EP2398991A1

EP2398991A1 - Support unit for a facade

Info

Publication number: EP2398991A1
Application number: EP10711769A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ugo Avvanzini
Original assignee: Erreti SRL
Current assignee: Erreti SRL
Priority date: 2009-02-18
Filing date: 2010-02-17
Publication date: 2011-12-28
Also published as: ITRA20090006A1; WO2010095162A1; IT1393576B1

Abstract

A support unit (1) for a continuous facade, wherein a coupling member (12) is shaped so as to support in a hinged manner at least one interface member (122) around a pivot axis (14); a blocking device (40) being provided to fix each interface member (122) in a rigid manner to the coupling member (12) according to a given angle (α) of inclination; the blocking device (40) comprising at least one plug (42) and one corresponding pair of first and second holes (44) (46) respectively obtained in the coupling member (12) and in one interface member (122) to house the plug (42), in order to block in a rigid manner the corresponding interface member (122) to the coupling member (12) according to the given angle (α).

Description

SUPPORT UNIT FOR A FACADE

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a support unit for supporting substantially flat panels. In particular, the present invention relates to a support unit for supporting substantially flat panels for building continuous faςades. In more detail, the present invention relates to a support unit for supporting substantially flat panels for building continuous faςades, comprising a regulating device for adjusting the inclination of the panels relative to the uprights .

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

In the building sector the construction is well known of buildings externally delimited by so-called continuous faςades, developing according to a matrix structure composed by modules serially repeated in horizontal and vertical direction around points to which one or more panels, according to the project, are connected.

In some cases, as in the patent application No. EP5023155 of the same Applicant, which shall be considered embodied for reference with particular reference to the criticism of the prior art and to the contribution to the innovation given by the teaching contained therein, the continuous faςades are produced by coupling glass panels to a frame comprising a plurality of metallic uprights that are generally, although not necessarily, vertical. These panels are supported by the uprights by means of support units, comprising members generally called "spiders", which present as many arms as many panels each unit shall support. Therefore, based upon the project requirements, these spiders can comprise one or more arms, to each of which corresponds a respective panel, generally made of glass.

Fixed spiders and articulated spiders are known, wherein at least one spider is hinged relative to its support unit, to allow assembly of panels by overcoming problems of inaccurate construction of the frame and, therefore, of at least one of the upright; alternatively, the use of these articulated spiders allows constructing continuous faςades reproducing facetted surfaces.

Example of support units provided with articulated spiders can be found in some patent documents, among which the German patent application No. DE 9302820 for utility model, wherein the support unit is shaped so that it can be coupled longitudinally to an upright in a respective longitudinal groove, and presents a pair of arms, each of which presents, in a respective free end, a member designed so as to support in an articulated manner a vertex portion of a panel. This solution results to be improved by the teachings of the European patent application No. EP 1589182, wherein a support unit is described, which can be coupled frontally to an upright and which is designed so as to support a splitted spider and provided with a pair of C- shaped members carried rotatable relative to an elongated member around a longitudinal axis of this member. Each C- shaped member is provided with two arms, each presenting a free end designed so as to couple to a vertex portion of a panel. Each spider therefore allows supporting up to four panels. Each support unit is provided with a pair of longitudinal grooves, and each C-shaped member presents a substantially cylindrical central portion to couple one of these grooves. This requires that the two mechanical elements to be coupled are produced with great accuracy, to ensure a precise coupling; each C-shaped member shall furthermore have an L-planform, and this complicates the shape of the mould. These characteristics present some drawbacks, among which the poor accuracy of the coupling and the high production costs. This equipment is therefore poorly used for producing continuous faςades. Some alternative solutions have been described by the Applicant in the patent application No. PCT/IT2008/000158, whose teachings are embodied for reference, wherein the coupling between each C-shaped member and the central body of the support unit occurs by means of at least one pivot pin, engaging longitudinally the C-shaped member. The main drawback of this solution is the reduced torque that can be exerted by the described blocking devices on the C-shaped members, also called wings, which impose to limit the loads and therefore the dimension of the panels; therefore the described solutions are adequate for poorly windy places or for buildings of reduced height. Lastly, an alternative method for producing a support unit for constructing continuous fagades is described in the patent document GB2307491.

In view of the above description, the problem of having available support units, capable of presenting stiffness adequate for the connection of the support wings of the panels of a flat or facetted continuous fagade to the respective central bodies, and therefore capable of being used for constructing continuous fagades for very high buildings, represents an interesting challenge for the Applicant, in order to make the installation of continuous fagades safe and to allow the construction thereof with reduced costs, also in the case of panels with significant mass or in the case that the building comprising these panels are positioned in particularly windy places or places statistically affected by high winds.

In view of the situation described above, it should be advisable to have available a continuous fagade and a support unit for supporting glass panels or similar bodies that, in addition to limit and possibly to overcome the typical drawbacks of the prior art illustrated above, defines a new standard for these types of fagades, facilitating the development of the respective market.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention relates to a support unit for supporting substantially flat panels. In particular, the present invention relates to a support unit for supporting substantially flat panels for building continuous fagades. In more detail, the present invention relates to a support unit for supporting substantially flat panels for building continuous fagades, comprising a regulating device for adjusting the inclination of the panels relative to the uprights .

The object of the present invention is to provide a support unit for supporting continuous fagades, this unit allowing the disadvantages described above of the continuous fagades to be solved, and which is suitable to satisfy a plurality of requirements that to date have been solved in an unsatisfactory manner, and therefore suitable to represent a new and original source of economic interest and capable of modifying the current market of the continuous fagades .

According to the present invention a support unit is provided for continuous fagades, the main characteristics of this unit being described in at least one of the following claims .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the support unit for continuous fagades according to the present invention will be more apparent from the description below, set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate some non-limiting examples of embodiment, in which identical or corresponding parts of the device are identified by the same reference numbers. In particular:

- figure 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a support unit for a continuous fagade according to the present invention;

- figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of figure 1 with some parts removed for the sake of clarity;

- figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of figure 1;

- figures 4 and 5 are plan views, in small scale, of figure 1, illustrated in small scale and with some parts removed for the sake of clarity in two distinct operative positions .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In figure 1 number 1 indicates, in its entirety, a support unit for a continuous faςade, known and therefore not illustrated, which can be validly used to define a closing wall of a side portion of a building. Each faςade is provided with a plurality of uprights 10, each of which extends in a given direction D to support a plurality of panels, known and therefore not illustrated, by means of a plurality of units 1, each of which is coupled, in a known manner, to the respective upright 10 by means of a threaded coupling which provides for the use of a fixing plate to be housed inside a known front groove of the upright 10. It can be easily understood that the upright 10 illustrated in figure 1 does not belong to the unit 1, and that it has been indicated with the reference number 10 only for the sake of completeness of the information, and for identifying easily the orientation in the given direction D, which is actually longitudinal considering the upright 10.

The support unit 1 is designed so as to support at least one panel, known and therefore not illustrated, by means of a coupling member 12, shaped so as to support in a hinged manner at least one interface member 122 around a pivot axis 14 associated laterally with the coupling member 12 and extending in the given direction D. At it is visible in figure 1, each coupling member 12 is provided with at least one arm 124, delimited by an end portion 126, designed to support a panel, known and therefore not shown. Each support unit 1 can therefore coupled 1 to 4 panels, known and therefore not illustrated, to the respective upright 10.

With particular reference to figures 1 and 3, the support unit 1 comprises a central body 16, provided with an housing 162 for the coupling member 12; this housing is shaped so as to guide the coupling member 12 parallel to the given direction D; The central body 16 is furthermore provided with a regulating device 60, which allows to vary the position of the coupling member 12 along the given direction D. The support unit 1 furthermore comprises a blocking device 40, designed so as to fix each interface member 122 in a rigid manner to the corresponding coupling member 12 according to a given angle α of inclination, visible only in figures 4 and 5. This blocking device 40 comprises at least one plug 42 and a corresponding pair of first and second holes 44 and 46, respectively obtained in the coupling member 12 and in the interface member 122 hinged to it around the axis 14. These holes 44 and 46 are transverse to the direction D and are dimensioned so as to house the plug 42 in a precise manner, so as to block rigidly the same interface member 122 around the coupling member 12 according to a relative angulation definable at will. In particular, each plug 42 comprises an elongated body 42, which can be indifferently cylindrical or prismatic; in particular, the first and second holes 44 and 46 are substantially identical to each other and shaped in a conjugated manner to the relative plug 42. The first and second holes 44 and 46, which can be coupled by a same plug 42, furthermore present respective first and second axes 45 and 47, arranged at a substantially identical height relative to the central body 16 and therefore relative also to the coupling member 12, so that they can be coupled to each other coaxially.

With particular reference to figures 1 and 3, the regulating device 60 comprises a threaded through hole 62 parallel to the given direction D and obtained in the central body 16, in aerial communication with the housing 162. It should be noted that only the trace of the hole 62 is visible in figures 4 and 5, but the hole has been indicated also in figure 3, to better inform about the respective position of the central body 16. Furthermore, the regulating device 60 comprises a screw 64 housed in this threaded hole 62 and suitable to cooperate with the coupling member 12, so as to vary at will the position thereof relative to the central body 16 along the given direction D.

With particular reference to figures 1 and 3, the support unit 1 comprises a fixing member 11, preferably a screw 11, carried by the central body 16, to clamp the coupling member 12 once the regulating device 60 has been calibrated, when, in use, the coupling member 12 has been positioned at will along the given direction D.

With reference to figure 3, it should be noted that the coupling member 12 is coupled to the central body 16 by- means of a prismatic guide 166, comprising the housing 162 and a slit 168, obtained in the coupling member 12 and shaped as an upside-down U.

With reference to figure 2 again, the coupling member 12 is laterally delimited by two elongated bodies 127, delimited externally by two substantially cylindrical surfaces 128 coaxial to a respective pivot axis 14 and parallel to the given direction D. Each interface member 122 laterally presents a C-shaped seat 129 for lateral coupling with the elongated bodies 128. Furthermore, at least one pivot pin 130 is provided so as to hinge each interface member 122 to the respective elongated body 128 around the pivot axis 14. This means that, if you want to minimise the mass of the support unit 1, it would be possible to replace the elongated body 128 with two pivot pins 130', without causing operation problems to the support unit 1.

With reference to the width of the angle α of inclination between the coupling member 12 and each of the interface members 122, it should be noted that each interface member 122 presents a flat face 125 between the respective arms 124; this face 125 is oriented so as to be constantly transverse to a plane centred on the corresponding axis 14, in order to facilitate the phase of drilling necessary to produce the holes 44 and 46. The choice of delimiting the elongated body 127 with a cylindrical surface 128 aims at maximising the useful thickness, in which the second holes 46 are obtained, so that the connection between the respective interface member 122 and the coupling member 12 is able to support the loads transmitted transversally from the plug/plugs 42 to the coupling member 12.

In view of the above description, as it is shown in figures 4 and 5, each support unit 1 allows orienting the corresponding interface members 122, and therefore the corresponding panels, at will along an angle α of width approximating 120°.

The use of the support unit 1 is clearly apparent from the description above and requires no further explanations. However, it should be noted that the choice of producing support units 1 comprising three pair of first and second holes 44 and 46, as illustrated in the attached figures, is linked to the choice of producing a connection of proven stiffness. It should be therefore specified that, if the stresses acting on the structures allow it, for engagements of different significance, it is possible to produce support units 1 with the wings connected to the central body 16 by means of a different number of plugs 42, in case also one single plug, and through gluing, as the case may be, having paid attention to dimension adequately the members to be interfaced, without however departing from the protective scope of the present invention. It should be furthermore specified that each pair of holes 44 and 46 can be produced with an inclination definable at will at the order, or with a standard inclination, to obtain the result visible in figures SS and TT.

Lastly, it is apparent that modifications and variants can be made to the support unit 1 described and illustrated herein, without however departing from the protective scope of the present invention. For example, it should be specify that, if it would be advisable to define a standard set of inclination angles of the interface members 122 relative to the relative coupling members 12, the surfaces 128 could be shaped prysmatically and coaxial to the corresponding pivot pin 130 / pivot axis 14. This solution, which can be easily understood and is not therefore illustrated, has the object of producing a longitudinally facetted surface 128, with faces, known and not illustrated in view of the above description, pitch parallel to the face 125 of the corresponding interface member 122 based upon the respective inclination angle. This choice aims at simplifying the phase of drilling the second holes 46, and therefore at using drilling tools easy to be constructed and therefore very economical. In view of the above description, each support unit 1 produced according to the above illustrated teachings, allows to build continuous faςades 3, whose panels are arranged so as to define flat or facetted walls, and therefore to allow the engineers to produce architectonical effects currently impossible to be obtained with the support units known at the date of the registration of this patent application. The use of the support unit 1 therefore allows to solve in an economical manner the technical problem described above. In view of the above description again, it is clearly apparent that the definition of the inclination angle of the interface members 122 can be extemporely defined during installation, for example to solve mistakes in the positioning of the uprights 10, wherein the drilling of the second holes 46 can be performed at the site or it is possible to communicate promptly to the producer the real width of the inclination angle α.

Claims

1. A support unit (1) for a continuous faςade, provided with a plurality of first uprights (10), each of which extending in a given direction (D) so as to support a plurality of panels; said support unit (1) being couplable to said upright (10) and being so designed as to support at least one said panel through a coupling member (12) shaped so as to support in a hinged manner at least one interface member (122) around a pivot axis (14) extending in said given direction (D); blocking means (40) being provided to fix each said interface member (122) in a rigid manner to said coupling member (12) according to a given angle (α) of inclination; said blocking means (40) comprising at least one plug (42) and one corresponding pair of first and second holes (44) (46) respectively obtained in said coupling member (12) and in one said interface member (122) transversely to said given direction (D) so as to house said plug (42), in order to block in a rigid manner the corresponding interface member (122) to said coupling member (12) according to said given angle (α) ; characterised in that said coupling member (12) is delimited laterally by two elongated bodies (127), which are externally delimited by two surfaces (128) of given shape, and these surfaces are substantially coaxial to a respective said pivot axis (14) parallel to said given direction (D); each said interface member (122) laterally presenting a C - shaped seat (129) for lateral coupling with said elongated bodies (128); at least one pivot pin

(130) (130') being provided so as to hinge each said interface member (122) to the respective said elongated body (128) around said pivot axis (14) .

2. A support unit according to claim 1, characterised in that said first and second holes (44) (46) are substantially identical to each other and present respective first and second axes (45) (47) arranged at a height substantially identical relative to said coupling member ( 12 ) .

3. A support unit according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that each said coupling member (12) is provided with at least one arm (124) delimited by an end portion (126) designed so as to support one said panel.

4. A support unit according to claim 3, characterised in that each said interface member (122) presents a flat face

(125) between the respective said arms (124), which is oriented so as to be, in use, constantly transverse to an ideal plane centred on the corresponding said pivot axis

(14), so as to facilitate a phase of drilling said first and second holes (44) (46) .

5. A support unit according to any one of the previous claims, characterised by comprising at least one central body (16) provided with a housing (162) for said coupling member (12) and shaped so as to guide it parallel to said given direction (D); said central body (16) being provided with regulating means (60) for adjusting the position of said coupling member (12) along said given direction (D) .

6. A support unit according to claim 5, characterised in that said regulating means (60) comprise a threaded through hole (62) parallel to said given direction (D), obtained in said central body (16) in aerial communication with said housing (162); said regulating means (60) further comprising a screw (64) housed inside said threaded hole (62) and suitable to cooperate with said coupling member (12) so as to vary, at will, the position thereof relative to said central body (16) along said given direction (D).

7. A support unit according to any one of the previous claims, characterised by comprising a fixing member (11) carried by said central body (16) so as to clamp, in use, said coupling member (12) once said screw (64) of said regulating means (60) has been calibrated with said coupling member (12) arranged at will along said given direction (D) .

8. A support unit according to claim 7, characterised in that said coupling member (12) is coupled to said central body (16) by means of a prismatic guide (166) comprising said housing and an upside - down U - shaped slit (168) obtained in said coupling member (12) .

9. A support unit according to claim 8, characterised in that at least one said surface (128) is coaxial to each corresponding said pivot pin (130) (13O¹) and is substantially cylindric.

10. A support unit according to claim 8, characterised in that at least one said surface (128) is substantially prismatic and coaxial to the corresponding said pivot pin

(130) (13O¹) so as to be pitch parallel to said face (125) of the corresponding interface member (122) .