Element for cladding or covering a lattice work for walls and roofs of buildings

Abstract

 The present invention relates to an element (1) for cladding or covering a latticework (7) for walls and roofs of buildings, which element comprises a layer of insulation material (4) on a rigid base layer (6), in which insulation layer (4) one or more structural ribs (5) are present. The present invention furthermore relates to a building provided with such an element.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an element for cladding or covering a latticework for walls and roofs of buildings, which element comprises a layer of insulation material on a rigid base layer, in which insulation layer one or more structural ribs are present. The present invention furthermore relates to a building provided with such an element.

[0002] At present a number of roof and wall cladding and insulation systems are generally used in the construction of industrial buildings. In its simplest form, the system comprises the mounting of inner sheeting on a latticework, followed by the provision of an insulation material, after which finally the outer sheeting or outer skin is provided, e.g. bitumen or a layer of plastic material. A drawback of such a system is the fact that the mounting thereof is relatively labour-intensive and thus costly.

[0003] Another system is the blanket system that is known from Dutch patent No. 1013414, which corresponds to US patent No. 6,596,348. The insulation material that is known therefrom comprises blankets, which blankets are provided with joining elements along their edges for forming a joint between individual blankets, wherein a so-called zipper construction is used as the joining element. Such a zipper construction comprises a blanket provided with a first joining strip including a first section, which extends continuously along the length of the first joining strip, a blanket provided with a second joining strip including a second section, which extends continuously along the length of the second joining strip, wherein the dimension and the shape of said first section and said second section have been selected to enable the second section to engage in the first section in order to join the first joining strip and the second joining strip together so as to provide a joint between individual blankets. According to the blanket system, a flexible blanket is provided over a latticework, the vapour-inhibiting lining of which blanket is unrolled, facing inwards, after which an outer skin, in particular sheeting, is provided. A drawback of such a blanket system is the fact that the insulation material is compressed at the location of the latticework, so that a thermal bridge is formed, which has an adverse effect on the thermal insulation properties. In addition to that, the mounting of the individual elements is found to be labour-intensive and subject to the weather and wind conditions. Moreover, qualified personnel is required for installing the blanket system in accordance with the required specifications.

[0004] From Dutch laid-open publication No. 9000797 there is known a sandwich combination element that is used for cladding or covering a latticework for walls and roofs of buildings, usually roofs of houses, which sandwich combination element is provided with a rigid support structure in the form of structural ribs, wherein said sandwich combination layer comprises an insulation layer present on a base layer. Seen from the side of the living quarters to the outside, the structure of the sandwich combination element successively comprises at least one package of layers, such as a layer of chipboard or triplex, a layer of synthetic foam material, a layer of mineral wool, which package of layers is provided between the structural ribs, which ribs extend in the longitudinal direction of the element. Such panels are mounted directly on a latticework; drawbacks of this construction being the cost and, in addition, the poor acoustic characteristics. Sandwich panels made of zinc-plated and coated steel, polyurethane hard foam and zinc-plated and coated steel are commercially available for use as roof panels. Such insulation panels are also known from British patent No. 1 250 134 and German Offenlegungsschrift No. 39 21 802.

[0005] German Offenlegungsschrift No. 31 10 657 relates to a self-supporting, fire-resistant structural roof panel comprising a rigid baseplate of silicate material, ribs likewise made of silicate material, which extend in the longitudinal direction thereof, between which an insulation material of e.g. mineral fibres is provided. The ribs and the insulation material are covered by a rigid steel section, and screws are passed through the ribs, which screws constructionally interconnect the steel section and the baseplate. Such screws are necessary for holding the assembly of baseplate, insulation material and steel section together.

[0006] US patent No. 4,837,999 relates to a self-supporting prefabricated structural building panel comprising a rigid outer skin made of steel and a rigid inner skin made of steel, both of which skins may be provided with corrugations, with sections being provided in transverse direction, between which sections an insulation material, for example consisting of mineral fibres, is present. In order to obtain a prefabricated structural building panel, the outer skin and the inner skin must be coupled together via said sections, for which purpose known screwed connections are used, said so-called C-sections being made of a glass fibre material.

[0007] German Gebrauchsmuster DE 79 34 570 U relates to a structural self-supporting, multilayer roof element, comprising two identical, rigid steel section plates, longitudinal ribs made of wood, cross ribs made of wood, insulation material and a vapour-inhibiting foil. As a result of the presence of said cross ribs, the insulation material is invariably provided in the form of a rectangular element in the latticework of the longitudinal ribs and the cross ribs. The two rigid steel section plates are via said cross ribs permanently connected together by means of known screwed connections.

[0008] US patent No. 5,640,824 relates to an insulation panel comprising a rigid upper plate and a rigid lower plate, between which an insulation material is present. Ribs are placed in transverse direction in regularly spaced-apart relationship, each rib being connected to a next rib via a spacer, one rib abutting against the upper plate and the other rib abutting against the lower plate. Steel C-sections are used as said ribs, which sections permanently interconnect the upper and the lower plate and the insulation material via known screwed connections.

[0009] The object of the present invention is to provide an element for cladding or covering a latticework for walls and roofs of buildings, which element does not exhibit the drawbacks of the known elements as discussed above.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide an element for cladding or covering a latticework for walls and roofs of buildings, in which use is made of structural components at positions where structural qualities are required and non-structural components are used at positions where non-structural qualities are required.

[0011] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an element for cladding or covering a latticework for walls and roofs of buildings, wherein the element can be mounted in a quick and simple manner without highly skilled personnel being required.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide an element for cladding or covering a latticework for walls and roofs of buildings, by means of which excellent thermally insulating and acoustic characteristics are obtained while using relatively light-weight and inexpensive materials.

[0013] It is also an object of the invention to provide an element for cladding or covering a latticework for walls and roofs of buildings in which the rigid base layer functions as an outer skin.

[0014] Finally it is an object of the present invention to provide an element for cladding or covering a latticework for walls and roofs of buildings in which an element exhibiting a very high fire resistance is obtained.

[0015] According to the present invention, the element as referred to in the introduction is characterized in that said structural ribs extend in the transverse direction of the element, which structural ribs are made of a non-compressible insulation material and which are spaced a specific distance apart, which distance corresponds to the latticework that is present under the base layer so as to make it possible to connect the structural ribs to the latticework by means of fasteners.

[0016] Using the present element, in which the structural ribs extend in the transverse direction of the element, a construction is obtained such that structural ribs are only present at positions in the element where structural qualities are required. More in particular, the present element is constructed in such a manner that the positions of the ribs have been selected in dependence on the latticework on which the present element is to be mounted. The present element does not comprise a rigid plate present on either side of the insulation material, therefore, and its construction is thus significantly different from that of the panels that are known from the prior art.

[0017] When such an embodiment of the position of the ribs is used, undesirable compression of insulation material, which may lead to the formation of thermal bridges, is prevented. The present element thus comprises structural elements, in particular said ribs, at positions where structural qualities are required, and non-structural insulation elements, in particular the insulation material, at positions where no structural qualities are required. As a result, the present element has a high insulation value and good acoustic properties and, as a result of the materials that are used, it is relatively light in weight.

[0018] To impart optimum structural qualities to the present element, the structural ribs preferably extend over the entire width of the element; in a specific embodiment structural ribs may be present only on the base layer at positions where structural qualities are required, which can be achieved by positioning the ribs only at the circumferential edges of the element. The structural ribs are preferably made of an insulation material selected from the group consisting of polyurethane foam (PUR) or a product derived therefrom (PIR), polystyrene, rock wool and glass wool, or combinations thereof, in a high-density version thereof. In specific embodiments also cork, foam glass and wood may be used as the materials for the structural ribs.

[0019] In order to give the base layer sufficient bending strength, the base layer is preferably provided with regularly spaced-apart sections on the side remote from the layer of insulation material, which sections extend in the longitudinal direction of the element, wherein, in order to obtain optimum insulating qualities, the insulation material, in particular the insulation material that is used for the structural ribs, in particular the ribs located on the short sides, is preferably present in the sections as well. Zinc-plated steel provided with a coating, for example a polyester coating, can suitably be used as the base layer.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the height of the structural ribs on the base layer is such that the height of said ribs is the same as the height of the insulation material so as to obtain a substantially flat upper surface.

[0021] To protect the layer of insulation material and the structural ribs, a foil or a thin sheet material is preferably present on the upper surface formed by the insulation material and the structural ribs present therein, wherein in particular said foil or thin sheet material is provided in such a manner that the insulation material and the structural ribs are fully enveloped by said foil or thin sheet material.

[0022] To obtain vapour-inhibiting properties, a vapour-inhibiting type of foil or thin sheet material is used, in which connection in particular a foil, especially aluminium foil, can be mentioned as a suitable material. Such a foil cannot be considered to be a component in that is rigid or self-supporting.

[0023] The insulation material that is used in the present element has been selected from the group consisting of polyurethane foam (PUR) or a product derived therefrom (PIR), polystyrene, rock wool and glass wool, or combinations thereof.

[0024] As already said before, the structural ribs in particular function to attach the present element to latticework, wherein the dimension of the structural ribs is preferably such that fasteners, for example screws, can be passed therethrough. A suitable structural rib preferably has a width of at least 4 cm, which width is defined as the shorter side of the contact surface formed between the structural ribs and the base layer.

[0025] The present invention further relates to a building provided with an element as described above.

[0026] The present invention will be explained in more detail hereinafter with reference to a number of figures, in which connection it should be noted, however, that the present invention is by no means limited to such a special embodiment. Like parts will be indicated by the same numerals in the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the element according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 shows an additional embodiment of the element that is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a special embodiment of the present element.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of a building in which the present element is incorporated.

[0027] In Fig. 1 there is schematically shown an element 1 according to the present invention, which element 1 comprises a rigid base layer 2, which is provided with sections 3 that extend in the longitudinal direction of the element 1. Present on said rigid base layer 2 is a layer of an insulation material 4, in which insulation material 4 structural ribs 5 are provided in regularly spaced-apart relationship, which structural ribs 5 extend in the transverse direction of the element 1.

[0028] In Fig. 2, a foil or a thin sheet material 6 is shown to be present on an upper surface formed by the insulation material 4 and the structural ribs 5 that are present therein.

[0029] Fig. 3 schematically shows a special embodiment of the element 1, in which the foil or the thin sheet material 6 is provided in such a manner that the insulation material 4 and the structural ribs 5 are fully enveloped by the foil or thin sheet material 6 on the longitudinal sides of element 1. In addition, the sections extending in the longitudinal direction of the element 1 are filled with the material from which the structural ribs 5 are made, said structural ribs 5 in particular being made of a non-compressible insulation material.

[0030] Fig. 4 is a schematic side elevation of a building, in which the present element 1 is mounted on a latticework 7, with fasteners 9 being passed through the structural ribs 5 so as to effect a solid connection between the element 1 and the latticework 7. Since the structural ribs 5 are made of a non-compressible insulation material, no thermal bridges occur, and the insulation material 4 retains a compact structure such that an optimally insulating and durable construction is obtained. From Fig. 4 it follows that the rigid base layer 2 provided with sections 3 forms the outer skin of the building, with the insulation material 4 being screened by the foil or thin sheet material 6.

Claims

1. An element for cladding or covering a latticework for walls and roofs of buildings, using fasteners, which element comprises a layer of insulation material on a rigid base layer, in which insulation layer one or more structural ribs are present, characterized in that said structural ribs extend in the transverse direction of the element, which structural ribs are made of a non-compressible insulation material and which are spaced a specific distance apart, which distance corresponds to the latticework that is present under the base layer so as to make it possible to connect the structural ribs to the latticework by means of fasteners.

2. An element according to claim 1, characterized in that said structural ribs extend over the entire width of the element.

3. An element according to any one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said base layer is provided with regularly spaced-apart sections on the side remote from the layer of insulation material, which sections extend in the longitudinal direction of the element.

4. An element according to any one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said insulation material is present in said sections.

5. An element according to any one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the height of said ribs is the same as the height of the insulation material so as to obtain a substantially flat upper surface.

6. An element according to claim 5, characterized in that a foil or a thin sheet material is present on the upper surface formed by the insulation material and the structural ribs present therein.

7. An element according to claim 6, characterized in that said foil or thin sheet material is provided in such a manner that the insulation material and the structural ribs are fully enveloped by said foil or thin sheet material.

8. An element according to any one or more of the claims 6-7, characterized in that a vapour-inhibiting type of foil or thin sheet material is used.

9. An element according to claim 8, characterized in that aluminium foil is used as the vapour-inhibiting foil.

10. An element according to any one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the insulation material has been selected from the group consisting of polyurethane foam (PUR) or a product derived therefrom (PIR), polystyrene, rock wool and glass wool, or combinations thereof.

11. An element according to any one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dimension of the structural ribs is such that fasteners can be passed therethrough.

12. An element according to any one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said structural ribs have a width of at least 4 cm, which width is defined as the shorter side of the contact surface formed between the structural ribs and the base layer.

13. A building provided with an element as defined in any one or more of the preceding claims.

Drawing