EP4589091A1

EP4589091A1 - Insulation holder and its application

Info

Publication number: EP4589091A1
Application number: EP24153263.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Claes Hedqvist; Roger Karttunen; Jens Hagfors
Original assignee: SFS Group International AG
Current assignee: SFS Group International AG
Priority date: 2024-01-22
Filing date: 2024-01-22
Publication date: 2025-07-23

Abstract

An insulation holder (100) is being described with a stem-like sleeve (200) with a first and second longitudinal end and a pluggable load-distributing washer (300) mounted at the second of those ends and a fastening element (170).

The intended purpose of said insulation holder (100) is for positioning and securing an insulation layer (110) on a load-bearing surface (120) of a building wall (150). The sleeve (200) has the general shape of a hollow cylinder with a tip (210) at its first end, a stop (220) at its second end and a central, longitudinally extended, axial opening (240) for accepting said fastening element (170). A latching element (230) is arranged in the vicinity of said stop (220). The washer (300) again has an essentially circular shape with a central opening (305) to accept said sleeve (200). The washer exhibits a first (310) and a second (320), essentially circular surface, facing away from each other. The washer's first surface (310) is flat and has a smooth surface, while the second surface (320) exhibits a ribbed structure (330) protruding from said second surface (320). The washer's (300) central opening (305) has a design allowing for interlocking with the sleeve's (200) stop (220) and latching element (230) irrespective of the orientation of the washer (300) when arranged as intended at the second end of the sleeve (200). This allows the application of a thin or thick layer of render on top of the insulation layer. Furthermore, there may be attachment points arranged at the washer's second surface (320) to allow for fixing a reinforcement fabric to the insulation layer.

Such an insulation holder can be used to fix hard foam boards to a building wall by first mounting a washer to a sleeve with a surface chosen facing away from the stem of the sleeve - depending on the intended application. After temporarily positioning a hard foam board at said building wall (150) a hole is being drilled into said building wall (150) through the hard foam board. The assembly of sleeve (200) and washer (300) is being inserted into the pre-drilled hole and a fastening element (170) being introduced into the sleeve's (200) central opening (240). By setting the fastener the insulation layer will be fixed in its desired position by setting the fastener

Description

The present invention relates to an insulation holder useful to position and hold in place an insulation plate to be affixed to a building.

BACKGROUND

To provide thermal insulation to new or existing buildings, today commonly a layer of insulation material is being fixedly attached to the outer surface of a building. This layer usually is being established as a single- or multilayer of insulation plates. The materials of choice are usually commercially available hard foam boards of various sizes and thicknesses. Those plates are being cut to size on-site and attached to the load bearing parts of the walls.

PRIOR ART

Since the a.m. hard foam boards are usually not resistant against point loads, the use of load distribution discs with diameters of several centimeters is well known. Those washer-like devices have been described in many shapes, materials and uses.
Depending on the geographical location of a building and its use/function, insulation layers of various thicknesses are required. Therefore, it is common to combine such a washer with sleeves of various lengths. In the context of this description a sleeve shall mean a tube-like device with a defined length which can be combined with such a washer. The sleeve is designed to be inserted, with its first end, into the insulation layer to bridge the cross-section of the insulation layer at least in part. Depending on the pressure resistance, pre-drilling of the insulation plates may be required. The second end of the sleeve usually is provided with a stop to carry the washer. The free central opening of the sleeve allows for the passage of a fastener to be anchored in the load bearing surface underneath. Depending on said surface (wall of concrete, wood, metal, bricks) various fastener types may be employed which again may require pre-drilling.
After the insulation layer has been attached to the building surface, the insulation layer very often is being covered with a layer of render. Depending on the material of the insulation plates, the application of a reinforcement fabric like a mesh or plaster grid may be required to improve the adhesion of the render to the outer surface of the insulation layer. The thickness of the render required to cover those added components will depend on how far those do protrude from the surface.
Prior Art document EP 2 096 229 A1 discloses a spacer element for positioning a mesh to an insulation layer.
It is the task of the present invention to improve the known state of the art in such a way that the use of the washer is simplified and extended to other areas of use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A.m. task is solved by an insulation holder with a washer having two functional surfaces according to independent claim 1. The use of such an insulation holder is being addressed in independent claim 11. A method of fixing at least one hard foam board to a load bearing surface can be found in claim 13. Dependent claims describe further variants and examples of embodiments.
An insulation holder as addressed herein comprises three main functional parts. Firstly, a stem-like sleeve with a first and second longitudinal end. Secondly, a pluggable load-distributing washer mounted at the second of those ends. Thirdly, a fastening element.
The insulation holder is designed and suitable for positioning and securing an insulation layer on a load-bearing surface of a building wall. Positioning means, as common in the art, arranging an insulation layer at a specified position. Securing means that the insulation layer is being attached in a way to remain in a defined position and being secured according to standards defined in respective building regulations.
To accomplish this, the sleeve will have the general shape of a hollow cylinder with a tip at its first end, a stop at its second end and a central, longitudinally extended, axial opening for accepting said fastening element. Said kind of basic arrangement is known in the art.
A latching element is being arranged with said stop. "Arranged with" in this context means, that is has been placed on or at the stem of the sleeve to perform a latching function, when a washer is being mounted on the stem of the sleeve. The latching element can be designed to perform a snapping, locking or clamping operation to hold the washer in a defined position on the stem of the sleeve.
The washer again has preferably an essentially circular shape with a central opening to accept said sleeve. The essentially disc-shaped washer has a first and a second, essentially circular surface, facing away from each other. The term "circular" shall not be understood to exclude any other suitable similar general shapes. The term "pluggable" means that the washer can be threaded onto the sleeve and snap into place between stop and the latching element. Other equivalent mounting variants and elements shall be included in this meaning.
The diameter of the washer may be chosen to safely accommodate the insulating layer and not to be excessive in size to impair its handling. Both sleeve and washer may be manufactured of injection molded plastic. Depending on the application, the use of fibers to strengthen the parts or of flame-retardant aggregates may be beneficial.
The washer can fulfill two functional purposes and for that exhibits two differently designed surfaces. The first surface exhibits an essentially flat and smooth surface while the second surface exhibits a ribbed structure protruding from said second surface. Depending on the intended use one of those sides can be chosen to face away from the insulation layer when mounted. To accomplish that, the washer's central opening has a design allowing for interlocking with the sleeve's stop and latching element irrespective of the orientation of the washer when arranged as intended at the second end of the sleeve.
The second surface's ribbed structure may preferably comprise radially or circular arranged structures or a combination of those. The ribbed structure preferably comprises wall-like extended surface structures with a height-to-width ratio between 1:1 and 5:1. This way, the ribs can cut into a hard foam board until the surface of the washer is flush or nearly flush with the surface of the insulation layer or hard foam board respectively.
In other words, the washer can be threaded onto the sleeve with the ribbed surface facing the stop and the smooth surface facing the tip of the sleeve or vice versa. Since the washer acts as a load distribution disc, the ribbed surface facing the tip (or insulation layer, when installed) will lay on the insulation layer or the ribs will slightly cut into the insulation layer. The smooth surface of the washer will be flush or almost flush with the plane of surface of the insulation layer.
When arranged the other way round on the sleeve, the washer will lay with its flat side on the insulation layer and the ribbed surface will protrude from the plane of surface of the insulation layer.
The reason for that layout is that one washer can thus be used for wall structures to have a thick or a thin layer of render as finishing layer on top of the insulation layer. The choice of a thick or thin top render depends on building regulations, design specifications and/or requirements due to the base material of the insulation layer. By using a protruding, ribbed structure of the washer the plasterer may control the thickness of the render more easily than without said washer, by that avoiding a too thin layer of render. In case where a specifically thin layer of render is desired, the smooth surface facing outwards will allow for that.
A further advantage is, that the second surface of the washer can be equipped with at least one attachment point for attaching a bracket to said washer's second surface. The term bracket means broadly any device that can be brought into a fixed connection with the washer. This may be a plug-like device, a clamp, a clip, or a peg.
Such a device / bracket may be clamped, screwed, or snapped into place with a (technically) corresponding attachment point. A further use of the clamp is to attach a reinforcement fabric or plaster grid. Such grids improve the adhesion of the render to the outer surface of the insulation layer.
The invention can also be described from the viewing angle of an insulation layer fixedly attached to the load-bearing surface of a building wall. The insulation layer is basically built up from a plurality of (usually) hard foam boards attached by means of a plurality of insulation holders as described above. Each sleeve will (in a mounted configuration) accommodate a fastening element to secure the insulation holder to said load-bearing surface. The number of insulation holders per square meter or per board depends on physical parameters of the boards and respective building regulations and will be chosen by the expert accordingly.
A fastener in the context of this invention shall mean any fastening means suitable to attach the sleeve-washer combination to the building wall. The kind of fastener will mainly depend on the material of the building wall. For concrete, brickwork, and for autoclaved aerated concrete a nail or drop-in anchor will be commonly used or a screw-dowel combination. In wooden substructures a woodscrew is the fastener of choice. For a metal substructure self-drilling screws or self-tapping screws are possible solutions. It shall be noted that depending on the kind of a building wall the sleeve (length, design, texture) also plays a role. Depending on building regulations a long sleeve may be used with a short fastener or vice versa. A sleeve having a dowel-like tip may be used e.g., for concrete. The man skilled in the art will choose appropriate sleeve / fastener combinations based on existing Know-How.
In a further embodiment the insulation holder's sleeve is arranged in a sunk manner in the insulation layer and/or the building wall while the washer is resting on the outwardly facing surface of the insulation layer. "In a sunk manner" means that the sleeve is being inserted into the insulation layer for mounting. This may be done into a pre-drilled hole or, depending on the stiffness of the hard-foam board, the sleeve may be pushed in directly. Depending on the application and mounting process, the sleeve may even be used as drilling jig for creating a pre-drilling for the fastener in the building wall.
As mentioned above, depending on the application for thick and thin render the washer will be arranged with its essentially flat and smooth first surface facing outwardly or with its structured second surface facing outwardly.
In a further embodiment the insulation layer's outwardly facing surface can be at least partially covered by a reinforcement fabric. Said reinforcement fabric or plaster grid is a mesh to stabilize the render on the surface of the insulation layer, especially useful for thick layers of render.
In the context of the present invention, the reinforcement fabric can be held in place via at least one bracket attached to an attachment point on washer's second surface. The bracket can be a simple plug which can be pushed through one of the loops of the mesh into a respective opening of the washer to clamp the mesh locally to the washer.
Again, the use of such an inventive insulation holder comes to play especially for fixedly attaching an insulation layer to a building wall, if the second surface with its ribbed structure is being chosen to become the out-facing surface away from the sleeve, because then a reinforcement fabric can easily be fixed to an attachment point by means of a bracket.
The way an inventive insulation holder can be installed shall be described in the following. Such a method of fixing at least one hard foam board to a load bearing surface of a building wall is a sequence of the following steps:

Providing a sleeve, a washer and a fastening element as described above;
Determining the surface of washer to be mounted facing away from the stem of the sleeve;
Assembly of sleeve and washer accordingly;
Temporarily positioning a hard foam board at said surface of the building wall;
Drilling a hole into said building wall through the hard foam board;
Inserting the assembly of sleeve and washer into the pre-drilled hole;
Introducing said fastening element into the sleeve's central opening;
Fixing the insulation layer in its desired position by setting the fastener.

This sequence describes the most common way to install an inventive insulation holder but shall not be understood to be limiting. Depending on the material of the insulation layer, the composition of the underlying building wall and the kind of fastener / sleeve combination the sequence of steps may vary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 shows a washer from in a side view (left) and from its second surface.
Figure 2 shows a washer from its first surface (right) in a cross section (left).
Figure 3 shows a sleeve with an integrated dowel-tip.
Figure 4 shows a sleeve with a simplified tip.
Figure 5 shows an insulation holder in its basic configuration.
Figure 6 shows an inventive insulation holder mounted with its first surface facing outwards in a side view.
Figure 7 shows an inventive insulation holder mounted with its second surface facing outwards in a side view.
Figure 8 shows an inventive insulation holder mounted with its second surface facing outwards including a reinforcement fabric and a bracket in a side view.
Figure 9 shows the arrangement of figure 8 in a diagonal view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 5 shows an insulation holder 100 in its basic configuration with a stem-like sleeve 200, a load-distributing washer 300 mounted at one end and a fastening element 170 inserted in the sleeve 200. The fastening element 170 shown is a self-tapping screw, for illustrative purposes only.
Figure 1 shows a side and front view of a washer 300 used in an inventive insulation holder.
On the right side the preferred circular basic shape of the washer 300 is being shown. The ribbed structure 330 on this second surface 320 comprises radial 332 and circular 334 wall-like structures protruding from the general plane of the washer 300. In this embodiment attachment points 340 have been realized as circular openings for plug-like brackets 130 (see figures 7 & 8). As shown, such attachment points 340 have been evenly distributed over the washer's surface 320 to allow for conveniently mounting / attaching a reinforcement fabric 140 (shown in figures 7 & 8). This embodiment of attachment points 340 are meant to be exemplary and not limiting. Other types of brackets may be used.
The central through opening 305 also marks the center of the washer 300. The side view (figure 1, left) shows the difference between smooth first surface 310 and structured second surface 320. The ribbed structure 330 protrudes from the second surface 320. The washer's general plane 350 has been indicated, the first and second surface 310/320 are facing away from it as shown.
Figure 2 shows the same washer 300 as figure 1 but from its other side. On the right there is a plane view on the first, smooth surface 310. 305 again marks the central opening. The left depiction is a cut along the line indicated on the right. In order to accomplish the smooth surface, the sleeve needs to be flush with the first surface 310. A recess 307 in the first surface 310 has been provided to accommodate the flange 280 (figure 3, 4). The diameter of the passage 309 has been chosen to allow for the sleeve 200 to pass through.
Figure 3 shows a first embodiment of a sleeve 200 to be used with a washer 300 as shown in figures 1 & 2. The basic structure of a sleeve 200 is a tube with an extended, essentially cylindrical central axial opening 240 with a tip 210 and a flange 280. The flange 280 provides a stop 220 when the sleeve 200 is installed with a washer 300. Figure 3 shows a sleeve 200 with a dowel-like tip 260. When in use, a fastener such as a screw can be inserted into the opening at the flange 280. The diameter of the head of the screw will be chosen to allow for the head of the screw to hit the stop face 270. The tip of the screw will spread the dowel-tip 260 in a known manner to anchor the sleeve in a pre-drilled hole in a building wall.
Flange 280 with the stop 220 and a latching element 230 together form a locking element. A washer 200 will engage with this locking element and will be locked into place. The locking element shown may be realized as individual latching parts or as a circumferential ring. Other locking elements as known in the art may be equivalently used.
Figure 4 shows another embodiment of a sleeve 200 with a locking element comprising a combination of flange 280, stop 220, and latching element 230. The tip 210 in figure 8 is conical and may be simply inserted into a hard foam plate (insertion tip 250). Then again a fastener may be inserted into the central opening 240 and can be drilled down through the opening 290 at the tip 210. Again, a stop face 270 will allow a fastener's widened head to hit the face 270 and secure sleeve 200.
Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 show variants of installations of an insulation holder in a wall structure. For all three figures mentioned shall be valid: The wall structure depicted comprises the building wall 150 with an insulation layer 110 on said building wall's load bearing surface 120. The outwardly facing surface of said insulation layer 110 has the reference 160. The insulation holder is being shown mounted correctly, holding in place the insulation layer 110. The illustration in figures 6-9 shows a sleeve 200 with a dowel-tip 260 in a pre-drilled hole. The fastener 170 is not visible in this configuration. A washer 300 with its first surface 310 and its second surface 320 (bearing the ribbed structure 330) has been arranged at the second end of the sleeve 200 opposite the tip 210.
Figure 6 shows an arrangement of the washer 300 with its smooth first surface 310 facing outwardly, being flush or almost flush with the insulation layer's surface 160. The ribbed structure 330 has been pressed into the insulation layer to allow for the flush appearance of the washer 300. This way a thin cover layer of render is possible.
Figure 7 shows the arrangement of figure 6 with the washer 300 reversed. The ribbed structure 330 is facing outwardly. This arrangement is useful for applying a thick layer of render with at least the height of the protruding ribbed structure 330.
Figures 8 and 9 shown different angles of views on the same arrangement. The insulation holder as in figure 7 has been further complemented with a reinforcement fabric 140 (plaster grid, mesh). The fabric is being held in place by a bracket 130 being attached to an attachment point 340.
The illustration of the invention and its features in the figures is exemplary. The figures shall not be understood as limiting to the effect that the embodiments must strictly be as shown or are only technically useful as displayed; unless the description expressly makes such statements.

Claims

An insulation holder (100) comprising
- a stem-like sleeve (200) with a first and second longitudinal end and

- a pluggable load-distributing washer (300) mounted at the second of those ends and

- a fastening element (170);

said insulation holder (100) being designed and suitable for positioning and securing an insulation layer (110) on a load-bearing surface (120) of a building wall (150),

the sleeve (200) having

- the general shape of a hollow cylinder with a tip (210) at its first end, a stop (220) at its second end and a central, longitudinally extended, axial opening (240) for accepting said fastening element (170); and

- a latching element (230) arranged with said stop (220); the washer (300) having

- an essentially circular shape with a central opening (305) to accept said sleeve (200); and

- a first (310) and a second (320), essentially circular surface, facing away from each other;
characterized in that
- the washer's first surface (310) exhibits an essentially flat and smooth surface, and

- the second surface (320) exhibits a ribbed structure (330) protruding from said second surface (320); and

- the washer's (300) central opening (305) has a design allowing for interlocking with the sleeve's (200) stop (220) and latching element (230) irrespective of the orientation of the washer (300) when arranged as intended at the second end of the sleeve (200).
The insulation holder (100) of claim 1, characterized in that the second surface (320) is being equipped with at least one attachment point (340) designed to allow for attaching a bracket (130) to said washer (300).
The insulation holder (100) of claim 1, characterized in that the second surface's (320) ribbed structure (330) comprises a combination of radial (332) and circular (334) surface structures.
The insulation holder (100) of claim 1 and 2, characterized in that the ribbed structure (330) comprises wall-like extended surface structures with a height-to-width ratio between 1:1 and 5:1
Insulation layer (110) fixedly attached to a load-bearing surface (120) of a building wall (150), comprising a plurality of hard foam boards attached by means of a plurality of insulation holders (100) according to claims 1-4, each sleeve (200) accommodating a fastening element (170) to secure the insulation holder (100) to said load-bearing surface (120).
Insulation layer (110) according to claim 5, characterized in that the insulation holder's (100) sleeve (200) is arranged in a sunk manner in the insulation layer (110) and/or the building wall (150) while the washer (300) is resting on the outwardly facing surface (160) of the insulation layer (110).
Insulation layer (110) according to claim 5-6, characterized in that the washer (300) is arranged with its essentially flat and smooth first surface (310) facing outwardly.
Insulation layer (110) according to claim 5-6, characterized in that the washer (300) is arranged with its structured second surface (320) facing outwardly.
Insulation layer (110) according to claim 5-6 and 8, characterized in that the insulation layer's (110) outwardly facing surface (160) is being at least partially covered by a reinforcement fabric (140).
Insulation layer (110) according to claim 9, characterized in that the reinforcement fabric (140) is being held in place via at least one bracket (130) attached to an attachment point (340) on washer (300) ['s second surface (320)]
Use of an insulation holder (100) according to claims 1-4 for fixedly attaching an insulation layer (110) to a building wall (150), characterized in that the second surface (320) is being chosen to become the out-facing surface away from the sleeve (200).
Use of an insulation holder (100) according to claim 11, characterized in that a reinforcement fabric (140) is being fixed to an attachment point (340) by means of a bracket (130).
Method of fixing at least one hard foam board to a load bearing surface (120) of a building wall (150) with the following steps:
- Providing a sleeve (200), a washer (300) and a fastening element (170) according to claims 1-4;

- Determining the surface of washer (300) to be mounted facing away from the stem of the sleeve (200);

- Assembly of sleeve (200) and washer (300) accordingly;

- Temporarily positioning a hard foam board at said surface (120) of the building wall (150);

- Drilling a hole into said building wall (150) through the hard foam board;

- Inserting the assembly of sleeve (200) and washer (300) into the pre-drilled hole;

- Introducing said fastening element (170) into the sleeve's (200) central opening (240)

- Fixing the insulation layer in its desired position by setting the fastener
The insulation holder (100) of claim 1 to 4, characterized in that the sleeve (200) as well as the washer (300) are being made from injection molded plastic.