Patent ID: 7937902

Claim:
A rain screen system for attaching an array of panels to the outside of a building, comprising: (a) an array of panels, each panel having a top edge, two side edges, and a bottom edge, (b) an outside surface of a building, (c) a track system adapted to attach the array of panels to the outside surface of the building, the tracking system comprising: (1) a series of horizontal mounting tracks, each of which extends across the entire width of the panel array, each horizontal mounting track having an upturned building-side leg that forms both a mounting flange, through a local shim, to the building, as well as the building side of a water-tight, continuous, self draining gutter system, each track also has an upturned panel-side leg that forms both a mounting flange for the lower edge of an upper panel and the panel side of the gutter system, each track also forms a water seal at the top edge of a lower panel, the gutter system has gutter weep holes on the panel side of the gutter system, adapted so that drainage is fed to the top of the lower panel, (2) a series of vertical mounting tracks that are positioned behind and provides a mounting flange for the side edges of each of the panels, (3) top edge horizontal mounting elements connected to the top edges of the panels and adapted to engage a downturned leg on the horizontal mounting tracks to form a watertight connection, (4) bottom edge horizontal mounting elements connected to the bottom edges of the panels and adapted to engage the upturned panel-side leg on the horizontal mounting tracks, and (5) vertical mounting elements connected to the side edges of the panels and adapted to engage the mounting flanges on the vertical mounting tracks and form a watertight connection.