EP2247801B1 - System for attaching stretched walls or ceilings using a stringer having a reduced diameter - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the field of false walls such as false ceilings and false walls and in particular those constituted by a stretched flexible sheet hung along its edges to a support fixed to the walls or the ceiling of a room of a building.

We already know in particular by the patent FR 2 843 141 , a device for fixing draperies or ceiling or wall covering fabrics, in particular for stretch ceilings, consisting essentially of smooth profiles for attachment to the walls delimiting said wall to be covered, said slats having, on the one hand, a part of attachment to the walls and, on the other hand, a fastening portion in the general U-shaped, intended to cooperate with a harpoon or hook attachment integral with the corresponding edge of the fabric or hanging to hold by the mounting rails, remarkable in that one of the wings of the U forming the attachment portion of the mounting rails is provided internally with a projecting element extending longitudinally on said wing and whose section is of complementary shape to that of a end profile of the harpoon tip of the fabric, so as to allow self-locking of the harpoon or hook attachment, said harpoon having, moreover, at its junction between s a point and its body connected to the canvas or wall hanging, a heel or longitudinal support bead.

We already know already by the FR 2,630,476 in the name of Fernand SCHERRER, false ceilings stretched which comprise on the one hand a frame fixed to the walls or the ceiling of a room, this frame being formed by an outer smoothing itself constituted of abutting profiles, and secondly , a flexible sheet stretched inside this frame, this flexible sheet consisting of a plastic sheet or a fabric. The flexible ply is kept taut because of the attachment, on the bar, of an integral edge of the ply forming a harpoon, this rim having in cross section the shape of a hook coming to grip on a shoulder s' extending over the entire periphery of the outer wing of the rail.

These known false walls are based on the principle of a power of the flexible web on the frame, perfectly flat, horizontally or vertically depending on whether it is a false ceiling or a false wall.

These false ceilings or false walls, once mounted on their smooth necessarily leave a game often prominent and therefore visible between the periphery of the stretched wall and the walls supporting the stringers. This functional clearance necessarily results from the need to provide a sufficient spacer between the wall and the tensioned surface to insert the peripheral hooks of the web inside the smooth so that the end cap of the harpoon comes to fit on a shoulder provided for this purpose on the outer flange of the rail closest to the wall in accordance with what is shown in figure 1 for example.

This residual space for mounting and especially disassembly by inserting a spatula inside the hook of the web is today of the order of 4 to 5mm minimum.

In many cases, this residual space between the sheet and the wall can be visually embarrassing because it constitutes a hollow seal giving a sometimes very unsightly impression; this is particularly the case when the canvases are stretched in rooms of water where it is appropriate that the wall and the ceiling do not comprise any hollow joint for a better presentation; similarly, in many installations it is important for the hollow joint between the fabric and the walls to be as small as possible in order to avoid unwanted air passages which generate soiling or which may unbalance certain ventilation systems.

The present invention therefore aims to overcome such drawbacks by proposing a fastening system of a tensioned wall, for example a ceiling between two walls leaving after mounting said ceiling a very weak hollow joint, of the order of 3mm, that is to say almost invisible to the eye.

According to the invention, it is therefore proposed a fastening system false strained walls, consisting of a flexible sheet hung by its borders to a frame attached to the wall or the ceiling of a room, said frame being constituted by a smooth formed of abutting profiles comprising at least two advantageously parallel wings, one of which, said external, comprises on one side means of attachment to the wall or the ceiling and on the other side a shoulder extending perpendicularly inwardly of the smooth in the direction of the room and the other, called internal, is connected to the first by a soul located at one of its ends and extends to the other end a little beyond the shoulder of the first wing to form the circumferential support of the sheet which is stretched substantially perpendicularly to the inner wing by virtue of its edges provided with a hook in the general shape of harpoon inserted in the manner of a "gooseneck Between the two wings of the rail and formed of a first section through which it is connected to the web and a second section folded over the first of which the end bead rests on the shoulder of the wing external said end cap of the harpoon comprising a stall lip; the system is remarkable in that said stall lip is issued perpendicularly from the bearing zone of said bead on the shoulder providing hooking of the ply on the rail and extending under said shoulder in the interstice between the and the inner wing of the arm so that said lip serves as a lever for a removal tool, for pushing out of the shoulder the end cap of the harpoon, without penetration of the tool in the smooth to easily remove the tablecloth from its frame.

It is understood that by using a type of harpoon according to the invention, it is no longer necessary for disassembly of false ceilings or false walls to insert a disassembly spatula inside the hook to release it from the shoulder of the smooth as it is mandatory to proceed today with the known systems; the space required to slide the spatula blade is necessarily increased by the thickness of the spatula so that it was impossible to reduce the size of the slats. On the contrary, with the invention the stall canvases is by simply pressing on the stall lip coming below the rail, which facilitates the release of the harpoon from the shoulder and thus the stall of the web.

• la figure 1 est une vue en coupe verticale partielle d'un faux plafond constitué par une nappe tendue, et comportant une lisse fixée à la partie supérieure d'un mur d'une pièce selon l'art antérieur ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en coupe verticale partielle, à la même échelle et selon le même angle de vue que la figure 1, d'un faux plafond constitué d'une nappe tendue sur une lisse plus fine que celle représentée à la figure 1 et accrochée à celle-ci grâce à un système de fixation conforme à l'invention,

• la figure 3 est une représentation partielle et à plus grande échelle du harpon constituant le système de fixation de la nappe suivant la figure 2.
• la figure 4 est une représentation partielle et à plus grande échelle du harpon de la figure 3 coopérant avec une variante de lisse dans laquelle l'épaulement est remplacé par une entaille pratiquée dans l'aile externe.

Other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description of an alternative embodiment of the fastening system according to the invention with reference to the appended figures in which:

• the figure 1 is a partial vertical sectional view of a false ceiling consisting of a stretched sheet, and having a rail attached to the upper part of a wall of a room according to the prior art;
• the figure 2 is a vertical sectional view partial, on the same scale and at the same angle of view as the figure 1 , a false ceiling consisting of a sheet stretched over a finer than that shown in the figure 1 and hooked to it thanks to a fastening system according to the invention,

• the figure 3 is a partial representation on a larger scale of the harpoon constituting the system of fixing the sheet according to the figure 2 .
• the figure 4 is a partial representation on a larger scale of the harpoon of the figure 3 cooperating with a variant of smooth in which the shoulder is replaced by a notch made in the outer flange.

The figure 1 represents the end portion of a false ceiling according to the prior art, which is constituted by a flexible sheet 1 stretched horizontally below the ceiling 2 of a room. This sheet 1 is fixed along its edges to a support consisting of a horizontal rail 3, itself attached to the upper part of a wall 4 of the part by appropriate means, not shown, such as screws. This smooth 3 comprises an outer vertical flange 5 which extends parallel to the wall 4 and in the immediate vicinity thereof. This outer vertical wing 5 is issued, at about halfway up, an upper horizontal web 6 extending over a small distance, for example of the order of 7 mm, towards the interior of the room. This core 6 is extended, at its end, by an inner vertical wing 7 extending downwards a little lower than the outer wing 5 close to the wall 4, that is to say that the inner wing 7 is a little higher than the outer wing 5 of said smooth. This outer flange 5 has, at its lower end, a shoulder 8 extending horizontally towards the interior of the part, over a short distance which is for example 3 mm. This shoulder at right angle 8 advantageously has one end rounded.

The lower part of the outer vertical wing 5, the upper horizontal web 6 and the vertical wing 7 determine a recess 9 open downwards and into which the anchoring harpoon 10 can be engaged welded to the periphery of the flexible sheet. tense 1.

This harpoon 10 has in cross section a hook shape extending towards the wall 4 and open downwards. It comprises an inner branch 10a, or wing, through which it is connected to the sheet 1, and an outer branch 10b in the form of a bead at the rounded end, which is curved downwards. The harpoon 10 is supported, when the sheet 1 is stretched, on the shoulder 8 by the lower end of its outer branch 10b which extends downwards.

This harpoon 10 is simply supported on the lower horizontal shoulder 8 by its bead 10b and therefore, its setting in hooking position is greatly facilitated. Indeed, during the assembly of the stretched fabric, it suffices to push the harpoon 10 upwards in the recess 9, by means of a suitable tool, such as a spatula engaged in this harpoon 10, to make it pass between the shoulder 8 and the vertical flange 7 and bring it above the shoulder 8. When releasing the harpoon 10, it then comes from itself in bearing on the shoulder 8 in ensuring a perfect holding of the stretched web 1, thanks to the spring effect between the two branches of the harpoon provided by the material in which it is manufactured and the traction exerted on the inner branch 10a by the web 1. The effect mentioned spring consists of a rapprochement of the two branches. The angle formed between the two branches of the harpoon in position is less than 15 °.

The figure 2 represents the end portion of a false ceiling according to the invention, constituted as previously by a flexible sheet 1 stretched horizontally below the ceiling 2 of a room. This sheet 1 is fixed along its edges to a support constituted by a smooth 3 'different from the smooth 3 ( figure 1 ) of the prior art in that the core 6 'is shorter than the core 6 of the rail 3.

In this way, the residual space e ' between the periphery of the sheet 1 and the walls 4 supporting the rails 3' is reduced compared with the space e of the figure 1 in the same proportions.

This reduction of the game e ', resulting from the use of a smooth 3' reduced core 6 'called thereafter mini smooth, is particularly advantageous as already mentioned in the preamble.

As the mounting of the web 1 in a mini smooth 3 'is relatively easy by means of a traditional spatula, already used in the prior art, pushing the harpoon 11 inside the space 9 of the bar 3 'in order to engage the end flange of the harpoon 11 on the shoulder 8 of the wing 5 of the mini smooth 3', it can be difficult or even impossible to unhook the sheet 1 in a traditional way by pushing back the harpoon 11 so that it is detached from the shoulder 8; indeed, the passage of the spatula between the two wings 11a and 11b of the harpoon is just sufficient in the interval between the shoulder 8 and the flange 7 of the mini smooth 3 '; under these conditions, it is clear the difficulty of releasing the harpoon 11 of the shoulder 8 and therefore the difficulty of removing the web 1 with this type of reduced smooth 3 '.

This is the reason why and in accordance with the invention, the harpoon 11 equipping the webs 1 intended to be mounted on smooth minis 3 ', comprises at the end of the free wing 11b a stall lip 12, perpendicularly exit from the region of the end bead bearing on the shoulder 8 to provide the attachment of the web 1 on the smooth 3 '; this lip 12 is such that it can extend under said shoulder 8 in the gap between said shoulder and the inner flange 7 of the arm 3 'so that the lip 12 can serve as a lever for a tool deposit, for example a classic spatula, for pushing out of the shoulder 8 the end bead harpoon 11 without the need to penetrate said spatula in the mini smooth 3 'to easily remove the sheet 1 of its frame .

According to a particular variant represented on a larger scale on the figure 3 , the lip 12 coming from the end bead of the harpoon 11 is obtained by a peripheral cut outwardly of said harpoon 11, whose cross section in the general shape of a re-entrant quadrant whose radial face 12a cooperates with the shoulder 8 of the mini smooth 3 'and the axial face 12b extends against said shoulder 8 and a little beyond its thickness to form the stall lip 12.

Thus, when it is desired to disassemble the sheet 1 hooked on a smooth minimum of 3 ', for example using a disassembly vector spatula (not shown in the figures), but it does not fit between the flanges 11a and 11 b harpoon 11 inside the space 9 of the mini smooth 3 '; the blade of the spatula is used to push towards the sheet 1 (arrow h , figure 3 ) the lip 12 against the flange 11 a connecting the harpoon 11 to the ply 1 until unhooking the radial face 12a of the end of the harpoon resting on the shoulder 8 of the mini smooth 3 ', which has for effect of pulling down (arrow v , figure 3 ) the harpoon 11 and thus unhooking the web 1 of the mini smooth 3 '.

According to a last particularly advantageous variant represented on the figure 4 , the shoulder 8 provided on the outer flange 5 of the previous variants to serve as a support for the end bead of the harpoon 11, is replaced by a notch 13 formed in the thickness of the outer flange 5 of the mini smooth 3 'to serve as bearing zone at said end cap of the harpoon 11.

According to a preferred configuration, the notch 13 has a general shape of a right triangle whose small side 13a of the right angle, perpendicular to the plane of the outer flange 5 of the mini smooth 3 'serves as a support for the bead of end of the harpoon 11 and whose hypotenuse 13b facilitates the engagement of the bead of the harpoon 11 at the time of mounting the fabric 1.

Thus, the mounting of the harpoon 11 of the mini smooth 3 'exactly performed in the same manner as above by causing for example the radial face 12 a of the tip of the harpoon 11 in coincidence on the bearing face 13 a of notch 13; the disassembly tab 12 then bearing on the inner face of the outer flange 5 of the mini smooth 3 'which subsequently allows disassembly quite similar to what has been said for the previous variant. We see clearly all the interest of this last variant in that it is then possible to further reduce the core 6 'of the mini smooth 3' by a magnitude equivalent to the projection of the shoulder 8 here deleted, and consequently, to further reduce the residual and unsightly clearance between the stretched sheet 1 and the wall 4.

It goes without saying that the quadrant cutting of the end bead of the harpoon 11 to make the stall lip 12 is given by way of non-limiting example of the invention and any other form of cutting the bead of end could be envisaged without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (4)

1. A system for attaching stretched false walls being made of a flexible web (1) attached at the edges thereof to a frame attached to the wall or the ceiling of a room, said frame including a rail (3, 3') made of butted sections including at least two advantageously parallel wings (5, 7), one (5), the so-called outer wing, of which includes, on one side, means for attaching this to the wall (4) or to the ceiling and has, on the other side, a shoulder (8) extending perpendicularly toward the inside of the rail (3, 3'), toward the room, and the other one (7), the so-called inner wing, of which is connected to the first one (5) by means of a core (6, 6') located at one of the ends thereof, and extends, at the other end thereof, a bit beyond the shoulder (8) of the first wing (5) in order to form the peripheral fulcrum of the web (1) which is stretched substantially perpendicularly to the inner wing (7) thanks to the edges thereof provided with a hook having the general shape of a harpoon (10, 11) inserted like a "swan neck" between the two wings of the rail (3, 3') and including a first section (10a, 11a) through which it is connected to the web (1) and of a second section (10b, 11b) folded onto the first one, the end seam of which rests on the shoulder (8) of the outer wing (5), said harpoon (11) end seam including an unhooking edge (12) and being characterized in that said unhooking edge (12) is perpendicularly stemming from the area where said seam rests on the shoulder (8) ensuring the attaching of the web (1) on the rail (3') and extending under said shoulder (8) in the gap existing between the latter and the inner wing (7) of the rail (3') such that said edge (12) operates as a lever for a removal tool, enabling to push the end of the harpoon (11) out of the shoulder (8) without the tool penetrating in the rail (3'), for easily removing the web (1) from the frame thereof.
2. An attaching system according to the previous claim, characterized in that the harpoon (11) end seam includes a peripheral cut toward the outside of said harpoon, the cross-section of which has the general shape of a re-entrant quadrant, the radial face (12a) of which cooperates with the shoulder (8) of the rail (3') and the axial face (12b) of which extends against said shoulder (8) and a bit beyond the thickness thereof in order to form the unhooking edge (12).
3. An attaching system according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that a notch (13) provided in the thickness of the outer wing (5) of the rail (3') is substituted for the shoulder (8) to be used as the fulcrum of the harpoon (11) end seam.
4. An attaching system according to the previous claim, characterized in that the notch (13) has the general shape of a right angled triangle, the smaller side (13a) of the right angle of which, which is perpendicular to the plane of the outer wing (5), is used as the fulcrum of the harpoon (11) end seam and the hypotenuse (13b) of which facilitates the insertion of the harpoon (11) seam when assembling the web (1).

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