Clamp assembly for attaching panels to substrate

Details Clamp assembly for attaching panels to substrate Clamp assembly for attaching panels to substrate

1998-12-11

2001-03-13

Kent, Christopher T. (Department: 3635)

Static structures (e.g., buildings)

With adjunctive means for assembly or disassembly

C052S506050, C052S509000, C052S698000, C052SDIG001, C052S584100

Reexamination Certificate

active

06199328

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed toward a clamping assembly, and more particularly toward a clamping assembly for attaching panels to a substrate such as a wall.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For some rooms in a building, it is desirable to control sound transmission. Such rooms include home theaters, recording studios and offices in which confidential conversations take place. In such an office, the control of sound transmission takes the form of sound proofing to prevent the escape of intelligible conversation from the room. This is true to a lesser extent with the home theater or recording studio, where the emphasis is on controlling the sonic quality inside the room.
An approach to control sound transmission is to attach acoustically significant panels, be they absorbers or diffusers, to the room's surfaces. Examples of such acoustically significant panels are disclosed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/871,021, filed Jun. 6, 1997, on behalf of McGrath et al. and entitled “Acoustical Room Paneling and Method of Installation,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
To initially tune a home theater or a recording studio, the walls and/or ceiling must, at first, be covered by the panels. Then, it is usually necessary to change at least a few panels from being acoustical absorbers to acoustical dispersers/diffusers and/or vice-versa. This requires removing the fasteners from the first panel and reinstalling them through either the first panel after it has been reversed or an entirely different second panel.
Typically, the panels are attached using conventional fasteners, e.g., drywall screws in rooms having walls formed of drywall attached to studs. Drilling pilot holes in the panels for such screws or screwing through the panels causes minor damage to the panels. Screwing, unscrewing and rescrewing panels is time consuming and protracts the process of tuning a room.
Nor is this the last time that such an attaching/detaching process is likely to be required. If someone changes the furniture and/or window treatments in the home theatre, the room should be retuned. Such redecoration is likely to occur a only few times, at most. In a recording studio, however, the need for retuning can arise daily, and possibly more frequently. For example, if a recording studio is tuned for vocal sessions on Monday, then it should be retuned for string sessions on Tuesday, retuned for percussion sessions on Wednesday, etc.
Not all recording studios are permanently constructed. Temporary recording studios are becoming more prevalent. A musical group might wish to record in an ancient castle or at a remote location because of the location's ambience. A temporary recording studio can significantly improve the quality of the recording. Important to the success of a temporary recording studio is its ease of assembly/disassembly. The need for easy attachment/detachment of panels, as discussed above, contributes greatly to the ease of the temporary recording studio's assembly/disassembly. Moreover, a temporary recording studio, once assembled, is as likely to be reconfigured to accommodate different recording sessions as a permanently constructed recording studio.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention, among other things, represents a recognition that a better technology for attaching/detaching panels to substrates (such as walls) is needed.
The invention, among other things, represents a recognition that quick and easy reconfiguration of panels on walls can be provided by a clamp assembly for attaching the panels to the walls.
The first and second embodiments of the invention, among other things, provide a clamp assembly including a base, a receptacle attached to the base and a clasp that fits into and attaches to the receptacle. The clasp has resilient arms and a head. Insertion of the resilient arms of the clasp into the receptacle draws the head towards the base, which produces a clamping action.
A third embodiment of the invention, among other things, provides a channel having sidewalls attached to a base and at least one fastener having a blade-like shank and a head. The sidewalls converge so as to be more closely spaced together at the opening to of the channel than at its base. The at least one fastener appears T-shaped in cross section, and is sized such that insertion of the blade-like shank into the channel widens the opening.
The fourth and fifth embodiments of the invention, among other things, provide a clamp assembly comprising a first clamping piece and a second clamping piece configured to cooperatively engage each other. The first clamping piece has a base plate, a first shank attached to extend perpendicularly to the base plate and a first member (of a reclosable fastener pair) attached to the first shank at an end distal to the base plate. The second clamping piece has a head plate, a second shank attached to extend perpendicularly to said head plate and a second member (of the reclosable fastener pair) attached to the second shank at an end distal to the head plate. The base plate and the head plate are parallel when the first member and second member are connected.
In the fourth embodiment, each of the first member and second member is a strip of mushroom-shaped stems. In the fifth embodiment, the reclosable fastener pair is a hook and loop fastener pair.
The foregoing and other objectives of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.


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3M Reclosable Fastening Systems Application Guide, 1998.

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