GB2118988A

GB2118988A - Panelling and carriers therefor

Info

Publication number: GB2118988A
Application number: GB08207752A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Willem Rijnders
Original assignee: Hunter Douglas Industries BV
Current assignee: Hunter Douglas Industries BV
Priority date: 1982-03-17
Filing date: 1982-03-17
Publication date: 1983-11-09
Also published as: AU551881B2; NZ202840A; ES270922Y; ES270922U; JPS58160462A; GB2118988B; JPH0253580B2; ZA831827B; AU9170082A

Abstract

A carrier for supporting panels which have a main portion (30) with inturned side portions (31, 32) sides, and one of which has a rim (35) whilst the other has an arm (33). The carrier is an inverted U- or V-shaped cross- section body portion with two legs having a plurality of pairs of spaced different lugs (15, 16). The first (15) is substantially rigid and includes a tongue, and the second (16) includes a projection 23 behind which bead 34 of panel arm 34 engages. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Panelling and carriers therefor The present invention relates to panelling and to carriers for supporting panelling.

One type of panelling has panels which are each formed with a main substantially flat panel portion which has an inturned side portion on each of two opposite sides. One of these side portions has, at its free edge, a rim which is turned inwards and the other side portion has, at its free edge, an arm which is turned away from the one side portion.

These panels are conventionally mounted on carriers which themselves are mounted on a wall or ceiling structure to be clad by the panelling. The flanges of the carriers are conventionally provided with lugs usually all bent down and back parallel to the flanges in the same direction. A panel is mounted with the arm being supported on one lug and the rim on the adjacent lug and the next panel is then introduced so that its arm engages above the rim of the already fitted panel and abuts against the flange, the rim and arm being urged upwardly by the resilience of the lug. This arrangement is generally satisfactory, at least in the short term, in that it provides a pleasant appearance to the panelling, the arm in each case bridging the gap between the main panel portions, so that the carriers cannot be seen.

A problem arises with this construction because, in order to ensure that the panels are held firmly, the lugs are made resilient and urge the panels up against the flanges of the carriers. It will be appreciated that if the panels are removed on one or two occasions to attend to wiring or plumbing or the like behind the panelling, then the lugs will become progressively weakened and experience has shown that very often they tend to snap off. This is, of course, totally unsatisfactory.

However, more elaborate arrangements have been proposed but none of these overcome the basic problem of the system above.

It is now proposed, according to the present invention, to provide a carrier for supporting panelling, the panels of which each have a main panel portion with an inturned side portion on each of two opposite sides, one side portion having at its free edge a rim turned towards the other side portion, and the other side portion having, at its free edge, an arm turned away from the one side portion, said carrier comprising an elongate body securable to a support structure; two laterally spaced body portions on said body; a plurality of lugs on said body portions, the lugs being arranged in pairs, with the pairs of lugs being longitudinally spaced from one another and with the lugs of a pair being laterally spaced, one on each body portion, the first lug of each pair being substantially rigid and including a tongue spaced from a surface on the associated body portion to accommodate the rim of one panel and the arm of an adjacent panel, the second lug of a pair being mounted on the other body portion, to hold the arm and rim of adjacent panels against the tongue of the first lug.

Such a structure overcomes the difficulties indicated above, insbfar as the rigid first lug of each pair takes up the load of the panels and it does not get subjected to any particularly high forces during insertion and removal of the panels.

The provision of the second lug of each pair, which is laterally spaced from the first lug of that pair, ensures that the arm of one panel and the rim of the adjacent panel are together pushed towards and against the rigid lug respectively. The second lug may be resilient, to allow the panels to be inserted, but in a preferred construction they are rigid, and the inherent resilience of the panels will permit flexing thereof to allow the panels to be inserted and retain the panels urged against the first lugs.

In a preferred construction the lugs are arranged in two substantially parallel longitudinally extending rows and the lugs in each row are preferably alternately of one type and of the other type. Two rows of lugs of each type may also be provided in "double pairs", the lugs of a pair being different or the lugs of a pair being the same but different from the other pair.

The body may take many forms. For example it may be of generally inverted, V- or U-shaped cross-section, there being two legs, forming said body portions. When the second lugs are rigid, the inverted V- or U-shaped cross-section carriers can have the lugs formed by punching out from a single flat sheet which can then be formed to the V- or U-shaped cross-section by rolling.

The leg of the second lug of a pair may extend from its connecting portion in the opposite direction or in the same direction to that which the tongue of the first leg of that pair extends.

The invention also provides a panelling system comprising panels which each have a main panel portion with an inturned side portion on each of the two opposite sides, one side portion having at its free edge a rim turned towardss the other side portion, and the other side portion having at its its free edge a rim turned towards the other side portion, a plurality of carriers, each comprising an elongate body securable to the support structure, two laterally spaced body portions on said body, a plurality of lugs on said body portions, the lugs being arranged in pairs, with the pairs of lugs being longitudinally spaced from one another and with the lugs of a pair being laterally spaced one on each body portion, the first lug of each pair being substantially rigid and including a tongue spaced from a surface on the associated body portion to accommodate the rim of one panel and the arm of adjacent panel, the second lug of a pair being mounted on the other body portion to urge the arm and rim of adjacent panels against the tongue of said first lug.

In order that the invention may more readily be understood, the following description is given, merely by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a section on line 1-i of Figure 2 of one embodiment of carrier and panelling according to the invention; and Figure 2 is a perspective underneath view of the carrier of Figure 1.

Referring first to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is illustrated a carrier 10 which comprises a body 11 1 of inverted U-shaped cross-section, provided with two body portions in the form of legs 12 and 13 which diverge outwardly away from one another at an angle of approximately 200. As can be seen more clearly in Figure 1, the body has openings 14 to enable the carrier to be supported.

The legs 1 2 and 13 are each provided with a longitudinally extending row of lugs. The lugs alternate so that they include. a first type of lug 1 5 and a second type of lug 16.

It will be noted that the lugs 15 of the leg 12 are laterally spaced from the lugs 16 of the leg 13.

Similarly the lugs 1 5 of the leg 13 are laterally spaced from the lugs 16 of the leg 12.Therefore, the carrier as a whole has longitudinally spaced pairs of lugs, the lugs of a pair being laterally spaced with respect to one another and one lug of the pair being of the first type and one lug of the pair being of the second type.

Both the lugs 1 5 and 1 6 are punched out of the legs 12 and 13. The lugs 15 are rigid lugs and consist of a connecting portion 17 and a tongue 18, which is spaced from a surface 1 9 on the leg.

It will be noted that the free end 20 of the tongue is rounded to facilitate access to the space behind the tongue.

The lugs 1 6 are in the form of a gently sloping surface and a steeper surface 22 meeting to provide a projection 23.

As shown in Figure 1, the panels which the carrier supports include a main portion 30 which is substantiatly flat, and side portions 31 and 32.

The side portion 32 is provided with an arm 33 which extends away from the side portion 31 and is formed, adjacent its free end, with a bead 34.

The other side arm 31 has an inturned rim 35. The space between a tongue 1 8 of the first lug 1 5 and the surface 1 9 is sufficient to accommodate the arm of one panel and the rim of the next panel.

In order to mount the panels on the carrier, the first of the panels is engaged so that its arm is above one rigid lug 15, the rim is above another of the lugs 15 and the panel is moved to the right, as seen in Figure 1. The next panel is then taken and its arm is pushed above the rim 35 of the previously assembled panel and so that its bead engages sioping surface 21 of the lug 16 thereabove. The arm, being somewhat longer than the tongue, is resilient and flexes downwardly until the bead 34 has got beyond the projection 23. At the same time, the rim of this panel engages behind the next tongue 18. The panelling system is built up successfully in this way.

The rounded end portion 20 facilitates the introduction of the arm 33 and of the rim 35.

Lugs 25 may be sent down behind an already fitted side portion 32 to prevent a panel being moved too far away from lugs when the panel is being inserted or removed, thereby ensuring that the adjacent panel is not disturbed.

In the drawings, there are illustrated further lugs 36 which are positioned below the second lugs 1 6. The height of the tongues 36 is somewhat less than the height of the tongues forming the first lugs 1 5, the further tongues 36 having an upper surface 37 which is spaced a significant distance beiow the projection 23. Thus, in use, the tongues 36 do not normally touch the rims 35 of the panels 30, but are spaced therefrom. Panelling of this type can be used externally and in high wind conditions there can be a tendency for the panels to be sucked down.

The purpose of the further tongues 36 is to prevent such a sucking effect disengaging the panels from the carriers. The provision of these lugs 36, therefore, is not essential but is preferable if the carriers are to be used externally.

Claims

1. A carrier for supporting panelling, the panels of which each have a main panel portion with an inturned side portion on each of two opposite sides, one side portion having at its free edge a rim turned towards the other side portion, and the other side portion having, at its free edge, an arm turned away from the one side portion, said carrier being characterised in that it comprises an elongate body (11) securable to a support structure; two body portions (12, 13) carried by said body; a plurality of lugs (1 5, 16) on said body portions, the lugs being arranged in pairs, with the pairs of lugs being longitudinally spaced from one another and with the lugs of a pair being laterally spaced, one on each body portion, the first lug (1 5) of each pair being substantially rigid and including a tongue (18) spaced from a surface (19) on the associated body portion surface to accommodate the rim (35) of one panel and the arm (33) of an adjacent panel, the second lug (16) of a pair being mounted on the other body portion, to hold the arm and rim of adjacent panels against the tongue of the first lug.

2. A carrier according to claim 1 , characterised in that the lugs are arranged in two substantially parallel longitudinally extending rows and the first and second lugs of consecutive pairs are aiternately in one row and in the other row.

3. A carrier according to claim 1 or2, characterised in that the second lugs of a pair are substantially rigid.

4. A carrier according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the first and second lugs are formed by punching out the associated body portion, whereby the first lugs include a connecting portion and said tongue.

5. A carrier according to claim 4, characterised in that the second lugs (1 6) include a projection (23) adapted to engage behind a bead (34) formed on the arm of a panel.

6. A carrier according to any preceding claim, characterised in that each pair of lugs has associated therewith a further lug (25) positioned or positionable to prevent a panel being moved too far away from the first and second lugs of the pair when the panel is being inserted or removed to ensure that the adjacent panel is not disturbed.

7. A carrier according to any preceding claim, characterised in that a further tongue (36) is provided to be adjacent to and spaced from each second lug (16), the free end of said further tongue (36) being, in use, adjacent said one side portion (31) of a mounted panel and the surface (37) of the further tongue (36) facing the associated second lug (16) being spaced from the rim (35) of that panel.

8. A panelling system comprising panels which each have a main panel portion with an inturned side portion on each of two opposite sides, one side portion having at its free edge a rim turned towards the other side portion, and the other side portion having at its free edge an arm turned away from the one side portion and a plurality of carriers supporting the panels, characterised in that the carriers (10) each comprise an elongate body (11) securable to a support structure, two laterally spaced body portions (12, 13) carried by said body, a plurality of lugs (1 5, 16) on said body portions, the lugs being arranged in pairs, with the pairs of lugs being longitudinally spaced from one another and with the lugs of a pair being laterally spaced one on each body portion, the first lug (15) of each pair being substantially rigid and including a tongue (18) spaced from a surface (19) on the associated body portion to accommodate the rim (25) of one panel and the arm (33) of adjacent panel, the second lug (16) of a pair being mounted on the other body portion, to hold the arm and rim of adjacent panels against the tongue of the first lug.

9. A panelling system according to claim 8, characterised in that the second lugs (1 6) include a projection (23) engaging the arm (33) of a panel to hold it against the tongue (18) of the associated first lug (15), and in that the arm (33) of the panel is provided with a bead (34), the projection (23) engaging behind the bead (34) to resist removal of the arm from the lugs.