Defined relative-motion tongue-and-groove building-surfacing-panel interface

Abstract

A plural-story, external, building-surface panel system securable to a structural building frame, wherein each panel in the system includes (a) a generally planar body having elongate upper, lower and lateral edge-defining structures, (b) elongate tongue structure operatively associated with, and extending along, the upper edge-defining structure generally in the plane of the body, and (c) elongate groove structure operatively associated with, and extending along, the lower edge-defining structure, fittingly compatible with the tongue structure and also disposed generally in the plane of the body. Vertically next-adjacent panels, when positioned appropriately relative to a building frame, are associated with one another in a manner of unidirectional interlock with respect to one another, with the groove structure in the upper panel complementarily and lateral load-transmissively receiving the tongue structure in the lower panel, thus to permit (a) substantially unhindered relative vertical and lateral in-plane motions between the panels, and (b) no appreciable relative inter-panel motion in a direction which is generally normal to the planes of the panels.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.