Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Sheetlike element assembled parallel to existing wall,... – Element spaced from wall – ceiling – or floor and held by...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-10
2002-06-25
Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Sheetlike element assembled parallel to existing wall,...
Element spaced from wall, ceiling, or floor and held by...
C052S506080, C052S385000, C052S389000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06408585
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an attachment structure appropriate for attaching blocks or plates of tile, stone, etc., for wall facing that have not been formed in a uniform predetermined form, i.e., for attaching undefined or random-shaped wall facing material to reinforced concrete, wood, or other like, walls of buildings, and particularly to exterior walls.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the wet method for attaching wall facing material such as tile or stone to the exterior wall of a building, wherein backing is fixed to posts or studs in the case of a wood building, for example, or wherein mortar backing is applied to the wall in the case of a reinforced concrete building, and an adhesive agent or mortar is applied to the backing so as to join the facing material thereto, has generally been used.
In comparison, the technique of the so-called dry method has been proposed and is being practiced, wherein linear metal pieces having hooking means are fixed to the above backing, and wall facing material configured with retaining means corresponding to the hooking means provided on the rear side thereof is attached thereto, thereby attaching wall facing material onto the backing in a speedy and accurate manner by retaining the retaining means of the latter on the hooking means of the former.
With the above wet method, the wall facing material such as tile is applied by adhesion to the backing from the bottom and working upwards, and particularly in the event of large and heavy wall facing material, there has been the problem in that the wall facing material to be installed above cannot be applied until the adhesive agent or mortar supporting the lower wall facing material already installed has hardened.
With the wet method technique, holding the weight of the applied wall facing material depends solely on the adhesive strength of the adhesive agent, so there is the problem of sagging wherein the wall facing material gradually descends by its own weight, which may mean that the position of the wall facing material needs to be corrected several times following attaching, or the work needs to wait until the adhesive agent or mortar supporting the lower wall facing material already installed hardens before applying the wall facing material to be installed above.
Further, due to such sagging, and an absence of an appropriate guide member for accurately arraying the wall facing material, there is the problem that accurate arraying of the wall facing material is difficult. In addition, there are no joining means between the wall facing material and the backing other than the adhesive agent or mortar, so there is the problem of peeling and falling of the applied tiles and the like due to deterioration over time of the adhesive agent or mortar, and swaying such as earthquakes, which cause weakening of the joints.
The dry method technique has been proposed and is being practiced as a method for solving the above problems in the wet method technique, and has the advantages that unskilled workers can speedily apply the wall facing material in an accurate array, there is no problem of sagging during work, and there is no problem of the wall facing material peeling away and falling due to motion such as earthquakes or deterioration of the adhesive agent and the like.
However, the above dry method technique is applicable to wall facing material of certain shapes such as specification items, and is not applicable to wall facing material of undefined or random shapes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an attachment structure for undefined or random-shaped wall facing material, wherein attaching work can be continued without waiting for the adhesive agent or the like of the lower wall facing material already installed to harden before attaching the wall facing material to be installed above even in cases wherein undefined or random-shaped wall facing material is being sequentially applied on backing from the bottom toward the top, thereby improving work efficiency.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an attachment structure for undefined or random-shaped wall facing material, wherein a wall facing material attaching structure can be obtained which does not easily fall even in the event of being subjected to effects of movement of the backing such as vibrations like earthquakes or shrinking or deformation of the structure, or other like external forces, particularly in the event of attaching the wall facing material to the wall plane of a wood or steel framed building.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an attachment structure for undefined or random-shaped wall facing material, wherein a wall facing material attaching structure can be obtained which does not easily fall even in the event of deterioration of the adhesive agent or the like.
To this end, the attachment structure for random-shaped wall facing material according to the present invention involves a retaining plate provided with a great number of retaining members over then entire surface thereof being attached to the front plane of backing, multiple random-shaped wall facing material pieces being arrayed on the front plane of the retaining plate in an arbitrary layout, the random-shaped wall facing material pieces being adhered to the retaining plate and the backing at the rear plate thereof by spots of adhesive agent, and at least the upper portion and lower portion edges of the random-shaped wall facing material pieces being supported by multiple attachment pieces retained by retaining portions of the retaining plate, and further the space between adjacent random-shaped wall facing material pieces being filled with a jointing material.
The term “random-shaped wall facing material” means tile, stone, blocks, etc., that are to be adhered to the wall plane of a building and do not have a certain form, and includes all such non-orderly material which is used to create a varied design on the wall surface. While the random-shaped wall facing material with the above configuration may be used as is without problem, it is further preferable to strengthen the attachment state by fixing one end of a wire material to the rear plane thereof and the other end to the retaining portion of the retaining plate at the time of attaching the random-shaped wall facing material to the front plane of the retaining plate, thereby making the attachment of the retaining plate even more secure.
A commonly-used backing is used. For example, a backing plate is prepared, and this is attached to the frame structure of the building such as posts or the like, or in the event that the surface state of a reinforced concrete structure or the like is good and can be used, the surface of the frame structure is used as is as the backing.
There is the need for retaining portions to exist uniformly over the entire surface of the retaining plate, as described above. That is, the retaining plate is for arraying the random-shaped wall facing material on the front plane thereof and supporting at least the upper and lower edge portions of the random-shaped wall facing material with attaching pieces retained on the retaining portions of the retaining plate so as to be fixed at the position thereof, wherein the random-shaped wall facing material is indeed undefined in form, so the attaching pieces may be attached to various retaining positions on the retaining plate depending on the form of the random-shaped wall facing material piece. Thus, the retaining portions of the retaining plate must be provided over the entire surface thereof as a matter of course, so that any retaining position of the attachment pieces which can come at various positions can be dealt with.
Accordingly, as a specific arrangement, a preferable attachment structure uses either one or the other of the following as the retaining plate: a metal plate having a great number of retaining holes serving as the retaining portions opened over the
Friedman Carl D.
McDermott Kevin
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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