The present invention relates to partition wall systems and in particular to partition wall construction. The invention has been developed primarily for internal partition walls and will be described hereafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use.

BACKGROUND

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

It is known in building structures to have non load bearing internal partition walls to divide the structure into different areas. Typically, these partition walls include a frame portion made of timber or metal or a light concrete block structure and a finishing coating or cladding, made most commonly of a plaster based material. Installation of these partition walls normally requires the initial assembly of the frame portion followed by the affixing of the coating or cladding. In some cases a wet render is applied to a concrete/brick based sub structure, which can be a highly skilled, time consuming and labour intensive process. Further, in some other cases, when a high quality finish is desired, a plaster based skin coat is applied over the render coat. However, even when a plasterboard material is used as the cladding material, as is the case on framed walls, trimming and setting of the cladding is often required to complete the partition wall installation, ready for painting.

It is an object of the invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative. It is an object of the invention in its preferred form to provide a partition wall system that is relatively quick and thereby cheaper to install.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a generally longitudinal moulded panel element for use in a partition wall system, the panel element including:

generally planar front and rear formed finished surfaces; and connecting means defined on opposed longitudinal edges intermediate the formed finished surfaces, wherein the panel element is predominantly formed from a settable homogeneous mix material.

The homogeneous material preferably includes plaster. Preferably, at least the front and rear formed finished surfaces are predominantly formed from a plaster material.

Desirably, a reinforcing material is included in the panel element. The reinforcing material may be in the form of chopped rovings of fibreglass introduced into the homogeneous mix material during the moulding process and/or some form of reinforcing mesh incorporated into the product during moulding.

The homogeneous mix material preferably includes gypsum and may be aerated. The homogeneous mix material may also include a lightweight aggregate. In some forms, the panel element is at least partially hollow.

In one preferred form, the connecting means is in the form of tongue and groove formations respectively defined on opposite longitudinal edges of the panel element such that the panel element may interlockingly engage with another adjacent panel element to form a partition wall. In another preferred form, the connecting means is in the form of a groove defined on each longitudinal edge, the groove being connectable with a joining member such that the panel element may interlockingly engage with the joining member and an adjacent panel element to form the partition wall.

In yet another preferred form, the connecting means is in the form of a pair of peripherally located longitudinally extending rebates defined on the opposed front and rear formed finished surfaces adjacent the edges, the rebates being adapted to receive some form of coverable connecting strip formation.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of moulding a panel element for use in a partition wall system of the type described in the first aspect, the method including the steps of:

i) introducing a wet mix of homogeneous material into a generally vertically orientated mould, the mould having means to define at least the planar front and rear surfaces of the panel element; and ii) removing the moulded panel element from the mould once the wet mix has set. Preferably, the homogeneous material includes plaster.

Desirably, a reinforcing material is included in the panel element. The reinforcing material may be in the form of chopped rovings of fibreglass introduced into the wet mix or during the moulding process and/or some form of reinforcing mesh incorporated into the panel element during moulding. The wet mix may also be aerated. In some forms, the mould further includes a plurality of void forming plug members.

In one preferred form a single mould may be configured to produce multiple panel elements and may include one or more spacer elements that define the longitudinal edges of each of the panel elements.

Alternatively, an extrusion process may be used to produce the panel element. According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a partition wall system including: one or more generally longitudinal moulded panel elements predominantly formed from homogeneous mix material, each panel element having: generally planar front and rear formed finished surfaces; connecting means defined on opposed longitudinal edges intermediate the formed finished surfaces; transversely extending mounting edges defined on opposed spaced apart ends; and upper and lower restraining means adapted to fixedly locate and retain the mounting edges of the panel elements whereby the connecting means on adjacent longitudinal edges are adjoined and the panel elements are contiguously arranged to form the partition wall. hi a preferred form, the lower restraining means is in the form of a longitudinally extending channel section and the upper restraining means is in the form of a longitudinally extending angle section. Alternatively, the lower restraining means is in the form of a longitudinally extending angle section and the upper restraining means is in the form of a longitudinally extending channel section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a plurality of first embodiment moulded panel elements disposed ready to form a partition wall system according to the invention;

Figure Ia is an enlarged perspective view of area A of Figure 1;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an assembled partition wall system using the first embodiment panel elements of Figure 1;

Figure 2a is an enlarged perspective view of area B of Figure 2; Figure 2b is an enlarged perspective view of area C of Figure 2;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a plurality of second embodiment moulded panel elements disposed ready to form a partition wall system according to the invention;

Figure 3 a is an enlarged perspective view of area D of Figure 3;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of an assembled partition wall system using the second embodiment panel elements of Figure 3;

Figure 4a is an enlarged perspective view of area E of Figure 4; Figure 4b is an enlarged perspective view of area F of Figure 4;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a plurality of third embodiment moulded panel elements disposed ready to form a partition wall system according to the invention; Figure 5a is an enlarged perspective view of area G of Figure 5;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of an assembled partition wall system using the third embodiment panel elements of Figure 5;

Figure 6a is an enlarged perspective view of area H of Figure 6; and Figure 6b is an enlarged perspective view of area I of Figure 6. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, the partition wall system 10 includes a plurality of generally longitudinal moulded panel elements 12 each predominantly formed from a settable homogenous mix material. Each panel element includes a generally planar front

and rear formed finished surfaces 14 and 16 and connecting means 18 defined on opposed longitudinal edges 20, intermediate the formed finished surfaces.

Each panel element also includes transversely extending upper and lower mounting edges 22 and 24, which are respectively connectable or otherwise retained by an upper and a lower restraining means 24 and 28. The arrangement is such that the connecting means on adjacent longitudinal edges are adjoined and the panel elements are contiguously arranged to form the partition wall.

According to a first embodiment shown on Figures 1 to 2b, the connecting means 18 is in the form of tongue and groove formations 30, which allow each panel element to interlockingly engage to form the desired partition wall.

The lower restraining means 28 is in the form of a channel section 32, transversely extending across the lower periphery 34 of the panel elements. The upper restraining means 26 is in the form of an angle section 36, transversely extending across the upper periphery 38 of the panel elements. It is proposed that the panel elements 12 are moulded by pumping a settable homogenous wet mix into a generally vertically orientated mould having means to define the planar front and rear surfaces 14 and 16. One example of such a method that could be adapted for this purpose is disclosed in International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2005/000896. Advantageously, a vertical mould allows the front and rear surfaces to be finished formed during the moulding process. Alternatively, a horizontal moulding process capable of finish forming the front and rear surfaces may be used.

Ideally, the mould is configured to produce large panel elements and includes one or more spacer elements that define the longitudinal edges of the panel elements. In this way, the mould may be configured to produce multiple panel elements in one moulding step and can still also be used for producing large panels when these are required. In addition, the mould may include a plurality of void forming plug members so as to produce the voids 40, thereby defining a panel element that is at least partially hollow.

The panel elements will typically include a reinforcing material in the form of chopped rovings of fibreglass introduced into the material mix or during the moulding process and/or some form of reinforcing mesh incorporated into the panel element during moulding. A lightweight aggregate material may also be added to mix depending

on the strength of panel element required. Moreover, the mix material may also be aerated to produce a panel element that is advantageously lighter.

It will be appreciated that during the setting process, the homogeneous mix material may separate such that the final set panel will include areas or layers of different material densities and/or compositions. In that respect, it has been found that when using a mix material that includes plaster, upon completion of the setting process, the front and rear formed finished surfaces are predominantly formed from plaster material.

To erect the partition wall, the channel section 32, which is cut to match the overall length of the desired partition wall, is first laid down and secured to the floor at the installation location. Similarly, the angle section 36 is cut to size and affixed to a corresponding upper surface. Alternatively, the angle section may be secured after the panel elements 12 are erected. It should be understood that the channel and angle sections would be secured to their corresponding surfaces using methods commonly known in the art.

The panel elements 12 are then erected, by respectively fitting and inserting each panel element into the channel section and then sliding them into place such that the longitudinal edge 20 from one panel element abuts and engages the corresponding longitudinal edge of the adjacent panel element, as shown on Figure 2b. A suitable adhesive or fastening means may be used in conjunction with the tongue and groove interlocking formations 30 to locate and secure each panel element 12 with respect to each other. As shown on Figure 2a, the upper mounting edge 22 of each panel element can then be secured to the angle section 36.

The join line defined between the longitudinal edges of each adjacent panel element is then skimmed with a suitable sealing compound to complete the partition wall installation process ready for painting.

A partition wall system using second embodiment panel elements is illustrated in Figures 3 to 4b, where corresponding reference numerals denote corresponding features as described in the first embodiment. However, this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the connecting means 18 is in the form of a groove 50 defined on each longitudinal edge 20. The groove is connectable with a longitudinal joining member 52 such that the panel element 12 may interlockingly engage with the joining

member, which inturn engages with an adjacent panel element 12 to form the desired partition wall.

A partition wall system using third embodiment panel elements is illustrated in

Figures 5 to 6b, where corresponding reference numerals denote corresponding features as described in the first and second embodiments. However, this embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that the connecting means 18 is in the form of a pair of peripheral longitudinally extending rebates 60 defined on the opposed front and rear surfaces 14 and 16 adjacent the longitudinal edges 20. The rebates are adapted to receive a coverable connectable strip formation to form the desired partition wall. In the illustrated embodiment, the coverable connectable strip formation is in the form of longitudinal planar cover strips 62.

It should be understood that an extrusion process may be used as an alternative method of forming the panel elements, without departing from the scope of the invention. In other not shown embodiments, the upper restraining means 26 may in the form a channel section and the lower restraining means 28 may be in the form of an angle section or a combination thereof.

It will be appreciated that since each panel element 12 effectively provides both a support structure and finish cladding in one component, that by virtue of the moulding process has consistent external dimensions, completion of the partition wall installation only requires finish skimming of the join lines to produce a high quality partition wall.

As such, the present invention illustrated by the above embodiments provides a partition wall system that is relatively quick and easy to erect with relatively reduced labour costs.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.