Curved building panel, building structure, panel curving system and methods for making curved building panels

A building panel formed from sheet material, the building panel extending in a longitudinal direction along its length and having a shape in cross section in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the building panel comprising:

• a curved center portion in cross section;
• a pair of side portions extending from the curved center portion in cross section;
• and
• a pair of connecting portions extending from the side portions in cross section,
• the curved center portion including a plurality segments comprising multiple outwardly extending segments and multiple inwardly extending segments in cross section, the plurality of segments extending in the longitudinal direction,
• the building panel being curved in the longitudinal direction along its length without having transverse corrugations therein,
• a particular segment of the plurality of segments having a depth greater than that of another segment to accommodate the longitudinal curve in the building panel.

A building structure comprising a plurality of interconnected building panels, each building panel formed from sheet material, each building panel extending in a longitudinal direction along its length and having a shape in cross section in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, each building panel comprising:

• a curved center portion in cross section;
• a pair of side portions extending from the curved center portion in cross section;
• and
• a pair of connecting portions extending from the side portions in cross section,
• the curved center portion including a plurality segments comprising multiple outwardly extending segments and multiple inwardly extending segments in cross section, the plurality of segments extending in the longitudinal direction,
• the building panel being curved in the longitudinal direction along its length without having transverse corrugations therein,
• a particular segment of the plurality of segments having a depth greater than that of another segment to accommodate the longitudinal curve in the building panel,
• wherein one the connecting portions of one building panel is connected to one of the connecting portions of an adjacent building panel.

A method curving a building panel using a panel curving system, the building panel being made from sheet material, the building panel extending in a longitudinal direction along its length and having a shape in cross section in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the building panel including a curved center portion in cross section, a pair of side portions extending from the curved center portion in cross section, and a pair of connecting portions extending from the side portions in cross section, the curved center portion including a plurality segments comprising multiple outwardly extending segments and multiple inwardly extending segments in cross section, the plurality of segments extending in the longitudinal direction, the panel curving system comprising a first curving assembly and a second curving assembly, the method comprising:

• receiving the building panel at the first curving assembly and engaging the building panel with multiple first rollers of the first curving assembly;
• translating the building panel toward the second curving assembly and engaging a first portion of the building panel with multiple second rollers of the second curving assembly while a second portion of the building panel is engaged with the first curving assembly;
• and
• controlling a positioning mechanism with a control system so as to cause the first curving assembly and the second curving assembly to be in a rotated orientation relative to each other while the building panel moves longitudinally along the first curving assembly and the second curving assembly to thereby form a longitudinal curve in the building panel without imparting transverse corrugations into the building panel,
• wherein the multiple first rollers and multiple second rollers are arranged so as to cause an increase in a depth of a particular segment of the plurality of segments of the building panel to accommodate the formation of the longitudinal curve in the building panel.

A system for curving a building panel made of sheet material, the system comprising:

• a support structure;
• a coil holder supported by the support structure for holding a coil of sheet material;
• a panel forming apparatus supported by the support structure and positioned proximate the coil holder, the panel forming apparatus configured to form a longitudinally straight building from the sheet material so as to have a desired cross sectional shape;
• and
• a panel curving apparatus supported by the support structure and positioned proximate the panel forming apparatus to receive the straight building panel from the panel forming apparatus, the panel curving apparatus configured to impart a longitudinal curve to the building panel along the length of the building panel,
• wherein the coil holder is oriented vertically such that a rotation axis of the coil holder is parallel to a vertical direction,
• wherein the panel forming apparatus is oriented vertically so as to receive sheet material oriented in a vertical plane directly from the coil of sheet material, and
• wherein the panel curving apparatus is oriented vertically so as to receive the straight building panel directly from the panel forming apparatus.