GB2159230A

GB2159230A - T-connector for a crossbar junction in a facade

Info

Publication number: GB2159230A
Application number: GB08513024A
Authority: GB
Inventors: August Oberrohrmann
Original assignee: Heinz Schuermann and Co
Current assignee: Heinz Schuermann and Co
Priority date: 1984-05-24
Filing date: 1985-05-23
Publication date: 1985-11-27
Also published as: GB2159230B; DE3419294A1; GB8513024D0

Abstract

To connect a crossbar member (2) to an upright member (1) of a facade, a main body (6) is fixed in a chamber inside the crossbar member by means of screws (30). Non-rotatable flanged pins (9) are mounted in the main body (6) slidably under the force of springs (15). When fitting the crossbar member, the flanged pins (9) are pressed into the chamber within the crossbar member (2) and at the point of connection latch into bores provided in a side wall (22) of the upright member (1), to extend into the chamber (23) within the upright member. The flanged pins (9) are then anchored relative to the upright member by pins (24) which are driven through transverse bores in the flanged pins (9). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION T-connector for a crossbar junction in a frontal facade The invention relates to a T-connector for a cross bar junction in a frontal facade which comprises a metal frame structure and glass panes or panels filling the frame areas, wherein shaped upright and crossbar members of the metal frame have an internal chamber and the shaped upright members have smooth side surfaces.

According to the invention, there is provided a T-connector for a crossbar junction in a frontal facade comprising a metal frame structure and glass panes or panels filling the frame areas with upright and crossbar members of the metal frame structure each having an internal chamber and the shaped upright members having smooth side surfaces, wherein a main body is secured in the internal chamber in the crossbar member and has at least one flange pin slidably mounted in a guide normal to the butt surface of the crossbar member, the flange pin is secured against rotary movement and is biassed by the force of a spring into a forward limit position which is defined by abutment of the flange of the pin and an abutment surface on the main body, the flange pin extends with its front part beyond the butt surface of the crossbar member and can project through bores in the upright member into the internal chamber of the upright member, and the front part of the flange pin has a transverse bore for receiving a locking pin.

Using a T-connector according to the invention can render the connecting means for making the butting connection between a crossbar and a shaped upright member invisible from the exterior after the frontal facade is finished, while allowing the cross bars to be fitted at the point of installation with the tools of the trade which are usually to be found at that location.

A crossbar which is provided with the Tconnectors according to the invention at its ends may be disposed betweeen two shaped upright members which extend in parallel relationship to each other, by virtue of the fact that the flange pins are urged into the chambers inside the crossbar members against the force of the associated springs and, in the course of the assembly movement, are moved into positions of alignment with the bores in the shaped upright members. Then, under the force of the springs, the pins are introduced with their front parts into the chambers within the shaped upright members and can be anchored therein relative to the shaped upright members by means of locking pins which are driven into transverse bores in the front parts of the flange pins.

The bores which are provided in the shaped upright members for driving in the split pins are covered by components of the facade structure, for example by a sealing member.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a view in horizontal section of butt junctions, incorporating T-connectors according to the invention, between shaped crossbar members and a shaped upright member of a frontal facade; Figure 2 shows a view in section taken on line Il-Il Fig. 1; Figure 3 shows a plan view of the individual components of the T-connector; and Figure 4 shows a front view of the parts of the T-connector shown in Fig. 3.

The frontal or cladding facade shown in Fig.

1 comprises shaped upright members 1 which are disposed at a spacing from each other and which extend in parallel relationship, and shaped crossbar members 2 which extend transversely with respect to the upright members 1, as well as glass panes 3 which fill the frame areas formed by the upright and crossbar members, and shaped cover members 4 which cover over the edges of the glass panes 3 at the outside face of the facade.

For the purposes of connecting a crossbar member 2 to an upright member 1 in the form of a butt junction, a main body 6 of a Tconnector is disposed and fixed adjacent the butt surface of the crossbar member in a chamber 5 within the crossbar member 2.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the main body 6 has a base plate 7 which is disposed in the direct vicinity of the butt surface of the crossbar member 2 and extends parallel to that surface. Disposed in the base plate 7 are two guide bores 8 for flange pins 9, the centre lines 10 of the guide bores extending normal to the butt surface of the crossbar member 2. The flange pins 9 are each provided at the end which is remote from the butt surface with a square or rectangular flange or shoulder 11 which, in the forward limit position of the flange pin 9, bears against the inside surface 1 2 of the base plate 7. The inside surface 1 2 thus forms an abutment surface for the flange 11.

The flange pins 9 are each provided with a blind bore 1 3 which accommodates one end 14 of a spring 1 5 while the oppositely disposed end 1 6 is mounted in a blind bore 1 7 in a support leg portion 1 8 of the main body 6.

The spring 1 5 biasses the flange pin 9 into a forward limit position in which the flange 11 bears against the inside surface 1 2 of the main body. The foward limit position of the flange pin 9 is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 2 also shows in dash-dotted lines that the flange pin 9 can be pressed to a retracted position completely within the chamber 5 in the crossbar member 2, against the force of the spring 15.

So that the flange pin 9 is prevented from rotating in the course of its lengthwise movement, the guide bore is so arranged that a surface 19 of the flange 11 is disposed in the direct vicinity of an inside surface 20 of the main body and extends parallel to the surface 20 as that the surface 20 forms a guide surface for the surface 1 9 of the flange pin 9.

Figs. 1 and 2 show that the front part of the flange pin 9 is provided with a transverse bore 21. The front part of the flange pin 9 extends beyond the butt surface of the crossbar member, when the flange pin 9 is in the forward limit position, and engages into a bore which is provided in a wall 22 of the upright member 1. The front part of the flange pin 9 extends into a chamber 23 inside the upright member 1. The flange pins 9 are anchored with respect to the upright member by locking pins, for example split pins 24, which are driven into the transverse bores 21 in the flange pins 9.

The locking pins 24 are introduced into the chamber 23 defined within the upright member 1 through bores 25 which are provided in a base wall 26 of a groove 27 for anchoring sealing members 28. The bores 25 are covered over by the sealing member 28 after the butt junction has been made.

The main body 6 illustrated in the drawings has screw grooves 29 into which the screwthreaded shanks of fixing screws 30 are screwed, in order to secure the main body 6 in the chamber within the crossbar member 2.

The grooves 29 are arranged at the free end of leg portions 31 which are integral with the support leg portions 1 8 for the springs 1 5.

The main body 6 may be produced by an extrusion process and is then cut to the required length and drilled.

The main body 6 may alternatively be of a box-like or angular configuration.

Claims

1. A T-connector for a crossbar junction in a frontal facade comprising a metal frame structure and glass panes or panels filling the frame areas with upright and crossbar members of the metal frame structure each having an internal chamber and the shaped upright members having smooth side surfaces, wherein a main body is secured in the internal chamber in the crossbar member and has at least one flange pin slidably mounted in a guide normal to the butt surface of the crossbar member, the flange pin is secured against rotary movement and is biassed by the force of a spring into a forward limit position which is defined by abutment of the flange of the pin and an abutment surface on the main body, the flange pin extends with its front part beyond the butt surface of the crossbar member and can project through bores in the upright member into the internal chamber of the upright member, and the front part of the flange pin has a transverse bore for receiving a locking pin.

2. A T-connector according to claim 1, wherein the main body has a base plate disposed adjacent the butt surface of the crossbar member, with one or more guide bores for the flange pin or pins, the flange on each pin is provided at the end of the flange pin which is remote from the butt surface and the flange pin is supported in the region of its flange against a spring mounted in the main body.

3. A T-connector according to claim 2, wherein for the purposes of preventing the flange pin from rotating, the flange of the pin has a surface which extends in the direct vicinity of an inside surface of the main body parallel thereto, wherein the inside surface extends parallel to the centre line of the guide bore for the flange pin.

4. A T-connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flange is of square or rectangular outside contour.

5. A T-connector according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the main body is of U-shaped configuration has a support leg portion for the end of the spring, which is remote from the flange pin.

6. A T-connector according to claim 5, wherein blind bores are provided both in the flange pin and in the support leg portion, for receiving the ends of the spring.

7. A T-connector according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein at the side of the support leg portion remote from the spring, there is provided a screw groove for receiving the screwthreaded shank portion of the fixing screw for fixing the main body of the crossbar member.

8. A T-connector according to claim 1, wherein the main body is of a box-like or angular configuration.

9. A T-connector for a crossbar junction in a frontal facade substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.