US 4,769,963 · Granted 1988-09-13
The Snap-Together Wall Panel That Made Modular Building Faster
Imagine a wall panel made of metal sheets sandwiching foam insulation that clicks together with its neighbors like a puzzle. Two metal edges have specially shaped ramps and grooves that let you snap panels side-by-side, creating an airtight seal instantly—no screws or tape needed.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a building panel with metal outer sheets bonded to a foam core, featuring a distinctive interlocking edge system: one side has ramp-and-groove shaped metal elements with a wedge of foam projecting between them, while the opposite side has U-shaped metal elements that slide over that wedge. What's protected is this specific geometry and the way the foam edges interlock to create a structural and insulating seal when adjacent panels are snapped together.
Why it matters
This patent represents a key innovation in modular construction technology. By engineering panels that lock together mechanically without fasteners or adhesive, it reduces assembly time and labor costs on job sites while maintaining both structural strength and thermal insulation performance. The design made prefabricated building panels faster to install and more reliable in the field.
Real-world use
When construction crews are assembling a modular home or prefab building, they'd use these interlocking panels—snapping them together like oversized puzzle pieces to form walls that are instantly weather-tight and insulated.
Original USPTO abstract
A building panel providing for structural and insulating integrity between adjacent modular construction panels is formed from two sheets of thin metal bonded to a styrofoam core. One longitudinal edge of the panel has a first pair of shaped ramp and groove interlock elements with a shaped wedge of core projecting outwardly between these first pair of elements. A second longitudinal opposite edge of the panel has a second pair of U-shaped interlock elements with a shaped cup-like edge of the core conforming to the wedge on the opposite side and overlapped by the second pair of U-shaped interlock elements. Adjacent panels are snapped together by moving the U-shaped interlock elements over the ramp and into the groove of the first pair of interlock elements to form a tight fit and causing the edges of the core to have a tight edge to edge insulating seal.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 4,769,963
- Filing date
- 1987-07-09
- Grant date
- 1988-09-13
- Assignee
- Structural Panels, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- MEYERSON; STEVEN C.
- CPC class
- E04B1/80
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