EP1220967A1

EP1220967A1 - Device, arrangement and method for mounting a building element on a base

Info

Publication number: EP1220967A1
Application number: EP00971955A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bengt Andersson; Jan Wilkens
Original assignee: Ecophon AB
Current assignee: Saint Gobain Ecophon AB
Priority date: 1999-10-15
Filing date: 2000-10-13
Publication date: 2002-07-10
Also published as: SE9903757L; AU1068801A; SE515040C2; SE515040E; WO2001027403A1; SE9903757D0

Abstract

A device for mounting a building element (11) on a base, such as a ceiling or a wall. The device comprises a body (1) which is attachable to the base and extended in a longitudinal direction and which has projecting engaging means (6), which are insertable into a rear side (12) of the building element (11) for attaching the device thereto. The device is characterised in that the engaging means (6) are oriented in a direction so as to be insertable into said rear side (12) by moving the body (1) in its longitudinal direction while exerting a pressure on the rear side (12). The invention also relates to an arrangement comprising two such devices as well as to a method, in which use is made of said device.

Description

DEVICE, ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD FOR MOUNTING A BUILDING

ELEMENT ON A BASE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a device and an arrangement for mounting a building element on a base, such as a ceiling or a wall, as well as to a method for mounting a building element on such a base by means of said device. More specifically, the invention relates to a device, an arrangement and a method according to the preamble to claim 1, claim 10 and claim 11, respectively. Background of the Invention A number of different methods are known for mounting building elements on different bases, such as ceilings and walls.

According to one method, a fastening device is secured to the rear side of the building element, which device in turn is joined to the base. The base thus supports the building element via the device.

US-1,810,597 discloses such a fastening device. The device comprises a strip, from which projections extend. The projections of the device are pressed against the rear side of the building element, whereby the projections penetrate into the same. The device which is thus attached to the building element is subsequently mounted on the base by means of a suitable suspension system, the device supported by the base in its turn supporting the building element. As an alternative to the projections, mention is made of nails and screws for securing the device in the building element.

Many building elements are so soft that nails or screws cannot be used. Examples of such building elements are acoustic building elements for sound absorption or sound reflection or insulating building elements. Building elements of these types can, for instance, be made of glass fibre material . Therefore it is not possible to fix a fastening device of the above-described type in such a building element by means of nails or screws.

Nor is it possible to secure a fastening device with projections of the prior-art type which is describ- ed above on such a soft building element since the projections of the device would only be pressed down into the building element without being attached to the same.

Thus there is demand for a device for mounting a building element on a base, which device can be attached to the rear side of a building element which is relatively soft. Summary of the Invention

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved device of the type described by way of intro- duction for mounting a building element on a base.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device which can be attached also to relatively soft building elements, such as acoustic and insulating building elements. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a corresponding arrangement for mounting a building element on a base .

An additional object is to provide a corresponding method for mounting a building element on a base. To achieve these objects, a device with the features stated in claim 1, an arrangement with the features stated in claim 10 and a method with the features stated in claim 11 is defined. Preferred embodiments of the device are stated in claims 1-9 and a preferred embodiment of the method is stated in claim 12.

More specifically, according to the present invention, a device is defined for mounting a building element on a base, such as a ceiling or a wall, comprising a body, which is mountable in the base and extended in a longitudinal direction and which has projecting engaging means, which are insertable into a rear side of the building element for attaching the device thereto, said device being characterised in that the engaging means are oriented in a direction so as to be insertable into said rear side by moving the body in its longitudinal direction while exerting a pressure on the rear side. As a result, a device is provided which allows very simple mounting of building elements on a base. The device is simply moved in its longitudinal direction over the rear side of the building element at the same time as it is pressed against the rear side. Owing to this, the engaging means penetrate into the building element and force themselves into the building element. At the same time, the device serves to absorb forces in a direction perpendicular to the plane of extension of the building element and in the direction, in which the device is being moved to be attached to the building element . As a result, the building element can, on the one hand, be suspended from a ceiling and, on the other, be hung on a wall. If the building element is hung on a wall, the engaging means are, of course, directed obliquely upwards. If the building element is a ceiling board, it will be supported by the engaging means owing to their force-absorbing effect transversely of the plane of extension of the ceiling board, the device itself being attached to the ceiling in a suitable manner, such as by being hung on a wire means. In case use is made of a soft building element, only a little pressure against the same is needed to provide said penetration of the engaging means .

When the word ceiling is used above and hereinafter, it refers to the upper boundary surface of a room or space. When mounting building elements such as ceiling boards on a ceiling, the ceiling boards will thus be arranged under the ceiling.

The engaging means are preferably arranged at an angle to a base surface of the body in a plane parallel to said longitudinal direction, which angle is in the range of 5-50°. The smaller the angle the more easily the engaging means can be inserted into the building element.

According to a preferred embodiment of the device, at least one tongue is formed on each engaging means, each tongue extending in a direction opposite to the respective engaging means. The tongues provide some degree of force-absorbing effect in the direction opposite to the direction of attachment of the device. Thus the tongues prevent the device which is attached to a building element from being disengaged.

The engaging means are preferably formed with a point to facilitate the insertion thereof into the building element.

Furthermore, the engaging means are preferably flex- ible, whereby a clamping action is obtained when inserting them into the building element, which clamping action allows a more secure attachment of the device to the building element .

The engaging means are advantageously arranged in at least one row parallel to the longitudinal direction of the body.

According to a preferred embodiment of the device, said body is formed of an L-shaped section, a leg of said section forming a base surface, from which said engaging means extend.

According to yet another preferred embodiment of the device, said body is formed of an inverted T-section, a base part of the section forming a base surface, from which said engaging means extend. Preferably, oblique slits are made in said base surface to form pointed flaps, which are angled to form said engaging means .

According to the present invention, a fastening arrangement for a building element is defined, comprising a first and a second device as stated above and a connection means, with the aid of which the two devices are fixable in relation to each other in such manner that the engaging means projecting from the respective devices extend in opposite directions.

As a result, an arrangement is provided which makes it possible to mount a building element in a very secure manner. More specifically, this is achieved thanks to the fact that the force-absorbing effect of the respective devices in the direction of attachment acts in mutually opposite directions, whereby the devices attached to the building element lock each other, thus preventing the respective devices from being disengaged from the building element.

Finally, according to the present invention, a method is defined for mounting a building element on a base, such as a ceiling or a wall, said method being characterised by the steps of arranging a device as stated above on a rear side of the building element m such manner that the engaging means abut against said rear side of the building element, moving the device in its longitudinal direction, while exerting a pressure on the building element, in such manner that the engaging means engage and penetrate into the rear side of the building element, whereby the device is attached to the building element, and mounting the device, which thus supports the building element, on the base. According to a preferred embodiment of the method, it also comprises the steps of attaching a second device as stated above beside the first device, the second device being attached to said rear side by being moved m a direction that is opposite to the direction m which the first device is moved along the rear side for attachment thereof, and fixing the devices m relation to each other, thereby locking them m relation to the building element .

The present invention will now be described for the purpose of exemplification with reference to the accompanying drawings . Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of an inventive device .

Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of an inventive device.

Fig. 3 shows a first embodiment of an inventive arrangement, which comprises two devices according to Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 shows a second embodiment of an inventive arrangement, which comprises two devices according to Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 shows a third embodiment of an inventive device . Description of Embodiments Parts of the inventive embodiments described below and having similar design or function are identified by like reference numerals.

Reference is first made to Fig. 1, which illustrates a device according to a first embodiment of the inven- tion, which device is shown in a position before attachment to a building element 11, of which a part is shown in Fig. 1. The device is formed of an elongate body 1 in the form of an L-shaped section 2. One leg 3 of the two legs 3 , 4 of the L-shaped section 2 forms a base surface 5, from which engaging means 6 extend. More specifically, oblique slits 7 are made in the base surface 5. The slits 7 extend from a longitudinal, free edge 8 of the base surface 5 obliquely towards the joint 9 between the two legs 3, 4 of the section 2. As a result, a pointed flap 10 is formed between each pair of adjacent slits 7. The flaps 10 are bent down and form said engaging means 6. All the flaps 10 are oriented in the same direction and bent down through an angle φ which is preferably in the range of 5-50° and most preferably in the range of 10-20°. The flaps 10 thus extend in a plane parallel to the elongate body 1 and perpendicular to the base surface 5. The inventive device is mounted on the building element 11, which can be a sound-absorbing or sound-reflecting board or an insulating board, in the following manner: The device is arranged, with its base surface 5 facing a rear side 12 of the building element 11, in such manner that the flaps 10 of the device abut against the rear side 12. Subsequently, the device is moved in its longitudinal direction in the direction of the arrow PI along the rear side 12 while exerting a pressure on the rear side 12. Thereby, points 13 of the flaps 10 will engage the rear side 12 and penetrate into the building element 11. The device is moved in said direction until the flaps 10 have completely penetrated into the building element 11. Subsequently, the device is mounted in a suitable manner on a base (not shown) , such as a ceiling or a wall. The building element 11 will be supported by the device, which in turn is supported by the base.

The reason why the building element 11 can be sup- ported by the device is that the device has a force- absorbing effect, on the one hand, in a direction P2 transversely of the base surface 5 of the device and thus also transversely of the plane of extension 11 of the building element and, on the other, in the direction PI, i.e. in the direction of attachment of the device.

The force-absorbing effect in the direction P2 allows the building element 11 to be mounted on a base in the form of a ceiling and the force-absorbing effect in the direction PI allows the building element 11 to be mounted on a base in the form of a wall. In the latter case, it will of course be ensured that the engaging means 6, i.e. the flaps 10, are directed upwards to prevent the building element 11 from being disengaged from the device due to the dead weight of the building element 11. Thanks to the pointed shape of the flaps 10, they can easily be inserted into the building element 11. If the building element 11 is soft, such as an acoustic or insulating building element for instance made of glass fibre wool, it is suitably ensured that the flaps 10 are to some extent flexible. This provides a clamping action when they are inserted into the building element 11, which clamping action contributes to making the attachment of the device to the building element 11 more secure .

The inventive device can be used to hang up building elements 11 in the form of separate acoustic boards from a ceiling. Such separate boards, which can have optional shape, are suspended to improve the acoustics of a room at the same time as the boards contribute to making the ceiling aesthetically pleasing. The inventive device is mounted on the rear side of such a board, after which the board can be suspended by attaching a wire or a strut, which hangs down from the ceiling, to the device. Since the board is suspended by using its rear side and not its edges, the board seems to be floating in the air.

Reference is now made to Fig. 2, which illustrates a second embodiment of the inventive device. This device differs from the device in Fig. 1 in that a tongue 14 is formed in each flap 10. The tongues 14 are oriented in a direction opposite to the direction of the flaps 10. These tongues 14 will provide a barb-like effect, which prevents a device attached to a building element 11 (not shown in Fig. 2) from being disengaged.

Reference is now made to Fig. 3, which illustrates two sets of a first embodiment of an inventive arrangement for mounting a building element 11 on a base in the form of a ceiling (not shown) . The arrangement comprises two devices of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 and a number of fixing means 15. Each fixing means 15 comprises two rods 16a, 16b, which are interconnected and mutually slidable in their longitudinal direction. One rod 16a comprises means (not shown) for attachment to the ceiling and the other rod 16b comprises a hook 17 for attachment to the devices. The devices are attached to the building element 11, the legs 4 which are perpendicular to the respective base surfaces 5 facing each other, and at the same time the devices are being moved in mutually opposite direc- tions. Subsequently, the hook 17 of the rod 16b is inserted through a hole 18 which is made in the respective up-right legs 4 of the devices and which is of the type that is shown more clearly in Fig. 2, said holes 18 being aligned with each other when attaching the devices. The hook 17 prevents mutual displacement of the devices, whereby the respective devices are prevented from being disengaged from the building element 11. It will, however, be understood that the devices can also be fixed in relation to each other in some other way, for instance by means of rivets or screws. In that case, it is possible to connect the rod 16b to only one of the devices with the aid of some suitable fixing means.

A second embodiment of an inventive arrangement for mounting a building element 11 in a base (not shown) is illustrated in Fig. 4. Like in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the arrangement comprises two devices according to Fig. 1 (of which one is indicated only by dashed lines) , which devices are attached to the building element 11 by being moved in mutually opposite directions. The upright legs 4 are facing each other but spaced- apart . In the gap between the legs 4, a U-shaped section 19 is arranged, whose upright legs 20 are connected to a respective device, for instance by means of rivets. Thus, also in this case the devices are fixed in relation to each other and consequently locked in the building element 11. The U-shaped section 19 is connected to a fixing means (not shown) for mounting the building element on a base, said mounting thus being provided with the aid of the arrangement . Fig. 5 shows a third embodiment of the inventive device. In this case, the device is formed of an elongate body 1 in the form of an inverted T-section 21 with a leg 23 and a base part 22, which forms a base surface 5, from which engaging means 6 extend in the form of flaps 10. Owing to the provision of slits 7 along both the longitudinal edges 24 of the base surface 5, two rows of pointed flaps 10 are formed. As shown, these flaps 10 can also have opposed tongues 14 to obtain the above-mentioned barb-like effect. At that end 25 of the leg 23 which is facing away from the base surface 5, a fixing means 26 is formed for mounting the device on a base in the form of a ceiling (not shown) .

The device is attached to a building element 11 (not shown in Fig. 5) as described above by moving the device in its longitudinal direction along the rear side 12 of the building element 11 while exerting a pressure on the building element 11.

The above-described inventive elements can be made in sheet metal or plastic material. As mentioned above, also the engaging means 6 can be formed so as to be flexible. While inserting the engaging means 6 into a build- ing element 11, the respective engaging means 6 are being bent, which causes a clamping action that further reinforces the attachment of the device to the building element 11.

The above-described devices for mounting a building element 11 on a base are very simple and rational to handle. They are moved in their longitudinal direction along the rear side 12 of the building element 11 at the same time as a pressure is exerted on the building element 11. The engaging means 6, i.e. the flaps 10, of the devices will then engage and penetrate into the building element 11. The devices are particularly suitable for use together with a building element 11 which is so soft that it is not possible to fasten screws or nails in the same. Examples of such building elements 11 are boards for sound-reflection or sound-absorption or insulation. Such boards can be made of glass -fibre wool. In this case, the engaging means 6 easily cut into the material . It will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the shown embodiments but several modifications and variations are feasible. The scope of the invention is thus defined only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A device for mounting a building element (11) on a base, such as a ceiling or a wall, comprising a body (1) , which is mountable in the base and extended in a longitudinal direction and which has projecting engaging means (6), which are insertable into a rear side (12) of the building element (11) for attaching the device thereto, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the engaging means (6) are oriented in a direction so as to be insertable into said rear side (12) by moving the body (1) in its longitudinal direction while exerting a pressure on the rear side (12) .

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engaging means (6) are arranged at an angle (φ) to a base surface (5) of the body (1) in a plane parallel to said longitudinal direction, which angle (φ) is in the range of 5-50° and preferably in the range of 10-20°.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , wherein at least one tongue (14) is formed on each engaging means (6), each tongue (14) being oriented in a direction opposite to the respective engaging means (6) .

4. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each engaging means (6) is formed with a point (13) to facilitate the insertion thereof into the building element (11) .

5. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each engaging means (6) is flexible, whereby a clamping action is obtained when inserting the same into the building element (11) .

6. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the engaging means (6) are arranged in at least one row parallel to the longitudinal direction of the body (1) .

7. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said body (1) is formed of an L-shaped section (2) , a leg (3) of said section (2) forming a base surface (5) , from which said engaging means (6) extend.

8. A device as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, wherein said body (1) is formed of an inverted T-section (21) , a base part (22) of the section (21) forming a base surface (5), from which said engaging means (6) extend.

9. A device as claimed in claim 7 or 8 , in which oblique slits (7) are made in said base surface (5) to form pointed flaps (10) , which are angled to form said engaging means (6) .

10. A fastening arrangement for a building element (11), comprising a first and a second device according to any one of claims 1-9 and a connection means (17; 19), with the aid of which the two devices are fixable in relation to each other in such manner that the engaging means (6) projecting from the respective devices extend in opposite directions.

11. A method for mounting a building element (11) on a base, such as a ceiling or a wall, c h a r a c t e r i s e d by the steps of arranging a device according to any one of claims 1-9 on a rear side (12) of the building element (11) in such manner that the engaging means (6) abut against said rear side (12) of the building element (11), moving the device in its longitudinal direction, while exerting a pressure on the building element (11) , in such manner that the engaging means (6) engage and penetrate into the rear side (12) of the building element (11) , whereby the device is attached to the building element (11) , and mounting the device, which thus supports the building element (11), on the base.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising the steps of attaching a second device according to any one of claims 1-9 beside the first device, the second device being attached to said rear side (12) by being moved in a direction that is opposite to the direction in which the first device is moved along the rear side (12) for attachment thereof, and fixing the devices in relation to each other, thereby locking them in relation to the building element (11)