GB2141472A

GB2141472A - Panel-like member

Info

Publication number: GB2141472A
Application number: GB08316128A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Derek Raymond Hughes
Original assignee: TORNADO MODEL PRODUCTS Ltd
Current assignee: TORNADO MODEL PRODUCTS Ltd
Priority date: 1983-06-14
Filing date: 1983-06-14
Publication date: 1984-12-19
Also published as: GB8316128D0

Abstract

A panel-like member (10) has a relief surface and a surface part capable of securing to the surface (16) of a door (15), the panel-like members (10) preferably being provided in a set and may be accompanied by guide means in the form of a template (17) to allow the correct positioning of the panels. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Panel-like Member The present invention relates to panel-like articles and is primarily, but not exclusively, concerned with the construction or modification of doors or other closure members being either doors in buildings or for cupboards or other enclosures.

Doors are essentially functional members and operate satisfactorily provided they close the opening for which they are intended. It is desirable however that the door should have an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Doors having non-planar relief or carved faces are well known and in the past when both the hardwood material from which such doors have usually been made and the labour necessary in their construction or carving is relatively cheap, such doors were popular. However, it is now more usual for doors to have flat faces, such a door comprising a framework with flat panels of plywood or hardwood secured to each side.

Carved and panelled doors are still available, however such doors are considerably more expensive than flat doors. Furthermore, if a person wishes to change a flat door for a panelled or carved door it is necessary for the new door to be trimmed to exactly the right size which can be a difficult and time consuming operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means to enable a substantially planar surface to be changed to a more aesthetically pleasing appearance.

According to one aspect of the present invention, we provide on or for a substantially planar surface of a building, door or the like, a panel-like member comprising a first non-planar outer surface and an inner surface part capable of abutting either directly or through an intermediary member the said planar surface so as to enable the panel member to be secured to said planar surface.

Preferably said planar surface comprises a door and the or each of said panel members presents a relief-like said outer surface of substantially symmetrical configuration.

Said panel-like member may be made from a plastics material and conveniently can be formed by a vacuum forming process and may be any suitable plastics material such as polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, A.B.S., P.V.C. or u.V.P.C.

Said inner surface part may be provided with an adhesive whereby said panel may be secured to said planar surface. Alternatively, said inner surface part may be provided with double sided adhesive tape, one side adhering to the panel and the other side to the planar surface.

It will be appreciated that when said planar surface comprises a door, a plurality of said panels may be provided to change the appearance of the door, for example said panel-like members may endow the door with a "Georgian" style.

According to another aspect of the invention, we provide on or for a door a plurality of panel-like members each comprising a first non-planar outer relief surface and an inner surface part capable of securing to said door, wherein said panels collectively comprise a set adapted to be secured to said door in a pre-arranged manner.

Conveniently, at least some of said panel-like members may be of different sizes.

In order to satisfactorily change the appearance of the door so that it is aesthetically pleasing, it is necessary for the panel-like members, particularly where a set is provided, are secured to the door in precisely the right spaced relationship.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide means to simplify the correct positioning of such panel-like members.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, we provide on or for a substantially planar surface of a building, door or the like a plurality of panel-like members each comprising an outer non-planar surface and an inner surface part capable of securing to said planar surface, and guide means capable of placing on said planar surface or being temporarily secured thereto, said guide means being provided with first alignment means whereby the guide means may be correctly aligned on said planar surface and secondary guide means providing a guide to enable correct positioning of each panel-like member.

Preferably said secondary guide means is of a size or shape conforming to a respective panel member to guide the positioning of said panel member onto said planer surface.

Conveniently said guide means may comprise a template or pattern, said template or pattern having outer guide surfaces or lines whereby it may be aligned with said surface, for example a door, the template or pattern being provided with holes or markings signifying the correct position on said planar surface to which a respective panel may be secured.

The panel-like members of the present invention not only enable simple and swift construction of a door having an aesthetically pleasing appearance, but may also enable ready conversion of a planar door in situ to a door presenting an aesthetically pleasing relief surface.

The panel-like members of the present invention provide an even further advantage in that, should one panel become damaged it is not necesary to replace the whole door but merely a single panel. The new panel may simply be secured in place by for example marking around the damaged panel, removing the damaged panel and securing a new panel in the marked position.

The panel-like members of the present invention may be made in any suitable coloured material or may be subsequently coloured by painting for example, together with exposed planar surfaces of the door to give rise to the appearance of a door of homogenous construction.

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a panel of the present invention; FIGURE 2 is a sectional view through the panel shown in Figure 1 along the line A-A; FIGURE 3 illustrates a door, a panel and a guide means capable of guiding the securing of a plurality of panels to the door; FIGURE 4 illustrates a door showing panel-like members of the present invention secured thereto.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 2, a panel-like member 10 has an outer relief surface 11 and inner surface parts 12 and 13 by means of which the panel-like member 10 may be secured to a planar surface, the inner surface parts 12 and 13 abutting such planar surface.

The panel 10 may be secured to a planar surface through the intermediary of glue, doublesided adhesive tape or any other suitable means and may for example be screwed, nailed or otherwise fixed with fasteners to such a planar surface.

The panel shown in Figures 1 and 2 may be made from any suitable plastics material, for example ABS, PVC, uPVC or a styrene and conveniently may be formed by a vacuum forming process in which a flat sheet of plastics material is placed over a male mould, the space between the mould and the sheet then being "evacuated", the flat sheet taking up the form of the outer surface of the mould.

Alternatively, the panels may be made by injection moulding or any other suitable process.

Referring now in addition fo Figure 3, a door 15 presents a planar surface 16 to which it is desired to secure panels, such as the panel 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Unless the panels are correctly aligned with each other, the overall appearance of the door may not be as desired and guide means in the form of a pattern 17 are provided to enable the correct positioning of the panels, such as the panel 10.

The guide means 17 may comprise a flexible or otherwise foldable sheet of material such as a polythene sheet or paper sheet and may be provided with a plurality of first guide means in the form of lines around the periphery thereof, such lines being shown at 18, 19,20 and 21.

Said lines 18 to 21 may conform to known door sizes or approximate to known door sizes in order that the pattern 17 may be centrally located on a plurality of different sizes of door.

Conveniently cut-outs 22 and 23 may be provided and so positioned in the normal height of door handles and locks to enable the pattern 17 to be correctly positioned on the panar surface 16 of door 15. The pattern may be cut if desired along whichever of the correct lines 18 to 21 is appropriate for the size of door and when the pattern 17 has been correctly and centrally located and aligned relative to the edges of the door, the second guide means provided by cutouts 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 define the positioning of respective ones of the six panels to be secured to the door. One such panel 10 may be secured within the boundaries 30 of the cut-out 28.

It will be appreciated that rather than providing the cut-outs, perforations or other marking means may be provided on the pattern 17 enabling the planar surface 16 to be marked through the pattern or by the pattern which, when such markings have been completed the pattern 17 may be removed so that the panel, such as the panel 10, may be secured to the door 15.

Referring now to Figure 4, the door 15 is shown with a plurality of different sized panels having been secured thereto. The panels may be selfcoloured or alternatively the panels are the parts of the planar surface 16 of the door 1 5 which are still visible may be painted which will improve the visual appearance of the door and give the impression of a door of homogenous construction.

Whereas the present invention has been specifically described with reference to a plurality of relatively small panels, and whereas there are significant advantages to be gained by providing such small panels since the cost of production, transportation and packing thereof is considerably simplified, it is envisaged that a door such as the door 15 may be provided with a relief effect as provided by the panels by a single panel presenting on outer surface with both relief areas and substantially planar areas.

Claims

1. A panel-like member on or for a substantially planar surface of a building, door or the like, said panel-like member comprising a first non-planar outer surface and an inner surface part capable of abutting either directly or through an intermediary member the said planar surface so as to enable the panel member to be secured to said planar surface.

2. A panel-like member according to Claim 1 wherein said planar surface comprises a door and the or each panel member presents a relief-like outer surface of substantially symmetrical configuration.

3. A panel-like member according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein said panel-like member is made from a plastics material.

4. A panel-like member according to Claim 3 wherein said panel-like member is made by a vacuum forming process.

5. A panel-like member according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said inner surface part is provided with an adhesive whereby said panel may be secured to said planar surface.

6. A plurality of panel-like members on or for a door, said panel-like members each comprising a first non-planar outer relief surface and an inner surface part capable of securing to said door, wherein said panels collectively comprise a set adapted to be secured to said door in a prearranged manner.

7. A plurality of panel-like members according to Claim 6 wherein at least some of said panel-like members are of different sizes.

8. A plurality of panel-like members according to Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein at least some of the panel-like members are of different shape or configuration from each other.

9. A plurality of panel-like members on or for a substantially planar surface of a building, door or the like, said plurality of panel-like members each comprising an outer non-planar surface and an inner surface part capable of securing to said planar surface, and guide means capable of placing on said planar surface or being temporarily secured thereto, said guide means being provided with first alignment means whereby the guide means may be correctly aligned on said planar surface and secondary guide means providing a guide to enable correct positioning of each panellike member.

10. A plurality of panel-like members according to Claim 9 wherein said secondary guide means is of a size or shape conforming to a respective panel member to guide the positioning of said panel member onto said planar surface.

11. A plurality of panel-like members according to Claim 9 or Claim 10 wherein said guide means comprises a template or pattern, said template or pattern having outer guide surfaces or lines whereby it may be aligned with said surface, the template or pattern being provided with holes or markings signifying the correct position on said planar surface to which a respective panel is to be secured.

12. A panel member according to any one of Claims 1 to 5 or a plurality of panel-like members according to any one of Claims 6 to 11 wherein the or each panel member is provided with one or more pieces of double-sided adhesive tape, one side of said tape adhering to the panel and the other side of said tape being adapted to adhere to said planar surface.

13. A panel-like member according to any one of Claims 1 to 5 or a plurality of panel-like members according to any one of Claims 6 to 12 wherein the or each panel-like member is made from one or a combination of the following materials: Polystyrene P.V.C.

A.B.S. or u.P.V.C..

14. A door having a panel-like member secured thereto according to any one of Claims 1 to 5 or a plurality of panel-like members secured thereto according to any one of Claims 6 to 12.

1 5. A panel-like member substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

1 6. A plurality of panel-like members and guide means substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

1 7. A panel-like member or a plurality of panellike members including any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein and/or shown in the accompanying drawings.