Patent ID: 9677284
Date: 2017-06-13
CPC Classifications: B32B,E04F

Claim:
1. An exterior thermally adaptive wall covering operable to cover at least part of a wall and to move in response to a change in covering temperature, said wall covering comprising: a laminated composite panel including first and second panel layers and an intermediate connecting structure that connects the panel layers relative to one another along an interface defined between the panel layers, said panel defining an elongated attachment region along which the panel is configured to be attached to the wall, one of said panel layers generally overlying the other one of the panel layers when the attachment region is attached to the wall, with the other panel layer configured to generally face the wall, said first and second panel layers having, respectively, first and second coefficients of thermal expansion that are different from each other and cause expansion and contraction of the corresponding panel layers along the interface, said connecting structure permitting expansion and/or contraction of each panel layer relative to the other panel layer in response to the covering temperature change so that the panel flexes, said first panel layer generally covering the second panel layer when the attachment region is attached to the wall, said second coefficient of thermal expansion of the second panel layer being greater than the first coefficient of thermal expansion of the first panel layer, with part of the panel spaced from the attachment region configured to shift away from the wall in response to an increasing covering temperature and configured to flex toward the wall in response to a decreasing covering temperature, said part of the panel presenting an outwardly facing exposed surface when the attachment region is attached to the wall, said exposed surface being generally planar when the covering temperature is at a predetermined operating temperature, said part of the panel flexing so that the exposed surface is concave when the covering temperature is higher than the predetermined operating temperature, said part of the panel flexing so that the exposed surface is convex when the covering temperature is lower than the predetermined operating temperature.