EP3009580B1

EP3009580B1 - System for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general and method using it

Info

Publication number: EP3009580B1
Application number: EP15190238.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Massimo Carmignani
Original assignee: Compas Srl
Current assignee: Compas Srl
Priority date: 2014-10-17
Filing date: 2015-10-16
Publication date: 2017-03-22
Anticipated expiration: 2035-10-16
Also published as: ES2628525T3; PT3009580T; EP3009580A1

Description

The present invention refers to a system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general, where the slab-like elements constitute the protection elements of such railings, balustrades and parapets.
As known, the parapet is a protective structure that is used to prevent people or objects from falling down from a balcony or roof area and, in general, from any place where there are surfaces at different heights. Parapets are substantially distinguished by the type of respective protection elements. For example, balustrades typically consist of column-shaped elements, called "balusters", resting on a base and connected at the upper part by a horizontal element, called "coping". Railings, on the other hand, consist of vertical uprights, usually metallic, that support closure elements covered at the upper part by a handrail.
There are also parapets the protection elements of which are of the slab-shaped type and in many cases they consist of panes of glass. Generally, parapets provided with slab-shaped protection elements comprise a plurality of base elements capable of holding and supporting the slabs, in combination, or not, with a plurality of vertical uprights. The base bodies or elements of the parapets are configured to be permanently fixed to the ground or on the generic surface for the installation of the parapet, like for example the walkable surface of a balcony or of a roof patio.
As known, the walkable surfaces of balconies and roof patios are made with a slope, of the order of about 1-2 degrees (about 2%-3%) with respect to a horizontal plane, in order to allow rain water to flow away. Consequently, also the base bodies or elements of parapets, once installed on the aforementioned surfaces, are slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal and vertical planes.
On the other hand, the protection elements of parapets, particularly when made in the form of slab-like elements, must be perfectly vertical for both aesthetic and safety reasons. The base bodies or elements of parapets are therefore provided with mechanisms for adjusting the inclination of the respective protection elements.
An embodiment of a known base body or element is shown in figure 1. The base body, indicated with reference numeral 100, is made in the form of a box-shaped profile having a substantially U-shaped section, open in the upper part and provided -at the lower part-with one or more fixing means 102, like for example bolts, on the installation surface. Inside the box-shaped section 100 at least one channel 104 is defined in which the lower portion of a protection slab-shaped element 118 is inserted. On the internal lower surface of the channel 104 at least one lower support element 106 of the protection slab-shaped element 118 is mounted, whereas on both of the internal lateral surfaces of such a channel 104 respective lateral support and constraint elements 108 of the protection slab-shaped element 118 itself are mounted.
At least one of the lateral support and constraint elements 108 provided on each single internal lateral surface of the channel 104 is equipped with means 110 for adjusting and setting the position and/or the inclination of the protection slab-shaped element 118. In other words, in order to obtain the correct position and/or inclination of the protection slab-shaped element 118 it is necessary to work on both sides of the parapet, for example using special adjustment keys 112. This means it is necessary to work, when the parapet is installed on a balcony or on a roof patio, both on the internal side, and on the external side of the balcony, in this last case using scaffolding or access platforms. In addition, the need to provide adjustment and setting means 110 on the surface of the channel 104 facing towards the face of a building can compromise the aesthetics of the parapet, i.e. it may require the presence of specific covering plates or plaques 114 of such adjustment and setting means 110, with relative sealing gaskets 116.
A further parapet is also disclosed in US20100307082 and represents the closest prior art.
The purpose of the present invention is therefore to make a system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general that is able to solve the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art in an extremely simple, cost-effective and particularly functional manner.
In detail, a purpose of the present invention is to make a system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general that makes it possible to adjust the position and/or the inclination of the protection slab-shaped elements in a simpler and more effective manner with respect to known systems.
Another purpose of the present invention is to make a system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general that allows the position and/or the inclination of the protection slab-shaped elements to be adjusted without the help of external scaffolds, thus reducing the mounting costs.
A further purpose of the present invention is to make a system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general that is capable of making it easier, with respect to known systems, for rain water to run off.
These and other purposes according to the present invention are accomplished by making a system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general as outlined in claim 1.
Further characteristics of the invention are highlighted by the dependent claims, which are an integral part of the present description.
The characteristics and advantages of a system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general according to the present invention will become clearer from the following description, given as a non-limiting example, referring to the attached schematic drawings, in which:

figure 1 is a schematic section view of a base body or element of a known system for fixing slab-like elements;
figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main components of a system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general according to the present invention;
figure 3 is a schematic section view of a base body or element of the system for fixing slab-like elements of figure 2;
figure 4 is a schematic section view of a first covering element of the system for fixing slab-like elements of figure 2;
figure 5 is a perspective view of the covering element of figure 4;
figure 6 is a side elevation view of a second covering element of the system for fixing slab-like elements of figure 2;
figure 7 is a side elevation view of a third covering element of the system for fixing slab-like elements of figure 2; and
figure 8 is a cross section view of a sealing element of the system for fixing slab-like elements of figure 2.

With reference to the figures, a preferred embodiment of a system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general according to the present invention is shown. The system comprises a plurality of base bodies 10 configured to be supported and fixed on a generic surface A for the installation of the system itself, like for example the walkable surface of the balcony of a building. It should be specified that, in the rest of the present description, the planes and the horizontal and vertical directions, as well as the terms "upper" and "lower", are meant to refer to the aforementioned surface A for the installation of the system.
Each base body 10 is made in the form of a box-shaped profile having a substantially U-shaped section, open at the upper part and provided -at the lower part-with one or more fixing means 12, like for example bolts, on the surface A for the installation of the system. Inside the box-shaped section 10 at least one channel 14 is defined in which the lower portion of at least one protection slab-shaped element 16 that may, for example, consist of a sheet of laminated glass, is inserted.
On the internal lower surface of the channel 14 at least one lower support element 18 of the protection slab-shaped element 16 is mounted, whereas on both of the internal lateral surfaces 20 and 22 of such a channel 14 respective lateral support and constraint elements 24 and 26 of the protection slab-shaped element 16 itself are mounted.
According to the invention, at least one part of the lateral support and constraint elements 24 mounted on a first internal lateral surface 20 of the channel 14 consists of an oscillating disk 28 with respect to a pin 30. Each pin 30 is operatively coupled with the first internal lateral surface 20 of the channel 14, for example by means of a screw-nut coupling, and is movable along a direction substantially perpendicular to the development plane of the protection slab-shaped element 16.
The head 32 of each pin 30 is advantageously accessible from a first external side 34 of the channel 14, i.e. the external side 34 corresponding to the first internal lateral surface 20. In this way it is possible, through the use of a suitable adjustment tool 36, to move each pin 30 axially to obtain the contrast-engagement of the respective disk 28 with the protection slab-shaped element 16, once the lower portion thereof has been introduced in the channel 14.
On the other hand on the second internal lateral surface 22 of the channel 14, i.e. the internal lateral surface 22 that faces the first internal lateral surface 20, at least one lateral support and constraint element 26 is provided, consisting of a tilting plate about a fixed pin 38. The plate 26 is provided with a substantially flat front surface 40, configured to be contrast-engaged with the protection slab-shaped element 16, as well as with a convex rear surface 42, configured to adhere and to slide on a corresponding concave portion 44 of the second internal lateral surface 22 when the plate 26 tilts about the fixed pin 38.
Preferably, a single plate 26 is provided on the second internal lateral surface 22 of the channel 14. Such a plate 26 advantageously has a length that is substantially equal to the length in the longitudinal direction of the corresponding base body 10, as well as a height that is substantially equal to the height in the vertical direction of the channel 14, so as to provide the maximum support surface (consisting of the front surface 40) for the protection slab-shaped element 16.
The lower support element 18 of the protection slab-shaped element 16 is mounted in a fixed manner on the internal lower surface of the channel 14. The lower support element 18 is advantageously provided with a convex-shaped upper surface 46 to facilitate possible inclinations, with respect to a vertical plane, that the protection slab-shaped element 16 can assume in the system mounting steps.
The lower support element 18 can have a length that is substantially equal to the length in the longitudinal direction of the corresponding base body 10, as well as a width that is substantially equal to the width in the transverse direction of the channel 14, so as to provide the maximum support surface (consisting of the convex-shaped upper surface 46) for the protection slab-shaped element 16. The lower support element 18 can be made of plastic material, like for example polycarbonate.
The lower support element 18 can be provided with one or more lighting elements (not shown) to light the protection slab-shaped elements 16, particularly effective when such protection slab-shaped elements 16 are made of transparent or translucent materials. If it is made of a transparent plastic material, the lower support element 18 can incorporate therewithin the lighting elements, in this case consisting of a strip of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes).
Each base body 10 is preferably made with a standard length of 300 mm and can comprise six or eight lateral support and constraint elements 24 mounted on the first internal lateral surface 20 of the respective channel 14. Consequently, each plate 26 will also have a preferred length of 300 mm. Each lower support element 18 can, on the other hand, either have a length of 300 mm, or a greater length (for example 1200 mm), in this last case covering the internal lower surface of the channels 14 of a plurality of base bodies 10 that are adjacent to each other.
Each base body 10 is provided laterally and at the upper part with shaped grooves 48 to receive, in sliding or snap-coupling, one or more longitudinal cover plates 50 configured to completely cover the base bodies 10 and the relative internal components, letting just the protection slab-shaped elements 16 project in the mounted configuration of the system. Each longitudinal cover plate 50 can be provided with a respective sealing gasket 52 configured to abut against the protection slab-shaped elements 16 and thus prevent the penetration of water inside the base bodies 10. The system can also comprise one or more transverse or end cover plates 54, able to be constrained to a respective base body 10 for example by screwing.
If the parapet is provided with a plurality of base bodies 10 that support the same protection slab-shaped element 16, between mutually adjacent base bodies 10 there can be a component 56 for conveying and discharging the rain water or waste water that collects on the installation surface A of the system, at the system itself. In the absence of such conveying and discharging components 56, indeed, the water could remain standing at and inside the system, causing damage to the system itself.
If the system is provided with the conveying and discharging components 56, pairs of corresponding longitudinal cover plates 50 applied on both sides of the parapet are provided with respective windows 58 for covering such conveying and discharging components 56. Each window 58 comprises a respective opening 60 that allows water to flow outside of the installation surface A of the system, crossing the parapet and following the slope of the surface A itself. Each conveying and discharging component 56 can be fixed on the installation surface A of the system through fixing means analogous to bolts 12.
The mounting of the system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general according to the present invention takes place in the following way. In a first step a plurality of base bodies 10 is supported and subsequently fixed on the installation surface A of the system. The number and arrangement of the base bodies 10 to be installed will depend on the design conditions of the parapet and/or on the type of protection slab-shaped elements 16 of the parapet itself.
Following the installation of the base bodies 10 on the surface A, the introduction in sequence, inside the channels 14, of the various base bodies 10 themselves, of the protection slab-shaped elements 16 necessary to complete the parapet is carried out. Once a single protection slab-shaped element 16 has been inserted inside the channel 14 of one or more base bodies 10, the adjustment of the lateral support and constraint elements 24 mounted on only one of the internal lateral surfaces of such a channel 14, i.e. the first internal lateral surface 20 that, typically, is the one arranged on the inner side of the balcony, is carried out.
The action of the adjustment tools 36 on the lateral support and constraint elements 24 makes it possible to adjust the relative position of the protection slab-shaped element 16 with respect to the base body 10, thanks to the oscillation of the disks 28 and of the plate 26, as well as the contoured shape of the lower support element 18. The particular shapes and functionalities of these components of the system allow a corresponding oscillation of the protection slab-shaped element 16 about a vertical plane, thus obtaining the inclination and the flushing of such a protection slab-shaped element 16 by exerting a minimum force on the adjustment tools 36.
It has thus been seen that the system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general according to the present invention achieves the purposes highlighted earlier. The system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general of the present invention makes it possible to insert and fix each single slab-like element in a corresponding base body, totally adjusting the inclination thereof, still remaining within the structure or building on which the mounting of the parapet takes place. The use of external scaffolds thus becomes superfluous, consequently reducing the mounting costs.
The system for fixing slab-like elements for railings, balustrades and parapets in general of the present invention thus conceived can in any case undergo numerous modifications and variants, all of which are covered by the same inventive concept; moreover, all the details can be replaced by technically equivalent elements. In practice, the materials used, as well as the shapes and sizes, can be whatever depending on the technical requirements.
The scope of protection of the invention is therefore defined by the attached claims.

Claims

System for fixing protection slab-shaped elements (16) for parapets comprising:
- a plurality of base bodies (10) configured to be supported and fixed on a generic surface (A) for the installation of the system, wherein each base body (10) is made in the form of a box-shaped profile having a substantially U-shaped section, open at the upper part and provided - at the lower part - with one or more fixing means (12) on said surface (A), and wherein inside the box-shaped section (10) at least one channel (14) is defined in which the lower portion of at least one protection slab-shaped element (16) is inserted;

- at least one lower support element (18) mounted on the internal lower surface of the channel (14);

- a plurality of first lateral support and constraint elements (24) of the protection slab-shaped element (16), mounted on a first internal lateral surface (20) of the channel (14); and

- at least one second lateral support and constraint element (26) of the protection slab-shaped element (16), mounted on a second internal lateral surface (22) of the channel (14) which faces said first internal lateral surface (20), wherein

- at least one part of said first lateral support and constraint elements (24) consists of an oscillating disk (28) with respect to a pin (30) operatively coupled to said first internal lateral surface (20); and

- said at least one second lateral support and constraint element (26) consists of a plate pivoting around a fixed pin (38), the oscillation of the disks (28) and of the tilting plate (26) allowing a corresponding oscillation of the protection slab-shaped element (16) about a vertical plane to obtain the flushing of said protection slab-shaped element (16).
System according to claim 1, characterised in that said pin (30) is movable along a direction substantially perpendicular to the development plane of the protection slab-shaped element (16) to obtain the contrast-engagement of the respective disk (28) with said protection slab-shaped element (16) once the lower portion of said protection slab-shaped element (16) is introduced into the channel (14).
System according to claim 2, characterised in that said pin (30) is operatively coupled to said first internal lateral surface (20) by means of a screw-nut coupling and it is provided with a head (32) accessible from a first external side (34) of the channel (14), i.e. the external side (34) corresponding to said first internal lateral surface (20), so that the axial movement of said pin (30) be possible by using an adjustment tool (36).
System according to any claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the plate (26) is provided with a substantially flat front surface (40), configured to be contrast-engaged with the protection slab-shaped element (16), as well as a convex rear surface (42), configured to adhere and slide on a corresponding concave portion (44) of said second internal lateral surface (22) when the plate (26) tilts about the fixed pin (38).
System according to claim 4, characterised in that it comprises a single plate (26) on said second internal lateral surface (22), said single plate (26) having a length that is substantially equal to the length in the longitudinal direction of the corresponding base body (10), and a height that is substantially equal to the height in vertical direction of the channel (14), so as to provide the maximum support surface for the protection slab-shaped element (16), wherein said support surface consists of the substantially flat front surface (40).
System according to any claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the lower support element (18) is mounted fixedly on the internal lower surface of the channel (14) and it is provided with a convex-shaped upper surface (46) to facilitate the possible inclinations, with respect to a vertical plane, that the protection slab-shaped element (16) may assume during the system mounting step.
System according to claim 6, characterised in that the lower support element (18) has a length that is substantially equal to the length in the longitudinal direction of the corresponding base body (10), as well as a width which is substantially equal to the width in the transverse direction of the channel (14), so as to provide the maximum support surface for the protection slab-shaped element (16), wherein said support surface consists of the convex-shaped upper surface (46).
System according to claim 6 or 7, characterised in that the lower support element (18) is provided with one or more lighting elements for lighting the protection slab-shaped elements (16).
System according to claim 8, characterised in that the lower support element (18) is made of a transparent plastic material and it incorporates therewithin at least one lighting element consisting of a strip of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes).
System according to any claims 1 to 9, characterised in that each base body (10) is provided, laterally and at the upper part, with shaped grooves (48) to receive one or more longitudinal cover plates (50) configured to completely cover the base bodies (10) and the relative internal components, letting just the protection slab-shaped elements (16) project in the mounted configuration of the system.
System according to claim 10, characterised in that each longitudinal cover plate (50) is provided with a respective sealing gasket (52) configured to abut against the protection slab-shaped elements (16) and thus prevent the penetration of water into the base bodies (10).
System according to claim 10 or 11, characterised in that between the base bodies (10) adjacent to each other a component (56) for conveying and discharging the rain water or waste water collected on the installation surface (A) of the system is interposed, said conveying and discharging component (56) being fixed on said surface (A) through corresponding fixing means.
System according to claim 12, characterised in that pairs of corresponding longitudinal cover plates (50) applied on both sides of the parapet are provided with respective windows (58) for covering the conveying and discharging components (56), wherein each window (58) comprises a respective opening (60) which allows the water to flow outwards from the system installation surface (A), traversing the parapet.
Method for mounting parapets using a system for fixing slab-shaped elements (16) according to any preceding claims, the method comprising the steps of:
- supporting and subsequently fixing a plurality of base bodies (10) onto the system installation surface (A) ;

- introducing in series into the channels (14) of said base bodies (10) the protection slab-shaped elements (16) required to complete the parapet;

- adjusting just the first lateral support and constraint elements (24) of the protection slab-shaped element (16) mounted on the first internal lateral surface (20) of the channel (14), so that the oscillation of the disks (28) of said first lateral support and constraint elements (24) causes a corresponding oscillation about a vertical plane both of the second lateral support and constraint element (26), and the protection slab-shaped element (16), thus obtaining the inclination and flushing of said protection slab-shaped element (16).