Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Facer held by stiffener-type frame – Facer attached between exposed frame members
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-10
2001-06-19
Callo, Laura A. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Facer held by stiffener-type frame
Facer attached between exposed frame members
C052S762000, C052S766000, C052S781000, C052S481200, C052S239000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247290
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a wall for the booth of a coating plant, comprising
a) a frame consisting of at least two hollow vertical posts and at least two hollow horizontal crosspieces;
b) at least one plate, which covers a zone spanned by the posts and the crosspieces;
c) a securing device for each plate by means of which the plate is secured in a removable manner to the posts and crosspieces bounding the corresponding zone.
Walls of this kind may be composed of individual wall elements which each comprise two vertical posts and a plurality of horizontal crosspieces.
EP 0 647 476 A1 presents a wall of the type initially mentioned. In this case the securing device comprises a sectional strip, which is secured by screws to the adjacent section (crosspiece or post), at each side which bounds a zone. This sectional strip extends over the entire length of the zone and is provided with an undercut which cooperates with the bevelled edge of the plate. The arrangement is such that the sectional strip simultaneously serves as a positioning stop for the plate and as a device which holds the plate in place at the section. However the bevelling of the plate edges required for this is a very complex process; it is also complicated to form the sectional strips and secure them to the crosspieces and posts.
The object of the invention is to form a wall of the type initially mentioned such that the securing device for the plates has a simple structure and can easily be fixed to the associated posts and crosspieces.
This object is achieved according to the invention in that the securing device comprises:
d) a plurality of spaced blocking devices which each have at least one retaining portion and one contact portion;
e) a locating opening in a post or crosspiece for each retaining portion of each blocking device,
wherein
f) each retaining portion of each blocking device is introduced in a removable manner into a corresponding locating opening such that the contact portion lies against the outside of the associated post or crosspiece.
The invention therefore departs from the principle of supporting the edges of the plate which is to be secured in a zone over their entire length to achieve correct positioning. Instead the invention employs a plurality of discrete, “local” blocking devices which each only extend over a relatively short distance along the edge of the corresponding plate. Each of these blocking devices can quite easily be secured to the associated post or crosspiece by establishing a positive engagement, which holds the blocking device in place, by means of its retaining portion and the corresponding locating opening in the post or crosspiece. A plate is thus mounted on the frame formed by the posts and crossbars in the following manner: A suitable number of blocking devices are firstly inserted in the corresponding locating openings in the posts and crosspieces around each zone. The number of blocking devices is determined by the dimensions of the zone. The plate can then easily be set from the side between the different contact portions of the blocking devices, optionally with distance blocks being interposed; the plate is as a result correctly positioned inside the frame, but can still be moved towards the side. In order to take this last degree of freedom away from the plate, a corresponding sectional strip is placed over the edge region of the plate from the outside and suitably secured to the post or crosspiece.
Preference is generally given here to the formation in which each crosspiece which bounds the underside of a zone has two blocking devices which are associated with this zone, while the posts and crosspieces which bound this zone at the other three sides have just one blocking device in this region. This construction mode takes account of the fact that only the crosspiece which bounds the zone at the underside is loaded by the weight of the plate in the normal mounting position, while the blocking devices at the other three sides simply serve, unaffected by forces, to position the plate with respect to the zone. However the arrangement is still so stable that, if individual wall segments are pre-mounted, these may also be transported “flat” such that the posts, which normally stand vertically, lie horizontally.
The securing device according to the invention becomes particularly simple if each blocking device comprises a plane fixing sheet having as retaining portion at least one retaining lug which extends flatly and can be introduced into a locating opening formed as a slit-like oblong hole. A fixing sheet of this kind can be inexpensively produced as a stamped part or by numerically controlled laser cutting.
It is also expedient for each fixing sheet to have two spaced retaining lugs. The load is thus evenly distributed over the two retaining lugs without any significant torque acting on one of these retaining lugs, especially where relatively long fixing sheets and relatively heavy plates are concerned.
Preference is in turn given in this respect to the embodiment of the invention in which a slit extends from the side into each retaining lug such that, through the corresponding fixing sheet executing a lateral movement with respect to the vertical leg of the associated post or crosspiece, this sheet can be locked to the latter. Following this locking movement, a part of the retaining lug is located behind the material of the vertical leg of the corresponding post or crosspiece, so that the retaining lug can no longer be removed from the locating opening by pulling it perpendicularly to this leg.
If in this case the slit tapers in the shape of a wedge in the direction of its end lying inside the retaining lug, the fixing sheet can be correctly wedged in the leg of the corresponding post or crosspiece, for example by displacing the fixing sheet through blows from the side with a hammer until the material of the leg becomes wedged in the slit.
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Internaional Search Report dated Dec. 1998.
Benzinger Rainer
Kimmerle Walter
Callo Laura A.
Eisenmann Maschinenbau KG
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