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[0001] This invention relates to a resiliently deformable construction element covering particularly useful in non-static structures.
[0002] The applicant is aware that at present there are three types of construction used for constructing buildings, such as houses. These three types are:
[0003] brick, stone and/or concrete;
[0004] timber and timber composites; and
[0005] steel with brick and/or timber.
[0006] The first type, i.e. the brick, stone and/or concrete construction, leads to a brittle structure having good compressive strength but limited flexibility and poor tensile strength and is thus prone to cracking, from which there is no recovery, until the structure fails.
[0007] The second type, i.e. the timber construction, has its own problems in that timber is weak when stressed along the grain but strong when stressed across the grain. Furthermore, fixing means used to fix timber to other construction elements, or even to other timber, for example staples, nails, screws and/or glue are prone to unexpected failures and can also weaken the timber.
[0008] The third type, i.e. the steel with brick and/or timber construction, attempts to address the weaknesses of the first two types by combining their strengths. The third type however requires specialist design and construction techniques.
[0009] The applicant is further aware that structures of the above types often suffer damage which detracts from the aesthetic value of the structure, herein after referred to as decorative damage, as a result of weather, such as hurricanes, soil settlement resulting in structural movement, heaving soils resulting in structural movement, and earthquakes which cause horizontal shear resulting in decorative damage or even total destruction of the structure.
[0010] Thus, the applicant has identified a need for a structure which can be erected by two semi-skilled workers with minimal equipment to a standard equivalent to or better than traditional skilled construction methods, including internal and external decorations, fixtures, fittings and services.
[0011] The structure for which a need has been identified should preferably be capable of being erected, and withstanding, all reasonable constructions sites, whether the site has settling soil, heaving soil, rock, clay, gravel or loam.
[0012] The above house should also be able to withstand wind, cold, heat, and moderate earth tremors. Although it would be ideal if such a structure could withstand all extremes of weather and nature this is off course impractical and thus the structure should be able to withstand weather and nature at levels at least the same as those of skilled construction method structures.
[0013] The applicant has identified various modularized house construction systems however these do not address to a sufficient degree the above identified needs.
[0014] The applicant further believes that the above needs can best be satisfied by a construction system in which the construction elements, including decorative finishes are manufactured in a controlled factory environment with a sufficient degree of precision to permit assembly on site under non-ideal conditions by semi-skilled workmen.
[0015] Further, such a construction system should be able to withstand adverse weather and nature conditions as described above.
[0016] Thus, according to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a resiliently deformable construction element covering which permits a structure constructed using said covering to deform in sympathy with weather and other natural forces and to recover to substantially to its original state, said covering including:
[0017] a resiliently deformable film having at least a portion extending beyond the surface of the construction element onto which the film is to be applied thereby to a define a flap which overlaps onto an adjacent construction element;
[0018] an adhesive for applying the film to the construction element;
[0019] a coating composition or system capable of being applied to the film and of dissipating most of any decorative damage over an area around a stressed area of the film which is causing the decorative damage thereby to form individual cracks in the coating composition that are substantially invisible to the naked eye.
[0020] The resiliently deformable film may be an elastomeric film, however, experience has taught that rubber degrades with time and is not ideally suited for the task.
[0021] Thus, the resiliently deformable film may be a thermoplastic elastomeric film i.e. a TPE film. An example of TPE's which do not suffer from the problems of rubber is styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene (SEBS) which may have upto 1000% elongation, however, the degree of elongation may be reduced by using compounding additives, such as fillers.
[0022] The principle of SEBS is that two thermoplastic species are compounded to a homogeneous melt and cooled. The one species i.e. butylenes or ethylene/butylenes has a glass transition temperature of below −40° C. and the other species i.e. styrene has a glass transition temperature of 80° C. Thus, at ambient temperature, the one species is in a rubbery state while the other is in a glassy state thereby providing a balance between stiffness and elongation depending on the ratio of the species in the SEBS.
[0023] SEBS is available in strips and sheets.
[0024] Suitable compounding agents such as inorganic fillers, for example, talc, clay, calcium carbonate, and/or titanium oxide can be added to produce a resiliently deformable film which is suitable as a wall covering in that it has sufficient stiffness so that it does not sag under its own weight nor is it tacky to the touch while also having adequate elastic memory, for example 100% deformation, to stretch and recover with movement of the construction elements to which it is applied.
[0025] The resiliently deformable covering may also serve as a sound and/or thermal insulation.
[0026] The adhesive may be a hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive, such as Etimelt 89E and National 281E from National Starch & Chemical. This type of adhesive is routinely applied to panel boards and are stable with time and capable of on-site application with no specialist equipment or skills.
[0027] The adhesive may be formulated to control tack strength, shear strength, melt temperature, and the like, as is commonplace in the art.
[0028] The coating composition or system may include a polar inorganic material which is applied to the film and which is receptive to paint and ink thereby to permit paint and/or ink to be applied to the inorganic material and thus to the film.
[0029] The polar inorganic material may be particles of quartz, marble, limestone, or the like,
[0030] The particles may be in the form of fine granules or powder.
[0031] The polar inorganic material may be pressed into the surface of the film which is to be painted after that surface has been heated to above the glass transition temperature of the species in the film having the highest glass transition temperature but below the melting point of the film so that the film loses its elasticity and becomes plastic thereby retaining the inorganic material in the surface.
[0032] Where the inorganic material is in the form of particles, the surface layer of the film is plasticly reformed about the particles providing a mechanical key for each particle thereby retaining the particles in the surface.
[0033] In use, the coating composition expands and contracts together with the deformation of the structure to which it is applied so that the painted and/or inked inorganic material particles separate and act as pixels of colour creating a network of minute cracks in the micron size range which pixels collectively move apart or together thereby to dissipate any stress cracks while remaining substantially invisible to the naked eye.
[0034] The flap of film which extends beyond the edges of the surface onto which the film is applied, together with the inorganic material and any paint or ink which has been applied thereto, is tapered in the plane of the thickness of the covering so that it overlaps with a complementary tapered section on an adjacent construction element to form a resiliently deformable covering spanning a joint between the adjacent construction elements while limiting the thickness of the covering in the overlap region to substantially that of the covering on the remainder of the construction elements.
[0035] The width of the resiliently deformable covering spanning the joint is variable and limited only by the width of the tapered portions of the flap.
[0036] The overlapping of the flap from one construction element from one construction element onto an adjacent construction element, as described above, permits an otherwise visibly imperfect joint to be covered and to appear perfect due to the complementary tapered portions overlying each other to form a uniform covering over the joint.
[0037] In the event of deformation of the structure in the joint regions due to weather, forces of nature, soil settlement, soil heaving, earthquakes, or the like, the covering over the joint region deforms in sympathy with the deformation of the structure thereby preserving the decorative finish and limiting, if not avoiding, decorative damage.
[0038] The invention extends to a construction element having a peripherally extending joint arrangement for attaching the construction element to adjacent construction elements, the construction element being covered with a resiliently deformable covering, substantially as described above, having a flap portion tapered in the plane of thickness extending beyond the joint arrangement and a complementary tapered portion at an opposite corresponding edge of the construction element for receiving the flap portion of an adjacent construction element thereby to permit the joint arrangement to be imperceptibly covered in use.
[0039] The invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting illustration only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0040] In the drawings,
[0041]
[0042]
[0043]
[0044]
[0045] In
[0046] The covering
[0047] As previously described, the principle of SEBS is that two thermoplastic species are compounded to a homogeneous melt and cooled. The one species i.e. butylenes or ethylene/butylenes has a glass transition temperature of below −40° C. and the other species i.e. styrene has a glass transition temperature of 80° C. Thus, at ambient temperature, the one species is in a rubbery state while the other is in a glassy state thereby providing a balance between stiffness and elongation depending on the ratio of the species in the SEBS.
[0048] On the underside
[0049] The adhesive
[0050] Since the SEBS film is non-polar and inks and paints will not adhere to it, a coating composition
[0051] In the embodiment shown the polar inorganic material
[0052] The polar inorganic granules
[0053] The surface layer
[0054] In use, the coating composition
[0055] In
[0056] Each of the construction elements
[0057] The flap
[0058] The width
[0059] The overlapping of the tapered flap
[0060] In the event of deformation of a structure including the elements
[0061] The construction elements
[0062] It will be clear to those skilled in the art that other embodiments of the invention exist and are included in the scope of the invention.
[0063] The claims which follow form an integral part of the disclosure of the invention as if specifically reproduced here.