The invention relates to a method and a system for covering a wall structure according to the preamble sections of independent claims directed thereto.

The invention relates to covering a wall structure, such as e.g. to facade cladding or the like, with an objective of upgrading an existing wall structure or constructing e.g. the facade of a new building.

Today, the above objective is primarily pursued by using plastic-coated wall panels prefabricated from thin steel sheet, which are secured to a wall struc- ture side by side or in succession with a screw attachment in a junction therebetween. This type of cladding involves first of all a specifically visual flaw caused by relatively wide junctions between the wall panels. The renewal or partial replacement of such wall panels requires a removal of the fastening screws, which can be a laborious undertaking e.g. because the screws have become corroded or oxidized. The quality of fastening screws may actually experience quite a rapid deterioration, depending on ambi- ent conditions as the heads thereof are continuously ^M at:the mercy" of outdoor elements. Therefore, these often lead to an appearance defect, resulting e.g. from runoffs of rust and other such reasons. A solution of the foregoing type has been disclosed in the published application US 2009/0241455, wherein use has been made of a sealant, such as silicone, which covers a screw attachment present in the joint section of the above type cladding. Accordingly, the discussed solution is not intended for dismantling so as to enable e.g. the replacement of individual wall panels.

There is further disclosed in the patent US 5,522,193 a similar type solution for constructing a dismount- able wall panel structure, the wall panels used therein being mounted by using supports mountable on the wall structure. Such a support comprises elongated structural elements mountable in vertical direction on the wall structure, whereby each wall panel is engaged in a removable manner in its position by moving the wall panel by means of a coupling system present between itself and the support. In this solution the screw attachment between a support and the wall structure remains concealed, and the wall panels are secured with pins of the lateral edges thereof within sliding slots present in side- by-side structural elements. Therefore, between the side edges of adjacent wall panels remains a straight connecting joint extending in a vertical direction of the facade under construction and overlaid with a cover strip which is removable or attachable with screw locking. The fastening pins included in wall panels are either welded fixedly to side edges of the wall panels or comprised of gussets attachable with screws to the side edges. This particular solution does not provide a sufficiently simple assembly of wall panels, mounting of a wall panel structure, let alone dismounting the same. Facade renovation, especially, is also conducted today by using a so-called vinyl cladding, wherein the exterior wall of a building is fitted with vinyl- structured wall panels placed successively in hori- zontal or vertical direction or on top of each other. The installation of such wall panels is conventionally carried out by attaching the same to a wall structure with fastening screws in such a way that the latter remain protectively concealed underneath the next wall panel. As for such vinyl-structured wall panels, there is presently no reliable information available regarding the longevity thereof, it being nevertheless predictable that solar UV radiation, in particular, may have a significant effect both on the appearance of such a cladding and on the strength of panels included therein, resulting, among other things, in the embrittlement thereof. Another drawback in such a solution is that repairing a given section or an individual wall panel of vinyl cladding requires that the cladding be dismantled over a very large area, which creates a high risk of damage for adjacent wall panels, especially in facades a few years old. On the other hand, the replacement of a single wall panel in a long-standing fagade is not necessarily advisable in terms of appearance due to the fading of original facade colors.

A particular advantage of wall panels available today is the possibility offered thereby that the external surface of a wall structure to be coated can be provided with a surface layer which is protective in a so-called ventilated manner, yet whose assembly, maintenance and upkeep represent an unnecessarily la- borious undertaking with currently available solutions. In addition, the visually satisfying appearance of a facade constructed therewith may be quite short-lived, depending on ambient conditions.

It is an objective in a method and a system of the present invention to provide a decisive improvement regarding the foregoing problems and to thereby upgrade essentially the available prior art. In order to attain this objective, the method and the system of the invention are principally characterized by what has been presented in the characterizing sections of independent claims directed thereto. What should be mentioned as the most important benefits for a method and a system of the invention are the simplicity and effectiveness of using the same, which beneficially enables the cladding/covering of various wall structures to be significantly facili- tated by virtue of a separate spacer member mountable on the wall structure, whereby the wall panels, which make up a new external facade surface, and which are made e.g. by bending from thin sheet, are attachable to the spacer member without tools by utilizing a coupling system between the spacer member and themselves in such a manner that, other than connecting joints which are straight in vertical direction between wall panels, the facade to be constructed may also comprise therein connecting joints staggered e.g. as in a brick wall. Hence, each wall panel can be engaged in its position in a removable yet lock- able manner by just moving it in connection with the spacer member. Thereby also the screw attachment, to be made with the wall structure and existing between the latter and the spacer member, remains completely concealed and protected underneath the wall panels to be mounted on top of the spacer member.

Since the invention makes it possible, in a preferred embodiment, that the outer edges of adjacent and superimposed wall panels, lying in a substantially perpendicular direction to a wall plane established by the outer surfaces of said wall panels, be set immediately against each other, all that will be left between the wall panels is a very small gap which is naturally required, however, to enable adequate installation and thermal expansion tolerances among the wall panels. Therefore, by virtue of the invention it is possible to conduct, as necessary, the replacement of e.g. just one wall panel with another without the use of tools by dismantling each time a required number of wall elements and by replacing the discussed wall panel. When the invention is carried out by making preferably use of e.g. painted or plastic-coated steel plate panels of thin wall structure, these will be optimal in terms of the strength-to-weight ratios thereof, as well as highly durable in terms of sun- light resistance.

Other embodiments for a method and a system of the invention intended for covering a wall structure, such as for facade cladding, are presented in the in- dependent claims directed thereto. In the following specification, the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which figs, la-lc show a front view as to how a wall panel is installed according to the invention on a spacer member, an enlarged cross-section view across the wall panel being secured in its place, as well as an enlarged detail of the junction between wall panels, figs. 2a-2c show an array of wall panels in views equivalent to figs, la-lc, figs. 3a-3d show a perspective view, a front view, an overhead view, and a section view of one preferred wall panel used in the invention, figs-. 4a-4c a few exemplary wall panel arrays made possible by the invention, figs. 5a-5c show one preferred spacer member in a front view, in a side view, and in a perspective view accompanied by an enlarged detail, fig. 6 further shows one preferred wall panel array being assembled according to the invention, and fig. 7 further shows one preferred wall panel array implemented according to the invention on a staggered joint principle.

The invention relates primarily to a method for covering a wall structure, such as to facade cladding or the like, wherein upon a wall structure are installed several wall panels 1 settling in an adjacent and/or superimposed relationship with each other in engagement with the wall structure in a plane defined thereby, the wall panels 1 used in said method being mounted by using a spacer member 2 attachable into engagement with the wall structure, said spacer member including one or more elongated structural elements which are mountable on the wall structure in vertical direction and on which each wall panel is mounted to its position in a removable manner by moving w the wall panel by means of a coupling system present between itself and the spacer member. Each wall panel 1 is mounted to its position on the spacer member 2 on a principle appearing e.g. from fig. lb in such a way that, on the one hand, the adjacent wall panels 1 settle with side edges U; US thereof in a substantially direct contact with each other and, on the other hand, the wall panels 1 superimposed on a spacer member installed on the wall structure settle with top and bottom edges U; UY, UA thereof, on a principle appearing e.g. from figs, lb and 2c, against the top edge U; YU of a support system 2a included in the spacer member or that of one or more subjacent wall panels. In addition to this, the wall panels 1 are locked in a direction perpendicular to a wall plane P securely in place by means of a form locking arrangement 3b2 present at the top and bottom edges UY, UA thereof.

In a further preferred embodiment for a method of the invention, the wall panels 1 are coupled into engagement with a wall structure preferably by using the type of spacer member 2 depicted e.g. in figs, la-lc or 5a-5c, which includes at least a fastening arrangement Kl, such as fastening holes, for fixing the spacer member to the wall structure with a screw at- tachment or the like, and a support system 2a provided with counterparts 3bl for the form locking arrangement 3b2 for the mutual form locking of one or more elongated structural elements K2 included in the coupling system 3 and each wall panel 1 resting thereon, the structural element including guide means 3al for the movement w of each wall panel to be mounted on the wall structure in a superimposed fashion. In a further preferred embodiment for a method of the invention, the exterior surface to be established thereby is assembled from entirely thin-walled, such as sheet-structured or the like, wall panels 1 of the type depicted e.g. in figs. 3a-3d, in which each out- er edge U is preferably planar in a direction substantially perpendicular to the wall plane P, and in which one or more outer edges U are provided with the guide means 3a2 for the coupling system 3 and/or with the form locking arrangement 3b2. Hence, the adjacent and superimposed wall panels becoming guided against each other is assisted by surfaces functioning as guide means 3a2 and located on a side opposite to the form locking arrangements 3b2 present at the top and bottom edges UY, UA of the wall panels 1, and by skirts present along the side edges US and being preferably of a shape matching the form locking arrangement for increased stiffness. At this conjunction, in a preferred embodiment, the wall panels 1 are assembled, with reference e.g. to figs, la-lc, 2a-2c, 4 and 6, to rest on one or more adjacent structural elements K2 included removably in the spacer member 2, from wall panels 1 which, in the superimposed layers of an exterior surface to be established, on a principle appearing e.g. from figs. 4, 6 and 7, are different from each other in terms of height/width V , depth 1", and/or which are set on a staggered joint principle in terms of the side edges US thereof.

The invention relates, on the other hand, also to a system for covering a wall structure, such as to fa- cade cladding or the like, said system being intended for the installation of several wall panels 1 settling in an adjacent and/or superimposed relationship with each other upon a wall structure in a plane defined thereby. The system comprises a spacer member 2 attachable into engagement with the wall structure for mounting the wall panels 1, said spacer member including one or more elongated structural elements which are mountable on the wall structure in vertical direction for mounting each wall panel in a removable manner to its position by moving w the wall panel by means of a coupling system present between itself and the spacer member. The system comprises the spacer member 2 and the wall panels 1 with a coupling system 3 therebetween comprising guide means 3al, 3a2 con- structed on a principle appearing e.g. from figs, la- lc and 3a-3d, and form locking arrangements with counterparts 3b2, 3bl therefor for mounting, on the one hand, the adjacent wall panels 1 in a substan- tially immediate contact with each other in terms of side edges U; US thereof and _f on the other hand, for mounting the superimposed wall panels 1 included in the spacer member installed on the wall structure in terms of top and bottom edges U; UY _f UA thereof substantially in contact with a top edge U; YU of the support system 2a included in the spacer member or that of one or more subjacent wall panels, and for locking the wall panels 1 securely in place in a di- rection perpendicular to a wall- plane P by means of a form locking arrangement 3b2 present at the top and bottom edges UY, UA thereof.

In a preferred embodiment for a system of the inven- tion, specifically in reference to the optional solutions depicted by way of example in figs, la-lc and 5a-5c, the spacer member 2 includes at least a fastening arrangement Kl, such as fastening holes, for fixing the spacer member to the wall structure with a screw attachment or the like, and a support system 2a provided with counterparts 3bl for the form locking arrangement 3b2 for the mutual form locking of one or more elongated structural elements K2 included in the coupling system 3 and each wall panel 1 resting thereon, the structural element including- guide means 3al for the movement w of each wall panel to be mounted on the wall structure in a superimposed fashion. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the system comprises, specifically in reference to figs, la-lc, 2a-2c and 3a-3d, the thin-walled, such as sheet-structured or the like, wall panels 1 , in which one or more outer edges U are provided with the guide means 3a2 for the coupling system 3 and/or with the form locking arrangement 3b2. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, specifically in reference to figs. 3a-3d, each outer edge U of the wall panels 1 is planar in a direction substantially perpendicular to the wall plane P. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the system comprises, on a principle appearing e.g. from figs. 4, 6 and 7, wall panels (1), which are different from each other in terms of height/width (1'), depth (1").., and/or which are set on a staggered joint principle in terms of the side edges (US) thereof, in the superimposed layers of an exterior surface to be removably assembled so as to rest on one or more adjacent structural elements (K2) included in the spacer member (2) .

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the top edge UY of a wall panel 1 included in the system is adapted, with specific reference to figs, lc and 2c, to be inclined towards an outer surface 1; UP of the wall panel, by virtue of which e.g. the rain water falling on wall panels does not find its way into spaces between the wall panels.

The size of wall panels utilized in the invention is variable within a minimum size of e.g. 300 mm x 300 mm and a maximum size of e.g. 2500 mm x 1250 mm. Respectively, the wall thickness of wall panels may vary e.g. within the range of 0,6 mm to 3,0 mm, al- though, in practice, the thickness of less than 1,5 mm is nevertheless usually adequate.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described or explained above, but it can be subjected within the basic concept to a multitude of various modifications, depending e.g. fabrication materials for structures and components utilized at a particular time in the invention, in which context it is naturally possible not to use conventional sheet metal or steel structures but, instead, structural components fabricated e.g. from aluminum, brass or e.g. from stainless steel. In addition, it is also naturally possible implement the invention by using components that are plastic-based, made of reinforced plastic and/or a composite material. It is possible that the coupling arrangements between wall panels and a spacer member, as depicted in the accompanying drawings, be implemented e.g. with other types of quick release locking systems, such as snap- fit connections, etc., or, as opposed to what is depicted in the drawings, e.g. by making use of wall panels mountable on the spacer member in horizontal direction, etc. Depending on the intended use, it is naturally possible, whenever necessary, to carry out the attachment of a spacer member of the invention by utilizing e.g. roof boarding,, etc.