Support panel for supporting external wall forming members

Abstract: A support panel (2) for supporting external wall forming members (1) such as bricks to form an external wall of a building structure. External wall forming members (1) have elongated lateral extensions (3,4) projecting on the side surfaces thereof. The support panel (2) has a back plate (2a) and rows of engaging members (7,8) with bent fingers (5) arranged such that the external wall forming members (1) can be inserted between two adjacent rows of engaging members (7,8) and the lateral extensions (3,4) are covered by the fingers (5). The support panel (2) can be fabricated by pressing or bending a flat sheet metal, and the engaging members (7,8) are integral with the back plate (2a). Therefore, the support panel (2) can be easily applied to a wall of a building structure and the external wall forming members (1) can be easily laid to complete an external wall.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to an external wall of a building or a house and, in particular, it relates to a support panel to secure external wall forming members such as bricks, tiles and stones, to complete an external wall of a building. 2. Description of the Related Art Materials such as bricks and tiles have a fireproof property, and are adapted to complete an external wall of a building or a house. However, it is difficult to attach external wall forming members such as bricks and tiles to a wall surface of a building. In known methods to attach external wall forming members to a wall surface of a building, recesses or projections are provided in rear surfaces of tiles and the rear surfaces of the tiles are attached to the external surface, or tiles are attached to the external surface using metal fittings. Regarding relatively heavy external wall forming members such as bricks, since it is necessary to reliably fix the external wall forming members to the wall, L-shaped fittings are fixed along the wall and the bricks rest on the L-shaped fittings one by one to stack the bricks. However, in this method, a great amount of mortar is necessary, and it is necessary to fix the L-shaped fittings at a vertically constant pitch, so the work for arranging the L-shaped fittings in position is difficult and a working efficiency is low since the external wall forming members may drop during the work. This problem can be avoided with a wall construction designed similarly as a floor construction described in US Patent 3,387,422. The proposed floor construction comprises a support panel for supporting a plurality of floor forming members. The support panel comprises a back plate and several rows of engaging members integrally formed with the back plate and extending substantially perpendicular to the back plate. In order to secure a plurality of floor forming members between the rows of engaging members, each row has engaging members with fingers bend toward one direction and other engaging members with fingers bend towards the opposite direction. When fabricating the support panel of this document by pressing, however, three pressing steps are required. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an external wall and a support panel which can be fabricated more easily. According to the present invention, there is provided an external wall for a building comprising a support panel with a plurality of external wall forming members supported thereon, wherein each external wall forming member has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape including a main surface, a rear surface, side surfaces. Said support panel comprises a back plate in contact with the rear surface of the external wall forming members. A plurality of first engaging members extends substantially perpendicular to said back plate and along a first line. A plurality of second engaging members extends substantially perpendicular to said back plate and along a second line parallel to said first line. Said first engaging members and said second engaging members are integrally formed with said back plate as a unit. The plurality of external wall forming members is secured between said first engaging members and said second engaging members. Said first engaging members comprise to this end engaging members having first fingers bent towards said second line and engaging members having second fingers bent opposite to said first fingers, said engaging members having said first fingers and said engaging members (18) having said second fingers being arranged alternately. Said second engaging members comprise engaging members having third fingers bent towards said first line and engaging members having fourth fingers bent opposite to said third fingers, said engaging members having said third fingers and said engaging members having said fourth fingers being arranged alternately. Moreover, the external wall forming member comprises elongated lateral extensions projecting on said side surfaces, said elongated lateral extensions having minor front facing surfaces and rear surfaces, said main surface being located further from the rear surfaces than said minor surface. Said back plate has cutouts having been formed therein by pressing the material of said back plate to form said first and second engaging members with said first, second, third and fourth fingers. Each one of said cutouts is located adjacent to an associated one of said first and second engaging members on the side thereof towards which associated one of said first, second, third and fourth fingers is bent. According to the present invention, also a corresponding support panel is provided. In a preferred embodiment of the external wall, the external wall further comprises at least one third engaging member extending substantially perpendicular to said back plate and along a third line parallel to said second line parallel, said at least one third engaging member being integrally formed with said back plate, said first engaging members and said second engaging members as a unit, whereby a plurality of external wall forming members is secured between said second engaging members and said at least one third engaging member. Preferably, said first engaging members and said second engaging members have mutually inwardly bent fingers to engage with said minor surfaces of a plurality of external wall forming members inserted between said first engaging members and said second engaging members, said second engaging members and said at least one third engaging member have mutually inwardly bent fingers to engage with said minor surfaces of a plurality of external wall forming members inserted between said second engaging members and said at least one third engaging member. Preferably, a plurality of engaging members are arranged per one external wall forming member. Preferably, said back plate is corrugated to form at least one groove between said first and second lines and to form at least one groove between said second and third lines. Preferably, said support panel is formed by pressing. Preferably, said external wall comprises a support panel and an upper support panel. Said upper support panel preferably comprises a back plate, at least one fourth engaging member extending substantially perpendicular to said back plate and along a fourth line, said at least one fourth engaging member being integrally formed with said back plate as a unit, whereby a plurality of external wall forming members can be secured between said first engaging members and said at least one fourth engaging member when said upper support panel is arranged adjacent to said central support panel so that said fourth line is parallel to said first line. Preferably, the external wall further comprises a lower support panel. This lower support panel comprises a back plate, at least one fifth engaging member extending substantially perpendicular to said back plate and along a fifth line, said at least one fifth engaging member being integrally formed with said back plate as a unit, whereby a plurality of external wall forming members are secured between said at least one third engaging member and said at least one fifth engaging member when said lower support panel is arranged adjacent to said central support panel so that said fifth line is parallel to said third line. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an external wall forming member in the form of a brick; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a support panel according to the third embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the support panel of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an end view of the support panel of Fig. 3, viewed in the arrow VIII in Fig. 4; Fig. 5 is an end view of an upper support panel used with the central support panel of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an end view of a lower support panel used with the central support panel of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of another example of an external wall forming member; Fig. 8 is a plan view of an external wall completed by the external wall forming members of Fig. and the support panel of Figs. 2 to 4, Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the external wall of Fig. 8, taken along the lines XIII-XIII in Fig. 8; DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Figure 1 shows an external wall forming member 1 which is a brick in the illustrated example. In Fig. 1, the external wall forming member 1 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape and elongated lateral extensions 3 and 4. The external wall forming member 1 has a main surface 1a, a rear surface 1b, side surfaces 1c and 1d, and end surfaces 1e and 1f. The elongated lateral extensions 3 and 4 project on the side surfaces 1c and 1d near the rear surface 1b, and have minor surfaces 3a and 4a, side surfaces, rear surfaces flush with the rear surface 1b, and end surfaces flush with the end surfaces 1e and 1f. The main surface 1a is higher than the minor surfaces 3a and 4a. The external wall forming member 1 is arranged in this position when it is attached to a vertical component of a building structure. The width of the upper lateral extension 3 is greater than that of the lower lateral extension 4. Figures 2 to 6 show a support panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment includes a support panel 12 which is also fabricated from a flat metal sheet by pressing the latter, so that the support panel 12 includes a back plate 12a, and first to fifth rows of engaging members 17 and 18, 17a and 18a etc., which extend perpendicular to the back plate 12a and along first to fifth parallel lines, respectively. The engaging members 17, 17a have bent fingers 15 and the engaging members 18, 18a have bent fingers 16. The length L of the support panel 12 is 1218 mm or 2437 mm, and the height (or width) H is 462 mm. In this embodiment, cutouts 12b and 12c are formed adjacent to the engaging members 17, 17a and 18, 18a since the engaging members 17, 17a and 18, 18a are formed by pressing. The cutouts 12b adjacent to the engaging members 17, 17a having the first group of fingers 15 are located on one side of the line along which the engaging members 17 and 18, 17a and 18a extend, and the cutouts 12c adjacent to the engaging members 18, 18a having the second group of fingers 16 are located on the other side of said line. By this arrangement, it is possible to most easily form the engaging members 17, 17a and 18, 18a having the fingers 15 and 16. That is, only the portions 15a and 16a (see Fig. 3) corresponding to the fingers 15 and 16 is first pressed downwardly relative to the flat sheet (back plate 12a) and the remaining portions corresponding to the fingers 15 and 16 are then pressed upwardly relative to the flat sheet. All the engaging members 17, 17a and 18, 18a having the fingers 15 and 16 can be fabricated at once. In addition, the back plate 12a is corrugated to form a groove 12d between the two adjacent rows of engaging members 17 and 18, 17a and 18a the groove 12d contributing to increase rigidity of the support panel 12 against a transverse bending force. It is also possible to arrange nails at the position of the grooves 12d to attach the back plate 12a to a structural member of a building, so that the heads of nails are arranged in the grooves 12d and below the external wall forming members 1. The support panel 12 has a bent upper end 12e (Figs. 2 and 4) and a bent lower end 12f (Fig. 2). The support panel 12 can be used with upper and lower support panels 13 and 14, shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The upper support panel 13 comprises a back plate 13a, a bent end 13b, engaging members 13c identical to the engaging members 17, 17a of the central support panel 12, and two grooves 13d. Also, the lower support panel 14 comprises a back plate 14a, a bent end 14b, engaging members 14c identical to the engaging members 18, 18a of the support panel 12, and two grooves 14d. The engaging members 13c have longer fingers 13e, while the engaging members 14c have shorter fingers 14e. In use, the upper support panel 13 is arranged above the central support panel 12 to terminate the support system at the top thereof, so that the bent end 13b abuts against the bent upper end 12e and the engaging members 13c having longer fingers 13e coact with the uppermost row of the engaging members 18 having the shorter fingers 16 of the central support panel 2, to thereby secure a plurality of the external wall forming members 1 therebetween. The upper support panel 13 is arranged below the central support panel 12 to terminate the support system at the bottom thereof, so that the bent end 14b abuts against the bent lower end 12f of the central support panel 12 and the engaging members 14c having shorter fingers 14e coact with the lowermost row of the engaging members 17 having the longer fingers 15 of the central support panel 2, to thereby secure a plurality of the external wall forming members 1 therebetween. Figure 7 shows another example of the external wall forming member 1 which has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape, elongated lateral extensions 3 and 4, and an end extension 1g. The external wall forming member 1 has a main surface 1a, a rear surface 1b, side surfaces 1c and 1d, and end surfaces 1e and 1f. The elongated lateral extensions 3 and 4 project on the side surfaces 1c and 1d, and have minor surfaces 3a and 4a, side surfaces, and rear surfaces flush with the rear surface 1b. The end extension 1g projects on one of the end surfaces 1e and 1f, and has a minor surface 1h, side surfaces and rear surfaces. The main surface 1a is higher than the minor surfaces 3a, 4a and 1h. The width of the upper lateral extension 3 is greater than that of the lower lateral extension 4. The minor surfaces 3a, 4a and 1h are continuous and flush with each other. The rear surfaces of the elongated lateral extensions 3 and 4 and the end extension 1g are continuous and flush with the rear surface 1b. Figures 8 and 9 show an external wall including the external wall forming members 1 of Fig. 7 and the support panel 2 of Figs. 2 to 4. The support panel 2 is attached to a structural member 9 of a housing or a building structure, using nails arranged at the grooves 12d. The external wall forming members 1 are secured between the engaging members 17 and 18 having fingers 15 and 16 of the support panel 2, as described above. A jointing material 20 such as mortar is fitted in a gap formed between the bodies of the adjacent external wall forming members 1 and above the lateral extensions 3 and 4 of the external wall forming members 1 and the fingers 15 and 16 of the support panel 12. Therefore, the support panel 2 is hidden by the jointing material 20. It is to be noted that a gap is also formed between the bodies of the adjacent external wall forming members 1 above the end projection 1g of the external wall forming members 1, and a jointing material 20 can be filled in this gap. Therefore, it is possible to arrange two adjacent external wall forming members 1 in an end-to-end abutment relationship, which further facilitates arranging the external wall forming members 1 in position. If the external wall forming members 1 do not have end extensions 1g, it is necessary to arrange two adjacent external wall forming members 1 with a slight distance to form a gap between them so that the jointing material 20 can be filled in that gap. In the above described embodiments, the external wall forming members 1 are brisks. However, the present invention is not limited to the bricks, and it is possible use other materials such as tiles or stones or other materials. As described in greater detail, it is possible to safely and reliably arrange external wall forming members onto an external structure of a building even if the external wall forming members are relatively heavy members such as bricks. Since the support panel has a constant shape, and since the support panel(s) has a considerable length and the securing members can be arranged in many rows, the position of the external wall forming members is automatically ensured only by appropriately positioning the bottom of the support panel(s). The position of the external wall forming members is automatically ensured even when a plurality of support panels are stacked. The support panel(s) can be fabricated by bending or pressing and is simple in construction, and is less expensive. The external wall forming members do not drop since they are secured by the support panel, and no accident is caused, during the wall forming work. Therefore, it is possible to easily complete an external wall of a building structure, using external wall forming members such as bricks, and the working efficiency is improved.

Claims: External wall for a building comprising a support panel (12) with a plurality of external wall forming members (1) supported thereon, each external wall forming member (1) having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape including a main surface (1a), a rear surface (1b), side surfaces (1c,1d), said support panel (12) comprising a back plate (12a) in contact with the rear surface (1b) of the external wall forming members (1), a plurality of first engaging members (17,18) extending substantially perpendicular to said back plate (12a) and along a first line, a plurality of second engaging members (17a,18a) extending substantially perpendicular to said back plate (12a) and along a second line parallel to said first line; said first engaging members (17,18) and said second engaging members (17a,18a) being integrally formed with said back plate (12a) as a unit; whereby a plurality of external wall forming members (1) is secured between said first engaging members (17,18) and said second engaging members (17a,18a); said first engaging members (17,18) comprising engaging members (17) having first fingers (15) bent towards said second line and engaging members (18) having second fingers (16) bent opposite to said first fingers (15), said engaging members (17) having said first fingers (15) and said engaging members (18) having said second fingers (16) being arranged alternately; said second engaging members (17a,18a) comprising engaging members (18a) having third fingers (16) bent towards said first line and engaging members (17a) having fourth fingers (15) bent opposite to said third fingers (16), said engaging members (18a) having said third fingers (16) and said engaging members (17a) having said fourth fingers (15) being arranged alternately; and the external wall forming member (1) comprising elongated lateral extensions (3,4) projecting on said side surfaces (1c,1d), said elongated lateral extensions (3,4) having minor front facing surfaces (3a,4a) and rear surfaces, said main surface (1a) being located further from the rear surfaces than said minor surface (3a,4a), characterized in that said back plate (12a) has cutouts (12b,12c) having been formed therein by pressing the material of said back plate (12a) to form said first and second engaging members (17,18,17a,18a) with said first, second, third and fourth fingers (15,16), each one of said cutouts (12b,12c) being located adjacent to an associated one of said first and second engaging members (15,16) on the side thereof towards which associated one of said first, second, third and fourth fingers (15,16) is bent. External wall according to claim 1, further comprising at least one third engaging member extending substantially perpendicular to said back plate (12a) and along a third line parallel to said second line parallel, said at least one third engaging member being integrally formed with said back plate (12a), said first engaging members (17,18) and said second engaging members (17a,18a) as a unit, whereby a plurality of external wall forming members (1) is secured between said second engaging members (17a,18a) and said at least one third engaging member. External wall according to claim 2, wherein said first engaging members (17,18) and said second engaging members (17a,18a) have mutually inwardly bent fingers (15,16) to engage with said minor surfaces (3a,4a) of a plurality of external wall forming members (1) inserted between said first engaging members (17,18) and said second engaging members (17a,18a), said second engaging members (17a,18a) and said at least one third engaging member have mutually inwardly bent fingers (15,16) to engage with said minor surfaces (3a,4a) of a plurality of external wall forming members (1) inserted between said second engaging members (17a,18a) and said at least one third engaging member. External wall according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of engaging members (17,17a,18,18a) are arranged per one external wall forming member (1). External wall according to claim 2, wherein said back plate (12a) is corrugated to form at least one groove (12d) between said first and second lines and to form at least one groove (12d) between said second and third lines. External wall according to claim 1, wherein said support panel (12) is formed by pressing. External wall according to claim 2 comprising a support panel (12) and an upper support panel (13), that comprises: a back plate (13a); at least one fourth engaging member (13c) extending substantially perpendicular to said back plate (13a) and along a fourth line; said at least one fourth engaging member (13c) being integrally formed with said back plate (13a) as a unit; and whereby a plurality of external wall forming members (1) being secured between said first engaging members (17,18) and said at least one fourth engaging member (13c) when said upper support panel (13) is arranged adjacent to said central support panel (12) so that said fourth line is parallel to said first line. External wall according to claim 7, further comprising a lower support panel (14), said lower support panel (14) comprising: a back plate (14a); at least one fifth engaging member (14c) extending substantially perpendicular to said back plate (14a) and along a fifth line; said at least one fifth engaging member (14c) being integrally formed with said back plate (14a) as a unit; and whereby a plurality of external wall forming members (1) are secured between said at least one third engaging member and said at least one fifth engaging member (14c) when said lower support panel (14) is arranged adjacent to said central support panel (12) so that said fifth line is parallel to said third line. A support panel for an external wall for a building for supporting a plurality of external wall forming members (1) comprising a back plate (12a) intended to make contact with the rear surface (1b) of an external wall forming member, a plurality of first engaging members (17,18) extending substantially perpendicular to said back plate (12a) and along a first line; a plurality of second engaging members (17a,18a) extending substantially perpendicular to said back plate (12a) and along a second line parallel to said first line; said first engaging members (17,18) and said second engaging members (17a,18a) being integrally formed with said back plate (12a) as a unit; whereby a plurality of external wall forming members (1) may be secured between said first engaging members (17,18) and said second engaging members (17a,18a); said first engaging members (17,18) comprising engaging members (17) having first fingers (15) bent towards said second line and engaging members (18) having second fingers (16) bent opposite to said first fingers (15), said engaging members (17) having said first fingers (15) and said engaging members (18) having said second fingers (16) being arranged alternately; said second engaging members (17a,18a) comprising engaging members (18a) having third fingers (16) bent towards said first line and engaging members (17a) having fourth fingers (15) bent opposite to said third fingers (16), said engaging members (18a) having said third fingers (16) and said engaging members (17a) having said fourth fingers (15) being arranged alternately characterized in that said back plate (12a) having cutouts (12b,12c) formed therein by pressing the material of said back plate (12a) to form said first and second engaging members (17,18,17a,18a) with said first, second, third and fourth fingers (15,16), each one of said cutouts (12b,12c) being located adjacent to an associated one of said first and second engaging members (15,16) on the side thereof towards which associated one of said first, second, third and fourth fingers (15,16) is bent.

Inventors: YAGUCHI KAZUHIRO, YAGUCHI, KAZUHIRO
Applicants: GRAND HOME BUILDER CO LTD, GRAND HOME BUILDER CO., LTD.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: E04F13
IPC codes: E04F13, E04B2, E04C5, E04B1