Modular Wall Panel with Integrated Channels

This application claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/749,182 filed on Jun. 20, 2024 which is incorporated by reference.

Not Applicable.

The present invention pertains to modular wall panels formed with installation channels for various conduits and junctions, including electrical power, electrical communication, plumbing, central vacuum, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).

The invention relates to prefabricated modular building construction and units utilized in that construction. Prefabricated building components are used for construction because of their efficiency in installation which can potentially have expense cutting aspects and the reduction in the depletion of natural resources.

Historically the use of two by four (2×4) studs of wood or other lumber of standard dimensions were most commonly used to fabricate the interior and exterior portions of buildings. Skilled tradesmen and a significant amount of time are needed for the fabrication of buildings by this traditional method of building construction. While prefabricated walls made from studs are available, the weight of the units makes them less efficient for installation. These prefabricated walls do not overcome the issue of the depletion of natural resources because they use standard lumber, the manufacturing of which involves a significant amount of waste material. Due to the weight and size of these types of prefabricated walls there are issues with shipping and storage. Furthermore, the continuous use of lumber in construction of prefabricated wall systems inadequately addresses global challenges of ever increasing lumber shortages and high materials cost despite decreasing lumber quality, due to droughts, beetle infestations and wild fires caused by climate change. The installation of elements such as electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling elements requires drilling, threading, blocking or other time consuming methods for installation because there are no channels for the horizontal placement of these systems.

Standard stud framed walls, require a complete new electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems design for every new building design because there is no system available which standardizes these kinds of installation which not only create unnecessary logjams and time consuming coordination between mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades but also is prone to cause miscommunication, mistakes and conflicts that would be minimized through a more standardized approach that reduces cost and time spent fixing problems. Additionally, stud framed walls are very limiting regarding the placement of electrical junction boxes (“j-box”) because boxes typically need to be attached to the side of a stud, installed with some sort of blocking between studs or special brackets to be mounted in the desired location between two adjacent studs. Furthermore, standard stud framed walls provide limited attachment points for hanging heavy cabinetry, which are predominately mounted directly to the studs. There is therefore a desire for a wall panel and system that increases the mounting options and minimizes the need for extra blocking or braces to mount j-boxes anywhere along a wall to save on installation time and material. There is also a desire for a wall panel and system that significantly increases the area where heavy items can be wall mounted by offering a continuous corrugated panel made of strong and durable composite materials to provide almost unlimited options to attach heavier items anywhere on the panel.

Other systems using prefabricated walls use materials such as metal sheets or poured concrete or cement forms. These types of systems have been unable to overcome the need for skilled tradesmen for installation. Additionally, the prefabricated components are heavy and are unable to be installed without the use of specialty equipment such as cranes, lifts, or other heavy mechanical equipment. In addition, many of the systems have been unable to accommodate plumbing, electrical, and HVAC or make it difficult to install these systems because of the inability to directly install without feeding the systems through complex or small openings. Many of the systems additionally have not been made of materials that help cut costs and reduce the use of non-renewable resources, or are cumbersome and installation is inconvenient and time consuming. As the construction industry is struggling worldwide with labor shortages, high labor cost, high material costs due to lumber shortages, long building time and low profitability, a modular building system is needed to help ameliorate these challenges.

Panels in the prior art include U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,249,572, 9,790,684 and 10,077,553 by Neumayr which describe wall assemblies made from corrugated wall panels that have various channels for plumbing, electrical, and HVAC installations. Another panel system in the prior art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,563,400 by Graham. This prefabricated structural building panel describes a wall panel with multiple channels and a step within the channel to accommodate electrical boxes. However, the channel and steps in the '400 patent are limited given they are so far recessed into the channel that they can only be used to receive an electrical box and cannot readily function to close the open channels, to create a continuous solid front surface or readily accommodate other mounting brackets for plumbing and electrical components that are necessarily closer to the front face of the panel.

The '400 patent is suited for very limited electrical installations only, as the channel width, per suggested dimensions, does not provide sufficient space to fit standard j-boxes of different sizes that are customarily used by those in the art. Instead, the '400 patent is limited to a 1-gang or a 2-gang 4S j-boxes which have standard dimensions of four by four inches (4″×4″). Switch clusters, which are customarily oriented in lateral direction and located next to a door opening, often need to fit up to a 6-gang j-box which is considerably wider than the space provided in the '400 patent. In addition, based on the dimensions given inand as illustrated inof the '400 patent, the suggested ledges in the sidewalls provide inadequate dimensioned resting points for standard j-boxes wherein standard j-boxes of the most customarily used dimensions would fit within the opening width of the channel but would not be able to straddle the distance between the ledges as suggested. Thus, the prescribed box would be difficult to install as it would need additional back support to position the front of the box flush with the front of the panel. Furthermore, if a j-box would be able to straddle the distance between both ledges as suggested, screws would be exposed as they would have to make up the distance between the ledge, the backside of the J-box and the bottom of the channel in order to attach the box to the bottom of the channel. These exposed screws would not be considered the correct way of installing a J-box and the '400 patent therefore fails to provide an adequate solution to those in the art in need of improved modular wall panels.

Further still, the '400 patent does not provide a solution to cross thread electrical wiring horizontally to connect j-boxes for wall outlets, which are by code to be positioned every eight feet (8′) and are customarily also wired in lateral direction. The '400 patent further limits its plumbing pipe diameter to a diameter of one and one half inch (1½″), which limits the application to the installation of sinks where pipes of greater diameter for waste water lines for showers, bathtubs, washers, or toilets, required by code of a minimum two inches (2″) in diameter in certain regions. According to the teachings ofof the '400 patent, the longitudinal channel provides no solution to feed pipes horizontally, which is a prerequisite for the code compliant installation of vent pipes and wastewater main stack assemblies as needed for toilet installations and which customarily require a minimum interior pipe diameter size of three inches (3″) and thereby require significantly wider installation space than five inches (5″). In addition, there is no option to run fresh water, waste water and vent lines both side by side vertically as well as horizontally, which make the '400 patent virtually unsuitable for the most standard plumbing installation to comply with IPC or UPC codes.

Prior art like U.S. Pat. No. 9,249,572 by Neumayr and the 400' patent by Graham also fail to provide a practical solution to mount multiple electrical j-boxes and waste water plumbing lines simultaneously at varying installation depths and different vertical installation heights, in the same channel. Similarly, they do not provide a solution to run multiple large diameter waste water pipes of varying diameters, in the same longitudinal channel parallel to one another, as needed for standard toilet installs. Prior Art such as U.S. Pat. No. 9,010,054 by Herdt and U.S. Pat. No. 10,077,553 by Neumayr show narrow installation cannels and the transitions between the longitudinal to the lateral channels are either at sharp ninety degree (90°) angles, which offer insufficient space for rigid electrical conduit, which have a minimum bending radius of four inches (4″), and plumbing fittings of larger curvature such as elbows, sweeps or sanitary-T's or W's. In order to avoid pipe crossings or crossings of rigid electrical conduits and to be able to run these fittings parallel to one another, the transitions between the longitudinal and lateral channels need to be able to provide a sufficiently large curvature to accommodate the large bend radii of these objects to allow for a space saving install of pipes close to the sidewalls of the channels. This space is paramount as it allows for sufficient additional installation space for standard drain pipe and vent pipe configuration where large diameter wastewater and vent pipes need to be placed parallel to one another. In addition, both plumbing pipes and electrical conduits need to be secured in place which is customarily done via plumber's tape or other means of fastening. To achieve a secure attachment to the panel, the various pipes need to be close to the sidewalls of the channels for such attachment to the panel can occur.

The above mentioned '054 patent, '572 patent, '684 patent and '553 patent also suggests sharp edged surface transitions and various design details like ridges in the horizontal channel, which are only found on the frontside of the corrugated panel, and thickened sections which fail to meet moldability requirements of bio-based strand materials. The design details as suggested in the '553 patent, specifically the thickened frames cannot be formed with state-of-the-art production methods and would not allow for a consistent density. If the thickened side frames and top and bottom frames were to be formed to a thickness greater than the overall panel thickness, which would negatively affect the internal bond strength between the various strand layers, the ninety degree (90°) deformation of the strand mat at the side edges of the panel, which is needed to create these thickened edges, would cause breakage and shear thinning of the strands and render the panel unsuitable to provide the needed structural integrity. Accordingly, there is a desire in the art to provide an improved wall panel with particular features that ease installation and manufacturing and provide a better end product.

According to various aspects of the present disclosure, there are provided multiple descriptions of the present invention. The present disclosure includes a prefabricated wall panel that can be made from fast growing plant fibers or from materials which are otherwise waste products in the agricultural and forestry industry. Examples of natural fast growing plant fibers, agricultural and forestry by-products, and waste products include wood chips, wood strands, wood particles, wood wafers, bagasse, coconut husk, straw, hemp, sorghum grass, corn husks, corn stalks or corn stover, agave, coconut or bamboo, or similar suitable natural fibers, i.e., organic-based composite materials. The present system also helps in overcoming the need for waste disposal of these byproducts in their respective industries. As there is an urgent need in the construction industry to reduce carbon emission through long time carbon storage to ameliorate the negative effects of climate change, the present system can be made of waste from forest management, such as beetle infested trees, small diameter timber, and burned logs left over from forest fires which cannot otherwise be readily used by the timber industry. The present system not only provides long time carbon storage by capturing carbon in corrugated wall panels but it also gives these materials commercial value. Using wood waste from forest management activities creates and incentivizes the removal of overabundant forest waste which will greatly reduce the risk of wildfires, an ever-growing international threat caused by climate change. At the same time, the removal of these materials helps restore biodiversity and provides the grounds for a healthy and resilient forest and reforestation efforts which would not be possible without the removal of forest waste. In addition, the option to make the panels described herein from forest waste creates a demand for these waste products which reduces carbon emission as unwanted material is usually burned by the forest service, releasing additional CO2 into the atmosphere.

In addition to overcoming the need to utilize the waste associated with the above disclosed industries, utilizing these plant fibers generates a second form of income for farmers and companies in these industries as the byproducts of farming can now be utilized as viable building materials. The use of this abundant waste product allows for the construction of the present invention to be lower in terms of raw materials costs, lower production prices, and higher profit margins for manufactures enabling a delivery of a sustainable product of equal or lower cost than conventional lumber or prefabricated metal and concrete structures. These prefabricated structures can be utilized in both new and redesigned structures because of the unique way the prefabricated structures enable all components in modern buildings (electrical, plumbing, central vacuum, and HVAC) to be run through the structures. Additionally, color coded areas, human readable indicia, and/or machine readable indicia can be shown on the panel as described in detail below which enables the ease of construction by identifying the location of electrical and/or plumbing components and can reduce waste.

The wall panels of the present disclosure are preferably sized to be equal or similar to standard building materials and thus can be installed by one or two workers, eliminating the need for cranes, advanced delivery systems and installation materials, overcoming some of the obstacles of other prefabricated systems. The panels are capable of being cut to length so that they can be utilized to build a particular desired sized structure. Additionally, the openings for windows, doors and other portal elements can be cut into the structures for installation of these additional elements in construction or created by assembling prefabricated wall modules, headers and window sills.

The panels can be mixed with conventional framing techniques and used in concert with conventional tools for installation reducing the need for a set of separately skilled laborers for the installation. Many of the other prefabricated systems, using metal or other materials are unable to accommodate horizontal and vertical installation of electrical, plumbing, central vacuum and HVAC systems. In addition, the way the channels are formed eliminates the need to thread these systems through the preformed panels and provides a planar mounting surface, parallel to the front face of the panel, set at a standard depth of the most commonly used electrical boxes, at the correct and code compliant mounting height and depth. Thus, enabling the current invention to partner in both new and existing structures, while reducing time and the need for additional blocking, drilling, fishing, and feeding.

According to one aspect of the invention described herein, each channel has a step on both sidewalls proximate to the front face and in another embodiment at least one sidewall of one of the channels has at least one other step to accommodate various installation brackets and boxes at multiple positions within the channel.

According to another aspect of the invention described herein, each transition between the various faces on the front and back of the panel has a curve, without any sharp corner. By providing curvatures at surface and channel transitions, where the curvatures are measurably larger, the further the transition is located from the front face of the corrugated panel towards the backside of the corrugated panel, it allows to overcome several issues, such as providing needed space to accommodate both plumbing pipes and elbows and rigid electrical elbows, to be located close to the sidewalls and therefor provide sufficient installation space for various pipes. The pipes can run parallel in one channel and one or more of the pipes can transition into another channel that intersects perpendicular to the first channel, Furthermore the curved curvatures overcome shear thinning of the strand mat at sharp corner transitions.

According to another aspect of the invention described herein, some of the channel sidewalls can include an indent portion that allows for further connection of brackets and the like that are installed within the channels.

According to another aspect of the invention described herein, the corners of the panel are recessed from the front face.

According to yet another aspect of the invention described herein, floor and mid lines are marked on the front of each panel and a vertical centerline is marked on the front of each panel. The lines are either printed, stenciled, debossed, embossed, milled, engraved, or otherwise placed on the front face of the corrugated panel, such as with a sticker, following the full panel contour. The panel can also feature machine readable and/or scannable indicia, such as barcodes, QR codes, non fungible tokens (NFTs), or the like.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

show exemplary embodiments of wall panels particularly designed for electrical installations for a wall systemaccording to the present invention andshow additional alternative electrical panel embodiments. Similarly,show an exemplary embodiment of a wall panelparticularly designed for plumbing installations for a wall systemaccording to the present invention whileshow alternative plumbing panel embodiments. Regardless of the particular construction, the innovative corrugated panel includes a longitudinal channelextending the panel height between the top endand bottom endof the paneland multiple lateral channels,,,(collectively referred to as lateral channels) extending the panel width between the opposing side ends,of the panel. The panelhas a front faceand a back facethat are spaced from each other by the panel total thickness. The panelsare preferably formed from a thin-walled material with a material thickness so the channels that are recessed from the front faceappear as projections on the back face. In these exemplary embodiments, the material thickness of each of the panelsare approximately ⅜″ while the total thickness of the panelshown inis either 2″ or 2½″ and is 3″ for the panelsshown in. It will be appreciated that the panelscould be formed from a material that is thicker than the depth of the channels so that the channels are recessed from the front facebut has a flat back surface. There could be other constant thicknesses for the material thickness that could be thinner than ⅜″ (such as if metal, plastic, or composite sheets are used for the panel's material) or significantly greater than ⅜″, and as explained in more detail below, the material thickness may also change in different locations of the panel.

The preferred embodiments of the wall panelsdescribed herein include series of lateral channelsfor horizontal installation and at least one longitudinal channelfor vertical installation of conduits and components for electrical, plumbing, central vacuum, and HVAC systems.shows an example of a bathroom installation. Electrical conduits include power lines, communication wires (such as cables for audio/video systems, telephony, internet, etc.). Plumbing conduits include pipes for fresh water and waste water and vent lines. Tubes for central vacuum systems and ducts for HVAC system can also be run through the structural panel assemblies, although these conduits and the main waste water and main vent pipes are much more likely to run in the longitudinal channelsrather than in the lateral channels. Lateral channelsare mainly for routing smaller diameter waste water and corresponding vent lines to the respective main waste lines, which are located in the longitudinal channels. Electrical components could include j-boxes, wall sconces, switches, outlets and the like. Similarly, plumbing components could also include corner stop vales, manual or electronic thermostats, shower control valves, wall mounted shower heads or wall mounted faucets, fresh water outlets and waste water inlets such as drains and p-traps, and utility points for washers and dryers and refrigerators at varying heights depending on the particular need according to the building design. Of course, there could be any number of lateral or longitudinal channels.

respectively show cross-sectional views of embodiments of the lateral channel(e.g., lateral channel) and the longitudinal channel. The channels,are respectively recessed a longitudinal channel depth and a lateral channel depth from the front faceof the panel. Although the depths of the channels,can vary based on intended use, the lateral channel depth is less than the longitudinal channel depth in the preferred embodiment. For the panelshown in, the lateral channel depth is either 1½″ or 2⅛″ while the total lateral channel depth is 2⅝″ for the panelsshown in. These channel depths, along with the steps,,(collectively referred as steps) described in detail below with regard to the panelsshown in, accommodate standard j-boxes which have a front-to-back size of 2⅛″. As particularly shown in, the angles of the sidewalls,,,for the longitudinal and lateral channels,preferably become more shallow from the front faceto the trough,,,,of the respective channels, i.e., the acute angle relative to the plane perpendicular to the trough,,,,increases from the front face to the trough. In particular, for the lateral channel cross-section shown in, the sidewall,to the first stepis approximately seven degrees (7°) and the sidewall,to the second stepis approximately twenty-five degrees (25°), and the sidewall,extending down to the deepest troughin the lateral channelis thirty degrees (30°). Similarly, for the longitudinal channel cross-section shown in, the sidewall,to the first stepis approximately ten degrees (10°) and the next deeper sidewallhas a shallow section that is approximately twenty degrees (20°) and a deeper section that is approximately thirty-two degrees (32°), and the sidewallextending down to the deepest troughin the longitudinal channelis forty-five degrees (45°).

Each channel,has opposing sidewalls,,,and that span the corresponding channel depth between proximal ends connected to the front faceand distal ends connected to a channel trough,,,,. The sidewalls,,,are preferably sloping between the proximal and distal ends to allow for identically shaped corrugated panels to be stored and transported in tightly packed stacks and to be individually removed from the stack without the panelsbinding to each other. However, the sidewalls,,,could be perpendicular to the front facewithout departing from the inventive aspects of the invention described herein. The longitudinal and lateral channels,within each panelallow for easy installation of and the conduits and components for electrical, plumbing, HVAC systems, central vacuum, insulation and other utilities without the need for threading as with previously designed systems. Generally, the opposing sidewalls form peripheral boundaries of front face sections,,,, and all of the front face sections form the entire area of the front face.

In addition to lateral and longitudinal channels,on the front of the panel, an alternative embodiment may also have a rear channel on the back of the panel. As particularly shown in, the rear longitudinal channelis recessed from the back facewithin the troughof the longitudinal channeland spans the panel height between the top endand the bottom end. For embodiments with multiple longitudinal channels, the rear longitudinal channelscan be provided in one or more of the longitudinal channelsand could also be provided within the lateral channelsas described below with reference to.

Generally, the channels,of the present invention enable installation without the need for complex threading, looping, lacing or time consuming measures. Adjacent wall panel assemblies have channels at the same location relative to panels side, top and bottom edges so that the conduits can run the entire length or height of the wall if needed. The lower lateral channelis proximate to the bottom edge, with the pair of middle lateral channels being proximate to the center of the corrugated panel, and the upper lateral channel is above the center of the corrugated panel. The lateral channelis preferably centered on the wall panel.

With the lateral and longitudinal channels,spanning the width and height of the panel, the channels,intersect at channel transitions,,,(collectively referred as channel transitions) across the front and back face,of the panel. In all embodiments, the channel transitionsand other transitions discussed below have curved sections with a radius of curvature, devoid of a right angle with a shear sharp corner. Proximal and distal sidewall transitions,also have curved sections with a radius of curvatures rather than a shear sharp corner. As detailed below, the radius of curvature may vary relative to the position of the transitions on the panel, particularly for the channel transitions, but each curved section has a curve-thickness ratio between the radius of curvature and the panel material thickness that ranges between 0.5:1 and 20:1 and is preferably approximately 5:1. Preferably, at least one channel sidewall has a flat region; accordingly, the radius of curvature is limited based on the distance between parallel channels. Furthermore, stepswithin the sidewalls,,,of the channels,, discussed below, also have curved step transitions. Instead of shear, sharp corners, a curved corner section is an inventive concept that allows mass production of corrugated panels that is not otherwise feasible if transition sections were to include sharp corners. The preferred corrugated panel is made from wood strands or long plant fibers and pressed into the intended panel shape wherein transitions with sharp corners are undesirable because of the shearing that would occur during the manufacturing process.

The preferred corrugated panel is made from wood strands made from small diameter timber or other suitable materials. To achieve the desired structural performance, the length and integrity of the wood strands in three dimensional forming the corrugated panel is vital. Adequately curved surface transitions,,,between surfaces prevent the wood strands from breaking during the deep three dimensional deformation process. Of primary importance, if the channel transitionsbetween the lateral and longitudinal channels,, especially in the region around the panel front faces, have sharp corners or sharp-edged surface transitions, the lignum fibers inside the wood strands or any other suitable biobased strand like material, could either be weakened, tear or break, rending the strands unsuitable to become a corrugated panel of satisfactory quality. To provide a structurally viable panel, the integrity of the wood strands after forming are of vital importance to produce a panel of consistent density. Specifically, the intersections between the front faceof the paneland the perpendicular intersections between the lateral and longitudinal channels,, i.e., particularly in the corner regions at the channel transitions, create stress points during the three dimensional (3D) compression molding process as the strand matt, which is made of various layers of loose wooden stands, tends to separate, causing shear thinning at these corner points, resulting in inconsistent density and unsuitable quality. To avoid these quality issues, it is beneficial for all surface transitions,,,to include adequate curvatures or radii to reduce this effect. It will be appreciated that the radius of curvature can be approximated by one or more facets between the surface transitions,,,.

The paneldescribed herein also improves over prior art panels by providing curvatures at surface transitions that are measurably larger the further the transition is spaced away from the front faceof the corrugated panelwhich overcomes several issues, such as shear thinning of the strand mat, which would occur at sharp corner transitions. The panelis devoid of shear sharp corners as mentioned above, and the group of channel transitionsbetween the longitudinal and lateral channels,are also sized to increase relative to the proximity to the back faceof the panel. The group of proximal channel transitions′ within a plane that is closest to the front faceof the panelhave a radius of curvature that is less than the group of distal channel transitions″ within a plane that is closest to the back face. Furthermore, middle channel transitions′″ within a middle plane between the proximal and distal plane have a radius of curvature that is between the proximal channel transitionsand the distal channel transitions. Accordingly, as shown in detail in, the curvature widens for the channel transitions that are deeper in the channels,, i.e., approaching the back faceof the panel, so the curvature of radius of the sidewall transitions are greater than the radii of the front faceto the first step, and the sidewall transitions between the first stepand the bottom of the trough,-are greater and either have a constant curvature or an increasingly widening curvature.

As shown in, these larger curvatures provide needed transition space to accommodate both the geometries of curved plumbing fittings and curved electrical elbows, to be able to locate these objects close to the sidewalls,,,for strapping and therefore provide sufficient installation space for various pipes to run parallel in one channel. Each channel transitionon the panelincludes a curved section that is devoid of a sharp ninety degree (90°) corner. Although these channel transitionsmay affect a ninety degree (90°) bend between the adjoining segments, the curved section allows for a rounded and smooth transition rather than a sharp ninety degree (90°) corner that is created when the ends of two segments meet perpendicular to one another. As shown in, the curved surface transitions between the longitudinal and lateral channels,allow two electrical conduits,to run close to the sidewalls and connect to a J-box, which is mounted to the second step, while allowing a waste water pipe assembly, run without interference behind the electrical installation, allowing for complex installations of different components in a tight space. In addition,shows a J-boxwhich mounted to the upper second step in the lateral channel, with electrical conduit,running both horizontally and vertically along the sidewall of the channels, with various bending radii to allow for a space saving installation. Furthermore, it shows how the electrical conduits,are secured against the second step with straps.

In each of the embodiments shown in, the lateral channel's second step (closest to the trough-) is preferably half an inch (½″) from the bottom of the trough-. Since the lateral channelsof these panelshave a total depth of 2″ ⅝″, a j-boxcan be secured to the face of the second step and there is a half inch (½″) space between the backside of the j-boxand the trough-of the lateral channel. This half inch (½″) space provides sufficient room for a cable run in which cables and other wires can be laid at the bottom of the trough-and behind the backside of the j-box. In the embodiment shown in, there is also a rear lateral channel that is recessed a depth from the panel's back face and which forms a middle islandon the front side of the panel within the lateral trough between the second step on either side of the lateral channel. The j-boxcan straddle the middle island. This islandalso may actually extend all the way to and intersect with the longitudinal channeland provides an increased surface area for adhering sandwiched panels together.

In an alternative embodiment not shown in the drawings, channel transitionsdevoid of a sharp ninety degree (90°) corner can be achieved with faceted sections rather than a smooth curve at each channel transitionbetween the channels themselves, the proximal ends of the sidewalls,,,and the front faceof the paneland the distal ends of each sidewall,,,and the corresponding troughs,-. In this embodiment, each sidewall,,,can include multiple faceted sections slightly angled relative to one another to collectively define the smooth channel transition without any sharp corner. The particular number of faceted sections is not intended to be limiting and will depend on the relative angle between the various facets and the overall size of the transition.

As shown in, a specific orientation of each strand layer, where the majority of strands is predominately oriented lengthwise in the longitudinal direction, will provide sufficient structural performance capacity. The outer most layers show greater variation in a crisscross pattern where the strands are somewhat randomly oriented at an angles less than ninety degrees (90°) lengthwise towards each other, with a general overall lengthwise direction following the longitudinal direction. The inner layers, closer to the core of the corrugated panel would be facing predominantly in the longitudinal direction, whereas the core layers would be mostly crisscross at an angle less than forty five degrees (45°), with their general directionality being longitudinal. The curved transitions between changing surface directions, in combination with this kind of layering of wood strands minimizes shear thinning, strand breakage and separation in the critical areas, but allows for the loose strand mat to evenly form around the curved surface transitions, providing a panel of consistent density and therefor satisfactory structural integrity though out.

In a primary aspect of the inventive wall paneldescribed herein according to the preferred embodiment, each sidewall,,,of each channel,includes at least one step proximate to the front face.respectively show a cross-section views of the lateral and longitudinal channels,with a first stepwithin each sidewall,,,of each of the channels,. The first stepis recessed a first step depth from the front facewhich in all embodiments is less than half (½) the overall depth of the channel,in which the step is positioned. The first step depth can be equal to the panel's material thickness, and in the preferred embodiment with a thin-walled panel, the first step depth is less than three to five (3-5) times the panel's material thickness. Also, the sidewalls preferably have straight sidewall sections that extend along both the longitudinal channels and the lateral channels. Each straight sidewall section is greater in length than the curved section of the channel transitions that extend between the corresponding straight longitudinal sidewall sections and the straight lateral sidewall sections.

In the alternative embodiment particularly shown in, the channels,also include a second steprecessed a second step depth from the front facethat is greater than the first step depth. In these embodiments each sidewall,,,includes two steps with the second steppositioned at a location between the first stepand one of the corresponding longitudinal troughsand lateral troughs-.show embodiments with both the lateral and longitudinal channel,having two steps in each sidewall,,,with the second stepshaving the same depth inand differing depths in. Alternatively,shows an embodiment with only the lateral channelhaving a second step. Accordingly, some sidewalls of the channels may include only the first stepwhile other sidewalls include the first stepand a second stepthat can be at varying depth depending on need. The step configuration is therefore not intended to be limiting wherein each sidewall includes a first stepproximate to the front faceand optionally includes a second stepbetween the first stepand the corresponding trough,-

Regardless of the step configuration, each stepincludes an inner edgeand an outer edgethat are radially spaced by the step width. With the first steppositioned within each sidewall,,,, the sidewalls,,,further include a first sectionbetween the outer edgeof the first stepand the proximal end of the sidewall and a second sectionbetween the inner edgeof the first stepand the distal end of the sidewall (as depicted in). Given the inner edgeand outer edgeare offset by the step width, the first sectionand the second sectionof the sidewall,,,are radially offset. The sidewall sections,collectively span the depth of the corresponding channel in which the steps are situated with the first sectionspanning the first step depth and the second sectionspanning the second step depth. Furthermore, the second stepis positioned within the second sectionin embodiments that have another step between the correspond trough,-and the first stepproximate to the front face.

As noted above, the preferred channel sidewalls slope from the front faceto the trough,-and it will be appreciated that the sidewall sections,therefore slope between their respective ends. Given each channel has at least one step interrupting the sidewall sections,, the slope of the sections is not necessarily equal wherein the first sectioncould be shallower and the second sectionsteeper or vice versa. Alternatively, the slope of each section,could be the same.

The function of the first stepcan accommodate bracing stripsas shown in. As indicated above, first step depth can be equal to the panel's material thickness, and bracing strips with the same thickness as the depth would be flush with the flat front face of the panel. It will be appreciated that the bracing strips that are thinner than the panel, possibly made from metal or some other material, could be accommodated in the first step depths that are less than the panel's material thickness. The second step, which is on either one or both opposing sidewalls of a channel, is used as an attachment surface parallel to the front faceof the paneland provides a location for the installation of j-boxes, wall sconces, electrical switches, electrical, media or telephony outlets, or plumbing hardware such as surface mounted corner stops or other mounting hardware or fixtures, not shown. In a preferred embodiment the second stepis at least twice as wide as the first stepand provides a solid surface for the j-boxto rest on. Standard j-boxes can be located at the ideal code compliant height by pushing the j-boxagainst the transition point between the flat front face of the second stepand the adjacent sloped side of the channel,. Standard j-boxes provide a flat back side with various apertures so the j-boxcan be screwed directly into the step's front facing surface, parallel to the front faceof the panel. By pushing the j-boxagainst the transition between the flat surface and the sloped side assures that the j-boxis not only set at the correct height and depth but also assures a straight, level and plumb placement of the j-box, which allows for faster electrical installation and assures the consecutive trades can work seamlessly around the j-box. The second stepalso serves as an attachment surface for standard brackets as used for electrical and plumbing installations, which allows the trades to span an open channel to place either a plumbing fixture like a wall mounted faucetas shown in, an electrical switch boxas shown in, or fresh water linesfor a faucet as shown inbetween two opposing second steps, both in the lateral channelas well as the longitudinal channelas illustrated in.

show wall modules with bracing stripsthat span the gaps between channels to create attachment points for panel cover materials such as drywall or other suitable material, specifically for corner conditions where one panel connects perpendicular to an adjacent panel. As shown in, the bracing stripscan be small strips or alternatively full width to space the width of a single channel or, as shown in, full length and full width strips can be span the longitudinal channel, sitting on the first stepon each side of the longitudinal channel, to provide a screwing surface for wall cover material such as drywall or the like, as shown in. Additionally, these bracing stripscan be used outside the described corner conditions between two perpendicular wall segments and to span the lateral or longitudinal channel,to create additional attachment surfaces for brackets that allow the placement of plumbing of electrical installations within the open span of a channel. Thus, regardless of size, the bracing stripsrest on opposing ledges within the channel proximate to the front faceto create a planar front face. The bracing stripscan be simple strips of plywood, OSB or other suitable materials or of a specific design and made of wood composites, plastic, or metal.

show another inventive aspect of embodiments of the panelsdescribed herein wherein sidewalls,,,of the channels,further include indents. The embodiments shown include indentsthat are equally spaced within each sidewall,,,, but it will be appreciated that indentsmay be provided in any position within any of the sidewalls,,,, independent of other indents within the other sidewalls. However, in the preferred embodiment, when an indent is provided within one sidewall a corresponding indent will also be provided in the opposite sidewall with the indents being positioned directly across from one another, such as particularly shown in. Regardless of location, the indentincludes an indent facethat is recessed an indent distance from the sidewall of the channel,in which the indentis situated. Opposing sidewalls,span the indent distance and connect the indent faceto the corresponding sidewall and are spaced from one another by the indent width. Each of the indent sidewalls,and faceinclude a top edgeand indent bottom edgespaced by an indent depth that is no greater than the channel depth.

In the preferred embodiment shown in, the top edgeof the indentconnects to the front faceof the paneland the bottom edgeof the indent connects to the first step, such that the indent depth is equal to the first step depth. However, alternative embodiments not shown may have indents that have a depth greater than the first step depth while still other embodiments have indents at a depth that is less than the first step depth. Further still, other embodiments may have indents that are spaced away from the front faceof the paneland instead form a slot within the sidewall of the channel, between the corresponding proximal and distal ends, with the indent depth between the top end and the bottom end being any distance that is less than or equal to the overall depth of the channel.

The primary function of the recessed indentsis to provide predetermined locations for various kinds of standard or specialty mounting brackets and/or clips used for electrical and plumbing fixtures to provide fixed, code compliant attachment points at the correct height or latitude, such as j-boxes, switches, receptacles, shower valves, shower thermostats, control valves, wall mounted showerheads, hand showers, corner stop valves, utility points for washers and dryers and wall mounted faucets or the like, as shown in. In addition, standard brackets used in stud frame construction are customarily screwed to the front face of a stud, which results in an uneven attachment surface for wall coverings such as drywall or plywood or the like because both the bracket and the attachment screws protrude past front facing stud surface. It is critical for other subsequent trades, such as drywallers, tile layers and carpenters, to have perfectly level, plumb and square wall surfaces to be able to do their installs efficiently and at a high quality. By recessing these brackets from the front faceof the panel, uneven surfaces are eliminated as the bracket and screws do not stick out past the front faceof the corrugated panel, thus speeding up the work and quality of consecutive trades as walls do not have to be floated by drywallers or tile layers to overcome these imperfections in order to provide straight, plumb and square walls for laying out tiles, and for carpenters for installing kitchen cabinets, without having to shim and adjust the cabinets. This increases efficiency and build quality and reduces labor time and therefore construction cost while increasing building speed.

show another inventive aspect of embodiments of the panelsdescribed herein wherein the front faceincludes a recessed sectionat a corner of the panel. Similarly,show alternative embodiments of panelswith recessed corner sections. The recessed sectionis preferably on the bottom corners, as discussed below and shown in the drawings, but it will be appreciated that the recessed sectionscould also be at the top corners of the panel. Regardless of the particular embodiment, the recessed sectionincludes a recessed facespaced a recessed depth from the front faceof the paneland is partially bound by a section sidewallspanning the depth between the front faceand the recessed section. The recessed sectionis open to at least a portion of the bottom end of the paneland another portion of one of the side ends of the panel. Thus, the recessed faceis positioned on the corner of the paneland bound by the sidewall and the end portions of the panel. The recessed depth can vary depending on panel design, including being less than the depth of lateral and longitudinal channel,as shown in, equal to the lateral channel depth as shownor greater than the lateral or longitudinal channel depth in some embodiments. As shown in, the recessed front facing corner areas of the panelincrease the space and grant access closer to the center area of a wall module, which is needed to access the bottom and top plates of an assembled wall module for attaching the wall module to the foundation, via customarily used anchor bolts or structural tie-downs. As shown in, these recessed corner sections also provide additional installation space and mounting surfaces for plumbing and electrical fixtures that are customarily located at the top and bottom end of the panel, like corner stop valves, or J-boxes for supplying electricity to modern style “wash-let” toilets.

In the embodiment shown in, the section sidewallmay be straight and only bound a portion of one side of the recessed face, opposite from the side end of the panelinand opposite from the bottom end of the panelin. Alternatively, the section sidewallcan have an “L” shape be on multiple sides of the recessed face, opposite from the top or bottom end and the side end of the panelas shown in. Furthermore, as shown in, the section sidewallmay not extend to either edge of the paneland instead by free standing within the recessed section. As shown in, the sidewallmay also be broken with the lateral channelinterrupting the sidewall. The recessed sectiontherefore provides front facing corners at the panel corners, creating a planar surface which sits deeper than the panel front face.

As discussed with reference to the transitions between the front faceand proximal ends of each channel above, the transition between the recessed sectionin the front faceand the channel sidewalls are also devoid of a shear sharp corner and instead have a curved section with a curved corner.

Furthermore, the stepswithin the sidewalls,,,of the channels,continue within the recessed sectionwhen aligned therewith.shows an example of a recess sidewallwith a first step proximate to the front facewhileshow recess sidewalls with multiple steps according to the inventive aspects discussed herein. Alternatively, as shown in, the recessed sectioncan have the same depth as the first step and therefore form the step portion of the first step.

The function of the recessed sectionis to create improved access to the top or bottom plate, for attaching the plate or wall assembly to the floor, installing structural hold-downs, as shown in, as well as creating additional installation space for plumbing installations typically found in proximity to the bottom end of a wall, like a mounting surface for the install of corner vales and or j-boxes for toilets, as shown in.