Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04C—STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS; BUILDING MATERIALS
  • E04C2/00—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels
  • E04C2/30—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by the shape or structure
  • E04C2/32—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by the shape or structure formed of corrugated or otherwise indented sheet-like material; composed of such layers with or without layers of flat sheet-like material
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04C—STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS; BUILDING MATERIALS
  • E04C2/00—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels
  • E04C2/02—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by specified materials
  • E04C2/10—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by specified materials of wood, fibres, chips, vegetable stems, or the like; of plastics; of foamed products
  • E04C2/16—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by specified materials of wood, fibres, chips, vegetable stems, or the like; of plastics; of foamed products of fibres, chips, vegetable stems, or the like
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04C—STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS; BUILDING MATERIALS
  • E04C2/00—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels
  • E04C2/30—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by the shape or structure
  • E04C2/32—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by the shape or structure formed of corrugated or otherwise indented sheet-like material; composed of such layers with or without layers of flat sheet-like material
  • E04C2/322—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by the shape or structure formed of corrugated or otherwise indented sheet-like material; composed of such layers with or without layers of flat sheet-like material with parallel corrugations
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04C—STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS; BUILDING MATERIALS
  • E04C2/00—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels
  • E04C2/30—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by the shape or structure
  • E04C2/34—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by the shape or structure composed of two or more spaced sheet-like parts
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04C—STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS; BUILDING MATERIALS
  • E04C2/00—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels
  • E04C2/30—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by the shape or structure
  • E04C2/34—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by the shape or structure composed of two or more spaced sheet-like parts
  • E04C2/3405—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by the shape or structure composed of two or more spaced sheet-like parts spaced apart by profiled spacer sheets
  • E04C2002/3444—Corrugated sheets
  • E04C2002/3466—Corrugated sheets with sinusoidal corrugations

Definitions

• the present invention pertains to the fields of construction, architecture and engineering, particularly to a composite structural building module and a corresponding method for manufacturing said composite structural building module. Also, the present invention refers to a load-bearing structural system and to a modular building system.
• CLT Cross Laminated Timber
• LVL Laminated Veneer Lumber
• CLT cross-laminated timber panels
• ribs or beams to separate top and bottom planks.
• Some of these lightweight timber slabs are made up of a longitudinal grid, where each beam must be individually placed, glued and/or screwed together to form what is known as a "cassette” slab (such as Metsä's Kerto-Ripa, or Bestwood Schneider's CLT Box). This process is slow, laborious, and costly, requires a specialized facility to produce such products, and results in elements that only have structural stiffness in one direction.
• Patent application WO2011028124A1 presents a sandwich type floor or roof element referred to as a floor spacer or "hollow wood layer", which is a prefabricated slab or slab-like element for mounting over large spans.
• the element consists of two plates and spacing units between them, and is constructed with a curve of approximately 1 mm along its longitudinal direction.
• the bottom plate has an adjustable curve to suit the desired span and load.
• the spacing units are placed in rows along the length of the part, with spacing between rows varying from 0.1 to 1.5 meters. These units, made of wood or metal, have flat, parallel surfaces facing the plates.
• patent DE202007001771 U1 discloses a timber bearing structure, designed to be used as walls, ceilings, large spans, and similar applications. It is composed of top and bottom multilayer boards made of solid wood, with vertical boards located at the ends and additional boards in the middle, so that hollow boxes are formed. These hollow boxes are insulated and joined by means of adhesive or vacuum pressing, and require several pressing steps and complex machinery capable of pressing in both directions.
• patent DE202018101347U1 presents a CLT-type cross-laminated timber element composed of multiple layers, including longitudinal layers and transverse layers made of wood boards. It also includes a cover plate made of compressed wood fibers with a density greater than 600 kg/m 3 , bonded to the other layers by means of an adhesive.
• carbon fiber or glass fiber reinforced plastics are widely used in some industries. Although such materials may be strong and lightweight, their structural performance is insufficient for the construction industry, they are not sustainable due to the high CO2 emissions generated during their production, their non-renewable origin, and their low recyclability. In addition, their high costs limit their use in the scale and volume required in the construction industry.
• sustainable composite materials based on plant fibers such as jute, flaxseed, and hemp are available. Although they are suitable for lightweight structures, they use high percentages of resins (over 40%), tend to have unstable mechanical properties, and are poorly resistant to fire, presenting limitations similar to those of synthetic fibers such as carbon and fiberglass in terms of productivity and cost.
• synthetic fibers such as carbon and fiberglass in terms of productivity and cost.
• vegetable fibers such as flaxseed are annual crops that are extremely sensitive to droughts, and therefore their availability in the quantities required for construction in a context of climate change is questionable.
• the object is achieved by the features of the respective independent claims. Further embodiments are defined in the respective dependent claims.
• a composite structural building module comprising an upper board joined to a structural base made of a composite material containing oriented wood fibers and binder.
• a method for manufacturing the composite structural building module of the first aspect comprises the steps of:
• a load-bearing structural system comprising:
• a modular building system comprising:
• the module according to the present disclosure is designed with optimization tools, which is load-bearing, of generally flat shape, comprises collaborating parts, and can serve as a wall, slab, ceiling, floor, bridge, beam, pillar, column, door, and/or an inclined plane, among others.
• This building module may comprise three main layers (upper board - core - bottom board) or two main layers (upper board - base).
• the core or base is a layer made of a pressure-formed composite material, containing binder and discrete wood fibers (e.g.
• wood strands or flakes deliberately oriented according to a design generated using optimization tools, and preferably in the shape of an undulated shell, which joined to the other board or boards of the other layer or layers forms a system of parts that collaborate to bear load using low amounts of material, resulting in a composite structural building module of low weight and high performance.
• This type of building module is useful in the construction and assembly of large structures, for example, buildings, houses, bridges, airplanes, and ships, providing an alternative that is stronger, more durable, easier to install and more environmentally sustainable than existing solutions.
• the module according to the present disclosure consists of a new type of prefabricated lightweight structural building module, which has bidirectional stiffness and strength, for use as a slab, beam, or roof in small or large spans, or as a wall, column or other building elements, useful in construction and assembly of large structures, such as buildings, houses, bridges, airplanes, and ships, offering greater strength, durability, and environmental sustainability than existing solutions.
• the modular character of the prefabricated lightweight structural building module here presented simplifies its installation, allowing for faster and more efficient construction processes.
• the building module here presented may comprise two main layers (upper board and base) or three main layers (upper board, core, and bottom board).
• the core or base is a layer made of a pressure-formed composite material containing binder and discrete wood fibers (for example, wood strands or flakes) deliberately oriented according to a design generated with optimization tools, and preferably shaped like an undulated shell.
• Said core or base may comprise more than one undulated shell or sub-layers, and when joined to the module's other board layer(s) results in a system of collaborating parts, wherein at least one side of the module's perimeter is supported by and/or fixed to another structural element, and when the upper board receives a load, it transfers the forces derived from said load to the core or base, whose design is optimized to receive such forces and distribute them throughout the system using mainly the membrane effect, such that every part collaborates, along with the action of the connecting means, maximizing the system's load-bearing capacity while using the least possible amount of material, and achieving lightweight structural building modules capable of covering large distances between supports, generally greater than 6 meters.
• the module can comprise a core or base layer made of a pressure-formed composite material containing wood fibers (e.g., wood strands or flakes) and binder that is bonded to an upper board, and in some embodiments also to a bottom board, which may be CLT, LVL or other types of boards.
• wood fibers e.g., wood strands or flakes
• binder that is bonded to an upper board, and in some embodiments also to a bottom board, which may be CLT, LVL or other types of boards.
• the module is a very resource efficient structural solution, as the use of wood fibers, strands, flakes or the like makes use of up to 95% of the tree (Shmulsky and Jones 2010).
• composite material is one formed by two or more components, such that the properties of the final material have higher performances and/or benefits than those of the individual components.
• composite structures are structures comprising a combination of two or more elements, of the same or different materials, joined together so as to collaborate and exploit the properties of each component for the structural benefit of the system as a whole.
• Composite structures and composite materials can be designed to achieve combinations with extraordinary performance, both in stiffness, load-bearing ability, resistance under extreme temperature conditions, corrosion resistance, hardness, flexibility, electrical conductivity, and other properties.
• the present building module brings the logic of advanced composite materials used in the aerospace, transportation and mobility industries to the world of wood and construction, and is strong enough to be a sustainable alternative to materials such as steel, aluminum or fiber-reinforced plastics in the transportation and mobility industries, and to materials such as steel and concrete in buildings, contributing to solve three of the main problems in construction: sustainability, industrial productivity, and structural performance.
• Another object is to provide an efficient and less costly solution to replace materials that are less efficient in the use of forestry resources and/or having elevated CO2 emissions, thus contributing to decrease the high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated by various industries, with a special emphasis on the construction industry.
• CO2 carbon dioxide
• the present module and systems have several advantages over the state of the art regarding lightweight structures for sustainable construction. The first has to do with its material efficiency and the impact of this on the product's sustainability. Most structural products for sustainable construction are currently made of engineered wood. Glulam, CLT, LVL are the most commonly used materials. Glulam and CLT use sawn lumber as the main material input. The efficiency of lumber for these structures is very low: between 20 and 40% of the tree is made use of for structural purposes. Similarly, LVL requires large, well-formed trees and uses up to 70% of them.
• the material used in the base or core of the module which is responsible for its material strength characteristics, is a composite material made mostly of wood flakes or fibers. This format of wood input is very efficient for the construction of structures, since as mentioned, it achieves a use of up to 95% of forestry resources. This is in addition to the fact that it allows the use of small and poorly formed trees, generally discarded for structural uses.
• This multidimensional material efficiency results in a reduction in the number of trees required for the construction of building structures. It has been estimated that such a structure can reduce the number of trees required to one quarter when compared to a CLT structure with equivalent mechanical capability. This is environmentally beneficial, as it allows for an increase in the number of buildings constructed from wood without increasing the pressure on forests and plantations.
• the proposed product can be made with different tree species and different fiber formats or combinations of them, which makes it possible to adapt the product to the resource availability of the production environment.
• Flakes and fibers have the capacity of allowing the forming of three-dimensional "free-form" elements, and the control of the fibers' orientation and location.
• the present module allows for the production of a lightweight, high performance building module with few elements, and involving simple assembly.
• lightweight cassette elements which comprise multiple elements to achieve a strong configuration
• our invention can be realized - in its most simplified version - with two elements: a board and a corrugated base. This also provides benefits in terms of assembly times.
• Another interesting aspect of some preferred embodiments is that, since they are partially hollow structures, they allow for the inclusion of thermal and acoustic insulation, and fire resistance elements, as well as the insertion of ducts and pipes through them without the need to modify the structure. This is relevant in terms of costs and CO2 emissions, since it allows for the floor packages to be made thinner, thus saving additional materials in terms of insulation layers, ducts, and piping, and maximizing the usable space and/or the number of floors of the entire building.
• the design of the structural base, or core is based on the principle of an undulated shell that allows shear forces to be transferred between the boards by means of the membrane effect, which means transferring stresses across the surface of the material, using shape as the main performance driver. This leads to efficient load transfer using the minimum amount of material, while producing a rigid base or core in two directions.
• the outer board or boards provide protection and contribute to the structural integrity of the composite module, while the base or core mainly provides stiffness and spacing between outer the boards, which improves the structure's strength-to-weight ratio, and aims to minimize buckling and bending of the shell (base or core).
• Production process only requires positioning its constituent layers (base or core, and at least one board) in a surface and joining them, resulting in a composite structural module with structural strength in both plane orientations, and providing a significant advantage in industrial terms, as it enables for the production of larger and lighter building modules, and a significant reduction in assembly costs and lead times.
• the core or base is produced by depositing binder and wood fibers in specific orientations in a mold, according to a design and parameters generated using optimization tools, and then pressing the material in the mold until the part is consolidated.
• the upper and bottom boards can be any of various types of commercially available wood boards, such as CLT, LVL, OSB, plywood, boards of other materials, or boards of a composite material equal to that of the core or base material.
• Shell refers to a thin, curved three-dimensional structure with a low thickness in comparison to its other dimensions, and in which the deformations are not large in comparison to the thickness.
• a main difference between a shell structure and a plate structure is that, in an unstressed state, the shell structure has curvature, in contrast to the plate structure which is flat.
• the membrane action in a shell is caused primarily by in-plane forces (in-plane stress), but there may be secondary forces resulting from flexural deformations.
• in-plane stress in-plane stress
• shells are analogous to a cable resisting loads through tensile stresses. The shell must be capable of both tension and compression.
• an undulation or of undulations refers to the lengthwise orientation of one or more undulations along the surface of a given body, mainly generally flat bodies, as shells or boards.
• design should be understood as any of the following definitions offered by the Oxford Learner's Dictionary;
• Wave refers to the path representing the observable shape in a section cut of an undulated object, according to the definition of "undulation” given in the previous paragraph.
• Irregular wave refers to a wave of a shape that has no regular periodicity, whose crests and/or valleys are not all the same, and do not necessarily have the same distances and heights.
• Compound wave refers to a wave that combines waves of different shapes, and may or may not have periodicity in such combinations.
• Valley In the context of the present invention, the term “valley” refers to a low point or surface between higher points or surfaces, the lowest part(s) of a wave or of an undulation.
• Crest In the context of the present invention, the term “crest” refers to a high point or surface between lower points or surfaces, the highest part(s) of a wave or of an undulation.
• Mesh rendering refers to a type of visualization used in digital environments to represent 3D objects, which uses a collection of points connected by lines, creating a visual and geometric approximation of the modeled object.
• Free-form, free-form element In the context of the present invention, the term “free-form” refers to designs, structures or three-dimensional elements that are not constrained by regular or conventional geometric shapes, sometimes taking more fluid, organic, curvilinear, or irregular forms.
• Bidirectional stiffness refers to the ability of a structural element - such as a slab - to resist loads with low deformation in two orthogonal directions.
• Membrane effect refers to a phenomenon that occurs in thin structures, such as plates or shells, when they are subjected to loads that produce deformations predominantly in their plane, generating a distribution of loads along the surface of the structure instead of throughout its volume. This results in bending and stresses at the surface rather than deformations throughout the structure.
• Orientation A line along which a point moves, which can be traversed in two opposite directions.
• the orientation of wood fibers, flakes, strands and the like refers to their relative position with regards to the general orientation and position of the object they are part of as a whole, as well as to the orientation of the wood fibers that constitute all wooden elements, with regards to the general orientation and position of the object they are part of as a whole, and with regards to each other flake, strand, etc...
• Direction The point or location towards which something is moving, pointing, or facing.
• Peripheral surface the frame or outermost area of a surface, as distinguished from the central surface contained within it.
• Contiguous In the context of the present invention the term “contiguous” refers to a position of one object with respect to another in which they are touching sideways, or close to touching sideways, both objects being on the same or similar level and not one on top of the other.
• mirrored In the context of the present invention the term "mirrored” is used as a synonym for the term “specular”, as related to mirrors and symmetry, where two things bear the same relationship to each other as an object bears to its image in a mirror.
• the ways in which the plurality of layers of oriented fibers or flakes are structured is also variable and will also depend on the requirements of each use case and the type of design. This implies that determining the orientation and position of the fibers or flakes of an element can define an orientation in a general and not too specific way for the set of fibers, or it can define a deliberate and specific orientation and position for each of the fibers or flakes, so as to maximize the mechanical performance of the part to be manufactured, the amount of material used or other variables specifically required.
• every one and all of the various embodiments of undulated shells illustrated - be they as the base of a two-layer construction element, or as the core of a three-layer construction element - comprise some type or types of oriented wood fibers and binder or binders, even though some figures do not explicitly illustrate or indicate such fibers on the surfaces of their respective undulated shells, or their respective numerals in the list of elements and numerals do not explicitly mention it.
• Figure 1A shows an exploded view in diagonal perspective of an embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention, comprising two layers - upper board 100 and base - wherein the base is an undulated shell 201 of oriented wood fibers of chopped veneer-type, and binder, formed by undulations 221 of curved wave in one direction, combined with undulations 227 of irregular wave in another direction perpendicular to the first direction, along with a magnified close-up view 500 of the chopped veneer-type oriented wood fibers 501 of the base's composite material, all chopped veneer-type oriented wood fibers being of equal size shape.
• the base is an undulated shell 201 of oriented wood fibers of chopped veneer-type, and binder, formed by undulations 221 of curved wave in one direction, combined with undulations 227 of irregular wave in another direction perpendicular to the first direction, along with a magnified close-up view 500 of the chopped veneer-type oriented wood fibers 501 of the base's composite material, all chopped veneer-type oriented
• Figure 1B is a diagonal perspective view of the same embodiment of the two-layer building module 2 of the invention illustrated in Figure 1A , with segmented lines showing the base - which is an undulated shell 201 of chopped veneer-type oriented wood fibers and binder, formed by undulations 221 of curved wave in one direction, combined with undulations 227 of irregular wave in another direction perpendicular to the first direction - underneath the upper board 100.
• Figure 2 shows an image of the 3D model 4 of the design of an undulated shell used as a base or core for a building module according to the present invention, after a digital optimization process, in a virtual three-dimensional space within the Cartesian coordinate system, where segmented lines represent the X (510), Y (520), and Z (530) axes.
• segmented lines represent the X (510), Y (520), and Z (530) axes.
• Observed in this 3D model 4 of an undulated shell are undulations 221 of curved wave in one direction, combined with undulations 227 of compound wave in another direction perpendicular to the first direction.
• Figure 3A shows an exploded view in diagonal perspective of another embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention, comprising two layers - upper board 100 and base - where the base is an undulated shell 202 formed by undulations 228 of irregular wave in one direction, combined with one undulation 223 of trapezoidal wave in another direction perpendicular to the first direction, and all the peripheral surface of said undulated shell end flats and at its highest level.
• the base is an undulated shell 202 formed by undulations 228 of irregular wave in one direction, combined with one undulation 223 of trapezoidal wave in another direction perpendicular to the first direction, and all the peripheral surface of said undulated shell end flats and at its highest level.
• a magnified close-up view 500 of the oriented wood fibers 502 of the base's composite material of which some fibers are of the same shapes and sizes, and others are of different shapes and sizes.
• Figure 3B shows a diagonal perspective view of the same embodiment of the two-layer building module 2 of the present invention illustrated in Figure 3A , with its upper board 100 joined to the undulated shell 202 that constitutes its base.
• Figure 3C presents a lateral elevation view of the same embodiment of the two-layer building module 2 of the invention illustrated in Figures 3A and 3B , where its upper board 100 can be seen atop the undulated shell 202 and its trapezoidal wave undulation 223.
• Figure 3D presents a front elevation view of the same embodiment of the two-layer building module 2 of the invention illustrated in Figures 3A, 3B and 3C , where its upper board 100 can be seen atop the undulated shell 202 as well as a front view of the irregular wave undulation 228 that also forms the undulated shell 202 in its other direction.
• Figure 4 illustrates a diagonal perspective view from below of another embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention, comprising two layers - upper board 100 and base - wherein the base is an undulated shell 203 formed by undulations 221 of curved wave, wherein the peripheral surface on two of its four sides is raised towards the upper board 100 so as to join the latter closing said sides of the building module 2.
• a magnified close-up view 500 of the plurality of layers 504 of oriented fibers and binder comprised in the base, and a magnified close-up view 500 of its sliver-like oriented fibers 503 can also be seen.
• Figure 5A shows a diagonal perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 2 the present invention, comprising two layers - upper board 100 and base - wherein the base is an undulated shell 200 formed by a curved wave undulation 221, and is joined to the upper board 100 with dowels 401.
• Figure 5B is a diagonal perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 100, core, and bottom board 300 - in which the core is an undulated shell 200 formed by a undulation 221 of curved wave in one direction, and by undulations 227 of irregular wave in another direction perpendicular to the first direction, and is joined to the upper board 100 by bolts 402 and nuts 403.
• the core is an undulated shell 200 formed by a undulation 221 of curved wave in one direction, and by undulations 227 of irregular wave in another direction perpendicular to the first direction, and is joined to the upper board 100 by bolts 402 and nuts 403.
• Figure 6 provides a set of examples of some of the diverse types of regular waves that may be part of the shape of the undulation(s) of the undulated shell of the base or core of a building module according to the present invention. It is important to keep in mind that these waves are only examples among many other types of waves that may be used in many different embodiments of the present invention, and should not be understood as a limiting collection of examples.
• a medium-frequency curved wave 551, a low-frequency curved wave 552, a trapezoidal wave 553, a square wave 554, a triangular wave 555, and a sawtooth wave 556 are shown.
• Figure 7 provides a set of examples of some of the diverse types of irregular waves that may be part of the shape of the undulation(s) of the undulated shell of the base or core of the present invention. It is important to keep in mind that these waves are only examples within infinite types of possible irregular waves that may be used in various embodiments of the present invention, and should not be understood as a limiting collection of examples. Irregular waves A (557), B (558), C (559), D (560) and E (561) are shown by way of example, as they are featured in some exemplary embodiments of the present invention illustrated in some other Figures.
• Figure 8A is an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention, comprising two layers - upper board 101 and base - wherein the base is an undulated shell 200 formed by undulations 221 of medium-frequency curved wave in one direction of the base, which intersect perpendicularly with other undulations 222 of low-frequency curved wave, and the upper board 101 is a CLT board.
• the base is an undulated shell 200 formed by undulations 221 of medium-frequency curved wave in one direction of the base, which intersect perpendicularly with other undulations 222 of low-frequency curved wave
• the upper board 101 is a CLT board.
• Figure 8B is an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising the same elements of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 8A - a CLT upper board 101 and an undulated shell 200 formed by undulations 221 of medium-frequency curved wave in one direction, which intersect perpendicularly with other undulations 222 of low-frequency curved wave - and additionally consisting of a third layer which is a bottom board 300 of lesser thickness and of a different material than the CLT upper board 101.
• Figure 9A shows an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention, comprising two layers - upper board 102 and base - wherein the base is an undulated shell 200 formed by undulations 221 of curved wave in one direction of the base, which intersect perpendicularly with other undulations 224 of square wave, and the upper board 102 is a five-layer plywood board.
• Figure 9B is an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising the same elements of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 9A - a five-layer plywood upper board 102 and an undulated shell 200 formed by undulations 221 of medium-frequency curved wave in one direction, which intersect perpendicularly with other undulations 224 of square wave - and additionally comprises a third layer which is a three-layer plywood bottom board 301.
• Figure 10 shows a front perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention, comprising two layers - upper board 100 and base 210 - in which the base comprises two different overlapping undulated shells.
• the undulated shell that is joined to the upper board 100 is formed by undulations 221 of medium frequency curved wave, while the second undulated shell is formed by undulations 229 of irregular wave.
• adhesive 400 areas where the upper board 100 and the base 210 meet.
• Figure 11 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 100, core 211, and bottom board 300 - in which the core 211 consists of two equal and mirrorlike stacked undulated shells, each formed by undulations 221 of medium-frequency curved wave. It is also visible in this Figure that the present embodiment of the building module 3 further comprises cylindrical connecting means 410 of the tongue-and-groove type, for connecting with the concrete pillar 420.
• the white arrows 601 show the direction of movement of the module 3 towards its connecting position with the concrete pillar 420, and the zigzagging lines 600 represent an image break.
• Figure 12 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 100, core 212, and bottom board 300 - wherein the core 212 comprises four equal undulated shells arranged contiguously and forming a pattern of four undulated shells along the length of the building module 3 by one undulated shell across its width.
• Figure 13 shows a front perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 100, core 213, and bottom board 300 - wherein the core 213 comprises six equal undulated shells arranged in two mirrored overlapping layers, wherein there are three shells arranged contiguously in each layer.
• Figure 14 shows an exploded front perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 100, core 214, and bottom board 302 - wherein the core 214 is a set of twenty-four contiguous undulated shells of two different types, arranged in an aligned pattern of six undulated shells in one direction by four undulated shells in another direction perpendicular to the first direction, the positions of which are outlined with dotted lines on the bottom board 302.
• Figure 15 shows an exploded front perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 100, core 215, and bottom board 303 - wherein the core 215 is a set of twenty-six contiguous undulated shells arranged in a misaligned pattern of six and seven undulated shells in one direction by four undulated shells in another direction perpendicular to the first direction, the positions of which are outlined with dotted lines on the bottom board 303, wherein the row 540 of six positions, and the row 541 of seven positions are pointed out.
• the core 215 is a set of twenty-six contiguous undulated shells arranged in a misaligned pattern of six and seven undulated shells in one direction by four undulated shells in another direction perpendicular to the first direction, the positions of which are outlined with dotted lines on the bottom board 303, wherein the row 540 of six positions, and the row 541 of seven positions are pointed out.
• Figure 16A is an exploded view in diagonal perspective of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers of the same material - upper board 103, core, and bottom board 304 - in which its core is an undulated shell 204 - and further comprises two lateral boards 320. Also seen in this Figure are three magnified close-up views 500 of the undulated shell's 204 oriented strand-like fibers 505, the upper board 103, and the bottom board 304.
• Figure 16B is a diagonal perspective view of the same embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention illustrated in Figure 16A , showing its upper board 103, the undulated shell 204 of its core, the bottom board 304, and the two lateral boards 320 located between the short ends of the upper board 103 and the bottom board 304, and which are joined to them perpendicularly, such that the two shorter lateral faces of the building module 3 are covered.
• Figure 17A shows an isometric exploded view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 100, core, and bottom board 300 - in which the core is an undulated shell 200 formed by undulations 225 of triangular wave, and further comprising two lateral boards 320 at its shorter ends.
• Figure 17B is an isometric view of the same embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention illustrated in Figure 17A , wherein the lateral boards 320 are joined to the upper 100 and bottom boards 300 in a position perpendicular to them, thus two of the lateral faces of the building element are covered. It is also observable that in this embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention the bottom board 300 is of greater length than the upper board 100 and the core's undulated shell 200, thus the upper board 100 and the core are located between the lateral boards 320, while the bottom board 300 is located below the lateral boards 320.
• Figure 18A is an exploded isometric view of another embodiment of the building module (3) of the present invention comprising three layers - upper board (104), core, and bottom board (305) - and further comprising four lateral boards (320).
• the core is an undulated shell (200) formed by undulations (225) of triangular wave
• the upper board (104) is a fiber cement board
• the bottom board (305) is a solid wood board.
• Figure 18B is an isometric view of the same embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention illustrated in Figure 18A , wherein the lateral boards 320 are joined to the upper board 104 and to the bottom board 305 in a position perpendicular to them, such that all four lateral faces of the building module 3 are covered. It is also noted that in this embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention the upper board 104 and the bottom board 305 are of the same size, and the lateral boards 320 are located between them.
• Figure 19A shows an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 100, core, and bottom board 300 - in which the core is an undulated shell 200 formed by undulations 230 of irregular wave, and further comprising two lateral boards 321 located between the upper board 100 and bottom board 300.
• the bottom board 300 has a greater width than the upper board 100, and that the lateral boards 321 are joined to the upper 100 and bottom 300 boards in a position oblique to them, such that two of the building module's 3 lateral faces are covered.
• Figure 19B is a lateral elevation view of the same embodiment of the building module 3 of the invention illustrated in Figure 19A , where its lateral boards 321, its upper board 100, its bottom board 300, and the undulated shell 200 of its core - formed by undulations 230 of irregular wave - can be observed.
• Figure 20 shows an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 100, core, and bottom board 300 - in which the core is an undulated shell 200 formed by undulations 223 of trapezoidal wave, and further comprising a single lateral board 320 located between the upper board 100 and the bottom board 300 in a position perpendicular to them, so that one of the building module's 3 side faces is covered.
• Figure 21A shows an exploded front perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention, comprising two layers - upper board 100 and base - wherein the base is an undulated shell 200 which is formed by undulations 223 of trapezoidal wave, and possesses tongue-type joining means 404 for joining with the groove-type joining means 405 present in the upper board 100.
• Figure 21B shows a front perspective view of the same embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention illustrated in Figure 21A , showing that the upper board 100 is sliding in the direction of the white arrow 601 by means of its groove-like joining means 405 over the tongue-like joining means 404 on the base's undulated shell 200.
• Figure 21C shows a front perspective view of the same embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention illustrated in Figures 21A and 21B , showing its upper board 100, the undulated shell 200 of its base, and its undulations 223 of trapezoidal wave.
• Figure 22A is a diagonal perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention, comprising two layers - an upper board 110 of convex shape and a base which is an undulated shell 240 of an overall convex shape - such that the overall shape of the building module 2 of the present embodiment is convex.
• Figure 22B is a diagonal perspective view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising the same elements of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 22A - an upper board 110 of convex shape and a base which is an undulated shell 240 of an overall convex shape - and further comprising a bottom board 310 of convex shape, such that the overall shape of the building module 3 of the present embodiment is convex.
• Figure 23 presents an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 110, core, and bottom board 300 - wherein the upper board 110 is of convex shape, the bottom board 300 is flat, and the core is an undulated shell 200 formed by undulations 231 of irregular wave in one direction, combined with other irregular wave undulations 231 in another direction perpendicular to the first direction, having an overall convex upper region and a flat bottom region, such that its shape matches the upper board 110 and bottom board 300 to both of which it is joined.
• Figure 24 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - an upper board 111 of arched shape, a core which is an undulated shell 241 of an overall arched shape, and a bottom board 311 of arched shape - along with two side boards 321 at two opposite ends of the module.
• Figure 25 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention, comprising two layers - an upper board 111 of arched shape, and a base which is an undulated shell 209 of heterogeneous thickness and formed by undulations 231 of irregular wave, whose upper region is arched such that its shape matches the upper board to which it is joined.
• Figure 26 shows an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 111, core, and bottom board 300 - in which the upper board 111 is of arched shape, the bottom board is flat, and the core is an undulated shell 200 whose upper region is generally arched and whose lower face is flat, such that its shape matches the upper 111 and lower 300 boards to which it is joined.
• Figure 27 shows an isometric view of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 111, core 211, and bottom board 311 - in which the upper board 111 and the bottom board 311 are equal and of arched shape, and are arranged in a mirrored arrangement, and the core 211 consists of two equal undulated shells stacked in a mirrored arrangement.
• Figure 28 is a diagonal perspective view from below of another embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention, comprising three layers - upper board 112, core, and bottom board 312 - in which the upper board 112 and the bottom board 312 are equal and of undulated shape, and whose core is an undulated shell 241 of an overall undulated shape, such that the overall shape of the building module 3 of the present embodiment is undulated.
• Figure 29 shows an isometric view of an embodiment of the building system of the present invention, wherein three equal building modules 3 of three layers each can be observed, whose core is an undulated shell with sawtooth wave undulations 226. It can also be observed that tongue-type connecting means 411 are joined to the bottom boards of the building modules 3 for connecting with the groove-type connecting means 412 of other building elements, which in this embodiment of the building system of the present invention is a CLT wall 421, to which the building modules 3 are connected.
• the white arrows 601 show the downward positioning movement of the building modules 3 in order to engage their tongue-type connecting means 411 with the groove-type connecting means 412 of the CLT wall 421.
• the zigzagging line 600 represents an image break.
• Figure 30A shows an exploded trimetric view of another embodiment of the building module 2 of the present invention, comprising two layers - upper board 100 and base - wherein the base is an undulated shell 200. Also shown are four lateral boards 320 parallel to each other, located two at each of the two shorter ends of the building module 2, such that together they configure a connecting means at each short end of the building module 2, for connecting with other building elements.
• Figure 30B is a lateral elevation view of the same embodiment of the building module 2 of the invention illustrated in Figure 30A .
• Figure 30C depicts a trimetric view of another embodiment of the building system of the present invention, where two building modules 2 equal to those illustrated in Figures 30A and 30B can be seen connected to another building module 3 which is the same type of building module of the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in Figure 29 , in this case positioned vertically in order to function as a wall.
• a magnified close-up 500 elevation view to the detail of the connection between the two types of building modules illustrated in this Figure - 2 and 3 - is also shown, where part of the undulated shell 200 of the building module 2 can be seen and how its lateral boards 320 joined perpendicularly to its upper board 100 are connected with the building module 3, so as to configure a building system according to the present invention.
• the zigzagging line 600 represents an image break.
• Figure 31A presents an isometric view of an embodiment of the building module of the present invention that has connecting means for connecting with other equal building modules, where two equal three-layer building modules 3 are observed, with their respective upper layers 100, their respective lower layers 300 and their respective cores, which are undulated shells 205 of oriented wood fibers of bamboo sliver type, and binder.
• the building modules 3 are connected by tongue 413 and groove 414 type connecting means, so that in the presence of a load on one of said building modules, both building modules will flex as a unit, and not independently.
• FIG. 500 Also shown is a magnified close-up 500 elevation view of the connection between the two building modules with their tongue 413 and groove 414 type connecting means, their respective upper layers 100, their respective lower layers 300 and their respective undulated shells 205 of oriented wood fibers of bamboo sliver type, and binder.
• Figure 31B is a front elevation view of two building modules of the same embodiment of the building module 3 of the present invention illustrated in Figure 31A , separated by a white arrow 601 indicating the movement of one building module towards the other to connect with it. Also present in this Figure are their respective tongue 413 and groove 414 connecting means, their upper boards 100, lower boards 300, and their cores, which are undulated shells 205 of oriented wood fibers of bamboo sliver type, and binder.
• Figure 32A shows a lateral elevation view of a two-layer embodiment of the load-bearing structural system 2 of the present invention, which consists of an upper board 100 that receives a load and transfers it to a base that is an undulated shell 200, which together with the upper board 100 work as a cooperating system in order to distribute said load throughout the entire system.
• the load-bearing structural system 2 has two of its ends supported on two respective concrete walls 422.
• a load 603 is observed resting centered on the upper board 100 of the load-bearing structural system 2, and three arrows made of dotted lines within the load 603 point downward, indicating the direction of the forces exerted by the load 603 on the load-bearing structural system 2.
• Figure 32B is a front elevation view of the same load-bearing structural system 2 of the present invention illustrated in Figure 32A , consisting of two layers; an upper board 100 that is supported on the concrete wall 422 and a base, where the base is an undulated shell 200 which in this case is visualized with dotted lines representing that it is behind the concrete wall 422.
• the zigzagging line 600 represents an image break.
• Figure 32C shows a lateral elevation view of a three-layer embodiment of the load-bearing structural system 3 of the present invention, consisting of an upper board 100, a core that is an undulated shell 200, and a bottom board 300, which jointly operate as a cooperating system to distribute the load throughout the entire system.
• the load-bearing structural system 3 has two of its ends supported on two concrete walls 422. Also visible is a load 603 resting centered on the upper board 100 and three arrows made of dotted lines within the load 603 pointing downward, indicating the direction of the forces exerted by the load 603 on the load-bearing structural system 3. Smaller arrows are also shown which illustrate how the initial force is broken down and distributed through the load-bearing structural system 3.
• the load 603 is received by the upper board 100 and is distributed through the undulated shell 200, to the upper board 100, and the bottom board 300.
• the undulated shell 200 also acts as a separation between the upper board 100 and the lower board 300, presenting a combination of compressive and tensile stresses, receiving back part of the stresses from the lower board 300, and in turn returning part of the stresses to the upper board 100.
• the 3 layers of the load-bearing structural system 3 work mainly under membrane stresses, and to a lesser extent in flexure.
• the zigzagging line 600 represents an image break.
• Figure 32D is a front elevation view of the same load-bearing structural system 3 of the present invention illustrated in Figure 32C , consisting of three layers; an upper board 100, a core which is an undulated shell 200, and a bottom board 300, which is supported on the concrete wall 422.
• the zigzagging line 600 represents an image break.
• Figure 33 is a grayscale shaded diagonal perspective view of an exemplary undulated shell according to the embodiments of the present invention illustrated in Figures 1A, 1B , 16A and 16B .
• Figure 34 is a grayscale shaded diagonal perspective view of another exemplary undulated shell according to another embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 35 is a grayscale shaded diagonal perspective view of another exemplary undulated shell according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which undulations 230 of irregular wave in one direction combined with other undulations 227 of irregular wave in another direction can be observed.
• Figure 36 is a grayscale shaded diagonal perspective view of another exemplary undulated shell according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which undulations 221 of medium frequency curved wave in one direction combined with other undulations 227 of irregular wave in another direction can be observed.
• Figure 37 presents a Process flow diagram of a method for the manufacture of a two-layer building module - upper board and base - according to the present invention.
• Figure 38 presents a Process flow diagram of a method for the manufacture of a three-layer building module - upper board, core, and bottom board - according to the present invention.

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• 2024
  • 2024-05-31 EP EP24179342.1A patent/EP4656814A1/fr active Pending
  • 2024-09-23 DE DE202024105463.6U patent/DE202024105463U1/de active Active
• 2025
  • 2025-04-28 WO PCT/EP2025/061504 patent/WO2025247572A1/fr active Pending

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