Wall assembly for a building structure

Abstract

A wall assembly is disclosed including a plurality of panels extending in a line. Each panel 12 has front and rear panel faces and two sides. The wall assembly also includes a bottom plate extending along lower edges of the panels and fixed thereto, and a top plate extending along upper edges of the panels and fixed thereto. The wall assembly includes a plurality of support posts positioned at spaced intervals along the wall. The panels define a recess in each side thereof and the recesses of adjacent panels open into each other to form a receiving channel. The support posts are received within the receiving channel as are service conduits and/or cables. The top plate is configured so that service cables/conduits can run along the top plate. The bottom plate and the support posts are mounted on a wall support that is conveniently a concrete slab.

1 . A wall assembly including:
 a wall support having a plurality of anchoring elements projecting up therefrom;   a wall body comprising a plurality of panels extending in a line, each panel having front and rear panel faces and two sides that extend between the front and rear panel faces, each side of each panel defines a recess therein, and each recess is aligned with the recess on the adjacent side of an adjacent panel so that the recesses open into each other and form a receiving channel;   a top plate which is mounted on the operatively upper edge of the wall body and which is fixed to the wall body and to the wall support, wherein the top plate is configured so that service cables or conduits can be run along the length of the top plate without projecting out proud of the front and rear panel faces of the panels;   a bottom plate that runs along the operatively lower edges of the panels and which is fixed to the wall body and to the wall support; and   a plurality of support posts positioned at spaced intervals along the length of the wall body, each support post being received within one of the receiving channels formed in the wall body and being fixed directly or indirectly to the wall body and to the wall support, each support post includes a post top bracket that is fixed thereto and is fixed to the top plate adjacent to the support post, and each support post has a bore defined in a lower end thereof within which one of the anchoring elements on the support is received to fix the support post to the wall support; and   one or more service cables or conduits for providing services, each service cable or conduit being directed from the top plate down through one of the receiving channels defined in the wall body which is not occupied by a support post whereby to run the cables or conduits to where they are required on the wall body.   
     
     
         2 . A wall assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the top plate comprises a bridge that has two spaced skirts that extend over the front and rear faces of the panel and a top cap that projects above the bridge, and wherein the bridge and the top cap together form at least one pair of orthogonally extending surfaces along the length of the top plate that define a service receiving formation on one side of the top cap. 
     
     
         3 . A wall assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the bottom plate has a plurality of post openings defined therein at intervals along its length, and each support post is passed through a said post opening to fix the support post to the bottom plate. 
     
     
         4 . A wall assembly including:
 a wall support;   a wall body comprising a plurality of panels extending in a line along a length of the wall assembly, each panel having front and rear panel faces and two sides extending between the front and rear faces, each side of each panel defines a recess therein, and each recess is aligned with the recess on the adjacent side of an adjacent panel so that the recesses open into each other and form a receiving channel;   a plurality of support posts positioned at spaced intervals along the length of the wall body, each support post being received within one of the receiving channels formed in the wall body and being fixed directly or indirectly to the wall body and to the wall support;   a bottom plate that runs along the operatively lower edges of the panels and which is fixed to the wall body and to the wall support; and   a top plate which is mounted on the operatively upper edge of the wall body and which is fixed to the wall body and to the wall support.   
     
     
         5 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein the support posts are located at substantially evenly spaced intervals along the length of the wall body, and each support post is located intermediate two adjacent panels. 
     
     
         6 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein each recess is a substantially square recess that is sized and configured such that a receiving channel can receive a support post therein with a working clearance. 
     
     
         7 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein the top plate defines a panel receiving channel comprises a bridge that extends at least part of the way across the operatively upper edge of the panel, and skirts that extend from the bridge down the front and rear faces of the panels, and the top plate is fixed to each of the panels by means of a plurality of fastening elements that pass through one of the skirts on the panel receiving channel and into one of the front and rear faces of the panels at spaced intervals along the length of the wall assembly. 
     
     
         8 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein each support post is indirectly fixed to the wall body by being fixed to the top plate, and wherein each support post is also fixed to the bottom plate. 
     
     
         9 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein each support post includes a post top bracket for fixing the post to the top plate, and each post top bracket is fixed to the support post and to the top plate in a region thereof that is adjacent to the support post. 
     
     
         10 . A wall assembly according to  claim 9 , wherein each support post includes a bore formed in the upper and lower ends thereof, and the post top bracket is mounted on each support post by means of a post fastening element that is passed through an opening in the post top bracket and into the bore formed in the upper end of the support post where it is fixed to the support post. 
     
     
         11 . A wall assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein the bore defined in the upper end of each support post has a screw thread formed thereon and the post fastening element is a bolt having an enlarged head and a complementary external screw thread formed on the shank thereof for engaging the thread in the bore. 
     
     
         12 . A wall assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein the top plate fixing portion of the post top bracket is sandwiched between the upper edges of the adjacent panels and a portion of the top plate that overlaps therewith, and the top plate is fixed to the top plate fixing portion by means of fastening elements that are passed through the top plate and the top plate fixing portion of the post top bracket. 
     
     
         13 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein each support post has a bore defined in a lower end thereof, and the wall assembly includes an anchoring element anchored in the wall support that projects above the support, and the anchoring element is received within the bore to fix the support post to the wall support. 
     
     
         14 . A wall assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the anchoring element is a bolt having a screw threaded shank projecting out of the wall support, and the bore in the lower end of the support post has a complementary screw thread, and the shank is received within the bore in the lower end of the support post and engaged therewith. 
     
     
         15 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein the bottom plate has a plurality of post openings defined therein at intervals along its length, and each support post is passed through a said post opening to fix the support post to the bottom plate. 
     
     
         16 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein the bottom plate comprises two spaced two channel walls interconnected by a web that defines a bottom channel within which operatively lower edges of the panels are received, and the bottom plate is fixed to each of the panels by means of fastening elements that are passed through one of the channel walls and into the panel at spaced intervals along the length of the bottom plate. 
     
     
         17 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein the wall assembly further includes hold down brackets mounted on the bottom plate located at spaced intervals along the bottom rail for further fixing the bottom plate to the support to strengthen the attachment of the bottom plate to the support for when the wall assembly is subjected to high load. 
     
     
         18 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein the top plate is configured so that service cables or conduits can be run along the length of the top plate without projecting out proud of the front and rear panel faces of the panels. 
     
     
         19 . A wall assembly according to  claim 18 , wherein the top plate comprises a bridge that has two spaced skirts that extend over the front and rear faces of the panel and a top cap that projects above the bridge, and wherein the bridge and the top cap together form at least one pair of orthogonally extending surfaces that define a service receiving formation on one side of the top cap along the length of the top plate. 
     
     
         20 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein the wall assembly includes one or more service cables or conduits, and each service cable or conduit is directed through one of the receiving channels defined in the wall body which is free of a support post whereby to facilitate running of the service cable or conduit through the wall body. 
     
     
         21 . A wall assembly according to  claim 20 , wherein the wall assembly includes one or more service points on the wall body, and wherein each service point comprises an electrical switch or an electrical power point or a data connection point on the front face of a panel of the wall body. 
     
     
         22 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein each panel comprises two outer layers and an insulating core sandwiched between the two outer layers, and the two outer layers are formed of a sheet of metallic material such as steel and have a thickness in the range of 0.3 mm-1.0 mm, and the insulating core is formed of a polymeric insulating material, e.g. extruded or expanded polystyrene. 
     
     
         23 . A wall assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein the panels have complementary engagement formations on each side thereof that when engaged act to locate adjacent panels relative to each other and hold and support adjacent panels in position relative to each other. 
     
     
         24 . A building structure including a wall assembly as defined in  claim 4  forming an external wall of the building; and
 a roof mounted on the wall assembly. 
 
     
     
         25 . A building structure according to  claim 24 , wherein the roof comprises a plurality of roof panels arranged side by side along at least part of the length of the wall assembly.