Construction panel with edges adapted to be coupled together

Abstract: A construction panel with edges adapted to be coupled together includes a horizontal flat plate (3) and a first edge rib (2a) coupled to an edge of the flat plate and extending orthogonal thereto. The first edge rib has a male coupling member (5) with a first cross-section and a first portion extending parallel to the flat plate. A second edge rib (2b) is coupled to another edge of the flat plate and extends orthogonal to the flat plate and parallel to the first edge rib. The second edge rib has a female coupling member (6) with a second cross-section and a second portion extending parallel to the flat plate. The female coupling member is adapted to be coupled to the male coupling member of an adjacent construction panel so that the first and second portions are adjacent and parallel. Preferably, an intermediate rib (2c) is coupled to the flat plate and extends parallel with and between the first and second edge ribs. Preferably, the intermediate rib has a third portion extending parallel to and coplanar with the first and second portions.

Description: FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a panel for use in the construction of floors and ceilings. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION : Floors and ceilings of buildings are sometimes formed by joining together construction panels. Furthermore, concrete may be placed on the panels to form a combined floor. The present invention relates to a construction panel that is strong, relatively light, may be easily joined to other panels, and to which concrete can be firmly fixed. U.S. Patent No. 3,127,962 to James discloses a construction panel having edge ribs at both ends of a flat plate. The edge ribs have connecting members formed by folding the edges of the ribs located at both ends of the plate into the same shape. U.S. Patent No. 3,290,850 to Byrne Jr., et al. discloses a translucent plastic ceiling panel having edge ribs which are folded to form flat heads. U.S. patent No. 3,511,011 to Straus discloses a construction panel having edge ribs which are folded to form connecting members of the same shape at both ends of a flat plate. The panels also have ridges on the flat plate for increasing the strength of the panel. These known construction panels have ribs only at the ends of the flat plate. This lack of central support results in a general lack of strength in the panels. This means that the panels may bend and warp while being carried. Furthermore, the lack of a central rib to provide strength means that reinforcement between edge ribs is necessary when forming a combined floor. Even if a central rib were provided for reinforcement to the known panels, it would not be sufficient to firmly fix concrete to the panels. Additionally, the known panels do not provide a way to attach pipes and the like to the back faces of the panels when the panels are used to form a ceiling. U.S. Patent No. 3,238,681 to Vivio discloses a construction system including a construction panel and a fitting for attaching the panel to a purlin or the like. The panel has central ribs, but although they have some stiffening effect their main function is to provide the attachment means for the fitting. Additional reinforcement between the edge ribs is still necessary when forming a combined floor. Moreover the central ribs are complex to form, with many re-entrant angles. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: This invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a construction system including a panel having sufficient strength to make reinforcement unnecessary. Another object of this invention is to provide a construction system including a panel to which concrete may be firmly fixed. A further object of this invention is to provide a construction system to which pipes may be easily attached. These objects are achieved by a construction system according to claim 1. The construction panel used in the system according to the present invention has edge ribs at both ends of a flat plate and at least one central rib between the edge ribs to strengthen the panel and make reinforcement unnecessary. The heads of the ribs are flattened in order to firmly fix concrete to the panel. The construction panel also has a groove on the outside face of each of the edge ribs. The grooves on adjacent edge ribs form a guide rail when two panels are joined together, and the guide rail is used to fix a suspension fitting to the panels for attaching pipes and the like to the panels. The fitting has a shaped plate portion which fits in the guide rail but is wider than the gap between the edge ribs at the bottom of the groove. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS: The accompanying drawings show presently preferred embodiments of this invention, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the whole construction panel according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the construction of the central rib of the Fig. 1 panel; Figure 3 illustrates a series of two sequential steps for connecting the panels together. Figure 4 shows varieties of shapes for the guide rail which is formed with grooves on the edge ribs. Figure 5 is a front view of the panel showing another arrangement of the ribs; Figure 6 shows varieties of shapes for the flange of the central rib; Figure 7 illustrates a perspective view of the panels in use; Figure 8 illustrates a perspective view of the suspension fitting, and a side view of the suspension fitting in use. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT : Referring to Fig. 1 through Fig. 3, the construction panel of this invention has a flat plate 3, and at the ends of the flat plate 3 there stand two edge ribs 2a and 2b. Between those edge ribs 2a and 2b, two central ribs 2c having the same height as edge ribs 2a and 2b are formed. The central ribs 2c are formed by folding the flat plate 3, so that each central rib has a double plate thickness. Ridges 4 are formed on the flat plate 3 between ribs 2a, 2b and 2c, at fixed intervals in a direction orthogonal to the ribs 2a, 2b, and 2c. The head of the edge rib 2a on one end of the flat plate 3 is folded to be L-shaped and it forms a male connecting member 5. The head of the edge rib 2b on the other end of the flat plate 3 is folded to be T-shaped and it forms a female connecting member 6. The edge 7 of this female connecting member 6 is folded down to form a space 8 for fastening the male connecting member 5 of another construction panel 1. By fastening the male connecting members 5 of panels to the female connecting members 6 of adjacent panels, a combined floor having a certain area can be formed. When the panels are joined together, the combined floor will be strong because the edge ribs 2a and 2b of adjacent panels overlap each other to form a double plate thickness and the central ribs 2c, as discussed above, also have a double plate thickness. As shown in Fig. 2, the head of the central rib 2c is flattened to form a T-shaped flange 9, and the ribs 2a and 2b of adjacent panels form a T-shape when the panels are joined together. Thus, when concrete is placed on the panel 1, the concrete flows under the flange 9 and the connecting members 5 and 6. Upon hardening, the concrete will be firmly fixed to the panel. On the central ribs 2c, tips 10 are punched and folded at certain places to fasten together tightly the two plate layers of the central ribs 2c. Thus, in the event of fire, heat will not enter the space between the two plate layers. As shown in Fig. 1 and Figs. 3(A), 3(B), the edge ribs 2a and 2b have grooves 11 on their outside faces. Those grooves 11 form a guide rail 11a when two panels 1 are joined together. A suspension fitting 15 can be inserted and attached at an optional place, as explained with reference to Fig. 8 below. Moreover, by modifying the shape of the groove 11, the shape of the guide rail can be changed as shown in Figs. 4(A), 4(B), 4(C), 4(D), and 4(E). Though the panel 1 of the embodiment described above has two central ribs 2c on the flat plate 3, the number of the ribs 2c can be changed to one as shown in Fig. 5, and it can also be three or more. Further, the shape of the flange 9 formed at the head of the central ribs 2c can be L-shaped (shown in Fig. 6(b)) as well as T-shaped as in the present embodiment (shown in Fig. 6(A)). Fig. 7 depicts a procedure for using the construction panels 1 to form a combined floor. After disposing a plurality of panels 1 in a row, the male connection member 5 of each panel is inserted into the space 8 of the female connection member 6 of the adjacent panel. Then a wire net 13 is placed on the edge ribs 2a and 2b and the central ribs 2c. By placing concrete 14 on the panels 1 and the net 13, the combined floor consisting of panels 1, the wire net 13, and concrete 14 can be completed. The guide rail 11a for attaching a suspension fitting 15 is formed by joining the panels as shown in Fig. 3(B). Fig. 8(A) shows one example of a suspension fitting 15. This fitting 15 has a triangular plate 15a for attaching to the guide rail 11a, a screw 15b under the triangular plate 15a, and an untensioned spring 15c disposed between the triangular plate 15a and the screw 15b. As illustrated in Fig. 8(B), after attaching the fitting 15 to the backside of the panels 1 by inserting the triangular plate 15a into the guide rail 11a, pipes 16 (not shown) can be attached to the panels using the fitting 15 and other connectors 17. At this time, the spring 15c is tensioned between the flat plate 3 and the screw 15b. Therefore, the spring 15c pushes against the screw stick 15b and pulls the triangular plate 15a down, creating friction between the edges of the triangular plate 15a and the sides of the guide rail 11a so that the fitting 15 cannot be easily removed. As explained above, by using the construction panel 1 of this invention, fittings 15 can be attached to the backside of the panels 1 without special equipment and the pipes can be easily arranged. The individual components shown in outline or designated by blocks in the Drawings are all well-known in the construction panel arts, and their specific construction and operation are not critical to the operation or best mode for carrying out the invention. While the present invention has been described with respect to what is presently considered to be the preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment. To the contrary, the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: A construction system for use in forming a horizontal structure, said system including a construction panel (1) and a fitting (15), the construction panel (1) comprising: a flat plate (3) having two ends; two edge ribs (2a, 2b) respectively formed at the two ends of said flat plate (3), each edge rib having a single plate thickness and a flat head; two connecting members (5, 6) respectively formed at said two edge ribs (2a, 2b) for connecting said construction panel to another like construction panel; the system being characterised in that: the construction panel comprises a groove (11) on an outer side of each of the two edge ribs (2a, 2b), grooves of adjacent edge ribs forming a guide rail (11a) adapted for holding suspension fittings (15) when two construction panels are joined together, said guide rail (lla) being formed such that a space exists between the bottom edges of the grooves (11) of the two joined construction panels; and the fitting has a first end portion (15a) in the form of a shaped plate which is insertable into said guide rail (lla) and which has a width which is greater than the width of the space between the bottom edges of the grooves (11) of the two joined construction panels. A construction system as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the construction panel (1) further comprises at least one intermediate rib (2c) having a flat head (9, 9a). A construction system as claimed in Claim 2 wherein said intermediate rib (2c) has a T-shaped cross-section. A construction system as claimed in Claim 2 wherein said intermediate rib (2c) has an L-shaped cross-section. A construction system as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 4 wherein said intermediate rib (2c) is formed by a fold in said flat plate (3) and has a double plate thickness comprising two plate layers. A construction system as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the two plate layers of the intermediate rib (2c) are fastened together by tips (10) punched out from said plate layers and folded back on one of said plate layers. A construction system as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 6 wherein the flat head (9, 9a) of said intermediate rib (2c) extends parallel to and coplanar with the flat heads of the edge ribs (2a, 2b). A construction system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said flat plate (3) has ridges (4) disposed in a direction orthogonal to said ribs (2a, 2b, 2c). A construction system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the connecting members comprise a male connecting member (5) formed at one of said edge ribs (2a) and a female connecting member (6) formed at the other of said edge ribs (2b), said male and female connecting members having differently shaped cross-sections. A construction system as claimed in Claim 9 wherein said male connecting member (5) has an L-shaped cross-section with one edge extending toward the centre of said flat plate (3), and the female connecting member (6) has a T-shaped cross-section with an outer edge (7) folded down toward said flat plate (3) to form a space (8) for inserting the male connecting member (5) of another like construction panel. A construction system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the thickness of the plate forming the first end portion (15a) of the fitting is less than the width of the space between the bottom edges of the grooves (11) of the two joined construction panels.

Inventors: UEKI KATSUO UEKI KOUKAN KABUSH, UEKI, KATSUO, UEKI, KATSUO, UEKI KOUKAN KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Applicants: UEKI KOUKAN KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1992
Main classification: E04B5
IPC codes: E04C2, E04B5