A PANEL

PANNEAU

English Abstract

A composite cladding panel has an internal skin or backing tray (2), and an
external skin (3) with foam insulation (4) between the tray (2) and skin (3).
A pre-formed gasket (20) is bonded to the external skin (3) and a coating (30)
is applied to the external skin (3) of the panel and to an outer face (21) of
the gasket (20) to provide a surface finish such as a textured finish. No
joint is visible between the coated skins (3) of adjacent panels.

French Abstract

L'invention concerne un panneau de revêtement composite doté d'une peau interne ou d'un plateau (2) de support, et d'une peau (3) externe muni d'une isolation (4) en mousse entre le plateau (2) et la peau (3). Un joint (20) préformé est collé à la peau (3) externe et un revêtement (30) est appliqué à la peau (3) externe du panneau et à une face (21) extérieure du joint (20) pour donner un état de surface tel qu'un aspect texturé. Aucun raccord n'est visible entre les peaux (3) revêtues de panneaux adjacents.

Claims

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CLAIMS
1. A composite cladding panel comprising an internal skin and an external skin
with insulation material therebetween, one of the skins having a gasket
extending along one edge thereof, the gasket having a decorative coating on
an external face thereof.
2. A panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein the external skin and/or the internal
skin have profiled joint forming portions for connecting adjacent panels.
3. A panel as claimed in claim 2 wherein the panel has a projecting part on
one
side and a corresponding recess on the opposite side of the panel.
4. A panel as claimed in claim 3 wherein the external skin has a projecting
part
on one side and a corresponding recess on the other side of the panel, the
gasket being located in or on the projecting part and/or recess.
5. A panel as claimed in claim 4 wherein the gasket is located in the recess
defined by the external skin.
6. A panel as claimed in any preceding claims wherein the gasket is bonded to
the skin.
7. A panel as claimed in claim 6 wherein the gasket is adhesively bonded to
the
skin.
8. A panel as claimed in claim 7 wherein the gasket has an adhesive thereon
for
bonding to the skin.

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9. A panel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the coating is applied to
the gasket after mounting the gasket to the panel.
10. A panel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the coating comprises a
screed-type finish.
11. A panel as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10 wherein the coating is applied
to
the external face of the gasket and to the external skin of the panel.
12. A panel as claimed in claim 11 wherein an edge coating is applied to an
overlap region adjacent the edge of the panel opposite to the edge to which
the gasket is applied.
13. A panel as claimed in claim 12 wherein the edge coating has a different
formulation to that of the coating applied to the gasket.
14. A panel as claimed in claim 13 wherein the edge coating comprises a
paint/pigment.
15. A panel as claimed in 14 wherein the edge coating is of the same colour as
that of the coating applied to the gasket.
16. A panel substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
17. A method for manufacturing a cladding panel of the type comprising an
internal skin and an external skin with insulation material therebetween, the
method comprising the steps, after forming the panel, of applying a gasket to
one side of the panel, and applying a coating to the external skin of the
panel
and the external face of the gasket.

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18. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the coating is applied after
applying the gasket to the panel.
19. A method as claimed in claim 17 or 18 wherein the gasket is bonded to the
panel.
20. A method as claimed in claim 19 wherein the gasket is adhesively bonded to
the panel.
21. A method as claimed in any of claims 17 to 20 wherein the coating
comprises
a screed-type finish.
22. A method as claimed in any of claims 17 to 21 wherein the coating is
applied
to the external face of the gasket and to the external skin of the panel.
23. A method as claimed in claim 22 wherein an edge coating is applied to an
overlap region adjacent the edge of the panel opposite to the edge to which
the gasket is applied.
24. A method as claimed in claim 23 wherein the edge coating has a different
formulation to that of the coating applied to the gasket.
25. A method as claimed in claim 24 wherein the edge coating comprises a
paint/pigment.
26. A method as claimed in 25 wherein the edge coating is of the same colour
as
that of the coating applied to the gasket.

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27. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.

Description

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"A Panel"
Introduction
The invention relates to a composite cladding panel of the type comprising an
inner
skin and an external skin with insulation foam material therebetween.
Buildings comprising a steel frame on which pre-formed panels are mounted may
be
erected quickly and more cheaply than buildings with brick or block facades.
One of the problems with buildings constructed from pre-formed panels is that
such
panels can often be uninteresting aesthetically. It is known to form such
panels with
various profiles and in various colours, however, there is still a need to
provide an
aesthetically different fagade in some cases.
This invention is directed towards providing a panel system which will address
this
need.
Statements of Invention
According to the invention there is provided a composite cladding panel
comprising
an internal skin and an external skin with insulation material therebetween,
one of
the skins having a gasket extending along one edge thereof, the gasket having
a
decorative coating on an external face thereof.
In one embodiment the external skin and/or the internal skin have profiled
joint
forming portions for connecting adjacent panels. The panel may have a
projecting
part on one side and a corresponding recess on the opposite side of the panel.

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In one case the external skin has a projecting part on one side and a
corresponding
recess on the other side of the panel, the gasket being located in or an the
projecting
part and/or recess. The gasket may be located in the recess defined by the
external
skin.
In one embodiment wherein the gasket is bonded to the skin. The gasket may be
adhesively bonded to the skin. The gasket may have an adhesive thereon for
bonding to the skin.
In one embodiment the coating is applied to the gasket after mounting the
gasket to
the panel.
The coating may be applied to the external skin and the external face of the
gasket.
The coating may comprise a screed-type finish.
The invention also provides a method for manufacturing a cladding panel of the
type
comprising an internal skin and an external skin with insulation material
therebetween, the method comprising the steps, after forming the panel, of
applying
a gasket to one side of the panel, and applying a coating to the external skin
of the
panel and the external face of the gasket.
The coating may be applied after applying the gasket to the panel. The gasket
may
be bonded to the panel. In one case, the gasket is adhesively bonded to the
panel.
Brief Description of Drawim
The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description
thereof
given by way of example only, in which:-

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Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic partially cross-sectional view of a known composite
insulating cladding panel;
Fig. 2 is a view of the composite panel of the invention with a gasket being
applied;
Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the gasket applied;
Fig. 4 is a view of a coating being applied to the gasket and panel;
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of two adjacent panels prior to jointing;
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the panels of Fig. 5 jointed together;
Fig. 6(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of a partially open joint; and
Figs. 7(a) to 7(h) are diagrams illustrating various steps in the method of
manufacturing and using the panels of the invention.
Detailed Description
Referring to the drawings and initially to Fig. I there is illustrated a
composite
cladding panel 1. The panel I comprises a skin or backing tray 2 which is
usually of
steel and an external skin 3 which is also usually of steel with a layer of
foam
insulation material 4 such as a phenolic or polyurethane based foam material
therebetween. The panel may be of any suitable type such as that described in
our
UK 2325678A.
The panel has formations along both side edges. The formations are profiled so
that
one side edge of a panel is interengagable, on assembly, with the opposite
side edge

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4
of an adjacent panel. Thus, the external skin 3 is profiled to define a male
projecting
part 6 along one side and a corresponding recess 7 along the opposite side.
Similarly
the internal skin 2 is profiled to define a male projecting part 8 along one
side and a
corresponding recess 9 along the opposite side. Various seals may be provided
at the
joint.
In the invention, a pre-formed gasket 20 of a suitable material such as a
flexible
material, for example a plastic or rubber is bonded to the external skin 3, in
this case
to the recess-forming portion 7 of the external skin 3. The gasket 20 has a
generally
flat main part 21 and a depending leg 22 for bonding to the external skin 3.
The
main part 21 has an external face 23 to which a coating such as a screed 30 is
applied. The gasket 20 is bonded to the external skin in any suitable manner.
For
example the leg 12 of the gasket may have an adhesive thereon for bonding to
the
external skin 3. Alternatively or additionally, adhesive may be applied to one
or
both of the gasket leg 22 or external skin 3. For ease of use, generally the
gasket 20
can be self-adhesively bonded to the external skin 3. An adhesive layer 25 is
shown
schematically in the drawings.
The coating 30 is in this case applied after the gasket 20 has been bonded to
the
external skin 3. The coating 30 is applied not only to the outer face of the
main part
21 of the gasket 20 but also to the external skin 3 to the opposite side of
the panel. In
the drawings, the depth of the coating has been exaggerated for illustrative
purposes.
The coating 30 may be applied in any suitable manner such as by using a spray
head
40. Any suitable material may be used as a coating to provide any desired
surface
finish. It may provide a textured finish, for example.
The coating 30 may be applied fully to the external skin from the gasket 20 to
opposite side edge or it may be interrupted or patterned to provide any
desired effect.
There may be more than one layer/coat applied. For thicker coatings, the
coating
may be stopped short of the opposite side edge or may be tapered towards this
edge

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so that an assembly of adjacent panels there is continuity between the
coatings of
adjacent panels as illustrated in Fig. 6. No joint is visible.
The coating 30 is applied to the external face of the gasket 20 and to the
external skin
3 of the panel. An edge coating 50 may be applied to an overlap region 52
adjacent
the edge of the panel opposite to the edge to which the gasket 20 is applied.
Referring to Fig. 5 the pigment/paint 50 may be applied to any bare surface
region
52 of the projecting part 6. The paint 50 may be applied in any suitable
manner, for
example using a spray head 51. The paint will generally be the same
colour/pigment
as that of the render coating 20. It may be the same pigment as that of the
render 20
but without containing any aggregate so that a thin layer can be applied. The
paint 50
ensures that in extreme conditions if the panels expand/contract slightly any
gap
between the render coatings of adjacent panels at the joint is not readily
visible. An
extreme exaggerated example is illustrated schematically in Fig. 6(a).
There are many advantages of the invention. Because the coating can be applied
off
site from the location where the cladding panels are to be used the
installation is
simplified. There is no need for separate coatings to be applied on-site, thus
avoiding the use of so-called wet trades on site whilst still providing an
aesthetically
desirable finish.
Very many variations on the invention are possible. For example, a gasket and
a
coating may be applied alternatively or additionally to the internal skin. The
inner
coating may be different from the outer coating.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which
may
be varied in detail.

Representative Drawing