Patent ID: 8584417

Claim:
A wall panel system comprising: at least two rails, wherein said rails are aligned in a substantially parallel manner; at least two panels, wherein each of said panels includes a front surface, a rear surface, a peripheral edge extending between said front and rear surfaces, each of said at least two panels being positioned adjacent to another panel, and each of said at least two panels extending between two of said at least two rails that are positioned adjacent to each other; and at least one cross spline, wherein each cross spline is positioned between a pair of adjacent panels, said cross spline being oriented in a substantially normal manner relative to said adjacent rails; wherein each panel includes a continuous groove formed into said peripheral edge of said panel, and wherein said adjacent rails and at least one cross spline engage said groove; wherein each of said at least two rails includes a base, a buffer extending from one distal end of said base, an arm extending from an opposing distal end of said base, said arm extending from said base at an angle therebetween.