EP3762561B1

EP3762561B1 - Panel support

Info

Publication number: EP3762561B1
Application number: EP19710798.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Riccardo Marchi; Stefano MANGE'; Paolo Orlandini; Roberto CAROSATI; Samuele Piazzini
Original assignee: Logli Massimo SpA
Current assignee: Logli Massimo SpA
Priority date: 2018-02-20
Filing date: 2019-02-19
Publication date: 2021-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 2039-02-19
Also published as: ES2909201T3; EP3762561A1; IT201800002854A1; WO2019162825A1

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of equipment for fastening and supporting structural or complementary panels in the construction field, such as glass walls, parapets, partitions, etc.
More in particular, the invention relates to a panel support, particularly but not exclusively of the type made of glass, for walls, partitions, parapets, etc.

State of the art

Currently, different types of supports are used to support glass panels.
One type of support is formed of a supporting base that defines an open seat, for housing the edge area of the panel, and a device for adjusting the tilt, or for clamping the panel with respect to the base, interposed between the panel and the base.
Examples of this type are, for example, disclosed in EP1647663 , EP1700990 , EP2112296 , FR2930270 , US7730682 FR3017909 , WO2016/024299 AND GB2528147 .
All known supports are awkward to associate with the panel, or are somewhat impractical during any adjustment of the tilt or clamping of the panel.

Object and summary of the invention

The main object of the present invention is therefore to solve the problems indicated in panel supports of known type.
In particular, an important object of the present invention to produce a panel support, particularly but not exclusively for glass panels, which allows easy installation of the panel.
Another important object of the present invention is to produce a panel support, particularly but not exclusively for glass panels, which allows easy adjustment of the tilt of the panel.
Yet another important object of the present invention is to produce a panel support, particularly but not exclusively for glass panels, which allows stable and lasting clamping of the panel.
These and other objects, which will be more apparent below, are achieved with a panel support, comprising

a supporting base defining a housing seat for the edge area of the panel, said seat having a bottom, two opposite sides that extend from this bottom and an opening for inserting the panel into the seat, provided at the ends of said sides, at least one of said sides comprising, in proximity of its end, a respective undercut portion;
at least one device for adjusting the tilt and for clamping the panel to said supporting base, interposed between the panel and said supporting base, comprising a concave cradle for housing the end of the edge of the panel, said cradle having a base and two opposite side surfaces for lateral containment of said end of the edge of the panel; there is associated with at least one said side surface at least one respective assembly for adjusting the tilt and lateral clamping of the panel.

The support is characterized in that this assembly for adjusting the tilt and lateral clamping of the panel comprises

a wedge shaped element sliding on the outside of the respective side surface for containment of the cradle according to a direction from the bottom of said seat toward its opening and vice versa; the wedge shaped element has a first face that abuts on the outside of the respective side surface of the cradle and an opposite second face, tilted with respect to the direction of movement of the wedge shaped element, from the inside toward the outside of the seat, with reference from the opening to the bottom of the seat,
at least one intermediate clamping element adapted to be arranged between said opposite second face of the wedge shaped element and the undercut portion provided on a respective side of said housing seat,
an adjustment screw, arranged in contact through a hole, counter-threaded to the screw, obtained through said wedge shaped element, said screw having an end adapted to bottom out against a portion of said cradle and an opposite end provided with a control head for a tool, so that a turn of said screw in a first direction causes said wedge shaped element to move toward said opening of the housing seat of the panel, thrusting said intermediate clamping element against the respective undercut portion of a respective side of said seat, while a turn in the opposite direction causes said wedge shaped element to move in the opposite direction toward the bottom of the seat.

Preferably, there are provided, for each adjustment and clamping device, two said assemblies for adjusting the tilt, i.e., one for each side surface of said containment cradle.
Preferably, the wedge shaped element comprises two wedge shaped portions spaced from each other in the direction of the edge of the panel; in the space between said two wedge shaped portions, there is provided the hole for the adjustment screw; there are provided two intermediate clamping elements, each adapted to interact with a respective said wedge shaped portion.
Preferably, the intermediate clamping element is cylindrical in shape.
Preferably, the undercut portion of a respective side of said seat has a curved shape, preferably with a constant radius; preferably said at least one intermediate clamping element has an abutment surface substantially counter-shaped to the undercut portion.
Preferably, the side comprising the undercut portion has a section tilting from the inside toward the outside of the seat, with reference from the bottom to the opening of the seat, which is joined with said undercut portion and adapted to allow the respective clamping element to move during the clamping phase thereof between the undercut portion and the wedge shaped element.
Preferably, the sides of the seat have a minor distance between them at the centerline of said seat with respect to the distance at said opening.

Preferably, the portion of the cradle against which the end of said screws abuts is
a portion with the same hardness as the hardness of the rest of the cradle,
or a portion with greater hardness with respect to the hardness of the rest of the cradle, for example preferably said portion being a plate, fastened on a retaining portion defined on a respective side surface of said cradle, and more preferably said portion being a metal plate.

Preferably, the supporting base is made of a metal material and said cradle is made of a plastic material.
Preferably, the at least one wedge shaped element and the intermediate fastening element are made of a metal material.
Preferably, the cradle defines a guide for the movement of said at least one wedge shaped element.
Preferably, the cradle is made

in one piece or
in two pieces, each comprising a side surface and a part of the base and connected to each other by means of coupling means of the type moving transversely to the thickness of the panel, so that the two pieces can be clamped on the panel pressing them from opposite sides.

Preferably, the sides of said seat have, at the bottom, respective first countersunk portions; preferably the cradle has, at the lower parts of the side surfaces, respective second countersunk portions for abutment on said first countersunk portions of the seat.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 represents an exploded axonometric view of a panel support according to the invention;
Fig. 2 represents a cross sectional view of the support of Fig. 1 before clamping phase of the panel, sectioned on two different planes, with the right part, referring to the central axis, sectioned at the clamping cylinders, and the left part sectioned at the adjustment screw;
Fig. 3 represents a supporting portion as shown in Fig. 2 but with the panel clamped in the support.

Detailed description of an embodiment of the invention

With reference to the aforesaid figures, a panel support according to the invention is indicated as a whole with the number 10.
This support 10 comprises a supporting base 11 for example made of a profile (for example aluminum or steel) provided with a base face 11A to place and fasten stably, in this example, on a horizontal or almost horizontal surface, in which there is provided a channel open at the top that defines a seat 12, open at the top, for inserting the edge area 13A of a panel 13, for example made of glass, to arrange vertically or almost vertically.
It is clear that in other embodiments, the supporting base 11 can be used as vertical support, for example fastening the base 11 with the base face 11A against a wall, or also with a lateral face of the base 11 (i.e., the outer face of the base 11 orthogonal to the base face 11A) against the wall or a jamb. Likewise, the supporting base 11 can be used as tilted support for the panel 13.
The seat 12 has a bottom 12A and two opposite sides 12B, which extend longitudinally, i.e., in the direction of extension of the base/profile, from said bottom.
The opening for inserting the panel into the seat 12, provided at the ends of the sides 12B, is indicated with 14.
Each side 12B comprises, in proximity of its end 12C, an undercut portion 15 (undercut with respect to the thickness of the respective side, i.e., an indentation in the thickness of the side).
In this example, this undercut portion 15 has a curved concave shape, and more specifically a shape prevalently with a constant radius, i.e., prevalently with section shaped as an arc of circle. There is provided a section 12D tilting from the inside toward the outside of the seat 12, with reference from the bottom 12A to the opening 14 of the seat, which is joined with the undercut portion 15.
It must be noted that the sides 12B of the seat 12 have a minor distance between them at the centerline of the seat with respect to the distance at the opening 14, i.e., the inner face of a side 12B is spaced from the inner face of the end 12C of the same side, by an amount "d".
The support 10 further comprises at least one device 16 for adjusting the tilt and for clamping the panel 13 to the supporting base 11. One or more devices 16 can be provided along the side surface 12B, depending on the length of the panel to be clamped (only one device 16 is shown in the figure).
The device 16 is interposed between the panel 13 and the supporting base 11 and comprises a cradle 17 (for example made of plastic material), concave, for housing the end of the edge 13A of the panel 13.
This cradle 17 has an underside 18 and two opposite side surfaces 19 for lateral containment of the end of the edge 13A of the panel. A respective assembly 20 for adjusting the tilt and lateral clamping of the panel 13 is associated with each side surface 19.
In this example, the cradle is made in one piece. In other embodiments, the cradle can be made in more than one piece. For example. in an alternative embodiment, not shown in the figures, the cradle can be made in two pieces, for example in two pieces that are the same and opposite, each comprising a side surface 19 and a part of the underside 18 and connected to each other by means of coupling means at the two parts of the base, such as a coupling that moves transversely, so that the two pieces can be clamped on the panel pressing them from opposite sides.
In other embodiments the adjustment and clamping assemblies 20 can be associated only with one side surface, with the opposite side of the cradle that abuts, for example, directly against a suitably shaped side of the seat 12.
The sides of the seat 12 has, at the bottom 12A, respective first countersunk portions 12E, to facilitate correct positioning of the cradles 17-panel 13 assembly in the seat. Preferably, the cradle 17 has, at the lower parts of the side surfaces 19, respective second countersunk portions for abutment on the first countersunk portions 12E of the seat 12, to optimize the relative positioning between cradle and seat.
Each adjustment and clamping assembly 20 comprises a wedge shaped element 21 (for example made of steel or aluminum), provided with a first 19A and a second face 19B. The first face 19A abuts on the side surface 19, so that this wedge shaped element slides, in a guide 22 defined on the outside of the respective side surface 19 for containment of the cradle 17, according to a direction from the bottom 12A of the seat 12 toward its opening 14 and vice versa. The opposite second face of the wedge shaped element 19 is tilted with respect to the direction of movement of the wedge shaped element. In this example, the second face 19B is divided into two faces, as the wedge shaped element 21 comprises a common section 23 from which two wedge shaped portions 24 extend, spaced from each other by means of a space 25.
Each adjustment and clamping assembly 20 comprises two (in this example) intermediate clamping elements 26 adapted to be arranged between the second tilted faces 19B (relative to the two wedge shaped portions 24) of the wedge shaped element 21 and the undercut portion 15 provided on a respective side 12B of the housing seat 12.
In this example, these intermediate clamping elements 26 are metal cylinders (for example made of steel or aluminum), the radius of which is substantially coincident with the radius of curvature of the undercut portion 15 (i.e., they are counter-shaped).
Each adjustment and clamping assembly 20 further comprises an adjustment screw 27, arranged in contact through a hole 28, counter-threaded to the screw, obtained through the wedge shaped element 21, in this example at the space 25.
This screw 27 (for example made of steel) has an end 27A adapted to bottom out against a portion 29 of the cradle 17 and an opposite end provided with a control head for a tool.
In this example, the portion 29 of the cradle 17 against which the end 27A of the screw 27 bottoms out is a portion with greater hardness with respect to the hardness of the rest of the cradle; for example, this portion 29 is a plate (for example made of steel or aluminum), fastened on a retaining portion 30 defined on a respective side surface of the cradle.
In other embodiments, the plate is not present and the end 27A of the screw 27 bottoms out against a portion of the cradle that is made of the same material as the cradle, for example an adequately hard plastic material.
A turn of the screw in a first direction causes the wedge shaped element 21 to move toward the opening 14 of the housing seat 12 of the panel 13, thrusting the intermediate clamping elements 26 against respective undercut portions 15 of the respective side 12B of the seat 12, while a turn in the opposite direction causes the wedge shaped element 21 to move in the opposite direction toward the bottom 12A of the seat.
An adjustment of the same degree of the two screws from the opposite sides of the cradle 17 (i.e., with the two wedge shaped elements 21 positioned at the same relative height on the cradle 17), this causes the panel to be clamped in vertical position (with reference to the example represented in the figures), while an adjustment of the two screws 27 of different degrees causes tilting on one side or on the opposite side of the panel. In fact, with an adjustment of a different degree, the two opposite wedge shaped elements 21 have two different positions, one higher and the other lower. Due to its weight, the panel will tend to tilt toward the lower wedge shaped element, which will thrust the cylinders 26 to bottom out against the undercut 15.

Claims

Panel (13) support (10), comprising
- a supporting base (11) defining a housing seat (12) for the edge area (13A) of the panel (13), said seat having a bottom (12A), two opposite sides (12B) that extend from said bottom and an opening (14) for inserting the panel into the seat (12), provided at the ends of said sides (12B), at least one of said sides comprising, in proximity of its end, a respective undercut portion (15),

- at least one device (16) for adjusting the tilt and for clamping the panel to said supporting base (11), interposed between the panel (13) and said supporting base (11), comprising a concave cradle (17) for housing the end (13A) of the edge of the panel, said cradle having an underside (18) and two opposite lateral containment sides (19) of said end of the edge of the panel (13A), there being associated with at least one said containment side (19) at least one respective assembly (20) for adjusting the tilt and lateral clamping of the panel,
wherein said assembly (20) for adjusting the tilt and lateral clamping of the panel comprises
- a wedge shaped element (21) sliding on the outside of the respective side surface for containment of the cradle according to a direction from the bottom (12A) of said seat (12) toward its opening (14) and vice versa, said wedge shaped element (21) having a first face (19A) that abuts on the outside of the respective side surface (19) of the cradle (17) and an opposite second face (19B), tilted with respect to the direction of movement of the wedge shaped element,

- an adjustment screw (27), arranged in an engaged way through a hole (28), counter-threaded to the screw, obtained through said wedge shaped element (21), said screw having an end (27A) adapted to bottom out against a portion (29) of said cradle (17) and an opposite end provided with a control head for a tool, so that a turn of said screw (27) in a first direction causes said wedge shaped element (21) to move toward said opening (14) of the housing seat (12) of the panel, while a turn in the opposite direction causes said wedge shaped element (21) to move in the opposite direction toward the bottom (12A) of the seat,
characterised in that the second face (19B) of the wedge shaped element (21) is tilted from the inside toward the outside of the seat (12), with reference from the opening (14) to the bottom (12A) of the seat,
that the assembly (20) for adjusting the tilt and lateral clamping of the panel (13) further comprises at least one intermediate clamping element (26) adapted to be arranged between said second face (19B) of the wedge shaped element (21) and said undercut portion (15) provided on a respective side of said housing seat,
and that the turn of said screw (27) in the first direction causing said wedge shaped element (21) to move toward said opening (14) of the housing seat (12) of the panel thrusts said intermediate clamping element (26) against the respective undercut portion (15) of a respective side of said seat.
Panel support according to claim 1, wherein there are provided, for each adjustment and clamping device (16), two said assemblies (20) for adjusting the tilt, i.e., one for each side surface (19) of said containment cradle (17).
Panel support according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said wedge shaped element (21) comprises two wedge shaped portions (24) spaced from each other in the direction of the edge of the panel (13) and wherein, in the space (25) between said two wedge shaped portions, there is provided said hole (28) for said adjustment screw (27), there being provided two intermediate clamping elements (26), each adapted to interact with a respective said wedge-shaped portion (24).
Panel support according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one intermediate clamping element (26) is cylindrical in shape.
Panel support according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said undercut portion (15) of a respective side of said seat (12) has a curved shape, preferably with a constant radius; preferably said at least one intermediate clamping element (26) having an abutment surface with said undercut portion substantially counter-shaped to said undercut portion (15).
Panel support according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one said side (12B) comprising said undercut portion (15) has a section (12D) tilting from the inside toward the outside of the seat, with reference from the bottom to the opening of the seat, which is joined with said undercut (15) and adapted to allow the respective clamping element to move during the clamping phase thereof between the undercut portion and the wedge shaped element.
Panel support according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the sides (12B) of said seat (12) have a minor distance between them at the centerline of said seat with respect to the distance at said opening (14).
Panel support according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said portion of said cradle (17) against which the end of said screw (27) bottoms out is
- a portion with the same hardness as the hardness of the rest of the cradle,

- or a portion with greater hardness with respect to the hardness of the rest of the cradle, for example preferably said portion being a plate (29), fastened on a retaining portion (30) defined on a respective side surface of said cradle, and more preferably said portion being a metal plate.
Panel support according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said supporting base (11) is made of a metal material and said cradle (17) is made of a plastic material.
Panel support according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one wedge shaped element (21) and said intermediate fastening element (26) are made of a metal material.
Panel support according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said cradle (17) defines a guide for the movement of said at least one wedge shaped element (21).
Panel support according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said cradle (17) is made
- in one piece or

- in two pieces, each comprising a side surface and a part of the base and connected to each other by means of coupling means of the type moving transversely to the thickness of the panel, so that the two pieces can be clamped on the panel pressing them from opposite sides.
Panel support according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the sides of said seat (11) have, at the bottom, respective first countersunk portions (12E); preferably said cradle having, at the lower parts of the side surfaces, respective second countersunk portions for abutment on said first countersunk portions of said seat.