COVERING SYSTEM.

Technical field

This invention relates to a covering system.

This invention is particularly advantageous where a surface is to be given a particular or new appearance, or a canopy, a shelter or a false ceiling is to be made.

The system according to this invention may be used on vertical, horizontal or inclined supporting surfaces, for example on supporting frames, walls or ceilings, which in turn may be of wood, metal, concrete, etc.

Background art

The use of panels is known in building works both to cover a surface, for example the rough surface of a wall of a building or a room, and to make canopies, shelters, false ceilings and the like.

The assembly of the panels requires the preventive installation of a supporting grille to which the panels are then attached.

These systems of covering panels have several drawbacks.

Firstly, the installation of the supporting grille is rather complex and time- consuming.

Secondly, these systems are quite costly and, even though the panels can be stacked on each other, presuppose quite high storage and transport volumes.

Lastly, these systems are relatively heavy and are not very suitable for being mounted on lightweight structures which are not adequately designed to withstand high loads.

Disclosure of the invention

The aim of this invention is to provide a covering system which is free of the above-mentioned drawbacks. This aim is fully achieved by the covering system according to this invention as characterised in the appended claims.

Brief description of drawings

The technical features and advantages of the invention are more apparent in the following description of a preferred embodiment of it, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 illustrates a covering system made and mounted in accordance with this invention;

- Figures 2 and 3 illustrate two respective details of the covering system of Figure 1 ; and

- Figures 4 and 5 schematically illustrate two respective variant embodiments of the covering system of Figure 1 . Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention

With reference to Figure 1 , the reference numeral 1 denotes in its entirety a covering system.

The system 1 is mounted on a vertical supporting surface 2, in particular on the surface 2 of an outer wall 3 of a building to give the surface 2, which may be rough or finished, a particular or a new appearance.

The system 1 comprises at least a covering sheet 4 and a relative installation and support structure 5.

Figure 1 illustrates a single sheet 4 with the respective installation and support structure 5, however the sheet 4 and the relative installation and supporting structure 5 may form a module of a modular system.

If the system 1 is equipped with several modules as specified above, the sheets 4 can be positioned side by side in the same plane, according to lines or columns, or according to grilles or according to specific decorative patterns.

The sheet 4, as shown in Figure 2, is made by a plurality of twisted wires according to a multi-axial grid, but more in general it may be made of fabric with regular meshes, or even non-woven fabric or in the form of a laminated sheet, for example plastic.

The installation and supporting structure 5 comprises elastic means 6 for supporting the sheet 4 and for tensioning the latter according to at least one tensioning direction D.

It should be noted that the elastic means 6 are at the same time spacer means designed to keep the sheet 4 at a predetermined distance from the supporting surface 2.

The sheet 4 has at least two stiffened flaps 7 extending transversally to the tensioning direction D.

The elastic means 6 have at least a pair of torque spring 8 for supporting and tensioning the sheet 4 through the stiffened flaps 7.

As illustrated in Figure 3, each flap 7 is supported and tensioned by a plurality of springs 8 arranged in succession, that is to say, in a row.

Preferably, each flap 7 is supported and tensioned by a plurality of springs

8 positioned in a row and uniformly distributed along the longitudinal extension of the flap 7.

The number of springs 8 per linear metre of flap 7 is established as a function of the material with which the sheet 4 is made and the size of the latter.

Each torque spring 8 has two spiral-shaped central bodies 9 alongside one another and spaced along a common central axis 10.

A first branch 1 1 and a second branch 12 extend from each central body

9.

The two first branches 1 1 are co-planar and are joined together by a connecting portion 13 in the form of a U, which abuts the surface 2.

The two second branches 12 are also coplanar with the exception of two respective terminals 14 in the form of a hook, that is, hook shaped.

The terminals 14 face each other and are aligned along a direction parallel to the axis 10 for supporting and tension the sheet 4 through a single stiffened flap 7. The central bodies 9 are hinged to a central pin 15, which is in turn fixed rigidly to the surface 2.

For this reason, the central bodies 9 are designed to be constrained in a hinge-like fashion to the surface 2.

The pin 15 may be in the shape of a bar or pipe.

The pins 15 may be fixed by means of expansion plugs.

Each flap 7 is preferably stiffened by means of an elongate stiffening element 16 positioned inside at least one tubular pocket 17 made along the flap 7.

The elongate element 16 may be in the shape of a bar or pipe.

It should be noted that the sheet 4 not only has decorative purposes but, since kept at a distance from the surface 2, it has a beneficial effect in terms of thermal insulation, guaranteeing to the surface 2 both shade and a natural ventilation channel.

If the covering system is equipped with several modules as specified above, the self-alignment and self-tensioning of the sheets is particularly advantageous, preventing unattractive differences in level on the common plane on which all the sheets of the system lie.

According to a variant not illustrated of the provisions of Figures 1 to 3, the installation and supporting structure comprises elastic means for supporting the sheets and for tensioning it according to more than one tensioning direction. In this case, preferably, the tensioning may operate according to two directions at right angles to each other.

According to a simplified embodiment not illustrated, each torsion spring has a single spiral-shaped central body from which extend the two branches of the type described above. In this case, the first branch, designed to abut against the supporting surface, may have an L-shaped terminal, whilst the second branch has the hook-shaped terminal as described above. In this case, too, the central body is designed to be attached in a hinge-like fashion to the supporting surface.

The system 1 according to the invention may also be used on horizontal or inclined surfaces.

According to a different configuration installation, illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the sheet 4 is supported and tensioned with a horizontal arrangement, as the springs 8 are connected to vertical supporting surfaces 2.

This configuration is particularly useful where a canopy, a shelter or a false ceiling is to be made.

According to a variant not illustrated of the provisions of Figures 4 to 5, the installation and supporting structure comprises elastic means for supporting the sheets and for tensioning it according to more than one tensioning direction. In this case, preferably, the tensioning may operate according to two directions at right angles to each other.

Lastly, it should be noted that an advantage of the covering system according to the invention is that it allows the expansion of the surfaces to which it is connected. Notoriously, reinforced concrete is also subject to seasonal thermal expansion. If the system were not elastic and was tensioned on the surface at the time of zero expansion, the moment of maximum expansion could break the covering element.

The invention described above is susceptible of industrial application and may be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all the details of the invention may be substituted for technically equivalent elements.

For example, the spring is constructed in 2 pieces 1 1 which constitute the two branches that are joined by a joint 13, but the spring can be made in a single piece, thus without the joint 13.

In the same way, the pin 15 is made with pieces of pipe, but the pipe could be single and constitute the fixing for all the springs of the sheet.

Obviously, the pipe 7 may be made of any material.