Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Facer held by stiffener-type frame – Facer back abuts and conceals frame
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-08
2001-05-08
Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Facer held by stiffener-type frame
Facer back abuts and conceals frame
C052S235000, C052S479000, C052S511000, C052S513000, C052S386000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06226947
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a cladding board mounting system and particularly but not only cladding systems using fibre cement cladding boards.
BACKGROUND ART
The invention has been developed primarily for use in mounting cladding boards to the external walls of buildings. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular use and, for example, is equally suited to mounting cladding boards to the internal walls or surfaces of buildings or other like structures.
Hitherto, known cladding board mounting systems have relied upon embedded fasteners, front fixing fasteners or adhesives to mount cladding boards to walls. Each of these systems has disadvantages.
For example, embedded fasteners such as captive nuts or wire hooks are difficult and costly to produce and are inflexible in their application. Also, complicated engaging and mating assemblies are required to be attached to the surface on which the board is mounted.
Front fixing fasteners generally comprise screws inserted through the cladding board and into wooden or metal battens previously attached to the building. The major disadvantage of this system is that the exposed surface of the cladding board must be re-finished in order to hide the screw heads and give a uniform and attractive external appearance. This re-finishing is both time consuming and costly, especially where the cladding boards are mounted to multi-story buildings, as it must be performed in-situ. Moreover, several types of cladding board have outer decorative surfaces which cannot be easily or economically re-finished, if at all.
Adhesive cladding board systems avoid the re-finishing problems described above but are expensive to install due to the specialised adhesives required. Moreover, the adhesives have been prone to failure over time and falling cladding boards constitute a significant safety hazard.
The present applicant has attempted to overcome some of these difficulties by providing a new cladding board mounting system which is subject of International patent application No. PCT/AU96/00828.
This system has been at least partially successful in overcoming some of the difficulties of the prior art, however, it has also highlighted certain problems.
In the cladding board system subject of the abovementioned International patent application, V-shaped grooves are formed in the cladding board to receive complimentary shaped mounting strips. These mounting strips are releasably held in the grooves and protrude from the rear surface of the board for connection to the wall to be clad. These strips, however, make the board difficult to stack and can be damaged or cause damage to the board during storage or transport. Further, the grooves formed in the board for receiving the mounting strips can weaken the board and lead to damage as the board flexes in use or during transportation and installation.
Further, the various grooves in the cladding board must align with each other precisely. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, quite apart from aesthetic considerations, uneven loading or positioning of the cladding board can lead to various structural difficulties.
It is an object of the present invention to ameliorate one or more of these deficiencies of the prior art or at least provide a commercial alternative to the prior art cladding systems.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In a first aspect, the present invention provides a cladding board mounting system for mounting cladding boards adjacent to a surface to be concealed, said system comprising:
at least one support member adapted to be attached to an interior mounting face of said cladding board, and
at least one mounting member including a first segment having an engaging formation adapted for releasable engagement with a complementary engaging formation in a respective one of said support menber(s), and a second segment of the mounting member being adapted for releasable connection to the surface to be concealed,
the engaging formation of the first segment of each mounting member having a V cross-sectional shaped channel adapted to slidably engage a corresponding pair of inwardly directed mutually divergent recesses formed as the complementary engaging formation in the respective support member.
Preferably each support member is in the form of a substantially 2-dimensional support layer adapted to be attached to the interior mounting face of the cladding board.
The support layer may cover substantially the entire interior mounting face of the cladding board or alternatively, a number of support layers or strips may be attached to the interior mounting face of the cladding board. Preferably the support member extends substantially across the entire width of the cladding board. By providing the complementary engaging formations in a support member attached to the cladding board rather than in the cladding board itself the opportunity for damage to both the board and mounting members is not only reduced but the support member actually reinforces the cladding board by reducing flexure.
The support member(s) may be formed from the same material as the cladding board or other materials such as plastic, steel etc, but aluminium is particularly preferred and may be glued or mechanically fastened or both to the interior mounting face of the cladding board. The mounting member may similarly be constructed of aluminium, plastic, steel etc.
In another embodiment, the first segment of the mounting member comprises a V cross-sectional channel adapted to slidably engage a pair of mutually divergent recesses formed in the respective support member.
In another embodiment, the second segment of each mounting member comprises a downwardly extending portion configured to facilitate releasable connection of the mounting member to the surface to be concealed. Preferably at least one mounting member includes an additional extended portion for fixed or non adjustable attachment to the surface to concealed using, for example, screws or other suitable fixing means.
In still a further embodiment, the cladding board mounting system includes a plurality of mounting brackets adapted to be attached to the surface to be concealed, each mounting bracket providing a recess for releasable engagement with the mounting member. A resilient mounting means may be provided between the cladding board and the surface to be concealed. This resilient means is preferably configured to permit limited relative movement between the cladding board and surface to be concealed. Most preferably the resilient mounting means comprises a rigid mounting bracket adapted to be attached to the surface to be concealed with an exterior resilient portion adapted to abut the support member or cladding board and an interior resilient portion adapted to abut the second segment of the mounting member.
In another embodiment, these interior and exterior resilient portions are offset in the direction of load of the cladding board on the brackets. In one preferred form the exterior resilient portion is vertically offset below the interior resilient portion.
The support members may be attached to the cladding board by any appropriate mechanism. In a preferred embodiment, however, the support member is attached to the cladding board by a plurality of discrete fastening means positioned across the width of the cladding board and partially embedded in the cladding board. Preferably, undercut key hole slots are formed in the interior face of the cladding board for captively retaining a portion of said discrete fastening means. More preferably, the captively retained portion of the fastening means comprises internally threaded nuts or threaded frusto-conical discs adapted to be inserted into said key hole slots and engage corresponding externally threaded fasteners that interact with the support member to secure it to the cladding board.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides a cladding board mounting system for mounting cladding boards adjacent to a surface to be concealed, said system comprising:
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Bado John Joseph
Cottier John Sidney
Zarb Joseph Emmanuel
Friedman Carl D.
James Hardie Research Pty Limited
Knobbe Martens & Olson Bear LLP.
Yip Winnie
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