GB2466132A

GB2466132A - Intrusion resistant grate with a reinforced frame

Info

Publication number: GB2466132A
Application number: GB0921752A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Luc Louis Renson
Original assignee: Duco Projects N V; Vipco Systems N V
Current assignee: Duco Projects N V; Vipco Systems N V
Priority date: 2008-12-11
Filing date: 2009-12-11
Publication date: 2010-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 2029-12-11
Also published as: GB2466132B; NL2002316C2; BE1019235A3; GB0921752D0

Abstract

An intrusion-resistant grate 1 comprising evenly spaced sheets 6 incorporated into a frame 22. The frame is formed of sections 2 which include a closed cavity 12 with reinforcement 13 located inside the cavity and arranged so that the cavity and reinforcement extend over the ends of the sheets. The cavity and reinforcement may be L shaped to cover the end and part of the front face of the sheets. Alternatively the cavity and reinforcement may be U shaped and surround the ends of the sheets (fig 6). Fastening anchors 17 attached to the frame by rivets may be provided to secure the frame to the border of an opening. Preferably the frame also includes flange shaped caps 23 that extend outwards of the frame.

Description

Intrusion-resistant grate The invention concerns an intrusion-resistant grate, comprising a frame as well as evenly spaced sheets incorporated into the frame; this frame comprises sections which are located on opposite top edges of the sheets.

Such a grate is known from EP-A-1.617.155. In this known grate, sections which together form the frame are provided on the top side, the underside and on the upright sides. To this frame are attached support sections, from which in turn the sheets are suspended. The sections forming the frame are L-shaped. The disadvantage of this known structure is that this is not well protected against intrusion. The support sections and the frame sections can be freely and simply bent since they are only executed with a single wall and thus have a relatively low bending and torsion resistance. The sheets can be removed as soon as its inside is hit to bend the sheets or otherwise to force it open. Consequently, the space behind it is not well protected against unauthorised access.

In another known grate steel inserts are incorporated into the sheets themselves.

Although the grat&s intrusion-resistant capacity is increased by this measure, it has the added disadvantage that this approach is relatively expensive.

The aim of the invention is to provide a grate that offers better protection against being forced and attempted break-ins. That is achieved due to the fact that the sections have a closed cavity in the direction of the periphery, that reinforcement is incorporated in each cavity and that each cavity and each reinforcement extends over the sheets viewed from the direction of the top edges.

The grate in accordance with the invention has sections which have a closed cavity in the direction of the periphery, on account of which the bending resistance and the torsion resistance of these sections are relatively high. Such greater resistance and strength offers initial protection against being forced, since it becomes more difficult to distort the sections concerned. Consequently, it has also become more difficult to remove the sheets.

A further safeguard against being forced is achieved by the fact that reinforcement is situated in the closed cavities. Such reinforcement can consist of a material that offers high strength and rigidity, such as steel, for example. Consequently, deformation of the sections concerned is made even more difficult, even if these consist of a relatively flexible material such as aluminium or plastic. Their forcing by sawing and the like is rendered difficult.

Finally, greater protection is achieved due to the fact that both the sections and the reinforcement in the cavity of the sections extend over the sheets. In particular, these extend over the extremities of the sheets, so that these can be held properly fast behind the sections of the grate.

In particular, this protection for the sheets can be achieved by means of sections which enclose an essentially L-shaped cavity so that one leg of the L-shaped cavity extends in each case from a top edge and the other leg of the L-shaped cavity extends over this top edge. Means of fastening can be provided on the part of the sections that extends over the top edge of the sheets by means of which the sections are fastened to the structure which bounds the opening over which the sheets extend.

The reinforcement is also preferably L-shaped, so that one leg of the L-shape of the reinforcement extends into one leg of the L-shaped cavity of the section and the other leg of the L-shape of the reinforcement extends into the other leg of the L-shaped cavity of the section.

According to another possibility, the sections enclose an essentially U-shaped cavity, so that in each case two parts of the U-shaped cavity extend in each case from a top edge and these parts are connected together by a hollow intermediate section (27) that extends over this top edge. In that instance the reinforcement can also be U-shaped so that two legs of the U-shape of the reinforcement extend into the two parts of the U-shaped cavity that in each case extend from a top edge, these two legs being connected to each other by a spacer that is located in the part of the U-shaped cavity that extends over this top edge.

If the leg of the reinforcement that extends over the top edge of the sheets is fastened to the relevant structure around the opening, it is ensured that the leg of the reinforcement that extends over the sheets cannot or can barley be lifted up or cannot be pushed away from the sheets.

In particular, this can be achieved if fastening anchors are provided on the top edges for fixing the grate to the boundaries of an opening; these fastening anchors are fastened to the leg of the reinforcement that extends over a top edge by means of rivets and the like.

For further protection of the grate against intrusion, the sections can each comprise a flange-shaped cap, with these caps being turned away from each other. In a further embodiment, the sections can extend over sheets from opposing sides of the top edges. The sheets are then incorporated in the cavity of the thus formed essentially U-shaped cross-section of the sections.

For additional strengthening of the structure, each sheet be fastened to one of the legs of each section. In that context, the sections extending along the top edges can be connected to each other at their extremities by cross sections.

Furthermore, the invention concerns a fascia structure or a panel structure comprising a fascia or panel respectively in which there is an opening and an intrusion-resistant grate such as described above, that covers the opening and is fastened to the edge parts of the fascia surrounding the opening or the panel respectively. The associated fastening anchors are fastened to these edge sections.

Furthermore, the invention concerns a section for the grate described here, equipped with a U-shaped cross-section which is determined by a double-walled hollow leg, a single-walled leg and a double-walled hollow spacer connecting the double-walled hollow leg and the single-walled leg, in which the cavities of the double-walled flange and the double-walled spacer cross into each other. As an alternative the second leg can also be hollow. Possibly only one leg can be hollow, in the course of which the other leg and the spacer are single-walled.

Furthermore, the invention concerns in combination a section such as described above and an L-shaped reinforcement which is incorporated into the cavities of the double-walled leg and of the double-walled spacer that cross into each other. The combination can also consist of a U-shaped reinforcement incorporated in a correspondingly shaped cavity in the section or a strip-shaped reinforcement likewise in a correspondingly shaped cavity. In particular, that section can be made of aluminium or plastic and the reinforcement can be made of iron, such as steel.

The invention will be explained below in more detail using the embodiment shown in the figures.

Figure 1 shows a horizontal cross-section through a vertical section of the grate.

Figure 2 shows a horizontal cross-section door the complete grate.

Figure 3 shows a rear view of the grate in perspective.

Figure 4 shows a front view of the grate in perspective and a structure with opening over which the grate must be fitted.

Figure 5 shows a horizontal cross-section of a variant.

Figure 6 shows a horizontal cross-section of a further variant.

The grate I shown in Figures 1-4 consists of the frame 22 and the sheets 6. The frame 22 consists of the vertical sections 2, 3 and the horizontal sections 4, 5 connecting these. The vertical sections 2, 3 have a predominantly L-shaped cross-section with hollow parts 27 and 28. The horizontally oriented sheets 6, which are partially perforated as is shown in 7, extend between these vertical sections 2, 3. The sheets 6 all have top edges 8, 9. Facing each top edge 8 and 9 respectively there is a leg in the hollow part 28 of the vertical sections 2 and 3 respectively. Furthermore, each vertical section 8, 9 has a leg 11 in the hollow part oriented vertical to the first leg 10 27, that extends over a section of the sheets 7. The parts of the sheets 7 that are near the top edges 8, 9 are therefore incorporated and well protected behind these legs 11.

Finally, each vertical section 8, 9 has a single-walled flange 24 fastened to the first leg and spaced parallel to the second leg 11. A U-shaped cross-section is thus formed, between which the extremities of the sheets are incorporated. In this instance the sheets 6 are fastened to each other flange 24 by means of rivets 25. On the periphery of the frame the sections 2-5 have a cap 23, that blocks the area around the opening 21 (see Figure 4).

The L-shaped section with the legs 10, 11 is double-walled and encloses a cavity 12 consisting of the parts 27, 28. In this cavity 12 is the reinforcement 13, which likewise has an L-shaped cross-section with the legs 14 and 15. The leg 14 of the reinforcement is in the hollow part 28 of the leg 10 of the section 2, 3 opposite the top edges 8, 9 in the leg 10 of the vertical sections 2, 3, the leg 15 of the reinforcement 13 extends over the front side of the sheets 6 and is located in the hollow part 27 of the leg 11 of a vertical section 2, 3.

The leg 14 of.the reinforcement 13 and the leg 10 of the vertical sections 2, 3 are fastened to the anchoring strips 17 by means of rivets 16. These strips 17 can in turn be solidly fixed to the side edges 19 and the top edge and bottom edge 18 of the structure 20, such as a building element, in which the opening 21 is located. After the grate 3 is solidly anchored to the structure 20, for example by means of bolts and the like which are passed through the openings of the anchoring strips 17 and into the upper edge, top edge, bottom edge and side edges respectively, the opening 21 is safely protected against intrusion by the grate 3. This solid safety feature is formed by the L-shaped reinforcement 13. In these vertical sections 2, 3, which ensure that the sheets 6 are solidly incorporated in the grate. If the reinforcement is of steel, the sections 2, 3 cannot or can hardly be distorted, so that forcing of the grate is excluded.

The horizontal sections 4, 5 can possibly be executed in the same maimer as the vertical sections 2, 3, with an L-shaped cross-section and incorporated L-shaped reinforcement. In the variant of Figure 5 a strip-shaped reinforcement 13' in the form of a single leg 15 is used. This strip-shaped leg 15 is located in a correspondingly shaped cavity 12' with only the hollow part 27 of the vertical section 2'. Furthermore, this section has a single-walled spacer 23 and a single-walled leg 33. The sheets 6 included in this variant are also protected behind the strip-shaped leg 15 and the strip-shaped reinforcement 13'.

In the variant in Figure 6 the flange 24 is executed with double walls, so that the hollow part 27 passes from it into the hollow part 28 of the spacer 30 of the vertical section 2". In this instance the reinforcement 13" is U-shaped, and, in addition to the leg 15 and the spacer 31, has a leg 26 that extends into the hollow part 29 of the double-walled flange 24. In this variant the sheets 6 are incorporated between the two flanges 11, 24 and the legs 15, 26 of the reinforcement 13".

List of drawing references 1. Grate 2, 2", 2" Vertical section 3. Vertical section 4. Horizontal section 5. Horizontal section 6. Sheet 7. Perforation sheet 8. Sheet top edge 9. Sheet top edge 10. Vertical section leg/spacer 11. Vertical section leg 12, 12', 12" Cavity in vertical section 13, 13', 13". Reinforcement 14. Reinforcement leg/spacer 15. Reinforcement leg 16. Rivets 17. Anchoring strip 18. Horizontal fastening edge of structure 20 19. Vertical fastening edge of structure 20 20. Structure, such as a fascia 21. Opening in structure 20 22. Frame 23. Cap 24. Vertical section leg 25. Rivet 26. Reinforcement leg 27. Part of cavity 12, 12', 12" 28. Part of cavity 12', 12" 29. Part of cavity 12" 30. Vertical section spacer 2" 31. Spacer reinforcement 13" 32. Single-walled spacer 33. Single-walled leg

Claims

Claims 1. Intrusion-resistant grate (1), comprising a frame (22) and evenly spaced sheets (6) incorporated into the frame, this frame (22) comprising sections (2, 2', 2", 3) which are located on opposite top edges (8, 9)of the sheets (6), characterised in that the sections (6) have a closed cavity (12, 12', 12") in the direction of the periphery, that reinforcement (3, 13', 13") is incorporated in each case in the cavity of the sections (2, 2', 2", 3) and that each cavity (12. 12', 12") and each reinforcement (13, 13', 13") extends over the sheets seen from the direction of the top edges (8, 9) of the sheets (6).
2. Grate (1), in which the sections (2', 3) have an essentially L-shaped cross-section so that one leg (11) of the section extends in each case from a top edge (8, 9) and the other leg (10) of the section (2') extends over this top edge (8, 9).
3. Grate in accordance with Claim I or 2, in which the sections (2", 3) have an essentially U-shaped cross-section, so that two legs (11, 24) of the section (2") on opposite sides of a sheet (6) extend in each case from a top edge (8, 9) and a spacer (30) that connects the legs (11, 24) extends over this top edge (8, 9).
4. Grate (1) in accordance with one of the preceding Claims, in which the sections (2, 2', 2", 3) comprise a cavity (12, 12', 12") that in each case extends from a top edge (8, 9).
5. Grate (1) in accordance with Claim 4, in which the reinforcement (13) is in strip form (15) is and is located in the cavity (12) of each section (2, 3).
6. Grate (1) in accordance with Claim 2, in which the sections (2', 3) comprise an essentially L-shaped cavity (12') so that one part (28) of the L-shaped cavity extends in each case from a top edge (8, 9) and the other part (27) of the L-shaped cavity extends over this top edge (8, 9).
7. Grate (1) in accordance with (1) Claim 6, in which the reinforcement (13') is L-shaped, so that one leg (14, 15) of the L-shape of the reinforcement is extended into one part (27, 28) of the L-shaped cavity (12') of the section (2', 3) and the other leg (14, 15) of the L-shape of the reinforcement (13') is extended into the other part (27, 28) of the L-shaped cavity (12') of the section (2', 3).
8. Grate (1) in accordance with one of the preceding Claims, in which the sections (2", 3) comprise an essentially U-shaped cavity (12"), so that in each case two parts (28, 29) of the U-shaped cavity extend in each case from a top edge (8, 9) and these parts (28, 29) are connected to each other by a hollow intermediate section (27) that extends over this top edge (8,9).
9. Grate (1) in accordance with Claim 8, in which the reinforcement (13") is U-shaped so that two legs (15, 26) of the U-shape of the reinforcement extend in each case into the two parts (28, 29) of the U-shaped cavity (12") from a top edge (8, 9); these two legs (15, 26) are connected together by a spacer (31) located in the part (27) of the U-shaped cavity that extends over this top edge (8, 9).
10. Grate (1) in accordance with one of the preceding Claims, in which fastening anchors (17) are provided on the top edges (8, 9) the for fastening the grate (11) to the borders (18, 19) of an opening (21), with these fastening anchors (17) being fastened by means of rivets and the like to the leg (12) of the reinforcement (13) that extends over a top edge (8, 9).
11. Grate (1) in accordance with one of the preceding Claims, in which the sections (2, 3) each comprise a flange-shaped cap (23), with these caps being turned away from each other.
12. Grate (1) in accordance with Claim 8, in which each sheet (7) is attached to one of the legs (14, 15, 26) of each section.
13. Grate (1) in accordance with one of the preceding Claims, in which the sections (2, 2', 2", 3) extending along the top edges (8, 9) of the sheets (7) are attached to each other at their extremities by cross sections (4, 5).
14. Fascia structure or panel structure comprising a fascia (20) or a panel respectively in which there is an opening (21) and an intrusion-resistant grate (1) in accordance with one of the preceding Claims that covers the opening and that is fastened to the edge sections (18, 19) of the fascia or panel respectively surrounding the opening.
15. Structure in accordance with Claim 14 when dependent on Claim 10, in which the fastening anchors (17) are fastened to the edge parts (18, 19).
16. Structure in accordance with Claim 13 of 14 when dependent on Claim 5, in which the caps (23) cover the edge sections (18, 19).
17. U-shaped section (2) for the grate (1) in accordance with Claim 5, comprising a hollow leg (11), a single-walled leg (32) and a single-walled spacer (33).
18. U-shaped section (2') for the grate in accordance with Claim 6 or 7, comprising a hollow leg (11), a single-walled leg (32) and a hollow spacer (10),
19. U-shaped section (2") for the grate in accordance with Claim 8 or 9, comprising two hollow legs (15, 24) and a hollow spacer (30),
20. In combination, a U-shaped section (2, 2', 2') in accordance with one of Claims 17-19 and a reinforcement (13) matching the shape of the cavity and that is incorporated in this cavity.