AU2019250176B2

AU2019250176B2 - Building sheet positioner

Info

Publication number: AU2019250176B2
Application number: AU2019250176A
Authority: AU
Inventors: David Bryan Blick
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-03-19
Filing date: 2019-10-16
Publication date: 2021-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 2034-10-08
Also published as: AU2019250176A1; WO2015139069A1; US20170130468A1; AU2014387423A1; EP3134593A4; NZ724729A; EP3134593A1

Abstract

A separator 14 for insertion between building construction sheets 4,6,8,36 for externally cladding buildings 2 has a handle part 34 securable to an existing sheet 4,6,8 and a spacer bar 18 which overlies the edge 32 of an existing sheet 4,6,8 in order to project into the path 38 of an incoming sheet 36 and space it from the existing sheet 4,6,8. The handle 34 and spacer bar 18 are made of metal. Four separators 14 are required for insertion at two adjacent edges of an incoming building sheet 36. FIG. 2 1 1/3 6_ 4 * FIGURE 1 36 38 32- A~ 2 30 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3

Description

1/3

6_ 4

* FIGURE 1

36

38

32- A~ 2

30

FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3

TITLE OF INVENTION

Building Sheet Positioner

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention concerns building sheet positioners.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The exterior face of a building may be clad with sheets specially made for the purpose of improving the appearance. These are commonly rectangular with a smooth finish being attached with fasteners to the wall of the building. The ceilings of external areas of city buildings, railway stations and the like are likewise clad with sheets. The installation of this type of sheet requires care in that they are heavy, typically weighing 65kg and in practice requiring three tradesmen per sheet to lift them into position. They are fixed in rows with a 10mm gap all round. Removable spacers are inserted during the installation and removed once the sheet is successfully fastened to the wall or ceiling.

[0003] The tradesmen may be on ladders, scaffold or cherry pickers and must hold drills and timber spacers, as well as steadying and adjusting the position of the sheet itself in relation to adjacent sheets. Rates of coverage are correspondingly slow and the work is tiring.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0004] The apparatus aspect of the invention provides a building sheet positioner comprising a handle with a planar surface, a linear spacer projecting from the planar surface in order to overlie the edge of a sheet, the spacer lying parallel to the planar surface and having a uniform cross-section.

[0005] Preferably the handle is linear and the spacer lies transversely to the handle. For building applications, the spacer lies at 90 degrees to the handle.

[0006] The handle may have bores therein to act as screw guides for attaching the positioner to a sheet.

[0007] The spacer may lie closer to one end of the handle, the portion of the handle between the end thereof and the spacer acting as a retaining surface for the next adjacent sheet.

[0008] The end of the handle adjacent the spacer may be inclined so as to facilitate the insertion of the adjacent sheet behind the handle portion during installation.

[0009] For economy the positioner may be a metal fabrication.

[0010] The spacer may be a rod of circular cross-section. Preferably the cross-section is constant along the length of the spacer but a threaded rod is an acceptable alternative. Likewise the spacer may have grooves or other interruptions as long as the spacer presents a surface to the incoming sheet which is parallel to the sheet edge with which it is already in contact. Then the positioner will give a reliable result.

[0011] When the handle and spacer are made of metal, the spacer may be attached to the planar surface by welding.

[0012] Alternatively the positioner could be a moulding or die casting.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

[0013] 1. Reduces the installation from a three-man job to a two-man job.

[0014] 2. Speeds the installation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] One embodiment of the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 is a front view of part of an exterior wall with three sheets already fixed in position and with four positioning devices attached.

[0017] Figure 2 is a close up side view of the horizontal edge of a sheet from Figure 1 with a device attached ready to receive an entering sheet.

[0018] Figure 3 is a perspective view of the device.

[0019] Figure 4 is a side view of the device.

[0020] Figure 5 is a plan view of the device.

[0021] Figure 6 is a reverse plan view.

[0022] Figure 7 is a front view of the wall with a fourth sheet in position ready to be attached to the exterior wall.

[0023] Figure 8 is a side view of a positioner with a modified planar surface.

[0024] Figure 9 is an end view of the positioner in Figure 8 showing the fastener bore.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Referring now to Figure 1, the wall 2 in the upright concrete slab wall of a building with three sheets 4, 6, 8 already affixed with 8mm gaps 10 separating each sheet from the next adjacent sheet.

[0026] In order to position the next sheet 36, pairs of positioners 14 are attached in the position shown in Figure 1 and attached to the sheets 4, 8 by screws 30.

[0027] Referring now to Figures 2, 3 and 4, the positioner 14 is made from a 25 x 25 x 147mm length of steel square tube 25 x 25mm. The faces of the tubes are planar and lie at 90 degrees to each other. One planar face 16 has an 80 x 8mm threaded rod 18 welded at 90 degrees to the tube axis 20. A cutout 22 gives access to the tube wall 24 acting as the planar face. The tube wall 24 has a pair of bores 28 to take fixing screws (one shown).

[0028] The purpose of the cutout is to allow the operator to insert the screw 30 into the bore using an electric portable screwdriver. This fastens the positioner in the place shown in Figure 2. The 8mm rod 18 is threaded and extends 80mm along the top edge 32 of sheet 6. The top end 34 of the device is inclined in order to assist the reception and slide-in of entering sheet 36. As shown in Fig. 2, the top end 34 forms part of a handle. The handle includes a minor part 42 that has a ramp surface facing the sheet 36 edge that is inclined to the major part 44 and entirely away from the spacer 18.

[0029] When all four positioners have been screwed in place in the positions shown in Figure 1, sheet 36 is manhandled into the gap 38 so that the two entering edges lie spaced from sheets 6 and 8 by 8mm, the thickness of spacer rod 18 as shown in Figure 7. The sheets are attached to the wall 2 by fasteners.

[0030] The eight retaining screws 30 are then unscrewed and the positioner 14 is pulled from between the sheets to be used for the next sheet placement. The screw holes are filled and the fastener sites are covered by finishing operations subsequently carried out when the wall is fully covered.

[0031] When the wall 2 is replaced by a ceiling, the sheets attach to joists or battens but the technique is the same.

[0032] In Figure 8 the positioner is made from a blank which is laser cut from 1.8 2.0mm sheet steel. A transverse slot is cut in the area which is to mount the spacer and an acute U-section cutout is removed from the handle end 40 closest to the spacer. This allows that end to be folded to close the gap resulting in a change to the planar surface. The minor part 42 has a surface facing the sheet 36 edge is inclined to the major part 44. Weld 46 hides the transverse slot.

[0033] In Figure 9, bore 48 passes through the spacer 18 and the planar surface 44 for the reception of a fastener to attach the positioner 14 to the support surface 2. The minor part's 42 entire surface is inclined downwardly and away from the planar surface 44 of the major part 44.

[0034] It is to be understood that the word "comprising" as used throughout the specification is to be interpreted in its inclusive form, ie. use of the word "comprising" does not exclude the addition of other elements.

[0035] It is to be understood that various modifications of and/or additions to the invention can be made without departing from the basic nature of the invention. These modifications and/or additions are therefore considered to fall within the scope of the invention.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A building sheet positioner comprising:

a handle with a major part of the positioner including a rear planar surface and a top end forming a minor part of the positioner,

the rear planar surface having a linear spacer projecting from the planar surface in order to overlie the edge of a first building sheet, the spacer lying parallel to the rear planar surface,

wherein:

the linear spacer lies closer to the top end and is of circular cross-section;

the handle is linear, has a longitudinal axis and the spacer lies transversely to the longitudinal axis;

the minor part forms a portion of the handle between the top end and the spacer and provides a ramp surface inclined relative to the rear planar surface and adapted to be aligned parallel to the edge of an incoming building sheet.

2. A building sheet positioner as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the spacer is a rod of uniform cross-section.

3. A building sheet positioner as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacer is in the form of a threaded rod.

4. A building sheet positioner as claimed in any one of Claims 1 - 3, wherein the spacer has grooves or other interruptions.

5. A building sheet positioner as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the ramp surface is a front surface of the minor part, is planar and aligned at an inclination to the perpendicular relative to the rear planar surface.

6. A building sheet positioner as claimed in any one of Claims 1 - 5, wherein the handle has at least one bore for reception of a fastener to attach the position to the underlying first building sheet.

7. A building sheet positioner as claimed in any one of Claims 1 - 6, wherein the inclined ramp surface is adapted to facilitate the insertion of the adjacent incoming building sheet behind the handle portion during installation.

8. A building sheet positioner as claimed in any one of Claims 1 - 7, wherein the spacer has a bore for the reception of a fastener to attach the building sheet positioner to a support surface.

9. A building sheet positioner as claimed in any one of Claims 1 - 8, wherein the spacer is attached to the rear planar surface by welding.

10. A building sheet positioner as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the planar surface extends from a lower end of the handle to the spacer, the inclined ramp surface between the spacer and the opposite top end of the handle being inclined to the planar surface.

11. A building sheet positioner as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the positioner is made from a flat blank of sheet metal that is in the range of 1.5 - 2.0mm thick.

12. A method of fixing building sheets to a support surface using a building sheet positioner as defined in any one of Claims 1 - 7, such that each of the building sheets is separated from an adjacent one of the building sheets by a uniform gap, the method comprising:

fixing the first building sheet to a support surface;

applying a pair of sheet positioners, made according to the positioner defined in any one of Claims 1 - 7, to the edge of the fixed first building sheet to define the uniform gap causing each of the building sheet positioners to project into the uniform gap;

placing the second incoming building sheet in contact with the support surface so that the edge of the second incoming building sheet contacts both of the building sheet positioners to produce the uniform gap, being a parallel gap;

fixing the second incoming building sheet to the support surface; and

removing the pair of building sheet positioners.