GB1596699A

GB1596699A - Method and means for fastening a composite element to a supporting structure

Info

Publication number: GB1596699A
Application number: GB733178A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Gyproc GmbH
Current assignee: Gyproc GmbH
Priority date: 1977-02-25
Filing date: 1978-02-23
Publication date: 1981-08-26
Also published as: ATA117878A; FR2381874A1; AT359245B; DE2708095A1; FR2381874B1

Description

(54) METHOD AND MEANS FOR FASTENING A COMPOSITE ELEMENT TO A SUPPORTING STRUCTURE (71) We, GYPROC GMBH, of Berliner Allee 56, D4000 Dusseldorf 1, Germany, a company organised according to the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, 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 a method of fastening a composite element to a supporting structure and to means for carrying out the method. In particular the present invention relates to a method of fastening a composite board which includes a layer of comparatively hard material and a layer of compressible material to a supporting structure.

In the building industry, a composite board consisting of a hard building board and of a compressible layer of insulating material adhesively bonded together can be fastened to a support, for example a wall or ceiling or other supporting structure, to serve as a protection against fire, as thermal insulation, or as soundproofing. The board is fastened so as to leave the hard building board visible and facing into the room etc. When fastening elements, for example screws or nails, by which the composite board is fastened at various points to the supporting structure, are used there is a possibility that the layer of insulating material will be compressed at the fastening points.Particularly when the composite board is fastened to a supporting grid or other supporting structure which only contacts the layer of insulating material intermittently, it is difficult to maintain the same displacement between the hard rigid building board and the supporting structure over its entire surface.

In addition, if the layer of insulating material is compressed at and around the various fastening points on the supporting structure, it will project into the gaps between adjacent supporting members of the structure and will partly fill thees gaps, which is undesirable.

The density of the layer of insulating material and consequently any associated insulating action may thus be irregular over the area of the composite board.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of fastening a composite element to a supporting structure wherein the composite element includes a layer of comparatively hard material and a layer of compressible material, comprising the steps of: (i) protecting the layer of compressible material against any undue compression during step (iii) below by means of spacers pressed into the compressible material at various positions, each spacer comprising a surface with at least one large cutout or perforation, the surface having depending side strips of which the edge remote from the said surface has projecting lugs; (ii) locating the composite element on the supporting structure so that the layer of relatively hard material lies further from the supporting structure than the layer of compressible material; and (iii) fastening the composite element to the .supporting structure in the vicinity of the said various positons.

By "large" in relation to the cutout(s) or perforation(s), we imply that this or these are taken from a substantial portion of the surface, and are not mere holes for screws or bolts.

Preferably each spacer is so dimensioned that, when it is pressed into the compressible material, the ends of the lugs abut or penetrate the layer of relatively hard material and the said surface of the spacer lies flush with the surface of the layer compressible material remote from the layer of relatively hard material. The fastening means are conveniently screws, each of which has a self-cutting thread and can thus be driven through the composite element to cut into and lodge in the supporting structure.

The present method thus provides a way of fastening to a supporting structure a composite element which consists, for example, of a sandwich type plasterboard as the layer of comparatively hard material, and as the layer of compressible material a mineral fibre mat one of whose faces is joined over its entire surface to the plasterboard and whose other face lies adjacent the supporting structure.

Such a composite element, where the compressible material is conveniently an insulating material, can comply with requirements which have been laid down in respect of protection against fire, thermal insulation, and soundproofing, and can be fastened to a supporting structure to give the same displacement of the hard board from the structure over its entire area with the aid of very simple means and at very low cost. The spacers are distributed over the layer of insulating material according to the construction of the supporting structure to which the composite element is to be fastened. Any difference in the spacing of individual supporting members of the supporting structure should not make the installation work difficult.When the fastening means are driven in, the spacers can support the comparatively hard material against the supporting structure in the vicinity of the fastening means, so that the layer of insulating material is not compressed at these points.

According to a second aspect of the present invention we provide a composite element which includes a layer of relatively hard material and a layer of compressible material, and which has at various positions spacers pressed into the compressible material, each spacer having a surface with at least one large cutout or perforation which lies adjacent the surface of the compressible material and depending side strips of which the edge remote from the said surface has projecting lugs which are adjacent that surface of the relatively hard material adjoining the compressible material. The side strips and lugs of each spacer are preferably at right angles to the surface.

Spacers of the kind provided can thus be used in the method of the invention and be pressed into the layer of compressible material, with their lugs facing forwards, at any desired point on the composite element.

As the spacers include at least one cutout or perforation, the fastening means, for example, wood screws or the like, can be passed through the cutouts. It is advantageous for the cutouts to be as large as possible, so that the spacer need not be seated exactly centrally in relation to the screw but may be laterally offset relative to the latter.

The lugs may each be in the shape of a trapezium whose longer base side forms part of an interrupted free edge of its respective side strip. Such spacers can thus have a relatively large supporting contact surface on the back of the layer of comparatively hard material.

The lugs may alternatively each be in the shape of a triangle whose apex forms part of an interrupted free edge of its respective side strip. Such a spacer in use thus only provides punctiform support on the rigid building board.

The pointed apices of the lugs can however penetrate slightly into the building board and help prevent lateral displacement of the spacers during installation.

In order to achieve the same advantage with trapezium-shaped lugs, the latter may each be provided on their respective base sides forming an interrupted free edge of their respective side strip with small points which project beyond the said edges and penetrate into the rear side of the layer of comparatively hard material.

In another embodiment the lugs forming part of each side strip may alternatively be formed by imparting a wave like edge to each strip, the apex of each wave forming part of an interrupted free edge of its respective strip.

and forming the supports on the inner surface of the building board.

In order to prevent the spacers which have been pressed into the layer of insulating material from falling out, the lugs may also be provided with barbs.

The lugs are conveniently formed by stamping-out portions of their respective side strips.

For stiffening purposes the web plate and/or the side strips of the plate may be provided with inwardly or outwardly directed ribs.

Particular embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 shows in perspective a part of a composite board with an inserted spacer; Fig. 2 is a cross section of a composite board fastened on a supporting structure; Fig. 3 shows in perspective a second embodiment of a spacer; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the spacer shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal view of the spacer shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a plan view of another form of construction of spacer; Fig. 7 is a side view of the spacer shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a plan view of yet another form of construction of spacer; and Fig. 9 is a side view of the spacer shown in Fig. 8.

Referring firstly to Figs. 1 and 2, 10 designates a composite board which consists of a hard building board 11, for example a sandwich type plaster board, and of a layer 12 of compressible insulating material, for example a mineral fibre mat, the layer 12 being adhesively bonded to the sandwich type plaster board 11 over its entire surface. The composite board 10 can serve as a facing panel for walls, ceilings or the like, and is intended to provide protection against fire and to provide thermal insulation and sound-proofing.

The composite board 10 is fastened on a supporting structure 13, for example a batten grid, in which the individual wooden battens 14 and 15 are mounted on a solid wall 16 or form a self-supporting structure. The board 10 may alternatively be fastened directly on to a plane surface with the aid of various fastening means, but without a supporting structure Before the composite board 10 is attached to the supporting structure 13, spacers 18 are disposed at those points on the board 10 where fastening means 17 securing the board to the battens 14 and 15 of the supporting structure 13 are to be provided.Projecting lugs 23 which form part of spacers 18 are pressed through the outer surface 19 of the insulating material into the layer 12 so that the edges 20 of the lugs 23 form an interrupted free edge of the spacer 18 and bear against the inner surface 21 of the hard building board 11, while a planar surface 22 of the spacer lies flush with the outer surface 19 of the in sulating material layer 12, as shown in Figs.

1 and 2. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig.

1, the edges 20 are formed by the apices of the triangular lugs 23, the lugs being formed by stamping-out portions 24 of side strips 25 of the spacers.

A web portion 26 having a large oval cutout 27 forms the planar surface of the spacer 18 and connects together the side strips 25. A screw serving as fastening means 17 when driven from the outer surface 28 of the build ing board 11 is passed through the insulat ing layer 12 and through the cutout 27 into the wooden batten 14 or 15 of the supporting structure 13. Other fastening means, for ex ample nails or the like, may alternatively be used for fastening the board to the supporting structure.

The large cutout 27 gives considerable lateral clearance for the screw 17, so that when the fastening screw 17 is screwed into the composite board 10 it will not be in line with the cutout 27. The hard building board 11 will be rigidly displaced by the spacer 18 from the supporting structure anywhere in the close proximity of the fastening means, even if, for example, the fastening screw 17 should pass through the composite board out side the cutout 27 but at the side of the spacer 18 and then into the structure 13. However, in order to achieve satisfactory fastening of the composite board if the fastening means should accidentally strike against the web por- tion 26 of the spacer 18, the spacer 18 is expediently made of metal or plastics material and screws having a self-tapping thread are expediently used as fastening elements.

It is sufficient for the spacers 18 to be distributed over the surface of the composite board on site either simply by visual judgement or by very rough measurement to place the spacers roughly in the proximity of the intended fastening points. The fastening process is thus very simple and inexpensive.

In the embodiments shown in Figs. 3 to 5 the lugs 23 are round-end projections bounded by wavy edge 30 whose apices 31 form the points of contact with the inner surface 21 of the hard building board 11. As in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the spacer 18 of Figs. 3 to 5 also has a large oval opening 27 in the web portion 26. For the purpose of stiffening the web portion 26 and supporting lugs 23, ribs 32 and 33 are additionally formed in the spacer 18.

The lugs 23 bounded by the wavy edge 30 are only pressed into the layer of insulating material, but do not cut any fibres of the material. Where it is not important whether fibres are cut or not, the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 6 to 9 can be used.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 6 and 7 corresponds substantially to the spacer 18 shown in Fig. 1. The lugs 23 are each in the shape of a triangle whose apex 20 forms part of the interrupted free edge of their respective side strip 25. The side striPs 25 are bent at right angles to the web portion 26 of the spacer 18 and together with the said web portion form a plate 35 of U-shaped crosssection, as shown in Fig. 1. This spacer is also provided with inwardly directed ribs 32 and 33.

Instead of a single large opening 27, however, the spacer shown in Figs. 6 and 7 has three smaller, circular openings 36.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is similar to that shown in Fig. 1. Here the web portion 26 has a substantially rectangular cutout 37 whose corners are rounded. The lugs 23 are not triangular, but are trapeziumshaped, the smaller base side 38 of the trapezium forming the edge which lies against the inner surface 21 of the hard building board 11. Each of the smaller base sides 38 additionally has a small projection 39 which penetrates into the inner facing surface 21 of the hard building board, thereby securing the spacer 18 in position relative to the building board 11 and preventing its lateral displacement during installation. As in the other embodiments, the lugs 23 are shaped by stamp ingot portions 24 in the side strips 25. In addition, inwardly directed ribs 32 and 33 are also provided.

The invention is not restricted to the example of embodiment given above. For example, it is possible for the lugs to be in the form of trapeziums whose longer base sides form the interrupted free edges of the side strips. In addition, the lugs can be provided with barbs in order to prevent the spacers from falling out once they have been pressed into the layer of insulating material. Instead of sheet steel, which may be advantageously galvanized in order to avoid damage through corrosion in the interior of the mounted composite boards, it is possible to use a strong plastics material. Furthermore, the spacers may have a different cross-section if this should be expedient in individual cases.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A method of fastening a composite element to a supporting structure wherein the composite element includes a layer of relatively hard material and a layer of compressible material, comprising the steps of: (i) protecting the layer of compressible material against any undue compression during step (iii) below by means of spacers pressed into the compressible material at various positions, each spacer comprising a surface with at least one large cutout or perforation, the surface having depending side strips of which the edge remote from the said surface has projecting lugs; (ii) locating the composite element on the supporting structure so that the layer of relatively hard material lies further from the supporting structure than the layer of compressible material; and (iii) fastening the composite element to the supporting structure in the vicinity of the said various positions.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein each spacer is so dimensioned that, when it is pressed into the compressible material, the ends of the lugs abut or penetrate the layer of relatively hard material and the said surface of the spacer lies flush with the surface of the layer of compressible material remote from the layer of relatively hard material.

3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein step (iii) comprises driving fastening means through the composite element to lodge in the supporting suucture.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the fastening means are screws, each of which has a self-cutting thread.

5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the compressible material is an insulating material and lies adjacent the supporting structure.

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the composite element consists of a sandwich type plaster board as the layer of comparatively hard material, and as the layer of compressible material a mineral fibre mat one of whose faces is joined over its entire surface to the plasterboard.

7. A method of fastening a composite element to a supporting structure substantially as herein described.

8. A composite element which includes a layer of relatively hard material and a layer of compressible material, and which has at various positions spacers pressed into the compressible material, each spacer having a surface with at least one large cutout or perforation which lies adjacent the surface of the compressible material and depending side strips of which the edge remote from the said surface has projecting lugs which are adjacent that surface of the relatively hard material adjoining the compressible material.

9. A composite element according to claim 8 wherein the side strips of each spacer are at right angles to the surface and the lugs are in the plane of the side strips.

10. A composite element according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein each lug is in the shape of a trapezium whose longer base side forms part of an interrupted free edge of its respective side strip.

11. A composite element according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein each lug is the shape of a triangle whose apex forms part of an interrupted free edge of its respective side strip.

12. A composite element according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein each lug is in the shape of a trapezium one of whose base sides forms parts of an interrupted free edge of its respective side strip and has a small point projecting from it.

13. A composite element according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the lugs forming part of each side strip are formed by imparting a wave like edge to each strip, the apex of each wave forming part of an interrupted free edge of its respective strip.

14. A composite element according to one of claims 8 to 13 where the lugs are provided with barbs.

15. A composite element according to one of claims 8 to 14, wherein the lugs are formed by stamping-out portions of their respective side strips.

16. A composite element according to one of claims 8 to 15, wherein the plate of each spacer is stiffened by inwardly or outwardly projecting ribs.

17. A spacer substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Figs 3 to 5, Figs. 6 to 7 or Figs. 8 to 9 of the accompanying drawings.

18. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein step (i) comprises placing a spacer according to claim 17 into the layer of compressible material.

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

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. have a different cross-section if this should be expedient in individual cases. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A method of fastening a composite element to a supporting structure wherein the composite element includes a layer of relatively hard material and a layer of compressible material, comprising the steps of: (i) protecting the layer of compressible material against any undue compression during step (iii) below by means of spacers pressed into the compressible material at various positions, each spacer comprising a surface with at least one large cutout or perforation, the surface having depending side strips of which the edge remote from the said surface has projecting lugs; (ii) locating the composite element on the supporting structure so that the layer of relatively hard material lies further from the supporting structure than the layer of compressible material; and (iii) fastening the composite element to the supporting structure in the vicinity of the said various positions.