Method and apparatus for prefabricating modular structural members

#A. Field of the Invention

#This invention relates to the art of constructing buildings, especially relatively small and low cost residential, institutional and commercial buildings, utilizing modular prefabricated structural members therefor. More specifically, this application pertains to a novel apparatus and method for prefabricating the structural members.

#B. Background of the Invention

#The foregoing and other objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration, in perspective, of a section of a building structure according to the present invention and shows a group of modular structural members constituting two wall components, a floor component and two roof components, the various components being shown in the form of their triangulated wire cores only and without their associated shell panels;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration, on a somewhat enlarged scale, of the floor component, without its shell panels, constituting a part of the building structure shown in FIG. 1;

#The structural members and building structures made from these members are first described. Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, a section of a gabled-roof building structure 20 is shown in FIG. 1 as being constructed of a multiplicity of modular structural members according to the present invention (obviously only a small number of them are shown) which constitute wall components 22, floor components 24 (see also FIG. 2), and roof components 26 of the building structure. Although only arrangements of triangulated wires are shown in these views, each of the various structural members 22, 24 and 26 actually has the form of a block composed, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, of a pair of shell panels 28 and 30 separated from one another by a space 31 and connected to one another by an intermediate triangulated wire core 32 located in the space 31. The shell panels have been omitted from FIGS. 1 and 2 for the sake of simplicity. For ease of identification, furthermore, the shell panels 28 and 30 are hereinafter occasionally referred to as the interior shell and the exterior shell, respectively.

#In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the shell panels 28 and 30 have the form of respective layers 28a and 30a of concrete. If deemed advisable for a particular type of building structure, a respective metal reinforcing plate or shellpan (not shown) may be embedded in each layer of concrete over substantially its entire expanse for enhancing the strength and fire resistance of the shell panels 28 and 30 individually and thereby of the structural members 22, 24 and 26 composed thereof as well. Alternatively, however, the shell panels may be made of metal or other sufficiently strong and fire-resistant materials. In the illustrated embodiment, furthermore, certain adjuncts of the triangulated wire core 32, shown in FIG. 9 and more fully described hereinafter, are also embedded in the layers of concrete and constitute means by which the shell panels 28 and 30 and their associated wire core are connected to each other. In the illustrated embodiment, furthermore (see FIG. 9), the outer face 28b of the interior shell 28 is that face thereof which in use is directed toward and defines the boundary wall surface of the associated enclosed building space, while the outer face 30b of the exterior shell 30 is that face thereof which in use is directed away from the enclosed building space. The inner faces 28c and 30c of the interior and exterior shells of a building component are, of course, those faces of the shells which are directed toward each other and between which the space 31 and the triangulated wire core 32 are located.

#Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, according to the present invention the triangulated wire core 32 of the basic structural members 22, 24 or 26 consists, as previously indicated, of a plurality of zig-zag shaped wire elements or “trusses” 34 placed next to each other across the width of the structural member, with their tips or apexes interconnected. To prepare such a core, a group of mutually parallel first wire cables or chord members, designated 32a in FIG. 9, are laid out in a suitable jig or fixture (not shown) so as to extend in a direction parallel to the intended longitudinal axis of the wire core, and a group of mutually parallel second wire cables or chord members, designated 32b in FIG. 9, are laid out in the same fixture crosswise over the first chord members.