Cladding assembly for a vertical structure and method of assembly thereof

Abstract

A cladding assembly for covering a vertical structure comprising a panel configured to be assembled with other panels and comprising a body having a rear face, a front face, first and second horizontal edge faces, and vertical edge faces, each of the first and second horizontal edge faces defining a groove, a contact face extending between the front face and the groove, and a support face extending between the groove and the rear face. The cladding assembly further comprises an anchor comprising a fixed plate, a support plate configured to engage with the support face of the lower horizontal edge face of the panel, and a retention tab configured to engage with the groove of the upper horizontal edge face of a bottom-adjacent panel, wherein the support faces are recessed relative to the first and second horizontal edge faces.

1 . A cladding assembly for covering a vertical architectural structure, the cladding assembly comprising:
 a panel configured to be assembled with other panels in an adjacent configuration to cover the vertical architectural structure, the panel comprising:
 a body having a rear face facing the vertical architectural structure, 
 a front face opposite the rear face, 
 vertical edge faces, and 
 upper and lower horizontal edge faces, each of the upper and lower horizontal edge faces comprising:
 a longitudinal groove, 
 a contact face between the front face and the longitudinal groove, and 
 a support face between the longitudinal groove and the rear face; and 
 
   an anchor for securing the panel to the vertical architectural structure when the cladding assembly is assembled, the anchor comprising:
 a fixed plate configured to be fixed to the vertical architectural structure; 
 a support plate extending outwardly from the fixed plate and configured to engage with the support face of the lower horizontal edge face of the panel to support a part of a weight of the panel; and 
 a retention tab extending downwardly from the support plate and configured to engage with part of the longitudinal groove of the upper horizontal edge face of a bottom-adjacent panel, the bottom-adjacent panel having the same configuration as the panel and being configured to be mounted below the panel when mounted in the adjacent configuration; 
   wherein each of the support faces of the upper and lower horizontal edge faces is recessed relative to the respective contact faces to receive the support plate between the panel and the bottom-adjacent panel when the cladding assembly is assembled.   
     
     
         2 . The cladding assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the support face is recessed to a depth corresponding to a half of a thickness of the support plate. 
     
     
         3 . The cladding assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the contact face of the lower horizontal edge face is configured to abut the contact face of the upper horizontal edge face of the bottom-adjacent panel to conceal the anchor when the cladding assembly is assembled. 
     
     
         4 . The cladding assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the anchor is a first anchor configured to secure a lower end of the panel to the vertical architectural structure, the cladding assembly further comprising a second anchor having the same configuration as the first anchor, the second anchor being configured to secure an upper end of the panel to the vertical architectural structure when the cladding assembly is assembled. 
     
     
         5 . The cladding assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second horizontal edge faces comprises first and second lateral edge portions, each of the first and second lateral edge portions defining a planar edge surface extending from the front face to the rear face. 
     
     
         6 . The cladding assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the planar edge surface of the first and second lateral edge portions is coplanar with the contact surface of the respective upper and lower horizontal edge faces. 
     
     
         7 . The cladding assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each of the front face and the vertical edge faces of the panels includes a textured decorative surface. 
     
     
         8 . The cladding assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the longitudinal groove of the upper and lower horizontal edge faces defines an arcuate surface extending between the contact face and the support face of the upper and lower panels. 
     
     
         9 . The cladding assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the arcuate surface of the longitudinal groove of the upper and lower horizontal edge faces comprises an inverted bell curve shape. 
     
     
         10 . The cladding assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the retention tab of the anchor comprises a curved shape configured to engage the arcuate surface of the longitudinal groove of the lower horizontal edge face. 
     
     
         11 . The cladding assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the anchor further comprises a spacing tab extending from the fixed plate, the spacing tab being configured to space the rear face of the panel apart from the vertical architectural structure to define a continuous air gap between the panel and the vertical architectural structure. 
     
     
         12 . The cladding assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the panel comprises a drainage channel extending from the longitudinal groove of at least one of the upper and lower horizontal edge faces, to the rear face of the panel, the drainage channel being configured to convey a fluid from the longitudinal groove of the corresponding one of the upper and lower horizontal edge faces to the continuous air gap. 
     
     
         13 . The cladding assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the retention tab of the anchor is a lower retention tab, the anchor further comprising an upper retention tab extending from the support plate and configured to engage with a part of the longitudinal groove of the lower horizontal edge face of the panel when the cladding assembly is assembled. 
     
     
         14 . The cladding assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the upper retention tab is configured to restrict a displacement of the panel in a direction normal to a surface of the vertical architectural structure when the cladding assembly is assembled. 
     
     
         15 . The cladding assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the lower retention tab is a first lower retention tab and the anchor further comprises a second lower retention tab extending downwardly from the support plate, a ratio between a width of the upper retention tab and a width of at least one of the first and second lower retention tabs being about 2.6:1. 
     
     
         16 . The cladding assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the anchor further comprises a brace extending between the fixed plate and the support plate, the brace being configured to maintain a relative angle between the fixed plate and the support plate when the anchor is supporting at least a portion of a weight of the panel. 
     
     
         17 . A method of assembling a cladding assembly to at least partially cover a vertical architectural structure, the method comprising:
 providing a panel of the cladding assembly;   securing a first anchor of the cladding assembly to a surface of the vertical architectural structure;   mounting the panel onto the first anchor in one of an upright configuration and an upturned configuration by engaging a lower arcuate longitudinal groove of the panel with a retention tab of the first anchor, the retention tab of the first anchor being configured to engage with a rearward portion of the lower arcuate longitudinal groove of the panel; and   securing a second anchor of the cladding assembly to the surface of the vertical architectural structure at a distance above the first anchor corresponding to a height of the panel to secure the panel to the vertical architectural structure.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein securing the second anchor of the cladding assembly to the surface of the vertical architectural structure comprises engaging a retention tab of the second anchor with an upper arcuate longitudinal groove of the panel, the retention tab of the second anchor having a corresponding arcuate shape. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein securing the second anchor of the cladding assembly to the surface of the vertical architectural structure comprises securing a downwardly angled fastener to the second anchor to apply a compressive force onto the panel. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein mounting the panel onto the first anchor further comprises engaging a rear face of the panel with a spacing tab of the first anchor to space the rear face of the panel from the surface of the vertical architectural structure so as to define a continuous air gap between the panel and the vertical architectural structure.