[0001] The present invention relates to a method of building architectural panels for a
fence, a gate or a building wall.
[0002] A conventional fence is built by fixing and stacking concrete blocks side by side
and one on another with readymixed concrete. It is however difficult to build fences
having various appearances with such stacked blocks. To provide fences with various
appearances, a groove may be formed in the bed or underlying structural member, such
as the aforementioned block, and a projection may be formed in the back of the face
member, such as a tile, so that the face member can be attached to the bed by fitting
the projection of the face member in the groove of the bed and adhering both together,
as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. 22042/1994.
[0003] With the projection of the face member fitted in the groove of the bed, however,
the projection of the face member may be broken during transportation. Particularly,
to form a groove in the bed, constituted of an existing concrete block, by a concrete
cutter, the groove should be made narrow (generally, about 3 mm). This requires that
the projection should also be formed narrow, so that the projection becomes easier
to break. Further, if a projection is formed in a brittle face member, it is easily
broken when fitted in the groove in the bed or underlying structural member. Similar
problems arise when face members are attached to beds to construct the facing of a
gate or the wall of a building.
[0004] DE 42 04 588 A1 discloses decoration walls for interior or exterior use. There is
disclosed a method of attaching panels to a wall, which method comprises the steps
of driving fixtures, comprising nails or screws, into the wall of a building in such
a way that a part of each fixture protrudes from the wall; providing a groove or a
hole in a panel (face member); and placing said panel-hole over said fixtures. Especially,
fig. 24 shows that a nail has a male screw and that a decoration panel has a female
screw to be fitted to said male screw.
[0005] Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a method
of building architectural panels, which are structured in such a way that face members,
which are to be attached to underlying structural members to build a fence, a gate
or the wall of a building, permit the fence or gate to have a variety of appearances,
and that the face members are easily attachable to the underlying structural members
or beds without providing grooves in the beds by a special cutter or providing a easily
damageable projection on the face member.
[0006] It is another object of this invention to provide a method of building architectural
panels which improve the appearance of a fence, a gate or the wall of a building and
have an enhanced strength though they are light.
[0007] It is a further object of this invention to provide a method of building architectural
panels which are easy to transport and handle.
[0008] Other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following
detailed description.
[0009] According to the present invention, the objects are solved by a method as defined
in claim 1.
[0010] There is provided a method of building architectural panels, which comprises the
steps of driving fixtures, each constituted of a nail, screw or rivet, fit in an underlying
structural member or a bed of a fence, gate or a wall of a building in such a way
that a part of each fixture protrudes from the bed; fitting a groove or holes, formed
in a face member, over the fixtures; and securing the face member to the bed by an
adhesive. It is preferable that the face member has a base made of a synthetic resin
foam member and a mixture of an incombustible powdery material and an incombustible
adhesive is coated on the surface of the base of the face member to provide a stony
finish. It is also preferable that the bed is made of a synthetic resin foam member.
[0011] According to the method of this invention, fixtures, such as nails, are driven fit
in each bed, the groove or holes formed in each face member are fitted over the fixtures,
and the face member is fixed to the bed by an adhesive. Positions where the fixtures
are to be secured may be marked so that the fixtures can easily be provided on the
bed by securing the fixtures at the marked positions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012]
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one example of a fence to which a building method
according to the present invention is applied;
Fig. 2A is a perspective view exemplifying a face member to which the building method
of this invention is applied;
Fig. 2B is a partially cross-sectional side view of the face member;
Figs. 3A, 3B and 3C are diagrams illustrating a building method according to one embodiment
of this invention;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view exemplifying this invention as adapted for a gate post;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing another example in which this invention is adapted
for a gate post;
Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example in which this invention
is adapted for the wall of a building;
Fig.7A is a perspective view showing a face member to which a panel building method
of this invention is applied; and
Fig. 7B is a cross-sectional view showing the face member attached to a bed.
[0013] In Fig. 1, reference numeral "1" denotes beds (blocks) which are to be stacked on
a concrete sill 2 to build a fence. The beds 1 are prepared from concrete, resin,
stones or ceramics. A fence is built by stacking the individual beds 1 one on another
with readymixed concrete or an adhesive in between as needed. Reference numeral "3"
denotes fixtures which are to be secured to the surface of each bed 1. Nails, rivets
or screws are used as the fixtures 3.
[0014] Reference numeral "4" denotes a face member formed by synthetic resin foam member.
As shown in Figs. 2A and 2B, the face member 4 is prepared by uniformly coating a
mixture of an incombustible powdery material, such as sand or gravel, and an incombustible,
weather-resistive synthetic resin adhesive on the surface of a base 4a made of a synthetic
resin foam member and then drying the mixture. Accordingly, a top layer 4b has a stony
finish. A groove 4c is formed along and in the back of the face member 4.
[0015] In building this fence, first, holes 1a are bored by a drill 6 in the bed 1 at positions
where marks (not shown) have previously been put, as shown in Fig. 3A. Next, the fixtures
3 are driven into the holes 1a by a hammer 7 in such a way that a part of each fixture
3 protrudes from the top surface of the bed 1, as shown in Fig. 3B. As shown in Fig.
3C, an adhesive 5 should have previously been applied to the back of the face member
4. Then, the groove 4c of the face member 4 is fitted over the fixtures 3 so that
the back of the face member 4 is securely fixed to the top surface of the bed 1 by
the engagement of the groove 4c with the fixtures 3 and the adhesive 5. Although the
face member 4 is adhered only to one side of the bed 1 in the illustrated example,
the face member 4 may be adhered to the back too. In this example, a total of six
face members 4 are attached to a single bed 1, in two rows horizontally with three
face members 4 arranged in the vertical direction in each row. The correlation between
the quantities of the bed 1 and the face members 4 may however be changed in various
ways; for example, a single face member 4 may be attached to a single bed 1. In adhering
the face member 4 to the bed 1 by the adhesive 5, the groove 4c formed in the face
member 4 holds the adhesive 5 and also serves to prevent the downward flow of the
adhesive 5.
[0016] According to the method of this invention, the fixtures 3 are driven in the bed 1
and the groove 4c in the face member 4 is fitted over the fixtures 3 to attach the
face member 4 to the bed 1. This method requires no special tool such as a concrete
cutter, thus facilitating the attachment of the face member 4 to the bed 1. Further,
this method eliminates the need for providing an attachment projection which is easy
to break.
[0017] According to the invention, the base of the face member 4 is made of a synthetic
resin foam member and a mixture of an incombustible powdery material and incombustible
adhesive is coated as the top layer 4b on the top surface of the base 4a to provide
a stony finish. The use of the foam member for the face member 4 makes the face member
4 lighter. As a coat of a mixture of an incombustible powdery material and incombustible
adhesive is used as the top layer 4b to provide a stony finish, fire-proof and water-proof
are provided in addition to the improved appearance and the enhanced strength. If
the bed 1 is made of a foam member, the panel becomes lighter and becomes easier to
transport and handle. The use of a foam member for the bed 1 eliminates the need for
the drill 6 shown in Fig. 3A and requires only the hammer 7 as shown in Fig. 3B to
fix the fixtures 3.
[0018] Fig. 4 shows an example in which the method of this invention is adapted for a gate,
and illustrates the gate under construction. In building the gate in Fig. 4, first,
a support 9 made of an aluminum alloy extruded shape is secured onto the sill 2. Next,
beds 8 made of a foam member, which have holes 8a, are fitted over the support 9.
The fixtures 3 should have been driven in the outer surface of each bed 8. With the
groove 4c fitted on the fixtures 3, each face member 4 is secured to the bed 6 by
an adhesive. This method allows the beds 8 to be stacked one on another by fitting
the beds 8 on the support 9, thus facilitating the construction, and allows the beds
8 to be supported by the support 9 so that the beds 8 do not move freely, thus increasing
the strength.
[0019] In the example of Fig. 5, the fixtures 3 are driven in a reinforced concrete gate
post 10 having a circular cross section, a groove 11a formed in an arcuate face member
11 is fitted on the fixtures 3 and the face member 11 is secured to the gate post
10 by an adhesive.
[0020] In the example of Fig. 6, a bed 14, made of a foam member, resin plate, wood plate
or the like, is attached by fixtures 13 or an adhesive to a stud 12, which constitutes
the wall portion of a building, the fixtures 3 are driven in the bed 14, the groove
4c of the face member 4 is fitted on the fixtures 3, and the face member 4 is securely
fixed to the bed 14 by an adhesive.
[0021] The example of Fig. 7A is a modification of the face member 4 of this invention.
This modification has a plurality of holes 4d formed in the face member 4 instead
of the groove 4c. In this example, the individual holes 4d are fitted on the fixtures
3 and the face member 4 is fixed to the bed 1 by means of the adhesive 5 intervening
between the beds 1 and the face member 4, as shown in Fig. 7B. This fixing structure
of fitting such holes 4d on the fixtures can be adapted for a gate post, a gate or
the wall of a building.
[0022] The layout of the fixtures 3 for securing the bed 1, 8 or 14, and the specific shapes
of the face member 4 or 11, or the groove 4c or 11a are not limited to those illustrated
and may be modified in various other forms. For example, two or more grooves 4c or
11a may be formed in the face member 4 or 11 so that those grooves may be fitted on
the fixtures 3.
1. Verfahren zum Aufbauen von architektonischen Paneelen, das die folgenden Schritte
aufweist:
Stapeln einer Vielzahl von Unterlagenstrukturelementen (8), die aus synthetisiertem
Kunstharzschaum ausgebildet sind, um einen Gartenzaun, ein Tor oder eine Wand eines
Gebäudes auszubilden;
Treiben von Fixierungen (3), die jeweils aus einem Nagel, einer Schraube oder einem
Niet gebildet sind, von der Oberfläche der Unterlagenstrukturelemente (1) aus in die
Unterlagenstrukturelemente (1), bei einer Vielzahl von beabstandeten Stellen auf eine
derartige Weise, daß ein Teil jeder Fixierung von den Unterlagenstrukturelementen
(1) vorsteht;
Vorsehen von Vorderseitenelementen (4) mit einer Basis (4a), die aus synthetisiertem
Kunstharzschaum hergestellt ist, und wobei eine Oberfläche der Basis (4a) des Vorderseitenelements
(4) mit einer Mischung aus unbrennbarem Pulvermaterial und unbrennbarem Klebemittel
überzogen ist, um eine steinige Oberflächenbeschaffenheit zur Verfügung zu stellen,
und mit Nuten (4c) entlang der Rückseite davon;
Anordnen der Vorderseitenelemente (4) entlang der Oberfläche der Unterlagenstrukturelemente
(1), wobei die Fixierungen (3) in den Nuten (4c) aufgenommen sind, um die Vorderseitenelemente
(4) teilweise zu stützen; und
Befestigen der Vorderseitenelemente (4) an den Unterlagenstrukturelementen (1) durch
ein Klebemittel (5).