GB2039256A

GB2039256A - Wall panel

Info

Publication number: GB2039256A
Application number: GB7940417A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: ACKERMANN FRUEHAUF
Current assignee: ACKERMANN FRUEHAUF
Priority date: 1978-12-14
Filing date: 1979-11-22
Publication date: 1980-08-06
Also published as: DE2854022A1; NL7908231A; DD147962A5; IT1120146B; DK526479A; BE880566A; FR2444226A1; FR2444226B1; IT7951005A0; GB2039256B; LU81969A1

Abstract

A wall panel for constructing the bodies of motor vehicles such as large vans, has one face formed by a flexible cover sheet 2 made of glass fibre reinforced plastics material and the other face formed by a series of profiled strips 4 of extruded aluminium or glass-fibre plastics material. The strips 4 are of wavy form to give them inherent stiffness and are arranged edge to edge. The individual profiled strips 4 are fixed to the sheet 2 by spacers 12 so that the panel as a whole has a degree of flexibility about axes parallel to the length of the profiled strips 4. This enables the panels to be rolled up for transport or storage prior to use in constructing a body. In use, the profiled strips 4 are fixed to each other, for example by battens 40, to give the panel adequate overall stiffness. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Wall panel This invention relates to wall panels comprising at least one cover plate, for use in constructing superstructures of motor vehicles. For constructing the superstructures of motor vehicles such as large vans, composite panels of large area are predominantly used at present. These panels have a core layer consisting of continuously connected plates, for example of wood or plastics material, without gaps between them, and cover layers enclosing the core plates and preferably made of plastics material. The side and edge walls and also two side walls and one edge wall formed by U-bending can be made in one piece from a single, composite panel. The production of such large composite panels, usually several metres wide and high, however calls for expensive equipment and a considerable amount of labour.

This results in the panels being very costly. Further the composite panels as made or the panels cut to size require, on account of their large area, a considerable amount of space in storage and transport, and this can lead to bottlenecks and difficulties.

A composite panel of large area obtains its strength and stiffness from the covering layers being connected together but held apart by means of the core layer and accordingly we have appreciated that some at least of the aforementioned disadvantages can be avoided if the composite panel is provided with a core consisting of individual elements. The aim of the present invention therefore is to provide a wall panel for use in constructing bodies or superstructures of motor vehicles, the panel being able to be simply and stably constructed and to be manufactured in a space-saving and labour-saving manner without the use of complicated and expensive equipment.

According to this invention, such a panel comprises a continuous flexible cover sheet forming one face of the panel and a number of separate stiffening profiles fixed to the cover sheet and forming the other face of the panel.

The flexible cover sheet, which is preferably of glass-fibre reinforced plastics material, is wound up into rolls before use and therefore occupies little space. In the manufacture of the wall panel, the profiles, which preferably have a modular pitch of, for example, 300 mm, are fixed on the unrolled and flattened cover sheet, and preferably lie flush edge to edge. For stiffening purposes, the profiles have a flatly meandering cross-section of substantially rectangular wave form. The profiles are preferably fixed to the cover sheet by spacers previously fixed to the profiles or previously fixed to the flexible cover sheet.

The flexible cover sheet may be provided with spacers while in store and can be stored rolled up until completion of the wall panel by fitting of the profiles. Even the finished wall panel can, if the mutually adjacent edges of the profiles are not fixed together, be rolled up for storage. The spacers are preferably disposed at a spacing of the wavelength of the profiles, the spacers being fixed to the profiles in the region of a wave trough or a wave crest. The spacers may be in the form of battens of wood, metal or plastics material, especially foamed material. To fix the profiles together and thus to ensure the bending stiffness of the wall panel in lateral and longitudinal directions, corresponding parts of a clamping or clipping connection can be disposed on mutually adjacent edges of the profiles.With such a connection it is possible to leave the profiles unconnected together until the wall panel is to be brought into use. For this purpose, each profile may have along each edge, a bent edge flange directed towards the cover sheet and engaging into a longitudinal groove of a coupling batten. The coupling battens do not need to be in position when the profiles are secured to the spacers, but can later be pushed between the cover sheet and the profiles in the region of the bent edge flanges in such a manner that these flanges engage in the longitudinal grooves of the coupling battens. With this construction, the wall panel can be bent and rolled up to a certain degree towards its face remote from the profiles.

To form the clip connection each profile may have along one longitudinal edge a clip nose and along the opposite longitudinal edge a correspondingly shaped groove. The clip with advantage comprises an undercut rounded portion and a web projecting from the rounded portion parallel to the plane of the panel. The groove corresponding to the clip nose comprises a recess for the web, the width of the recess being greater than that of the web.

With this construction, the final panel stiffness is achieved when the clip nose of one profile is engaged into the correspondingly formed groove of an adjacent profile and the profiles are firmly connected to the cover sheet. This construction permits, however, a simple, accurately positioned laying and fixing of the profiles on the cover sheet, since the profile not yet fixed at each stage to the cover sheet can be pivoted, with its clip nose in the groove of an already secured profile, through a small angle and it is thus possible, firstly to engage the profile with its clip nose at a distance from the cover plate sheet into the corresponding groove of an already secured profile, and then to pivot it down on to the cover plate sheet.

A further way of achieving a high shape stability of the wall panel consists in laying transverse battens over several profiles. With this construction, the profiles do not need to be directly connected together, and they can therefore be more simply formed.

Additionally, the battens offer the advantage, when the wall panel is used for making a vehicle body, that it can be used for the attachment of support rods or straps for securing a load in the vehicle. The cover sheet, spacers, profiles and battens can be fixed together with adhesive but any other kind of connection may also be used.. The hollow spaces between the cover sheet, the spacers and the profiles may moreover be filled with plastics foam or filled with other insulating material.

Several examples of panels in accordance with the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa section through a first example; Figure 2 is a similar section through a second example; Figure 3 is a similar section through a third exam ple; and Figure 4 is a similar section through a fourth example.

In all the examples, a cover sheet 2, preferably of glass fibre-reinforced plastics material forms one face of the wall panel and serves, in the construction of the wall panel as a base on which profiles of vari ous forms as shown in Figures 1 to 4 are fixed. The cover sheet 2 can be stored in a roll to save space before being used; for use, it is pulled from the roll and is spread out flat. In the example according to Figure 1, the cover sheet 2 constitutes, together with profiles 4 which are fixed by means of spacers 12 at the desired distance from cover sheet 2, the wall panel. The profiles 4 have a flat, meandering rectan regular wave section. They have a profile depth of about two to three times the thickness of the mater ial from which the profile is formed.The spacers 12 are of beam form and are fixed at regular intervals corresponding to the wave length of the profiles 4 to the cover sheet 2. The fixing of the spacers 12 is preferably effected by an adhesive, but screwing may also be used. The spacers 12 may be of wood, metal or rigid plastics foam.

On the spacers 12, the profiles 4 adjoining one another edge to edge are fixed side by side in the same manner, i.e. the profiles 4 may be fixed by adhesive to the spacers 12, screwed or nailed in pos ition. It is, however, also possible to provide each spacer with a longitudinal groove, into which bent edge flanges of the profiles are forced as shown in the example of Figure 3. In the example of Figure 1 the wall panel may be provided with a certain flexi bility in one direction, if each profile 4 is connected only to one central spacer 12, and the spacers 12 beneath the edge regions of the profiles 4 are initially unfixed to the profiles. In this manner the wall panel can to a limited extent be rolled up for the purpose of transporting or storing it.In order finally to give the wall panel the necessary stiffness in the longitudinal direction, a batten 40, bridging across the undulating section of the profiles 4, is connected by screws 42 or by adhesive to the wall panel. A number of these battens 40 can be fixed to the wall panel parallel to one another and offer, when the wall panel is used for a vehicle superstructure, the possibility of fixing to the battens 40 support rods or --rnstraining straps for securing the goods in the vehi cle against slipping.

The profiles 4 may also be of glass fibre-reinforced plastics material, but they are preferably of extruded aluminium.

In the example of Figure 2, the profile surface is formed in the same manner as in Figure 1,flatly meandring as a rectangular wave form. The profile 8 has, however, in the central region integrally formed T-shaped spacers 16 and in the edge region integr ally formed L-shaped spacers 18, which terminate flush with adjacent spacers 18 of the adjacent pro files. In this example, the necessary stiffness of the wall panel in the longitudinal direction is provided by a batten 40 spanning over several profiles or by some other connection between the profiles, for example by fixing together by adhesive the mutually touching spacers 18. So long as the batten 40 is not fixed to the profiles and the spacers 18 are not fixed together, the wall panel can to a limited extent be bent or rolled up.

The wall panel shown in Figure 3 has a direct clamping connection of the profiles 6. For this purpose, the profiles 6 have at each side a bent edge flange 24, oriented towards the cover sheet 2 and engaging in a longitudinal groove 28 of a coupling batten 26. The profiles 6 are each secured along their centres to spacers 14. The spacers 14 are disposed beneath the wave crests 22 of the profiles 6 and each adjacent pair of spacers and battens 14 and 26 encloses one wave trough 20. The coupling battens 26 may serve also as spacers. For this purpose, they are fixed by adhesive or other means in the same manner as the spacers 14 to the cover sheet 2, before the profiles 6 are fixed to the spacers 14 and to the coupling battens 26. Afterthe profiles have been jammed into the coupling battens 26, the wall panel of Figure 3 has the desired stiffness in both directions.If, as in the examples of Figures 1 and 2, it is desired initially to retain a certain longitudinal flexibility, for the purpose of transporting, storage or easier working, then the coupling battens 26 are not at first firmly connected to the cover sheet 2 and the profiles 6, but are only pushed in between the profiles 6 and the cover sheet 2 in a final finishing operation of the wall panel. The bent edge flanges 24 then enter the longitudinal grooves 28 of the coupling battens 26.

The wall panel shown in Figure 4 consists of profiles 10 disposed on a cover sheet 2, these profiles being secured to one another by clip connections. In this example, a clip nose 30 consisting of an undercut rounded portion 34 and a web 36 projecting from the rounded portion 34 parallel to the plane of the profile extends longitudinally along one edge of each profile 10. At the opposite edge of the profile 10, there is a groove 32 with a complementary section in the form of a lateral recess 38, the width of which is larger than the width of the web 36 on the opposite edge of the profile 10. Consequently, the clip nose 30 can be introduced into the groove 32 and thus one profile 10 can be connected to another by introducing the clip nose 30 into the groove 32 and then turning the profile through a certain angle towards the cover sheet 2. In the construction of the wall panels shown in Figure 4, this means that after a profile 10 has been fixed in the manner illustrated in Figure 4 on the cover sheet 2, a further profile 10 can be connected in an angled position to the already fixed profile 10 by engaging the clip nose 30 of the further profile 10 into the groove 32 of the already fixed profile 10, and then bending the further profile 10 down onto the cover sheet 2.

In the example of Figure 4, the profiles 10 are provided at regular intervals with openings 44, which, like the battens 40 in Figures 1 and 3, permit the fixing of arrester rods or restraining straps.

It can be seen that, in conjunction with high stiffness of the finished wall panel, a considerable simp lification of production is achieved. If long continuous lengths of the wall panel are to be made, the profiles can also be connected to one another in advance. It is also possible to lay over the profiles a further cover sheet, optionally furnished with openings.

Claims

1. A wail panel for use in constructing superstructures of motor vehicles, the panel comprising a continuous flexible cover sheet forming one face of the panel and a number of separate stiffening profiles fixed to the cover sheet and forming the other face of the panel.

2. A wall panel according to Claim 1, in which the profiles have a flatly meandering cross-section of substantially rectangular wave form.

3. A wall panel according to Claim 2, in which the profiles are fixed to the cover sheet by spacers disposed art a spacing of the wavelength of the profiles, the spacers being fixed to the profiles in the region of a wave trough or a wave crest.

4. Awall panel according to Claim 3, in which the spacers are beam-like and extend along the crests or troughs.

5. Awall panel according to Claim 3, in which the spacers are formed integrally with the profiles.

6. A wall panel according to any one of the preceding Claims, in which the profiles are provided with complementary interconnecting parts along opposite edges.

7. Awall panel according to Claim 6, in which each profile has at each edge, a bent edge flange directed towards the cover sheet and engaging in a longitudinal groove in a coupling batten.

8. A wall panel according to Claim 6, in which each profile has along one longitudinal edge a clip nose and along the opposite longitudinal edge a correspondingly shaped groove.

9. A wall panel according to Claim 8, in which the clip nose has an undercut rounded portion and a web projecting from the rounded portion parallel to the plane of the panel.

10. Awall panel according to Claim 9, in which the groove has a recess receiving the web of an adjacent profile, the width of the recess being greater than that of the web.

11. Awall panel according to any one of Claims 3 to 7, in which there are battens spanning across and fixed to several profiles on the face of the profiles remote from the cover sheet.

12. Awall panel according to Claim 11, in which the spacers, the profiles and the battens are screwed to one another.

13. Awall panel according to any one of Claims 3 to 12, in which the spacers and/or the profiles are fixed to the cover sheet by an adhesive.

14. Awall panel according to any one of Claims 3 to 13, in which the profiles are fixed to one another and/or to the spacers by adhesive.

15. A wall panel according to any one of the preceding Claims, in which the cover sheet is of glass fibre-reinforced plastics material and the profiles are of extruded aluminium.

16. A wall panel according to Claim 1, substantially as described with reference to any one of the Figures of the accompany drawing.

17. A motor vehicle having a body constructed with panels in accordance with any one of the preceding Claims.