GB2275719A - Structure comprising a frame and a glazing panel and method of trapping a marginal portion of a glazing panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A wall structure incorporates a glazing panel, respective marginal portions of which are received between retaining elements (16, 17) of a frame structure. Respective anchors (19) are bonded to top and lateral marginal portions of the glazing panel to trap these portions in the frame structure. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: Structure comprising a frame and a glazing panel and method of trapping a marginal portion of a glazing panel.

Description of Invention From one aspect, the present invention relates to a structure comprising a frame defining an opening and a glazing panel supported by the frame and having opposite major faces, each of which spans the opening.

There is a requirement that the glazing panel be supported by the frame in a manner which permits of limited movement of marginal portions of the glazing panel relative to the frame. Such movement may occur in consequence of thermal expansion and contraction. In a case where the structure is required to withstand a fire and impingement of hot gases or of flames on the structure, the establishment of a rigid connection between the glazing panel and the supporting frame is precluded.

Glazing panels which are normally used in building structures soften when subjected to temperatures in excess of 800 95. There is thus a requirement for glazing panels to be held by supporting frames in such a manner that they will continue to fully span the openings defined by the frames, even when the glazing panels soften. This requirement conflicts with the requirement for freedom for limited movement of the marginal portions relative to the frame. The degree of success achieved in reconciling these requirements can be measured by a standard fire test, in which the structure closes one side of a chamber within which combustion takes place. The time from commencement of combustion to the moment when hot gases or flames escape from the chamber owing to failure of the structure is measured. Known structures incorporating glazing panels fail within less than one hour. Integrity for a period of at least one hour is a common requirement.

According to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided a structure comprising a frame defining an opening and a glazing panel supported by the frame, wherein the glazing panel has opposite major faces, each of which spans the opening, the frame comprises respective holding elements which are spaced apart by a gap, a marginal portion of the panel lies in said gap, an anchor is bonded to the marginal portion of the glazing panel, the anchor includes a retaining portion which projects beyond at least one of said major faces of the glazing panel in a direction away from the other major face of the panel, the retaining portion lies outside said gap, at a side thereof remote from a centre of the glazing panel and the retaining portion projects sufficiently beyond said one major face to overlap with one of the holding elements.

We have found that a structure embodying the first aspect of the invention retains its integrity in a standard fire test for a period in excess of one hour.

The anchor preferably comprises two limbs which meet at an angle.

One limb may be bonded in face-to-face relation with said other major face of the panel, the retaining portion of the anchor being comprised by the other limb.

That other limb may be bonded in face-to-face relation with an edge face of the glazing panel.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of trapping a marginal portion of a glazing panel in a gap between a pair of holding elements, wherein an anchor is bonded to the marginal portion to project beyond a major face of the glazing panel in a direction away from an opposite major face of the glazing panel, the marginal portion is placed adjacent to a first of the holding elements with one of its major faces directed towards the holding element and the second of the holding elements is fixed in a position adjacent to the marginal portion and overlying the other major face of the glazing panel, the separation between the first and second holding elements being sufficiently small to interfere with movement of the anchor between the holding elements.

An example of a structure embodying the first aspect of the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIGURE 1 shows a front elevation of a part of the structure, FIGURE 2 shows a partial cross section on the line II-II of Figure 1, FIGURE 3 shows a partial cross section on the line III-III of Figure 1, FIGURE 4 shows a partial cross section on the line IV-IV of Figure 1 and FIGURE 5 shows a cross section similar to that of Figure 4 but illustrating a modified structure.

The structure illustrated in Figure 1 is a partition which extends from a floor to a ceiling in a building. A bottom rail is secured to the floor and a top rail is secured to the ceiling in a position directly above the bottom rail. A row of vertical studs extends along the rails, each stud being engaged at its lower end with the bottom rail and at its upper end with the top rail. The studs and rails support panels which may include panels of plasterboard or of other wall board and glazing panels. A glazing panel may extend from the bottom rail to the top rail or may extend over only a part of the height of the partition. Such partitions are well-known. In the example illustrated, there is a full-height glazing panel 10 and a plasterboard panel 11.

As shown in Figure 2, the top rail 12 has the form of a channel with an open mouth facing downwards. The top rail is penetrated by screws or other fasteners which secure the top rail to the ceiling. An inner member 13 lies inside the top rail. As shown in Figure 2, the inner member has a top-hat profile. The assembly further comprises a cover 14 which closes the open mouth of the top rail 12, except for a gap in which a marginal portion 15 of the glazing panel 10 is received. As shown, the cover 14 is secured by a rivet or other fastener to the inner member 13. The top rail, the cover 14 and the inner member 13 are preferably formed of mild steel.

At one of its lateral margins, the cover 14 has a vertical flange 16.

The top rail 12 has a similar, vertical flange 17 which is spaced laterally outwards from the flange 16. The flanges 16 and 17 constitute holding elements between which the marginal portion 15 of the glazing panel is received. The glazing panel has a top edge face 18 which lies slightly above upper edges of the flanges 16 and 17.

An anchor 19 is bonded to the marginal portion 15 of the glazing panel. The anchor comprises two limbs, 20 and 21, which meet at a right angle.

The limb 20 overlies a major face 22 of the glazing panel 10 and is bonded thereto in face-to-face relation. The limb 20 lies between the face 22 of the glazing panel and the holding element 17 of the top rail.

The limb 21 of the anchor lies in face-to-face relation with the edge face 18 of the glazing panel and is bonded thereto. A retaining portion 23 of the limb 21 projects beyond a further major face 24 of the glazing panel in a direction away from the face 22 a distance which is approximately equal to the thickness of the glazing panel. Thus, the retaining portion 23 projects over the flange 16 and somewhat beyond that flange.

The glazing panel 10 is formed of glass and, in the particular example illustrated, is 6mm thick pyrocet glass supplied by Securiglass. The anchor 19 is formed of metal, preferably mild steel, which may be plated to inhibit corrosion.

The bonding agent used for bonding the anchor to the marginal portion of the glazing panel is selected for resistance to temperatures exceed 800 . A silica based cement is a suitable bonding agent.

A thin cushion 25 is interposed between the face 24 of the glazing panel and the flange 16. This cushion may have a foam structure and is preferably a self-extinguishing tape. The cushion, the marginal portion 15 of the glazing panel and the limb 20 of the anchor collectively occupy fully the gap between the flanges 16 and 17. Movement of the glazing panel relative to the flanges 16 and 17 in a direction from one flange towards the other is prevented.

However, movement of the marginal portion of the glazing panel relative to the flanges in directions perpendicular to that direction is possible, for example in the event of considerable thermal expansion of the glazing panel 10 or of the top rail 12.

The top edge face 18 of the glazing panel is rectilinear. The anchor 19 extends along substantially the entire length of this edge and is bonded throughout its length to the glazing panel.

The structure further comprises a stud 26 which lies adjacent to a further marginal portion 27 of the glazing panel 10. A spacer 28 having a flange 29 corresponding to the flange 16 is secured to the stud. A retainer 30 also is secured to the stud. As shown in Figure 4, the retainer incorporates a retaining element which is spaced from the flange 29 by a gap in which the marginal portion 27 of the glazing panel is received.

An anchor 31 corresponding to the anchor 19 is bonded to the marginal portion 27 of the glazing panel. The anchor has a limb 32 which lies in the gap between the holding elements and a limb 33 which is bonded to a lateral edge face of the glazing panel and which extends beyond that lateral edge face and beyond the flange 29 towards the stud 26. A cushion corresponding to the cushion 25 is interposed between the glazing panel and the flange 29.

A further stud corresponding to the stud 26 is disposed adjacent to the opposite lateral marginal portion of the glazing panel 10. This further stud has a spacer and a retainer corresponding to the spacer 28 and the retainer 30 respectively.

The retainer 30 also retains a plasterboard panel 34 in assembled relation with the stud 26. The plasterboard panel 11 is held against an opposite face of the stud by a further retainer 35. The example illustrated has a single layer of glazing and a spacer 36 is interposed between the retainer 35 and the stud 26. If required, there may be substituted for the spacer 36 a spacer corresponding to the spacer 28, in order that a marginal portion of a second glazing panel can be held in assembled relation with the stud 26.

A lower marginal portion of the glazing panel 10 is received in and is supported in a channel defined by the bottom rail 37. A seal is interposed between a lip of the bottom rail and the glazing panel 10.

Respective anchors are bonded to the top and lateral edges of the glazing panel 10 before the glazing panel is assembled with other components of the structure illustrated. The glazing panel is then moved into the required position, in the absence of the cover 14 and of the retainer 30. These components are then incorporated in the structure to trap the marginal portions of the glazing panel.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (10)

1. A structure comprising a frame defining an opening and a glazing panel supported by the frame, wherein the glazing panel has opposite major faces, each of which spans the opening, the frame comprises respective holding elements which are spaced apart by a gap, a marginal portion of the panel lies at least partly in said gap, an anchor is bonded to the marginal portion of the glazing panel, the anchor includes a retaining portion which projects beyond at least one of said major faces of the glazing panel in a direction away from the other major face of the panel, the retaining portion lies outside said gap, at a side thereof remote from a centre of the glazing panel and the retaining portion projects sufficiently beyond said one major face to overlap with one of the holding elements.

2. A structure according to Claim 1 wherein said marginal portion of the glazing panel is rectilinear.

3. A structure according to Claim 2 wherein the anchor extends along substantially the entire length of the marginal portion.

4. A structure according to any preceding claim wherein the anchor comprises two limbs which meet at an angle.

5. A structure according to any preceding claim wherein one limb is bonded in face-to-face relation with said other major face.

6. A structure according to any preceding claim wherein the anchor is bonded in face-to-face relation with an edge face of the glazing panel.

7. A structure according to any preceding claim wherein the anchor comprises a second portion which lies in said gap, between a major face of the glazing panel and one of the holding elements.

8. A method of trapping a marginal portion of a glazing panel in a gap between a pair of holding elements, wherein an anchor is bonded to the marginal portion to project beyond a major face of the glazing panel in a direction away from an opposite face of the glazing panel, the marginal portion is placed adjacent to a first of the holding elements with one of its major faces directed towards the holding element and wherein the second of the holding elements is fixed in a position adjacent to the marginal portion and overlying the other major face of the glazing panel, the separation between the first and the second holding elements being sufficiently small to interfere with movement of the anchor between the holding elements.

9. A structure substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. Any novel feature or novel combination features disclosed herein or in the accompanying drawings.