Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F13/00—Coverings or linings, e.g. for walls or ceilings
  • E04F13/07—Coverings or linings, e.g. for walls or ceilings composed of covering or lining elements; Sub-structures therefor; Fastening means therefor
  • E04F13/08—Coverings or linings, e.g. for walls or ceilings composed of covering or lining elements; Sub-structures therefor; Fastening means therefor composed of a plurality of similar covering or lining elements
  • E04F13/0801—Separate fastening elements
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04D—ROOF COVERINGS; SKY-LIGHTS; GUTTERS; ROOF-WORKING TOOLS
  • E04D3/00—Roof covering by making use of flat or curved slabs or stiff sheets
  • E04D3/24—Roof covering by making use of flat or curved slabs or stiff sheets with special cross-section, e.g. with corrugations on both sides, with ribs, flanges, or the like
  • E04D3/28—Roof covering by making use of flat or curved slabs or stiff sheets with special cross-section, e.g. with corrugations on both sides, with ribs, flanges, or the like of glass or other translucent material
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04D—ROOF COVERINGS; SKY-LIGHTS; GUTTERS; ROOF-WORKING TOOLS
  • E04D3/00—Roof covering by making use of flat or curved slabs or stiff sheets
  • E04D3/36—Connecting; Fastening
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04D—ROOF COVERINGS; SKY-LIGHTS; GUTTERS; ROOF-WORKING TOOLS
  • E04D3/00—Roof covering by making use of flat or curved slabs or stiff sheets
  • E04D3/24—Roof covering by making use of flat or curved slabs or stiff sheets with special cross-section, e.g. with corrugations on both sides, with ribs, flanges, or the like
  • E04D3/28—Roof covering by making use of flat or curved slabs or stiff sheets with special cross-section, e.g. with corrugations on both sides, with ribs, flanges, or the like of glass or other translucent material
  • E04D2003/285—Roof covering by making use of flat or curved slabs or stiff sheets with special cross-section, e.g. with corrugations on both sides, with ribs, flanges, or the like of glass or other translucent material with specially profiled marginal portions for connecting purposes
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
  • E04F2201/05—Separate connectors or inserts, e.g. pegs, pins, keys or strips

Definitions

• the present invention relates to extruded, modular panel units for the construction of walls, ceilings, roofs, canopies and windows, particularly of light- transmitting sections. More specifically, the invention discloses a retention clip used to fasten such systems to metal constructions (i.e. purlins) while allowing for thermal expansion of the panels.
• a retention clip used to fasten such systems to metal constructions (i.e. purlins) while allowing for thermal expansion of the panels.
• US Pat. No. 7,661,234 to Voegele, Jr. is one of a large family of patents all directed to a panel assembly 10 as shown in Fig. 1 comprising a pair of juxtaposed panels 11, 12 each having at a mating edge thereof a respective upright joining flange 13, 14 that support a sealing cap 15.
• the panel assembly 10 includes a retention clip 20 that serves both to fixedly attach the panel assembly 10 to a support structure 21 by means of a bolt 22 as well as separating the mating edges of the panels so as to allow for thermal expansion.
• the retention clip 20 employs a first generally Z-shaped plate 25 and a second generally C- shaped shape 26 which are co-operatively mounted to define a pair of webs or uprights 27 and 27' supported at their lower ends by a common base 29 and defining at their upper ends opposing flanges 30 and 31.
• the uprights 27 and 27' define opposing first and second surfaces that engage opposing first and second ends of a pair of first and second adjacent panels, i.e. the panels 11 and 12.
• first and second ends of the adjacent panels are separated by the respective first and second surfaces 27 and 27', which themselves define an intervening gap 32.
• Thermal expansion of the panels exerts pressure on the respective first and second surfaces of the upright, thereby flexing them towards each other and narrowing the gap without causing the panels to buckle.
• the gap 32 between the panels is maintained by a spacer element 33, which ensures that the panels 11 and 12 do not bear tightly against the uprights 27 and 27'.
• the gap 32 is sufficient to allow longitudinal movement of the panels 11 and 12, such as may result from thermal expansion and contraction of the panels and the sealing cap 15, without causing significant frictional contact between the panels 11 and 12 and the uprights 27 and 27'.
• US Pat. No. 7,788,869 also to Voegele, Jr. discloses a similar retention clip but wherein the gap may be maintained by an optional fin that projects downward from the sealing cap and splays apart the uprights 27 and 27'.
• US Pat. No. 6,164,024 to Konstantin shows various retention clips formed for the most part of a single molding.
• clip is an integral extrusion and can take on a variety of forms in each of which the clip top flange extends continuously from one side of the web to the other so as to be resistant to being bent upward on either side of the web.
• the clip can be extruded with thickened portions to strength and its base can be integral with the lower supporting structure.
• the base of the clip is fastened usually with bolts to the purlin or rafter of the roof.
• the two juxtaposed panels are then assembled one on each side of the clip so as to be displaced from each other with their upwardly directed joining flanges being engaged by respective opposed flanges of the retention clip.
• Fig. la shows pictorially a pair of juxtaposed panels joined via a prior art two- part retention clip
• Fig. lb is a detail of the retention clip shown in Fig. la;
• Fig. 2 shows a retention clip according to an embodiment of the invention
• Fig. 3 shows a pair of juxtaposed panels joined via a retention clip according to an embodiment of the invention
• Figs. 4 and 5 show pictorially retention clips according to other embodiments of the invention.
• Figs. 6a and 6b show front and back views of a retention clip according to another embodiment of the invention.
• Fig. 2 shows an isometric view of a retention clip 40 according to a first embodiment of the invention.
• the general structure of the retention clip 40 is similar to that disclosed in above-mentioned US Pat. No. 6,164,024 in that it comprises a base plate 41 having a pair of opposing flanges 42, 43 at least one of which 42 is configured for attaching to a support structure 44 shown in Fig. 3.
• the flange 42 may be provided with apertures 45 constituting attachment means allowing the retention clip 40 to be bolted to the support structure 44 in known manner.
• the retention clip 40 has a top plate 46 formed of a pair of opposing flanges 47 and 48 and is joined to the base plate 41 via an upright 50 extending between the base plate 41 and the top plate 46.
• the upright 50 defines opposing first and second surfaces 49 and 49', respectively, that engage opposing first and second ends of a pair of first and second adjacent panels 51 and 52 of a panel system 55 shown in Fig. 3 so as to allow mutual sliding of the panels relative to the retention clip 40, which is fixed to the structure 44.
• the panels 51 and 52 have respective upwardly projecting flanges 56, 57 that may be indented and support a sealing cap 58 that serves both to seal the joint between the two panels and secure them in interlocked engagement.
• the retention clip 40 is characterized by one or more spacer elements 60 emerging from at least one of the first and second surfaces 49, 49' that prevent the first end of the first panel 51 from abutting the second panel 52 at least during construction of the panel system 55.
• the spacer elements 60 may be resilient fingers or springs and help to reduce friction in the panel system 55 as will be further described below.
• spacer elements 60 dictate a gap between the first panel 51 and the first surface 49 of the clip 40, so that the first panel 51 is free to expand thermally in the lateral direction 14 (as shown in Fig. 3) and thus not apply undue pressure on the first surface 49 of the clip 40 when the temperature of the panel rises. Consequently there is little or no friction between the clip 40 and the panels 51, 52, which are now also free to expand longitudinally (i.e. in a direction normal to the paper in Fig. 3). In this arrangement, the problems of panel distortions and expansion rippling are greatly improved.
• the retention clip 40 may be bolted to a purlin or rafter constituting the support structure 44 with bolts 53 through the apertures 45.
• the head of the bolt 53 projects above the support surface 44 so that the panel 52 supported on this side of the retention clip 40 i.e. on the flange 42 is lifted off the surface of the flange by a distance equal to the height of the bolt head.
• at least one spacer 54 is provided on the upper surface of the flange 43. The height of the spacer 54 is the same as that of the bolt head thus ensuring that the lower surfaces of the two panels are level.
• spacer elements 60 may be located in one or both surfaces 49, 49' of the retention clip 40, have various shapes, oriented vertically, horizontally or otherwise, as partially illustrated in the examples in Figs. 4 and 5.
• the retention clip 40 is a unitary construction formed of folded sheet metal such as stainless steel and spacer elements 60 are partially punched from the first wall surface 49 of the upright 50 and bent outward to form a pair of resilient fingers.
• Fig. 5 shows a two-piece construction also formed of folded sheet metal, such as stainless steel, wherein an aperture 61 is formed in the first wall surface 49, typically by punching, and a single spacer element 60 in the form of a resilient finger is attached at a lateral edge to the retention clip 40. This may be done by crimping between the mating wall surfaces 49, 49' or soldering, welding, gluing etc. The resilient finger is bent outward to provide the required gap while being compressible upon thermal expansion of the juxtaposed panels.
• folded sheet metal such as stainless steel
• the spacer element 60 must be sufficiently strong to withhold the attachment force applied by the person installing it and to resist the clamping pressure of the sealing cap 58. Yet it should also be compressible under the expansion forces applied by the heated panel. It may be elastic so that it resiliently springs back to its originally uncompressed form upon panel contraction.
• the resilient fingers constituting the spacer elements 60 are oriented in a direction parallel to the base plate 41, they may equally be oriented in a direction normal to the base.
• a single resilient finger is attached at its edge to an edge of the aperture.
• a pair of resilient fingers can be attached to opposing edges of the aperture, each spanning approximately half the length of the aperture.
• more than one aperture may be provided each in association with one or more spacing elements.
• the retention clip 40 may be formed of folded sheet metal so as to form a unitary construction, to which the spacer elements 60 are then attached either fixedly or detachably.
• the spacer elements 60 are also formed integrally to form a complete assembly of unitary construction.
• Figs. 6a and 6b show front and back views of an alternative retention clip 40 wherein the spacer elements 60 are detachable.
• opposite edges of the first wall surface 49 are provided with cutouts 62 for accommodating a peripheral groove 63 of a respective frangible tubular spacer element 60.
• the retention clip 40 is bolted to the support surface 44 with bolts 54 through the apertures 45 as shown in Fig. 3.
• the first panel 51 is then mounted with its end abutting the second wall surface 49' after which the second panel 52 is installed with its end abutting the free ends of the spacer elements 60.
• the spacer elements 60 are then broken off leaving a gap between the second panel 52 and the retention clip 40 which allows for free thermal expansion and contraction of the panels.
• the two panels 51 and 52 are then secured by snap-fitting the sealing cap 58 on the upwardly protruding flanges 56, 57, in known manner.

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• 2014
  • 2014-10-02 WO PCT/IL2014/050866 patent/WO2015049685A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2014-10-02 AU AU2014330750A patent/AU2014330750B2/en active Active
  • 2014-10-02 ES ES14799554.2T patent/ES2644484T3/es active Active
  • 2014-10-02 CN CN201480065811.8A patent/CN105874133B/zh active Active
  • 2014-10-02 MX MX2016004278A patent/MX2016004278A/es active IP Right Grant
  • 2014-10-02 RU RU2016117121A patent/RU2633458C1/ru active
  • 2014-10-02 PL PL14799554T patent/PL3052715T3/pl unknown
  • 2014-10-02 KR KR1020167011814A patent/KR101989114B1/ko active IP Right Grant
  • 2014-10-02 EP EP14799554.2A patent/EP3052715B1/de active Active
• 2016
  • 2016-03-31 IL IL244855A patent/IL244855A0/en unknown
  • 2016-04-01 CL CL2016000771A patent/CL2016000771A1/es unknown
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