EP3420157B1 - Wall coverings with transparent or translucent wall elements that can be backlit - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a wall covering comprising transparent or translucent wall elements that can be backlit and a holding device. Wall coverings, in particular wall elements that can be backlit, such as glass blocks or salt stones, are often used as a design element or as a functional element in order to achieve a design effect indoors. Such wall claddings are arranged e.g. on or in front of the existing inner wall of a building and backlit e.g. by lighting devices. If individual wall elements or all of them are transparent or translucent, visually appealing wall designs can be achieved.

Such wall coverings are made, for example, from salt stones which are cut in the form of slabs or blocks of rock salt and dimensioned to such an extent that light can shine through the salt stone. Usually, such salt stone walls made of individual slabs or blocks are brought into a planar arrangement with respect to one another by gluing them to one another or to a substrate or by connecting them to one another by means of rail systems. A particular disadvantage of gluing is that the wall elements can no longer be dismantled after gluing, resulting in an entire salt stone wall that can only be moved as a whole. This is always a disadvantage if the structure of such a salt stone wall is to be changed or moved.

From the DE 10 2009 004 689 B4 a rail system for the production of backlit salt stone constructions is known, in which rails as form-fitting elements engage in grooves made on the edge of the salt stones and prevent them from slipping of the salt stones prevent each other. The weight of the salt stones must be supported on the ground since the rails have no load-bearing function.

It is also known to form wall cladding for building facades from individual cladding panels or cladding stones, with the cladding panels or cladding stones being arranged and held relative to one another and to the building facade by means of rail systems. For this purpose, the cladding panels or cladding stones can be hung on the rail systems. Such a solution is, for example, from BE 101 5603 A3 or the EP 2 851 485 A1 known. Here, the cladding panels or cladding stones are obliquely provided in the longitudinal direction with at least one continuous groove which is designed to match the also obliquely arranged sheet-like elongated projections and onto which the cladding panels or cladding stones can be attached. The cladding panels or cladding stones slide under the influence of gravity into their desired position and are held there by the influence of gravity and the bond between adjacent cladding panels or cladding stones. Such solutions, however, require cladding panels or cladding stones that are grooved over their entire length, which are complex to manufacture and therefore expensive. In addition, the cladding panels or cladding stones, which are usually formed from mineral materials, become mechanically vulnerable due to the continuous grooving, since brittle fractures can occur as a result of the grooving. The corresponding rail systems also have to be constructed using a lot of material in order to be able to safely absorb the suspended loads. Since the groove runs through the entire cladding panel or cladding stone in rail systems, this groove would be visible at the side end of the wall cladding. To avoid this, two special stones or special plates are required. A special stone or a special plate for the left and a special stone or a special plate for the right end. With these special stones or special plates, the groove intentionally does not go through the entire special stone or the whole special plate, so that no groove is visible at the end. This makes the use of such systems even more expensive.

It is still eg from the DE 1 847 139 or the EP 0 267 525 A2 It is known to implement selective suspension of facade elements instead of rail systems with continuous rib-like suspension webs. For this purpose, at DE 1 847 139 hook-like brackets used to be hammered into battens, which are designed to match corresponding recesses in the cladding panels and onto which the cladding panels are attached. The effort involved in arranging the hook-like clamps that are to be nailed individually is great and must be a very precise fit so that the cladding panels can be hung with a precise fit. This requires a costly production of such panels.

In the EP 0 267 525 A2 On the one hand, tab-like sections of small dimensions notched out of sheet metal are used for hanging the cladding panels, which are attached to rails to be arranged vertically. The cladding panels must have corresponding groove-like recesses with which they can be pushed onto the tab-like sections. Alternatively, instead of the tab-like sections, pins can also be used, which engage in correspondingly slanted bores in the cladding panels. The pins can be attached individually to the facade or arranged on continuous rails. The problem with this is that the tabs or pins must either be arranged individually on a substrate and spaced cleanly from one another, or when several tabs or pins are arranged on a common mounting element, many joints between the cladding panel and tabs or pins must be joined at the same time so that the cladding panel fits snugly. This requires a complex, because precise production of tabs or pins and the corresponding counter-moulds on the cladding panel, making the system expensive.

The DE 16 59 954 A1 shows a solution for the production of detachable wood paneling from opaque wood elements, which is held removably on a wall surface by means of pin-like holding elements arranged at an angle to the fastening surface and is therefore intended to allow greater variability compared to the fixings of such wall elements known at the time using tongue and groove. The pins are attached to the back of the panels to be attached and grip into holes in the substructure when installing the panels. For this purpose, mounting holes must be prepared on a substrate in order to be able to insert the pins into the mounting holes.

The GB 2 170 853A shows weather protection panels that are hung on scaffolding elements with clips and are fixed to the scaffolding elements by the force of gravity. To do this, the weather protection panels have to be properly locked to the scaffolding elements with a total of three clips in order to be securely fastened at all. Without the third clip, the weather protection panels would twist on the scaffolding tubes and not be securely fixed.

The object of the present invention is therefore to propose a wall cladding with a holding device for fixing transparent or translucent wall elements that can be backlit, in which the fixing of the wall elements is simplified.

This object is achieved by the wall coverings according to claim 1 and claim 2. Further advantageous configurations of the invention result from the dependent claims.

In a first solution according to claim 1, the invention is based on a wall cladding with a holding device for backlit, transparent or translucent wall elements of wall claddings, having at least one support element that can be fixed on site and holding elements that spatially assign the wall elements and support element to one another and fix them to one another, with at least two spaced apart ones Retaining elements for each wall element are fixed to the wall element in the region of the rear side of the wall element on the supporting element side in such a way that the retaining elements protrude in the same alignment and at an angle from the rear side of the wall element and can be releasably fixed to the supporting element with their ends protruding from the rear side of the wall element. Such a wall paneling is further developed according to the invention in that the support element is formed from rods or other longitudinally oriented elements crossing each other vertically in a grid-like manner, whereby the support element has regularly arranged horizontal sections on which the holding elements can be hung like claws, wherein the retaining elements protruding from the rear of the wall element are elongated, preferably pin-shaped, and can be inserted into bore-like depressions in the area of the rear of the wall element on the supporting element side and are then held securely in the bore-like depressions. It is essential to the invention that the retaining elements are fastened to the wall element itself and not, as is known from the prior art, on the support element. As a result, the mounting of the wall elements on the support element is considerably easier and quicker, since searching for where the recesses are in the wall element in order to be able to hang them is no longer necessary with the solution according to the invention. Rather, the wall elements can be roughly positioned relative to the support element much more easily and then brought into their final position by hanging onto the support element. The wall elements position themselves relative to the support element and may only have to be placed at the correct distance from adjacent wall elements. However, this can be done by simply moving the wall elements relative to the support element. The requirements for the accuracy of the production of holding elements and carrying element that match one another are also much easier to meet. The material and dimensions of the holding elements can easily be adapted to the weight of the wall elements to be carried. For example, more retaining elements can be provided for heavy wall elements than for light wall elements. Since the retaining elements are small and require only minimal processing of the wall elements, they are much less visible or conspicuous from the front of the wall elements for backlit wall elements, for example for salt stone installations, quite differently than the large-area grooves of conventional fastening systems from the prior art. With previous systems, transparency was not an issue, so groove systems were sufficient. With x-rayed systems, the track systems are perceived as disturbing dark lines. The rails form shadows and thus prevent optimal lighting of the wall elements. In general, more and more wall mountings are required for rail systems than for the system with grid presented. The possibilities for backlighting the wall elements are almost limitless with the holding device according to the invention, since only selective wall attachments of the support element stand in the way.

The wall cladding according to the invention has advantages over glued wall elements and in particular salt installations. This means that the wall elements can be assembled and disassembled as desired, which is a great advantage, for example, in rented rooms or at exhibitions. An adhesive is not required, which results in enormous cost savings, since these adhesives are not exactly cheap. Furthermore, there are no evaporations from adhesives. This is particularly important in the case of salt walls used in spa and health facilities for asthmatics and allergy sufferers. In addition, a very quick assembly is possible, since it is no longer necessary to wait for the adhesive to harden, which means that it can be installed more cost-effectively. A transparent adhesive is usually also used for backlit natural stones. Especially with salt stones, a transparent two-component adhesive is usually used. However, these adhesives only have a very short processing time and have to be mixed exactly every time, which means that a lot of time is required. In addition, the wall elements do not have to have the precise dimensions required for gluing. It is a fault tolerant system as the panels do not need to touch and the gap can accommodate unequal panel sizes. Since only a very thin layer of glue is used when gluing, you have previously needed very precise wall elements, which can always be problematic with natural materials as wall elements.

The wall cladding according to the invention has advantages over previous rail systems, in particular for salt walls. The suspension of the wall elements is completely independent of the shape of the wall elements. In this way, for example, rhombic tile-like wall elements can easily be hung up, but also any kind of free forms, for example positive-negative forms. It can also be hung with thin (2 cm, usually 5 cm) wall elements; With rail systems that require a groove in the wall element, this is not possible or not possible with certainty, since wall elements made of brittle materials such as salt stones would break or this groove would be even more noticeable with backlighting than it already is. In previous rail systems, the wall elements were provided with grooves on the side. This is not the case with the wall cladding according to the invention and so much thinner wall elements can also be used which in turn opens up completely new areas of application due to the resulting reduction in weight. The production of the wall elements is also cheaper and quicker since no long grooves are required. There is also no need to stock special wall elements for the edge area, where the grooves are not visible. Also, the wall panels do not have to be as precisely dimensioned as for a track system, since the wall panels do not have to touch and the gap accommodates unequal wall panel sizes. According to the invention, the support element is constructed in the manner of a lattice from rods or other longitudinally oriented elements which cross each other perpendicularly in the manner of a lattice. If a grating is used as the supporting element, this grating ensures that more light can shine through and that less shading can form than in known systems. In addition, due to its rigidity, a lattice-like support element ensures that a high level of rigidity of the lattice-type support element is achieved even with a relatively small intrinsic mass. Lattice-like support elements are also available in different dimensions and lattice dimensions and thicknesses of the lattice rods, so that the load-bearing capacity of the lattice-like support element can be easily adapted to the load from wall elements of different weights or dimensions of the wall coverings formed by the wall elements. Furthermore, due to its type of construction, the lattice-like support element has regularly arranged horizontal sections on which the holding elements can be hung like claws.

In another solution according to claim 2, the invention is based on a wall cladding with a holding device for backlit transparent or translucent wall elements, having at least one support element that can be fixed on site and holding elements that spatially assign the wall elements and support element to one another and fix them to one another, with at least two holding elements spaced apart from each other wall element are fixed to the wall element in the area of the rear side of the wall element on the supporting element side in such a way that the holding elements protrude in the same alignment and at an angle from the rear side of the wall element and can be releasably fixed to the supporting element with their ends protruding from the rear side of the wall element. Here, the support element is designed like a plate and is translucent and has elements arranged and aligned on the support element to match the desired shape and arrangement of the retaining elements of the wall elements Openings into which the holding elements can be releasably inserted. Such a plate-like support element has the advantage that the stability with respect to the load from the wall elements can be adjusted by simply changing the thickness of the plate-like support element. On the other hand, such a plate-like support element allows simpler and faster assembly, since only the plate-like support element has to be screwed to a wall, for example, instead of using several separate holders as is the case with lattice-like support elements. The plate-like support element also lies completely rigidly against the wall, for example, and is therefore particularly stiff. It is particularly advantageous if the holding elements are inclined at an angle, preferably an angle of less than 90°, relative to their lower edge when hanging from the rear of the protrude from the wall element. As a result, the holding elements form a hook-like orientation relative to the rear side of the wall element, so that the holding elements can be hung on the sections of the support element with the angle thus formed and are then supported at this acute angle relative to the holding element and the rear side of the wall element. Since at least two spaced-apart holding elements are arranged on each wall element, the support of the wall element on the support element is statically secured and unambiguous in terms of alignment.

In a first preferred embodiment, the retaining elements protruding obliquely from the back of the wall element can be designed to be hung like hooks or claws on sections of the support element in the angular area formed between the rear of the wall element and the inclined retaining elements. As a result, the retaining elements are anchored in a detachable but force-transmitting manner on the associated sections of the support element and define precise positioning of the retaining elements and thus of the wall elements in relation to the support element and to other wall elements. The positioning is done by simply hanging the hook-like or claw-like sections of the holding elements onto the associated sections of the support element. After the wall elements have been hung or hung up, nothing further needs to be done during assembly, since the wall elements are securely and statically clearly hung on the support element and also do not detach from the support element due to their own weight can. In addition, the wall elements cannot be removed due to the connection between the adjacent wall elements.

In another preferred embodiment, however, it is also possible to releasably insert the retaining elements protruding from the back of the wall element into openings in the support element. In this case, on the support element side, openings designed to match the shape and dimensions of the wall elements and the retaining elements arranged on the wall elements are made in the support element, into which the approximately pin-shaped retaining elements can be releasably inserted. The openings and the e.g.

A particularly advantageous embodiment can be achieved if the holding elements are elongated, preferably pin-shaped. Such elongate, approximately pin-shaped holding elements are easy to produce or even available as standard parts or purchased parts and are therefore inexpensive. On the other hand, they require only little use of material and, in a further embodiment, can simply be inserted into bore-like depressions in the area of the rear side of the wall element on the supporting element side and thus be held on the wall elements. The introduction of bore-like indentations for the elongated, preferably pin-shaped holding elements is much easier and more precise than the previously necessary introduction of long and deep grooves, which have often caused problems or produced rejects, especially in wall elements made of natural materials such as sandstone, since the natural materials are often brittle or are not uniform across their cross-section and are therefore prone to chipping or spalling, which are functionally or visually problematic.

It is of particular advantage if the bore-like depressions are worked into the rear side of the wall element at an inclined angle, preferably at an angle of less than 90°. This makes it easy to ensure that the holding elements are inclined at an angle of less than 90° based on their lower edge in the hanging state can be inserted into the depressions and thereby protrude at this angle from the back of the wall element. An acute angle is thus formed between the retaining elements and the rear side of the wall element, which then interacts with the support element in that the wall element can be hung in the region of this acute angle on the preferably horizontal sections of the support element and can thus be supported on the support element in a form-fitting manner. The wall element is thus statically unambiguously fixed to the support element, without additional screw connections, adhesive connections or the like being necessary.

Furthermore, it is advantageous if the elongate, preferably pin-shaped holding elements are held securely in the bore-like depressions. This secured mounting can be implemented both detachably and non-detachably. For this purpose, the holding elements can be held in the depression of the wall element by means of lamellae, for example; it is also conceivable to glue the holding elements in the depressions. These are connections between retaining elements and wall elements that cannot be detached, or that cannot be easily detached, and which can always be used when the arrangement of the wall elements should no longer be changed after they have been installed.

Alternatively, it is also conceivable for the holding elements to have thread-like sections on their end arranged on the wall element side, which thread-like sections can be screwed into the wall element, for example, in opposite directions. Such an easily detachable connection between the holding elements and the wall elements can be achieved, for example, in that the holding elements are designed at least on one side as a threaded screw which is screwed into a thread in the wall element. The counter-thread can then either be provided in a socket embedded in the wall element or can also be formed in the material of the wall elements themselves when the retaining elements are screwed in, for example by making the thread of the retaining elements self-tapping. In another embodiment, each wall element can be fixed to the support element, for example by counter-screwing a corresponding nut (knurled nuts are best suited). Assuming an incline of 45° for the arrangement of the holding element, a wall element can be fixed by counter-screwing a suitable nut in such a way that the supporting element can even be arranged horizontally (ceiling mounting) or in an inclined position (e.g. sloping roofs). Such detachable connections between retaining elements and wall elements can always be used when the arrangement of the wall elements is to be changed again after they have been installed, for example when using the wall elements for mobile purposes such as for trade fair structures etc.

Furthermore, it is also conceivable that the elongate, preferably pin-shaped holding elements have form-fitting and/or force-fitting areas which interact at least with wall sections of the bore-like depressions and prevent the holding elements from being pulled out of the bore-like depressions when the holding elements are inserted into the bore-like depressions . For example, snap-in connections can be provided between the holding elements and wall elements, which form a secure, possibly even detachable, snap-in connection and prevent the holding elements from being pulled out of the recesses in the wall elements. For this purpose, for example, sockets could be inserted into the back of the wall elements, which have ratchet elements which, when the holding elements are inserted, latch with locking elements arranged on the holding elements and secure the holding elements.

In another embodiment, it is also conceivable that the holding elements have form-fitting and/or force-fitting areas which interact with securing elements arranged in the area of the rear side of the wall element, preferably safety rings or safety plates, and which prevent the holding elements from being pulled out of the bore-like depressions. when the holding elements are inserted into the bore-like depressions. For this purpose, the holding element could have an additional safety ring which, connected to the holding element, is positioned between the wall element and the carrying element and thereby positively secures the pin against falling out. In another solution, to secure the holding elements, a securing element (for example a metal sheet or a rod) could be fastened to the back of the wall element in such a way and at a distance that effectively prevents the holding element from falling out.

Furthermore, it is conceivable that the holding elements are formed from a plastic material, preferably a transparent or translucent material, or from a metallic material. As a result, the visibility of the holding elements can be influenced from the front side of wall elements that are illuminated by using transparent or translucent holding elements. In the case of salt stones with a thickness of 5 cm, however, even non-transparent holding elements are not visible. In the case of rail systems according to the state of the art, the rails become visible as disturbing dark lines when the transparent stones are backlit. In the solution presented here, the holding elements are always pin-shaped and therefore only form darker points when the transparent stones are backlit, which are not perceived, however, especially in the case of natural stones with a structure such as salt stones. For reasons of stability, conventional rail systems are always made of metal and will therefore always remain visible as dark lines. Pens, on the other hand, can be made of transparent or translucent materials with the required stability, which makes them completely transparent and you can hardly see anything from them when the transparent stones are backlit. This applies in particular to completely transparent materials for the wall elements such as glass stones.

It should also be considered that the bore-like depressions in the area of the rear side of the wall element on the supporting element side are only machined so deep into the wall elements, preferably up to half the thickness of the wall elements into the rear side of the wall elements, that the retaining elements cannot be removed from the front side of the wall elements or are only slightly visible if the wall elements are backlit. This also ensures that non-transparent holding elements hardly stand out optically from the front side of wall elements that are illuminated.

Furthermore, it is conceivable for the wall elements to have any desired outer contours, in particular rectangular outer contours, which complement one another in a patchwork manner to form a surface. Wall elements with outlines and shapes reminiscent of natural stone walls, for example, cannot be produced with the known rail systems, but they can be produced with the holding device according to the invention.

Wall elements made of blocks of natural materials such as salt stones are broken into matching dimensions. These are then drilled in the factory and can be arranged on the support element and plugged together on site. Wall elements with irregularly shaped outlines reminiscent of natural stone walls, for example, can also be made with the holding device according to the invention. To do this, the wall cladding must be assembled from the wall elements in advance. The wall elements are then correspondingly provided with the recesses on their rear side, for example drilled, and labeled so that they can then be easily reassembled. Even complex shapes of wall elements - for example positive and negative elements obtained using water jet or laser technology - can be easily attached.

It is advantageous if, in the area behind the rear side of the wall element on the supporting element side, a lighting device is arranged, preferably with a planar effect, which emits light in the direction of the wall elements and this light illuminates the wall elements up to the front.

It is advantageous if the distance between adjacent horizontal sections of the support element is so great that wall elements arranged adjacent to horizontal sections arranged one above the other can be hung on the support element while maintaining a, preferably small, distance from one another. As a result, the arrangement of the horizontal sections of the support element ensures that the wall elements can be arranged regularly and relatively close to one another on the support element without supporting one another. This reduces the need for accurate manufacture of the outer dimensions of the wall panels since the spacing between adjacent wall panels can compensate for such inaccuracies present.

In one embodiment, the plate-like support element can be translucent and light-conducting in such a way that lighting devices arranged in the area of edges of the plate-like support element and shining into the plane of the plate cause light to be emitted perpendicularly to the plane of the plate in the direction of the wall elements arranged on the support element. As a result, the plate-like support element acts not only statically as a receptacle for the holding elements, but also causes the backlighting of the wall elements at the same time. For this purpose, in a further embodiment, the rear side of the plate-like support element facing away from the wall elements can be reflective and light emitted by the lighting devices is coupled out on the front side of the plate-like support element facing the wall elements. Such plate-like lighting devices are known per se from the advertising industry or from the field of interior decoration. The light-guiding effect comes about on the one hand through the material such as Plexiglas or similar plastic materials. Furthermore, with such a plate, the back of the plate-like support element is made reflective by a coating, in particular a film or paint, or another reflective plate, and shaped elements, preferably diffusers, engravings, steps or the like, are arranged on the front side of the plate-like support element. Light emitted by the lighting devices in the plate plane is coupled out in the direction of the wall elements. This results in a very compact structure of light generation and light control for the backlighting of the translucent wall elements, in addition, the geometric and stable assignment of the wall elements to the supporting element is easily and safely possible due to the openings into which the wall elements with the holding elements can be inserted.

In a further embodiment, it is conceivable that the openings in the plate-like support element are designed, in particular in terms of dimensions and shape, so that when the holding elements are inserted into the openings, the wall elements are held so that they can be positioned relative to one another to a limited extent. For example, if the openings in the plate-like support element are larger or asymmetrical, preferably slot-like or the like, in relation to the dimensions of the holding elements, the wall elements can be held so that they can be positioned relative to one another to a limited extent. This permits a simple adjustment of the arrangement of the adjacent wall elements to one another, which can only be manufactured with certain dimensional tolerances and therefore have inaccuracies. Such inaccuracies can easily be compensated for by the described dimensional and shape design of the openings and the play of the holding elements within the openings.

It is also advantageous that the rear side of the wall elements on the supporting element side and the plate-like supporting element come to lie closely adjacent to one another or touching one another when the wall elements (6) are arranged on the plate-like supporting element. This allows a particularly compact and thin construction of the holding device.

Furthermore, it is advantageous if the support element is fixed to a wall, in particular a vertical one, for example by means of screws. Alternatively, it is also conceivable to suspend the support element from a ceiling, in particular a horizontal one, so that the support element can be arranged, for example, as a room divider or at any point in a room. The supporting device is stable in itself and can be attached to the ceiling with wire ropes, for example. For example, it can be used as a room divider, even when clad on both sides, and both sides of the wall cladding formed in this way would be illuminated with just one lighting unit.
If the supporting element is a lattice, it can also be manufactured in a variety of spatial structures, such as in the form of a square column or a half-height L-shaped counter or room divider, which can then be fitted in the simplest way with the wall elements, preferably salt stones that can be backlit . These spatial lattice structures can even be completely free-standing if they are dimensioned appropriately and, for example, can be used as L, U or rectangular systems, for example as room dividers for exhibition stands that are easy to set up. It is also conceivable to design furniture or parts thereof with these spatial lattice structures. This is in no way possible with previous rail systems.

It is also conceivable, for example, to form the rods of a lattice-like support element from a transparent or translucent material, preferably a plastic material, or from a metallic material. Stainless steel, for example, but also transparent or semi-transparent plastics or plastic composites such as GRP, depending on the weight of the wall elements, can be considered as the material for a particularly lattice-like support element. The material and diameter of the lattice bars of the supporting element must be adapted to the weight and number of wall elements to be supported. Another advantage compared to conventional rail systems it can then be seen that the support element according to the invention can be mounted, for example, in the middle of a wall. This is also due to the fact that the wall elements do not have to be erected standing up on the ground, as is the case with rail systems, but are arranged hanging on the support element. In this way, it is also easy to clad only partial areas, for example of a wall or other installation area, with wall elements, which can give the impression of a picture or the like, for example. As a result, the usability of the holding device according to the invention can be significantly expanded, for example the attachment of a wall surface made of salt stones in a bedroom just above a bed.

In addition, it is possible for the support element to be flat or curved or angled. In addition to purely flat support elements for flat wall coverings, large curves or angled designs can also be produced by bending or angling the support element.

With regard to the optical effect of a backlit wall cladding, it is advantageous if the intermediate areas between adjacent wall elements hung on the support element are closed by flexible covers. The gap between the individual wall elements is sealed with a translucent cover (e.g. a foam seal or a milky-transparent sealing compound) in such a way that when the wall is backlit, no direct light from the lighting penetrates through the gaps between the wall elements to the outside and thus as a disruptive flash of light is perceived. Exactly these disturbing flashes of light occur in the gaps in previous rail systems for salt stones.

Finally, it is conceivable that the distance between wall elements arranged adjacent to one another on horizontal sections of the support element arranged one above the other is selected in such a way that individual wall elements can be removed from the arrangement of the wall elements on the support element without adjacent wall elements or many wall elements being removed from the support element must. This is interesting for the use of, for example, salt stones as wall elements in damp rooms (steam baths, meat drying) where the salt stones should slowly dissolve in order to be replaced after a while.

With regard to the manipulation of the wall elements, it is advantageous if safety devices, preferably linear or frame-shaped safety devices, are arranged in the edge area of the arrangement of the wall elements in such a way that it is not possible to remove at least individual wall elements at the edge, preferably all wall elements, without removing the safety devices. As a rule, only the top row of the wall elements can be hung out, as all other rows are secured by the row above. If the top row of wall elements is also to be secured against unauthorized removal (e.g. in public swimming pools), a security device (e.g. a frame covering or otherwise securing the top row) can be provided as an option. The securing must be designed in such a way that it prevents the top wall elements from being unhinged.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the holding device according to the invention is shown in the drawing.

Figur 1 -

eine Seitenansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Wandverkleidung mit der räumlichen Zuordnung von Halteelementen, Wandelementen und Tragelement im montierten Zustand der Halteelemente an dem Tragelement,

Figur 2 -

eine Vorderansicht der Wandverkleidung gemäß Figur 1,

Figur 3 -

eine beidseitig mit Wandelementen behängte Haltevorrichtung,

Figur 4a-4c -

eine Variante der erfindungsgemäßen Wandverkleidung mit mittels Sicherungsscheibe gehalterten Halteelementen,

Figur 5a-5b -

eine Variante der erfindungsgemäßen Wandverkleidung mit über randseitige Klemmelemente gesicherten Wandelementen,

Figur 6 -

eine schematische Darstellung einer Aufhängung von Wandelementen an der Haltevorrichtung in Form eines unregelmäßigen Schichtmauerwerks,

Figur 7 -

eine schematische Darstellung einer Aufhängung von sechseckigen Wandelementen an der Haltevorrichtung in Form einer Wabenstruktur,

Figur 8 -

eine schematische Darstellung einer Aufhängung von frei geformten Wandelementen an der Haltevorrichtung,

Figur 9 -

eine schematische Darstellung einer Aufhängung von rautenförmigen Wandelementen an der Haltevorrichtung,

Figur 10 -

eine schematische Darstellung einer rechteckig freistehenden gitterartigen Haltevorrichtung, die eine freistehende Aufhängung von rautenförmigen Wandelementen als säulenförmiges Element ermöglicht.

Figur 11 -

eine Seitenansicht einer anderen Ausgestaltung der erfindungsgemäßen Wandverkleidung mit einem plattenförmigen Tragelement, Halteelementen und Wandelementen im montierten Zustand der Halteelemente an dem Tragelement,

Figur 12 -

eine Darstellung einer bevorzugten Möglichkeit zur randseitigen Sicherung von Wandelementen an dem Tragelement mittels Muttern an den Halteelementen.

Show it:

Figure 1 -

a side view of the wall paneling according to the invention with the spatial assignment of holding elements, wall elements and supporting element in the mounted state of the holding elements on the supporting element,

Figure 2 -

a front view of the wall covering according to FIG figure 1 ,

Figure 3 -

a holding device hung on both sides with wall elements,

Figure 4a-4c -

a variant of the wall paneling according to the invention with retaining elements held in place by means of a locking washer,

Figure 5a-5b -

a variant of the wall cladding according to the invention with wall elements secured by clamping elements on the edge,

Figure 6 -

a schematic representation of a suspension of wall elements on the holding device in the form of an irregular layered masonry,

Figure 7 -

a schematic representation of a suspension of hexagonal wall elements on the holding device in the form of a honeycomb structure,

figure 8 -

a schematic representation of a suspension of freely formed wall elements on the holding device,

Figure 9 -

a schematic representation of a suspension of diamond-shaped wall elements on the holding device,

Figure 10 -

a schematic representation of a rectangular free-standing lattice-like holding device, which allows a free-standing suspension of diamond-shaped wall elements as a columnar element.

Figure 11 -

a side view of another embodiment of the wall covering according to the invention with a plate-shaped support element, holding elements and wall elements in the mounted state of the holding elements on the support element,

Figure 12 -

a representation of a preferred way of securing the edge of wall elements on the support element by means of nuts on the retaining elements.

In the figure 1 is a side view of the wall paneling according to the invention with a holding device 1 with the spatial assignment of holding elements 2, wall elements 6 and supporting element 4 in the mounted state of the holding elements 2 on the supporting element 4 is shown. In this case, the support element 4 is constructed from a grid-like arrangement of individual horizontal and vertical rods 3, as can be seen better from the front view according to FIG figure 2 can be seen. The support element 4 therefore forms a lightweight and the light of a lighting device 10, which is indicated only schematically and is arranged behind the wall elements 6, is small shading possibility is to hang the wall elements 6 arranged here on the front side of the support element 4 . Such wall elements 6 can be formed, for example, from natural materials such as salt stones, which are illuminated from behind by the lighting device 10 and are visually appealing to look at from the front due to their transparent or translucent optical properties. Of course, it is conceivable to produce the wall elements 6 from any other plate-shaped or stone-shaped materials such as are or can be used in the field of facade technology or interior design.

Overall, the wall elements 6 form a flat wall cladding, for which purpose a number of wall elements 6 are arranged next to one another and/or one above the other on the support element 4 . In this case, the wall elements 6 are generally arranged one above the other and next to one another, while maintaining gaps 11, and in the simplest case form a matrix-like arrangement in rows and columns relative to one another. Of course, other arrangement patterns such as those from the field of masonry technology or facade technology are also conceivable, and wall elements 6 of almost any shape can also be used.

The wall paneling according to the invention with a holding device 1 now ensures that the wall elements 6 can be arranged on the support element 4 in a technically simple, but nevertheless safe and flexible manner, in that at least two holding elements 2 are firmly arranged on each wall element 6, with which the wall element 6 can then be hung like claws over sections of the horizontal rods 3 of the support element 4 and is securely anchored there due to the effect of gravity. For this purpose, according to figure 1 here pin-shaped retaining elements 2, for example in the form of cylindrical rod sections, are inserted with one end 13 into corresponding bore-like recesses 5 in the rear side 8 of the wall elements 6 on the supporting element side. The holding elements 2 can, but do not have to, be secured in the bore-like depressions 5 in a manner that will be described in greater detail below. On the other hand, the pin-shaped holding elements 2 are also under due to the bore axis of the bore-like depressions 5 being inclined at an angle α in the rear side 8 on the supporting element side inclined to the rear 8 at this angle α. The support element-side end 14 of the holding elements 2 is thus inclined at this angle α away from the rear side 8 of the wall element 6 and pointing obliquely downwards.

With that form able according to figure 1 the back 8 of the wall element 6 and the pin-shaped holding elements 2 form an acute angle α to one another, into which the horizontal bar 3 of the support element 4 can be inserted and is supported therein. To put it better, the acute-angled area between the holding element 2 and the rear side 8 is plugged onto the horizontal section 7 of the horizontal bar 3 . Since the wall element 6 can be supported in a linear manner on further rods 3 of the support element 4, the forms in the figure 1 The illustrated position of the horizontal section 7 of the rod 3 provides a firm support for the area defined at an acute angle between the two holding elements 2 fixedly arranged on the respective wall element 6 and the rear side 6 of the wall element 6 and therefore defines a firm holding of the wall element 6 on the supporting element 4. Under the effect of gravity, the wall element 6 is then clearly but releasably fixed to the support element 4 .

It is conceivable, but not shown in detail, to equip the ends 13 of the holding elements 2 pointing to the wall element 6 with devices for securing within the recess 5, such as threads or locking or clamping connections.

In order to prevent the lighting device 10 from shining through in the area of the intermediate spaces 11, covers 12, for example made of a foam seal or a milky-transparent sealing compound, can be arranged there.

Furthermore, it is conceivable edge-side wall elements 6 by not shown here and in the figure 4 safeguards against unauthorized removal, as explained in more detail, by arranging a frame or a strip at the edge in such a way that the slight vertical movement of the wall elements 6 at the edge is limited or prevented when the ends 14 of the holding elements 2 on the supporting element side are lifted over the horizontal rods 3 and this edge wall elements 6 can not come free.

In the figure 3 a holding device 1 hung on both sides with wall elements 6 can be seen, which has a lighting device (not shown) as a room divider, for example, and thus enables wall elements 6 backlit on both sides as a design element even within a room. The holding device 1 formed from rods 3 can, for example, be suspended from the ceiling or placed on the floor to prevent it from tipping over. The holding elements 2 protruding on both sides of the holding device 1 with their wall element-side ends 13 accommodate the wall elements 6 as already described and the wall elements 6 are supported on the lattice-like support element 3 .

In the Figures 4a to 4c a variant of the wall paneling according to the invention is shown with a holding device 1 with holding elements 2 held in place by means of a locking washer 15 . This arrangement serves to prevent the holding elements 2, which are inserted with their wall element-side ends 13 inside the bores 5 of the wall elements 6 or the wall elements 6 are pushed onto the wall element-side ends 13, from falling out. For this purpose, the locking washers 15 are arranged between the rear side 8 of the wall elements 6 and the rods of the grid-like support element 3 and pushed by means of a slot 16 onto groove areas 17 arranged laterally on the holding elements 2 and forming a narrow area. The locking washers 15 thus secure the holding elements 2 since they are supported on the rods of the grid-like supporting element 3

In the Figures 5a and 5b a variant of the wall paneling according to the invention is shown with a holding device 1 with wall elements 6 secured by edge-side clamping elements 18, 19, whereby lifting of the wall elements 6 arranged on the top side out of the holding device 1 can be prevented. For this purpose, clamping elements 18 and 19 are placed on both sides of the protruding end regions of the rods 3 and secured to one another and to the rods 3 by means of a screw connection 21 . The front clamping element 19 overhangs the top row of the wall elements 6. As a result, this top row of the wall elements 6 cannot be pulled out upwards in the axial direction of the holding elements 2, which, for example, prevents wall elements 6 from being stolen or vandalism damage can be prevented.

In the Figures 6 to 9 a number of configurations of the shaping and arrangement of wall elements 6 are shown in order to explain once again the possibilities of forming walls by means of the holding device 1 according to the invention.

The differently shaped wall elements 6 are held on the holding device 1 by means of holding elements 2 and bores 5, as already described. In the figure 6 the wall elements 6 are arranged on the holding device 1 in the form of an irregular layer masonry in which figure 7 hexagonal wall elements 6 in the form of a honeycomb structure. The figure 8 shows a schematic representation of a suspension of freely formed wall elements 6, wherein the freely formed shape could of course also have irregular external shapes such as natural stone walls. For this, the wall elements 6 would have to be processed to match one another. Finally shows the figure 9 an arrangement of diamond-shaped wall elements 6 on the holding device 1.

In the figure 10 a schematic representation of a rectangular free-standing lattice-like holding device 1 can be seen, which enables a free-standing suspension of wall elements 6 , which are rhombic in shape here by way of example, as a columnar element. Here, the holding device 1 is formed from a lattice-like structure which stands on the floor and can be hung on the outside with wall elements 6 in the manner described. The rods 3 of the holding device 1 are dimensioned in such a way that they can safely absorb the weight of the wall elements 6 and transfer it to the ground. Such holding devices 1 can be manufactured in a variety of spatial structures, such as in the form of In figure 10 illustrated square column or a half-height L-shaped bar or room divider, which can then be easily equipped with the wall elements 6, preferably backlit salt stones. These three-dimensional lattice structures 1 can even stand completely free with appropriate dimensioning and, for example, as L, U or rectangular systems, can be used, for example, as room dividers for exhibition stands that are easy to set up. It is also conceivable to design furniture or parts thereof with these three-dimensional lattice structures 1 .

In the figure 11 Another embodiment of a wall paneling according to the invention with a holding device 1 with the spatial assignment of holding elements 2, wall elements 6 and a plate-shaped supporting element 4 is shown in the mounted state of the holding elements 2 on the plate-shaped supporting element 4. As already described above, the holding elements 2 are in the form of pins and, as also already described, are seated in corresponding bores 5 of the wall elements 6 . The support element 4 is plate-shaped here, however, and is translucent in this configuration, for example made of a plastic-like material such as plexiglass. In order to accommodate the retaining elements 2 protruding obliquely from the rear of the wall elements 6, openings 24 have been made in the support element 4 at an angle, into which the retaining elements 2 can be releasably inserted at an angle from above. Such openings 24 are made, for example by drilling or milling operations, in the locations of the plate-shaped support element 4 where the retaining elements 2 of the wall elements 6 come to rest when the wall elements 6 are arranged relative to one another and to the support element 4 as intended. Thus, these openings 24 can be introduced into the plate-shaped support element 4 approximately in rows at the same distance from one another. The shape and dimensions of the openings 24 can be influenced in such a way that tolerances predetermined by the dimensions of the wall elements 6 can be compensated for. On the one hand, the opening 24 could be made larger than the diameter of the holding elements 2, on the other hand, it would also be conceivable to provide a slot-like edging shape for the openings 24, for example, so that the wall elements 6 can be easily adjusted horizontally to one another within the opening 24 and therefore Tolerances of the position of adjacent wall elements 6 can be compensated in Greenzen.

The plate-shaped and translucent support element 4 can be used to design the backlighting of the wall elements 6 in a particularly simple and compact manner. If, for example, a Plexiglas plate is used as the translucent support element 4, the principle of total reflection can be used to arrange lighting devices 22 on individual or all edges of the support element 4, which couple light into the support element 4 in the direction of the plate plane. LED lighting elements or LED light strips are particularly suitable for this. Will the The back of the support element 4 facing away from the wall elements 6 is mirrored, e.g. by a coating 23, and at the same time the front side facing the wall elements 6 is provided with light-decoupling shaped elements such as diffusers or prisms, the light coupled in laterally in the plane of the plate is distributed over the entire front, to the Wall elements 6 directed surface of the support element 4 emerge evenly and directly illuminate the wall elements 6 from behind flat. In this case, only a small distance is required between the back of the wall elements 6 and the front of the support element 4; in an emergency, these surfaces can also bear directly against one another. As a result, the holding device 1 is very compact overall.

An edge safety strip 18 can be provided on the upper edge of the support element 4, which can optionally be arranged together with the lighting device 22 on the support element 4 and, as already described, overlaps the wall elements 6 and prevents the wall elements 6 from being dismantled inappropriately.

In the figure 12 a preferred way of securing the wall elements 6 at the edge is shown, in which at least in the edge area of the arrangement of the wall elements 6 fuses are provided which secure the wall elements 6 at the edge against being removed from the arrangement of the wall elements 6 . For this purpose, the holding elements 2 are also provided with threaded sections 26 at their ends pointing away from the wall elements 6, onto which nuts 25 or the like can be screwed before the wall elements 6 are hung in such a way that the holding elements 2, as already described, slide over the associated sections 3 of the grid-like support element 4 can be hung. After hanging the holding elements 2 over the associated sections 3 of the grid-like support element 4, the nuts 25 are then screwed further onto the holding elements 2 in the edge region of the holding device 1 and thus overlap at least sections 3 of the grid-like support element 4 in a clamping manner. As a result, the wall element 6 arranged at the edge cannot be removed so easily from the support element 4 and overall secures the arrangement of the wall elements 6.

Item number list

1 -

holding device

2 -

holding element

3 -

Bars lattice-like support element

4 -

supporting element

5 -

deepening/drilling

6 -

wall element

7 -

horizontal section

8th -

rear side of the wall element on the load-bearing element side

9 -

Front wall element

10 -

lighting device

11 -

space

12 -

cover

13 -

wall element end holding element

14 -

support element-side end holding element

15 -

locking washer

16 -

slot

17 -

groove

18 -

edge safety bar

19 -

edge safety bar

21 -

screw connection

22 -

lighting device

23 -

reflective coating

24 -

opening

25 -

Mother

26 -

threaded section

α -

Angle arrangement holding element

Claims (15)

1. Wall coverings containing transparent or translucent wall elements (6) that can be backlit, and a holding device (1) having at least one supporting element (4) which can be fixed on site, and holding elements (2) which spatially allocate wall elements (6) and supporting element (4) and fix them to one another, at least two spaced-apart holding elements (2) per wall element (6) being fixed to the wall element (6) in the region of the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) on the supporting element side in such a way that the holding elements (2) are aligned identically and project at an angle (α) from the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) and can be releasably fixed to the supporting element (4) by their ends projecting from the rear side (8) of the wall element (6),
   whereby the supporting element (4) is formed from bars (3) or other longitudinally oriented elements crossing each other vertically in a grid-like manner, whereby the supporting element (4) has regularly arranged horizontal sections (7) on which the holding elements (2) can be suspended in a claw-like manner, whereby the holding elements (2) projecting from the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) are longitudinally extended, preferably pin-shaped, and can be inserted into bore-like recesses (5) in the region of the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) on the support element side and are then held securely in the bore-like recesses (5).
2. Wall coverings containing transparent or translucent wall elements (6) that can be backlit, and a holding device (1), having at least one supporting element (4) which can be fixed on site, and holding elements (2) which spatially allocate wall elements (6) and supporting element (4) and fix them to one another, at least two spaced-apart holding elements (2) per wall element (6) being fixed to the wall element (6) in the region of the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) on the supporting element side in such a way that the holding elements (2) are aligned identically and project at an angle (α) from the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) and can be releasably fixed to the supporting element (4) by their ends projecting from the rear side (8) of the wall element (6),
   whereby the supporting element (4) is of plate-like and translucent design and has openings (24) which are arranged and aligned on the supporting element (4) to match the desired shape and arrangement of the holding elements (2) of the wall elements (6) and into which the holding elements (2) can be releasably inserted.
3. Wall coverings according to one of the claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the holding elements (2) project from the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) at an oblique angle (α), preferably an angle of less than 90° inclined with respect to their lower edge in the suspended state.
4. Wall coverings according to claim 1, characterised in that the holding elements (2) projecting from the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) can be suspended in a claw-like manner on sections (7) of the supporting element (4), in particular the wall elements (6) can be suspended in a claw-like manner on sections (7) of the supporting element (4) in the angular region formed between the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) and the obliquely arranged holding elements (2) and remain in this position under the action of gravity.
5. Wall coverings according to claim 2, characterised in that the holding elements (2) projecting from the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) can be releasably inserted into openings (24) of the supporting element (4), preferably the holding elements (2) are longitudinally extended, preferably pin-shaped, whereby in particular the longitudinally extended, preferably pin-shaped holding elements (2) are insertable into bore-like recesses (5) in the region of the support element-side rear side (8) of the wall element (6) and further in particular the bore-like recesses (5) are worked into the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) inclined at an oblique angle (α), preferably an angle (α) of less than 90°.
6. Wall coverings according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the longitudinally extended, preferably pin-shaped holding elements (2) are held securely in the bore-like recesses (5), in particular the pin-shaped holding elements (2) have thread-like sections at their end (13) arranged on the wall element side, which can be screwed into opposite thread-like portions in the wall element (6), preferably the thread-like portions in the wall element (6) are provided in a bushing let into the wall element (6) or the thread-like portions in the wall element (6) form themselves in the material of the wall elements (6) when the pin-shaped holding elements (2) are screwed in.
7. Wall coverings according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the longitudinally extended, preferably pin-shaped holding elements (2) have form-locking and/or force-locking regions which interact at least with wall portions of the bore-like recesses (5) and prevent the pin-shaped holding elements (2) from being pulled out of the bore-like recesses (5) when the pin-shaped holding elements (2) are inserted into the bore-like recesses (5), or the longitudinally extended, preferably pin-shaped holding elements (2) have form-locking and/or force-locking areas which interact with securing elements (15), preferably safety rings or safety plates, arranged in the region of the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) and which prevent the pin-shaped holding elements (2) from being pulled out of the bore-like recesses (5) when the pin-shaped holding elements (2) are inserted into the bore-like recesses (5).
8. Wall coverings according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the bore-like recesses (5) in the region of the rear side (8) of the wall element (6) on the support element side are only worked into the wall elements (6) to such a depth, preferably up to about half the thickness of the wall elements (6) in the rear side (8) of the wall elements (6), so that the holding elements (2) are not or only slightly optically visible from the front side (9) of the wall elements (6) when the wall elements (6) are backlit.
9. Wall coverings according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that in the region behind the rear sides (8) of the wall elements (6) on the support element side there is arranged a lighting device (10) which preferably has an area effect and which emits light in the direction of the wall elements (6) and this light passes through the wall elements (6) as far as the front side (9) or illuminates the wall elements (6).
10. Wall coverings according to claim 2, characterized in that the supporting element (4) is designed to be light-conducting in such a way that lighting devices (22) arranged in the region of edges of the plate-like supporting element (4) and shining into the plane of the plate cause light to be emitted perpendicularly to the plane of the plate in the direction of the wall elements (6) arranged on the supporting element (4), whereby the rear side of the plate-like supporting element (4) facing away from the wall elements (6) is designed to be reflective and light emitted by the lighting devices (22) is coupled out at the front side of the plate-like supporting element (4) facing the wall elements (6), in that preferably the rear side of the plate-like supporting element (4) has a reflective effect by means of a coating, in particular a foil or a lacquer coating, or a further reflective plate.
11. Wall coverings according to claim 10, characterised in that the front side of the plate-like supporting element (4) couples out light emitted by the lighting devices (22) in the plate plane in the direction of the wall elements (6) by means of shaped elements, preferably diffusers, engravings, steps or the like.
12. Wall coverings according to the claims 2 and 9 or claim 10, characterised in that the openings (24) in the plate-like supporting element (4) are larger or asymmetrical, preferably slot-like or the like, to the dimensions of the holding elements (2), so that the wall elements (6) are held so that they can be positioned relative to one another to a limited extent, the distance between adjacent horizontal sections (7) of the supporting element (4) preferably being so dimensioned that wall elements (6) arranged adjacent to one another on horizontal sections (7) arranged one above the other can be mounted to the supporting element (4) while maintaining a preferably small distance (11) from one another.
13. Wall coverings according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spaces (11) between wall elements (6) suspended adjacent to one another on the supporting element (4) are closed by flexible covers (12), preferably the flexible covers (12) being formed from a transparent or translucent material which prevents the direct passage of light from the lighting device (10) for backlighting the wall elements (6) in the region of the intermediate spaces (11) between wall elements (6) suspended adjacent to the supporting element (4), and/or the flexible covers (12) are formed of, preferably transparent or translucent material, preferably a foam seal or milky-transparent sealing compound.
14. Wall coverings according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the distance (11) between wall elements (6) arranged adjacent to horizontal sections (7) of the supporting element (4) arranged one above the other is selected in such a way that individual wall elements (6) can be removed from the arrangement of the wall elements (6) on the supporting element (4) without having to remove adjacent wall elements (6) or many wall elements (6) from the supporting element (4).
15. Wall coverings according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the edge region of the arrangement of the wall elements (6) securing means (18, 19, 21), preferably linear or frame-shaped securing means (18, 19, 21) are arranged in such a way that the removal of at least individual edge-side wall elements (6), preferably of all wall elements (6), is not possible without removing the securing means (18, 19, 21), the securing means which can be provided in the edge region of the arrangement of the wall elements (6) have nuts (25) or the like which can be screwed onto the ends (26) of the holding elements (2) pointing away from the wall elements (6) and which, in the assembled state of the wall elements (6) on the edge side, engage over sections (3) of the lattice-like supporting element (4) in a clamping manner.

Images