EP0621382A2 - Fastening of tiles or slabs for ventilated wall linings - Google Patents

Abstract

Metal device for vertically fastening sheets of ventilated coverings made of ceramic, marble, granite and other natural or artificial materials, formed of two elements with extensions which fit into special slots made on the reverse side of the plates and which, by means of screw-tightening, compress the material, securely attaching it, forcing it solely into this compression. Having fitted the clips onto the reverse side of the plates beforehand, these plates can be used by fitting from top to bottom onto the horizontal laths of the substructure, which is necessary to produce walls with ventilated linings. The plates are levelled simply by acting on the adjustment screw of the two upper clips of each plate. A hexagon socket set screw is applied to the tab fixed to two clips per plate, these being aligned with the vertical. It is used to lock the two clips to the respective horizontal laths of the substructure so that the plates cannot move horizontally or come out of the supports, at least so long as it has not firstly been slackened. By operating on the screws in question of several plates aligned vertically with one another you can replace one plate independently of the others. <IMAGE>

Description

Fixing device for ceramic tiles, marble slabs, granite or other natural or artificial material for the production of ventilated coverings in the name of Giroldi Federico living in Modena, Via Bellinzona 90, of Italian nationality. Filed 23.03.1993 under number MO93A000034.

The invention which is the subject of this description relates to devices allowing the wall fixing of slabs of natural or artificial materials for ventilated coverings, characterized by their economic aspect, their aesthetic effect and by the possibility of dismantling.

each of the tiles. In the current state of the art there are other systems making it possible to produce ventilated coverings for building facades but they do not provide a radical solution to the problem for several reasons: aesthetic on the one hand (they are visible from the outside), material from the other given the high cost of invisible fasteners which are, moreover, unreliable.

• l'ossature sous-jacente formée de montants verticaux pour soutenir les pièces de charpente horizontales.
• les agrafes fixées aux poutres horizontales.

Two elements are necessary for the realization of a ventilated covering:

• the underlying framework formed by vertical uprights to support the horizontal structural members.
• the staples fixed to the horizontal beams.

The invention which is the subject of this patent relates to the system for fixing the various types of staples to the covering plates and more particularly to large-format ceramic tiles whose thin thickness adds to the complexity of the problem.

To prevent the fixing of the plates from being visible outside, it may be necessary to arrange blind and oblique slots on the back, which may be both convergent and diverging with respect to the axis of symmetry, in which mechanical devices are placed. clipping.

• a) les agrafes métalliques d'une seule pièce, avec embout à introduire dans les fentes borgnes creusées dans les plaques de revêtement, serrées contre des platines, toujours métalliques et à l'extérieur des plaques, pour contraindre le matériau uniquement à la compression;
• b) les agrafes métalliques en deux parties, chacune d'entre elles étant caractérisée par une platine horizontale posée contre la plaque de revêtement, et se terminant par un appendice qui doit pénétrer dans les fentes. Une vis parallèle à l'axe de la plaque bloque les deux pièces de i'agrafe et contraint à un effort de compression le matériau à base de pierre naturelle.

Given the nature of the covering material, there are two types of fastening systems which can subject it to a compressive force by acting in the slots, regardless of their length, inclination and depth:

• a) metal staples in one piece, with a nozzle to be inserted into the blind slots hollowed out in the covering plates, tightened against plates, always metallic and outside the plates, to constrain the material only to compression;
• b) metal staples in two parts, each of them being characterized by a horizontal plate placed against the covering plate, and ending in an appendage which must penetrate into the slots. A screw parallel to the axis of the plate blocks the two pieces of the clip and constrains the material based on natural stone to a compressive force.

Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 show possible solutions of the concept relating to the invention; they are not limiting.

Figures 1 and 2 show the staples type "a", that is to say in one piece. Their realization is more economical but it requires a very precise spacing of the slots formed on the back of the covering slab. Figures 3 and 4 show the staples type "b", that is to say in two parts. They have the advantage of making up for differences possible spacing of the slots. In the proposed solution these can be entirely formed inside the plate, that is to say that they may not modify the periphery which gives undeniable advantages from the aesthetic and resistance point of view.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show clips made with a profile that matches that of two types of horizontal beams sold commercially. Of course, it is possible to use other types of profile for the beams, but the clip must have an adequate shape allowing the assembly.

Figure 4 shows a solution with identical flange underside for all applications, to which is coupled with a screw a caliper top having a profile similar to that of the horizontal beam on which it is mounted.

The characteristics of the invention are evident in the description which follows; this relates to the appended figures. They show a particular embodiment, preferably chosen, presented for information only and without limitation.

On the back of the cover plate blind slots are arranged two by two in thickness, to a depth of about five millimeters; they are convergent or divergent and inclined at an adequate angle with respect to their axis of symmetry, in a number corresponding to that of the staples chosen for fixing the plate.

The slits can start from the outside perimeter of the slab and enter inside it of a minimum quantity at a constant depth, corresponding to the width of the staple to be applied; after which, they naturally decrease to zero by a decreasing amount which is a function of the diameter of the diamond disc used to cut them.

If the staples are in two parts, the slots can be cut inside the perimeter of the slab, in a position left freely with no construction limits. In this case the constant depth trace is preceded and followed by two variable depth traces from zero to constant depth and vice versa. In the latter case, the cut must be made with special machines while otherwise it is sufficient to use one of the machines sold commercially.

The application of anchoring staples to the covering plates does not require special tools. It consists of tightening one screw (fig. 1, 2 and 3) or at most two (fig. 4). The laying of the slabs, carrying on the front the staples mounted beforehand, is carried out by embedding, from top to bottom, on the horizontal parts of the framework. They are leveled by adjusting the screws indicated in 1 in the figure, applied to two of the four anchors normally used for large format slabs.

On ventilated walls, between one facing slab and the other, both vertically and horizontally, a crack called "joint" must be left, the dimension of which is generally around ten millimeters . This joint has not only an aesthetic function; in fact, it must be left between the tiles because the expansions of the metal support are different from those of the terracotta-based covering material.

Vertically, the position of the slabs relative to the horizontal joists is guaranteed by their weight; on the other hand horizontally, a fixing piece must be provided, taking into account that the resistance to friction between staples and uprights is low.

By exploiting the joint left between two contiguous slabs, along a horizontal axis, it is possible to apply only to two staples per slab, aligned along a vertical for reasons of expansion, a hexagonal headless screw recessed, indicated in 2 in figures n ° 3 and n ° 4; this screw is fixed to a lateral flange of the clip, indicated at 3; its length is such that the screw coincides with the joint.

• elle sert à bloquer deux agrafes par dalle, alignées verticalement, aux solives horizontales correspondantes pour éviter tout déplacement horizontal accidentel dû au vent ou à des phénomènes de vibration;
• elle permet de sortir les dalles de revêtement de leur support sans devoir débloquer auparavant la vis, simplement par l'action d'une clef spéciale dans le joint.

This screw is inside the facing wall; it is therefore practically invisible from the outside and it fulfills two functions:

• it is used to block two clips per slab, aligned vertically, to the corresponding horizontal joists to avoid any accidental horizontal displacement due to wind or vibration phenomena;
• it allows the covering slabs to be removed from their support without having to unblock the screw beforehand, simply by the action of a special key in the joint.

Claims (5)

Metallic device for the vertical fixing of slabs made of stone, ceramic or other materials, natural or artificial, consisting of two elements characterized by appendages which, introduced into special slots arranged on the back of the slabs, under the action of a clamping screw, exert a compression against the material, by hanging it securely without however creating a bending force.
The above elements can be shaped so as to constitute a kind of staple to be fixed directly to the horizontal joists of the substructure of the ventilated covering, or they can be independent of the staple to which they are in turn by a screw.
The second case makes it possible to use coordinated commercial profits, usable for the realization of both staples and horizontal beams of the substructures. Metallic device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the two appendages intended for the slots on the rear face of the tiles belong to only one of the two elements. The second element has the sole function of reacting in the orthogonal direction against the surface of the slab, in the two zones surmounting the fixing slots, this to avoid the bending stress of the material with which the two metal appendages react.
The appendage element can be shaped like a clip to be fixed directly to the horizontal guides of the substructure of the ventilated covering, or else be independent of the clip itself. which it is coupled by means of a screw used for tightening the two elements of the device. Metallic device according to the preceding claims, characterized in that one or two of the four staples are wider than the underlying attachment appendages by an amount necessary for the application of a recessed hexagon headless screw and pointed end. This screw can be locked or loosened from the outside with a suitable hexagon key, through the space between two adjoining horizontal slabs, thanks to the presence of the "joint". The two special clips described above must be mounted along a vertical edge of the slab to avoid breakage due to the difference in coefficient of expansion of the covering material compared to the metal substructure. Metal device according to the preceding claims, characterized in that to one or two of the four staples is connected a lateral flange of a length such that it exceeds the covering slab by an amount sufficient for the application of a screw without recessed hexagon head and pointed end, for which the description contained in claim number 3 applies. Metal device according to the preceding claims, characterized in that at two of the four clips is applied, in the upper part, a screw which regulates the position relative to the horizontal beam to which they are assembled, to allow during assembly the alignment of each slab relative to the adjoining slab.

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