Patent Abstract:
A system and a method for covering of wall or ceiling or any other surfaces of a premise and/or an open space setting. The system has at least two panels, i.e. an outwardly facing, external covering panel, which is provided with at least one decorative element and a back, infrastructure panel provided with an attachment plain and a support plain.

Full Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/924,263, filed Jan. 7. 2014, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to covering of walls (outdoor and indoor) and ceiling of a building and/or creating settings of an open space. It should be appreciated however, that the present invention is not limited merely to covering of internal surfaces of a building. The present invention would be suitable as well for covering surfaces of any other premise, building etc., e.g. outside façade of a building, inside decoration of a vehicle, like a cabin of a yacht, train, airplane, bus, liner etc. and for creating surfaces in open spaces. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    There are known in the art various systems for covering of surfaces of a premise, e.g. walls, ceiling and roof. 
         [0004]    The known in the art systems comprise panels made of shapeable material (plastic, metal etc.) which are secured immediately on the covered surface by virtue of nails or any other suitable fastening means, or are glued or adhered by any other suitable method in partially overlapping relation to each other. An example of such a system is disclosed in US patent publication 2005/0050822, in which is described a panel for installation thereof on a ceiling as a component of a matrix grid of similar panels. 
         [0005]    Another example of such a system is disclosed in US publication 2012/0234068, which describes a decorative panel made of a material that can be shaped. The panel is provided with two female mounting portion and two male portions. The female portions have punched holes for fastening the panels directly to surface. 
         [0006]    Some drawbacks of systems employing direct adherence of decorative panels are associated with their limited possibility to resist outside loads since they are not supported from inside. The consequence of this limitation is relatively limited ability of the decorative planes to bear decorative pattern. Furthermore due to this limitation it might be not possible to shape the panels with certain decorative patterns having tiny details since thickness of the panels should be sufficient enough for rendering strength to the panel body. One can readily appreciate that this requirement renders such panels relatively expensive. 
         [0007]    Still further disadvantage of such panels lies in the fact that they are not suitable for arranging wiring ducts on their inwardly facing surface. 
         [0008]    There are also known in the art veneer decorative panels securable on the surface with the aim of a backing connecting systems. 
         [0009]    An example of such system can be found in international publication WO 03/095760, describing decorative wall panel interlock system with upward movement. This system comprises a plurality of plastic panels each having a boy portion formed with rows of simulated building elements. The panels are mounted on support surface with a lower marginal edge region of one panel overlying an upper marginal region of a previously mounted panel. 
         [0010]    Another example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,709, describing surface covering system comprising a covering member and a support structure for supporting the covering member and removable retaining thereof. 
         [0011]    These systems allow deployment of ducts for hidden wiring, nevertheless since they employ relatively thick rigid panels the above mentioned deficiency associated with cost and/or limited design remains. 
         [0012]    Still further deficiency of systems disclosed in the prior art is associated with the uneven load distribution caused by weight of the covering decorative member on walls and ceilings. This uneven load distribution takes place since the weight of the outside decorative element is concentrated not on the total area of the support structure but merely on the certain locations of the support structure, like edges of the panels or backing lines. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    In view of the difficulties and drawbacks associated with previous wall covering and ceiling systems it will be advantageous to provide a method and system employing thin decorative panels which solves the previous problems while providing a more efficient system with unlimited design options and an option for hidden wiring and lighting solutions. 
         [0014]    It is an objective of the present invention to provide a method and system for decorative covering of walls (interior and exterior) and/or ceiling of a premise and/or setting of an open space by providing partitions delimiting certain area in the open space. In accordance with the present invention the system comprises at least two panels made for example of a plastic material, while one panel is an infrastructure panel and the second panel is an external covering panel. The infrastructure panel comprises a back, or an attachment plain securable immediately on the surface to be covered or on an airy infrastructure partition in open spaces, while the opposite plain of the infrastructure panel being intended for supporting of the second panel. The external, covering panel comprises a face provided with a decorative pattern. The back plain of the infrastructure panel is provided with array of substructures, separated by walls and designed to support and at the same time to removable secure the covering panel on the infrastructure panel. By virtue of this provision the covering panel can be made sufficiently thin so as to shape on it a pattern having tiny details. Furthermore the covering panel can be laminated, if required, by materials, rendering it flexible and it can be designed so as to impart modularity and possibility for continuous changeable facing. 
         [0015]    It is an objective of the present invention to form a method and system for decorative cover of walls (interior and exterior) and ceiling and partitions used for delimiting open space settings using at least two panels made of recycled plastic material and hence to allow saving costs of the system and at the same time render it environmentally friendly. 
         [0016]    It is still further an objective of the present invention to provide a system for decorative cover of walls of an premise or creating partitions for delimiting settings in open space having at least one infrastructure panel and an external covering panel which is removable securable on infrastructure panel such that location of the covering panel can be changed and by virtue of this provision a face free style design would be possible, where the installer and later on the user can change positions of the covering panels from time to time in order to change the look of the wall or the ceiling and create ever changing ambient. 
         [0017]    It is still further objective of the present invention to provide a method and a system for decorative cover of walls of a premise, which allows deployment of hidden wiring or piping therein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    The subject matte regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with objects, features and advantages thereof may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0019]      FIGS. 1A   1 B and  1 C are illustrations of exemplary infrastructure panels according to embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2A  shows an infrastructure panels partially covered by external panels according to some embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIGS. 2B ,  2 C, and  2 D are detailed cross section views of the infrastructure panel and external panels illustrated in  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0022]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are schematic illustrations of different types of surfaces partially covered with infrastructure panels and external panels from different vies, according to some embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 4A  is an illustration of a wall or a screen according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIGS. 4B and 4C  are detailed vies of cross sections of elements of the wall or screen illustrated in  FIG. 4A ; 
           [0025]      FIGS. 5A ,  5 B.  5 C,  5 D and  5 E are different examples of external panels according to embodiments of the present invention; and 
           [0026]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of a method for installing external panels according to embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0027]    It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0028]    In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention. 
         [0029]    Embodiments of the present invention provide an assembly for installing panels on a surface, such as a wall or ceiling. The apparatus may comprise at least one infrastructure panel and at least one external panel. 
         [0030]    With reference to  FIGS. 1A ,  1 B. and  1 C, infrastructure panel  100  may be formed as an array of substructures  110 . According to some embodiments of the present invention, each substructure  110  may have at least one infrastructure attachment plain  112  and at least one support plain  111 . Infrastructure attachment plains  112  and support plains  111  may be spaced apart from each other by at least one wall  113 . Wall  113  may be substantially perpendicular to infrastructure attachment plains  112 . According to some embodiments of the present invention, wall  113  may also be perpendicular to support plain  111 . However, it should be appreciated that, according to other embodiments, support plain  111  may not be parallel to infrastructure attachment plain  112 . 
         [0031]    According to some embodiments, walls  113 , infrastructure attachment plains  112 , support plains  111  and external panel ( 500 A- 500 E in  FIGS. 5A-5E ) may create a plurality of cavities there between. However, since pressure applied to support plains is directed through wall or walls  113  to an attachment surface  105 , sufficient pressure resistance is obtained. 
         [0032]    According to some embodiments of the present invention, infrastructure panel  100  may be thermoformed from appropriate materials, such as polyvinylchloride (PVC), Polycarbonate, and any other thermoplastic polymers known in art. It should be understood that other forming technics may he used, such as pressing or injection, and that other materials as may appropriate according to the forming process used in order to form infrastructure panel  100 . For example panel  100  may be formed by pressing of organic materials, such as wood chips or paper, or by pressing of metal sheets or by metal casting. Alternatively panel  100  may be formed by plastic injection. 
         [0033]    According to some embodiments, infrastructure panel  100  may he formed of a film of material have thickness in the range of 0.5-2.0 millimeters (mm), thus allowing cutting, by standard cutting means such as scissors or knife, of infrastructure panel  100  between substructures  110 , along niches  120 , and even though substructures  110 , to fit to any surface  105  dimension, comers and the like. It should be further appreciated that surface  105  may be a wall a ceiling or even an infrastructure panel ( 400 ′ in  FIG. 4C ), placed hack to back with panel  100 . 
         [0034]    According to some embodiments of the present invention, infrastructure panel  100  and external panel ( 500 A- 500 E in  FIGS. 5A-5E ) may be manufactured from non-toxic materials, and may be heat resistant and washable. 
         [0035]    According to some embodiments of the present invention, each infrastructure attachment plain  112  may be adapted to allow attaching of infrastructure panel  100  to surface  105 . It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art of attaching of infrastructure attachment plain  112  to surface  105  may be by means of adhesives, plaster, screws, rivets and any other attaching means known in the art. 
         [0036]    According to some embodiments, each support plain  111  may be adapted to engage a portion of an external panel ( 500 A- 500 E in  FIGS. 5A-5E ) and provide the external panel structural support. 
         [0037]    According to some embodiments of the present invention, infrastructure panel  100  may be transparent or partially transparent to allow light to path through. 
         [0038]    As may be seen in  FIG. 2A  one or more infrastructure  100  may be covered by one or more external panels  200 . Each external panel  200  may have a face  205  and edges  210 . 
         [0039]    According to some embodiments of the present invention, one or more of edges  210  of external panels  200  may be bent rearwards (i.e., towards the surface to be covered and/or the infrastructure attachment plain). According to some embodiments, when external panel  200  is installed, bent edges  210  may be substantially perpendicular to surface ( 105  in  FIG. 1A ) and/or to infrastructure attachment plain ( 112  in  FIG. 1A ) 
         [0040]    With reference to  FIGS. 2B ,  2 C and  2 D, according to some embodiments of the present invention, infrastructure panel  100  may have one or more niches  120  between proximal substructures  110  each of niches  120  may be adapted to receive at least an edge  210   a  of one external panel  200  and at least another edge  210   b  in  FIG. 2B  of another external panel  200 . 
         [0041]    As may be seen in  FIG. 2B ,  2 C and  2 D, external panels  200  may have different shapes. According to one embodiment, illustrated in  FIG. 2B , external panel face  205  may be flat. According to other embodiments, such as, for example, the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2C , face  205  may not be flat and may be protruding from support plain  111  of infrastructure panel  100 . 
         [0042]    As may further seen in  FIG. 2C , according to sonic embodiments of the present invention, a mediating panel  230  may be introduced between support plane  111  of infrastructure panel  100  and face  205  of external panel  200 . It should be appreciated that mediating panel  230  may serve as an adaptor to fit external panels  200  having special shapes to a universal infrastructure panel  100 . 
         [0043]    As may further be seen in  FIGS. 2A ,  2 B,  2 C and  2 D, infrastructure panel  100  may be formed as a matrix or array of substructures  110 . For example. infrastructure panel  100  may formed as a matrix or array of substructures  110 . It should be appreciated that any other array dimension may be used and other shapes of infrastructure panel  100  may be used. For example, some of substructures  110  in row or column of substructures  110  array may be removed to create an uneven number of substances  110  in different rows or columns. 
         [0044]    According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, external panels  200 A and  200 B may be installed on infrastructure panel  100  by introducing edges  210  into niches  120  between proximal substructures  110 . It should he appreciated by those skilled in the art that external panels  200 A and  200 B may be further fastened to infrastructure panel by any fastening means known in the art, such as by adhesives, plaster and the like. 
         [0045]    According to some embodiments of the present invention, each of niches  120  may be adapted to receive and retain at least two edges  210  of proximal external panels  200 A and  200 B. For example, each of niches  120  may have an opening in the range of 0.1-10.0 mm. According to some embodiments niches  120  may have a depth that substantially equals the distance between support plain  111  and infrastructure attachment plain  112  (i.e., equals the height of wall  113 ). 
         [0046]    According to some embodiments, the depth of the niches  120  may be in the range of 10-30 mm. It should be appreciated that other depths may be used. 
         [0047]    According to some embodiments, as illustrated, for example, in  FIG. 2D , face  205  of external panel  200  may have cavity  208  to receive a filling such as stone, metal, marble tiles, ceramic tiles carpet or textile material, noise absorbing material and the like. It should be appreciated that a combination of filling materials may be used. It should be appreciated that additional or alternative filling materials may be used. 
         [0048]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are schematic illustrations of different types of surfaces partially covered embodiments of the present invention. As seen in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , surface  305  may be a wall or a ceiling. Surface  305  may be continues, as seen in  FIGS. 3A  or recessed surface  305  as illustrated in  FIG. 3B . It should be appreciated that other surfaces  305  may be covered according to embodiments of the present invention, channels  306  for wiring, pipes and the like may be passed between surface  305  and infrastructure panels  300 . According to other embodiments, channels  306  may be passed between neighboring infrastructure panels  300 . 
         [0049]    As seen in  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B and  4 C, a structure  402  such as a wall or a screen may be created by connecting a plurality of infrastructure panels  400  and a plurality of infrastructure panels  400 ′ to each other so that infrastructure attachment plains  412  and  412 ′ of panels  400  and  400 ′ are facing one towards the other. It should be appreciated that structure  402  may be connected to the ceiling or the floor by connecting means such as strings  404  or pillars (not shown). Other connecting means may be used as known in the art. According to some embodiments, structure  402  may not be connected to the floor or the ceiling and may have a base element (not shown) to allow structure  402  to stand autonomously, thus allowing structure  402  to be portable, and placed in changing positions. 
         [0050]    Reference is now made of  FIGS. 5A ,  5 B,  5 C,  5 D and  5 E, which provide exemplary external panels  500 A- 500 E according to embodiments of the present invention, each external panel  500 A- 500 E may have a face  505 , and edges  510 . 
         [0051]    According to some embodiments of the present invention, one or more of edges  510  of external panels  500 A- 500 E may be bent rearwards (i.e., towards the surface to be covered). According to some embodiments, when external panel  500 A- 500 E is installed, bent edges  510  may be substantially perpendicular to surface ( 105  in  FIG. 1A ). 
         [0052]    According to some embodiments, external panels  500 A- 500 E may be made of a film of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ABS, Polycarbonate (PC), Polypropylene (PP), and any other thermoplastic material. It should be appreciated that thermoset materials may also be used, when forming external panels by casting. 
         [0053]    According to other embodiments of the present invention, external panels  500  may be made from organic materials such as paper or wood chips, in pressing process. 
         [0054]    According to some embodiments of the present invention, the film may have a thickness in the range of 0.5-10 millimeters (mm). 
         [0055]    As may be seen in  FIGS. 5A-5E , external panels  500 A- 500 E may have a non-flat face  505 . It should be appreciated however, that external panels may have a flat face (i.e., when external panel is installed in place, face  505  is substantially parallel to infrastructure attachment plain  112  in  FIGS. 1A ,  1 B and  1 C). 
         [0056]    As seen in  FIGS. 5A-5E , according to some embodiments, external panels  500 B and  500 C may have a non-flat face  505  (e.g., a curved face, a bulgy face and the like). It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other dimensions, shapes, face and edges structure and texture designs and colors of external panels  500 A- 500 E may be used. 
         [0057]    According to some embodiments of the present invention, external panels  500 A- 500 E may be made fully or partially transparent to allow light to path therethrough. It should be appreciated that, when using non opaque infrastructure panels and external panels, a light source may be placed between surface ( 105  in  FIG. 1A ) and infrastructure panel ( 100  in  FIG. 1 ) and may serve as an in wall light. 
         [0058]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 6 , which is a flowchart of a method for applying surface cover panels to a surface, according to some embodiments of the present invention. As seen in block  610  the method may comprise attaching a first infrastructure panel to a surface by attaching a plurality of infrastructure attachment plains to the first infrastructure panel to the surface to be covered. It should be appreciated that the surface may be a wall, a ceiling, another infrastructure panel and any other surface. As seen in block  620 , after attaching a first infrastructure panel, additional infrastructure panels may be attached proximal to the previously installed panel, to create an array of infrastructure panels to cover the entire surface. It should be appreciated that the surface, according to some embodiments of the present invention, mat be a wall or a ceiling a or a portion thereof or, as illustrated in  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B and  4 C, may be another infrastructure panels array facing in an opposite direction. It should be further appreciated that attaching of infrastructure panels to a surface may be by means of adhesives, by mean of plaster, by mean of screws or nails or by other attaching means known in the art. 
         [0059]    According to some embodiments, proximal infrastructure panels may he installed so that niches crossing one infrastructure panel in one direction may be aligned with niches of a first proximal infrastructure panel crossing the first proximal infrastructure panel in a first direction and niches crossing one infrastructure panel in a second direction may be aligned with niches of second proximal infrastructure panel crossing the second proximal infrastructure panel in a second direction. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other arrangements of infrastructure panels may be applied. 
         [0060]    According to some embodiments of the present invention, after installing an array of infrastructure panels on the surface to be covered uncovered margins may remain. With reference to block  630 . it is seen that in order to cover the uncovered margins, one or more additional infrastructure panels may he cut along one or more niches of each additional infrastructure panel to fit to cover the uncovered margins of the surface. 
         [0061]    After the entire surface is covered with infrastructure panels and/or portions cut to shape thereof, external panels may be installed (block  640 ). The installation of external panels, according to some embodiments of the present invention, may be done by placing a first external panel so that all of the external panel&#39;s edges are retained within a niche in at least one infrastructure panel. 
         [0062]    According to some embodiments, when required a mediating panel may be placed between infrastructure panels and external panels, as seen in dashed block  633 . 
         [0063]    According to dome embodiments, prior to covering some or all of the infrastructure panels with external panels an adhesive may be applied to some or all of the support plains or to the internal face (i.e., the face of the external panel facing the infrastructure panel when installed) of external panels (block  635 ) 
         [0064]    Alternatively or additionally, after installing some of the external panels on the infrastructure panels, a filling material may be applied to fill the gaps between proximal external panels and to retail external panels in place (block  645 ) 
         [0065]    It would be appreciated that, prior to infrastructure panels being attached, channels may be placed to run wiring, pipes and the like, to be covered by the infrastructure panels. 
         [0066]    While certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents will now occur to those of ordinary skill in the art, It is therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4