U.S. patent application number 09/780252 was filed with the patent office on 2002-09-12 for device for invisibly fastening panels to walls.
Invention is credited to Knappe, Horst.
Application Number | 20020124498 09/780252 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 7631322 |
Filed Date | 2002-09-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020124498 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Knappe, Horst |
September 12, 2002 |
Device for invisibly fastening panels to walls
Abstract
A device for invisibly fastening panels, especially natural
stone heating panels, to walls with the help of a holding element,
engaging a blind recess of the panel, wherein the blind recess
essentially is a T-shaped groove with a threading opening, which is
engaged by the cross sectionally corresponding head of the holding
device.
Inventors: |
Knappe, Horst; (Doerzbach,
DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JORDAN AND HAMBURG LLP
122 East 42nd Street
New York
NY
10168
US
|
Family ID: |
7631322 |
Appl. No.: |
09/780252 |
Filed: |
July 5, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/235 ; 52/698;
52/699 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F27D 1/004 20130101;
F27D 1/145 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/235 ; 52/698;
52/699 |
International
Class: |
E04H 001/00; E04H
003/00; E04H 005/00; E04H 006/00; E04H 014/00; E04B 002/00; E04B
005/00; E04B 009/00; E04B 001/38; E04C 005/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 17, 2000 |
DE |
100 07 269.0 |
Claims
1. A device for invisibly fastening panels, especially natural
stone heating panels, to walls with the help of a holding element,
engaging a blind recess of the panel, wherein the blind recess
essentially is a T-shaped groove (10, 10') with a threading opening
(15, 15'), which is engaged by the cross sectionally corresponding
head of the holding device (7).
2. The fastening device of claim 1, wherein the holding device (7)
comprises a binding stone (8).
3. The fastening device of claim 1, wherein the holding device (7)
comprises a sliding block (8').
4. The fastening device of claims 1 to 3, wherein the axis of the
T-shaped groove (10, 10') is disposed vertically and the threading
opening (15, 15') for the holding elements (7) is disposed at the
lower end.
5. The fastening device of one of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the
threading opening (15') is a blind borehole, through which a
profiling cutter (13) can be brought into the working position for
machining the T-shaped groove.
6. The fastening device of one of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the
T-shaped groove (10) is a curved groove, which ends at one end on
the rear side (11) of the panel (1) and is machined by means of a
profiler cutter (13).
7. The fastening device of one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the
T-shaped groove (10, 10') is filled with a curing filling agent
after the holding part (16), protruding over the rear (11) of the
panel (1), is introduced.
8. The fastening device of claim 7, wherein the filling agent is an
epoxy resin.
9. The fastening device of one of the claims 1 to 8, with a
covering plate (20), which covers the T-shaped groove (10, 10')
with its threading opening (15, 15'), preferably is fastened to the
holding element (16) and optionally is provided with an opening
(18) for injecting the filling agent.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a device for invisibly fastening
panels, especially heating panels of natural stone, to walls with
the help of a holding element, which engages a blind recess in the
panel.
[0002] Aside from the visible fastening by metal hooks, which are
suspended from loops screwed to the natural stone panel, invisible
means of fastening using straddling dowels of brass or undercut
dowels, which are mounted in the back side of heating panels, have
also already been proposed. A blind hole with a diameter of, for
example, 8 mm and a depth of 14 mm is drilled with a diamond drill
between the cable grooves into the back side of the heating panel,
which usually is about 30 mm thick, and an M6 brass dowel is
inserted. The borehole is dimensionally accurate to less than 0.2
mm in order to prevent turning of the dowel as the screw is being
screwed in up to the start of the expansion process. However,
contrary a twist drill for metal and wood, the diamond drill for
working stone is subject to wear at the shaft diameter, so that the
borehole increasingly becomes smaller.
[0003] Admittedly, in the case of the so-called undercut dowels,
the problem described above is eliminated; however, it is paid for
dearly by the very high purchase price of a special drilling
device. Moreover, for both types of fastening, only permissible
temperature ranges are in effect, which lie outside of the heating
range, that is, far below 100.degree. C., so that their use for
natural stone heating panels practically does not come into
consideration. Natural dimensional changes due to relative high
temperature changes of the heating panel make the durability of the
dowels in natural stone heating panels uncertain especially when a
naturally produced crack (porous spot) is present, which is hardly
visible to the eye.
[0004] It is therefore an object of the invention to configure a
fastening device of the type named above, which is easily
manufactured and installed, so that panels can be held securely and
invisibly at walls without problems, even when the temperature
differences are high.
[0005] Pursuant to the invention, this objective is accomplished
owing to the fact that the blind recess essentially is a T-shaped
groove with an expanded threading opening, which is engaged by the
head of a holding element, the head having an appropriate cross
section.
[0006] The holding element, which may be a binding stone or a
sliding block, is inserted with its expanded head through the
threading opening and then shifted along the groove up to the other
end of the latter.
[0007] Preferably, the axis of the T-shaped groove should be
disposed vertically and the threading opening for the holding
element should be disposed at the lower end, so that the holding
element is prevented from being unhooked by the weight of the
panel. Especially if the groove, as can be provided for in a
further development in the invention, is filled with a curing
filling material, such as an epoxy resin, which is introduced after
the holding element, protruding over the rear of the panel, is
introduced, the orientation of the groove and the arrangement of
the threading opening, can also be accomplished in a different
manner.
[0008] A profiling cutter can be used to machine the inventive
T-shaped groove. Aside from the possibility of forming the
threading opening by means of a previously introduced blind
borehole, through which a profiling cutter for introducing the
T-shaped groove can be brought into the working condition,
production in one step is also possible in that namely the groove
is a curved groove, one end of which discharges in the rear side of
the panel and is machined with the profiling cutter in one process.
Filling the groove with a filling agent, especially with an epoxy
resin, which remains elastic and which does not exert any splitting
effects on the stone even if there are temperature changes, not
only has the advantage of fixing the holding element independently
of the orientation of the axis of the T-shaped groove, but also
prevents penetration of water and, with that, corrosion of the
holding element as well as freezing of the water in the groove,
which can occur even in natural stone heating panels, once the
heating panel is switched off for a prolonged period.
[0009] The holding element can be connected with the wall in
different ways. For example, a U-shaped suspension hook can be
used, the leg of which, in contact with the wall, can be screwed on
or otherwise be fastened and to the other leg of which, lying in
front of the fastened leg, the holding element can be hooked or
also screwed or otherwise fastened.
[0010] Further advantages, distinguishing features and details of
the invention arise out of the following description of an example
and from the drawing, in which
[0011] FIG. 1 shows a section through a panel with a horizontal
T-shaped groove, invisibly mounted in front of a wall,
[0012] FIG. 2 shows a section parallel to the axis of the T-shaped
groove for illustrating the suspension of the binding stone used in
FIG. 1,
[0013] FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the rear side of the panel
before the binding stone is introduced,
[0014] FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the covering disk of the
T-shaped groove,
[0015] FIG. 5 shows a side view of the covering disk of FIG. 4,
[0016] FIG. 6 shows a section, corresponding to that of FIG. 2,
through a panel while a sliding block is being suspended,
[0017] FIG. 7 shows a section perpendicular to the sectional plane
of FIG. 6
[0018] FIG. 8 shows a section through a panel parallel to the axis
of the groove to illustrate the forming of the T-shaped groove by
means of a profiling cutter and
[0019] FIG. 9 shows a section, corresponding to that of FIG. 8,
through a panel for a different type of construction of the
threading opening for the profiling cutter.
[0020] In FIG. 1, a panel 1 can be recognized, especially a natural
stone heating panel, in which meander-shaped heating coils are
inserted, which are not shown in the drawing. With the help of a
U-shaped fastening hook 2 and a wall dowel 3, the panel is fastened
invisibly to a wall 4. The leg 5 of the fastening hook, in contact
with the wall, is fastened with the help of the wall dowel to the
wall. On the other hand, the second leg 6 serves to hold an
engaging holding element 7 directly in a blind recess of the panel
1. In the case of FIG. 1, this holding element 7 comprises a
binding stone 8, the expanded head 9 of which corresponds in no
dimensions essentially to the dimensions to the T-shaped groove 10.
In the case of the examples of FIGS. 1 to 8, this T-shaped groove
10, which is produced in panel 1 with the help of a profiling
cutter, is formed a curved groove, which ends at one end in the
rear side 11 of the panel 1, so that it can be machined in one
step, as can be seen in FIG. 9, with the help of a profiling cutter
13, which can be swiveled about a point of rotation 12 and is
populated with diamonds in the front region 14. At the same time, a
threading opening 15, through which either a binding stone 8 or,
corresponding to FIGS. 7 and 8, a sliding block 8' can be suspended
with a hook part 16 for connection to the fastening hook 2, is
formed in the rear side 11 of the panel 1.
[0021] Instead of machining an arc-shaped, T-shaped groove, this
back-cut groove 10' can also extend parallel to the rear 11 of the
panel 1, as shown in FIG. 10. In this case, before the groove 10'
is machined with the help of the profiling cutter 13, as shown in
FIG. 9, a threading opening 15, preferably in the form of a blind
borehole, must be produced in the panel 1. The profiling cutter is
inserted through this threading opening 15' and then moved to the
right in FIG. 10, so that the back-cut T-shaped groove 10' is
formed.
[0022] After the holding element, that is, either the binding stone
8 or the sliding block 8', are introduced, in order to be able to
fill the groove 10, 10' particularly easily with a filling agent,
for example, by injecting epoxy resin, a covering disk 20 (FIGS. 4
and 5) is provided in the examples shown. On the one hand, this
covering disk 20 has a recess 17' for the shaft of the binding
stone or the holding part 16 of the sliding block and is fastened,
for example with screws to the rear side with the help of these
holding elements. On the other, it has an injection opening 18,
through which the filling agent can be introduced. This injection
opening 18 can be formed by a U-shaped stamping of the covering
disk 20, so that, after the injection, the bracket 19 formed can be
pressed backed into the plane of the covering plate 10, and, with
that, closes off the groove, so that the filling agent can not run
out before it has cured.
[0023] With respect to the orientation of the axis of the T-shaped
groove, the respective conditions must be taken into consideration,
that is, for example, the suspension orientation, which depends on
the grain of the panel 1 and the direction, in which the heating
coils are brought into the rear of panel 1. Of course, if there is
only a small distance between the heating coils, the groove can
only be parallel to the latter. This also determines whether the
groove, during the suspension, extends horizontally or vertically.
If the groove is injected, this orientation plays no role
whatsoever, if not, it should as far as possible be perpendicular
with a threading opening disposed at the underside.
* * * * *