초록 ▼

A spacer for retaining a cladding element on a building element in a spaced apart relationship has a constant cross-section in its longitudinal direction. The spacer is an at least substantially hollow structure having at least one external wall enclosing an interior space. At least one fastener ins

A spacer for retaining a cladding element on a building element in a spaced apart relationship has a constant cross-section in its longitudinal direction. The spacer is an at least substantially hollow structure having at least one external wall enclosing an interior space. At least one fastener insertion path extends through the interior space. The fastener insertion path is capable of holding a fastener disposed therein prior to mounting the spacer and cladding element on the building element. The spacer preferably comprises planar surfaces on opposite sides thereof that are configured to abut the cladding element and the building element, respectively.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A spacer configured to retain a cladding element on a building element in a spaced apart relationship, the spacer having a spacer body formed from a polymer material and comprising: at least one exterior wall extending in parallel to a longitudinal direction of the spacer body and defining an int

1. A spacer configured to retain a cladding element on a building element in a spaced apart relationship, the spacer having a spacer body formed from a polymer material and comprising: at least one exterior wall extending in parallel to a longitudinal direction of the spacer body and defining an interior space that is open at opposite ends of the spacer body in the longitudinal direction, the at least one exterior wall having a constant cross-section in the longitudinal direction and enclosing the interior space in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the at least one exterior wall being comprised of a plurality of side wall segments that are integrally connected together without a seam therebetween,a first plurality of bars, each extending in a cantilever or a substantially cantilever manner from an interior surface of the at least one exterior wall into the interior space towards a first fastener insertion axis that is parallel to the longitudinal direction, wherein each of the first plurality of bars has a constant cross-section in the longitudinal direction and terminates before the first fastener insertion axis, such that terminal ends of the first plurality of bars together define a first fastener insertion path having a first predetermined width in a direction perpendicular to the first fastener insertion axis, anda second plurality of bars, each extending in a cantilever or a substantially cantilever manner from the interior surface of the at least one exterior wall into the interior space towards a second fastener insertion axis that is parallel to the longitudinal direction and to the first fastener insertion axis, wherein each of the second plurality of bars has a constant cross-section in the longitudinal direction and terminates before the second fastener insertion axis, such that terminal ends of the second plurality of bars together define a second fastener insertion path having the first predetermined width in a direction perpendicular to the second fastener insertion axis,wherein the side wall segments define two parallel end faces, which are perpendicular to the first fastener insertion axis and to the second fastener insertion axis,the first fastener insertion path and the second fastener insertion path are respectively configured to widen to receive and squeeze a fastener having a second predetermined width that is greater than the first predetermined width, andthe first fastener insertion path and the second fastener insertion path are respectively configured to be widenable within a widening range that is between 0.5%-50% of the first predetermined width. 2. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the bars of the first plurality of bars extend in a star arrangement around the first fastener insertion path and the bars of the second plurality of bars extend in a star arrangement around the second fastener insertion path. 3. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the first and second plurality of bars each comprise at least four bars. 4. The spacer according to claim 3, further comprising: a first half-cylindrical portion disposed at, and connecting, a first set of the terminal ends of two adjacent bars of the first plurality of bars, anda second half-cylindrical portion disposed at, and connecting, a second set of the terminal ends of two adjacent bars of the first plurality of bars,wherein the first and second half-cylindrical portions are separated from each other by two co-linear gaps. 5. The spacer according to claim 4, further comprising: a connection wall extending in the interior space between the first and second fastener insertion paths. 6. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the bars of the first plurality of bars and the bars of the second plurality of bars are respectively spaced from each other along the interior surface of the at least one exterior wall by one or more angles between 40-120°. 7. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the spacer body is formed by extrusion. 8. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of side wall segments is curved and at least two of the bars of the first plurality of bars extend from the interior surface of the at least one curved side wall segment. 9. The spacer according to claim 8, wherein: the at least one curved side wall segment has a half-circle shape in cross-section andat least two of the plurality of side wall segments are planar in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction and extend in parallel to each other. 10. The spacer according to claim 9, wherein the two parallel end faces are defined on opposite ends of the spacer body in the longitudinal direction, the two parallel end faces being flat and respectively extending in first and second planes that are each perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. 11. A spacer configured to retain a cladding element on a building element in a spaced apart relationship, the spacer having a spacer body comprising: at least one exterior wall extending in parallel to a longitudinal direction of the spacer body and defining an interior space that is open at opposite ends of the spacer body in the longitudinal direction, the at least one exterior wall having a constant cross-section in the longitudinal direction and enclosing the interior space in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the at least one exterior wall being comprised of a plurality of side wall segments that are integrally connected together without a seam therebetween,a first plurality of bars, each extending in a cantilever or a substantially cantilever manner from an interior surface of the at least one exterior wall into the interior space towards a first fastener insertion axis that is parallel to the longitudinal direction, wherein each of the first plurality of bars has a constant cross-section in the longitudinal direction and terminates before the first fastener insertion axis, such that terminal ends of the first plurality of bars together define a first fastener insertion path having a first predetermined width in a direction perpendicular to the first fastener insertion axis, anda second plurality of bars, each extending in a cantilever or a substantially cantilever manner from the interior surface of the at least one exterior wall into the interior space towards a second fastener insertion axis that is parallel to the longitudinal direction and to the first fastener insertion axis, wherein each of the second plurality of bars has a constant cross-section in the longitudinal direction and terminates before the second fastener insertion axis, such that terminal ends of the second plurality of bars together define a second fastener insertion path having the first predetermined width in a direction perpendicular to the second fastener insertion axis,wherein the side wall segments define two parallel end faces, which are perpendicular to the first fastener insertion axis and to the second fastener insertion axis,the first fastener insertion path and the second fastener insertion path are respectively configured to widen to receive and squeeze a fastener having a second predetermined width that is greater than the first predetermined width,the first fastener insertion path and the second fastener insertion path are respectively configured to be widenable within a widening range that is between 0.5%-50% of the first predetermined width,the bars of the first plurality of bars extend in a star arrangement around the first fastener insertion path and the bars of the second plurality of bars extend in a star arrangement around the second fastener insertion path andthe spacer body is made of fiberglass-reinforced polymer material. 12. The spacer according to claim 11, wherein the spacer body has a heat conductivity of less than about 1 W/(mK). 13. The spacer according to claim 12, wherein at least one of the plurality of side wall segments is curved and at least two of the bars of the first plurality of bars extend from the interior surface of the at least one curved side wall segment. 14. The spacer according to claim 13, wherein: the at least one curved side wall segment has a half-circle shape in cross-section andat least two of the plurality of side wall segments are planar in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction and extend in parallel to each other. 15. The spacer according to claim 14, wherein the two parallel end faces are defined on opposite ends of the spacer body in the longitudinal direction, the two parallel end faces being flat and respectively extending in first and second planes that are each perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. 16. The spacer according to claim 15, wherein the first and second plurality of bars each comprise at least four bars. 17. The spacer according to claim 16, further comprising: a first half-cylindrical portion disposed at, and connecting, a first set of the terminal ends of two adjacent bars of the first plurality of bars, anda second half-cylindrical portion disposed at, and connecting, a second set of the terminal ends of two adjacent bars of the first plurality of bars,wherein the first and second half-cylindrical portions are separated from each other by two co-linear gaps. 18. The spacer according to claim 17, wherein the bars of the first plurality of bars and the bars of the second plurality of bars are respectively spaced from each other along the interior surface of the at least one exterior wall by one or more angles between 40-120°. 19. The spacer according to claim 18, further comprising: a connection wall extending in the interior space between the first and second fastener insertion paths and connecting the first half-cylindrical portion to a third half-cylindrical portion disposed at, and connecting, the terminal ends of at least two adjacent bars of the second plurality of bars. 20. A method comprising: inserting a first fastener through a cladding element and then into the first fastener insertion path of the spacer according to claim 1, thereby forming a captive assembly of the fastener, cladding element and the spacer;inserting a second fastener through the cladding element and then into the second fastener insertion path of the spacer; andengaging the first fastener and the second fastener into a structural building element, thereby forming an assembly of the cladding element retained on the structural building element in a spaced apart relationship.