GB2450524A

GB2450524A - Tunnel Wall Cladding System

Info

Publication number: GB2450524A
Application number: GB0712548A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Morgan
Original assignee: DESIGN RATIONALE Ltd
Current assignee: DESIGN RATIONALE Ltd
Priority date: 2007-06-29
Filing date: 2007-06-29
Publication date: 2008-12-31
Anticipated expiration: 2027-06-29
Also published as: GB2450524B; GB0712548D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cladding system for lining a tunnel. The system comprises a mounting structure consisting of a plurality of horizontal members 4 and a plurality of curved vertical members (6 figure 5) and (21 figure 13) whose curvature correspond to the curvature of the tunnel wall. A plurality of curved panels (2a,b figure 3) are configured so as to be placed side-by-side atop the mounting structure to line the wall of the tunnel. The panels are preferably spaced from the wall of the tunnel by the mounting structure thereby creating a void between the tunnel wall and the panels. The panels are preferably linked together to effectively form a continuous wall of panels to ensure the drainage of water down through the void to the ground.

Description

Tunnel Wall Cladding System

Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns improvements in and relating to wall cladding systems and is particularly, but not necessarily exclusively, applicable to cladding for stations of underground rail networks and may be installed in tunnels or in other subterranean locations or, indeed, potentially in other locations where it is desired to install panelling to a curved wall surface in an enclosed area.

Background to the Invention

In underground rail networks such as the London Underground, the walls of the tunnels through which the trains travel are generally curved in an arch since the tunnels themselves are generally circular cylindrical and lined with circular cylindrical tubbing and with a flattened floor for the track. In the parts of the tunnels that open : ... out on to station concourses/platforms it is usual to dress the wall of the tunnel on both sides and common to do so with advertising media posters and the like in addition to the obligatory signposting of the station and exits etc. The posters and : :" 20 signage may at the most crude level simply be pasted directly on to the tunnel wall S..

or may first be mounted to wooden or plastics frames that are then secured against * ** the tunnel wall. * * . *..

A number of problems plague the present systems of tunnel dressing including the time and effort taken to install or replace the dressing/ cladding and difficulties in maintaining the dressing/ cladding and tunnel in a presentable condition in view particularly of groundwater seepage into the tunnel ceiling and walls as well as, to a lesser extent, build-up of condensation and fumes in the tunnel.

The present invention seeks to address one or more of the problems of the existing tunnel cladding/ dressing systems.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a cladding system for lining a tunnel, the system comprising: a mounting structure comprising a plura'ity of horizontal members and a plurality of curved vertical members with curvature to correspond to the curvature of the tunnel wall; and a plurality of curved panels that are configured to be placed side-by-side atop the mounting structure to line the wall of the tunnel spaced from the wall of the tunnel by the mounting structure.

Preferably the panels collectively extend up the wall to at least partly cover the tunnel ceiling and are supported away from the tunnel wall/ceiling by clearance defining a void, the panels being linked together to form effectively a continuous wall of panels to ensure drainage of water down through the void to the ground. Suitably at least some of the panels are arranged in a vertical sequence up the wall/ ceiling and the links between two or more panels that are adjacent to each other vertically incorporating sealing means that prevents passage of water to the front face of the panels.

Preferably the panels are supported away from the tunnel wall/ceiling by a : ... substantially common fixed distance of clearance/ void. * .

Advantageously the lowermost panel has a border extrusion mounted along the lower edge thereof and shaped to define a channel at the bottom of the void to receive the run-off from the panels and channel it in a direction along the tunnel. * .*

Preferably the horizontal or, indeed, the vertical members are extrusions, preferably of aluminium or other metal or metal alloy. Preferably the mounting structure supports the Preferably the panels are of the order of 3mm thick or less. Preferably a number of the panels are narrow panels of the order of 1.5 metre wide or less (preferably 1.2m wide) and are adapted to be used as plain separators between media posters or to mount above or below media posters. These suitably are of stainless steel or similar and preferably are surface-coated on their front face with vitreous enamel or the like.

These panels are suitably of the order of 1mm thick, preferably 0.5mm of steel coated with 0.5mm of vitreous enamel.

Preferably a number of the panels are relatively wide, of the order of 2 metres or even 6 metres or more in width, and are provided to serve as backing supports for media posters. These suitably are of a lightweight, strong metal or metal alloy and preferably are of aluminium, preferably being of the order of 2mm thick even without any coating. The preferred height of the poster supportive and inter-poster panels is of the order of 3 metres. For the panels that mount above the poster panels, these are suitably of the order of half that height, i.e. about 1.5 metres and whereby two or more rows of such panels are provided, one above the other.

Further features and benefits of the invention will become apparent from the discussion of preferred embodiments that follows.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: ... Figure 1 is a CAD-generated perspective view of an underground tunnel of the I...

1**' London Underground railway showing the media wall and the ceiling lining systems of the present invention mounted in place; * 20 Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of the tunnel of Figure 1 as viewed from the : ** * far end to the Figure 1 view and showing the positions of the media wall and ceiling S... . . . . . . * lining systems arching around the tunnel wall and ceiling and with inset diagrams * showing example fixtures; Figure 3 is an elevation view of the media wall and figuratively showing the ceiling * lining system and the location of the underlying horizontal support bar (urii -strut) for the ceiling lining; Figure 4 is an elevation view of two courses of the ceiling lining system as seen in use; Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view of the vertical joint between panels taken through the line B-B in Figure 4; Figure 6 is a close-up perspective view of a corner of the poster module of the media wall system; Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line VIll-Vill in Figure 6; Figure 8 is a detail view corresponding to the area F in Figure 4 but with the clamp strip of Figure 5 removed to better show the mounting toggles; Figure 9 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the line IX-IX in Figure 8; Figure 10 is a horizontal sectional view of the upper media wall border taken along the line X-X in Figure 6; Figure 11 is a horizontal sectional view of the lower media wall border Figure 12 is a front elevation view of a typical arrangement of the media wall; Figure 13 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line A-A in Figure 12 Figure 14 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line B-B in Figure 12, being a * section through the top of an intermediate (roundel) panel; * .* * * * **** * Figure 15 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line C-C in Figure 12, being a S..

section through the bottom of a roundel panel; Figure 16 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line D-D in Figure 12, being a section through the top of a poster panel; Figure 17 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line E-E in Figure 12, being a section through the bottom of a poster panel; Figure 18 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line F-F in Figure 12, being a section through the left hand vertical border of a poster panel: Figure 19 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line I-I in Figure 12, being a section through the joint between abutting conjoint poster panels; Figure 20 is a horizontal sectional view similar to Figure 19 of a section through the joint between abutting conjoint poster panels but with an infill panel between them; Figure 21 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line G-G in Figure 12, being a section through a right hand vertical border of a poster panel; Figure 22 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line K-K in Figure 12, being a section through an end of the media wall; and Figure 23 is a horizontal sectional view through an infi9 pane).

Description of the Preferred Embodiments

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, these show the system of the present invention in situ, installed in a London Underground railway station. From Figure 1 the neat, clean :. lines and attractive appearance of the wall lining system are immediately apparent. * a a...

:. The system comprises four sub-systems of which two, the media wall system I and the water management/ceiling lining system 2, are the primary subject of this application. From Figure 2 the locations of the media wall system 1 and ceiling lining system 2 are clearly indicated, with the media walt 1 lining an arc of the tunnel opposite the platform 3 that is normally occupied by posters, whilst the water *1.

* management/ceiling lining system 2 extends from the upper edge of the media wall 1 to a point overlying the track or, indeed, extending to above the platform 3 edge.

Both the media wall system 1 and the ceiling lining/water management system 2 are modular systems formed of a plurality of panels. These panels are generally stainless steel panels that are coated with ceramic. The panels are generally of the order of 1mm thick, the steel being 0.5mm thick with a 0.5mm thick ceramic or vitreous enamel coating. In the media wall 1, the vitreous enamel coated stainless steel panels appear at the spaces between media posters whilst in the water management sub-system/ceiling lining system 2 they constitute all, or the majority, of the panels of that sub-system. The media posters are borne by uncoated panels that may be stainless steel but preferably are of aluminium and suitably of the order of 2mm thick.

The media wall sub-system 1 and the ceiling lining/water management sub-system 2 together not only present an attractive appearance of harmonious lining to the tunnel but also co-operate with each other to control flow of water that seeps into the tunnel or which coalesces as condensation on the tunnel ceiling and wall. Both the media wall I and the ceiling lining 2 are supported away from the tunnel wall/ceiling by a substantially common fixed distance of clearance and linked together in a unique fashion that ensures drainage of water down through that void behind them and prevents its passage to the front face of the panels, so that the water drains down to the track level and does not tarnish the front appearance of the media wall I and ceiling lining 2. This provides a dramatic improvement to the overafi appearance of the system and greatly enhances maintenance, removing the need for regular painting of the tunnel wall.

The water management system/ceiling lining system 2 generally comprises at least : ... two and often three rows of panels 2a, 2b extending along the length of the tunnel *:::* section adjacent the platform, each being bolted to two or more unistruts 4 that extend along the tunnel side walls and ceiling. The Unistrut is a formed metal : S.. 20 channel that carnes a captive nut through which a bolt extends to bolt the object to * be fastened in place. Such Unistrut channels can be used to mount both the * ** water management/ceiling lining system 2 and the media wall system I in place and :: thus suitably there are at least as many Unistrut channels 4 extending along the wall and ceiling as there are rows of panels to be mounted in place to the wall and ceiling. The preferred Unistrut for the purpose is the Unistrut 3300 that is fixed to the wall using threaded studs and chemical resin. The spacing of the Unistruts around the tunnel and spacing of fixings along the tunnel is selected to optimise support and efficiency of installation.

A unique feature of the water management/ceiling lining system 2 is its arrangement to ensure that moisture does not migrate to the front face of the system but r ather is channelled downwardly behind the rear of the system and, furthermore, behind the rear of the media wall system to drain to track level. To this end, both vertical and horizontal seams of the adjoining panels of the water management/ceiling lining system 2 are provided with sealing means. The vertical seams are protected by gaskets as illustrated in Figure 5. An extruded gasket of flame retardant material extends up the vertical edge of each adjacent edge of adjoining panels 2a, 2a'. The gaskets 5 are held on to alternate side edges of a vertical steel rib 6 that has been rolled to match the tunnel radius and which is fixed to an underlying Unistrut 4 by countersunk screw and spring nut 7.

The vertical ribs 6 are configured to allow for rapid installation/assembly since not only are they shaped to hold the respective gaskets 5 but are also shaped to hold in place simple quickfit toggles 8 (as best seen in Figure 8) and which in turn hold the panels 2a, 2a' in place to the vertical rib 6 prior to screw fastening of a vertical clamping strip 9 over the top of the toggles 8 and rib 6. As with the vertical rib 6, the vertical clamping strip 9 is also rolled to the radius of the tunnel. The screws used are suitably self-tapping countersunk stainless steel screws. To allow space for the mounting structure, the horizontal extrusions 10 that form part of the system are cut away either side of the mounting vertical rib 6, gaskets and other components.

:... The toggles 8 provide an extremely efficient arrangement for installing the panels 2 to the wall. Each toggle 8 is pressed from 2mm stainless steel into a quarter turn :. formation having a base portion with a pair of legs that extends in each direction, * 20 one to fit under a right-hand groove in the frontal face of the rib 6 and the other to fit into a left-hand groove. A forward projecting portion 8a of each toggle 8 hooks over : *. the front of the respective panel edge 2a. During installation the edges of the * panels 2a, 2a' are suitably protected by a protective tape 11 as seen in Figure 8. *.*

S

Turning to the horizontal seams of the ceiling lining/water management system, these are formed of mating male and female elongate extrusions 1 la, 1 lb as detailed in Figures 8 and 9. Each presents a uniform border strip 13 to the front, with each having a mounting channel 12 to fit over a horizontal edge of a respective panel 2a. The male extrusion 1 la has an upwardly protruding flange 14 that seats into a corresponding downwardly open channel 15 in the female extrusion 11 b.

The upper (female) extrusion 11 b furthermore has an upturn at its rear defining a drainage channel 16 to channel water along the tunnel. The upper edge of the upper extrusion 11 b is sealed to the rear of the upper panel 2a by a silicone bead 17 along its length and running the length of the run of panels.

As can be further seen from the detail C inset in Figure 2, the downwardly open channel 15 of the female extrusion lib also provides a means for interconnecting with the extruded aluminium top border! rail 24 of the media wall system 1. That top borden rail 24 has an upturn flange 26 that slots into the downwardly opening channel 15 of the female extrusion 11 b of the ceiling lining/water management system 2.

The media wall system Idovetails cleanly with the ceiling lining system 2 and, as can be seen from Figure 3, the panel sizings and locations of the media wall system 1 are vertically aligned with those of the ceiling lining system 2.

The further features of the media wall system 1 are shown in Figures 6, 7 and 10 to 23. Figure 12 gives an overview of a typical layout for the media wall 1, showing a longer run than in Figure 3 and from which the modular construction of poster panels 18 and inter-positioning of roundel (London Underground motif) panels 19 and route diagram panels 20 is apparent. The poster panels 18 may be composed :... of several individual sub-panels such as for a 3000mm tall 6000mm long poster ..

where five individual 3000mm tall sub-panels 18a-e are shown as being used. Is

: *** 20 A vertical rib 21 supports the boundary between adjoining sub-panels, eg 18b, 18c of the poster panel 18 as detailed in Figure 19. The vertical ribs 21 are suitably at : *. approximately 1200mm centres apart along the length of the tunnel and are formed of extruded aluminium that is rolled to suit the tunnel radius. The vertical ribs 21 are 5S* fixed to rows, eg three rows, of unistrut 22 that extend along the tunnel wall. The ribs 21 may be fixed by countersunk socket head screws 23 and spring nuts, or other suitable fixing means, to the unistruts 22. The 2mm thick aluminium poster sub panels 18b, 18c are riveted to the vertical rib 21 through counter-sunk holes 24 in the perimeter of the sub panel 18b, 18c.

The route diagram panel 20 is assembled and installed in the same manner, having two full height sub-panels. The media wall 1 further has horizontal border extrusions 24, 25 for the top and bottom horizontal edges of the media wall 1. It also has vertical border extrusions for the vertical edges of the poster panels 18, roundel panels 19 and route diagram panel 20.

The horizontal border extrusions 24, 25 in their presently preferred form are one piece anodised aluminium extrusions as shown in Figures 13 to 17 and which have an integral convexly curved 100mm high, 2mm thick banner portion 24a, 25a and an 80mm high, 2mm thick border portion 24b, 25b. The banner portion 24a, 25a may carry a banner in use while the border portion 24b, 25b has a channel 27, 28 to receive the corresponding upper or lower edge of the poster panel 18, roundel panel 19 or route diagram panel 20.

In the embodiments of horizontal border extrusions 24 illustrated in Figures 13 to 15 the integral upturned flange 26 provides a far more efficient means of coupling with the ceiling lining/water management system 2. A further feature of the extrusion 24 is the provision of a formation defining a substantially circular socket 29 that is adapted to receive a connector pin for connecting adjoining lengths of the border extrusion 24. Indeed, two similar such formations 29, 29' are provided for the aUgnment of the top horizontal border extrusion and similar formations 29, 29' are provided on the bottom border extrusions 25 also. In each case the formation 29, :... 29' takes the form of extruded bosses having an arc-like configuration and defining a *::::* socket to receive an aluminium pin (not shown).

A further smaller socket-type formation 30 is also provided on each extrusion to receive a self-tapping screw, pin or lug projection or other fixing means for fixing of * ** an end cap to fit over the end of the extrusion, when the extrusion is at the end of * * . the media wall in use. S..

The top horizontal border extrusion 24 is adapted to mount to wall mounted uriistrut 22 by countersunk socket head screw and spring nut 31, whereas by contrast the bottom horizontal border extrusion 25 has an integral unistrut formation 32 that is fixed directly to the wall using various fixing methods. The formation of the top horizontal border extrusion 24 that mounts to the unist rut 22 has on its lowermost edge a shoulder 32 and the vertical ribs 21 of the media wall system 1 are notched at their upper edge to seat under the shoulder 32 behind the poster panel 18, roundel panel 19 or route diagram panel 20. An equivalent mount to the bottom of the vertical rib 21 is present at the bottom border extrusion 25. The respective panel, 18, 19, 20 is fixed to the top border extrusion 24 with countersunk rivets at suitable intervals offset from the screws and spring nuts 31 that fasten the top border extrusion 24 to the unistrut 22.

An alternative two part construction of the horizontal border extrusions 24', 25' is shown in Figures 10 and 11. In Figures 10 and lithe border has a banner part 24a' that is 100mm high and of the order of 3mm thick and which slots together with a separate 2mm thick aluminium border extrusion part 24b'.

The poster panels 18 are suitably fixed to the vertical ribs 21 by countersunk rivets 33 at appropriate spacings.

In Figures 15 and 17 the poster panel 18 is riveted in place to the vertical ribs 21 by rivets 33 and also to the bottom rail/horizontal extrusion 25. When posters are mounted to the poster panel 18 they are adhesively bonded to it and may extend upwardly and downwardly beyond the ends of the poster panel 18 into a tuck in region comprised by the channels 27, 28 in the top and bottom extrusions 24, 25.

For the roundel panel 19 the channels 27, 28 accommodate respectively the upper and lower edges of the roundel panel 19 therein. The roundel panel 19 with an end cap 34 of extruded aluminium siliconed to the top and bottom edges of the roundel *: panel respectively to protect the panel edges is slid into the respective grooves/channels 27, 28 during shuffle loading of the roundel panel 19. The :..* 20 roundel panel 19 drops down so that the cap on the upper edge of the roundel panel 4' 19 sits under a ledge/shoulder 35 of the top rail/horizontal extrusion 24. The roundel * ** panel 19 is clamped in place along the vertical edges by vertical edge clamps 36 as * S S shown, for example, in Figure 18. a

Also shown in Figures 18 and 21 is a narrow in-fill panel 38, which suitably is a 2mm thick aluminium sheet that is, like the other panels, rolled to the tunnel radius but it is folded at one upright edge 39 as a lip that provides a stand-off from the underlying panels 18, 19. The vertical edge clamp 36 that clamps the vertical edge of the roundel panel 19 in place is an aluminium extrusion that is rolled to the tunnel radius and riveted to the vertical rib 21. It is covered by a vertical border cover extrusion 41 that fits over the clamp 36 and which is riveted to the vertical rib 21. The alternate vertical border on the other edge of the infill panel 38 has a border extrusion 42 fitted to it, with the border extrusion 42 receiving the vertical panel edge in a 40mm deep slot 43 therein. The border extrusion 42 rivets to the poster panel 18. The slot 43 has excess depth to allow the influl panel 38 to slide deeper into it during installation so that access may be had to the opposing edge for riveting that to the vertical rib 21. The infihl panel 38 is bonded! siliconed into its final position.

For all of the panels 18, 19, 38 and borders 41, 42 the holes for riveting are pre-drilled and counter-sunk off-site. The panels and borders may then be offered up on site and spot-drilled and riveted into place.

Referring to Figure 20, this shows an intersection similar to Figures 18 and 21 but between a pair of poster panels 18 and where a flat (non-folded) in-fill panel 38' is used mounted between a pair of vertical border extrusions 42.

Referring to Figure 22, this shows an end condition arrangement, for the end of the media wall 1 * S * *** **5S * S *S. *.*

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Claims

Claims 1. A cladding system for lining a tunnel, the system comprising:

a mounting structure comprising a plurality of horizontal members and a plurality of curved vertical members with curvature to correspond to the curvature of the tunnel wall; and a plurality of curved panels that are configured to be placed side-by-side atop the mounting structure to line the wall of the tunnel spaced from the wall of the tunnel by the mounting structure.
2. A cladding system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the panels collectively extend up the wall to at least partly cover the tunnel ceiling and are supported away from the tunnel wall/ceiling by clearance defining a void, the panels being linked together to form effectively a continuous wall of panels to ensUre drainage of water down through the void to the ground.
3. A cladding system as claimed in Claim 2, wherein at least some of the panels are arranged in a vertical sequence up the wall/ ceiling and the links between two or *..S more panels that are adjacent to each other vertically incorporating sealing means that prevents passage of water to the front face of the panels. S.'

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4. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the panels are * * . . supported away from the tunnel wall/ceiling by a substantially common fixed distance of clearance/ void.
5. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the lowermost panel has a border extrusion mounted along the lower edge thereof and shaped to define a channel at the bottom of the void to receive the run-off from the panels and channel it in a direction along the tunnel.
6. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim., wherein the horizontal and/ or vertical members are extrusions of metal or metal alloy.
7. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the panels are of the order of 3mm thick or less.
8. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a number of the panels are of the order of 2 metres or greater in width, and are provided to serve as backing supports for media posters.
9. A cladding system as claimed in claim 8 wherein the media poster backing support panels are of a lightweight, strong metal or metal alloy and are of the of the order of 2mm thick.
10. A cladding system as claimed in claim 8 wherein a number of the panels are narrow panels of the order of 1.5 metre wide or less and function in use as plain separators between media posters or to mount above or below media posters or for lining the ceiling.
11. A cladding system as claimed in claim 8 wherein the narrow panels are of stainless steel
12. A cladding system as claimed in claim 8 wherein the narrow panels are surface-coated on their front face with vitreous enamel or the like. U*S*

* .* 20
13. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein one or more of the horizontal or vertical members comprises a Unistrut . * **

*
14. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one vertical seam between adjoining panels is sealed water-tight by a gasket.
15. A cladding system as claimed in Claim 14 wherein the gasket is an elongate extrusion that seals to a vertical mounting rib that is shaped to hold the gasket.
16. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the system has one or more vertical mounting ribs curved to the tunnel radius and adapted to co-operatively engage with one or more quick fit toggles for holding the panels in place to the vertical rib during installation.
17. A cladding system as claimed in Claim 16 wherein the system further has a clamping strip to fix to the rib, over the toggles and rib, to further secure the panel edges in place.
18. A cladding system as claimed in Claim 16 wherein the toggles are formed with a base portion having legs to seat under one or both of an adjoining pair of panels and having a forward projecting portion to hook over the front face of at least one of the pair of panels.
19. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the horizontal seams between adjacent upper and lower panels are formed of respective upper and lower elongate extrusions that are adapted to inter-engage with each other.
20. A cladding system as claimed in Claim 19, wherein the inter-engagement is by an upwardly protruding flange on the lower extrusion engaging into a downwardly facing channel in the upper extrusion.
21. A cladding system as claimed in Claim 19, wherein the upper extrusion has a gutter formation extending rear-wardly thereof to channel water along the tunnel.
22. A cladding system as claimed in Claim 19, wherein the inter-engagement means of the upper or lower extrusion is adapted to alternatively inter-engage with a * *** top or bottom border I rail of the system.
23. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the system comprises a top or bottom border I rail extrusion that has a channel to receive a * .S * corresponding upper or lower edge of a panel. S.. *
24. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the system comprises a top or bottom border I rail extrusion that hasan integral convex curved portion that is adapted to receive a banner.
25. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the system comprises a top border I rail extrusion that has an integral upturned flange to couple with a ceiling lining panel above.
26. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the system comprises a top or bottom border I rail extrusion that has an integral formation defining an arcuate or substantially annular socket to receive a connector pin to couple to an adjacent top or bottom border I rail extrusion or an endcap.
27. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the system comprises a top or bottom border I rail extrusion that has an integral formation defining an arcuate or substantially annular socket to receive a connector pin to couple to an adjacent top or bottom border I rail extrusion or to couple an endcap.
28. A cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the system comprises a top or bottom border / rail extrusion that has an integral formation that is shaped similar to and functions in the manner of a Unistrut receiving fixing means such as a bolt for fixing to a wall. S. * * * *.* S... * *II *5 * S *

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