GB1573648A - Constructional panel assemblies - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO CONSTRUCTIONAL PANEL ASSEMBLIES (71) We, ETABLISSEMENTS BON NET, a French Body Corporate, of 117, rue Grenette, 69653 Villefranche sur Saone, France, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to constructional panel assemblies for making sectional articles and installations (i.e. those which can be taken to pieces). A typical application of the invention is to heat-insulating panel assemblies for constructing refrigeration installations such as cold chambers or refrigerating or refrigerated appliances.

Sectional installations such as enclosures or chambers are generally formed from prefabricated panels which are assembled and fixed to one another by screws and bolts or by means of one-piece metal fittings involving eccentrics and cams, which have male and female parts which are inset separately into said panels.

The latter of these known arrangements proves inflexible in respect of the ways in which the panels can be assembled and expensive both as regards the manufacture of the panels and their assembly. In effect a means of assembly in which male and female parts are fitted separately in two different panels makes the panels non-reversible and requires a particular order to be observed during manufacture and a predetermined procedure to be followed in assembling the panels. The result of complying with these latter requirements is that manufacture and assembly take a relatively long time.

It is an object of the invention to avoid or minimise these disadvantages.

Accordingly the invention consists in a constructional panel assembly comprising a pair of panels having identical female members and further including a detachable eccentric cam and a shaft by means of which the cam may be mounted in either one of the two female members so as to be capable of rotation into engagement with an abutment in the other female member and thus interconnect the two panels when they are arranged in abutting relationship.

The invention also consists in an installation incorporating such panels.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show one embodiment thereof by way of example, and in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sectional refrigeration installation formed from thermally insulating panels according to the invention, Figure 2 is a schematic view of part of an upper panel and a side-panel of the installation of Figure 1, in the form of a cross-section taken at the point where an assembly device is situated and showing the two nondetachable female members of this device, Figure 3 is a schematic view of part of two side-panels of the installation of Figure 1, in the form of a cross-section taken at the point where an assembly device is sitated and showing the two non-detachable female members and the single pivoting male member of the device, Figure 4 is a schematic longitudinal section of the assembly device of Figure 3, and Figure 5 is a perspective view of a nondetachable female member and a detachable male member associated with the assembly device of Figure 4.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a refrigeration installation 1 which comprises four side-walls 2, an upper wall 3, a lower wall 4, all formed from prefabricated thermally insulating panels according to the having assembly devices which will be described in greater detail hereinafter and an insulating door 5.

The insulating panels of the assembly have two parallel, rectangular, spaced side-walls 6 and 7 made of sheet metal or some other constructional material, which define an enclosure of which the four edges are closed by strips 8, and which is filled with an insulating foam 10 formed in situ. The strips 8 which form the four edges of a panel hold, along the circumference of the panel, regularly spaced, non-detachable female members 11 of assembly devices 9.

Each assembly device 9 comprises (see Figures 4 and 5) comprises two identical non-detachable female members 11 of box shape, which are secured in respective ones of the two panels to be assembled together, and a detachable pivoting male member 12 which provides a mechanical connection between the female members and consequently between the assembled panels.

Each female member 11 (Figure 5) is formed by a flat hollow body bounded by two parallel sidewalls and has at the front a rectangular portion provided with an outwardly-orientated opening 13 and at the rear a trapezoidal portion provided with a small, rearwardly-orientated opening 14.

Around its outside surface in the region between the rectangular portion and the trapezoidal portion, the hollow body of the female member 11 carries a relatively wide longitudinal flange or web 15. The flange 15 has two principal functions: firstly to provide the female member 11 with adequate mechanical strength and secondly to provide a large surface area to retain the female member 11 in the insulating foam 10 formed in situ. On two sides of the rear opening 14 in the female member 11 are formed longitudinal flanges or webs 16 which supplement the flange 15 by increasing the surface area which serves to retain the female member 11.

Two end flanges 17 and two longitudinal ribs 18 are formed at points back from the edge of the front opening 13 in the female member 11. In the embodiment illustrated (Figure 3), the two longitudinal ribs 18 form means to enable the female member 11 to be clipped into the strip 8 and act as strips to provide mechanical reinforcement for the body of the said female member 11. By resting against the strip 8, the flanges 17 enable the female member 11 to be held in position more stably. Centrally to the rectangular portion of the hollow body of the female member 11 there are formed, in the side-walls, two aligned holes 19 which have rims 20 which protect axially outwards and which are intended to receive a shaft 21 for actuating the detachable male member 12.The hollow body of the female member 11 is preferably reinforced in its central region. on the outside of the two side-faces, by cross webs 22 which intersect with flange 15 (Figure 5).

Two latching and guiding abutments 23 for the detachable male member 12 are formed on respective inside walls in the central reg- ion of the rectangular opening 13 in the female member 11, being formed symmetrically about the longitudinal axis of this opening. These abutments are formed by halfround projections whose semi-cylindrical face is directed towards the interior of the female member 11. On its semi-cylindrical face and along its free edge, each of the abutments has a radial ridge or lip 24 which helps to guide the detachable male member 12. On the end-wall of the rear part of the hollow body of the female member 11 are formed studs 25 which restrict the pivoting travel of the detachable male member 12.

The detachable male member 12 is substantially half-moon shaped and enables two female members 11, which are secured to respective ones of two panels to be assembled, to be placed alongside one another, tightened together, and locked. Near its substantially straight edge, the male member 12 has a boss 26 to receive a shaft 21. The shaft 21 is formed by a rod of polygonal crosssection which can rotate within holes 19 in the female member 11. The boss 26 in the male member 12 which receives the shaft 21 contains a bore of identical polygonal crosssection to the shaft 21. In the embodiment illustrated the shaft 21 and the boss 26 are of hexagonal cross-section. Thus rotation of shaft 21 in the holes 19 causes movement of the male member 12.Along its curved periphery, the detachable male member 12 has margins which project laterally and which act as a ramp 27 to enable the member to perform the functions described above.

The ramp 27 and the boss 26 are connected by a web 28 which is sufficiently thick to give the male member 12 satisfactory mechanical strength.

The distance between the ramp 27 and the shaft 21 of the male member 12 gradually decreases from one of its ends to the other in the direction away from shaft 21, as seen more particularly in Figure 4. In other words, the radii from the shaft 21 to various points on the ramp 27 become progressively shorter from one end of the ramp to the other. The width of the ramp 27. as defined by two parallel edges, is slightly less than the inside width of the openings 13 and that of the hollow body of the female members 11. The width of the ramp 27 preferably diminishes gradually at the end 29 which is furthest from the shaft 21 of the male member 12. The pointed shape of this end 29 assists the male member 12 in entering the female member 11 when panels are being assembled. Once the two female members 11 making up an assembly device 9 have been brought up against one another, which is easy with the pointed end 29, they are automatically centralised by virtue of the parallel edges of the ramp 27.

To assemble two panels, the male member 12 is mounted to pivot in a first one of the two female members 11 on a shaft 21.

On rotation of shaft 21 the inner face of the ramp 27 of male member 12, that is the face orientated towards the shaft 21, slides againt the half-moon shaped latching and guiding abutments 23 in the second female member 11. To reduce to the minimum the sideways play between the female member 11 and the male member 12, the ramp 27 is provided, in its inner faces and on both sides of the web 28, with two grooves 31 which are intended to accept the two ridges or lips 24 on the abutments 23 of the said female member 11 (Figures 3 and 4).

The male member 12 also includes, on the outer face of its ramp 27, a protuberance 30 which enables it to be locked in position should this be required.

The insulating panels according to the invention as hereinabove described, thus contain spaced female members 11 in their edges at appropriate points. To assembly two such insulating panels, a male member 12 is mounted to pivot in each of the female members 11 in the first one of the panels, by means of an actuating shaft 21, and the female members 11 in the first panel are offered up to those in the second panel. The male members 12 are then inserted in succession into the female members 11 in the second panel by turning their actuating shafts 21. The pointed ends 29 of the ramps 27 of the male members 12 assist in their insertion and the ramps 27 of the male members are responsible for bringing together, centralising, tightening and locking the two panels.

Centralisation is automatic by virtue of the fact that along the ramp 27 a pointed end 29 is succeeded by a body defined by two parallel edges and by virtue of the two grooves hollowed out in the inner faces of the ramp 27 to accept the ridges or lips 24 on the half-moon shaped abutments in the female members 11. Bringing together, tightening and locking take place automatically as a result of the co-operation between on the one hand the ramp 27 of the male member 12 which, from the pointed end 29 to the other end of the said ramp, draws gradually closer radially to the actuating shaft 21, and on the other hand the latching and guiding abutments 23.

Insulating panels as described herein with their assembly devices 9, allow considerable savings to be made in their manufacture and assembly. The insulating panels can be manufactured as standard panels, or in other words the panels are not divided into panels having male members and panels having female members. Bccause of this the panels are easy and economical to mass-produce, it being possible for the male members 12 of the assembly devices to be placed in position just before the panels are assembled. The reversibility of the panels thus described greatly simplifies the business of assembling them, in particular by doing away with the need to identify the said panels as being of one type of the other.Assembling one panel to another consists chiefly in standing the said panel vertical for example, fitting the male members 12 into the female members 11 of the panel, offering up the second panel vertically with its female members 11 facing those of the first panel, and turning the actuating shafts 21 with a spanner or by any other means so as partially to insert the male members 12 of the first panel into the female members 11 of the second panel, and bringing together, tightening and locking the panels. If found more convenient, the panels may be assembled horizontally.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A constructional panel assembly comprising a pair of panels having identical female members and further including a detachable eccentric cam and a shaft by means of which the cam may be mounted in either one of the two female members so as to be capable of rotation into engagement with an abutment in the other female member and thus interconnect the two panels when they are arranged in abutting relationship.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each female member has a pair of ridges or lips formed on its abutment, and the cam member has a pair of grooves which, when the two panels are interconnected receive the ridges or lips on the abutment cooperating therewith.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said cam member has a tapered end, and the abutment in each female member is substantially semicircular in cross-section.

4. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein each female member has a pair of ribs, and wherein the edges of each panel adjacent to each female member carry a strip-like retaining member, which retaining members clip into the respective ribs of said female members.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein each panel comprises a pair of parallel, rectangular side walls which define an enclosure the four edges of which are closed by said retaining members.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein said enclosure is filled with a thermally insulating material.

7. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said shaft is polygonal in cross-section.

8. A constructional panel assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

9. An installation constructed from a

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (9)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. To assemble two panels, the male member 12 is mounted to pivot in a first one of the two female members 11 on a shaft 21. On rotation of shaft 21 the inner face of the ramp 27 of male member 12, that is the face orientated towards the shaft 21, slides againt the half-moon shaped latching and guiding abutments 23 in the second female member 11. To reduce to the minimum the sideways play between the female member 11 and the male member 12, the ramp 27 is provided, in its inner faces and on both sides of the web 28, with two grooves 31 which are intended to accept the two ridges or lips 24 on the abutments 23 of the said female member 11 (Figures 3 and 4). The male member 12 also includes, on the outer face of its ramp 27, a protuberance 30 which enables it to be locked in position should this be required. The insulating panels according to the invention as hereinabove described, thus contain spaced female members 11 in their edges at appropriate points. To assembly two such insulating panels, a male member 12 is mounted to pivot in each of the female members 11 in the first one of the panels, by means of an actuating shaft 21, and the female members 11 in the first panel are offered up to those in the second panel. The male members 12 are then inserted in succession into the female members 11 in the second panel by turning their actuating shafts 21. The pointed ends 29 of the ramps 27 of the male members 12 assist in their insertion and the ramps 27 of the male members are responsible for bringing together, centralising, tightening and locking the two panels. Centralisation is automatic by virtue of the fact that along the ramp 27 a pointed end 29 is succeeded by a body defined by two parallel edges and by virtue of the two grooves hollowed out in the inner faces of the ramp 27 to accept the ridges or lips 24 on the half-moon shaped abutments in the female members 11. Bringing together, tightening and locking take place automatically as a result of the co-operation between on the one hand the ramp 27 of the male member 12 which, from the pointed end 29 to the other end of the said ramp, draws gradually closer radially to the actuating shaft 21, and on the other hand the latching and guiding abutments 23. Insulating panels as described herein with their assembly devices 9, allow considerable savings to be made in their manufacture and assembly. The insulating panels can be manufactured as standard panels, or in other words the panels are not divided into panels having male members and panels having female members. Bccause of this the panels are easy and economical to mass-produce, it being possible for the male members 12 of the assembly devices to be placed in position just before the panels are assembled. The reversibility of the panels thus described greatly simplifies the business of assembling them, in particular by doing away with the need to identify the said panels as being of one type of the other.Assembling one panel to another consists chiefly in standing the said panel vertical for example, fitting the male members 12 into the female members 11 of the panel, offering up the second panel vertically with its female members 11 facing those of the first panel, and turning the actuating shafts 21 with a spanner or by any other means so as partially to insert the male members 12 of the first panel into the female members 11 of the second panel, and bringing together, tightening and locking the panels. If found more convenient, the panels may be assembled horizontally. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A constructional panel assembly comprising a pair of panels having identical female members and further including a detachable eccentric cam and a shaft by means of which the cam may be mounted in either one of the two female members so as to be capable of rotation into engagement with an abutment in the other female member and thus interconnect the two panels when they are arranged in abutting relationship.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each female member has a pair of ridges or lips formed on its abutment, and the cam member has a pair of grooves which, when the two panels are interconnected receive the ridges or lips on the abutment cooperating therewith.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said cam member has a tapered end, and the abutment in each female member is substantially semicircular in cross-section.

4. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein each female member has a pair of ribs, and wherein the edges of each panel adjacent to each female member carry a strip-like retaining member, which retaining members clip into the respective ribs of said female members.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein each panel comprises a pair of parallel, rectangular side walls which define an enclosure the four edges of which are closed by said retaining members.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein said enclosure is filled with a thermally insulating material.

7. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said shaft is polygonal in cross-section.

8. A constructional panel assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

9. An installation constructed from a

plurality of constructional panel assemblies as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.