EP0320359A1 - Appliance for a light building-façade - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a lightweight façade bearing against a building body to be constructed or renovated. The subject of the invention is a lightweight façade appliance comprising both support means and filling, insulation and decoration means, the assembly of these means bearing in places against a framework (31-32) of known type of a building, this appliance being characterised in that the façade support means consist of a metal grid (15) formed from at least one horizontal metal rail (1-2) at each floor level (26) of the building and a certain number of vertical metal uprights (3) spaced all along the façade and fitting into the rails (1-2), these rails being fixed to the building body at the floor levels (26) of the latter. The invention is applicable equally to facades of new constructions and to renovation of façades of old buildings, provided or not with a façade wall. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to the construction of a light facade supported by a building body to be constructed or to be renovated, with or without a facade wall.

The renovation of the facades is generally carried out either by a facelift, or by the installation of an added cladding resting on a light structure fixed to the front wall of the body of the building, or by the installation of a new wooden frame facade or metallic constituting a carrier system, which necessarily limits the number of levels, and often proves to be quite expensive.

The purpose of the present invention is to be able to have a light and economical facade, of easy assembly, leaning in places on a body of building even without a facade wall, and making possible a multiplication of levels, while ensuring great architectural freedom.

To this end, the present invention relates to a light building facade device, comprising both support means and means for filling, insulation and decoration, all of these means being supported in places on a frame of known type of said building, and not requiring the existence of a facade wall of this building, said means for supporting the facade being constituted by a metal grid formed of at least one horizontal metal rail at each level of the building's floor, and of a certain number of vertical metal uprights spaced along the facade and fitting into the different beams, until reaching the level of the building's roof, the meshes of said grid affecting a simple geometric shape, and the beams being fixed to the building body, characterized in that it comprises means for fixing the grid at a floor of the building body.

These grid fixing means consist of support pieces each formed from three flat faces, orthogonal two by two, the vertical central face being the only one to have a common edge with each of the other two.

The grid meshes can have simple polygonal shapes, such as the rectangle, the square, the triangle, the trapezoid, or even curved shapes obtained by bending or forming the heddles, without modification of the uprights, the assembly being able to offer a great diversity in aesthetic research.

Certain meshes of the metal grid, corresponding to openings in the facade, such as doors and windows, are provided with crosspieces or spacers fixed to the beams or the amounts of the grid, and allowing the installation and fixing of the constituent elements of these openings.

According to another characteristic of the present invention, the beams, the uprights, the crosspieces and the spacers are made of metal profiles, preferably of galvanized sheet steel.

The filling and decorating means successively comprise from the outside to the inside: an external facing fixed to said metal grid, which leaves an air gap behind the exterior facing, a rain barrier made of a waterproof film and permeable to water vapor, a continuous insulating layer of a certain thickness, a vapor barrier made of an incombustible fibrous insulator, and a thin lining partition fixed on at least one support profile placed against the vapor barrier, and integral with the uprights of the grid.

According to a particular characteristic of the present invention, the lining partition, parallel to the external facing, is connected to the vertical uprights of the grid, supporting said external panel, by connecting members, which on the other hand ensure the holding in place of the insulating layer.

According to another particular characteristic of the present invention, the interior face of the exterior facing is drained, so that no joint is necessary between the panels adjacent to the exterior facing.

According to yet another particular characteristic of the present invention, the panels of the external facing are fixed to the uprights of the grid by means of special staples, comprising both means for fixing to the uprights and means for adjusting the spacing according to the thickness of the panels.

It is thus possible to assemble each grid beforehand and to fix the exterior cladding panels thereto by said clips, before assembly of the entire facade.

Thus, it is the beams which, by relying on the framework of the building by means of such triple supports, support the entire facade. This alleviates all the additional constraints ted by the uprights, which thus remain of moderate dimensions and allow to realize a light facade.

The three faces of the heald support part are each pierced with an oblong opening for the passage of the fixing parts, ensuring the clearance required for assembly.

According to another particular characteristic of the present invention, the support profiles of the interior lining partition are made integral with the uprights of the grid by means of stirrups, arranged from place to place at various levels of the amounts, and which pass through the thickness of the continuous insulating layer. These stirrups each consist of three flat walls, the assembly affecting the shape of a U, the two wings of which would be relatively long compared to the width of the U, the bottom of the U being fixed to an upright, and the ends of the wings having notches for fixing said sections.

One of the original features of the invention resides in the existence of a grid-like structure supporting on the one hand the facade facings and on the other hand the interior lining partitions parallel to the facade. This grid is only fixed to the building, in particular at the floors of the latter, depending on the type of frame of the building.

The advantages of the light facade according to the invention are multiple:

First of all, the lightness of the facade is due to its attachment to the framework of the floors of the body of the building by the beams of its grid, which relieves the constraints of its metal uprights and therefore makes it possible to reduce their weight.

It's also an economic facade, because all its constituents are common industrial products of low mass.

Another important advantage of this light facade is its ease and speed of assembly. Thus, the grid - or some of its parts - can be prefabricated, or assembled on site before it is fixed to the frame of the building. The uprights fit into the rails. Their ends are indented for this purpose.

Certain amounts are doubled, to allow the incorporation of joinery. Any pre-assembled grid can also receive its exterior cladding panels before mounting in the facade.

A wide variety in the choice of exterior cladding is possible: thanks to the use of all kinds of plates, for example concrete, usually 6 mm to 12 mm thick, or even wooden clapboards superimposed on the above the rails.

The fixing of the continuous insulating layer, with its rain and vapor barrier, and that of the support profiles of the internal lining partition is carried out easily and quickly by means of stirrups, as described above.

It then only remains to fix on these profiles the lining partition, which is the element of the facade facing inward.

Overall, the thermal and sound insulation of this light facade is excellent, thanks to the thickness of the continuous insulating layer, which can represent almost half of the total thickness of the facade.

In addition, since the interior face of the exterior facing panels is drained, the facade avoids all humidity, although the neighboring panels have no joints or only have dry joints if preferred.

This provides a light, economical, aesthetic facade, offering great flexibility to architectural requirements, easy to assemble, well thermally and phonically insulated, not very sensitive to humidity, and not requiring the existence of a wall of preexisting facade.

• La figure 1 est une vue schématique de l'extérieur d'une façade légère selon l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue cavalière, après assemblage, des éléments d'une grille métallique de forme générale rectangulaire, comportant plusieurs montants et deux lisses ;
• la figure 3 est une vue cavalière d'une grille métallique de forme triangulaire, après son assemblage ;
• la figure 4 est une vue cavalière d'une grille métallique de forme trapézoïdale, après son assemblage ;
• la figure 5 est une vue cavalière d'une grille rectangulaire ménageant une fenêtre ;
• la figure 6 est une vue cavalière, écorchée, d'une façade selon l'invention, montrant la disposi­tion respective des montants de la grille, des matiè­res de remplissage, d'isolation et de décoration, et des profilés supports de la cloison de doublage ;
• la figure 7a est une vue en coupe verticale sur joint horizontal de deux panneaux du parement extérieur maintenus par des agrafes (épaisseur des panneaux : 6 mm) ;
• la figure 7b est une vue analogue à la figure 7 pour des panneaux de 12 mm d'épaisseur ;
• la figure 8 est une vue cavalière de la pièce support de lisse à 3 faces ;
• la figure 9 est une vue cavalière et en coupe de la structure de façade selon l'invention au niveau du plancher ;
• la figure 10 est une vue cavalière d'un étrier assurant la liaison entre les montants de la grille et l'ossature de profilés servant de supports à la cloison de doublage intérieure.

In order to clearly understand the invention, there will be described below, by way of nonlimiting examples, several embodiments of components of the light facade device according to the invention.

• Figure 1 is a schematic view of the exterior of a light facade according to the invention;
• Figure 2 is a view, after assembly, of the elements of a metal grid of generally rectangular shape, comprising several uprights and two rails;
• Figure 3 is a perspective view of a metal grid of triangular shape, after assembly;
• Figure 4 is a perspective view of a metal grid of trapezoidal shape, after its assembly;
• Figure 5 is a perspective view of a rectangular grid providing a window;
• Figure 6 is a sectional view, cut away, of a facade according to the invention, showing the respective arrangement of the amounts of the grid, of the filling, insulation and decoration materials, and of the support profiles of the lining partition ;
• Figure 7a is a vertical sectional view on the horizontal joint of two panels of the exterior facing maintained by staples (thickness of the panels: 6 mm);
• Figure 7b is a view similar to Figure 7 for 12 mm thick panels;
• Figure 8 is a side view of the heald support piece with 3 faces;
• Figure 9 is a side view in section of the facade structure according to the invention at the floor;
• Figure 10 is a perspective view of a stirrup ensuring the connection between the uprights of the grid and the frame of profiles serving as supports for the interior lining partition.

In Figure 1, a schematic view shows a rectilinear facade with gable, corresponding to a metal grid whose meshes are essentially squares and triangles, with a trapezoidal mesh.

FIG. 2 represents the rectangular grid 15 of a facade element.

This grid 15 comprises a lower rail 1, an upper rail 2, both horizontal, and six vertical uprights, including two edge uprights 3a, and four central uprights 3b.

The uprights 3a and 3b are all U-shaped irons. The core of each upright is notched by a notch at each end, with a small fixing piece 4 being folded down.

The assembly is carried out by introducing a wing of each heald 1 and 2 into the notches of the uprights and by fixing said heald on the small parts 4.

The triangular grid according to figure 3 and the trapezoidal grid according to Figure 4 assemble in the same way as the rectangular grid of Figure 2, except that the upper rail 2 is here inclined and no longer horizontal. The same beam can be used for any inclination, which only depends on variations in the length of the successive uprights.

In a triangular grid (Figure 3), a special piece 5 ensures the connection between the lower beam 1 and the upper beam 2.

FIG. 5 represents, before and after the assembly of the two rails 1 and 2, a rectangular grid provided with an opening 6, with a view to placing there a window frame with two openings.

A high cross member 7a and a low cross member 7b are supported on the central uprights 3b and on the two sections of the central upright 3c.

Figure 7 is a sectional view, cut away, of the facade showing the filling, insulation and decoration materials, as well as the metal grid 15, excluding the support profiles of the lining partition. This facade has a thickness of 320 millimeters. We meet successively, from outside to inside:
- an outer facing 8, supported by the uprights 3 of the grid 15 by means of clips 17;
- the uprights 3 of the support grid 15;
- An air space 9 95 millimeters thick, in line with the uprights 3 of said grid;
- A rain barrier 10 consisting of a film of a waterproof product and permeable to water vapor adjacent to the outer facing 8 on its inner face;
a continuous insulating layer 11, which may be glass wool, with a thickness of 150 millimeters;
- On the internal face of the insulating layer 11, a vapor barrier 12 consisting of a non-combustible fibrous insulator;
- A free gap 13, narrow, in which is housed the frame of light sections 16 serving as support for the lining partition 14;
- Finally, the lining partition 14, which constitutes the inner wall of the facade.

The inner face of the outer facing 8 is drained, so that no joint is necessary between the neighboring panels of the outer facing.

The fastening clips 17 of the panels of the exterior facing 8 are visible in FIGS. 7a and 7b. The back 18 of the staples 17 is fixed to an upright of the grid, not shown. These staples 17 have tabs 19 which can grasp two panels 8 of thickness comprised, for example, between a minimum of approximately 6 millimeters (FIG. 7a) and a maximum of approximately 12 millimeters (FIG. 7b).

The bottom rail 1 of a floor is attached to a floor of the building by means of a beam support part 20 shown in FIG. 8.

This part 20 has three plane faces 21, 22 and 23, orthogonal two by two, similar to the three faces of a trirectangle trihedron one of the faces of which has undergone a rotation of 180 ° around its edge. The face 22 is central, the only one connected to the two other faces, the faces 21 and 22 being vertical and the face 23 being horizontal.

The layout of this triple 20 piece is visible in figure 9.

The first face 21, vertical of this part, is fixed to the framework 25 of a floor 26 of the building body, either with an all-concrete structure, or with a metal framework.

The third face 23, horizontal, supports the bottom rail 1 of the grid 15 of the floor having this floor 26, and is fixed to it.

The second face 22, or central face, vertical, is attached to the first face 30a of an angle iron 30, the other face 30b of which is horizontal, is fixed to the top rail 2 of the grid of the floor below, and supports it. Oblong openings 24 provided on each face of the part 20 constitute adjustable passageways for the fixing bolts 27 respectively on the framework 25 of the floor 26, on the bottom rail 1 and the top rail 2.

These triple pieces 20 regularly arranged at the level of the floor 26 directly transmit the stresses of the beams 1 and 2 to the framework of the floors of the building body. The amounts 3, thereby subject to very moderate forces, can be chosen light.

Note that Figure 9 illustrates a metal frame building in which the concrete floor 26 rests on horizontal crosspieces 31 constituted by irons I connected by conventional means not shown to posts 32 themselves made up of irons I which provide resumption of efforts and their transmission to foundations.

Thus it is the beams 1 and 2 which, by relying on the structure of the building by the intermediary of such triple supports 20, support the entire facade. This relieves all the stress your supported by the uprights 3, which thus remain of moderate dimensions and allow to realize a light facade.

As seen above, the support profiles 16 of the interior lining partition 13 are made integral with the uprights 3 of the grid 15 by means of stirrups 40, arranged from place to place at various levels of said amounts. Such a stirrup 40 is visible in FIG. 10. It has the general shape of a U with long wings, 60 mm in width, 45 mm in height and 175 mm in length of wings. The two wings 41 and 42, and the bottom 43 of the U, are made of galvanized steel plates, provided with stiffeners 44. The bottom 43 has an opening 45 with a cover. These stirrups connecting the grid 15 and the profiles 16 pass through the insulating layer 11.

The operculum of the opening 45 fits on the wing of an upright 3 of the grid 15, while at the end 46 of the wings 41 and 42 of the stirrup 40, notches 47 fit to the support profile 16 of the lining partition 13. These stirrups 40 ensuring the holding in place of the insulating layer 11.

These stirrups 40, passing through the insulating layer 11, therefore provide con maintenance and on the other hand support the sections 16 for holding the interior lining partition 13.

In general, the invention applies as well to facades of new constructions as to the renovation of facades of old buildings, whether or not provided with a facade wall. It provides great architectural freedom in volumes and forms, as well as in the choice of facing materials. The assembly thus produced is light and economical.

It is understood that one can, without depart from the scope of the invention, imagine variants and refinements of details, as well as envisage the use of equivalent means.

Claims (13)

1. A light building facade device, comprising both support means and means of insulation and decoration, all of these means being supported in places on a frame (31-32) of known type of said building, and not requiring the existence of a facade wall of this building, said facade support means being constituted by a grid (15) formed of at least one horizontal rail (1-2) at each level floor (26) of the building, and a number of vertical uprights (3), spaced along the entire facade and fitting into the different beams (1-2), until reaching the level of the roof of the building, the meshes of said grid (15) affecting a simple geometric shape, and the beams (1-2) being fixed to the building body, characterized in that it comprises means (20) for fixing the grid (15) at a floor (26) of the building body. 2. A light facade device according to claim 1, characterized in that the grid fixing means (15) consist of support pieces (20) each formed from three plane faces (21-22-23), orthogonal two two, the vertical central face (22) being the only one to have a common edge with each of the other two. 3. A light facade device according to claim 2, characterized in that the horizontal central face (23) of the support piece (20) supports the bottom rail (1) of the upper floor. 4. Light shaping device according to claim 2, characterized in that the vertical central face (22) of the support piece (20) is attached to a vertical wing (30a) of an angle (30), the other wing (30b), horizontal, is fixed to the upper rail (2) of the lower floor. 5. A light facade device according to claim 1, characterized in that the insulation and decoration means successively comprise, from the outside towards the inside of the building: an external facing (8) fixed to said metal grid (15 ) which provides an air space (9) behind the exterior facing, a rain barrier (10) made of a waterproof film and permeable to water vapor, a continuous insulating layer (11), a vapor barrier (12) made of a generally non-combustible fibrous insulator, and a thin lining partition (14). 6. Light facade device according to claims 1 and 5, characterized in that the lining partition (14) parallel to the outer facing (8) is connected to the vertical uprights (3) of the grid (15), supporting said outer facing , by connecting members (40), which also maintain the insulating layer (11) in place. 7. Light facade device according to claim 6, characterized in that the connecting members (40) are constituted by stiffened stirrups (40) U-shaped. 8. A light facade device according to claim 7, characterized in that the bottom (43) has an opening (45) provided with a cover fitting on the wing of the vertical uprights (3) of the grid (15) . 9. Light facade device according to claim 7, characterized in that the end of the wings (41-42) of the stirrups (40) is provided with notches (47) adapting to support profiles (16) fixed on one of the faces of the lining partition (14). 10. Light facade device according to claim 1, characterized in that the meshes of the grid (15) affect simple polygonal shapes, such as the rectangle, the square, the triangle, the trapezoid, or curved shapes obtained by bending. or forming the beams (1-2), without modifying the uprights. 11. Light facade device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inner face of the external facing (8) is drained, so that no joint is necessary between the neighboring panels of said external facing. 12. Light facade device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the panels of the external facing (8) are fixed to the uprights (3) of the grid (15) by means of special staples (17 ), comprising both means for fixing to the uprights (3) and means for adjusting the spacing according to the thickness of the panels (8). 13. Light facade device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the grid (15) is preassembled and receives the panels of the exterior facing (8) before it is mounted in the entire facade.

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