A CLADDING PANEL

PANNEAU DE BARDAGE

English Abstract

A composite cladding panel 1 comprises a backing tray 2 and an external skin 3 with a layer of foam insulation 4 therebetween. A plurality of spacers 10 are attached to the external skin 3. The spacers 10 are of top-hat form with mounting legs 41 for mounting to the skin 3 and a support 40 to which side edge clips 20 are mounted. The clips 20 have spaced-apart formations 21 that engage in corresponding side edge recesses 22 of tiles 5. The top hat spacers 10 space the tiles 5 apart from the skin 3 of the panel so that the tiles 5 define with the skin 3 ventilation passageways 30 which can remove moisture.

French Abstract

L'invention concerne un panneau de bardage composite (1) qui comprend un plateau de support (2) et un revêtement externe (3) entre lesquels se trouve une couche d'isolation en mousse (4). Plusieurs éléments d'espacement (10) sont fixés au revêtement externe (3). Les éléments d'espacement (10) ont une forme de chapeau haut-de-forme avec des pieds de montage (41) pour un montage sur le revêtement (3) et un support (40) auquel sont montées des attaches de bordure latérale (20). Les attaches (20) ont des formations espacées (21) qui entrent en prise avec des cavités de bordure latérale correspondantes (22) de carreaux (5). Les éléments d'espacement haut-de-forme (10) espacent les carreaux (5) du revêtement (3) du panneau de telle sorte que les carreaux (5) définissent avec le revêtement (3) des passages de ventilation (30) qui peuvent chasser l'humidité.

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 plurality of
spacers attached thereto, the spacers being adapted for fixing tiles or the
like
to the spacers to form a cladding, the tiles defining with the skin to which
they are attached a ventilation passageway.
2. A panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spacers comprise support
elements.
3. A panel as claimed in claim 2 wherein the support element comprises a
mounting leg for mounting to the panel and a support leg for receiving a tile
fixing.
4. A panel as claimed in claim 3 wherein the support element is of top-hat
form.
5. A panel as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4 wherein the support elements are
attached to the panel by a plurality of fasteners.
6. A panel as claimed in claim 5 wherein the fastener comprises a clamping
fastener.
7. A panel as claimed in claim 6 wherein the clamping fastener comprises an
internal sleeve and a bolt, the sleeve clamping to the inside of the external
skin on tightening of the bolt.
8. A panel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the external skin of the
panel has an adhesive on the inner face thereof.

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9. A panel as claimed in claim 8 wherein the adhesive is applied to the inner
face of the external skin prior to lay-down of liquid insulating foam
reactants.
10. A panel as claimed in any preceding claim comprising a plurality of tile
fixings attached to the spacers.
11. A panel as claimed in claim 10 wherein the tile fixings are edge tile
fixings.
12. A composite cladding panel comprising an internal skin and an external
skin
with insulation material therebetween, one of the skins having a plurality of
support elements attached thereto, the support elements being adapted for
fixing tiles or the like to the support elements to form a cladding, the
support
element comprises a mounting leg for mounting to the panel and a support
leg for receiving a tile fixing.
13. A panel as claimed in claim 13 wherein the support element is of top-hat
form.
14. A panel substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.

Description

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"A cladding paneP'
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. One such system is described in
our
W02006/064489A.
This invention is directed towards providing an improved panel system of this
type.
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 plurality of spacers attached thereto, the spacers being
adapted for
fixing tiles or the like to the spacers to form a cladding, the tiles defining
with the
skin to which they are attached a ventilation passageway.
In one embodiment the spacers comprise support elements.

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The siupport element preferably comprises a mounting leg for mounting to the
panel
and a support leg for receiving a tile fixing.
In a particularly preferred embodiment the support element is of top-hat form.
In one embodiment the support elements are attached to the panel by a
plurality of
fasteners. The fastener may comprise a clamping fastener. The clamping
fastener
may comprise an internal sleeve and a bolt, the sleeve clamping to the inside
of the
external skin on tightening of the bolt.
In one embodiment the external skin of the panel has an adhesive on the inner
face
thereof. The adhesive may be applied to the inner face of the external skin
prior to
lay-down of liquid insulating foam reactants.
In one embodiment the panel comprises a plurality of tile fixings attached to
the
spacers. In one case the tile fixings are edge tile fixings.
In another aspect the invention provides a composite cladding panel comprising
an
intemal skin and an external skin with insulation material therebetween, one
of the
skins having a plurality of support elements attached thereto, the support
elements
being adapted for fixing tiles or the like to the support elements to form a
cladding,
the support element comprises a mounting leg for mounting to the panel and a
support leg for receiving a tile fixing. Preferably the support element is of
top-hat
form.
Brief Description of the Drawings
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 perspective view of a composite insulating cladding panel system
according to the invention;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the composite panel of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views illustrating a fastener used with the
panel; and
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the fastener, in use.
Detailed Description
Referring to the drawings there is illustrated a composite cladding panel I
according
to the invention. The panel 1 comprises a steel skin or backing tray 2 and an
external
steel skin 3 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 UK2325678A, the entire contents of which
are
hereby incorporated by reference.
One of the skins, in this case the external skin 3 has a plurality of spacers
for fixing
fagade or cladding elements such as tiles 5 to the panel. The tiles may be
brick,
ceramic or the like to form a cladding for the panel. The spacers comprise
support
elements 10 and fasteners 12 for fastening the support elements 10 to the
external
skin 3.
Each fastener 12 comprises an internal clamping sleeve 15 and a bolt 16. One
such
fastening systems is that referred to in a Fablok (Trade Mark). A hole is
first drilled
through the skin 3 and the sleeve 15 is inserted as illustrated in Fig. 3. On
tightening
of the bolt 16, the sleeve 15 splays and is clamped against the inside surface
of the

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external skin 3 as will be particularly apparent for Figs. 4 and 5. The
support
element 10 has pre-drilled holes through which the shanks of the bolts 16 are
inserted. On tightening of the bolts 16, the support elements 10 are fixed to
the
panels. In this way the support elements 10 are efficiently and effectively
clamped
to the external skin 3. The support elements 10 are omitted from Figs. 2 to 5
for
clarity.
To enhance the peel strength of the composite panel a layer 30 of an adhesive
is
applied to the internal face of the external skin 3. The adhesive layer 30 is
a pre-lay-
down adhesive which is compatible with the material of the insulting core 4.
We
have found that the use of such an adhesive greatly enhances the peel strength
of the
panel and enables the panel to carry the additional load of the cladding
tiles.
In manufacture, an external skin 3 is drawn from a reel and laid down in a lay-
down
bed with the internal face uppermost. The adhesive 30 is then uniformly
applied
over the internal face of the skin 3 prior to lay-down of liquid foam
reactants. The
inner skin 2 is then led from a reel and located above the liquid foam
reactants. The
assembly is the passed through an oven in which the liquid foam reactants
expand to
form the insulating core 4. A desired length of panel is then cut.
The support elements 10 are laid out across the external face of the skin 3 of
the
panel and the locations for fastening the receiving holes to be drilled in the
panel are
marked. The support elements may be removed, the holes drilled and the
clamping
sleeves 15 inserted. The holes in the support elements 10 are aligned with the
clamping sleeves 15 and the bolts are inserted and tightened, clamping the
support
elements 10 to the skin 3 as described above. The tiles 5 are then fixed to
the
support elements 10 using side edge fixing clips 20 having spaced-apart
formations
21 that engage in corresponding side edge recesses 22 of the tiles 5. The
tiles 5 are
moved into place and held on the support elements 10. No fixing screws are
required to mount the tiles 5 to the support elements 10.

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The invention provides a composite panel of relatively simple but highly
robust
construction which facilitates easy on site cladding with finishing tiles such
as brick
tiles.
In the invention the spacers 10 space the tiles 5 apart from the skin of the
panel to
5 which they are attached. Thus, the tiles 5 define, with the skin 3 of the
panel
ventilation passageways 30. These ventilation passageways 30 can remove
moisture
which is particularly useful in the case of a porous facade or tile. The
ventilation gap
defined by the spacers 10 is preferably at least 25mm but can be at least 50mm
or
possibly larger, depending on the application.
It will be appreciated that a fire break can be provided between the tiles and
the
panel to prevent fire travelling in the gap therebetween. Such a fire break
may be of
an intumescent material that expands only in a fire situation. Thus,
ventilation is not
restricted in normal use.
The support elements 10 in this case have a support 40 to which the tile
fasteners/clips 20 are readily mounted and a mounting leg 41 for mounting the
support element 10 to the panel. In this case the support elements are of top-
hat
shape which is a particularly suitable form for this application because a top
hat
section has two sidewardly projecting fixing legs. The top hat form is a very
stable
section that ]ends itself to being fixed to flat surfaces.
It will be appreciated that in use the panels may be vertically orientated as
illustrated
in Fig. I which is particularly suitable when ventilation is required.
However, the
panels may be horizontally orientated. The top hat support elements may also
be
vertically or horizontally orientated.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which
may
be varied in detail.

Representative Drawing