Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
:~ o~ 5
This invent.ion relates to a decking panel which is
useful for decking a structure wherein it is de~ired to span
considerable distances.
5. It is already known to produce decking panels capable
o~ spanning considerable distances, and for example the
decking panel described in the Australian Patent of Handford
261,896 is one such decking panel. Deflection of such a
decking panel over a span is restrained, inter alia, by
10. interengagement of an upstanding rib which extends along
one edge of one decking panel within a channel extending
along the other edge of a similar adjacent deckiny panel,
the Handford specification describing one of a number of
d.ifferent types of decking panels which u~ilise this broad
15. general featuxe.
One of the features of previously proposed decking
panels however is the existence of a narrow but deep channel
having a downwardly directed mouth formed between adjacent
decking panel members, and these channels are known to -~
20. constitu'e havens for certain types of insects.
One object of this invention is to improve previously
proposed configurations in a decking panel, such that it is
possible to avoid having a channel direct~d downwardly.
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25. Briefly in this inventlon two similar decking panels
are interlocked by a return flange of a male channel engaging
within a female channel formed by a second return flange exten~
ding along the opposite edge of a similar panel, in uch a
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way that when so assembled the two channels have a common
mouth which is directed towards the upper surface of the
first panel, whereby the need for a downwardly directed
channel facing into a building is avoided.
More specifically in one aspect of this invention,
a decking panel which is engageable edge to edge with an
id~ntical panel, comprises a panel portion flanked along its
side edges with upstanding channels, one of which is a male
channel, the other a female channel, the cross-sectional
shape of the male channel wall along one side having an
upwardly extending portion which slopes upwardly and out-
wardly away from said panel portion and merges into a
downwardly and inwardly sloping return flange which is
located over the panel portion, such that the male channel
wall defines substantially a 'V' formation, the cross-
sectional shape of the female channel wall along the other ` ~ -
side also having an upwardly extending portion, a return
...
horizontal portion, an upwardly extending channel web, an
outwardly extending channel web, a return flange, and an `
inturned tongue, said female return flange being beyond said
panel portion, so constructed and arranged that when said ;-~
male channel flange of one panel is within the female
channel of a second panel of similar cross-section~con- ~ ~;
figuration in a decking, the two interengaged channels have -
a common mouth directed towards the upper surface of the
first said panel, said upwardly extending portion of the
male channel wall, where it merges into said downwardly and
inwardly sloping return flange, bearing against the inner
surface of said upwardly extending channel web of the female ~ ~ ~
30 channel wall, and said return flange of the male channel web ~ ; `
bearing against the inner surface of said inturned tongue. ~ -
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In this invention the upwardly extending flanges
of two similar decking panels are contiguous, when the
return flange of the male channel of one panel is within the
female channel of a second panel, so that there is no mouth
S directed downwardly into a building.
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An embodiment of the invention is described hereunder
in some detail with reference to and is illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a perspective section of portion of a roof
Eormed from interengaging decking panels which are in
accordance with this invention,
E'ig. 2 is an enlarged section illustrating one method
of assembly of two adjacent panels,
Fig. 3 is an enlarged section showing the return flange
of one panel with a second channel of a second panel of
similar cross-sectional configuration, and
Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a second
assembly method.
- In a preferred embodiment of a decking panel 10 is
arranged to interlock with an adjacent decking panel of
similar cross-sectional configuration. Each decking panel
10 is provided with a substantially 1at hand portion 11
which, when used as a roof/ceiling combination, is the
lowermost portion. The central part of the flat portion is
provided with an upwardly formed V crimp 12 in order to
impart stiffness to the otherwise flat panel portion. A
first side edge of the flat panel portion 11 terminates in
an upwardly extending portion 13 and a return flange 14
which is located over the panel portion 11, while the second
side also terminates in an upwardly extending portion designated
15 and a return flange 16, but in contrast to the return
flange 14 of the first side edge, the return flange 16 is
out beyond the panel portion 11. In each instance the flat
panel portion 11 terminates in a first crease line 19 which
delineates an upwardly sloping portion 20, again terminating
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in a second crease line 21 which delineates from the upwardly :~
sloping portion a short substantially vertical portion 22
the outer surfaces of which constitute abutment means for
abutting one panel alongside another as shown in Fig. 1.
In the upwardly extending portion 15, the vertical
portion 22 merges into a return horizontal portion 24 which
in ~urn merges into a further upstanding vertical channel
web 25, the vertical channel web 25 termina-ting along its
upper edge in a horizontal channel web 26 which terminates
in a depending vertical portion which is the return flange
16 and which has its lower edge inturned to function as an
inturned tongue 28, the configuration thereby being a ~. -.
rectilinear channel, herein termed a "female" channel. The
inturned tongue 28 is positioned away from the crease line
lS between the vertical portion 22 and the return horizontal .. ~
portion 24 in such a way as to form a mouth designated 29, ~ .
which is inclined downwardly and outwardly.
The other side of the flat portion 11 extends as said
with an upwardly extending portion 13 which includes an
outwardly sloping portion 31 above the narrow vertical ~
portion 22, but the sloping portion 31 merges through a .
radius into the return flange 14 which is an inwardly and ~-
downwardly sloping leg of an inverted V section channel
2 (herein termed a "male" channel), and which terminates at
such a position above the flat panel portion that when the
V-section male channel is forced or snap-fitted into the ~ ;
mouth of the female rectilinear channel of a similar section
panel (or alternatively the female channel pressed downwardly .
over the male channel), firstly the free leg of the V is
deflected inwardly and then it springs outwardly to engage
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the lnturned tongue and the inner surface of the depending
vertical portion of the rectilinear channel, as illustrated
by the arrow in Figs. 2 and 3, or alternatively, is rotated
into the rectilinear channel as illustrated by the arrow in
Fig. 4.
It is Eound that this firm interengagement causes
the assembly of the V-section male channel within the rectilinear
female channel to become a relatively rigid assembly which ~ `
adds greatly to the stiffness of the decking panel as a
whole, and reduces the need for closely spaced purlins for
; example. Furthermore, with this interengagement, the likeli-
hood of a panel becoming disengaged under the weight of a `
person walking thereover is greatly reduced, this being a
distinct advantage over previously known arrangements as for
example, that described in the said Patent 261,846.
The V-section channel is the only channel having its
mouth directed downwardly, but this is directed downwardly
and outwardly towards the upper outer surface of the roof of
which the panel forms part. Although spiders and other ~
insects may exist between the V-shaped panel and the inner `
walls of the rectilinear channel, their existence is o~ less
consequence than in previously proposed configurations, ~`~
since it is not easy for them to enter a roof protected by
panelling according to this invention, and the close abut-
ment of the contiguous vertical portions limits possible
ingress of insects into a building. The underside appearance
is aesthetically pleasing, and in many instances a separate
ceiling is not required.
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