US 5,216,861 · Granted 1993-06-08
The Cone-Shaped Joint That Locks Building Panels Together
Imagine two pieces of insulated wall panel that need to snap together like puzzle pieces. This patent describes a clever interlocking edge design: one panel has a cone-shaped bump, the other has a cone-shaped pocket, and when they fit together, a sealant strip automatically gets pressed and compressed to waterproof the seam.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a specific interlocking joint system for building panels made of sheet material with insulation inside. What's protected here is the combination of a frustoconical (cone-shaped) nose on one lateral edge, a matching frustoconical pocket on the adjacent panel's edge, and a sealant mechanism that both locks the panels together and compresses a waterproof gasket into place. The patent also covers an alternative design using an I-beam connector with the same cone-and-pocket interlock principle, plus the method of joining panels using this geometry.
Why it matters
This patent solves a real construction problem: how to join insulated building panels quickly and securely while simultaneously creating a waterproof seal. Before this design, builders had to manually caulk seams or use separate fastening systems. The cone-shaped geometry and integrated sealant press mean the two actions—locking panels and sealing them—happen in one motion, saving labor and reducing the risk of poor seals. For manufacturers of prefabricated building panels and wall systems, this type of interlock design became a competitive advantage in the 1990s.
Real-world use
When a construction crew is assembling a prefabricated wall or roof made of insulated panels, they slide the cone-shaped edge of one panel into the pocket-shaped edge of the next, and the sealant automatically compresses to create a weathertight seam without extra steps.
Original USPTO abstract
A joint, in one embodiment, between adjacent panels of sheet encased insulating material in which one lateral edge has an essentially frustoconical nose, and the other edge has a frustoconical pocket is disclosed. In an alternative embodiment, essentially frustoconical noses are at both lateral edges and the two adjacent panels are joined by means of an I beam embodying the interlock of the present invention. In both embodiments, the interlocking relationship is a function of the lateral edges of the cladding sheet, or in the flange of an I beam, in which one edge has a sealant pocket, and the opposite edge has a locking sealant press which engages the sealant pocket and thereby interlocks the panels as well as presses the sealant in the sealant pocket to compress and secure the same and to form a sealant gasket between the lateral edges of the sealant pocket and the locking sealant press.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,216,861
- Filing date
- 1991-07-03
- Grant date
- 1993-06-08
- Assignee
- Structural Panels, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- MEYERSON; STEVEN C.
- CPC class
- E04C2/292
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