GB2300351A - Assembly system eg for wall cladding - Google Patents

Abstract

An elongate member 10, e.g. for wall cladding, comprises a main portion 11 having two T-shaped projections 12, 13, the channel 22 formed between T-arm 24 and edge 25 being shallower than the opposite channel 32 formed between T-arm 34 and edge 35. A third channel 42 is formed between the two T-shaped projections 12, 13. In use members 10 are secured to a wall etc in a spaced relationship, and panel members are inserted between facing channels 22 and 32 of different members 10. A shelf (202, Fig. 5 not shown) may be inserted in channel 42. Alternatively an attachment may be inserted in channel 42 to enable an article to be suspended therefrom. The members 10 may alternatively be configured to form a case.

Description

ASSEMBLY SYSTEM This invention relates to assembly systems, and more particularly to systems of hanging rails and cladding for walls or other structures for shop fitting and display applications.

In existing display systems for shop fitting the cladding is usually permanently fixed to the wall or other structure such as columns or upright posts of various designs. The cladding contains the slots for attachment of various designs of hanging rails or fittings onto which shelves and other display aids are attached.

The installation of such an arrangement requires the services of skilled personnel specialised in the shop fitting field. Any subsequent changes in the aesthetic appearance would also require the use of the same type of skilled personnel with obvious costly economic consequences particularly due to the time required to carry out the changes desired. Another reason for the generally high cost of shop fitting with slatted wall systems is the high cost of the finished basic materials. For example an MDF board (medium density fibreboard) would have to be slotted to various shapes to take various attachments; the slot would have to be strengthened usually with a separate plastic or metal reinforcement and finally the exposed visible face would require an acceptable high quality finish to be applied.All these inherent steps with the existing systems lead to the relatively high cost of the basic finished materials prior to installation by skilled personnel. In addition, present board materials commonly used in shop fitting systems do not generally lend themselves to high fire resistance specifications.

Another essential feature of existing slatted systems entails that the pitch of the slots must be pre-determined. Obviously any subsequent desire or requirement to alter that pitch necessitates major changes with the same consequent high economic cost. Similarly, the original chosen colour of the slatted system cannot be changed without major replacement costs similar to those relating to a'desired change of pitch in the slots. Finally, mirror finishes in existing slatted systems are not only very costly but have the inherent disadvantage of fire risk as they are made of acrylic material.

In arrangements according to the present invention, usually parallel lengths of a continuous section of special configuration are used which can be combined with any cladding material to provide a decorative surface finish and display system.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an elongate member of constant cross-section comprising a main planar portion and first and second generally T-shaped members projecting from the same major side face of the main portion, the stem and a first side-arm portion of the first T-shaped member defining a first generally U-shaped channel with a first edge region of said main portion, the stem and a first side-arm portion of the second T-shaped member defining a second generally U-shaped channel with a second edge region, opposed to said first edge region, of said main portion, and the stems of the first and second T-shaped members and a central region of said main portion forming a third channel between and substantially perpendicular to the first and second channels, wherein the depth of the first channel is less than the depth of the second channel.

The invention also provides a wall cladding arrangement, a case and a wall fitting, all comprising a plurality of elongate members as set out in the preceding paragraph. According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of covering or cladding a vertical surface comprising the steps of securing a plurality of elongate members as set out in the preceding paragraph in a mutually-spaced relationship and inserting panels or other sheet members in first and second channels to cover or clad the surface.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be describ < - by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in Which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an elongate member in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 shows a wall cladding arrangement comprising two elongate members; Figure 3 shows the assembly of a case according to the present invention; Figure 4 shows a partial view of a component used to make a case according to the present invention; Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a wall fitting according to the present invention; and Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the elongate member.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows an elongate member 10 of uniform cross-section. It comprises a main planar portion 11, with two T-shaped members 12, 13 projecting therefrom. Arm 24 of member 12 is shorter than arm 34 of member 13 so that a U-shaped channel 22 formed between arm 24, T-stem 26 and edge 25 of portion 11 is shallower than an opposite U-shaped channel 32 formed between arm 34, T-stem 36 and opposite edge 35 of portion 11. A third channel 42 of general C-shape is formed between the central region of portion 11, the T-stems 26 and 36 and second T-arms 28 and 38.

The extremities of arms 24 and 34 and edges 25, 35 are preferably chamfered, see also Figure 6.

Channel or groove 42 is for retaining hanging display fixtures and either side of this groove are the slots or channels 22, 32 for retaining the cladding material.

These retaining slots 22, 32 must essentially be of unequal depth to allow easy insertion and withdrawal of cladding material 50, e.g. decorative board, as shown in Figure 2 by arrows 51. The material 50 is first inserted upwardly into the deeper slot 32, swivelled towards member 10, and then lowered into the shallower slot 22.

In the system envisaged, a continuous section of special configuration is usually placed horizontally or vertically at varying pitch in such a way that any cladding material can be readily inserted or withdrawn. The whole system consisting of the special section and various cladding materials comprising a complete cladding and display system for shop fitting.

The initial shop fitting as described above would normally but not essentially be carried out by skilled personnel. Subsequent changes in decorative appearance could then be carried out with very little skill. This inherent ability to change the aesthetic appearance of the display system quickly, relatively cheaply and without special skills represents a novel feature of the invention.

As a result of the features set out above it follows that the range of cladding materials and therefore the range of possible aesthetic appearance is virtually limitless and no longer constrained by the limited range of existing commercial systems. This enormous flexibility applies both to the decorative aesthetic aspect as well as the totally unrestricted range of pitches available. Another very important consequence of the system is the ability to use, as cladding, materials of the highest fire specification which might not be possible with existing commercial systems. This feature is of particular importance in cases where the shop fitting is being carried out in places such as railway station precincts where the fire resistance requirements may be particularly severe. Although the systems described above referred to shop fitting cladding and display, the special configuration section could be used in domestic situations as a cladding and/or shelving system for example in internal garage walls which are very rarely plastered. Similarly, they can be employed in domestic situations where easily changed aesthetic appearance is an advantage, such as for alcoves or special purpose areas such as nurseries where the decorative requirements are likely to change.

Another important example of the use of the elongate member is in connection with the construction of a display case 102. In Figure 3, the members 100, 101 are shown made up into a base with the central slots 42 used to lock the four sides of the base together by means of an 'L' shaped bracket 53, e.g. of aluminium, inserted into the central slot, where it may be screwed into position by means of holes 54. To produce a good join, the ends of sections 100, 101 are cut at 450. Although the base is typically shown as being made up of four lengths of section joined together at the corners by 'L' shaped bracket 53, it is to be understood that the section can be cut with a 'V' 105 (see Figure 4) and folded over at one, two or three of the corners and locked with a bracket 53 at the junction where it has not been folded.The section could likewise be welded (at the corners) instead of being folded and locked with the 'L' shaped brackets.

Having formed the typically rectangular or other shaped base (e.g. triangular, hexagonal etc) a bottom for the display case is provided by inserting a board in a slot part 22 or 42 of the section formed base. The display glass or plastic portion is then inserted into a top groove part 32 or 42 of the section base (see Figure 3). Another possibility is to have an identical base configuration to match the base but placed at the top part of the display case allowing use of lights etc.

The use of the special configuration section in display cases is mentioned by way of example to show the versatility of the special section and its easy adaptability into a multi-use structure particularly useful in the construction of display cabinets and/or cases.

In the above arrangements the special section has usually been used as a series of parallel horizontal or vertical retaining rails for shop fitting or general purpose economic cladding of walls even in domestic applications. The horizontal and vertical arrangements are not intended to exclude use'as a diagonal or even nonparallel arrangements. Similarly, the member 10 could be used singly as a vertical and horizontal support unit 200 as in, for example, a bathroom or sink fitting to support a shelf 202 horizontally via the groove 42 and a splash back cover 203, 204 fitted vertically in one or both of the retaining slot parts 22, 32 of the member 10 (see Figure 5). Shelf 202 has a slot 212 for mating with arm 28. The advantage of the special section in this case would lie in the dual function all in the one section. Sheet 203 could be a mirror.Numeral 205 indicates the sink of the unit.

Figure 6 shows preferred dimensions of the elongate members 10, 100 and 101.

In connection with the special configuration section it will be evident that compared with existing commercial slatted systems, the present section will always exhibit a greater surface towards the observer because of the external visible retaining walls of the cladding slots. Insofar as the section can be fixed to a wall through the totally hidden back portion and then covered by the cladding the fixing remains hidden. Gluing also leads to invisible fixing but is more permanent. An important feature of the invention results from the greater exposed area of section visible. This inherent feature allows the decorative finish of the section itself to enhance the wall cladding. Although no mention has been made of the materials to be used for the manufacture of the section, it will be clear that it could be made of wood, plastics, metal or any other suitable material. In addition the dimensions can be varied to suit any particular application subject only to the constant requirement of unequal cladding retaining slot walls as shown in Figure 1.

In modifications, arms 28, 36 can be omitted so that channel 42 is also U-shaped.

More than two T-shaped members may be provided to give extra side channels 42. Alternatively, only one T-shaped member may be provided so that channel 42 is omitted.

Claims (8)

1. An elongate member of constant cross-section comprising a main planar portion and first and second generally T-shaped members projecting from the same major side face of the main portion, the stem and a first side-arm portion of the first T-shaped member defining a first generally U-shaped channel with a first edge region of said main portion, the stem and a first side-arm portion of the second T-shaped member defining a second generally U-shaped channel with a second edge region, opposed to said first edge region, of said main portion, and the stems of the first and second T-shaped members and a central region of said main portion forming a third channel between and substantially perpendicular to the first and second channels, wherein the depth of the first channel is less than the depth of the second channel.

2. A member according to claim 1, wherein the arms of the first channel are of unequal length and the arms of the second channel are of unequal length.

3. A member according to claim 2, wherein the shorter arm of each of the first and second channels is that constituted by the first side-arm portion of the respective T-shaped member.

4. An elongate member substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5. A wall cladding arrangement comprising a plurality of elongate members according to any preceding claim arranged parallel to each other with cladding sheets having upper edges inserted into downwardly-facing second channels and lower edges inserted into upwardly-facing first channels.

6. A case comprising a plurality of elongate members according to any of claims 1 to 4, arranged in a polygon with at least one pair of adjacent edges being interconnected by an angled corner member fitting into adjacent third channel portions.

7. A wall fitting comprising at least one elongate member according to any of claims 1 to 4, secured horizontally to a wall, with planar protective and/or reflective panel members located in the upwardly and downwardly facing first and second channels and a shelf member located in the third channel, a major surface of the shelf member having a longitudinal slot for engagement with the second side-arm portion of one of said T-shaped members.

8. A method of covering or cladding a vertical surface comprising the steps of securing a plurality of elongate members according to any of claims 1 to 4 in a mutually-spaced relationship and inserting panels or other sheet members in first and second channels to cover or clad the surface.