EP4677188A1

EP4677188A1 - Corner piece for realising a corner joint and method

Info

Publication number: EP4677188A1
Application number: EP24700647.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pietro Giovanni PINTI; Véronique Liesbeth Vloemans
Original assignee: Reynaers Aluminium NV
Current assignee: Reynaers Aluminium NV
Priority date: 2023-03-10
Filing date: 2024-01-04
Publication date: 2026-01-14
Also published as: BE1031417B1; WO2024189435A1; BE1031417A1

Abstract

Corner piece for realising a corner joint (21) of a frame, whereby the frame is made from profiles (2) that are connected to each other at an angle by means of the corner piece (1) with legs (3) which are provided to be fixed fittingly into the profiles (2) by means of a screw (4) with a head (5) and a shaft (8), which is applied in a sunken position in a hole (6) in the relevant leg (3), and which fits in a passage (22) provided to this end in the profile ( 2 ), whereby the screw (4) is provided with means to at least partially lift the screw (4) out of the hole (6) such that the head (5) is raised from the sunken position and the head (5) is placed eccentrically on the shaft (8), all this such that a rotation of the screw (4) ensures that the head (5) can exert a force on the profile

Description

Corner piece for realising a corner j oint and method applied thereby .

The present invention relates to a corner piece for realising a corner j oint of the profiles of a frame of a window, a door, a glass wall or the like .

Corner pieces which are provided with legs extending at an angle and are intended for mounting in the cavities or chambers of the respective profiles to be connected are known .

Traditionally, corner j oints are realised by first mitring the ends of said profiles to be placed against each other, after which the legs of the corner piece are slid into the chambers of the profiles and mounted therein .

This is done by means of bolts or screws , for example , which are screwed into the profiles through a pre- fitted passage . Said screw can be premounted in a threaded hole in the legs and then lies sunkenly in the legs of the corner piece or alternatively after assembly of the corner piece in the profiles can be screwed into the legs via the passage in the profiles .

In the first case a screw with conical head is used, whereby after assembly of the corner piece in the profiles , the threaded hole of the legs and the passage in the profiles are positioned eccentrically relative to each other such that the conical head is at least partially accessible via the passage .

Unscrewing the screw from the leg ensures that the profiles in the corner are pushed against each other . The screw is unscrewed to such an extent until the profiles to be connected are clamped against each other .

A disadvantage of this technique is that the end position of the profiles is determined by how far the screw is unscrewed .

Another disadvantage is that the screw can be unscrewed too far such that the head partially protrudes from the passage in the profile .

However, the screw may also not be unscrewed far enough such that the contact surface between the head of the screw and the passage in the profile is very small and high mechanical tensions may occur locally which may cause the connection to come loose again over time .

Because the lateral shi ft of the profiles is regulated by unscrewing the screw, the screw must usually be turned several rotations before the correct end position is reached .

In case first the corner piece i s mounted in the profiles and only then the screw is screwed in the leg via the passage in the profiles , a screw with a head is used which is positioned eccentrically relative to the shaft , for example .

This has the disadvantage that an installer must perform an extra action and he/ she runs the risk of losing the screw .

Another alternative screw method consists of a corner piece with spring-loaded pins . Such corner piece consists of two legs that are connected by means o f a screw . Every leg also has a spring-loaded pin . After assembly of the corner piece in the profiles , said pin secures itsel f in a passage in the profiles provided to this end . Subsequently, the screw can be tightened and the profiles are clamped against each other .

A disadvantage of this method is that the spring-loaded pins must be pushed in before said pins can be slid or applied into the profiles .

In an alternative method the corner piece is slid into the profiles and the profiles are plastically deformed, for example by means of a notch or the profiles are nailed against each other in the corner .

However, the disadvantage of this is that disassembly of the profiles becomes very di f ficult or impossible . With a view to sustainability and recycling this is not desirable .

A disadvantage of the known methods is that the assembly of the corner j oint is complex, labour-intensive and thus expensive . The purpose of the present invention is to provide a solution to at least one of the aforementioned and other disadvantages .

To this end, the invention relates to a corner piece for realising a corner j oint or T-connection, particularly a connection for the profiles of a frame of a door, a window, a glass wall or the like , whereby the frame is made from hollow profiles that are connected to each other at an angle by means of the corner piece with legs which extend at the angle to be realised and are provided to be slid fittingly at least over a length into the profiles , and to be af fixed therein by means of a screw with a head and a shaft , which is applied in a sunken position in a hole in the relevant leg in the transversal direction of the leg, and which fits in a passage in the profile provided to this end, whereby the screw is provided with means to at least partially li ft the screw out of the hole such that at least the head is raised from the sunken position and the head is applied eccentrically on the shaft , all this such that when the head is located in the passage in the profile a rotation of the screw ensures that the head can exert a force on the profile in the longitudinal direction of the leg .

The advantage of a corner piece according to the invention is that the screw is premounted in the leg, the screw cannot be lost , but is already secured or prelocked in the sunken position . Sunken position is understood to mean that the screw is concealedly applied in the hole of the leg and thus does not protrude from said hole .

Inserting the corner pieces in the profiles is thus very simple and not obstructed by the screws .

The aforementioned means allow the head of the screw to be very simply raised from the sunken position into the passage of the profiles .

After assembly of the corner piece in the profiles the screw, thanks to the eccentric head, must be rotated maximum 270 ° to be able to clamp the profiles .

Consequently, the assembly is simpler, faster and without risk of errors , for example unscrewing the screws too far or not far enough .

In a preferred embodiment the aforementioned means comprise a cam on the screw, a stop for said cam in the hole of the leg and a spring which can exert a force on the screw such that the cam is pushed against the stop .

A rotation of the screw will ensure that the cam comes free from the stop and that the spring pushes the screw out of the sunken position into a raised position .

In said raised position the head will wholly or partly protrude from the hole in the leg and after assembly in the profiles said protruding section o f the head will extend in the passage of the relevant profile .

A rotation of the eccentric head will push away the relevant profile in the longitudinal direction of the leg in the direction of the corner .

Preferably, the stop comprises a collar in the hole extending inwardly all around the hole , with the exception of a local interruption of the collar . Preferably, the cam fits through the local interruption in the collar .

In this way the screw can leave the sunken position when, after rotation of the screw, the cam is pushed through the local interruption of the collar under the influence of the spring .

Preferably, the spring is tensioned between the base of the hole in the leg and the screw .

In a preferred embodiment the spring is positioned around the shaft of the screw whereby the spring pushes against the head of the screw or alternatively is positioned behind the spring and then pushes against the free end of the shaft .

Preferably, the cross-section of the head in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the screw is made in a circular way . This has the advantage that after leaving the sunken position, the screw can be rotated maximum 180 ° to be able to clamp the profiles .

Preferably, the head of the screw is such that a rotation of maximum 90 ° of the screw ensures that the screw is raised and leaves the sunken position .

In a practical embodiment , the hole is provided with a second stop which is formed by a second collar extending inwardly all around the hole and which is located more at the surface of the leg .

Said stop ensures that in the raised position the screw cannot be completely pushed out of the hole under the influence of the spring .

Preferably, the hole at the surface of the leg is wider to form a recess in the leg . The head of the screw can be concealedly arranged in said recess in the sunken position such that the head of the screw does not protrude outside the hole .

The present invention also relates to a corner j oint of a frame of a window, a door, a glass wall or the like , whereby said corner j oint is realised with such corner piece according to the invention .

The invention also relates to a method for realising a corner j oint by means of a corner piece according to the invention whereby the method comprises the steps of providing a passage in a profile to be connected in such a location that , when the leg is applied in the profi le , said passage is positioned opposite the screw and the screw is accessible via said passage , applying the leg of the corner piece in said profile , rotating the screw via the aforementioned passage until the head is li fted out of the sunken position and is at least partially raised in the passage in the profile , tensioning the profiles against each other by rotating the screw maximum 180 ° until the profiles to be connected are clamped against each other .

This provides the advantage that the use of such corner piece , strongly simpli fies the assembly of a frame and it can also be done more quickly with a lower risk of errors .

Another advantage is that the method is easy to automate .

With the intention of better showing the characteri stics of the invention, a preferred embodiment of a corner piece according to the invention is described hereinafter , by way of an example without any limiting nature , with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein : figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a corner piece according to the invention; figure 2 shows the corner piece of figure 1 in disassembled condition; figure 3 shows a perspective view of a lower part or hal f of the disassembled corner piece of figure 2 ; figure 4 shows a view according to the arrow F4 in figure 3 ; figure 5 shows the corner piece of figure 1 with one removed screw; figure 6 shows a detail indicated with the arrow F6 in figure 5 ; figure 7 shows a view similar to that of figure 3 , but whereby a screw is rotated a quarter of a turn; figure 8 shows a detail indicated with the arrow F8 in figure 7 ; figure 9 shows a view according to arrow F9 in figure 8 ; figure 10 shows a view similar to that of figure 7 , but whereby a screw is rotated hal f a turn further ; figure 11 shows a detail indicated with the arrow Fl l in figure 10 ; figure 12 shows a view according to arrow F12 in figure 10 ; figure 13 shows a corner piece according to the invention and two profiles for realising a corner j oint by means of the corner piece ; figure 14 shows the corner j oint of figure 13 whereby the corner piece is slid into the profiles ; figure 15 shows the corner j oint of figure 14 whereby the profiles are clamped against each other by means of the corner piece .

Figure 1 schematically shows a corner piece 1 according to the invention for the mitred connection of two profiles 2 .

The corner piece 1 shown is made in an L-shaped way and comprises two legs 3 , which in this case extend at right angles relative to each other . Alternatively, said legs 3 can also be at a di f ferent angle .

Each of the two legs 3 is provided with a screw 4 with a head 5 which is applied in a sunken position in a hole 6 in the relevant leg 3 . Said hole 6 extends in the transversal direction relative to the longitudinal direction of the leg 3 .

In an alternative embodiment of the corner piece 1 , the hole 6 can also be provided at a di f ferent angle relative to the longitudinal direction of the leg 3 .

Said hole 6 is applied at a certain distance relative to the corner of the corner piece 1 .

According to the invention the screw 4 is premounted in said hole 6 and the screw 4 is completely, or almost completely, sunken in the leg 3 in said premounted condition . All this such that the screw 4 does not form a protrusion at the contour of the leg 3 and sliding into the profiles 2 is not made more di f ficult .

Premounted condition shall be understood to mean that the screw 4 was already provided in the hole 6 , before the corner piece 1 is slid into an end of the profile 2 .

The disassembled corner piece 1 , as shown in figure 2 , comprises two parts or halves 7A and 7B which fit into each other, i . e . a first part 7A and a second part 7B . Said two parts 7A and 7B extend in the longitudinal direction of the two legs 3 .

The head of the screw 4 is positioned eccentrically on a shaft 8 of the screw 4 . In this example , the cross-section of the head 5 in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the screw 4 is made in a circular way .

The screw 4 is always provided with means to at least partially li ft the screw 4 out of the sunken position such that at least the head 5 is raised from the sunken position .

In this example , the aforementioned means relate to a cam 9 on the screw 4 and a stop 10 for said cam 9 in the hole 6 of the leg 3 and a spring 11 which can exert a force on the screw 4 such that the cam 9 is pushed against the stop 10 .

This is more visible in figures 3 and 4 where the screw 4 is premounted and sunkenly applied in one part or hal f 7A of the corner piece 1 .

In this example , the shaft 8 of the screw 4 is made as two concentric cylinders 12A and 12B with di f ferent diameters . The location of the cylinder 12A with the smallest diameter is furthest removed from the head 5 of the screw 4 .

In this example , the spring 11 is applied around the shaft 8 , more speci fically around the cylinder 12A of the shaft 8 with the smallest diameter, all this such that the spring 11 is tensioned between an inner wall 13 of the leg 3 and a free lower edge 14 of the cylinder 12B with the largest diameter .

The aforementioned cam 9 is applied on the cylinder 12B with the largest diameter and under the influence of the spring 11 pushes against the stop 10 of the second hal f 7B (not shown or removed) .

Said stop 10 comprises a collar 15 in the hole 6 extending inwardly all around, with the exception of a local interruption 16 of the collar 15 whereby the cam 9 fits through the interruption 16 into the collar 15 . Said interruption 16 is more visible in figures 5 and 6 , where one screw 4 is completely removed .

In figures 7 to 9 the screw 4 is rotated a quarter of a turn . The cam 9 is no longer pushed against the collar 15 of the stop 10 now, but fits through the local interruption 16 .

Under the influence of the spring 11 the screw 4 is raised from the sunken position . This is shown in figures 10 to 12 where the head 5 of the screw 4 protrudes from the leg 3 .

Moreover, the head 5 of the screw 4 can be rotated using a tool suitable to this end . To this end the head 5 of the screw is provided with, for example , a groove , a square , hexagonal or star-shaped recess 17 or the like .

So as not to completely push the screw 4 out of the hole 6 under the influence of the spring 11 , the hole 6 is provided with a second stop 18 . Said second stop 18 is formed by a second collar 19 that extends inwardly around the hole 6 and is located more at the surface of the leg 3 .

Said second stop 18 is not provided with a local interruption such that the screw 4 can be rotated over its entire range without the screw 4 being pushed completely out of the hole 6 .

Moreover, in figures 10 to 12 the screw is rotated hal f a turn further . In total the screw is rotated 270 ° . Due to the eccentric placement of the head 5 relative to the shaft 8 of the screw 4 , the head 5 of the screw 4 will be able to exert a force on the profile 2 in the longitudinal direction of the leg 3 .

The hole 6 at the surface of the leg 3 is wider in this example to form a recess 20 in the leg 3 for the head 5 of the screw 4 .

The method for realising a corner j oint 21 according to the invention is very simple and as follows .

In figure 13 the two profiles 2 and a corner piece 1 for the mitred connection of the two profiles 2 are shown according to the invention .

Typically, said profiles are , at least partially, hollow and can, for example , be made from metal , synthetic material or another material suitable to this end . The legs 3 of the corner piece 1 are slid into the profiles to be connected and the mitred ends of the profiles 2 are positioned against each other .

The position of the hole 6 in the leg is chosen such that , in a provisionally mounted condition as shown in figure 14 , the hole 6 is aligned with a pas sage 22 in the profile 2 provided to this end . All this such that the head 5 of the screw 4 is acces sible via the passage 22 in the profile 2 to be able to thus rotate the screw 4 with a suitable tool from the outside of the profiles 2 .

The screw 4 is rotated 90 ° in the direction of the arrow B such that the head 5 of the screw 4 is raised in the direction of the arrow C under the influence of the spring 11 .

The raised position of the screw 4 is shown in figure 15 .

Due to the eccentric placement of the head 5 relative to the shaft 8 of the screw 4 , after further rotation of maximum 180 ° in the direction of the arrow D, the profiles 2 are moved toward each other and pushed against each other until they are firmly clamped against each other .

In a practical embodiment , additional glue can be inj ected into the connection .

Although in this example there is talk of a counterclockwise rotation of the screw 4 , alternatively the direction of rotation of the screw 4 can also be completed in a clockwise way when the position of the local interruption 16 in the stop 10 is mirrored .

The 90 ° rotation to raise the screw 4 from the sunken position can be di f ferent when the cam 9 of the screw 4 is initially in a di f ferent position relative to the local interruption 16 .

The rotation of maximum 180 ° of the screw 4 to clamp the profiles 2 against each other can also be di f ferent when the cross-section of the head 5 in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the screw 4 is not made in a circular way .

Although in the embodiment shown in the figures the corner piece 1 is made in an L-shaped way, for a person skilled in the art it is clear that a variant of the described corner piece 1 for realising a T-connection between profiles 2 can be used .

For a person skilled in the art it is clear that the passage 22 in the profile 2 does not necessarily have to be situated on the outer contour of the corner j oint 21 , but can also be provided on the inner contour thereof , subj ect to modi fication of the position of the hole 6 of the corner piece 1 .

The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described as an example and shown in the figures , but a corner piece and a corner transmission according to the invention can be realised in all kinds of forms and dimensions without departing from the scope of the invention .

Claims

Claims .

1.- Corner piece for realising a corner joint (21) or T- connection, particularly a connection for the profiles (2) of a frame of a door, a window, a glass wall or the like, whereby the frame is made from hollow profiles (2) that are connected to each other at an angle by means of the corner piece (1) with legs (3) which extend at the angle to be realised and are provided to be slid fittingly at least over a length into the profiles (2) , and to be affixed therein by means of a screw (4) with a head (5) and a shaft (8) , which is applied in a sunken position in a hole (6) in the relevant leg (3) in the transversal direction of the leg (3) , and which fits in a passage (22) in the profile (2) provided to this end, characterised in that the screw

(4) is provided with means to at least partially lift the screw (4) out of the hole (6) such that at least the head

(5) is raised from the sunken position and the head (5) is applied eccentrically on the shaft (8) , all this such that when the head (5) is located in the passage (22) in the profile (2) a rotation of the screw (4) ensures that the head (5) can exert a force on the profile (2) in the longitudinal direction of the leg (3) .

2.- Corner piece according to claim 1, characterised in that the aforementioned means comprise a cam (9) on the screw (4) , a stop (10) for said cam (9) in the hole (6) of the leg (3) and a spring (11) which can exert a force on the screw (4) such that the cam (9) is pushed against the stop (10) , all this such that by rotating the screw (4) , the cam (9) comes free from the stop (10) and the spring (11) pushes the screw (4) from the sunken position into a raised position.

3.- Corner piece according to claim 2, characterised in that the stop (10) comprises a collar (15) in the hole (6) extending inwardly all around the hole (6) , with the exception of a local interruption (16) of the collar (15) whereby the cam (9) fits through the local interruption (16) in the collar (15) .

4.- Corner piece according to any one of the previous claims 2 or 3, characterised in that the spring (11) is positioned behind or around the shaft (8) of the screw (4) .

5.- Corner piece according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the cross-section of the head (5) in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the screw (4) is made in a circular way.

6.- Corner piece according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that a rotation of maximum 90° of the screw (4) ensures the screw (4) is raised from the sunken position.

7.- Corner piece according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the hole (6) is provided with a second stop (18) which is formed by a second collar (19) extending inwardly all around the hole (6) and is located more at the surface of the leg (3) .

8.- Corner piece according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the hole (6) at the surface of the leg (3) is wider to form a recess (20) in the leg (3) for the head (5) of the screw (4) .

9.- Corner piece according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that it is L-shaped or T-shaped.

10.- Corner joint of a frame of a window, a door, a glass wall or the like, characterised in that said corner joint (21) is realised with a corner piece (1) according to any one of the previous claims.

11.- Method for realising a corner joint (21) by means of a corner piece (1) according to any one of the claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the method comprises the steps of providing a passage (22) in a profile (2) to be connected in such a location that, when the leg (3) is applied in the profile (2) , said passage (22) is positioned opposite the screw (4) and the screw (4) is accessible via said passage (22) , applying the leg (3) of the corner piece (1) in said profile (2) , rotating the screw (4) via the aforementioned passage (22) until the head (5) is lifted from the sunken position and is at least partially raised in the passage (22) in the profile (2) , tensioning the profiles (2) against each other by rotating the screw (4) maximum 180° until the profiles to be connected (2) are clamped against each other.