AT517773B1 - Wall cladding panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a wall cladding panel (10) for room walls, which has at least one bending line (12) extending between two plate parts (11a, 11b) and along which the plate parts (11a, 11b) can be bent against each other and a carrier layer (TS). on which on at least one side a surface layer (V, R, R ') is applied comprises. In order to design such a wall cladding panel (10) in such a way that space-saving and surface-protecting transport of the slab members is achieved and rapid processability and tightness are achieved in the entire slab area, it is proposed that no surface layer (V, R, R ' ) is located in a strip along the fold line (12).

Description

Description: The invention relates to a wall cladding panel for room walls, in particular for wet areas, a method for producing such a wall cladding panel and a method for cladding room walls which abut one another at a corner angle.

There are various methods for producing the visible surface of a room wall (hereinafter referred to as wall covering) known. In the area of wet rooms such as showers or bathrooms, the walls of the room are often clad with tiles. Furthermore, so-called shower panels are known on the market, which represent panels of approx. 2 m x 1 m or larger and with which large areas can be covered in one step.

[0003] Panels are also known from the prior art which have a flexible middle layer, on which an outer layer is applied on both sides (DE 19955007 A1). The outer layers are notched in a V-shape along a crease line, so that the plate can be bent by up to 90 at this point to form space-forming structures. CN 103963388 A shows a foldable composite panel made of glass, which also has a V-shaped notch along which the composite panel can be bent by up to 90 °. The disadvantage of this, however, is that space-saving stacking of the plate parts is not possible, which in particular makes the transport of such components considerably more difficult.

Furthermore, methods or plate elements are known from the prior art, according to which at least two partial plates are produced, which are connected along an edge by a flexible material (DE 19804787 A1, DE 29715787 U1).

Against this background, it was an object of the present invention to design wall cladding panels of the type described at the outset in such a way that space-saving and surface-protecting transport of the panel parts is possible, and rapid processability and tightness are achieved in the entire panel surface.

This object is achieved by a wall cladding panel with the features of claim 1 and by methods with the features of the independent method claims. Advantageous refinements are contained in the subclaims.

According to a first aspect, the invention accordingly relates to wall cladding panels for room walls (or in general substrates), especially in wet areas. A wall cladding panel according to the invention is characterized in that it has at least one crease line which runs between two panel parts and along which these panel parts can be moved or bent against one another.

A kink line typically runs in a straight line and / or through the entire plate surface and advantageously divides this into two separate plate parts.

Preferably, the wall covering panel is divided by the crease line into two approximately equal panel parts.

The buckling movement of the wall cladding panel along the crease line is preferably non-destructive and in particular reversible. The plate can thus be bent at an angle along the fold line, but can also be bent back into the flat (plate-shaped) original configuration.

[0011] Optionally, the wall cladding panel could be bendable along arbitrarily selectable crease lines. Preferably, however, the position of the fold line (or possibly several fold lines) is predetermined and z. B. characterized by a different material structure or different material properties at this point. In particular, the flexibility of the material along the fold line can be greater than in the adjacent plate parts.

The wall cladding panel can of course be made in any size desired or required by practice. Typically the area of a wall is / 7

AT517 773 B1 2019-02-15 Austrian

Patent Office cladding panel has a size of approx. 1 to approx. 6 square meters.

Especially when the wall covering panel is to be used in a wet area, it is advantageous if it is water-impermeable. Typically there is an impermeability to water in the entire surface of the wall cladding panel, i. H. also in the area of the fold line.

The kinking of the wall cladding panel along the crease line means that the plate parts abutting there, which originally lie in one plane and therefore enclose an angle of 180 ° between them, can be brought to an angle different from 180 ° to one another. The wall cladding panel or its kink line is preferably designed such that an angle between the panel parts can be set by the kinking, which is between 180 ° and approximately 90 °, preferably between 180 ° and approximately 0 °. At an angle of 90 °, the plate parts are perpendicular to each other, while at an angle of 0 ° they lie folded together. Kinking at an angle of approx. 90 ° has the advantage that in this configuration room corners can be covered by a continuous wall cladding panel. The kinking to 0 ° can be used in particular for a space-saving and surface-protecting transport of the wall cladding panels.

The structural design of the wall cladding panel can look different.

According to a preferred embodiment, the wall covering panel contains a carrier layer, on which a surface layer is applied on at least one side. The surface layer can extend over the entire surface of the page or only over a partial surface. A surface layer applied to the room side can in particular represent a desired decor. A surface layer also applied to the wall side can in particular ensure connectivity to the wall.

[0017] The surface layer and / or the carrier layer can in particular not be flexible and / or brittle (breakable). This means that the corresponding layer would break in the event of a buckling movement as is possible along the buckling line.

The surface layer mentioned preferably does not cover the area of the crease line. In particular, the entire surface of one side, with the exception of a more or less wide strip along the crease line, can be provided with the surface layer. The surface layer then need not have any flexible properties.

The backing layer can in particular extend over the entire surface of the wall cladding panel. Additionally or alternatively, the carrier layer can have a reduced thickness in the region of the fold line. In this way, the flexibility along the fold line can be set particularly easily to desired target values.

[0020] The carrier layer can in particular contain or consist of glass and / or a plastic. The plastic can be, for example, polyethylene, ABS, polypropylene, acrylic, rubber, silicone and / or cellular rubber.

[0021] The surface layer can preferably contain at least one of the following materials:

- A metal, especially aluminum, glass or Korean stoneware.

Typically, these materials are not flexible, but breakable or brittle.

- An adhesion-promoting structure which enables the wall cladding panel to adhere to a substrate (e.g. to a tile adhesive). The structure can in particular be a fleece or other fabric-like substances.

According to a further aspect, the invention relates to a method for cladding two room walls, in particular in wet areas, the room walls abutting one another at a corner angle (typically approximately 90 °). The process includes the following steps:

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AT517 773 B1 2019-02-15 Austrian

Patent Office

- Bending a wall covering panel according to one of the embodiments described above along the crease line to the corner angle, d. H. until the panel parts separated by the crease line form the corner angle between them.

- Attachment of the respective plate parts on the room walls.

The method makes it possible to cover the corner area of a room with clean cladding in one step. A straight course of the butt edge between the walls is ensured by the prefabricated cladding panel or its fold line and does not depend on the local conditions or the manual possibilities of the fitter. Furthermore, especially in wet areas, the otherwise particularly problematic corner of the room can be sealed securely and maintenance-free.

After attaching the wall cladding panel, the crease line can optionally be grouted with a common joint filler (e.g. silicone, acrylic).

[0030] The invention further relates to a method for producing a wall covering panel of the type described above, which is characterized by the following steps:

- Production of a uniform plate (i.e. a plate with a homogeneous plate structure in the entire surface area).

- Processing this plate to create a higher flexibility in the area of a crease line.

Since there is no exactly rigid material in practice, the uniform plate produced in the first step always has a certain (typically low) flexibility. According to the second step of the method, this flexibility is to be increased in the region of the fold line, in particular to such an extent that the plate parts separated by the fold line can be bent relative to one another with relatively little effort. The flexibility achieved is preferably so high that the buckling can be carried out by hand by the installer without aids and without extraordinary effort. On the other hand, the flexibility is preferably not so high that the wall cladding panel could already buckle under its own weight (e.g. with support only at the corners).

The processing of the plate can include, for example, a weakening of the material in the area of the fold line. Such weakening can e.g. by compression, by cutting (without complete separation of the plate parts), by milling a groove, by perforating (creating a row of holes) or the like. Additionally or alternatively, the material properties can also be changed in the area of the fold line, for example by chemical, thermal or other action.

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail by way of example with the aid of the figures.

[0036] Thereby shows:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the room side of a wall covering panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0038] FIG. 2 shows a top view of the wall side of the wall covering from FIG. 1;

[0039] FIG. 3 shows the view of a section along the line III-III of FIG. 1;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the wall covering panel after being installed in a corner of the room;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the wall covering panel folded for transportation.

In Figures 1 to 5 (not to scale) an embodiment of a wall cladding panel 10 according to the invention is shown, which can be used in particular for cladding the walls in a wet area (e.g. behind a shower).

3.7

AT517 773 B1 2019-02-15 Austrian

Patent Office The wall cladding panel 10 typically has a width B of approximately 2 m, a height H of approximately 2 m to approximately 3 m (corresponding to the room height), and / or a thickness of approximately 0.3 cm to approximately 10 centimeters. It is preferably impermeable to water over its entire surface.

In the sectional view of Figure 3, the material structure of the wall cladding panel 10 can be seen. The core of the plate is a continuous carrier layer TS, which can be made of plastic, for example. An aluminum coating is applied as a surface layer V to the top (later facing the visible side of the room). An aluminum layer R 'is also applied to the underside (later wall side). Furthermore, the wall side can optionally be covered with a non-woven R. This enables the wall cladding panel 10 to be glued, e.g. with PUR foam, silicone, acrylic, 2-component adhesive or wet adhesive (tile adhesive).

Characteristic of the wall covering panel 10 is a crease line 12 which divides the panel into two panel parts 11a, 11b and which is flexible so that the panel parts can be moved against each other. In the illustrated embodiment, the kink line 12 is straight and centered, so that the plate parts 11a, 11b are the same size.

In the area of the kink line 12, the surface layers V, R 'and R are interrupted. Optionally, the thickness dK of the carrier layer TS in the region of the fold line 12 is less than the thickness dF of the carrier layer TS in the region of the partial plates 11a, 11b on the right and left of the fold line. Typical values for the thickness dF of the carrier layer TS in the area of the partial plates are in the range from 1 mm to 15 mm. Typical values for the thickness dK of the carrier layer TS in the area of the fold line 12 are in the range from 0.2 mm to 10 mm.

Due to the interruption of the surface layers V, R, R 'and the optional reduction in the thickness of the carrier layer TS, the wall cladding panel 10 in the region of the fold line 12 is sufficiently flexible so that the sub-panels 11a, 11b are bent relative to one another can. Figures 1, 2 and 3 show the original, not kinked state, in which the angle formed between the two partial plates 11a, 11b is α = 180 °.

Typically, the surface layers V, R 'are not flexible. Additionally or alternatively, the carrier layer TS is optionally also not flexible in the area of the unreduced thickness dF.

Figure 4 shows a side view of the corner region of the wall cladding panel 10 after its attachment in a right-angled corner of the room, which is formed by the two mutually perpendicular walls W1 and W2. The carrier layer in the area of the bend line 12 has been bent from originally 180 ° to an angle α of approximately 90 °, so that the two plate parts 11a, 11b can each be brought into contact with the two walls W1, W2. In this way, a corner of a room can be clad in a simple manner, and a perfect, watertight and maintenance-free joint is also formed. For optical reasons, this joint can optionally be grouted with a joint filler (e.g. acrylic).

Figure 5 shows a side view of the wall cladding panel 10 when it is folded for transportation purposes along the crease line 12 (the angle α between the plate parts 11a, 11b is then 0 ° by definition). The possibility of collapsing enables space-saving transport, with the (superimposed) surfaces additionally being optimally protected against damage.

The wall cladding panel 10 described can be produced, for example, from a uniform base plate, into which a groove (or two grooves from the front and rear) is milled in the region of the fold line 12 from one side.

Claims (7)

claims 1. Wall covering panel (10) for room walls (W1, W2), especially in wet areas, containing - at least one fold line (12) which runs between two plate parts (11a, 11b) and along which the plate parts (11a, 11b) can be bent against each other; - A carrier layer (TS), on which a surface layer (V, R, R ') is applied on at least one side; characterized in that there is no surface layer (V, R, R ') in a strip along the crease line (12). 2. Wall covering panel (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the surface layer (V, R, R ') is not flexible. 3. Wall covering panel (10) according to at least one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the carrier layer (TS) has a reduced thickness (dK) in the region of the fold line (12). 4. Wall cladding panel (10) according to at least one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the carrier layer (TS) contains glass and / or a plastic, in particular polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic, ABS, rubber, silicone and / or cellular rubber. 5. Wall cladding panel (10) according to at least one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the surface layer (V, R, R ') contains at least one of the following materials: - a metal, especially aluminum (V, R ') or glass; - An adhesion-promoting structure, in particular a fleece (R). 6. Method for cladding two room walls (W1, W2) that meet at a corner angle, characterized by the steps: - folding a wall cladding panel (10) according to at least one of claims 1 to 5 along the fold line (12) to the corner angle; - Attaching the respective plate parts to the room walls (W1, W2). 7. A method for producing a wall cladding panel (10) according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by the steps: - production of a uniform plate; - Processing the plate to create a higher flexibility in the area of a kink line (12).