US 3,535,844 · Granted 1970-10-27
The Interlocking Panel Patent That Shaped Modern Wall Construction
Imagine a building material that locks together like puzzle pieces without needing nails or glue. This patent describes flat structural panels with a tongue-and-groove edge design (one side has a groove, the other a tongue) that slot into each other, with insulation sandwiched in between. It's the kind of clever engineering that makes construction faster and buildings more insulated.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a structural panel made from a continuous sheet with a specific edge design: one side edge is bent to create a groove-like recess, while the opposite side edge is bent to form a tongue that fits into that groove. What's protected here is the combination of this interlocking edge geometry with an insulating layer sandwiched between paired panels. Anyone manufacturing and selling panels using this exact tongue-and-groove interlocking system would need a license from the patent holder.
Why it matters
This patent represents an early approach to modular, self-interlocking building panels that improve construction speed and thermal performance. By eliminating the need for separate fasteners or adhesives along edges, the design simplifies assembly and creates a more uniform insulated wall system. This kind of structural innovation became foundational to prefabricated and modular building techniques that the construction industry still relies on today.
Real-world use
You'd encounter this technology in prefabricated wall panels, insulated building systems, or modular construction where large flat sections snap together on a job site to form exterior or interior walls.
Original USPTO abstract
A structural panel forming member and a panel are provided; the panel forming member is made up of a continuous sheet of material of uniform thickness having an outer face forming an exposed wall surface and an opposite inner surface, opposite first and second side edges and opposite first and second end edges, said first side edge being bent to form a groove-like recess spaced from the outer face, the second side edge being bent to form a tongue spaced form the outer face and adapted to fit within the groove-like recess; the panel is formed by a pair of spaced apart panel forming members with an insulant therebetween.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 3,535,844
- Filing date
- 1968-07-15
- Grant date
- 1970-10-27
- Assignee
- Glaros Products Inc
- Inventor(s)
- EMANUEL MICHAEL GLAROS
- CPC class
- E04F13/0889
Want to file your own patent?
If you're designing a new kind of building panel or construction system, use our free patent scanner to check whether similar tongue-and-groove interlocking mechanisms are already locked down by existing patents.
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