Abstract:
A building panel including a magnesium oxide board having a front surface and back surface, wherein the front surface of the magnesium oxide board displays a pattern of cuts, wherein the front surface of said magnesium oxide board is covered by an acrylic paint and sand mixture, wherein the pattern of cuts are grouted, wherein the first end of said magnesium oxide board includes at least one male engaging member and the second end includes at least one female recess. A method of making a faux brick building panel and a faux rock building panel are also disclosed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/696,977, entitled “Building Panel” and filed on Sep. 5, 2012. The complete disclosure of said provisional patent application is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    The present invention relates generally to a building panel and, more specifically, to a magnesium oxide board that is tooled to have a brick-looking or rock-looking face. 
         [0005]    2. Brief Description of the Related Art 
         [0006]    Conventional brick and fiber cement siding are well-known in the prior art. The prior art siding products, however, are costly and time consuming to be installed because they require a concrete footing in a trench with footing supports. It, therefore, would be desirable to develop a siding product that does not require a concrete footing. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,735,277 to Everhart, to which the inventor of the present invention is named as an inventor, addressed this shortcoming of the conventional siding by developing a simulated brick building panel made of cement board. Each brick building panel of Everhart includes an overlap on the top surface of the building panel and an underlap on the bottom surface of the same building panel. The underlap on one building panel connects with the overlap of another building panel. While the building panel of Everhart does not require a concrete footing, the building panel presents other drawbacks. First, because the building panel is made of cement board and cement board is very abrasive, the building panel of Everhart has to be cut by hand. This makes the manufacturing process expensive and inefficient. The overlap and underlap of the building panel also have to be cut by hand. In addition, the shipping of the Everhart building panel can be difficult because the overlap and underlap portions of the building panel are fragile and prone to damage. Extra precautions, therefore, must be taken during shipping to avoid to damage to building panels, which increases costs of shipping. 
         [0008]    The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art, including Everhart, by providing a building panel that can be machine cut and has means for connecting the building panels without the fragile overlaps and underlaps of Everhart. Instead of cement board, the present invention uses magnesium oxide board, which is durable, weather resistant, fire resistant, mold resistant, and can be tooled and treated to have either a brick-looking or rock-looking face. Instead of an underlap/overlap system like in Everhart, the present invention utilizes a series of male-engaging members and female recesses for connecting multiple building panels. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention is directed to a building panel including a magnesium oxide board having a front surface and back surface, and a first end and a second end, wherein said front surface of said magnesium oxide board comprises a pattern of cuts, wherein said front surface of said magnesium oxide board is covered by an acrylic paint and sand mixture, wherein said cuts are grouted, wherein said first end of said magnesium oxide board comprises at least one male engaging member and said second end of said magnesium oxide board comprises at least one female recess. 
         [0010]    The present invention is also directed to a method of making a faux rock building panel, wherein said method comprises the steps of: cutting a pattern in a front surface of a magnesium oxide board, wherein said pattern of cuts is in a shape of at least one rock, thereby forming at least one faux rock; passing a drill bit over said at least one faux rock, thereby texturing said at least one faux rock; spraying said at least one faux rock with a mixture of paint and sand; and spraying said at least one faux rock with paint resembling the color of rock. 
         [0011]    The present invention is further directed to a method of making a faux brick building panel, wherein said method comprises the steps of: cutting a pattern in a front surface of a magnesium oxide board, wherein said pattern of cuts is in a shape of at least one brick, thereby forming at least one faux brick; spraying said at least one brick with a mixture of paint and sand; and spraying said at least one faux brick with paint resembling the color of brick. 
         [0012]    These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the drawings as described following: 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is an illustrative view of the process of manufacturing the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is an illustrative view of the building panel of the present invention after being installed. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a rock cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a rock cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a rock cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a rock cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a rock cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a rock cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is a rock cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  is a rock cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention for use as a hearth pad. 
           [0023]      FIG. 11  is a brick cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 12  is a brick cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 13  is a brick cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 14  is a brick cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 15  is a brick cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0028]      FIG. 16  is a brick cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 17  is a brick cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0030]      FIG. 18  is a brick cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0031]      FIG. 19  is a brick cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0032]      FIG. 20  is a brick cutting pattern for the building panel of the present invention. 
           [0033]      FIG. 21  is a perspective view of two building panels of the present invention with male-engaging members and female recesses. 
           [0034]      FIG. 22  is a perspective view of two building panels of the present invention with mating male-engaging members and female recesses. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0035]    With reference to  FIGS. 1-22 , the preferred embodiments of the present invention may be described. The building panel  10  is made of a building board  12  that is tooled and treated to look like brick or rock. The building panel  10  can be used for siding, skirting, hearth wall panels and fireplace surrounds. The building board  12  is preferably magnesium oxide (MgO) board. MgO board is a strong, structural, non-combustible, water resistant, mold resistant, termite resistant, and impact resistant building material. MgO board will not burn, rot or deteriorate. The MgO board has substantial and important benefits over use of the fiber cement board, including being less abrasive and thus capable of being machine cut in the tooling process. The building board  12  is preferably  0 . 5  inches thick but it will vary in height, length and width depending on the application. For the example, in preferred embodiments, the building panels are 10.75 inches×67.625 inches, 21.5 inches×43.625 inches, 32.25 inches×43.625 inches, and 43 inches×43.625 inches. 
         [0036]    A brick or rock pattern is first tooled into the building board  12 . The rock patterns are shown in  FIGS. 3-10 . The rock pattern is cut into the front surface  20  of the building board  12  preferably using an automatic CNC router or a similar computer controlled shaping machine that would be well-known to those skilled in the art. Thus, the cutting process preferably is automated. Unlike with the cement boards used in the prior art building panels, the machine cutting process does not cause the MgO board to chip and break-down. It has been observed that cutting in this process can occur at 800 inches/minute and 15,000-18,000 RPM, as compared to less than 200 inches/minute and 3500 RPM with the prior art methods. In tooling the rock-pattern boards  12 , in addition to the initial cut made by the CNC router (preferably using a ⅜ straight router), an Ogee cutter bit is passed over the boards  12  to give a broken look to the edge and face of each faux rock. For example, the zig-zag lines shown on the individual rocks in  FIGS. 3-6  are cut using the Ogee cutter bit or a similar tool that would be well-known to those skilled in the art. 
         [0037]    Once the building board  12  is cut as described above, the board  12  is treated to have the color and texture of rock. The cut boards  12  are cleaned with compressed air and taped for painting. In some cases, fire is applied to the boards  12  to help remove rough edges made during the cutting process. The building board  12  is first sprayed with a mixture of 100% acrylic paint mixed with sand  14  for texture. The board  12  is then highlighted using enamel spray paint  16  to give the board  12  the color of rock. The rock-like color and texture are controlled by varying the acrylic paint color and sand size and density used. The cut lines  18  from the CNC router on the front surface  20  of the boards  12  are then grouted preferably with a pro-mix grout with fortifier. The paint-sand mixture applied to the texturing made by the Ogee cutter bit gives the impression that the surface of the individual rocks is not smooth or has differing heights across the surface of the rock. In an alternative embodiment as shown in  FIG. 1 , the board  12  is first treated as described above and then tooled as described above. 
         [0038]    The brick patterns are shown in  FIGS. 11-20 . The brick pattern is cut into the front surface  20  of the building board  12  preferably using an automatic CNC router or a similar computer controlled shaping machine that would be well-known to those skilled in the art. Thus, the cutting process preferably is automated. Unlike with the cement boards used in the prior art building panels, the machine cutting process does not cause the MgO board to chip and break-down. Once the building board  12  is cut as described above, the board  12  is treated to have the color and texture of rock. The cut boards  12  are cleaned with compressed air and taped for painting. In some cases, fire is applied to the boards  12  to help remove rough edges made during the cutting process. The building board  12  is first sprayed with a mixture of 100% acrylic paint mixed with sand  14  for texture. The board  12  is then highlighted using enamel spray paint  16  to give the board  12  the color of brick. The brick-like color and texture are controlled by varying the acrylic paint color and sand size and density used. The cut lines  18  from the CNC router on the front surface  20  of the boards  12  are then grouted preferably with a pro-mix grout with fortifier. 
         [0039]    The building panels  10  are secured to one another through a series of male-engaging members  24  and female recesses  26 . The female recesses are formed by cutting out a pocket of the building board  12  during the tooling process. Using the two brick building boards  10  as an example (as shown in  FIGS. 21-22 ), the building panels  10  include four rows of bricks. The two building panels  10  include complementary male-engaging members  24  and female recesses  26 . The female recess or pocket  26  on the top row of the first building board  12  receives the male-engaging member  24  of the top row of the second building board  12 . Because of the off-set design of the faux bricks, the second row of the first building board  12  includes a male-engaging member  24  that is received in the female recess  26  of the second row of the second building board  12 . The alternating female recess and male-engaging member continues down the remainder of the rows of the building board  12 . This system of male-engaging members and female recesses allows other building panels  10  to be connected in the same way. In other words, a building panel  10  may include male-engaging members and female recesses on both the left and right ends of the building panel  10 . Those building panels  10  with irregular shapes, such as the rock design in  FIG. 7  do not include male-engaging members and female recesses and thus multiple panels  10  are not connected. 
         [0040]    In one application of the invention, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the panels  10  are installed on the outside of a mobile home  22 . The panels  10  serve as a skirting that hides the equipment under the mobile home, such as axles and hydraulic supports. The installed panels  10  add elegance to the mobile home  22  and thus add the value of the home. The skirting also prevents rodents and other animals from finding habitat under the home. The building panels  10  can be secured to nailers on the bottom of the mobile home with fastening elements such as nails or screws. 
         [0041]    The present invention has been described with reference to certain preferred and alternative embodiments that are intended to be exemplary only and not limiting to the full scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.