DK1715115T3

DK1715115T3 - FLEXIBLE PROFILE

Info

Publication number: DK1715115T3
Application number: DK06008075.1T
Authority: DK
Inventors: Thomas Huwer
Original assignee: Knauf Gips Kg
Priority date: 2005-04-22
Filing date: 2006-04-19
Publication date: 2018-09-17
Also published as: EP1715115B1; EP1715115A3; EP1715115A2; ES2686070T3; DE202005006462U1

Description

Flexible profile

Description

The present invention relates to a flexible profile comprising a plurality of lengthwise successive members, which are coupled together via connecting regions.

Flexible profiles are used in the construction of light, not load-bearing structural parts in the area of buildings. In so-called drywall construction, sheetlike elements are joined together with the aid of profiles and connected to other adjoining structural parts such as floors, ceilings, or walls. In particular, in the field of interior design, formations deviating from a flat wall are also used. For the holding of curved panels, such as gypsum plaster boards, bendable semifinished articles, etc., fastening means are required which deviate from a linear extension. This can be accomplished, e.g., by customization of curved profiles, by breaking up into many pointlike supports, or by flexible profiles. Customization involves added financial and time expenditure due to the measuring, ordering, fabrication and transport with the respective lead times. If the ordering is done prior to performing the structural work, the tolerances always existing in structural work must be dealt with by additional measures. The breaking up into pointlike supports to hold sheetlike, curved structural parts makes the shaping of the curved form of the structural part more difficult and furthermore requires an increased installation expense. With flexible profiles, the shaping is done prior to the installation by manual adaptation. The required flexibility is achieved, e.g., by jointlike connecting regions of individual members, as is known from WO 02/18723 Al. Furthermore, from US 6,115,984 and WO 2003/097956 A1 it is known how to employ several bending points between the individual members at which the sheet metal connections are chosen such that, when bending them, the effect of jointlike connections is produced, in order to achieve a flexibility of the profile. The required flexibility causes less stability of the profile in the known embodiments, so that both the shaping and the installation process are adversely affected. Document US6115984 discloses all the technical features of the preamble of Claim 1. The problem which the present invention proposes to solve is to create a flexible profile which can be placed specifically in the desired form, deviating from the linear orientation, and secured in this form. According to the invention, the problem is solved by a flexible profile according to Claim 1. The advantage of the flexible profile according to the invention is that the flexible profile can be bent in one defined direction against an increased resistance, since the bending tabs are less fragile than the known joint forms. The profile can then be secured in the desired configuration, for example in the known manner.

Especially preferred is an embodiment in which the profile has two different geometrical member types, which are alternately repeated, although the same member types are also possible.

Further preferred is an embodiment in which neighbouring members are in mirror symmetry to each other, while the third bending edges mark the mirror planes. This produces a connection geometry for the connecting of the neighbouring members to the connecting element that is formed in mirror symmetry and repeated in alternation.

In one preferred embodiment, the connecting element can be bent in a range of 90° about the first and second bending edge, so that the connecting element can be bent in one direction or the other perpendicular to this with the aid of the third axis.

Especially preferred is an embodiment in which the desired configuration of the flexible profile can be stabilized with the aid of flexible connecting means, joining several members, in order to facilitate the installation process by producing a stabilized profile.

Advisedly, the flexible connecting means are sheetlike and joined by means of tabs to the flexible profile. These tabs guide the flexible connecting means in their longitudinal direction.

In one preferred embodiment, the tabs are formed on side walls of the profile, which are joined to the members and make an angle of 90° with them.

In this embodiment, the tabs prevent a vertical bending of the profile by the guidance of the flexible connecting means. But it is also conceivable to employ cord-like connecting means, such as wires and cables.

The connecting means introduced into the tabs are preferably securable in these tabs or directly against the members of the profile, for example by clamping or crimping the tabs against the connecting means, so that the securing process on site can be done with standard tools.

Especially preferred is an embodiment in which the profile can be inexpensively produced in a streamlined manufacturing process as a single piece of sheet metal from a bandlike semi-finished article. Basically, however, other materials such as plastic can also be processed in suitable manufacturing methods.

In one preferred application, a load-bearing structure is constructed with the aid of at least one stiffened flexible profile. Especially preferred is a load-bearing structure which can be used in interior design, for example for use in partition walls to increase the design freedom in modern architecture, for the construction of elements to improve the room acoustics, since the shapes of room-forming elements which deviate from the linear form are of great importance especially in the context of sound propagation, or for specially shaped surfaces for visual design.

Furthermore, the above described profile can also be used for the construction of cable or wiring conduits or shafts. The special advantage exists here of being able to avoid right-angled joints, so that electrical lines for example can be less heavily curved and thus strained. Since the cross sections of such cable conduits are often dictated by the spatial conditions in corners or joint sites, the flexible profile of the invention also enables smaller cross sections overall.

In the following, an exemplary embodiment of the invention shall be discussed more closely with the aid of the accompanying drawings. There are shown:

Fig. 1 a diagonal view of a segment of a flexible profile in linearly oriented state;

Fig. 2 a diagonal view of a segment of a flexible profile in curved form;

Fig. 3 a diagonal view of a connecting region of the segment of a flexible profile as represented in Fig. 2 in bent form and

Fig. 4 a perspective view of a load-bearing structure for an element of interior design of buildings making use of flexible profiles in bent form.

Fig. 1 shows a diagonal view of a segment of a flexible profile 10 in linearly oriented state. This is one kind of state as delivered from the factory. The flexible profile 10 has two different geometrical member types 12, 14, which are repeated in alternation. The neighbouring member types 12, 14 are joined by a connecting element 16. The geometrical member types 12, 14 have side walls 18, 20, each having four edge tabs 22, 24, 26, 28, in which a flexible connecting means 30 is introduced. The connecting element 16 in Fig. 1 is in the factory delivered state and not yet bent into the position in which the flexible profile 10 can be bent with the connecting means 30 shoved into the edge tabs 22, 24, 26, 28.

Fig. 2 shows a diagonal view of a segment of a flexible profile 10 in bent form. The connecting regions 16 between the neighbouring geometrical member types 12, 14 have been bent in a first processing step by 90° about a first bending edge 32 and a second bending edge 34 (see also Fig. 3). The neighbouring member types 12, 14 are bent about a third bending edge 36 situated in the connecting element 16. The flexible profile 10 in the bent form shown in Fig. 2 is guided with the aid of the connecting means 30 in the edge tabs 22, 24, 26, 28. In this way, the profile with the connecting element in place can only be curved in the transverse direction by bending about the third bending edges. The connecting means can be clamped or crimped with the tabs or the side walls. But other forms of fixation are also conceivable, such as screw fastening, riveting, or glueing.

Fig. 3 is a more detailed diagonal view of a connecting region of the segment of a flexible profile in bent form, as shown in Fig. 2. As compared to the factory delivered state shown in Fig. 1, the connecting element 16 has been joined by the first bending edge 32 to the neighbouring member 12 and via the second bending edge 34, aligned with the first bending edge 32 at least in the linearly oriented state of the profile, to the other neighbouring member 14, the first bending edge 32 and the second bending edge 34 being oriented in the longitudinal direction of the flexible profile 10. The connecting element 16 comprises the third bending edge 36, oriented perpendicular to the first and second bending edges 32, 34, about which the neighbouring members 12, 14 of the flexible profile 10 can swivel. By swivelling about the third bending edge 36, the flexible profile becomes additionally stiffened, since the connecting element 16 after a bending about the third bending edge 36 can no longer swivel about the first bending edge 32 and the second bending edge 34, as these are no longer aligned in the connecting element 16 which has been bent about the third bending edge 36, i.e., after the bending of the flexible profile about the third bending edge 36 the connecting element 16 can no longer be bent back into the initial state. The recesses 38 shown are options for receiving, e.g., connecting means for the fastening of further elements or for fastening elements at the ceiling or floor side.

Fig. 4 shows in perspective view a load-bearing structure for an element of the interior design of buildings, such as a ceiling panel, not showing the elements used for the panelling. Between every two stiffened flexible profiles 10 in bent form are laid connecting means 40 with the aid of the side walls 18, 20. The elements, which are form-stable in themselves, are hung with the aid of schematically indicated hangers 42, for example from a ceiling, not shown.

In the event that the flexible profile 10 is to be bent perpendicular to the direction shown in the example, the connecting elements 16 in the linearly oriented state of the flexible profile 10 are bent 90° with the aid of the first and second bending edge 32, 34 and the bandlike connecting means 30 are pulled out from the tabs 22, 24, 26, 28 in the side walls 18, 20, so that the flexible profile 10 can be bent about the third bending edge 36 of the connecting element 16.

Claims

A flexible profile comprising a plurality of longitudinal components (12, 14) and a plurality of connecting members (16), wherein the components (12, 14) are connected via connecting members (16), characterized in that the connecting members (16) are separated by each other, and each pair of adjacent components (12, 14) being connected in each case via a connecting part (16) connected to an adjacent component (12) via a first folded edge (32), and to the second adjacent component (14) via a second bent edge (34) which aligns with the first bent edge (32) at least in the linear series state of the profile, and that first and second bent edges (32, 34) align in the profile's the longitudinal direction and the connecting portion (16) comprise a third folded edge (36) which is aligned perpendicular to the first and second folded edges (32, 34).

Flexible profile according to claim 1, characterized in that the profile comprises two geometrically different component types (12, 14) which are alternately repeated.

Flexible profile according to claim 2, characterized in that adjacent components are in each case mirror symmetrical, the third folded edges (36) indicating the mirror planes.

Flexible profile according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the connecting member is flexible about first and second bent edges (32, 34) to a degree of 90 degrees.

Flexible profile according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the desired shape of the flexible profile can be stabilized by means of flexible connecting means (30) connected to a plurality of the components.

Flexible profile according to claim 5, characterized in that the connecting means (30) are designed to be planar.

Flexible profile according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the connecting means (30) are secured to the flexible profile by means of flaps (22, 24, 26, 28).

Flexible profile according to claim 7, characterized in that the flaps (22, 24, 26, 28) are formed on side walls (18) of the profile and the connecting means (30) are guided between the shaped flaps (22, 24, 26). 28) and the side wall (18).

Flexible profile according to claim 8, characterized in that the side walls are connected to the components and extend at an angle of 90 degrees relative thereto.

Flexible profile according to claim 9, characterized in that the connecting means (30) inserted in the flaps (22, 24, 26, 28) can be fixed in said flaps and / or the side walls.

Flexible profile according to claim 10, characterized in that the flaps (22, 24, 26, 28) are clamped against the connecting means (30).

Flexible profile according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the profile is a one-piece piece of metal plate.

Support structure, characterized in that it is constructed of at least one stiffened flexible profile according to any one of the preceding claims.

Use of a flexible profile according to any one of claims 1-12 or a support structure according to claim 13 for interior equipment of buildings, the construction of partitions or the construction of cable and / or conduits.