This application is a National Stage Application of PCT/ES2010/000052, filed 8 Feb. 2010, which is a continuation of International Application Serial No. PCT/ES09/000,073, filed 9 Feb. 2009 and which applications are incorporated herein by reference. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above disclosed applications.
The present invention refers to a drywall and cladding construction system, based on the use of constructive elements with a large surface with respect to their thickness, comprising several layers, with an outer ceramic layer, which enables to increase the cost-effectiveness of the work, reducing the execution time thereof, with an excellent aesthetic finish and having excellent maintenance conditions and renovation and alteration capabilities.
More particularly, the construction system of the invention is based on the use of constructive elements of the type indicated and a load-bearing structure, the constructive elements having joining pieces which fix the load-bearing structure through intermediate anchoring pieces.
By drywall or cladding we mean those the construction of which does not require the application of humid paste, such as mortar, cement, plaster, etc.
There are known construction systems, both drywall and cladding for walls and alike based on flat constructive elements, with large surfaces with respect to their thickness, comprising several layers, whose constructive elements are fixed on a load-bearing structure. The constructive elements are mounted on the load-bearing structure through intermediate fastening pieces of different types.
Construction systems with the aforementioned constitution are described, for example, in ES 2243426, DE 2026015903U, and US 2005102969. In all cases the intermediate fastening pieces consist of parts or components which are added to the construction of the partition or cladding during its construction, which requires manipulating a large number of components. On the other hand, making the visible surface of all constructive elements of the same face or wall is located in the same plane, and also with a constant separation between consecutive constructive elements, causes positioning or levelling problems when the construction systems described in the abovementioned documents is used.
The object of the present invention is a construction system which satisfactorily solves the aforesaid limitations, in a simple manner and not requiring skilled labour both at the installation and along the useful life of the partition or cladding.
The construction system of the invention comprises a load-bearing structure, a plurality of constructive elements having joining pieces, and a plurality of anchoring pieces to fix the joining pieces of the construction elements to the load-bearing structure.
The load-bearing structure can be an existing structure, such as a brick partition or a laminated plasterboard, to which a cladding would be applied according to the system of the invention, or a new construction structure, typically metallic or wooden, which would allow the formation of a cladding or partition. In some cases, the anchoring pieces will be incorporated to the load-bearing structure. In the case of existing structures, the anchoring pieces will be directly incorporated on-site, while in the case of the newly-created structures the anchoring pieces can be built-in on said structures during the manufacturing.
The load-bearing structure can be constituted with horizontal elements, which we will call floor and roof profiles, and by vertical elements, which we will call vertical profiles. At the manufacturing of a drywall, the horizontal elements act as structural frame for the drywall, delimiting the place where it will be built, which is the first step for the construction of the drywall, while the vertical profiles are located in vertical position between the floor and roof profiles which form the horizontal elements.
In the case of the load-bearing structures characteristic of the construction system, in one of its variants, additional anchoring pieces can be incorporated to allow the installation of an additional inner plate to the drywall, which is normally a laminated plasterboard, one of whose functions is to provide support to the inner installations of the drywall or support the functional elements thereof. Likewise, the floor and roof profiles can comprise paths which allow the perimeter enclosure of the aforementioned plasterboard, securing the insulation against sound and thermal bridges.
Also, in the case of load-bearing structures and even existing structures, heavy loads which have to be hung from the drywall would be hung from an auxiliary structure, fixed either to the existing structure or to the new load-bearing structure, to that end special parts would be used which would go through the constructive element.
The profiles of the load-bearing structure, both floor and roof horizontal ones and vertical ones, in one of their variants, can incorporate elastic joints which act as sealing means and insulation of the junctions between the constructive elements and the profiles of said load-bearing structure.
Also, the load-bearing structure can be duplicated, that is, it can be double in order to obtain drywalls with many benefits, making both parts independent.
In the case of double load-bearing structures, it is possible to include, between them, safety sheets, such as metallic sheets or metallic mesh, which prevent access from one side to the other of the drywall.
As regards the constructive elements, they have a large surface with respect to their thickness and they comprise a reduced-thickness cladding sheet, which will define the visible surface; an inner layer for structural reinforcement, which adds the structural and bearing strength of the construction element; and an intermediate joining layer. These constructive elements will have joining pieces for their mounting on the load-bearing structure through intermediate anchoring pieces.
The constructive pieces used in the system of the invention are large, for example, they have surfaces greater than 2 m2, they have a reduced thickness and they are manufactured in an industrialized manner so that the joining pieces are built into the constructive elements in the factory forming an indivisible part.
In order to improve the benefits offered by the drywall or cladding, the constructive elements can incorporate in an industrialized manner additional layers, such as vapour barrier layers, thermal and sound insulation layers and any other type of layer which improves their benefits.
The constructive elements, as it has been indicated, include the joining pieces which are integrally built-in said constructive elements.
In order for the system to be watertight, the constructive elements can have a perimeter joint, which can be plastic, metallic or adhesive, so that the interior of the construction system is insulated against humidity, guaranteeing the sealing, both against humidity and against possible thermal and sound bridges.
According to the invention, the anchoring pieces, for the fixing of the constructive elements joining pieces to the load-bearing structure, are constituted by an equal number of fixed profiles and sliding profiles. The fixed profiles have female elements in the form of holes and are fixed to the load-bearing structure, preferably in a vertical position, for example by means of screws. As regards the sliding profiles, each one of them is longitudinally mounted on a fixed profile, and can be moved along it and has openings, whose number and position coincide with the holes of the fixed profile. Each one of the openings of the mobile profiles has two contours with different width consecutively located in the direction of the sliding profile movement.
As regards the joining pieces of the constructive elements, they have male elements, whose number and position coincide with the openings of the sliding profiles and the holes of the fixed profiles. The male elements will have formations capable of being inserted in the wider contour of the openings, but retained by the narrower contour thereof. The male elements will be accessible from the rear of the constructive elements and are intended to be inserted through opposite openings and holes, when the wider contour of the openings faces the holes and the male elements. According to a preferred embodiment, the joining pieces of the constructive elements are constituted by at least one flat stock fixed to the constructive elements, through a portion thereof, in a direction parallel to the plane constituting the visible surface of said constructive elements, and which has the male elements.
The sliding profiles can be longitudinally slid with respect to the fixed profiles between an inactive position, in which the wider contour of the openings of the sliding profiles faces the holes of the fixed profiles, so that the male elements of the joining pieces of the constructive elements, with their formations, go freely through said openings and holes, and a retention position, in which the narrower contour of the openings faces the holes of the fixed profiles, covering in a tight manner the formations of the male elements to prevent their release.
The sliding profiles, which openings are provided with two contours with different widths, will guarantee the joining of the constructive elements, through the joining pieces of said constructive elements to the load-bearing structure while, at the same time, said joining pieces act as safety elements which prevent the constructive elements from separating or being released from the load-bearing structure. The fixed profiles of the anchoring pieces can be constituted by the vertical profiles themselves of the load-bearing structure, which would house the sliding profiles, or in other auxiliary fixed vertical profiles.
According to a preferred embodiment, the two contours of the openings of the sliding profiles will be joined by an intermediate section with variable width between the width of said contours. Preferably, the narrower width will be located on top of the wider contour.
According to an embodiment, the fixed profiles of the anchoring pieces are rectangular omega-shaped and are fixed through their flanges to the load-bearing structure, while the windows are located in their web. As for the sliding profiles, they have a rectangular U shape, with external dimensions slightly smaller than the internal ones of the fixed profiles, and they have the corresponding openings in their web. These U-shaped sliding profiles are mounted inside the fixed profile in the same direction, that is, with the aperture in the same direction, so that the web or bottom of both profiles are close to each other.
The flanges of the omega-shaped fixed profiles can be folded inwards 180°, defining opposite channels, whose outer walls support and are fixed to the load-bearing structure and also serve as retention pieces of the sliding profiles to prevent their release. To that end, the free edges of the side walls of the aliding profiles are separated from each other a distance greater than the free edges of the outer walls of the opposite channels of the fixed profiles, to define the retention pieces of said sliding profiles.
The male elements of the aforementioned joining pieces can consist of tongues in the form of hooks protruding in coplanar position from one of the longitudinal contours of each flat platten, all of them oriented to the same direction and being accessible by the rear of the constructive elements so that they can be inserted through the holes of the fixed profiles and openings of the sliding profiles, when said sliding profiles are in the inactive position, enabling to receive the coupling adjusted to the narrower contour of said openings to the bottom of the hook, when the sliging profile is displaced to its retention position. According to a characteristic of the invention, the bottom of the hook will be located at a fixed distance with respect to the outer visible surface of the constructive element, thus securing the coplanarity of the outer visible surface of all constructive elements which form the cladding.
The platten constituting the joining pieces will be closed, at least partially, in the constructive elements from the longitudinal edge opposite the one from which the coplanar tongues protrude. At least on one of the edges of the constructive elements and along it, one of the plattens will be closed as described, with all tongues in the form of hooks being aligned at the same distance from said edge. Also, at least one platten can be fixed along one or more intermediate lines of the constructive elements, with the same conditions as the flat platten(s) fixed on the edges of said constructive elements.
The flat platten of the joining pieces will be provided, preferably, from the fixing edge to the constructive elements, with transverse indentations whose length equals the part of the flat platten which is in contact with the constructive element. These indentations will delimit coplanar teeth which can be in the same direction or in opposite directions. The aforementioned transverse indentations will enable to cut the constructive elements in a direction perpendicular to the flat platten with blade tools, for example a cutter or a diamond glass cutter or a ceramic cutter type, since in the area coinciding with the flat platten the cut will be made coinciding with one of the transverse indentations thereof. To that end, each indentation has to be close to the next one.
The flat platten which forms the joining pieces can be completely flat or it can have transversal bends in different number and direction, to define a Z-shaped or W-shaped section, folded in the middle at 180°, etc.
The openings of the sliding profiles and the holes of the fixed profiles can be made in pairs in the web of said profiles, being the two openings and holes of each pair located at the same height in the corresponding profiles and also with the two openings and the two holes aligned in all pairs along the sliding profiles and fixed profiles, respectively. Also, the narrower contour of the openings of the sliding profiles will be as wide as the thickness of the tongues which form the male elements of the joining pieces to define, together with the aforementioned positioning of the openings and the holes, the separation and parallelism between adjacent edges of consecutive constructive elements.
In order to facilitate the mounting of male elements of the joining pieces in the anchoring pieces, the openings of the sliding profiles of these anchoring pieces can be extended laterally on the adjacent walls of said sliding profiles along the edges belonging to the wider contour of said openings. To the same end and if necessary, the holes of the fixed profiles can be extended laterally on the adjacent walls of said fixed profiles along the entire length of these holes.
For the movement of the sliding profiles with respect to the fixed profiles, between the inactive position and the retention position, said sliding profiles will have, between consecutive openings, first slit accessible through opposite larger second slit in the fixed profile. The first slit of the sliding profiles will be intended to receive the end of a propelling tool of the sliding profile, said tool will be inserted between consecutive constructive elements or through said constructive elements.
The anchoring pieces can be formed so that they enable the fixing of the constructive elements arranged in a corner. To that end, the web of the fixed profile and of the sliding profiles will have transversal crease which delimit the convex or concave angle on which the constructive elements are to be arranged. For example, the fixed profile and sliding profile can have three transversal creases on a right angle, a central one directed towards the outside and two symmetrical lateral ones arranged in a direction opposite the central crease. Also, the web of the fixed profile and the web of the sliding profile have only one transversal crease towards the outside or towards the inside depending on whether the panels are arranged forming a concave angle or a convex angle or a corner.
According to an embodiment variant, the fixed profiles of the anchoring pieces can have a flat central core, which ends longitudinally towards the same side in two opposite channels, while the sliding profile will have a rectangular omega-shaped section, whose width is approximately the same as the fixed profile, with the longitudinal flanges housed in the channels of said fixed profiles, to serve as guiding means in the movement of the sliding profile.
In order to guarantee the aesthetic continuity of the outer visible surface of the cladding or drywall, in the areas of the joints between constructive elements, the load-bearing structure can have incorporated decorative plattens of the same material and design as the outer plate of the ceramic cladding. This platten would also secure the sealing against thermal and sound bridges, and against fire.
The fixing of the constructive elements to the anchoring pieces can be performed in different ways:
The construction system described, given its use for the construction of drywalls, takes into account the incorporation of installations and functional improvements of the benefits of said drywalls. For this reason, the construction system uses the separation space between the two constructive elements which form the drywall required by the load-bearing structure, or the space purposefully enabled between the constructive element and the pre-existing load-bearing structure, to house the installations or layers of improvement of the drywall benefits.
To support the inner installations of the drywall, such as cable tubes, water ducts, communications, heating, air conditioning, etc., the construction system can incorporate an additional layer, as support layer for the installations. This layer, typically made of laminated plaster, enables to configure the installations before closing the construction system by means of the constructive elements and, later, to be able to extract and change the constructive elements without affecting the installations incorporated inside it.
In order to facilitate the housing and passage of the installation ducts through the interior of the construction system, the vertical profiles of the load-bearing structure have a series of die-cuts in their core. These die-cuts will be spaced out enough so that the structural strength of the beam of the vertical profiles is not affected and they will have a diameter so that all type of installation ducts can easily go through them.
In order to obtain sound and thermal insulation and fire protection, it is possible to incorporate extra layers of insulating material such as glass wool, rock wool or similar, or safety improvement layers such as metallic layers or metallic mesh, depending on the area of the building or house where said drywall is to be installed, that is, exit aisles, partitions, soundproof rooms, etc.
One of the characteristics of the construction system described in the present invention is its registrability. In this case, by registrability we mean the capacity to separate the constructive elements of the load-bearing structure and reinstall them in their position, in an independent manner and without affecting the adjacent constructive elements. This characteristic allows not only the easy aesthetic upgrade of constructive elements or their replacement if needed, but also the easy and fast access to the drywall installations, in case they need to be repaired or new installations need to be included, as well as the addition of new functional characteristics to the drywall; in case more thermal or sound insulation is required, new layers can be added which incorporate this new feature to it.
Another characteristic of this construction system is that the existence of an installation support layer allows the registrability of the system, the aesthetic renewal and upgrade of constructive elements without these operations affecting the functionality of the drywall, as the functional part of the drywall is independent from the aesthetic part thereof.
Thanks to the system thus described, an easy-to-install system is attained, as the constructive elements are large prefabricated elements which can be installed by means of a simple system on the joining means by unskilled workers. This easiness of mounting in turn provides a high installation efficiency (construction time savings), facilitating a massive use thereof, and an easy aesthetic upgrade, since, thanks to the aesthetic versatility offered by the external porcelain tile plate and the relatively low manufacturing and mounting cost, it is an advantage over the state of the art to offer the possibility of change every time the final user desires it.
The attached drawings show a non-limiting example of an embodiment of the construction system of the invention. In the drawings:
With the essential characteristics of the invention, it is possible to configure different types of drywalls and applications with the advantages shown in the present memory and which are described according to the aforementioned set of drawings:
The load-bearing structure represented in
The construction systems represented in
If it is necessary to increase the functional characteristics (sound insulation, thermal insulation, fire protection, waterproofing) of a drywall, it is possible to incorporate additional functional plates (rock wool, glass wool, aluminium sheets, etc.) which are included in the hole (12) between the installation support plate (4) and the drywall closure constructive element (1).
As it can be seen in
The omega-shaped fixed profile (20),
The sliding profile (14), which can slid inside the fixed profile (20), has openings (5) which, as it can be seen better in
The fixed profile (20) fixed to the load-bearing structure (11) and the sliding profile (14) constitute the anchoring means.
As for the joining pieces of the constructive elements (1), they are constituted by male elements (6),
In the mounting of constructive elements, the male elements (6), which constitute the joining pieces of the constructive elements (1), will be inserted through the holes (7) and the wider contour (21) of the openings (5), opposite said holes (7). Next, the sliding profile (14) will be moved downwardly, so that the male elements (6) are inserted through the narrower contour (22) of the openings (5), to be retained by the sliding profile (14), through formations of male elements (6), as it will be indicated below.
As it can be seen in
In order to improve the junction, a rubber seal (17) can be incorporated,
The joining pieces of the constructive elements can be constituted, as shown in
The platten (25) is fixed to the constructive elements (1) in a direction parallel to the fixed profiles (20) and sliding profiles (14) of the anchoring pieces through the first portion (33). For example, as shown in
The platten 25 can have two transverse creases at 90° in the same or different direction. In the latter case, it forms a Z-shaped section (31), as shown in
The platten (25) of
In the embodiment example of
In any case, the indentations or transverse cuts (34) will allow the constructive element (1), with the corresponding joining pieces, to be cut in a direction perpendicular to said joining pieces with a cutting tool, such as a cutter, since on the joining pieces the cut can be performed through one of the indentations (34). This possibility makes it unnecessary to use electrical cutting tools, for example, a circular saw, in order to perform the cut of the constructive elements in any direction.
In the embodiment shown in
As shown in
As the sliding profiles (14) have pairs of openings (7), located at the same height, they make it possible to receive the tongues or male elements (6) of two consecutive constructive elements, as shown in
The male elements (6) can have a different configuration to the one shown in
The evenness between the outer surfaces of all constructive elements of a cladding is attained thanks to the positioning of the formations of the male elements with respect to the outer visible surface of said constructive elements, as it will be indicated with reference to
The male elements (6), which constitute the joining pieces of the constructive elements (1), can have a hook configuration, similar to the one described with reference to
The adjacent edges (45) of the consecutive constructive elements (1),
As shown in
In the inactive position, shown in
In order to attain the movement of the sliding profiles in the manner described, these sliding profiles will have in their web, between consecutive openings (5), a first slit (46) which is accessible through a second larger slit (47) of the fixed profiles (20) in the opposite position. In the embodiment of
Through the second slits (47) a tool (48) or alike is inserted until it penetrates through the first slit (46). Propelling the tool (48) downwardly, it is possible to propel the aliding profile (14) from the inactive position of
The tool (48) can be inserted between adjacent edges (45),
In the embodiment shown in
In
In the case of
In the case of
In the case of
In the case of
As shown in
As shown in
On the other hand, in order to facilitate the mounting of the constructive elements, for example with the same anchoring pieces shown in
The platten (25) which constitute the joining pieces of the constructive elements can also be fixed to said elements along intermediate areas, not coinciding with the edges of said constructive elements, as shown in
Finally,
As in the case of
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/ES2009/000073 | Feb 2009 | WO | international |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/ES2010/000052 | 2/8/2010 | WO | 00 | 8/9/2011 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2010/089434 | 8/12/2010 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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1960961 | Thomas | Apr 1932 | A |
2058386 | Parsons | Oct 1936 | A |
3753325 | Stanley et al. | Aug 1973 | A |
3925948 | Sauer et al. | Dec 1975 | A |
7661237 | Jakob-Bamberg et al. | Feb 2010 | B2 |
20050102969 | Burg | May 2005 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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20 2006 015 903 | Mar 2007 | DE |
0 367 768 | Apr 1990 | EP |
0364768 | Apr 1990 | EP |
2 243 426 | Dec 2005 | ES |
2 657 449 | Jul 1991 | FR |
2 723 125 | Feb 1996 | FR |
WO 9532346 | Nov 1995 | WO |
Entry |
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International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/ES2010/000052 mailed Jun. 16, 2010. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20110308196 A1 | Dec 2011 | US |