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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a two-sheet, prefabricated wall unit, where the
sheets are separated by spacing members, and which is mountable through
means of a ceiling and/or floor slat that is to be secured to the room
ceiling and/or room floor, as well as an installation procedure for
installing these types of wall units.
Known types of two-sheet wall units of the kind mentioned include two
plasterboard sheets whose inside facing surfaces are adhesively bonded to
a honeycomb paper sheet, with their honeycombs running perpendicularly to
the sheet surfaces. In order to transpose these wall units, a ceiling slat
corresponding to the length of the wall to be constructed is secured to
the room ceiling. In similar manner a continuous floor slat is secured to
the floor in a vertically parallel orientation to the ceiling slat. The
open space between ceiling and floor slat is less than the height of the
sheet for the wall unit. At present, when observing the ceiling and floor
slats from the front, each wall unit is set somewhat inclined and brought
up from below into engagement with the ceiling such that the ceiling is
contacted at both sides by the top edges of both sheets of the respective
wall unit. Since initially the wall unit displays no groove, one is
generated by forcing the honeycomb paper layer inwardly in the area of the
ceiling slat when installing. Engagement to the ceiling slat is, however,
possible only if the width of the ceiling slat is somewhat less than the
free space between the two sheets. Finally, by straightening up the wall
unit, its bottom edge is brought to bear on the floor slat and is attached
to the floor slat in any convenient manner whatsoever.
Since the distance between room ceiling and room floor is subject to
variations in the order of approximately 1 cm, gaps occur between the top
edges of the sheets and the ceiling when emplacing the wall unit, which
prevents their use in the case of already finished ceilings and is also
unsatisfactory in the case of unfinished ceilings because these gaps can,
in spite of careful, tedious filling and troweling, later give rise to
formation of cracks. Additionally, auxiliary measures must be taken to
eliminate play that may be present in the area at the top between the
ceiling slat and the sheets. In summary, therefore, installing known type
wall units is tedious work, where a clean ceiling-fit of top edges of the
sheets is not possible.
The task set forth for the invention is obtaining an improved wall unit,
making possible a cleaner mounting with less work, whereby the top edges
of the sheets for the wall unit are in contacting engagement with the
room's ceiling. This is achieved through a continuous ceiling groove in
the upper narrow surface, as well as a floor groove, extending at least
over a portion of the unit's width, starting out from one side of the unit
that is to be pushed against an adjacent wall unit; through a certain
separate piece of ceiling slat that is to be attached to the room ceiling
for engagement with the ceiling groove, the piece of ceiling slat
protruding over the side of the unit that is turned away from the side of
the unit that is to be pushed upon, while, with the other end adjacent to
the unit side to be pushed on, is correspondingly rearwardly displaced,
and which displays on its protruding portion a further protruding wedge
projection. The wedge projection extends diagonally downward immediately
below this for the purpose of sliding a piece of ceiling slat that is
associated to an adjacent unit; through a piece of floor slat that is to
be attached to the floor horizontally, in a vertically parallel
orientation to the piece of ceiling slat, the piece of floor slat being
intended to engage with the floor groove; and through use of fastening
elements for connecting at least one sheet with the piece of floor and/or
ceiling slat after raising the unit into contact with the ceiling.
The advantage of the wall unit that is in accordance with the invention
lies in the fact that it is not necessary to tip from the vertical to
install (the wall unit). Moreover, the wall unit that is in accordance
with the invention can be slid vertically, on its interfacing, sliding
side, against an already installed wall unit. After fastening the piece of
floor slat to the room floor, the wall unit can be easily tilted up by use
of a simple tool, in particular a lever, until the top edges of the sheets
come into contact with the room ceiling. In this position both sheets can
be joined to the floor and/or ceiling slat pieces, preferably pinned
(stapled), so that the position of the wall unit is fixedly in contact
with the ceiling. No gap appears between the top edges of the sheets and
the room ceiling, which would be tedious work to fill and trowel later. In
this manner also, an application of the wall unit that is in accordance
with the invention would be possible for already finished ceilings, for
example in office buildings where, subsequently, another floor plan might
be structured by building in intermediate walls. The only limitation here
lies in the fact that a gap occurs between the lower edge of the wall unit
that is in accordance with the invention and the floor, so that, when
using the wall unit that is in accordance with the invention, start should
always be from an unfinished floor, over which, at least in the transfer
area, is later placed finished flooring along with a floor covering. With
this prerequisite, the flooring covers the gap between the rough floor and
the wall unit that is in accordance with the invention. In practical
application it has been shown that, with the wall unit that is in
accordance with the invention, a savings of up to 30% in the installation
time, compared to the usual wall units, can be achieved.
Other and further objects of the present invention will become more
apparent to those skilled in the art upon a study of the following
specification, appended claims, and accompanying drawing.
IN THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is an example of embodiment for the wall unit in accordance with the
invention, in a side view as well as in a partial exploded representation,
immediately after installation inside of a room;
FIG. 2 is a section through the wall unit that is in accordance with the
invention, along line II--II of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a development of a component part of a wall unit that is in
accordance with the invention, in a view similar to FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4, compared to FIG. 1, is a modified example of embodiment for a wall
unit that is in accordance with the invention, in a similar partial
representation.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As essential components, the wall unit that is in accordance with the
invention and shown in FIG. 1 includes two sheets 1, 1a made of
room-height plasterboard sheets that are separated by spacing members 2,
3, 4, 5, 6 in the form of relatively thin slats. One spacing member 7
provided on the right hand side of the wall unit, as seen when looking in
the direction of FIG. 1, displays an H-shape and serves as a tenon for
engaging into the vertical groove of an adjacent wall unit (not shown). As
obtained from FIG. 1, the area of the top edges of both sheets 1, la
protrude past the spacing members 2-7, whereby is formed a continuous
ceiling groove in the top, narrow surface of the wall unit and which is
intended to engage with a piece of ceiling slat 8. The piece of ceiling
slat 8 actually forms one component of the wall unit that is in accordance
with the invention, but is delivered separately to the work site, i.e.
hence, sheet 1, 1a are not joined at their upper edge with the piece of
ceiling slat 8 when delivered.
In similar manner, spacing members 2-7 also do not extend to the edge of
sheets 1, 1a on the floor side so that there is formed, at the left hand
side of the wall unit when viewing in the direction of FIG. 1, a floor
channel extending over only a portion of the width of the unit, in the
area of spacing members 2, 3. Accommodating itself to this floor channel
is an angle profile framing piece 9 that is firmly joined to both sheets
1, 1a as well as to the lower front surface of sapcing members 4-7. Here,
the lower edge of angle profile framing piece 9 extends somewhat out over
the lower edge of both sheets 1, 1a, preferably approximately 5 mm, so
that, when setting the wall unit down onto an unfinished floor, damage to
the lower edges of sheets 1, 1a cannot occur.
The spacing members 2, 3 located on the side of the wall unit to be
extended, are somewhat shorter, relative to the other spacing members 4-7,
on the top end so that the groove formed on the top, narrow surface of the
wall unit in the region of spacing members 2, 3, displays a greater depth
than in the area of spacing members 4-7.
The wall unit of FIG. 1 further includes a floor slat piece 10 which, like
ceiling slat piece 8, is delivered at the construction site which,
however, can be firmly joined to an adjacent wall unit during construction
if necessary or preferred.
In a modified example of embodiment which is not shown, the angle profile
framing piece 9 and the floor slat piece 10 can be produced from a single
piece of same cross-section, with this assembled structural element
capable of being delivered on site of separately, hence, is not joined to
sheets 1, 1a and/or not firmly joined to sheets 1, 1a, e.g. by cementing
or stapling. In this latter case, the installation procedure is to be
changed somewhat as can be seen from the following description.
In the case of the modified example of embodiment in accordance with FIG.
4, an angle profile framing piece 9' having the same function as
structural element 9 of FIG. 1, displays, on its end that is opposite from
the side of the unit that is to be pushed on (left in FIG. 4), a
slide-back wedge surface 25 that is directed toward the floor while a
floor slat piece 10', whose greatest length exceeds that of floor slat
piece 10 of FIG. 1, displays, on its end that is turned toward angle
profile framing piece 9', an upwardly directed, protruding, complementary
wedge surface 26 for raising the element over angle profile framing piece
9'.
For a purpose to be described in the following, a wedge protrusion 11 is
firmly mounted under the right hand end, viewing in the direction of FIG.
1, of ceiling slat piece 8. The length of the ceiling slat piece 8
corresponds, in the example of embodiment shown, exactly to the width of
the wall unit (including spacing member 7), the slat being, however, after
installation, sidewardly displaced to the right, in the direction of
viewing of FIG. 1, so that the right hand portion of ceiling slat piece 8
along with wedge protrusion 11, viewing in the direction of FIG. 1,
protrudes out from the wall unit, while the left hand portion of ceiling
slat piece 8, viewing in the direction of FIG. 1, is correspondingly set
back relative to the left hand edge of the wall unit whereby, in the form
of embodiment shown, there is present a free groove in the area of spacing
member 2 which (free groove) is intended for accepting a short
starter-ceiling slat piece 12 along with associated wedge protrusion 13.
The wedge protrusion 13 here is identical to wedge protrusion 11 of
ceiling slat piece 8 while the starter-ceiling slat piece 12 corresponds
in cross-section with ceiling slat piece 8 but not in length.
In similar manner, starter-floor slat piece 14 is associated with the floor
channel formed at the left hand side of the wall unit, viewing in the
direction of FIG. 1, which, in the example of embodiment shown,
corresponds completely to floor slat piece 10.
To erect a wall using wall units that are in accordance with the invention,
first, starting from an already available partition 15, the
starter-ceiling slat piece 12 along with wedge protrusion 13 is fastened
to a room ceiling 16, for example by shooting in a bolt 17 that is shown
by heavy dash lines in FIG. 1, and starter-floor slat piece 14 is fastened
down, for example by shooting in a bolt 18 that is shown by dash lines in
FIG. 1. Next, the wall element is shoved face-forward against the
starter-ceiling slat piece 12 along with wedge protrusion 13 as well as
against the starter-floor slat piece, whereby the angle profile framing
piece 9 slides on the unfinished floor 19 until the left hand edge areas
of sheets 1, 1a impinge against partition 15, viewing in the direction of
FIG. 1. Then, the ceiling slat piece 8 along with wedge protrusion 11
associated with the wall unit in question is introduced into the channel
in the top narrow surface of the wall unit and butted up against wedge
protrusion 13 until the ceiling slat piece 8 rests firmly against the room
ceiling, at the left hand end viewing in the direction of FIG. 1.
Represented in the right hand portion of FIG. 1 is this same process
relative to a ceiling slat piece 8a along with a wedge protrusion 11a
(direction of application of force corresoponding to an arrow P1), which
is arranged to an adjacent wall unit (not illustrated).
After driving in the ceiling slat piece 8 along the diagonal surface of the
wedge protrusion 13, the right hand end, viewing in the direction of FIG.
1, of the ceiling slat piece 8 is fastened in the area of its wedge
protrusion 11 to the room ceiling, for example by shooting in a bolt 20
that is represented by the heavy dash line. After this, the wall element
can be raised vertically in the direction of arrow P2, for example by
means of a lever that engages under angle profile framing piece 9, until
the top edges of sheets 1, 1a lie firmly against room ceiling 16. In this
position, the sheets 1, 1a are firmly joined to the ceiling slat piece 8,
for example by means of staples 21 which are driven in with a normal type
stapler. Selectively, or additionally, the lower edge area of sheets 1, 1a
can also be joined in a similar manner to the starter-floor slat piece 14
(which for the sake of better illustration is shown in FIG. 1). Finally,
floor slat piece 10 is fastened to the floor immediately adjacent to the
angle profile framing piece 9, for example by shooting in a bolt 22
illustrated in FIG. 1 by heavy dash lines.
Starting out from the projecting portion of ceiling slat piece 8 along with
its associated wedge protrusion 11 as well as floor slat piece 10 of the
first wall unit erected in this manner, additional wall units can now be
installed in similar manner in any interconnecting order whatsoever,
whereby, under each wall unit, there is present a floor gap 23 extending
over the greater portion of the width. After setting all wall units into
place in the desired order, the floor gaps 23 are filled with mortar,
which can be done when laying in the finished flooring and, accordingly,
takes less time than troweling floor joints as in the case of known type
wall units.
If, in accordance with a previously mentioned modification of the
invention, floor slat plate 10 and angle profile framing piece 9 for each
wall unit is formed of a single piece and is already firmly joined with
sheets 1, 1a at the building site, then, when installing, care must be
taken that the wall unit also be fixed on its bottom side against floor
19, whereby, instead of fastening with a bolt 22, anchor cleats can be
driven in in order to achieve a temporary attachment until pouring of the
finished flooring. After finishing the flooring, the wall is firmly
affixed at the bottom as has been described, in conjunction with FIG. 1,
for the mounting procedure.
In constructing the wall unit in accordance with FIG. 4, the mounting
procedure runs along the same as for the example of FIG. 1 up to fastening
the ceiling slat piece 8 to the room ceiling by shooting in bolt 20. From
then on, however, in any event after raising the wall unit through means
of a bottom engaging lever, the floor slat piece 10' is brought into place
by driving, in the direction of an arrow P1', against the diagonal wedged
surface of the angle profile framing piece 9' until the wall unit has
reached a position that is represented in FIG. 4 relative to angle profile
framing piece 9' and where, analogously to the representation in FIG. 1,
the top edges of sheets 1, 1a rest firmly against the room ceiling. In
this position, floor slat piece 10' can be attached to the unfinished
floor 19, between sheets 1, 1a and the ceiling slat piece (not shown in
FIG. 4) can, in any event, be ensured. The remaining work processes are
carried out the same as was explained in conjunction with FIG. 1.
In order to obtain an especially satisfactory bearing against the room
ceiling, in particular in the case of uneven ceilings, according to FIG.
3, the top surface of the ceiling slat piece 8 intended for bearing
against room ceiling 16, can be covered with an elastic, sound absorbing
strip 24 which can consist, for example, of felt or soft plastic material.
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