AU4792185A - Panel - Google Patents

Description

FORM 1

kEGULATION 9

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA s

PATENTS ACT 1952

APPLICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENU'

We, HUNTER DOUGLAS INTERNATIONAL a Netherlands

Antilles Company, of .Dammers Van Der Heide Building, Kaya

Flamboyan 11, Rooi Catootje, Willemstad,

Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, hereby apply for the grant

of a standard patent for an invention entitled:- "WALL OR CEILING PANEL ARRANGEMENT"

S which is described in the accompanying Complete Specqification.

Details of basic application: PATENT .FFICE PATNT OFFICE

Number: 84 24686 Country: United Kingdom Date: 1st October, 1984

Our address for service is:- TEN DOLLARS RS

SHELSTON WATERS, Clarence Street, SYDNEY. N.S.W. 2000.

DATP this 26th day of September, 1985.

HUNTER DOUGLAS INTERNATIONAL N.V. LODGED. AT SUB.OFFICE

2 6 EP 1985

SSydney

To: ~he Commissioner of Patents, WODEN. A.C.T. 2606

.Fee:$ 13 5 .00 V'-1 n '17 VQ

(CONVENTION Company) (CONENTIN 8 REGULATION 12 (2) -Compny)FORM

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT, 1952-1973 DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF A CONVENTION APPLICATION FOR A PATENT

~o V4t1~ ~~e0 In support of the Convention Application No made Here itnsert (in full) b(a) HUNTER DOUGLAS.INTERNATIONAL N .V. Name of Company. by

(hereinafter referred toas "Applicant") for a patent for an invention entitled: erlands Fioe ainsert Title of "tWALL OR CEILING PANEL ARRANGEMENT" invention. Kaya

fc) Frits.Willem VANDE.RG.EF Pre rant and Here Insert Hunter Douglas*International N.V. Full Name and Address of Company authsorised to Official make of) Cd) ya Flarnoyan ll Rooi Catootje, Willemstad, Curacao declaration, of Netherlands Antilles .1 u ~s do solemnjy and sincerely declare as follows: C a 1.I am authorised by Applicant to make this declaration on its behalf. 2. The basic Appication4) as d.f~'ied by section 141 of the Act wasAmg made fication. Here insert Basic UNITED KINGDOM Ist Otbr COCntry or Countries n on day of c.o...1 fofiowgdt py date or dates or Basic 'Application(s). .onthe day (f~J-,ere Insert Full 1My B.V. Name(s) of Applicant(s) HUNTER DOUGLAS INDUSTRIES in Basic Country. Hare Insert (in full) Name and Address of actual Inventor ot Inventors. of ajriniersweg 11E, Rotterdam, ,The .Netherlands..

s c the actual Inventor(4 at the invention and -the facts upon which Applicant is entitled to make the Application are as follows: Applicant is the Assignee of the said I:Kyff~t 4. Hunter Douglas Industries B.V. The Applicant would, if a patent were granted upon an 0 0 application made by the inventor, be entitled to has'e the patent assigned to it. 1985 4. The basic Appllcation(4 referred to in paragraph 2 of this Declaration was~ik~C the first Application(sl made in a Convention country in respect of the invention, the subject of the Application. DECARE.at......41

AT SJBOFFIC]E this day of 1985. HUNTER DOULAR I NATIODAL NN.V. Peasonal Signature SEP 1985 of larant (no0seal, witness or lagalsatlon). (Signature Of Declaranj tt~ t

To THE COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS.

SHELSTON WATERS PATENT ATTORNEYS CLARENCE STREET, SYDNEY AUJSTRA LIA Cables: 'Valid' Sydney Telex: 24422 t12) AUSTRALIAN PATENT ABSTRACT (19) AU (11) AU-A-47921/85

(54) PANEL (71) HUNTER DOUGLAS INTERNATIONAL NV (21) 47921/85 (22) 26.9.85 (24) 1.10.84 (31) 8424686 (32) 1.10.84 (33) GB (43) I0.4.86 (51) 4 E04C 2/40 (72) CORNELIS LOUWERENS (74k. SW (57)Claiml. A panel arrangement for ceilings, walls, etc. comprising a support structure, a plurality of elongate

first panels mounted on said support structure, in parallel

laterally spaced relation, the outer surfaces of all of said

first panels being at substantially the same level, a

plurality of second polnels each having a larger

cross-section than a first panel and a resilient centre

portion projecting beyond said level of outer surfaces of

said first panels anii a continuous retaining element

extending along each lateral side thereof, each second panel

being interfitt&' between two first panels, by having its

longitudinal edges pressed towards one another and then

allowed to spring back away zrom one another, so that the

retaining elements are urged by the resilient centre portion

into substantially continuous engagement with the

longitudinal edges of said two first panels, to form the

sole means for holding said second panels in place, the

outer surfaces of said second panels then all projecting

beyond the outer surfaces of said first panels. Di 1 13

105/3/21

/1

C

I N 39744 FORM

C O M MONW E A LTH OF AU S T RA L I A

PATENTS ACT 1952-1973

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(Original)

FOR OFFICE USE:

Class Int. Class

Application Number: Lodged:

Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published:

Priority:-

Related Art:

Name of Applicant: Hunter Douglas International NV, a Netherlands Antilles Company

Address of Applicant: Dammers Van Der Heide Building, Kaya Flamboyan 11, Rooi Catootje, Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles

Actual Inventor(s): CORNELIS LOUWERENS, a citizen of the Netherlands of: Mariniersweg 11E, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Address for Service: Shelston Waters Patent Attorneys Clarence Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Australia

Complete Specification for the invention entitled:

"WALL OR CEILING PANEL ARRANGEMENT"

The following statement ia a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:-

FilsrDA~ 17A YS

WALL OR CEILING PANEL ARRANGEM2NT

The present invention relates to a wall or ceiling

panel arrangement.

Various such arrangements are well known and one

particular type includes a support structure, usually in the

form of generally parallel stringers, on which are mounted,

by means of lugs, generally parallel panels which are

usually spaced apart from one another by a lesser or greater

amount. The panels may have one of several forms but one

particular form includes a central generally flat portion

with upturned rims of arcuate cross-section into which the

lugs on the stringers engage.

It is an objectof the present invention to provide an

alternative structure which can have a pleasing decorative

effect.

According to the present invention there is provided a

panel -rrangement for ceilings, walls, etc. comprising a

support structure, a pluraity of elongate first panels

mounted on said support structure, in parallel laterally

spaced relation, the outer surfaces o0, all of said first

panels being at substantially the same level, a plurality of

second panels each having a larger cross-section than a

first panel and a resilient centre portion projecting beyond

'said level of outer surfaces of said first panels and a

SHELSTON WATERS PATENT ATTORNEYS CLARENCE STREET, SYDNEY AUSTRALIA Cables: 'Valid' Sydney Telex: 24422

-2-

continuous retaining element extending along each lateral

side thereof, each second panel being interfitted between

two first panels, by having its longitudinal edges pressed

towards one another and then allowed to spring back away

from one another, so that the retaining elements are urged

by the resilient centre portion into substantially

continuous engagement with the longitudinal edges of said

two first panels, to form the sole means for holding said

second panels in place, the outer surfaces of said second

panels then all projecting beyond the outer surfaces of said

first panels.

Such a structure can be of a relatively simple and

inexpensive nature, the second panels giving a pleasing

decorative effect. Phis can be enhanced by the second

panels having a resilient central portion of bulbous, V-

or trapezium cross-section.

Preferably the second panels in their relaxed state

have a width significantly greater than the panels when

located in the panel arrangement, so that the resilient

exerted by the panels is large enough to prevent the

panels from being disengaged from the support structure.

Because the retaining elements are continuous, they

are in continuous contact with the longitudinal edges of the

first panels. This means that there will be no tendency for

the second panels to distort along their leng-!, -,ken though

they are, in effect only supported by their own -ilelience.

The support is thus quite certain and a relatively wide second panel can thus be supported even though it will be heavier.

The width of the spacing between the further panels is

preferably greater than the width of the further panels

themselves so that the second panels take up a greater

proportion of the total width of the ceiling panel

arrangement.

It is also contemplated that the second panel could be

used to replace a central panel of a series of three

consecutive first panels, the width of the spacing to be

filled by said second panel, thus being the sum of one first

panel width and twice the normal spacing between two

adjacent first panels of said series of three first panel.

The first panels may each have inturned rims extending

inwardly towards the support structure, one along each

longitudinal edge thereof wherein said continuous retaining

elements on the second panels each comprise gutter like edge

portions shaped to conform to the shape of said inturned

rims.

Preferably the support structure further comprises

stringers extending generally perpendicular to the

longitudinal direction of said panels, said stringers

including lugs engaged with the inturned rims of said

further panels, effective to support said first panels,

which in turn support said second panels.

In a convenient structure in which all of the panels

are of a roll formed nature, the inturned rims of the first

I

-4-

panels and the gutter like retaining elements of the second

panels have an arcuate cross-section.

In order to ease transport, the second panels are

advantageously s shaped as to be capable of nesting with

one another in their relaxed state.

In order that the invention may more readily be

understood, the following description is given, merely by

way of example, reference being made to the accompanying

drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a perspective view of one end and below of

a portion of one embodiment of ceiling structure according

to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of the arrangement of Figure

1; and

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are end views of three different

cross-sections of the second panels of in their initial

Sshape before installation.

Referring now first to Figures 1 and 2, the ceiling

panel arrangement illustrated therein comprises a support

structure including a number of generally parallel stringers

provided with conventional downturned holding lugs 12.

Mounted on the holding lugs again in the conventional

manner, are first panels 14 having flat central portions 16

and arcuate upturned rims 18. As illustrated the width of

the panels 14 has been indicated as A and the spacing

between the panels as B. In a preferred structure the

dim'ensions A is approximately three fifths of the dimension

P~E~3::

I

of B.

Mounted between the parallel, spaced apart panels 14

are second panels 20. As illustrated, these are of a

generally bulbous cross-section, but they could ilave any

other form so as to be, for example, of U-shaped, V-shaped

or trapezium cross-section. Thus, these panels include a

central resilient portion 22 with continuous, gutter-shaped

retaining elements 24 extending along each latcral edge.

The curvature of these gutter-shaped retaining elements is

such as to conform to the curvature of the upturned arcuate

rims 18 of the adjacent panels 14.

In their relaxed state, the panels 20 have a

width significantly greater than the dimension B so that,

during assembly, longitudinal edges of the panels 20 can be

bent inwardly and then released so that the gutter-shaped retaining elements abut the arcuate rims 18, the resilience

of the second panels being sufficient to retain them in

position without any further support. The retaining elements

24 engage the rims 18 substantially continuously, so that

the central portions 22 will not have any tendency to be

distorted. Thus they will retain a constant cross-section

along their full length to give a pleasing appearance. The

resilience thus does not need to be very high to retain the

second panels in place, even against local accidental

knocking of the second panel.

The panels 20 can have a number of different initial

forms as illustrated in Figures 3 and 5. In Figure

3 the central portion 28 is slightly arcuate while in Figure

4 the central portions 32 is shown significantly more

arcuate. In each of them the spacing between the edges of

the gutter-shaped retaining element 24 is greater than the

dimension B so that the edges can be flexed inwardly and

then spring resiliently outwardly. With the structure of

Figure 3, the resilience can be significantly less than with

the shape of Figure 4. Figure 5 shows a central trapezium

section portion 34.

f 10 In each instance, however, the shape of the cross-

2 section of the second panels 20 is such as to enable these

panels to be nested with one another in their relaxed state

to facilitate saving of space during transport.

no It will be appreciated that the structure of the

0Q"B 15 present invention provides a pleasing decorative effect and

oB provides a structure which is simple to manufacture,

because all of the panels can be roll formed, and is simple

to assemble, since the second panel can simply be, so to

speak, clipped in between the first panels which have

already been located. Because the second panels have outer

surfaces, in this instance lower surfaces, which are beyond

the outer surfaces of the first panels, it is relatively

easy to dismount the second panels by grasping the resilient

central portion 22 and squeezing it, so that the retaining

elements 24 disengage from the rims 18.

Because the spacing between these first panels is

quite significant, the actual Mounting of these on the

stringers is rather simple.

While the panel arrangement illustrated shows the gure second panels as being slightly wider than the first panel,

ot it can be very significantly wider. For example one could

the remove altogether one of the first panels could be removed Sand a second panel could span the space A 2B therebetween.

Because the connection provided by the continuous abutment

with of the elements 24 and rims 18 is relatively strong, it will

i T" adequately support such a heavier panel.

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Claims (9)

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A panel arrangement for ceilings, walls, etc.

comprising a support structure, a plurality of elongate

in parallel t first panels mounted on said support structure, 5 rt laterally spaced relation, the outer surfaces of all of said same level, a cl first panels being at substantially the

plurality of second panels each having a larger

cross-section than a first panel and a resilient centre

portion projecting beyond said level of outer surfaces ot J

said first panels and a continuous retaining element

extending along each lateral side thereof, each second panei 10 s

being interfitted between two first panels, by having its w

longitudinal edges pressed towards one another and then

allowed to spring back away from one another, so that the

retaining elements are urged by the resilient centre portion th into substantially continuous engagement with the

to form the 15 si longitudinal edges of said two first panels,

sole means for holdiag said second panels in place, the pa

outer surfaces of said second panels then all projecting

beyond the outer surfaces of said first panels. cI

2. A panel arrangement according to any preceding ca

claim, wherein said first panels each have inturned rims 20 to

extending inwardly towards the support structure, one along

each longitudinal edge thereof wherein said continuous

retaining elements on the second panels each comprise gutter cl like edge portions shaped to conform to the shape of said inturned rims.

3. A panel arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the inturned rims of the first panels and the gutter like retaining elements of the second panels have an arcuate cross-section.

4. A panel arrangement according to claim 3, wherein said support structure comprises stringers extending generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction ot said first panels, said stringers including lugs engaged with the rims of said first panels, effective to support said first panels, which in turn support said second panels.

A panel arrangement according to claim wherein the second panels in their relaxed state haic a widtn significantly greater than they have when located in the panel arrange"ment.

6. A panel arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein said second panels are shaped so as to oe capabe of nesting with onie another, during transport priot to assembly of said panel arrangement.

7. A panel arrangement according to any preceding qlaim, whereinL said second panels have a resilient 'central portion of bulbous, Ui, V- or trapezium cross-section.

8. A panel panel arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the widt of the spacing between said first panels is greater than the width of the first panels themselves.

9. A panel arrangement according to claim 0, wherein a second panel is used to replace a central panel o! a serius of three consecutive first panels, the width of the spacing to be filled by said second panel, thus being the sum of on first panel width Ana twice tho normal spacing between two adjacent first panels f said series ot tbrev tizt panels.

A panuii arrangemewnt seka; i'nt ±al on. wL wr c4 w

described with reference to and as illustrat ln accompanying drawings. DATED thim 26th day of :-no m M',

HUNTER 1%,IASiNTRAINLN"