special jamb members11cof the shop installed corner wall panels11b. The deep engagement of the vertical joint members33opens up the butt joint gap to permit installation of the vertical butt joint wall panel13.

FIG. 3Dshows the field installation of placing the vertical butt joint wall panel13into position. In the step shown inFIG. 3C, the butt joint gap is opened up to allow the vertical butt joint wall panel13to go straight into position by engaging the top and the bottom panel joints in the same manner described for corner wall panels11band regular wall panels11. The final step is to move the Airloop vertical joint members33back to the center of the panel vertical joint gaps39with the final position as shown onFIG. 3.

The implementation of the Airloop Principle is explained in U.S. Pat. No. 8,001,738. From the above descriptions, the same Airloop window wall system is restored over both the horizontal and the vertical butt joints of the modular units with simple field installation procedures.

For illustrative purposes only, typical modular units with steel supporting members are shown. The same principles can be applied to other types of modular units such as reinforced concrete structures. For illustrative purposes only, Airloop window wall panels with exposed frames and singular insulated glass panes are shown. Any other variations in the Airloop window wall panels are applicable to the design of the present invention.

Nothing in the above description is meant to limit the present invention to any specific materials, geometry, or orientation of elements. Various changes could be made in the construction and methods disclosed above without departing from the scope of the invention are contemplated within the scope of the present invention and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, facing materials other than glass may be used. The embodiments described herein were presented by way of example only and should not be used to limit the scope of the invention.