Construction Method of Composite Wall and Fixing Device

This application claims priority to Taiwanese Invention patent application Ser. No. 11/311,0274, filed on Mar. 20, 2024, and Taiwanese Invention patent application Ser. No. 11/313,4396, filed on Sep. 11, 2024. The entire content of the Taiwanese patent applications are incorporated by reference herein.

The disclosure relates to a construction method, and more particularly to a construction method of a composite wall. The disclosure further relates to a fixing device.

A conventional construction method using formworks includes steps of providing a support frame layer that is composed of reinforcing bars of a wall, disposing the formworks at two sides of the support frame layer, pouring a to-be-cured material into the support frame layer, and removing the formworks from the support frame layer to obtain the wall. Then, to obtain a composite wall, the conventional construction method further includes steps of measuring the wall to mark drilling positions, drilling the wall at the drilling positions to insert wall plugs, attaching screws to the wall plugs to install first metal frames that extend in a vertical direction, disposing thermal insulation material on the first metal frames, drilling the thermal insulation material to fix the thermal insulation material to the wall through fixing members, and installing second metal frames that extend in a horizontal direction to install ceramic plates or metal plates. That is to say, the conventional construction method of the composite wall requires multiple measuring and drilling steps, which are labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a construction method of a composite wall and a fixing device that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

According to the disclosure, the construction method includes steps of: preparing a support frame layer; using a plurality of fixing devices to extend through a thermal insulation layer and an outer formwork to attach the thermal insulation layer to the outer formwork, wherein, each of the fixing devices includes a main rod having a rod portion that extends through the thermal insulation layer and the outer formwork, and that projects out of the thermal insulation layer and the outer formwork; respectively disposing an inner formwork and the outer formwork to which the thermal insulation layer is attached at two sides of the support frame layer, wherein, the thermal insulation layer faces the support frame layer; pouring a to-be-cured material into the support frame layer to fix the thermal insulation layer to the support frame layer through the fixing devices; removing the inner formwork and the outer formwork from the support frame layer; respectively disposing a plurality of external brackets on portions of the rod portions of the fixing devices that project out of the thermal insulation layer; and installing a plurality of outer cover plates on the external brackets.

A fixing device includes a main rod that has a rod portion and a head portion connected to an end of the rod portion; a housing that covers a part of the rod portion and the head portion; a blocking plate that is fixedly sleeved on a portion of the housing covering the rod portion; and a positioning unit that is movably and removably sleeved on a portion of the rod portion exposed from the housing.

Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.

Referring to, according to a first embodiment of the disclosure, a construction method of a composite wall is illustrated. The construction method includes Steps Sto S.

In Step S, referring to, a support frame layeris prepared. Specifically, the support frame layeris composed of reinforcing bars.

In Step S, referring to, a plurality of fixing devicesof the first embodiment of the disclosure are used to extend through a thermal insulation layerand an outer formworkto attach the thermal insulation layerto the outer formwork.

In this embodiment, each of the fixing devicesincludes a main rod, a housing, a blocking plate, and a positioning unit. The main rodis made of a metallic material, and has a rod portion, and a head portionthat is connect to an end of the rod portion. Specifically, in this embodiment, the rod portionis a threaded rod, and the head portionis substantially an elongated hexagonal bipyramid. The housingis made of a thermal insulation plastic material, and covers a part of the rod portionand the head portion.

The blocking plateis fixedly sleeved on a portion of the housingthat covers the rod portion. In this embodiment, the blocking plateis disk-shaped. The positioning unitis movably and removably sleeved on a portion of the rod portionthat is exposed from the housing. The positioning unitincludes a positioning membermovably and removably sleeved on the portion of the rod portionthat is exposed from the housing, and a positioning and blocking platemovably and removably sleeved on the portion of the rod portionthat is exposed from the housing. In this embodiment, the positioning memberis a nut, and the positioning and blocking plateis disk-shaped.

With respect to each of the fixing devices, when the fixing deviceis used to extend through the thermal insulation layerand the outer formwork, the positioning memberand the positioning and blocking plateof the positioning unitare first removed from the rod portion, the rod portionsequentially extends through the thermal insulation layerand the outer formworkuntil the blocking plateabuts against the thermal insulation layer. It should be noted that, at this time, a portion of the rod portionand the head portionthat are covered by the housingproject out of the thermal insulation layerand are located at a side of the thermal insulationthat is opposite to the outer formwork, and the portion of the rod portionthat is exposed from the housingprojects out of the outer formwork. Then, the positioning memberis sleeved on the rod portionand is abutted against the outer formwork. The thermal insulation layeris made of one of expanded polystyrene (EPS), polyisocyanurate (PIR), graphite polystyrene (GPS), and rigid thermal insulation material.

In Step S, referring to, an inner formworkand the outer formworkto which the thermal insulation layeris attached are respectively disposed at two sides of the support frame layer. Specifically, the thermal insulation layerfaces the support frame layer, and the fixing devicesare extended into the support frame layersuch that the head portionsof the fixing devicesare located in the support frame layer.

In Step S, referring to, a to-be-cured material is poured into the support frame layer. Since the fixing devicesare extended into the support frame layer, the thermal insulation layeris fixed to the support frame layerthrough the fixing devicesafter the to-be-cured material is cured. The to-be-cured material may be concrete.

In Step S, referring to, the inner formworkand the outer formworkare removed from the support frame layer. Specifically, the positioning membersof the fixing devicesare first removed to remove the outer formwork, then the positioning and blocking platesare sleeved on the rod portionsand abut against the thermal insulation layerto position and support the thermal insulation layerwith the positioning unit. It should be noted that since the positioning and blocking plateare movably sleeved on the rod portion, the positioning and blocking plateis capable of positioning and supporting the thermal insulation layerthat may vary in thickness.

In Steps Sand S, referring to, a plurality of external brackets(only one is shown in the drawings) are respectively disposed on portions of the rod portionsthat are exposed from the housingand that project out of the thermal insulation layer, and then a plurality of outer cover plates(only one is shown in the drawings) are installed on the external bracketsto obtain the composite wall. Each of the outer cover platesmay be one of a ceramic plate, a building stone, a metal plate, and a brick slip system.

In this embodiment, referring to, the construction method may further include, before the step of disposing the inner formworkand the outer formworkat two sides of the support frame layer, a step of using a plurality of fixing devices′ of a variation of the first embodiment of the disclosure to extend through the inner formworkand another thermal insulation layerto attach the another thermal insulation layerto the inner formwork. Therefore, the composite wall having better thermal insulation may be obtained.

Specifically, each of the fixing devices′ of the variation of the first embodiment is different from the fixing deviceof the aforementioned example of the first embodiment (as shown in) in the positioning unit′. In the variation of the first embodiment, the positioning unit′ of the fixing device′ includes a positioning and blocking member. The positioning and blocking memberhas a sleeve portionmovably and removably sleeved on the portion of the rod portionthat is exposed from the housing, and a positioning and blocking plate portionthat is located at an end of the sleeve portion. An interior of the sleeve portionis formed with a screw threadsuch that the sleeve portionmay be threadly engaged with the rod portionwhich is a thread rod. The positioning and blocking plate portionis formed with a hexagonal locking holesuch that a user may use hand tool (for example, a hex key) to threadly engage the positioning unit′ with the rod portion.

With respect to each of the fixing devices′, when the fixing device′ is used to extend through the inner formworkand the another thermal insulation layer, the positioning and blocking memberis first removed from the rod portion, the rod portionextends into the another thermal insulation layer, the positioning and blocking memberextends through the inner formworkand extends into the another thermal insulation layerto threadly engage with the rod portionuntil the positioning and blocking plate portionabuts against the inner formworkto attach the another thermal insulation layerto the inner formwork. It should be noted that, at this time, the portion of the rod portionand the head portionthat are covered by the housingproject out of the another thermal insulation layerand are located at a side of the another thermal insulation layerthat is opposite to the inner formwork.

In the step of disposing the inner formworkand the outer formworkat two sides of the support frame layer, the another thermal insulation layerfaces the support frame layer, and the fixing device′ extends into the support frame layer.

In the step of removing the inner formworkand the outer formworkfrom the support frame layer, the positioning and blocking memberis first removed to remove the inner formworkand then threadly engages with the rod portionto support the another thermal insulation layerwith the blocking plateagain. The another thermal insulation layermay be formed with a plurality of recesses to accommodate the positioning and blocking plate portionsof the fixing devices′.

The construction method of the first embodiment may further include, after the step of removing the inner formworkand the outer formwork, a step of installing an inner cover plateon the another thermal insulation layer. Specifically, a non-corrosive adhesive is applied on the inner cover plate, the inner cover plateis installed on the another thermal insulation layerthrough the adhesive, and a screw (not shown) is used to insert into the another thermal insulation layerthrough the inner cover plateto fix the inner cover plateto the another thermal insulation layer. The inner cover platemay be a calcium silicate board or a gypsum board, but not limited thereto.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the positioning and blocking memberis integrally formed, but not limited thereto. For example, in some embodiments, the positioning and blocking plate portionmay be fixedly sleeved on the sleeve portion

It should be noted that, the fixing devicesas shown inmay be also used to attach the another thermal insulation layerto the inner formwork.

Referring to, according to a second embodiment of the disclosure, a construction method of a composite wall using a fixing device″ is illustrated. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and only the difference therebetween will be described below for the sake of brevity.

The positioning unit″ of the fixing device″ of the second embodiment includes a supporting and positioning member″ movably and removably sleeved on the portion of the rod portionthat is exposed from the housing, and a supporting and blocking membermovably and removably sleeved on the portion of the rod portionthat is exposed from the housing. The supporting and positioning member″ has a column part″, and a supporting disk part″ that is connected to the column part″. A cross-sectional area of the supporting disk part″ gradually increases in a direction that is away from the column part″. The supporting and blocking memberis disk-shaped, and the thickness thereof gradually increases toward the rod portion. The blocking plate″ is disk-shaped, and the thickness thereof gradually increases toward the rod portion.

Accordingly, with respect to each of the fixing devices″, when the fixing device″ is used to extend through the thermal insulation layerand the outer framework, the supporting and positioning member″ and the supporting and blocking memberare first removed from the rod portion, the rod portionextends through the thermal insulation layerthat is formed with a plurality of recesses for accommodating the supporting and blocking membersof the fixing devices″, the supporting and blocking memberis sleeved on the portion of the rod portionthat is exposed from the housingand is accommodated in one of the recesses of the thermal insulation layer, and the rod portionextends through the outer formwork. The supporting and blocking memberabuts against the outer formwork, and the portion of the rod portionthat is exposed from the housingprojects out of the outer formwork. Then, the supporting and positioning member″ is sleeved on the rod portionand abuts against the outer formwork. As such, when the to-be-cured material is poured in the support frame layer, the blocking plate″, the supporting and blocking members, and the supporting and positioning member″ may act as supports to prevent the fixing device″ from shaking or being damaged due to impact from the main rodand the housingprojecting out of the thermal insulation layerand located in the support frame layer. Through the shapes of the supporting and blocking memberand the blocking plate″, the connection strength between the blocking plate″ and the housingand the connection strength between the supporting and blocking memberand the rod portionmay be improved, and the blocking plate″ and the supporting and blocking membermay be prevented from being separated from the rod portionand the housingwhen the fixing device″ is shaken by pouring of the to-be-cured material.

Referring to, a fixing device″ according to a variation of the second embodiment is shown. In this variation, the supporting and blocking member′″ is disk-shaped and stepped, and the thickness thereof increases toward the rod portion. Therefore, the connection strength between the supporting and blocking memberand the rod portionmay be improved.

In sum, since the fixing devices,′,″,″′ are used to attach the thermal insulation layerto the outer formworkbefore the to-be-cured material is poured into the support frame layer, labor and time for adhering the thermal insulation layer, grinding the thermal insulation layer, and drilling holes to fix the thermal insulation layerand to install the outer cover platesmay be saved.

In addition, waste generated during construction of the composite wall (e.g., waste generated by drilling and grinding, used drilling bits, etc.) may be reduced. Furthermore, time and costs for energy-efficient construction may be saved by using the construction method of the disclosure, so that the market may be more likely to accept the energy-efficient construction.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects; such does not mean that every one of these features needs to be practiced with the presence of all the other features. In other words, in any described embodiment, when implementation of one or more features or specific details does not affect implementation of another one or more features or specific details, the one or more features may be singled out and practiced alone without the another one or more features or specific details. It should be further noted that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is (are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.