Precast concrete building module form

A precast monolithic concrete building module includes a vertical wall, a horizontal roof and a pair of roof supporting legs spaced from the wall. A plurality of ribs project outwardly from the wall and also from the lower surface of the roof. In one embodiment, generally T-shaped metal studs each have a portion cast into an associated rib and a portion providing a mounting surface for wall and ceiling covering materials. The studs project outwardly from the ribs so that wiring passageways can be placed through them without having to drill through concrete. In other embodiments, wooden studs have attached fasteners which have a portion cast into the rib to secure the stud to the rib. The wall between the studs is thin so that window and door openings can easily be made by breaking out portions of the wall. Special sealing ridges project upwardly from the roof for use in sealing pairs of adjacent modules of a building. The form for casting the module includes roof, wall and leg forming portions. Both the roof and wall forms have rib defining cups which receive the studs prior to casting. The rear wall of the wall form is mounted on a rolling platform for movement away from the module after casting is complete. Also, the front of the wall form is pivoted to the roof for swinging away from the module when the form is stripped.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a precast monolithic concrete building 
module and a form for casting the same. More particularly, the invention 
relates to such a module having a wall with a plurality of ribs and stud 
members secured to the ribs by fastener portions cast into the ribs. 
2. Description of Prior Art 
Typically, forms for a concrete building wall are erected at a job site and 
concrete is poured into them. After the concrete cures and the forms have 
been stripped, wooden nailing strips are secured to the wall for use in 
attaching wall covering materials. However, not only is it time consuming 
to construct the forms and wait for the concrete to cure during 
construction of the building, it is difficult to drive fasteners into the 
concrete wall for mounting the nailing strips. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,209 of Schillinger, a nailing strip is cast flush 
with one surface of a concrete post. However, forms still must be 
constructed for casting a wall to which these posts are subsequently 
secured. 
A common drawback of concrete buildings is the extensive preplanning of 
wiring and plumbing that is required. That is, such buildings usually 
require the placement of conduit in their walls through which wiring may 
be pulled. As a result, it is expensive to modify the wiring of such 
buildings because holes usually must be bored through concrete to 
accomodate the changed wiring. Another problem common in concrete 
buildings is the difficulty of insulating these structures. 
Precast concrete building elements that can be stacked to form a building 
have been suggested for certain applications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 
3,878,656 of Duwes et al. shows small specialy formed crypt elements that 
are stacked to form a mausoleum. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,373 of 
Willingham shows a variety of building elements that can be combined into 
a building shell. One of the Willingham elements mentioned in column 20 
has fluted walls and ribs. However, these elements are difficult to 
electrically wire because they require the placement of conduits at 
planned locations for wiring or, alternately, the costly surface mounting 
of wiring (see col. 4, line 32 et. seq. of Willingham). In addition, these 
elements are difficult to finish because wall and ceiling covering 
materials must be secured to concrete. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a monolithic precast concrete building module 
having a wall portion with a plurality of projecting ribs to which 
nonconcrete stud members are secured during casting of the module. By thus 
securing the stud members to the ribs, the module is inherently easier to 
use because the builder need not engage in the time consuming task of 
securing nailing strips to a concrete wall. Instead, wall covering 
materials can be secured directly to the stud members. In addition, 
insulating spaces between the ribs facilitate the insulation of the 
module. 
The stud members can take different forms for different applications, but 
in all forms it is possible to place wiring passageways through them in a 
direction parallel to the wall portion without having to bore through 
concrete. As a result, it is extremely easy to wire a building comprised 
of these modules. 
Another feature of the invention is a generally horizontal roof portion 
extending outwardly from the upper edge of the wall portion. The roof 
portion has rib and stud members similar to those of the wall portion. 
Still another feature of the invention is a pair of roof supporting legs 
spaced from the wall portion and positioned at opposite sides of the roof 
portion. 
According to another feature of the invention, sealing ridges project 
upwardly from the upper surface of the roof portion. The sealing ridges of 
adjacent modules facilitate sealing of the space between adjacent building 
modules. 
According to still another feature of the invention, the form for casting 
the modules is provided with cups that receive the stud and ribs during 
casting. 
An additional feature of the form is a rear wall forming portion mounted on 
a platform to which can be rolled away from the rear wall of the module 
after casting and a front wall forming portion which can be pivoted away 
from the module when the form is stripped. 
A primary object of the invention is to provide an improved monolithic 
precast building module and an improved form for making the module. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a building module which can 
be rapidly installed at a building site and which is easy to finish as 
part of a complete building. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide a lightweight concrete 
building module which minimizes the labor required at a building site. 
Still another object is to provide a building module which can be stacked 
cooperatively with other such modules to form buildings of diversified 
shapes. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a building module which 
facilitates on site modifications of a building. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide a building module which 
eliminates the need for special forms for window and other openings and 
which minimizes the need for extensive preplanning of building plumbing 
and wiring. 
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present 
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed 
description made with reference to the accompanying drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
With refrence to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, a monolithic precast 
concrete building module includes a generally vertically wall portion 10, 
a horizontal roof portion 12 and a roof support means such as vertical 
legs 14,16. Roof portion 12 extends outwardly from the upper edge 17 of 
wall portion 10 while legs 14,16 are spaced from the wall portion and 
project downwardly from the lower surface of the roof portion. 
Wall portion 10 includes a rectangular, planar wall panel 18 (shown in 
cross section in FIG 6) and an enlarged beam section 20 along the upper 
portion of the wall panel. Also, wall portion 10 includes a footing flange 
22 which projects outwardly from the lower edge of wall panel 18 in the 
same direction as, and generally parallel to roof portion 12. Footing 
flange 22 provides main wall 18 with a stable supporting surface. 
Wall panel 18 is preferably a thin-wall which is approximately two and 
one-half inches thick. Therefore, window and door openings can easily be 
broken through the wall panel after the module is installed. Consequently, 
custom forms for such openings do not have to be incorporated into the 
form used to cast the module. Therefore, each module can be cast from the 
same identical form. Furthermore, the positions of these openings can be 
readily changed should changes become necessary. 
A plurality of parallel generally vertical ribs 28. In the preferred 
embodiment shown in FIG. 2, at least three of these wall ribs are provided 
and plural ribs are provided intermediate the marginal edges of the wall 
panel. These ribs extend between beam section 20 and footing flange 22 and 
strengthen the wall panel. These ribs extend between beam section 20 and 
footing flange 22 and strengthen the wall panel. As a result, the wall 
panel can be thinner than a wall without ribs. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, 
ribs 28 are tapered to facilitate stripping the form after casting. 
The building module also includes a plurality of elongate vertical wall 
stud means or members 30 (FIG. 2) which are each secured to the free side 
of an associated rib, and extend between the footing flange 22 and beam 
20. Said stud means are of a nonconcrete structural material, such as 
metal, wood or plastic, through which holes may be placed or bored. In one 
form, shown in FIG. 4, stud members 30 are generally T-shaped and include 
a web 34 which is connected at right angles to the midpoint of a head 
plate 32 to which wall covering materials may be attached. Web 34 has a 
hooked end portion 36 that is cast within the associated rib 28 to 
securely anchor the stud member. 
A portion of web 34 projects outwardly from the free side of rib 28 so that 
head plate 32 is spaced from the free side. Conveniently, stud member 30 
may be of twenty-five gauge sheet iron. With this construction, 
passageways for small diameter plumbing pipe and building wiring can be 
easily drilled through web 34 without having to drill through concrete. Of 
course, these passageways can be formed prior to casting the stud members 
into the module. Thus, the portion of web 34 extending between the free 
side of rib 28 and head plate 32 is sized to permit the placement of these 
passageways between the free edge of the rib and headplate. As a result, 
after the module is moved to a building site, plumbing and wiring can 
easily be installed as needed. Furthermore, changes can be made without 
difficulty by merely drilling new passageways through web 34. Head plates 
32 are cast with their outer surfaces in a common vertical plane to 
facilitate attachment of wall covering materials. In addition, studs 30 
are typically spaced on two foot centers so that attached wall covering 
material does not sag between studs. 
FIG. 5 shows another form of suitable stud member 30 comprised of a wooden 
stud 35 and a plurality of nails 37, driven through the stud to project 
from one side thereof. The projecting end of the nails has a hook 39 which 
is cast within rib 28 to secure the stud. As shown in FIG. 5, wooden stud 
member 30 projects outwardly away from the free edge of rib 28 a 
sufficient distance to permit the placement of the electrical wiring holes 
therethrough. 
Wall portion 10 also defines plural insulating spaces 33 such as the one 
shown in FIG. 4. Each insulating space is bounded at its sides by a stud 
member 30 and associated rib 28 and at its base by wall panel 18. These 
insulating spaces can be sized, by varying the size of the ribs, to 
provide sufficient space for a desired amount of insulation and to 
accommodate plumbing. These insulating spaces thus comprise channel like 
recesses for receiving insulation after casting. 
Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, roof portion 12 includes a rectangular 
planar, generally horizontal roof panel 44. A side-beam 46 projects 
downwardly from one side edge of roof panel 44 and a similar side beam 48 
is positioned along the other side of the roof panel. An end-beam 54 
projects downwardly from the outer end 52 of roof panel 44 and extends 
between side-beams 46,48. A plurality of parallel spaced apart roof ribs 
58 project downwardly from the lower surface of roof panel 44. These roof 
ribs extend between side-beams 46,48 and strengthen the roof panel so that 
roof panel 44 can be of thin-wall construction like wall panel 18. The 
roof rib nearest to wall portion 10 is formed integral with beam section 
20. In addition, the ribs nearest to legs 46,48 are formed integral with a 
cross beam secton 62 that projects downwardly from roof panel 44 between 
the legs. Otherwise, the roof ribs are similar in shape to wall ribs 28. 
However, often deeper insulating spaces are desired in the roof portion 12 
than in the wall portion 10. Therefore, the roof ribs typically project 
further from the roof panel than do the wall ribs from the wall panel. 
Consequently, more insulation can be placed in roof portion 12 than wall 
portion 10. 
A plurality of roof stud members or joists 64 are provided which each have 
a portion cast into an associated roof rib 58. These roof studs are like 
wall studs 30 and for this reason will not be described further. 
The outer end 52 of roof portion 12 projects outwardly beyond legs 14,16 in 
cantilever fashion. In addition, the center lines of legs 14,16 are in a 
vertical plane parallel to wall panel 18. Thus, when two modules are 
placed with their respective outer ends 52 together, a hallway is defined 
between the planes through the center lines of the legs of each module. 
A sealing ridge 66 projects upwardly from roof panel 44 along the sides and 
end 52 of the module. Flange 66 is offset from the peripheral edge of the 
roof panel and prevents rain from flowing off the sides and end of the 
roof panel. Therefore, only a single gutter, positioned along the upper 
edge 17 of wall portion 10, is needed to carry off rain. Furthermore, when 
two building modules are installed adjacent to one another, as shown in 
FIG. 3, a flange 66 from each module is positioned along side a flange 66 
of the other module. To seal the crack between the modules, a calking 
material 74 is placed in the crack and a cap of flashing material 76 is 
placed over the adjacent flanges 66. 
Load lifting loops 78 are cast into the roof portion 10 at the corners of 
the roof portion over the wall portion 10 and also over the legs 14 for 
use when the module is picked up. Also, wire mesh and rebar 79, or other 
reinforcing material, is cast in a conventional manner within the module 
to add to its strength. Some of this reinforcing material is shown in 
FIGS. 3 and 4. 
A tapered lip flange 24 projects downwardly from the lower edge of main 
wall 18. When two modules are stacked, lip 24 of the upper module nests 
within recess 26 of a lower module (shown in phantom in FIG. 6). Each of 
these recesses 26 is similar to the recess 26 along the upper edge 17 of 
wall portion 10. In addition, the lower surface of footing flange 22 and 
also of legs 14,16 are all in the same plane and rest upon the upper 
surface of roof panel 12 so that roof panel 44 of the upper module is 
horizontal. To provide for better stacking, the sealing ridges are 
eliminated from the lower module. 
Another stacking arrangement of modules is shown in FIG. 7 and demonstrates 
the adaptability of these modules to buildings of different 
configurations. 
With the above thin-wall construction, a relatively lightweight, but strong 
building module is provided. As a specific example, one form of module was 
approximately nine feet tall, had a roof portion area of twelve feet by 
twenty-six feet and weighed about 24,000 pounds. 
Form for Casting the Module 
The form for casting a building module in accordance with the present 
invention is shown in FIG. 8 and comprises a wall form 82, a roof form 84 
and a leg form 86. 
Wall form 82, FIGS. 8 and 9, includes a flat rectangular rear wall plate 92 
which abuts the rear wall of the module during casting and a rib forming 
plate 94. Wall form 82 also includes a pair of rectangular upright side 
plates 98,100 that secure plates 92,94 together during casting and a base 
plate 102 for closing the space between plates 92,94 at the bottom of the 
wall form. 
The rear wall plate 92 is mounted on a platform 104 carried by wheels 106 
for rolling along a track 108 toward and away from the building module. A 
clamp 110 locks platform 104 to track 108 to brace plate 92 in position 
against the rear of the building module. A flange 111 projects rearwardly 
from the peripheral edges of plate 92 and provides a surface to which side 
plates 98,100 are bolted. A plurality of vertical box beams 112 and 
horizontal beams 113 reinforce plate 92. 
In addition, a pair of rods 116, one being shown in FIG. 8, are each 
pivoted at one end to a flange 118 spaced from plate 92 on platform 104 
and at the other end to a flange 120 mounted to an upper portion of a box 
beam 112. Rotation of the central portion of rod 116 about its axis 
adjusts the length of the rod in turnbuckle like fashion. This in turn 
causes plate 92 to pivot about the axis of a hinge 103 which secures the 
plate to the platform to thereby adjust the plate until it is vertical. A 
recess forming member 122 is attached to the upper edge of plate 92 to 
form the recess 26 along the upper edge 17 of wall portion 10. 
Rib forming plate 94 includes a plurality of rectangular panel surface 
forming sections 126 that abut wall panel 18 during casting. A rib and 
stud receiving cup 128 joins sections126 together. Similar cups 130 are 
bounded at one side by the respective side plate 98,100 so that the side 
of wall portion 10 is perpendicular to wall panel 18. Each cup 128 
includes a first rib side plate 132 projecting outwardly form the edge of 
one panel surface forming section 126 and a second rib side plate 134 
projecting outwardly from the edge of an adjacent section 126. The space 
between plates 132 and 134 narrows moving away from sections 126 until 
plates 132,134 are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the 
width of plate 32 of stud 30. A U-shaped channel beam 136 has its legs 
connected to the free ends of plates 132, 134 to tie them together. 
Prior to casting, wall covering flange 32 of each stud member 30 is placed 
in contact with the base of a channel member 136. In addition, rectangular 
styrofoam strip 138 is placed along each side of flange portion 34 and in 
contact with plate 32. Strips 138 fit snuggly within the channel member 
136 to prevent concrete from entering the channel during casting. Thus, 
when strips 138 are removed following casting, plate 132 is spaced from 
the outer end of rib 28. 
Alternate forms of cups 128 are shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. In the FIG. 12 
form, plates 132,134 are joined together by a cup end plate 140 instead of 
by a channel member 136. Also, a trapezoidal shaped wooden stud member 142 
is placed with its smallest parallel side in abutment with end plate 140. 
Stud 142 fits tightly between plates 134,132 and against plate 140 so that 
concrete from rib 28 does not pass between the stud and contacting cup. A 
plurality of nails 144 driven through the stud 142 each have a hooked 
portion 146 that extends between plates 132,134 so that the nail is cast 
within the rib 28. The cup of FIG. 13 is like those of FIG. 9 except that 
a gasket 152 is connected to each leg of the channel member 136. Prior to 
casting, a rectangular wooden stud 148 is positioned between the gaskets. 
The gaskets prevent concrete from passing between the stud and channel 
member and also facilitate stripping of the form following casting. A 
pivot pin 154 secures the upper end of rib forming plate 94 to a lower 
portion of roof form 84. Therefore, plate 94 can be pivoted about pin 154 
to strip it from the casting. 
Also, horizontal reinforcing beams 139 are secured to the back of rib 
forming plate 94. 
In addition, base plate 102 of the wall form portion has a step 150 at 
approximately its mid-point to define the lower surface of footing flange 
22 as well as lip 24 of the wall portion 10. 
Roof form portion 84 includes a beam defining section 158 (FIG. 10) 
positioned along one side of the roof form for casting the concrete beam 
48. A similar beam defining section 160 is positioned along the other side 
of the module for casting beam 46. Each beam forming section is generally 
U-shaped with an inner leg 164, a base 166 and an outer leg 168 which is 
longer than leg 164 to prevent concrete from flowing off the sides of the 
foam. Inner legs 164 are connected together by a generally rectangular 
roof forming plate having a plurality of rectangular roof panel defining 
sections 172. Sections 172 are joined together at their edges by roof rib 
and stud or joist receiving cup members 174. The roof cups 174 are similar 
to wall cups 128 and hence will not be described further. 
A somewhat different form of cup member 176 is connected to the section 172 
nearest to the wall portion. Unlike cups 128, rib side plate 132 and the 
connecting leg of the channel 136 are eliminated. Instead, one leg of a 
piece of angle beam 177 projects downwardly from the edge of the base of 
the channel of cup 176 nearest the wall. The other leg of the angle beam 
abuts the upper edge of rib forming plate 94 during casting. Consequently, 
cup 176 and angle beam 177 form the enlarged concrete beam section 20 
integral with the adjacent rib 58. A similar cup 176 and angle beam 177 at 
the wall side of legs 14, 16 forms cross beam 62 integrally with the 
adjacent rib 58. Also, a cup 176 forms rib 58 at the other side of beam 
62. 
An end forming section 180 is bolted to a flange 182 at the outer end of 
beam forming sections 158,160. The beam forming sections 158,160 and 
corresponding sections of end plate 180 taper upwardly from legs 14,16 to 
the outer end of the module to increase the vertical clearance at the 
outer end. 
With reference to FIG. 10, a sealing ridge forming assembly 167 is 
positioned along the sides and outer end of the form of casting ridges 66. 
Each assembly includes a beam 170 connected to a flange 173 projecting 
outwardly from the upper edges of plates 168 at the sides of the form and 
from the upper edge of plate 54 at the outer end of the form. Beam 170 
turns vertically upwardly at a position offset inwardly from the edge of 
wall panel 44 and then extends horizontally to a box beam 169 which in 
turn projects downwardly to the plane containing flange 173. Webs 171 
reinforce the sealing assemblies. During casting, concrete is forced into 
the resulting space between box beam 169 and the vertical portion of beam 
170 to form the sealing ridges 66. A suitable roof bracing framework, a 
portion being shown as 184, supports the roof form. 
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 14, leg forms 86 abut the lower edge of roof form 
84. Each leg form includes a leg side plate 190 pivoted by a hinge 192 
(FIG. 11) to an L-shaped member 194 which is reinforced by a plurality of 
flanges 195. Hinge 192 is mounted to a box beam section 196 of the 
framework. Prior to casting, plate 190 is pivoted until it is at right 
angles to member 194. A capping plate 198 is bolted to flanges 200,202 of 
the respective plate 190 and member 194 to provide a leg form of square 
cross section. The bottom of each leg form is closed by a leg base 204. 
A hydraulic jack 206 is provided under each leg (FIG. 14) and a pair of 
similar jacks 208 are placed under wall portion 10. These jacks break the 
casting free from the roof form portion after curing. The entire form is 
preferably made of rigid steel plate and beams for strength. 
Casting of the Module 
Prior to casting the building module, stud members 30,64 and the strips of 
styrofoam 138 are placed within cups 128,130,174 and 176. In addition, the 
reinforcing mesh and rods are positioned. The form is assembled by 
pivoting wall rib defining plate 94 into a vertical position and rolling 
face plate 92 into position so that side plates 98,100 can secure plates 
92 and 94 together. In addition, leg plates 190 and 194 are pivoted so 
that leg capping plates 198 can be attached. Also, end section 180 is 
secured. Furthermore, if the particular module will be an upper module of 
a building, then the sealing ridge forming assemblies 167 are attached. 
Concrete is then poured into the form and entrapped air is removed by 
conventional vibratory devices (not shown). After the concrete has 
adequately cured, the form is stripped by reversing the assembly steps. 
Thereafter, a crane 212 (FIG. 15) mounted by wheels 214 on a track is moved 
into position above the module. Electric hoists 218 on the crane are then 
each connected to one of the load lifting loops 78 and jacks 206,208 are 
activated to break the casting loose from the roof form. Thereafter, 
hoists 218 raise the module until it clears the form so that crane 212 can 
transport it away from the form. 
Having illustrated and described the principles of the invention with 
reference to what are presently several preferred embodiments, it should 
be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be modified 
in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. I claim 
as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and 
scope of the following claims.