Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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05-07-2000 ~ 02335554 2000-12-21 2 y~';~C'313y +-ø~ 89 2
EP 009904281 ,
i
1 '
3-137 YC.'.TII?P
"Set of modular cnnynersts for building trnnsprarcnt walls and walls made
tlsereof'
1~'ielti nttlrr. inv .ration
1'hc present invention generally relates to a set of modular wmponents far
building
removable walls as well as io removable walls made iltereof RCC01'dtng io the
preambles of claims 1 and 14.
Rxekgryof,~~he 'revcnlion
Modular comp<<ncnts in the form of hollow blocks consisting of two molded
plastic
halt'-hlncks , for exsntplc Of polycRrbonate, are disclosed in )rl' 0 438 1 l
0 Al ,
Said blocks of transparent plastic are ofTered as an altemuttive choice to the
hollow
glass blocks for building wal3s which are similar to the so called glass block
v.~alls.
Snap lack assemblies having the double function of spacers and cc>uplins
elements for
coupling adjacent blocks are provided on the perirnetral sides of said blocks
sa that
between adjacent blocks an air space is formed which is to be filled with a
layer of
hooding mortar,
After having built the block wall the latter cannot be disassembled.
Therefore, it is not.
possible to reuse the blocks of a built wall to form a new one or' to modify
an already
built w$11.
No teacluni; i.S given about the fastening of the plastic block wall to the
floor, the
and th room walls ofihe room in which the plastic block wall is built.
~~r-~ pa,~~s ~~q, 9~8.;~
AMENDED SHEET
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~5-07-2000 ~ 02335554 2000-12-21 EP 009904281
lA
Ll5-!~-5 033 245 discloses building blocks 10 of r,rraldCd plastic; rnatcri;~l
prwidcd with detachable soap lock cannectars 40 adjac;enl rrac:h corn er pf
the
block. in ,Irons details, cacti detachable snap lock GU11r1ectUr 40 includes a
central
tongue 42 or 43 flanked on both sides by a pair of grooves 44 funrred betwcc;n
the tongue and a triangularly shaped spacer 4G rrr a finger 48.
The purpose of said connectors 40 is to assemble the blocks and positively
securing the latter in a correct position while maintaining a spaciiy "S"
between
assembled blocks, whereby in said spacing "S" - a$cr completion of a wall - an
adhesive 38 is applied to form a strong adhesive bead 38 {Figures 6 and Gb)
that
resembles a typical roorlar joint frorn the uulside. In US-A-5 03~ 245 is
ficnhcr
dressed that the sealard penetrates opcnin~;s 58 and slots 59 between adjacent
~~looks 1 a and provides an exceptionally strong joint that greatly surpasses;
the
htjldint; power of a typical c:err>.ent Ur nrozi,ar ]Umt llUw used with glass
blocks or
bricks. This means that even if the blocks 10 are provided with detachable
sna.n
luck comcet.ors, tt~e wall, completed with the Necessary sealant joints cdn
not tie
disassenobled without. brt;aking the blocks 10 or parts thereof.
Alscr this docr.unent is silent t~boul hciw to fasten the built wall to t.trc
flour,
ceiling and room walls of the room iu which said wall is built..
WU-A-~'7 34 U.S8 discloses partition structures built by interconnecting
plastic
bhcks la provided with snap coupling means. The sufifiested snap coupling
means are basically formed by' a hook receptacle 24 and a hook 34,
rcspectivclp
- in a. cowesponding ttumbcr and location along the length of the block side
edf;es -, whereby said hook receptacle 24 and hou'k 34 (Fil;urCS. 11 acrd 12)
after
the interconnection or coupling thereof Figure 13) do not allow a separation
of
tire blocks, su that a lyarlitiorn structure or wall built up with similar
blocks can
not be disassembled at all without breaking the blocks or parts thereof.
AMENDED SHEET
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CA 02335554 2000-12-21 EP 009904281
-1B-
As stated nn pate A, lines I3 to 24 " T1e tv~~~o lips 28 aml 38 hold one
another
a~,d prevent the blocks i 0 from being separalrd from each other. T he blacks
l ~
can separate fi-oa~ each other only by permanent invalidation of one the
blocks."
'!'lye "disasscmblability concept" is not hravided foj~ in tple stated ohjectS
of WO-
A-97 34 058. On page 9, lines Z to ~ is stat.cd "Once the two blocks IO are
i~~tercon~,ccicd, the overlap of each first pair of spacing flame 2U with its
cor-respoudiitg second pair of spacing flange 30 can be ultrasonically welded
or
otherwise fastened to further secure adjac;cnt blocks 10 to each other."
It is therefore; obvious that the snap coupling means proposed in WU-A-97 34
~St3 could not be used ire t~lovks fur building disassemblabte partition
structures
or walls.
AMENDED SHEET
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~5-~07-2000 ~ 02335554 2000-12-21
L EP 009904281
2
tC~gether and are pcrirnetrally provided writh siidinl; coupling means
consisting of two
longitudinally aligned ribs on each perimetral block side. ~'hc fit is
accomplished by
means of a Frst abuuinfi movement of one block towards another one, acs drat
the
coupling ribs of both blocks are consecutively aligned, anti d subsequent
sliding
movement along the whole length of said ribs.
The vhasen kind of fit pcTmitS on the one hand to eliminate the use of
adhesive but
rccluire on the otlter hand several disadvantages.
First of X11 a wall built with said blocks does not have -- due to the
necessary sliding
Glearnes-s -- the necessary stiffness and sirct~th reduired fvr pwlitiun walls
in houses,
nals, offtccs and So on. Secondly, when disassembling a built wall said
coupling ribs
tend to brake away especially when, for safety purposes, thin adhcsivc strips
;ane laid
betwcctt the blookS, and thirdly a complicated block assemblability is tU
stre,s witch
invalves pr2ctical diflicultics and limits in building walls, espcc;ially at
tire pcrimctral
wall edges. 1'he plxstlc blocks are sold as such so that the wail assembler
have to
decide, for each wall, how to fasten the block wall to the floor, ceiling and
walls crf the
rao;n in which the block wall is built.
AMENDED SHEET
A further plastic block is known which consists of two lttalf blocks which arc
bonded
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Bearing in mind that said blocks typically have the form of a quadrangular
parallelepiped having a side length of ca. 20 cm, it is not explained how to
terminate a
wall made of such blocks in connection with the floor, ceiling and walls even
if it is
obvious that, for example, the top block row of the block wall or a lateral
edge thereof
could have a distance from the room ceiling or lateral room wall in the range
of about
1 to 19,5 cm.
A set of hollow plastic blocks has been disclosed by the inventor in the
Italian patent
application No. C098A000012, not yet published. The blocks herein disclosed
have
the configuration of a regular parallelepiped as well as of a parallelepiped
having a
perimetral chamfered side, which blocks on each perimetral side thereof are
provided
with detachable snap ft means. More precisely, on the adjacent perimetral
block sides
said snap coupling means is accomplished as male coupling ribs whereas on the
other
two adjacent perimetra! block sides the coupling means consists of female
coupling
ribs.
The coupling/uncoupling of two blocks can be accomplished on each block
perimetral
side by means of a simple push/pull coupling/uncoupling action onto the block
to be
joint to or detached from the other one. The blocks having a chamfered
perimetral side
allow to built indeed walls containing angulated sectors.
However, also in said document the problem about the terminating/fastening of
the
block wall in the room housing the latter has not been faced. Moreover, the
proposed
chamfered blocks require high investments for producing the necessary high
number of
molds as well as an expensive keeping in stock of said plurality of chamfered
blocks.
Summary of the invention
The main object of the set of modular components according to the present
invention is
to eliminate the disadvantages of the known modular blocks and walls built
therewith,
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and to provide a set of modular components enabling a quick building of
rectilinear
and/or angulated or bent walls by use of only few types of blocks which can be
removably assembled, which set of components is adapted to permit the building
of
very resistant walls without using adhesives, and allows to terminate the free
edges of
the erected wall as well as a reliable fixing of the block wall in a room in
which the
latter is built, and this irrespective of the dimensions and embodiments of
said block
wall.
This object is achieved according to the present invention with a set of
modular
components for building transparent walls having the features of claims l and
14.
Advantageous embodiments of the set of modular components, the single modular
components, and the walls built therewith have the features set forth in the
dependent
claims.
With the modular set according to the present invention and the walls made
thereof
several advantages are obtained.
In case of both rectilinear walls and walls with angulated sectors the blocks
according
to the present invention allow a quick assemblability of the wall starting
from the wall
bottom upwardly, and a direct coupling of the bottom block row to the floor
section as
well as of the other wall blocks to the vertical sections, and in case to the
ceiling or
wall terminating/fastening sections, as well as middle stiffening or
reinforcement
sections in a number at will, whereby said wall terminating/fastening and/or
ceiling
sections allow an automatic concealment of the air spaces between the wall top
blocks
andlor lateral wall edges and the room in which the block wall is built.
Fastening of the proposed sections to the room takes place in a conventional
manner,
for example by use of screws with plugs and, after fixing, said sections do
not require
any adjustment work.
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The embodiment of the ceiling and /or vertical section with detachable
diaphragm with
snaply engagement eliminates any need for cutting or adjusting the blocks
forming the
top block row or a lateral wall edge column or the proposed sections
themselves. The
provision of said detachable diaphragms also facilitate a disassembling of the
wall,
whereby both the blocks and the sections themselves can be reused for a
further use.
The sections made of metal, preferably light alloy, also impart to the block
wall a
remarkable stability and have rather narrow sides on sight, so that they do
not disturb
the generally aesthetic aspect of the blocks wall according to the present
invention.
The provision of one-piece angulated blocks which on the perimetral sides
thereof are
provided with the suggested detachable snap coupling means, allows first to
considerably reduce the number of molds with respect to that requested by
chamfered
blocks with a consequently simplification and a minor space for keeping in
stock.
Furthermore, the remarkably resistance and stability of the one-piece
angulated blocks
impart directly a greater strength or bending resistance to the built walls.
The metal sections according to the present invention can be advantageously
produced
in several colors in order to make more impressive the aesthetic aspects of
the built
walls.
It is further stressed that the walls built and assembled without sealants can
be at any
time easily removed, completed or transformed, for example by forming a door
aperture in a previously generally throughout wall or by transforming a
partial wall in
a generally throughout wall and so on, whereby the terminating sections also
allow to
fix on the latter the hinges for a door.
A further important advantage due to the fact that no adhesive is used is that
the time
needed for assembling the wall can be drastically reduced. Another advantage
is to be
seen in the fact that the concealment of the small abutment slots between
adjacent
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block is easily accomplished by applying on the wall face an adhesive narrow
tape at
will, for example made of metal or plastic. Said colored tapes substantially
contribute
to improve the general aesthetic aspect of the wall, and the tape color can
advantageously be decided after having built the respective wall. The tape
color, that is
the tape itself, can also be changed at any time, by substituting an already
applied tape.
Besides the particular configuration of the proposed coupling elements, the
fact of
avoiding the use of adhesives also assures a complete reutilization of the
blocks and
profiled sections which, after the wall disassembling, are intact and clean
because
adhesive-free, and therefore immediately ready for a new utilization. The
sections
made of metal, preferably aluminium alloy, can be cheaply and easily produced
by
extrusion, and they can be readily fixed in conventional manner by plugs and
screws
and do not require as well the use either of adhesives or of additional
components. The
stiffing sections used as vertical sections can as well be used as stringers
in order to
obtain a greater reinforcement of the wall. The location of said stiffening
sections in
the wall can be freely chosen and does not require any preliminary
accomodation work
as the blocks are directly manually fitted into said sections.
Another advantage of the proposed blocks is that along the perimetral air
space
between adjacent blocks it is possible to lay a small cable as well as small
lamps,
whereby the latter can also be inserted into the blocks through appropriate
holes
provided in the perimetral sides thereof This allows to achieve a functional
or
decorative lighting, for example a zonal one, of the built walls.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Farther features, details and advantages of the set of modular components for
making
transparent removable walls, as well as of the walls built with said modular
components according to the present invention will be apparent from the
following
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7
detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in
which
said set of modular components is shown in a preferred embodiment, which is
schematically illustrated on different scales for clarity purposes. In the
drawings:
Figure 1 is a front elevation view showing a large side of a modular base
block
according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the block of Figure 1 with a top detail A
and a
bottom detail B of the detachable snap coupling means in a preferred
embodiment
thereof;
Figure 3 shows both details A and B of the block of Figures 1 and 2 drawn
together, on
enlarged scale;
Figure 4 shows, on enlarged scale, a detail of the coupling condition of the
snap
coupling means of two blocks assembled together of Figures 1 to 3;
Figure 4A shows a detail similar to that of Figure 4 with an alternative
embodiment of
the detachable snap coupling means according to the present invention;
Figure 5 is a top plan view on a modular angulated block for forming curved
walls,
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are elevation views looking generally in the direction of
arrows D, B
and C, respectively;
Figure 9 is a top view showing the assembled condition of two angulated blocks
according to the Figures 5 to 8, the right hand block being shown with dotted
lines;
Figure 10 is a top plan view on a second modular angulated block, and more
precisely
on a 90° angled block;
Figures 11, 12, 13 and 14 are elevation views of the block of Figure 10
looking
generally in the directions of arrows A, B, D and C, respectively;
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Figures 15, 16 and 17 are cross-sections through a modular stiffening section,
a floor
or terminating/fastening section, and a ceiling or terminating/fastening
section,
respectively;
Figure 18 is an exploded sectional view showing the ceiling or wall
terminating/fastening section of Figure 17;
Figures 19, 20, 21 and 22 are views showing coupling steps of modular blocks
and
sections together according to the invention during assembling of walls
according to
the present invention;
Figures 23 and 24 are schematic front views showing two embodiments of walls
according to the invention;
Figures 25, 26 and 27 are top plan views showing further embodiments of walls
according to the present invention; and
Figure 28 is an elevation view showing an upset U-shaped wall construction
according
to the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
In the Figures equal numerals designate equal parts. The set 100 of modular
components comprises, for example, a basis modular block generally designated
1 and
shown in Figure 1, which is formed of two hollow abutting half blocks 2 and 3
of
plastic, for example of polycarbonate, which are firmly bonded together for
example
by means of ultrasonic welding or similar as denoted by a seam 4 in Figure 2.
A
through hole avoiding condensate is denoted by 6. The large front sides 7 and
8 can be
provided with a finishing or coloring at will. 9 and 10 designate thin
perimetral
abutting delimitation flanges as best shown in Figure 4. The detachable snap
coupling
means consists of a couple of profiled ribs 11 on each perimetral block side
which
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9
define a couple with a male configuration 12 or a couple with a female
configuration
13 as shown, for example, at the top and bottom of Figure 2.
In a preferred embodiment a couple of male ribs 12 located in a track-like
manner is
provided, preferably in the center, in two perimetrically adjacent block sides
whereas a
couple of female ribs 13, located in a track-like manner as well, is provided,
preferably
in the middle in the other two perimetrally adjacent sides of block 1.
A preferred configuration of said profiled ribs 11 forming the rails of said
tracks 12
and 13 and allowing a snap fit or coupling are best shown in the enlarged
details A and
B of figures 3 and 4. In the shown embodiment said track-like coupling means
is
advantageously created in the form of rail-like ribs 11 having a flat foot or
base portion
11A and a profiled portion 11B allowing a snap engagement and having
substantially
the form of a half circle or a cam-like projection with rounded corners as
shown.
Advantageously said rails or profiled ribs 11 of the male-like track 12 or
female-like
track 13 have the same contour.
Due to the strip-like configuration of the ribs 11 the latter have a good
degree of
elasticity which can be easily determined in function of the rib thickness, as
well
known to those skilled in the art. Also a small thinning at the base of ribs
11 (not
shown) would facilitate a hinge-like oscillation of ribs 11 during block
assembling/disassembling.
What discussed above with respect to the snap coupling means 12 and 13 also
applies
obviously for ali the modular block embodiments according to the present
invention.
A similar assembling/disassembling snap behaviour may be accomplished with the
alternative rib form or contour allowing a detachable fit shown in Figure 4A
in which
equal parts or parts equivalent to those shown in Figures 3 and 4 are denoted
by equal
numerals.
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According to the present invention the set 100 of modular components also
includes at
least a further modular component in the form of an angulated block consisting
of two
firmly bonded one-piece half blocks, as illustrated for example for the block
16 which
has an angle of 90° shown in Figures 10 to 14 or for the block 17 shown
in Figures 5 to
9 for building curved walls having a large radius.
To the blocks 16, 17, as well as to other not shown angulated blocks having a
different
angle, is common the fact that they form a sturdy one-piece component, and he
fact
that the bending plane 18 in provided in the block center, that is the blocks
16, 17 have
a symmetrical form.
On the perimetral sides of the blocks 16 and 17 they are also provided with
the above
discussed couples of coupling ribs 11 defining said mate 12 and female 13
detachable
snap coupling means.
More particularly, the angulated block 17 has a bending angle of 176°
and a general
taper of 4° as shown in Figure 9, whereby the assembling of these
blocks allows to
build a curved wall having a radius R of 2866 mm, Figure 26.
Due to its configuration, the modular angulated block 16 of 90° has the
large front
sides broken down and defined by both surfaces 7, 7A and 8, 8A, respectively.
Moreover, the angulated blocks 16 and 17 have the further features inferable
from the
modular block 1.
According to the present invention the set 100 of modular components besides
the
modular blocks 1, 16, 17 may additionally include stiffening sections and/or
terminating/fastening sections for perimetral terminating and/or fastening of
the built
wall in the room housing the latter, whereby said sections are illustrated in
cross-
section and in walls of Figures 1 S to 26.
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11
Said sections are, for example, a stiffening section 20 which can be used as a
vertical
section andlor a stringer, incorporated in a wall 50 of blocks 1, 16 and 17 or
similar
blocks, a floor fastening or wall terminating section 21, and a ceiling or
composite wall
terminating/fastening section 22, figure 15 to 18.
The stiffening section 20, Figure 1 S, has a double track-like snap fit
configuration with
opposite tracks 12, 13 and connecting end flanges 24 which project outwardly
forming
closure flanges 25. As best shown in Figure 1 S, each track rail 11 is formed
and
profiled like the above said coupling ribs 11 and represent male 12 and female
13
detachable snap coupling tracks as described hereinabove. Due to sturdiness
purposes,
section 20 is formed, in the shown example, as a box section, whereby the
thickness S
of the chamber 23 can be of the same order of magnitude of the abutment
grooves of
the known glass-block walls, for example of 17 mm. Said chamber 23 is further
delimited by the walls 27 and 29.
The floor section 21, Figure 16, has a base side 27 and a track-like
configuration 12
with male rails 11 allowing a detachable snap coupling as discussed above.
Due to sturdiness purposes also section 21 has a box-like configuration with a
thickness S of the chamber 23 corresponding to the thickness S of the chamber
23 of
said stiffening section 20. Projecting closure flanges are denoted by 26.
Said flanges 26 preferably represent a projection of end connection flanges
28. The
chamber 23 is further delimited by the walls 27 and 29.
The composite ceiling and wall terminating/fastening section 22 is formed by a
base
body 31 having a substantially L-shaped cross-section, whereby on the one wing
32 is
provided a positioning flange 33 and on the other wing 34 is provided an open
seat 35.
Said composite section 22 also includes a removable diaphragm-like strip 36
having an
internal stop and positioning flange 37 which, in the shown example, has a
chamfered
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free end 38. In the assembled condition the strip end 39 near the flange 37
rests against
the free end 40 of the seat 35 whereas the flange 37 rests against the bent
end 41 of
said seat 35 and with its free end partially extends parallel to the opening
42 of said
seat 3 5 .
Retaining of the diaphragm 36 in said base body 30 takes place with a
plurality of clip-
like springs 45 which are bent as shown in Figures 17 and 18 and housed in
section
seat 35. Said springs, which can have a length of for example 3 cm and are
snaply
inserted into said seat 35 with a distance from each other of, for example, 25-
30 cm,
have opposite active ends 46, 47 between which the flange 37 is inserted and
elastically retained. The correct positioning is facilitated by the stop 48
acting as a
positioning stop which should be surpassed by the spring end 47 when
disassembling
the composite section 22. In an alternative embodiment said spring 45 can also
be
produced as a bar spring of metal or plastic.
The length of the wings 32 and 36 of said composite section 22 is, in the
shown
example, of 80 mm and allows to practically conceal in a sure manner the air
spaces
formed between the top edge of the built wall and the room ceiling as well as
between
a wall lateral block column or wall edge and the adjacent room wall,
respectively. .
As inferable from the drawings, said proposed sections 20, 21 and 22 have
large
surfaces or zones allowing an easy access for drilling holes for screws to be
screwed in
fastening plugs or the like.
In Figure 19 is illustrated the position of two blocks 1 before coupling the
latter on a
stiffening sections 20 which can be used as a vertical section or a stringer,
whereby
from Figure 19 it is also inferable that after assembling the perimetral
abutting block
flanges 10 will be in an abutment alignment with said closure flange 25 of
section 20.
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In figure 20 is shown a pre-fitting position between a block 1 of a bottom
block row of
a wall and a floor section 21, which can also be used as a wall terminating
section
terminating a free edge of a wall 50, for example in case of a door aperture,
Figure 23,
and in this case to said section 21 can be fixed the door hinges (not shown).
In case of
curved walls, Figure 26, the floor section 21 will be preliminarly bent.
Bending of
section 21 can be carried out without problems by using conventional section
bending
machines.
Figure 21 shows a floor section 21 and two blocks 1 already coupled therewith
and a
block 1 before carrying out the coupling thereof. The coupling movements are
indicated by the arrows V (vertical movement) and O (horizontal movement).
Even if
per se indifferent, it is easier to first carry out the vertical coupling
between section 21
and block 1 by moving the latter according arrow V and then, by sliding the
block 1
along the section 21 according to arrow O, to accomplish the coupling between
the
blocks.
Due to the smoothness of the surfaces of ribs 11 of the extruded section 21
and the
elasticity thereof, the sliding movement of block 1 takes place without any
difficulties.
Figure 22 shows how with the ceiling or composite section 22 it is possible to
conceal
without problems an air space Z formed between the top row of blocks 1 of the
wall 50
and the ceiling of the room housing said wall S0. In the same manner it is
obviously
possible to bridge a similar air space between a lateral wall edge or column
of blocks I
of a wall 50 and the adjacent wall of the room housing said wall 50.
Building steps for mounting a block wall according to the present invention.
Example 1: Example of a partition wall filling the whole cross-section of the
room
housing said partition wall, Figure 23.
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After having fastened the floor section 21, the ceiling section 22 and both
wall
composite sections 22 (one of which could also be formed by a floor section 21
) by
means of conventional plugs and screws the first row of blocks 1 is snaply
fitted into
said floor section 21 and laterally into the terminating and fastening
sections 22. From
the combined sections 22 is previously removed the diaphragm-like strip 36.
The
required vertical sections 21 defining the door aperture and the vertical
reinforcing
sections 20 are also mounted and then is laid the second row of blocks 1 and
so on up
to the top row. During the assembling of said wall 50 the door lintel 20 as
well as other
stringers or reinforcing sections 20 are incorporated. After building the wall
50 the
composite sections 22 will be closed by snaply applying the diaphragms 36.
Example 2: Example of a partition partial wall with a through aperture
therein, Figure
24.
Also in this case, after having fastened in a room the floor section 21, the
ceiling
section 22 and a wall terminating section 21 (on the left of Figure 24)(or
alternatively a
further composite section 22) the first row of blocks 1 incorporating the
reinforcement
section 20 will be laid. The reinforcement stringer 20 as well as the
terminating
sections 21 defining the aperture 52 are then inserted in the corresponding
blocks 1 of
the wall 50 during gradually growing of the latter.
Lastly, the wall terminating section 21 (on the right of Figure 24) is applied
for
terminating the free lateral edge of the wall 50.
Example 3: Curved walls and walls with angulated sections, Figures 26 and 25.
As the angulated blocks 16, 17 are provided with male and female coupling
means 12,
13 which are equal to the coupling means of the modular blocks 1, the coupling
operations of said angulated blocks 16 and 17 together as well as with the
rectilinear
modular blocks 1 or the different sections 20, 21 and 22 are carried out as
above
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described, and also the building of the respectively desired wall SO will take
place as
set forth hereinabove.
When the wall 50 is built, without any use of adhesives, the wall abutting
grooves
between the coupled blocks 1, 16 and 17 will be concealed by applying a
removable
adhesive tape 53 of metal or plastic (Figure 4) which are preferably colored
and are for
example at first applied along the horizontal grooves and then along the
vertical ones
with overlappings at the crossing points thereof.
According to the present invention also the proposed modular sections 20, 21,
22 are
colored, so that it is possible to create pleasant chromatic aspects in the
walls 50, for
example with a desired tonality contrast between the block color and the color
of the
modular sections and the one of the groove covering tapes.
The disassembling of a wall 50 built with modular blocks and sections of sets
100
according to the present invention takes place in reverse order of the above
described
operations, which leads to the complete reutilization of the removed blocks
and
sections for building a new wall or modify an already built wall.
Bearing in mind the above stated teachings for building the .wall embodiments
of
Figures 23 to 26 it is easily possible to build other wall embodiments
incorporating the
concepts of the present invention as further shown for example in Figure 27,
in which
also a half circular covering is made of blocks 17, and in Figure 28, where
the wall has
curved and angulated sectors.
From the above structural and functional description it is inferable that with
the sets of
modular components for building disassemblable/transformable/integrable walls
according to the present invention it is possible to efficiently achieve the
above stated
object and to obtain the advantages set forth hereinabove.
...~.. ~,, n ,.m:.:wnr.~v vo ~ v- ~ - v . i ~ _.,"~ . ~.., ~ ...,.".. .,.~..,
_~ __ ____ _ _ ....
05-07-2000 CA 02335554 2000-12-21 EP 009904281
16
Lvcn if preferably made of polycarbona:e, the blocks acct~rtling to llte
py'rsenl
invention can practically bu prcrduar~ti of any transparent, half luster,
translucid yr
apaduc plastic and with large front sides having any ~'scushing whereas also
the
aluminium sections cao be produe~:d of any material and with any ~e~metric
configuration at will, without leaving the scope ~f the prt;aent invent ion.
A ~e single modular block and section components lay ut lht: starve of the
present
invention, and said compo»ettts could be freely cocnmemialize~i in packages
containing
either equal or mixed modular compomnts for building andl~r c:ory~leting
andlor
modifying walls or wall sectors.
,~~'he rnvdular cmnpvnertts having a confil,~uration as set forth in one or
mare of the
fctlcrwiy cl~irns may Im Irac;kect in groups of ecludl or mixed cx~mponents~
AMENDED SHEET
