EP0796959A1

EP0796959A1 - Cover panel with mushroom-fastening tape

Info

Publication number: EP0796959A1
Application number: EP97200851A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alfred Dogterom
Original assignee: D& L Wandsystemen VoF
Current assignee: D& L Wandsystemen VoF
Priority date: 1996-03-20
Filing date: 1997-03-20
Publication date: 1997-09-24
Also published as: NL1002663C2

Abstract

A device for forming a covering for a wall, floor or ceiling, which device comprises a support construction(1) formed by profiles and provided with a mounting surface and two or more panels (10,11) of suitable material, wherein the panel (11) is provided on the side facing toward the support construction (1) with a connecting means and the mounting surface is provided with a co-acting connecting means, wherein the connecting means are embodied as mushroom-fastening tape (12,13) which can be adhered to the panel (10,11) on the one hand and to the mounting surface of the support construction (1) on the other so that the wall panels (10,11) fit closely together in a non-stepped manner.

Description

The invention relates to a device for forming a covering for a wall, floor or ceiling, which device comprises a support construction formed by profiles and provided with a mounting surface and two or more panels of suitable material, wherein the panel is provided on the side facing toward the support construction with a connecting means and the mounting surface is provided with a co-acting connecting means.
In house and/or public utility building it is usual to form walls with a support construction onto which panels are fixed on the one and/or the other side in order to form partitions and the like. It is further possible to assemble a ceiling from panels which are fixed to the underside of the support construction.
Fixing usually takes place with connecting means such as locking members or self-tapping screws which contain the panel edges by means of holding profiles and hold them against the support construction. In addition, it has already been proposed to provide panels with a different type of securing means, for instance magnets which are fixed to the panels and which attach themselves to a support construction of magnet-sensitive material.
Such constructions are usually expensive because additional profiles or additional means such as magnets are necessary which require much fitting time. While the assembly of the wall by means of magnet attachments can take place rapidly in situ, the preliminary work does however require a relatively large amount of time.
The invention has for its object to provide a device wherein

the panels are mounted close-fittingly against each other, if desired without profiles gripping round the top and bottom sides of the panels;
the mounting mechanisms are not visible;
the tolerance of the positioning of the mounting means is not critical during production;
no adjusting or fitting work is required during assembly;
production as well as assembly, disassembly and reassembly is quick, simple and inexpensive.

The invention proposes for this purpose a device which is distinguished in that the connecting means are embodied as mushroom-fastening tape which can be adhered to the panel on the one hand and to the mounting surface of the support construction on the other.
Owing to the application of a mushroom-fastening tape only the panel has to be provided with a tape which can be easily adhered thereto by means of a self-adhesive layer, while the support construction can likewise be provided with a co-acting mushroom-fastening tape by means of a self-adhesive layer, so that assembly of the panels is limited solely to pressing the panel parts in any desired position onto the support construction. This can of course also be performed the other way around. It is noted that mushroom-fastening tape should not be understood to mean the use of so-called loop and hook pile fastener or Velcro tape, which the mushroom-fastening tape greatly resembles, since loop and hook pile fastener provided with hook-like protrusions does not function well in practice. This tape is relatively thick and resilient, whereby the panels which are placed mutually adjacently and abutting do not come to lie properly in line. The shear resistance is moreover insufficient, whereby gaps can occur between the panels. This problem is solved with the mushroom-fastening tape according to the invention because the mushroom-fastening tape can be seen as a multi-press stud fastening which is hardly resilient and movable in the direction perpendicularly of and parallel to the panel. Using this mushroom-fastening tape the edges can be mounted precisely against each other and a smooth wall or smooth ceiling can be effected.
A choice has been made for a fastening tape with mushroom-shaped studs which can be pressed into a pile structure of the other tape. It is noted that a snap tape is marketed under the brand name "Dual Lock" by 3M wherein the other tape is likewise provided with mushroom-shaped studs. This snap tape has such a large holding power that it can only be applied on small portions of the connecting plane, with the result that placing must be very precise. The intermediate space in the connecting plane must moreover be filled due to the thickness of said snap tape in order to obtain a good sound and air insulation and the insulation at the location of the snap tape is zero. This construction is very labour-intensive in the preliminary work as well as during assembly and therefore not suitable for the intended purpose. Conversely, the pile tape of the invention can ensure a good adhesion and insulation over great lengths.
Owing to the fact that the starting point is a tape as adhesive means, the entire edge of a panel or the entire periphery of a panel can be provided with tape which ensures that insulation against the passage of sound or air is also obtained. This for instance in contrast to the magnet attachment or other adhesions, which can often only be applied locally.
For fire resistance purposes a locking means is also arranged on the panel in addition to the connecting means, which locking means consists of a lip which is fixed to the panel and which can be placed behind the support construction. This mechanical fireproof locking ensures that the panel remains fixed to the support construction during a fire.
In preference the lip is arranged slidably. It is hereby possible to lock the cover panels fixed with mushroom-fastening tape by sliding the lips behind the support construction.
In the preferred embodiment the lip is arranged in a housing with a locking member for locking the lip.
In addition, the lip and the locking member are preferably manufactured from magnetizable material, such as steel, and the housing from non-magnetizable material such as brass. It hereby is possible to release the locking member from the lip and to slide the lip using an applied magnetic field. When the magnetic field is removed, the lip is locked again by the locking member dropping back.
In this manner a locking means is provided as a supplement to the mushroom-fastening tape in respect of fire resistance and which is not visible from the outside. In addition, no adjusting work is required since the slidable lip compensates dimensional differences.
Above mentioned and other features of the invention will be further elucidated with reference to an embodiment of the invention which is shown in the annexed drawing. Herein:

fig. 1 shows a perspective standing view of a device according to the invention used as partition wall,
fig. 2 shows a detail of the present mushroom-fastening tape as used in the device of fig. 1, and
fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the locking means according to the invention.

Generally designated with the numeral 1 is a support construction, here consisting of a post 2 and horizontal beams 3. The beams and posts can be mutually fixed in random manner, for instance by welding or other connecting means such as self-tapping screws or pre-punched lips. Posts 2 and beams 3 have an outer surface which together form a mounting surface which extends vertically in fig. 1. Fig. 1 also shows that posts 2 are placed on a lower profile 4 which supports on a base profile 5. Lower profile 4 is here deemed to be manufactured from metal and is thin-walled, while base profile 5 can be manufactured from wood material. Base profile 5 is provided with a longitudinal groove 6 into which fits a chamber-like protrusion 7 of lower profile 4. Lower profile 4 is further provided on either side of base profile 5 with a gutter-like flange 8. This gutter-like flange 8 protrudes outside the mounting surface of posts 2 and beams 3. The fixing of posts 2 onto lower profile 4 can be random, for instance by means of the undercut lip 9 which can be placed into the chamber-like protrusion 7 of lower profile 4.
Panels 10 and 11 are arranged on either side of the support construction 1. For the sake of clarity the panels 10 on the front side between the posts 2 and 2' are omitted in fig. 1 to make the back panel 11 visible.
According to the invention the mounting surface of support construction 1 is provided with a tape 12 which is embodied with a pile structure, see also fig. 2. The edges of panel 10, 11 and a horizontal strip corresponding with the location of the horizontal beam 3 are likewise provided with an adhesive strip 13. The strip 13 has mushroom-shaped protrusions 14, whereby the tapes 12, 13 can take a relatively thin form. Panels 10, 11 therefore come to lie closely against the mounting surface of support construction 1.
Fig. 3 shows two locking means 15, 16 according to the present invention. Each locking means 15, 16 consists of a base plate 17 which is fixed to respectively the panel 10 and 11. Fixed onto base plate 17 is a housing 18 in which a lip 19 is slidably arranged. Fixed onto housing is a locking member 20, the free end 21 of which is placed into one of the grooves 22 of lip 19. The lower end 23 of lip 19 is carried over and behind the standing edges 24 of the skirting gutter 25. The locking means 15, 16 are mounted at a fixed distance from the bottom 26 of panels 10, 11. Such a mounting of a locking means may also be situated on the top and/or sides of the panel. The difference in height between the bottom 26 of panel 10, 11 and the standing edge 24 of skirting gutter 25 which can result from the floor or ceiling not being flat or level is compensated by lip 19, as can be seen by comparing the locking means 15 and 16 in fig. 3. By applying a magnetic field to the side of the panel 10, 11 remote from the locking means 15, 16 the locking member 20 is moved in the direction of the panel 10, 11 and the extremity 21 of locking member 20 is released from the groove 22 of lip 19. The magnetic field can then be shifted in vertical direction to thereby shift the lip 19. When the magnetic field is removed the locking member 20 springs back so that the extremity 21 of locking member 20 is again placed in a groove 22 of lip 19.
The panels have a width such that the distance is bridged between the centre line of the one post 2 and the other post 2'. Mounting of panels 10, 11 in situ takes place by first placing the lower edge in the gutter-like recess 8 as according to the arrow P1, see fig. 1, and subsequently rotating the panel in the direction of the arrow P2, whereby the mushroom-shaped protrusions 14 of tape 13 hook into the pile of tape 12. Using a magnetic field the locking means can then be shifted into locking position.
Owing to the relative small displacement possibility of the panel in the direction of arrow P2 during the hooking, the front sides of the mutually adjacent panels 10 respectively 11 will come to lie in each other's plane.
For an aesthetic appearance it is possible to chamfer the edge 13 of the panel at 15 over only a slight depth, for instance no more than the thickness of the plastic cover layer to be arranged on the panels, whereby the visual effect of the panels lying mutually in line is enhanced.
Tests have shown that the height of the stem of the mushrooms must lie between 0.8 and 1.7 mm. When 18 mm chipboard is used as panel the height of the stem is preferably 1.2 mm and when 12 mm plaster board is used as panel the height is preferably 1 mm. The diameter of the stem of the mushroom varies, in direct proportion to the height, between 0.12 and 0.2 mm. It has been found in tests that the diameter of the stem preferably amounts to 0.2 mm. The mushroom-fastening tape has between 56 and 80 mushrooms per cm². Tests have also shown that this is preferably 56 mushrooms per cm². Finally, the weight of the pile lies between 80 and 300 gram and preferably weighs 200 gram. With these specifications a mushroom-fastening tape is obtained giving the best results in respect of the glueing, holding powers and shearing forces thereof.
It will be apparent that such a construction can also be applied in ceilings or other structural locations wherein not only separating walls with a two-sided panel construction as shown in fig. 1 can be envisaged but also a one-sided panel construction.
Within the scope of the invention it is also possible to omit the lower profile 4 and to suffice with the panels which can support directly on the supporting floor in front of base panel 5 or end some distance thereabove. In addition, it is also possible to provide only the posts 2 of support construction 1 with a tape 12 which is embodied with a pile structure.
The advantage of the invention is clearly that no additional attaching means or attaching profiles are necessary to nevertheless effect a complete connection between panels and support construction, wherein the advantage of a practically complete closure against draught and sound is also obtained along the edges of the panel.

Claims

Device for forming a covering for a wall, floor or ceiling, which device comprises a support construction formed by profiles and provided with a mounting surface and two or more panels of suitable material, wherein the panel is provided on the side facing toward the support construction with a connecting means and the mounting surface is provided with a co-acting connecting means, characterized in that the connecting means are embodied as mushroom-fastening tape which can be adhered to the panel on the one hand and to the mounting surface of the support construction on the other.
Device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the one tape is embodied with mushroom-shaped studs which can be pressed into a pile structure of the other tape.
Device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the one tape extends at least along the full periphery of the panel.
Device as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the tape with the mushroom-shaped studs is arranged on the panel and that with the pile on the mounting surface.
Device as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the side portion on the side of the panel remote from the tape is chamfered.
Device as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized by a locking means consisting of a lip which is fixed to the panel and which can be placed behind the support construction.
Device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the lip is arranged slidably.
Device as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the lip is arranged in a housing with a locking member for locking the lip.
Device as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the lip and the locking member are manufactured from magnetizable material, such as steel, and the housing is manufactured from non-magnetizable material such as brass.