[0001] The present invention relates to a sealing device in connection with sandwich elements,
said elements including a core segment of thermal insulation material and surface
panels covering it on both sides, said surface panels having one of the longitudinal
edges thereof provided with a male tongue and its opposite edge with a female groove,
in which elements, short sides thereof between the tongue-and-groove edges are straight,
said building elements being intended for attachment to each other with a tongue-and-groove
joint for a row of successive elements and for setting said rows adjacent to each
other, such that, when attached to a framework, the rows develop between themselves
a junction between the short straight face-to-face sides of the adjacent elements,
said sealing device being intended for sealing said junction.
[0002] It is an objective of the present invention to provide a relatively simple sealing
device for sealing a tongueless and grooveless junction between the short smooth sides
of sandwich elements. In order to achieve this objective, a sealing device of the
invention is
characterized in that the sealing device includes an elongated molding body, which is adapted for installation
inside a junction while extending lengthwise of the junction; gripping members provided
resiliently on the body, which members, in the process of installing the body inside
the junction, set with a snap fit underneath the elements' surface panel clamping
the molding body fixedly within the junction; and a sealing lath provided on a top
edge of the molding body, which lath extends lengthwise of the molding body and has
a width exceeding that of the junction, such that the sealing lath sets by its edges
in a sealing manner against the surface panel of building elements present on either
side of the junction.
[0003] The solution according to the invention enables an expedient installation of the
sealing device without the use of fasteners, such as screws, rivets or the like. In
addition, the sealing device according to the invention allows for a simple and expedient
installation of highly diverse cover moldings on top of the sealing device. The sealing
device according to the invention is preferably made of plastics, but can be conceivably
fabricated also from aluminum, aluminum alloys, other metals or alloys thereof, or
e.g. as a composite material. The engagement between a sealing device and an external
cover molding is established in such a way that the cover molding is capable of being
locally shifted in lateral direction in view of compensating for possible lateral
displacements of a vertical junction between building elements, which displacements
may occur as elements to be installed on top of each other are slightly misaligned
relative to each other.
[0005] In fig. 1 is shown, indicated by reference numerals la-3c, sandwich elements which
include a core segment of e.g. mineral wool and surface panels covering it on either
side. The core segment may also consist of some other thermal insulation material,
such as e.g. polyurethane. The elements exist in adjacent rows, said rows comprising
several elements on top of each other, the example of fig. 1 presenting three elements
1a-3a, 1b-3b and 1c-3c in each row. The element rows develop each time between themselves
a substantially vertical junction 5. In fig. 2 is shown, in a vertical section, a
joint between two superimposed elements 1a, 2a. The elements' core segments are designated
with reference numerals 10 and 10' and external surface panels with reference numerals
11 and 11'. The superimposed elements are connected to each other with a tongue-and-groove
joint, including, as shown in fig. 2, a male tongue 7 shaped on a top edge of the
bottom element's 2a surface panel 11a' and a female groove 8 shaped on a bottom edge
of the top element's 1a surface panel 11a, said tongues and grooves being in the present
embodiment designed in such a way that, with the elements laid on top of each other,
the tongue-and-groove joined junction develops an outward-flaring, prominently distinctive
V-shaped junction slot 9. The junction slot 9 can also be given many other configurations,
for example quadrangular or rectangular in cross-section, an arcuate shape or various
combinations of these. The junction slot can also be a less conspicuous drawing line
type of score. In fig. 3, a junction between the adjoining elements 1a and 1b is presented
in a horizontal section. By its short tongueless and grooveless side 16, extending
between the junction slots 9 of its bottom edge and top edge, each element is attached
to a framework, which in the embodiment of fig. 3 is an I-beam 13, to which the element
is connected with fasteners, e.g. self-drilling screws, represented by reference numeral
14. The elements 1a and 1b have their inner surface panels close to the framework
indicated by reference numerals 12a and 12b and their outer surface panels by reference
numerals 11a and 11b, respectively. Between the adjoining elements 1a and 1b is left
a junction 5, which is filled with a layer of insulation wool preferably softer than
the relatively hard mineral wool making up the core segment 10. For the purpose of
blocking the access of moisture, this junction 5 is usually concealed with a cover
molding, which is typically attached by means of separate mechanical fasteners, such
as screws or rivets, to the elements' surface and sealed for example with a lining
compound or a sealing tape. The cover molding material comprises typically a thin
sheet of steel. The solution according to the invention involves the use of a sealing
device, depicted schematically e.g. in fig. 4, for sealing said junction 5, said sealing
device being installable and fixedly attachable without separate mechanical fasteners,
thus enabling an expedient and reliable installation process. In addition, the sealing
device is designed to be readily fitted with various cover moldings, which primarily
serve for a decorative purpose but simultaneously increase the junction tightness
to some degree. According to fig. 4, a sealing device 20 of the invention includes
an elongated pliable molding body 21, which is adapted for installation inside the
junction 5 while extending lengthwise of the junction. The body is provided with resilient
gripping members 22a, 22b, each having its end formed with a gripping lip 28a, 28b
which sets with a snap fit underneath the elements' surface panels 11a, 11b in the
process of installing the body 21 inside the junction 5, thus clamping the molding
body fixedly within the junction. The gripping members are preferably relatively short
when viewed in the longitudinal direction of a molding body and there are a number
of those spaced from each other, but can also be configured as a gripping member extending
over the entire length of a molding body. The resilient gripping members, together
with a pliable molding body, provide the sealing device with lateral adjustability,
allowing for the molding body to clamp itself firmly within the junction 5, even if
the junction were not straight. The molding body has its top edge provided with a
sealing lath 23, extending lengthwise of the molding body and having its width exceeding
that of the junction, such that the sealing lath sets by its edge parts 24a, 24b in
a sealing manner against the surface panels 11a, 11b of the building elements 1a,
1b present on either side of the junction 5. The sealing lath has a length which is
preferably substantially equal to that of the molding body. The sealing device 20
is preferably adapted to come with a sealing tape (not shown), which, in the process
of installing the sealing device, sets at a location between an inner surface of the
sealing lath's 23 edge parts 24a, 24b and an outer surface of the building element's
surface panel 11a, 11b.
[0006] The sealing lath has its outer surface preferably provided with engagement means
25 for a separate cover molding 27, said cover plate including internal engagement
means, respectively. The cover molding's 27 engagement means set with a snap fit in
a slit between the adjacent engagement means 25. The cover molding's 27 side edges
27a, 27b set against the surface panels' outer faces. The sealing lath's 23 outer
surface's engagements 25 and/or the cover molding's 27 inner surface's counterparts
26 have preferably been arranged relative to each other in such a way that the cover
molding 27 is locally installable in laterally diverse positions relative to the sealing
lath in order to enable the cover molding to be set in a straight condition, even
if there were lateral displacements in the junction 5, resulting e.g. from a mutual
lateral misalignment of superimposed elements. This is implemented in the presently
described embodiment by forming the sealing lath's outer surface with a plurality
of engagement means 25, between which are respectively formed a plurality of engagement
slits for the cover molding's complementary engagement means 26. Preferably, one or
the other of the sets of engagement means 25 and 26 are short in the longitudinal
direction of the sealing device, allowing for said lateral installation of the cover
molding at locations locally diverse with respect to the sealing lath.
