Interlocking wall panels for modular building units
View Patent ↗Disclosed is a modular building construction having interlocking wall panels that mate with one another and with the frame of the building unit without screws, bolts or other fasteners, but while ensuring a water-tight fit. This configuration significantly simplifies installation of the wall panels into the skeletal frame of the modular building unit, allowing a first wall panel to be joined to an adjacent wall panel in a quick and easy installation step while maintaining the ability to later adjust and/or replace the wall panel.
1. An interlocking wall panel system for modular building units, comprising:
a plurality of wall panels of identical construction, each said wall panel further comprising:
an external sheet and an internal sheet;
a vertical tongue extending along a first vertical edge of said wall panel and formed by a first edge of each of said external sheet and said internal sheet;
a vertical groove extending along a second vertical edge of said wall panel and formed by a second edge of each of said external sheet and said internal sheet, wherein said vertical groove of a first one of said panels is configured to mate with said vertical tongue of an adjacent one of said panels to form a connected edge in which said external sheets of said adjacent panels are in contact and coplanar with one another, and said internal sheets of said adjacent panels are in contact and coplanar with one another; and
a bottom profile having an upwardly extending notch configured to engage an upwardly extending ridge on a lower frame member of a modular building unit, wherein said bottom profile further comprises a front wall adjacent said external sheet, a back wall adjacent said internal sheet, an internal ledge extending from a bottom end of said back wall and toward the front wall of said wall panel, a vertical wall extending downward away from said wall panels from said internal ledge, and a a bottom wall having the upwardly extending notch therein, the bottom wall between said front wall and said vertical wall;
wherein said vertical tongue of each of said wall panels further comprises:
a first inwardly bent leg bending toward an interior of said wall panel at a first end of an outer face of the external sheet and an external side tongue wall extending outward from an end of said leg, and a second inwardly bent leg bending toward an interior of said wall panel at a first end of an interior face of the internal sheet and an internal side tongue wall extending outward from an end of said second leg.
2. The interlocking wall panel system of claim 1 , said vertical groove of each said wall panel further comprising:
an external groove wall extending outward from a second end of the outer face of the external sheet, said external groove wall having an external face configured to align with the external sheet of said adjacent one of said panels, an internal face configured for facing engagement with said external side tongue wall of said adjacent one of said panels, and a rounded end portion configured to abut said first inwardly bent leg of said adjacent one of said panels; and
an internal groove wall extending outward from a second end of the interior face of the internal sheet, said internal groove wall having an external face configured to align with the internal sheet of said adjacent one of said panels, an internal face configured for facing engagement with said internal side tongue wall of said adjacent one of said panels, and a rounded end portion configured to abut said second inwardly bent leg of said adjacent one of said panels.
3. The interlocking wall panel system of claim 1 , each of said wall panels further comprising a top profile defining an outer rectangular perimeter configured to fit within a rectangular opening in an upper frame member of a modular building unit.
4. The interlocking wall panel system of claim 3 , each of said wall panels further comprising an insulation panel positioned between said external sheet and said internal sheet.
5. The interlocking wall panel system of claim 4 , said top profile further comprising a horizontal top face, a first planar top wall extending downward from said horizontal top face and positioned between said external sheet and said insulation panel, and a second planar top wall extending downward from said horizontal top face and positioned between said internal sheet and said insulation panel.
6. The interlocking wall panel system of claim 1 , said notched wall further comprising a first bottom wall section extending from a bottom of said front wall and a second bottom wall section extending from a bottom of said vertical wall, a horizontal ledge positioned between said first bottom wall section and said second bottom wall section and horizontally aligned with said internal ledge, and angled walls extending from each of said first bottom wall section and said second bottom wall section to said horizontal ledge.
7. A modular building unit comprising:
a rigid, fixed modular building unit frame having a plurality of corner support posts, a bottom rail extending between adjacent pairs of corner support posts, a top rail extending between adjacent pairs of corner support posts, and a plurality of wall panels extending between said corner support posts, said top rails, and said bottom rails;
wherein each said wall panel further comprises:
an external sheet and an internal sheet;
a vertical tongue extending along a first vertical edge of said wall panel and formed by a first edge of each of said external sheet and said internal sheet;
a vertical groove extending along a second vertical edge of said wall panel and formed by a second edge of each of said external sheet and said internal sheet, wherein said vertical groove of a first one of said panels is configured to mate with said vertical tongue of an adjacent one of said panels to form a connected edge in which said external sheets of said adjacent panels are in contact and coplanar with one another, and said internal sheets of said adjacent panels are in contact and coplanar with one another; and
a bottom profile having an upwardly extending notch configured to engage an upwardly extending ridge on said bottom rail of said modular building unit frame.
8. The modular building unit of claim 7 , said vertical tongue of each of said wall panels further comprising:
a first inwardly bent leg bending toward an interior of said wall panel at a first end of an outer face of the external sheet and an external side tongue wall extending outward from an end of said leg, and a second inwardly bent leg bending toward an interior of said wall panel at a first end of an interior face of the internal sheet and an internal side tongue wall extending outward from an end of said second leg.
9. The modular building unit of claim 8 , said vertical groove of each said wall panel further comprising:
an external groove wall extending outward from a second end of the outer face of the external sheet, said external groove wall having an external face configured to align with the external sheet of said adjacent one of said panels, an internal face configured for facing engagement with said external side tongue wall of said adjacent one of said panels, and a rounded end portion configured to abut said first inwardly bent leg of said adjacent one of said panels; and
an internal groove wall extending outward from a second end of the interior face of the internal sheet, said internal groove wall having an external face configured to align with the internal sheet of said adjacent one of said panels, an internal face configured for facing engagement with said internal side tongue wall of said adjacent one of said panels, and a rounded end portion configured to abut said second inwardly bent leg of said adjacent one of said panels.
10. The modular building unit of claim 7 , each of said wall panels further comprising a top profile defining an outer rectangular perimeter configured to fit within a rectangular opening in said top rail of said modular building unit frame.
11. The modular building unit of claim 10 , each of said wall panels further comprising an insulation panel positioned between said external sheet and said internal sheet.
12. The modular building unit of claim 11 , said top profile further comprising a horizontal top face, a first planar top wall extending downward from said horizontal top face and positioned between said external sheet and said insulation panel, and a second planar top wall extending downward from said horizontal top face and positioned between said internal sheet and said insulation panel.
13. The modular building unit of claim 7 , said bottom profile further comprising a front wall adjacent said external sheet, a back wall adjacent said internal sheet, an internal ledge extending from a bottom end of said back wall and toward an interior of said wall panel, a vertical wall extending downward from said internal ledge, and a notched wall between said front wall and said vertical wall.
14. The modular building unit of claim 13 , said notched wall further comprising a first bottom wall section extending from a bottom of said front wall and a second bottom wall section extending from a bottom of said vertical wall, a horizontal ledge positioned between said first bottom wall section and said second bottom wall section and horizontally aligned with said internal ledge, and angled walls extending from each of said first bottom wall section and said second bottom wall section to said horizontal ledge.