LU101637B1

LU101637B1 - System for covering a large surface such as a wall

Info

Publication number: LU101637B1
Application number: LU101637A
Authority: LU
Inventors: Der Lee Leonardus Johannes Maria Van
Original assignee: Savantics Holding Bv
Priority date: 2019-02-12
Filing date: 2020-02-11
Publication date: 2020-08-18
Also published as: DE102020103443A1; GB2583815A8; GB2583815A; BE1027031A1; BE1027031B1; NL1043153B1; GB202001761D0

Abstract

A system (1) for covering a surface, comprises: - at least one elongate mounting rail (100) comprising two mounting flanges (145, 150) having free edges directed towards each other; - at least one profiled strip (200) having longitudinal side faces (220, 230), with at least one elongate recess or groove (222, 232) arranged in each of the side faces (220, 230). The rail and strip are dimensioned such that the strip (200) fits between the mounting flanges (140, 150) of the rail (100) with said mounting flanges extending in the grooves (222, 232) for effectively holding the strip (200).

Description

BL-5125 LU101637 TITLE: System for covering a large surface such as a wall

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to a wall covering.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Traditionally, walls of buildings such as residential houses or office buildings are built by cementing bricks to each other. The bricks are arranged adjacent each other in a horizontal layer, upon which a next layer is arranged, and so on. When finished, the bricks themselves form the structural wall and are capable of providing supportive strength. The wall thus built can be an interior wall of the building concerned, or an exterior wall. In any case, such wall has a wall surface which, unless covered, is visually observable, and which shows a pattern of brick side faces.

Such pattern, and the impression it gives to a human observer, appears to have esthetical value, such that even in cases where a wall is built by different methods, wall coverings have been designed which are attached to the wall to convey the same or similar impression. As an example, wall paper with brick print may be mentioned. An advantage of wall paper is that it is light-weight and does not form a big load on the carrying wall. However, although perhaps giving a similar impression from a distance, wall paper remains paper, and closer inspection will kill all impression of true stone bricks. Apart from that, a pattern in wall paper is always repetitive, and does not allow for artistic variation. A further disadvantage is that it is difficult to provide a real three-dimensional effect. A further disadvantage is that if one wishes to change the pattern, it is virtually impossible to re-use the existing wall paper: either one arranges new paper over the old paper, or one removes and discards the old paper.

An alternative wall covering system consists of tiles that are to be attached to the supporting wall by glue. These tiles are obtained by cutting a thin layer from a real brick, and are also indicated as stone strips. Applying them to a wall requires that they are individually glued, it is difficult to obtain straight lines, and it is difficult to remove the strips such that they do not break and can be used again.

A common disadvantage of the above-mentioned systems is that they all require the existence of a closed wall onto which the wall paper or stone strips can be attached. However, it is also desirable to be able to provide a covering to a wall that has an open structure, for instance a metal frame structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a solution to the above problems. Specifically, the present invention aims to provide a relatively light-weight wall covering system that is versatile, provides a real three-dimensional effect of true stone bricks, and is re-usable. Further, the system should be easy to apply without requiring special skills. The system should be capable of application to open walls. To this end, the present invention proposes a system that consists of specially profiled stone strips, and mounting rails for holding the stone strips. The mounting rails can be easily attached, for instance by screwing, to a supporting structure, which does not need to be a closed wall. The profiled stone strips can easily be mounted in the rails by a shifting movement. The rails ensure a neat, straight result. Disassembling the wall covering can easily be done by reverse operation, shifting the strips out of the rails and unscrewing the rails, after which the system is immediately ready for re-use at a different location. It is also easily possible to change the visual impression by exchanging the strips with other strips.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained by the following description of one or more preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings, in which same reference numerals indicate same or similar parts, and in which: figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a section of a specially profiled mounting rail according to the present invention; figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of a section of a specially profiled strip according to the present invention; figure 3 is a schematic cross section, at a larger scale, of a stone strip mounted in the mounting rail; figure 4 is a schematic cross section of a wall covered with the system according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a section of a specially profiled elongate mounting rail 100 according to the present invention. The rail 100 has a generally U-shaped form, with a bottom wall 110, and two side walls 120, 130 on either side of the bottom wall 110. At its upper end, each side wall 120, 130 has a respective mounting flange 140, 150 directed inwards.

The walls and flanges may be perpendicular to each other, as shown, but that LU101637 is not essential. In an alternative embodiment, the bottom 110 may be smaller, with one of the side walls 120, 130, or both, extending obliquely outwards.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown, the mounting flanges 140, 150 are aligned with each other, i.e. they lie in a common virtual plane, parallel to the bottom wall 110. In other embodiments, that is not necessary: the flanges may be arranged at an angle with respect to the bottom wall.

The mounting rail 100 may be manufactured as an extrusion profile, or may be manufactured by folding a planar strip. Suitably, the material of the strip is a metal, for instance aluminium or stainless steel.

The rail 100 is intended to be attached to a supporting structure, with its bottom wall 110 directed to such supporting structure. For that purpose, the rail 100 may conveniently be provided with holes 111 for passing screws. These holes may be arranged by the manufacturer, but they may also be arranged or added later, at the intended application location. There may also be situations where it is more convenient to attach a side wall to a support. As an alternative to screwing, it is also possible to attach the rail by use of an adhesive.

Figure 2 schematically shows a perspective view of a section of a specially profiled strip 200 according to the present invention.

The strip 200 has a general rectangular appearance, with a longitudinal dimension L, a width dimension W, and a height dimension or thickness H. Normally, the longitudinal dimension L will be larger than the width dimension W, but that is not essential. Normally, the thickness H will be smaller than the width dimension W, but that is not essential for practising the present invention.

Main surfaces of the strip 200 are indicated as first main face 210 and second main face 240, or more conveniently, with a view to the drawing, as upper and lower faces 240, 210. These faces generally extend in the longitudinal and width direction.

Side surfaces of the strip 200, generally extending in the longitudinal and height direction, are indicated as first side face 220 and second side face 230, or more conveniently, with a view to the drawing, as left and right faces 230, 220.

According to an essential aspect of the present invention, an elongate recess or groove 222, 232 is arranged in each of the side faces 220, 230. The remaining side face portions above and below the groove are indicated as lower side face portions 221, 231 and upper side face portions 223, 233, respectively.

A strip 200 is said to "match" to a mounting rail 100 if the strip 200 can be mounted to the rail 100, with the mounting flanges 140, 150 extending in the grooves 222, 232 and thus holding the strip 200, as shown in figure 3. This requires that:

- the width (height) of the grooves 222, 232 corresponds to, i.e. is slightly larger LU101637 than, the thickness of the mounting flanges 140, 150; - the width of the body part 250 of the strip 200 remaining between the bottoms of the grooves 222, 232 corresponds to, i.e. is smaller than, the mutual distance between the free end edges of the mounting flanges 140, 150; - for each groove, the total of its depth (width direction) and the width of the body part 250 is larger than the mutual distance between the free end edges of the mounting flanges 140, 150.

Mounting a strip 200 to a rail 100 is done by placing the strip 200 in alignment with the end of the rail 11, and shifting the strip longitudinally into engagement with the rail, and then shifting the strip further to a target location. This target location may be defined by abutment with a neighbouring strip already in place. It should be clear that this is a very easy operation.

Figure 4 is a schematic cross section of a wall M covered with the system 1 according to the present invention. Plural mounting rails 100 are attached to the wall M, in a straight line, with neighbouring rails preferably touching each other, and if necessary the rails being adjusted to be all flush. This does not require specific building skills. Then, the strips 200 are mounted to the rails 100. The end result is a wand covering, giving an impression of perfectly straight lines of bricks.

While figure 4 shows the system 1 applied to a vertical wall, it is noted that the inventive system may also be used to cover a ceiling or a floor. The supporting structure, maybe a wall, does not have to be prepared in advance to present a smooth mounting surface. In fact, the supporting structure does not even need to present a mounting surface at all: the supporting structure may for instance consist in a frame of beams. It is noted that the supporting structure as such is not part of the invention.

Not only allows the inventive system for very easy mounting, and likewise easy disassembly without destruction and therefore re-useable, but the system also allows for various variations for obtaining desirable visual effects. Depending on such possibilities being desired or not, the system may show various design details.

The material of the strip 200 can in fact be any material which a designer would want to use for esthetical reasons, for instance metal, wood, stone, glass, ceramics. The strip 200 can be manufactured as an extrusion product that is cut to size. The strip 200 can be manufactured as a molded product. The strip 200 can be manufactured by cutting slices from a larger piece of material, for instance a brick or a log. The grooves can be formed intrinsically, for instance on extrusion, but thegrooves can also be arranged later, for instance by grinding away or cutting away the | 3101637 groove material.

When mounted to the mounting rail 100, the strip 200 has one of its main faces directed to the interior of the rail while the other main face is directed outwards 5 to be visible for an observer. This main face will be called the outer face. This outer face may be, as desired, a smooth surface or a surface showing three-dimensional structure.

It may be that the strip 200 has only one face that is intended to be the outer face. It such case, it may be desirable to provide prevention measures to prevent the strips from being mounted in the wrong orientation (inside out). To this end, the mounting flanges 140, 150 can be arranged under a slight angle, corresponding to a similar angle in the orientation of the grooves 222, 232, so that the strips only fit in one direction.

Alternatively, it may be that the strip 200 has both faces suitable for being the outer face, where the selection of which face is actually used as outer face is made by the user on mounting the strip to the rail. In such case, the mounting flanges 140, 150 should be aligned in a common virtual plane, and the same applies to the grooves 222, 232.

It may be that the grooves 222, 232 are positioned symmetrically in the strip 200, i.e. that the lower side face portions 221, 231 have the same height as the upper side face portions 223, 233. In such case, all strips will have their outer face flush irrespective of mounting orientation. It may however be that the user is given a possibility of obtaining esthetical visual effects by having some strips lie recessed with respect to other strips. This can be achieved if the grooves 222, 232 are positioned in the strip 200 asymmetrically.

For instance, while the grooves may be directed parallel to a longitudinal centre line of the strip, the grooves may lie closer to the upper surface 240 / lower surface 210 so that the lower side face portions 221, 231 have larger / smaller height than the upper side face portions 223, 233. In such case, when mounted in one orientation, the strip will lie raised whereas in the other orientation it lies recessed.

Further, while the grooves may be directed parallel to a longitudinal centre line of the strip, the grooves 222, 232 may lie at different levels, so that the strip, when mounted, is slightly sloping in transverse direction.

Further, while the grooves may lie at a slight angle in longitudinal direction, so that the strip, when mounted, is slightly sloping in longitudinal direction.

Further, it is possible that a strip 200 has two or even more grooves it its sides 220, 230 for allowing the strip to be fitted to the rail at various selectable levels.

Combinations of the above variations are possible. These combinations may LU101637 be in one and the same strip. These combinations may also be in that the various strips of the system show mutually different design features.

It can be seen in figure 3 that the inner half of the strip 200 is confined between the side walls 120, 130 of the rail 100. If it is desirable that the strip 200 can also be used in an inverted orientation, the upper half of the strip 200 should also be able to fit between the side walls 120, 130 of the rail 100. As a consequence, at the outside of the rail 100, the outer faces will have a small gap between them, defined by the material thickness of the rail's side walls. If it is desirable that such gap is smaller, or even zero, the strip 200 can be asymmetric in that the outer face is slightly wider than the inner face.

The transverse confinement of the strip 200 with respect to the rail 100 is either effected by the inner half of the strip 200 touching (one of) the side walis 120, 130 of the rail 100, or by the bottom of the grooves 222, 232 touching (one of) the mounting flanges 140, 150. The amount of play the strip has will be determined by the amount of play at said locations.

Once mounted, the combination of rail 100 with strips 200 forms a closed box.

The interior of this his box forms a convenient accommodation space for accommodating cables, hoses, pipes, of various types, installed before the strips are placed or later. Further, this interior can contribute to insulation. To further enhance the insulation properties of the wall covering, it is possible that insulation material is arranged inside the rail before the strips are placed, but it is also possible that the strips 200 have insulation material attached to their inner faces.

It should be clear to a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments discussed above, but that several variations and modifications are possible within the protective scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims. For instance, the side and bottom walls of the rails may be provided with holes, or may be implemented as an open gauze or grid, to reduce material and weight. Further, the side walls may be provided with one or more recessed portions for accommodating cables that are not easily accessible from the outside.

Even if certain features are recited in different dependent claims, the present invention also relates to an embodiment comprising these features in common. Even if certain features have been described in combination with each other, the presentinvention also relates to an embodiment in which one or more of these features are LU101637 omitted.

Features which have not been explicitly described as being essential may also be omitted.

Any reference signs in a claim should not be construed as limiting the scope of that claim.

Claims

CLAIMS LU101637

1. System (1) for covering a surface, comprising: - at least one elongate mounting rail (100) comprising two mounting flanges (145, 150) having free edges directed towards each other: - atleast one profiled strip (200) having longitudinal side faces (220, 230), with at least one elongate recess or groove (222, 232) arranged in each of the side faces (220, 230); - wherein the rail and strip are dimensioned such that the strip (200) fits between the mounting flanges (140, 150) of the rail (100) with said mounting flanges extending in the grooves (222, 232) for effectively holding the strip (200).

2. System according to claim 1, wherein the mounting rail (100) has a generally U-shaped form, with a bottom wall (110), and two side walls (120, 130) on either side of the bottom wall (110), wherein said mounting flanges (145, 150) are arranged at the respective upper ends of the respective side walls (120, 130), directed inwards.

3. System according to claim 2, wherein the bottom wall (110) of the rail (100) is provided with holes (111).

4. System according to any of the previous claims, wherein the mounting flanges (140, 150) are aligned with each other.

5. System according to any of the previous claims, wherein the strip (200) comprises metal, wood, stone, glass, ceramics, or a combination of these materials.

6. System according to any of the previous claims, wherein the strip (200) is manufactured by extrusion, or wherein the strip (200) is manufactured by cutting slices from a larger piece of material.

7. System according to any of the previous claims, wherein the mounting flanges (140, 150) are aligned in a common virtual plane, and wherein the grooves (222, 232) are aligned in a common virtual plane.

8. System according to any of the previous claims, wherein the grooves (222, 232) are positioned in the strip (200) symmetrically.

9. System according to any of the previous claims 1-7, wherein the grooves (222, 232) are positioned in the strip 200 asymmetrically.

10. System according to claim 9, wherein the grooves (222, 232) lie closer to one main surface (240) as compared to the opposite main surface (210).

11. System according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the grooves (222, 232) lie at mutually different levels.

12. System according to any of the previous claims 9-11, wherein the grooves lie at a slight angle in longitudinal direction.

13. System according to any of the previous claims 9-12, wherein at least one side (220, 230) of the strip (200) has two or even more grooves.

14. System according to any of the previous claims 1-13, wherein the strip (200) has an outer face wider than its inner face.

15. System according to any of the previous claims 1-14, wherein the system comprises a first plurality of strips (200) that all have the same design features, and/or a second plurality of strips (200) that all have mutually different design features.