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EP-4384666-B1 - FOAM FILLED STRUCTURAL PLANK BUILDING FOUNDATION WITH LAMINATED REINFORCEMENT AND METHOD OF FORMING SUCH FOUNDATION

EP4384666B1EP 4384666 B1EP4384666 B1EP 4384666B1EP-4384666-B1

Inventors

  • WARNER, DAVID
  • BABCOCK, JAMES

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220810

Claims (19)

  1. A foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation, comprising: a plurality of structural beams (20, 30) connected together to define a structural plank building foundation (10), the structural plank building foundation (10) being in a horizontal orientation and supporting the weight of a building resting thereon, wherein the plurality of structural beams (20, 30) define an enclosure (40) therebetween and an outer perimeter therearound; a bottom wall (60) on the enclosure (40), wherein the bottom wall (60) is connected to the plurality of structural beams (20, 30); a top wall (70) on the enclosure (40), wherein the top wall (70) is connected to the plurality of structural beams (20, 30); a structural building foam (50) filling the enclosure (40), wherein the structural building foam (50) is poured on top of the bottom wall prior to the structural building foam (50) setting in place and wherein the structural building foam (50) is in contact with the plurality of structural beams (30, 40) and with the bottom wall and with the top wall; and wherein the bottom wall (60) is made of metal and the top wall (70) is made of wood, and the foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation further comprises at least one of: a bottom laminate panel (204) covering and being in direct contact with the bottom wall (60), wherein the bottom laminate panel (204) is adhered to the structural plank building foundation (10) by thermal-set epoxy; or a top laminate panel (202) covering and being in direct contact with the top wall (70), wherein the top laminate panel (202) is adhered to the structural plank building foundation (10) by thermal-set epoxy.
  2. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 1, wherein the building foundation further comprises: a plurality of laminate panels (20 1 , 20 2 , 20 3 ) extending at least partially through an inner portion of the structural plank building foundation.
  3. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 1, wherein at least one of the top or bottom laminate panels (202, 204) comprise at least one of the following: (a) a fabric mesh, (b) a fossil fuel mesh including, Rayon, Polypropylene or Nylon, most preferably having a weight from 51 to 540 g/m 2 (1.5 to 16 oz / square yard), (c) a carbon-based mesh including, graphene or Kevlar, most preferably having a density from 170 g/m 3 to 300 g/m 3 (or optionally 210-250 g/m 3 , or 180-290 g/m 3 ), (d) a plant-based mesh, including hemp or burlap, (e) a synthetic acrylic or cementious composites, (f) a product made by a pultrusion process that can optionally be fiberglass, graphene, carbon, glass fiber reinforced carbon, or fiberglass based, or (g) wood-based panel products including, cellulosic panels; plywood, Medium Density Fiberboard, Medium Density Overlay, Oriented Strand Board, plywood panels, bamboo board, hempboard, flaxboard, particleboard, or strawboard.
  4. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of mechanical connectors (90) on a side of the structural plank building foundation (10), the mechanical connectors permitting a plurality of structural plank building foundations (10) to be assembled together side-by-side.
  5. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 2, wherein a plurality of the laminate panels (20 1 , 20 2 , 20 3 ) are positioned parallel to one another.
  6. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 1, wherein the structural building foam (50) is an expanded polystyrene foam having a density from 24 to 48 kg/m 3 (1.5 to 3.0 PFC (pound-force per cubic foot)).
  7. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 1, wherein some of the plurality of structural members (20, 30) form the perimeter of the structural plank building foundation (10) and others of the plurality of structural members (20, 30) pass across interior mid-sections of the structural plank building foundation (10).
  8. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 7, wherein all of the plurality of structural members (20, 30) have the same heights such that all of the plurality of structural members (20, 30) are in direct contact with the top and bottom walls (60, 70) to provide load sharing and distribution through the structural plank building foundation (10).
  9. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 1, wherein the structural building foam (50) has a plurality of openings (140, 150) cut therein to permit electrical wiring or HVAC air conduits to pass therethrough.
  10. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 1, wherein the plurality of structural beams (20, 30) are made of steel or aluminum.
  11. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 1, further comprising: interior structural members, and an array of piers (100), wherein the interior structural members of the structural plank building foundation (10) are positioned on top of the piers (100), and wherein placement of the interior structural members of the structural plank building foundation (10) define openings through the structural plank building foundation (10) through which the piers (100) are received.
  12. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 11, wherein each pier (100) comprises: a helical screw (102) inserted into a hole in the ground wherein a bottom end of the helical screw (102) extends down below the bottom of the hole in the ground, and a concrete mixture filling the hole around the helical screw (102), thereby resulting in a concrete topped structure that projects above ground level.
  13. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 11, further comprising: a waterproofing layer (62), wherein: the structural plank building foundation (10) is positioned directly on top of the waterproofing layer (62), and the waterproofing layer (62) is positioned directly on top of the ground.
  14. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 12, wherein the structural plank building foundation (10) is supported above the ground by the concrete topped structure on the piers (100).
  15. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 11, further comprising: an inner shear wall (110) connected to the structural plank building foundation (10), wherein the inner shear wall (110) is supported by at least one of the piers (100) being positioned directly thereunder.
  16. The foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation of claim 11, further comprising: an exterior foam wall (120) connected to the structural plank building foundation (10), wherein the exterior foam wall (120) is supported cantilevered from at least one of the piers (100), and wherein coupling mechanisms (105) used to attach the exterior foam wall (120) that is connected to the structural plank building foundation (10) are disposed within the structural plank building foundation (10) and are covered by the structural building foam (50).
  17. A method of forming a foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation, comprising: assembling a plurality of structural beams (20, 30) together to form a structural plank building foundation (10), wherein the plurality of structural beams (20, 30) define an enclosure (40) therebetween and an outer perimeter therearound; assembling a bottom wall (60) onto the enclosure (40), wherein the bottom wall (60) is connected to the plurality of structural beams (20, 30), wherein the bottom wall (60) is made of metal; filling the enclosure (40) with a structural building foam (50) by pouring the structural building foam (50) onto the bottom wall (60); assembling a top wall (70) onto the enclosure (40), wherein the top wall (70) is connected to the plurality of structural beams (20, 30), wherein the top wall (70) is made of wood; and at least one of: attaching a bottom laminate panel (204) onto the bottom wall (60) by adhering the bottom laminate panel (204) to the structural plank building foundation (10) by thermal-set epoxy, or attaching a top laminate panel (202) onto the top wall (70) by adhering the top laminate panel (202) to the structural plank building foundation (10) by thermal-set epoxy; while permitting the structural building foam (50) to set prior to transporting the structural plank building foundation (10) to a building jobsite.
  18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: assembling a plurality of laminate panels (20 1 , 20 2 , 20 3 ) extending across an inner portion of the structural plank building foundation (10) prior to filling the enclosure (40) with the structural building foam (50).
  19. The method of claim 17, further comprising: cutting openings (140, 150) into the structural building foam (50) after the structural building foam (50) has set within the enclosure (40), wherein the openings (140, 150) are dimensioned to permit electrical wiring or HVAC air to pass therethrough.

Description

Related Application: The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/232,425, filed August 12, 2021, entitled Foam Filled Structural Plank Building Foundation and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/289,816, filed December 15, 2021, of same title. Technical Field: The present system relates to structural planks, including structural planks for building foundations. Background of the Invention: A building foundation is used to spread the loads of a building over an area of soil. A proper building foundation distributes these building loads evenly to provide stability to the building. As such, a proper building foundation ensures that differences in the soil underneath the building do not result in subsidence or structural damage to the building. Traditionally, many building foundations were made with concrete slabs or mountings. A disadvantage of using concrete in building foundations is its high amount of embodied carbon. It would instead be preferable to provide a concrete-free building foundation. The assembly of a traditional building foundation can be a time-consuming task that requires many different materials and supplies to be delivered to the building site. What is instead desired is a building foundation that requires less materials being delivered to the construction site. Ideally, such a building foundation would be lightweight and could be pre-assembled in a factory setting and then delivered to the building site. Systems for reinforcing such a lightweight building foundation are also desired. The popularity of building modular homes has been increasing recently. Modular home components are pre-manufactured and then assembled at the job site. This results in a much simpler and faster construction. It would be ideal to provide building structural planks including foundations that could also be quickly and easily installed. Such a system would be simple to build and reduce construction costs. WO2011086769A1 relates to a panel floor structure. WO2015071821A1 relates to a modular prefabricated panel for buildings, in particular for houses. US2005055973A1 relates to an insulated stud panel. US2008263968A1 relates to a prefabricated rapid response accommodation structure. As will be shown herein, the present building foundation system addresses the above disadvantages. Summary of the Invention: The present system provides a foam filled structural plank load bearing building foundation as required by claim 1. Preferably, the structural building foam is an expanded polystyrene foam having a density from 24 to 48 kg/m3 (1.5 to 3.0 PFC (pound-force per cubic foot)). In various embodiments, the present structural plank is used as a building foundation. In preferred aspects, the structural building foam has a plurality of openings cut to pass therethrough to permit electrical wiring to pass therethrough, or to be used as HVAC conduits for air to pass through. In preferred aspects, the structural plank building foundation is mounted onto an array of building piers with inner support walls positioned against the building piers. Such mounting may either be done with the structural plank building foundation resting on the ground, or above ground resting on the array of piers. The present system also provides a method of forming a foam filled structural plank building foundation as required by claim 17. In its various aspects, the present building foundation provides a factory-deployable system to support building structures thereon. Advantageously, the buildings supported on the present building foundation can be pre-fabricated, modular, site-built or manufactured buildings. A first advantage of the present building foundation is that it does not require any concrete. Concrete is an environmentally damaging material in terms of the embodied carbon required in its formation. Therefore, avoiding concrete results in a much more environmentally desirable system. In addition, concrete placement is dependent upon the environmental conditions of the day and its time to reach full strength is not fully predictable. For example, although it may only take a week for concrete to reach 80-90% of its full strength, it is possible that it may take as long as a month to reach full strength. In contrast, the strength of the present system is completely predictable as it is built in a factory and can be delivered to the jobsite rain or shine. In addition, whereas concrete takes a long time to reach its full strength, the present system operates at full strength right at the outset. There is no need to wait for the present system to strengthen at the job site. In addition, there is no need to wait for good weather conditions to install the present system. The present system thus speeds up construction time. Another advantage of the present building foundation system is that it can be pre-assembled offsite and then delivered to the jobsite. For example, the present bui