GB2591430A

GB2591430A - Structural Beam for a balcony chassis

Info

Publication number: GB2591430A
Application number: GB1914127.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Neil Pressland Adam
Original assignee: Group Y Ltd
Current assignee: Group Y Ltd
Priority date: 2019-10-01
Filing date: 2019-10-01
Publication date: 2021-08-04
Also published as: GB201914127D0

Abstract

A structural beam 110 for a balcony chassis 100, the beam being elongate and having a channel 112 in its elongate direction, the channel having a profile configured to slidably retain a fixing member 210 for mounting a component to the chassis. The component may be a structural beam, balustrade, soffit panel, floor member, fascia panel or lifting member. The channel opening may be narrower than the width of the channel behind. The channel profile may be C-shaped, cross-shaped, or a cross-slot. Two or more parallel channels may be formed in the elongate direction of the beam. The beam may be rectangular in cross section with a channel in each of four planar external faces 111, 113, 115, 117. The beam may be hollow and formed by extrusion. Also claimed is a balcony chassis comprising the beam, and a balcony supported on one or more cantilevered beams projecting from a structure 200 and including the chassis. The fixing member may comprise a threaded plate or nut 210 which slots into the channel and which engages bolt 211. The beam may be aluminium, steel, or GRP.

Description

Structural Beam for a Balcony Chassis

Technical Field

The invention relates to a structural beam for a balcony chassis, to a balcony chassis including a structural beam, and to a balcony for attachment to a structure (e.g. a building), the balcony being supported on one or more cantilevered beams projecting from the structure when installed, the balcony having a chassis including a structural beam.

Background

Current balcony chassis designs comprise several bespoke formed steel or aluminium members which are fabricated into permanent/adjustable connections. Forming these members generally involves welding. Forming the chassis via welding can introduce issues with tolerances as well as requiring specialist tradesmen.

Once formed, the existing chassis will typically require manipulation and further fabrication steps (e.g. drilling holes, fitting brackets, welding, cutting openings) to fit accessory elements to the balcony such as flooring, soffit panels, thresholds, and balustrading. Consistent alignment of such items can be complicated and hard to achieve. Also, current welded chassis designs do not allow for adjustments or movement to suit site tolerances. A further issue is that existing balcony chassis require bespoke attachment designs for each different balustrade systems (e.g. glass railings, metal railings, hybrid systems).

Current balcony structures typically require the product to be pre-fabricated off site, and then transported to site as a complete unit on a large truck. This is inefficient because even the largest trucks may only be able to accommodate 3 or so balconies in one trip.

Chassis designs dictate that there is a minimum requirement of 4 members; front, 2 sides, and rear. Current chassis designs use open-sided sections such as l-beams, PFC (parallel flange channel), or C-section channel. These open-sided designs require careful configuration for structural load pathing.

Current chassis designs require additional parts for mounting balustrades. Current attachment methods typically require additional brackets and/or parts to be drilled or welded to the base chassis. They do not facilitate adjustment of the balustrade alignment.

Managing water on the balcony is typically achieved by pitching soffit panels at an angle, or by forming a drainage tray. The chassis plays no role in managing the water on the balcony other than to support drainage components.

Summary of issues with current chassis designs:

* do not allow for universal attachments of items such flooring, soffit panels, thresholds, and balustrading; * formed via welded connections and therefore can be inconsistent and will always require specialist fabrication skills; * do not allow for standardisation of parts to form the chassis; * positional adjustment of parts (such as balustrades or decking) is not possible with current chassis fabrication methods; * fabricated from open-sided sections and using traditional fabrication methods -i.e. cold rolled, pressed aluminum or stock steels; * require off-site fabrication and transportation is costly and inefficient; * do not support water management. 25 Summary of the Invention In accordance with a first aspect, the invention provides a structural beam for a balcony chassis, wherein the structural beam is elongate and has a channel in the elongate direction of the beam, the channel having a profile configured to slidably retain a fixing member for mounting a component to the chassis.

The fixing member is able to slide along the channel in the elongate direction, but is retained in the orthogonal direction and cannot be removed from the channel orthogonally.

The component may be any additional component or part of the chassis or the balcony. The component may comprise one or more of the following: structural beam, balustrade, soffit panel, floor member, fascia panel, lifting member. The component structural beam may be a further structural beam in accordance with the invention or may be a different type of beam.

In a preferred embodiment, a suitable channel profile for slidably retaining a fixing member is one in which the width of the channel opening (e.g. in the face or side of the beam) is narrower than the width of the channel behind. Examples include a channel profile which is C-shaped or cross-shaped, a T-slot or a cross-slot. The channel profile is preferably "blind", in other words, apart from at the opening, the channel space is enclosed by material of the beam. This is preferably the case for beams which are substantially hollow, as discussed further below.

Two or more parallel channels may be formed in the elongate direction of the beam, each channel having a profile configured to slidably retain a fixing member for mounting a component to the chassis. This provides additional mounting points, e.g. in a vertical direction, to provide a spread of mounting points. When mounting a balustrade, this increases the ability of the balustrade to withstand horizontal forces in use.

The channel or channels referred to above, when formed in the same face or side of the structural beam and opening in the same direction, may be referred to as "first channels".

The structural beam may have any suitable cross-sectional shape or profile, and the exact configuration is not critical to the invention, as long as it is compatible with providing a channel along a face or side. The profile may be "closed", e.g. square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, or it may be "open", e.g. I-beam, PFC, C-section, etc. The beam may be solid or hollow.

Preferably, the structural beam has a first substantially planar external face in which the one or more channels (first channels) are formed. The structural beam may have a plurality of substantially planar external faces. In a preferred embodiment, the structural beam has a substantially rectangular cross-section with four substantially planar external faces. A substantially rectangular cross-section includes a square cross-section.

Preferably, the structural beam has a second channel having a profile configured to slidably retain a second fixing member for mounting a second component to the chassis. As opposed to the first channels, the second channel will be formed in a different side or face from the first channel, opening in a different direction.

The second channel may have a profile configured to slidably retain a fixing member for attachment of the beam to other structural beams of the chassis. These other structural beams may be the same as or different from the structural beam of this aspect of the invention.

The second channel may have a profile configured to slidably retain a lifting member for lifting the structural beam and/or the balcony chassis during fabrication or installation.

The second channel may have a profile configured to slidably retain a fixing member for mounting a soffit panel to the underside of the balcony chassis.

The second component may be any additional component or part of the chassis or the balcony. The second component may comprise one or more of the following: structural beam, balustrade, soffit panel, floor member, fascia panel, lifting member.

In any embodiment, the fixing member may comprise a plate which slots into the channel and which is movable along the channel to the desired position for securing the balustrade in position. For example, the plate may provide a threaded stud or a threaded hole which corresponds with a fastener (e.g. a nut or bolt) to secure the balustrade in position. The fixing member may be a conventional fastener, such as a nut or bolt for example. The lifting member may comprise a slidable base which slots into the channel and a lifting eye or hook which projects from the channel to allow lifting of the structural beam and/or the balcony chassis during fabrication or installation.

In use when installed, the first face is preferably configured to be mounted substantially vertically for attachment of the balustrade thereto. A further innovation of the present invention in preferred embodiments is the provision of a further channel in the upper, horizontal face of the structural beam. This further channel may have a profile configured to slidably retain a lifting member for lifting the structural beam and/or the balcony chassis during fabrication or installation. Alternatively, or in addition, this channel may serve as a water management channel after installation.

In any of the above embodiments, it is preferable that the or each channel runs the length of the structural beam. As mentioned above, the structural beam may have a hollow section. Preferably, the section is a box section (i.e. square or rectangular) or a structural section. The material of the beam in section is preferably continuous or unbroken, so there are no gaps or apertures in the section, other than the channel opening (which, as mentioned above, is preferably "blind").

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the structural beam has the same section along its length such that the beam may be formed by extrusion. The structural beam may be formed from any suitable material including aluminium or steel. However, other materials such as GRP may also be suitable. Aluminium is a preferred material if the beam is made by extrusion.

In accordance with a second aspect, the invention provides a balcony chassis comprising at least one structural beam as described above.

In accordance with a third aspect, the invention provides a balcony for attachment to a structure, the balcony being supported on one or more cantilevered beams projecting from the structure when installed, the balcony including a chassis as described above. This type of installation may be described as a "drop-on" installation as opposed to a "slide-on" installation.

The chassis preferably comprises a plurality of structural beams as described above, wherein the beams form the perimeter of the chassis on at least three sides. For example, the chassis may comprise a front structural beam (typically, the beam furthest from the structure and extending parallel to the wall of the structure) and two side structural beams (typically extending orthogonally to wall of the structure). The chassis is preferably generally rectangular or square in plan view. It may have a perimeter defined by right and left sides, a front edge furthest from the structure when installed and a rear edge closest to the structure.

The chassis may further include one or more intermediate structural beams intermediate the side structural beams which are configured to attach to the one or more cantilevered beams when installed. These one or more intermediate structural beams may be the same as the structural beam of the invention or may be different, such as an I-beam, PFC (parallel flange channel), or C-section channel for example. These intermediate beams will typically run parallel to the sides of the chassis, i.e. orthogonally to the wall of the structure.

The chassis may further include a rear structural beam extending between the side structural beams and/or the intermediate structural beams. The rear structural beam may be the same as the structural beam of the invention or may be different, such as an I-beam, PFC (parallel flange channel), or C-section channel for example. In a preferred embodiment, the rear structural beam is a structural beam in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, and preferably includes a channel having a profile configured to slidably retain a lifting member for lifting the balcony chassis during fabrication or installation, and which may also function as a water management channel after installation. The rear beam will typically run parallel to the front beam/edge of the chassis, i.e. parallel to the wall of the structure.

In preferred embodiments, the balcony in accordance with the invention further comprises one or more of the following: balustrade, soffit panel, floor member, threshold member, fascia panel, fixing member, lifting member.

The present invention is designed to be compatible with all types of balustrade, including glass railings, metal railings and hybrid balustrades. The fascia panel may be mounted between the chassis and the balustrade. The soffit panel will typically be any suitable panel which is fitted on the underside of the chassis to provide a decorative panel which covers the chassis members, improving the aesthetics of the balcony when viewed from underneath. The fixing member and the lifting member are as described above.

The balcony preferably includes one or more floor members fitted to the top surface of the chassis. When a water management channel is provided in the top surface of any of the structural beams mentioned above, the floor member may include an aperture or other means to provide liquid communication from the top surface of the floor to the water management channel of the structural beam below.

At least in preferred embodiments, the invention provides a balcony chassis formed from an arrangement of identical perimeter structural members, which are preferably bolted together as described below. Continuous channels formed in the extrusion are the key feature to the structural chassis members. These channels allow for the universal attachment of items such as balustrades, other structural members, flooring, soffits, and thresholds. The integrated channels allow for the controlled alignment and adjustment of such attached parts and require no additional fabrication (e.g. cutting, drilling, welding) or adaptation.

The continuous channels act to offer accurate balustrade alignment as they remove the need to individually drill or weld fixings to the chassis. Therefore, the invention promotes standardisation.

The chassis perimeter extruded structural members offer integrated crane lifting support as well as an alternative water flow escape route. The balcony is formed by using only bolted parts, therefore the system is suitable for "flat packing" and transporting to site or a staging area for quick assembly pre-installation. This will dramatically reduce the transportation requirements, for example the number of truck movements required.

By making use of the extruded channels and steel bolted angles, the balcony system can be fully adjusted for horizontal movement of the flooring. This offers a significant benefit for site tolerances as well as for maintaining standardisation of the parts used.

The material used for the chassis is generally either aluminum or steel. However, the design will permit the use of other materials such as plastics, GRP, carbon fibre, glass, etc. By avoiding the use of open-sided sections such as l-beams, PFC and C-channel, the balcony chassis makes use of solid box beams which offers an increased load path for strength therefore resulting in fewer structural members being required. Each structural member represents a finished item and therefore no additional covering is necessary to hide unsightly framing, connections, or building anchors. With the hollow box-section structural members forming the periphery of the chassis, the design is aesthetically-pleasing. Therefore, fascia panels, soffits or other decorative panels, although they can be used if desired, are not necessarily required.

The front, side, intermediate and rear structural members have been designed to provide integrated water management. This is achieved via the flooring system managing the water into a channel on the structural beam, which directs the water to the ends of the channel at each side. The channel may also function as an integrated lifting support track.

In at least its preferred embodiments, the invention provides a balcony with a chassis design which is simple and yet strong enough to meet required standards and specifications. Because of the simplicity and standardisation of the design, manufacturing is straightforward. Assembly, whether carried out offside or onsite, is also straightforward, as is the "drop-on" installation method.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a balcony chassis in accordance with the invention with a balustrade; Fig. 2 shows a perspective view from above of the balcony chassis of Fig. 1, with the balustrade removed; Fig. 3 shows a perspective view from underneath of the balcony chassis of Fig. 1, with the balustrade removed; Fig. 4 shows a cross-sectional side elevation of the balcony chassis and balustrade of Fig. 1; and Figs. 5A, 5B and 5C show a plan view and side elevations of a balcony in accordance with the invention installed on a structure.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

With reference to Figs. 1 to 3, there is shown a balcony chassis 100 in accordance with the invention and a balustrade 200. Chassis 100 is shown attached to cantilevered beams 11 which are attached to and project from a building 10 shown in Fig. 5, discussed below.

Balcony chassis 100 comprises a front structural beam 110, left side structural beam 120 and right side structural beam 130. These beams form the periphery of the rectangular plan area of the chassis. Within the area defined by structural beams no, 120 and 130, conventional intermediate beams 140 (in this example, I-beams) are provided which connect between front structural beam 110 and cantilevered beams 11.

The final main structural member of chassis 100 is the rear structural beam 150 extending between the side structural beams 120, 130 and the intermediate beams 140. The rear structural beam is comprised of individual beam sections 151, 152, 153 and 154 which combine to form an effective single rear structural beam across the width of the chassis.

The front and side structural beams 110, 120 and 130 are formed from rectangular-section beam in accordance with the invention. The beams are preferably extruded aluminium. Although while still in accordance with the invention, the beams could have different sections or profiles, a significant advantage of the invention is that the beams are identical in section, which therefore only requires one profile of beam to be manufactured. In this embodiment, all three beams are identical in section.

The rear structural beam 150 is also formed from the same rectangular-section beam, although it could be formed from a different type of beam such as an I-beam, PFC (parallel flange channel), or C-section channel for example.

The profile of the rectangular-section beam in accordance with the invention is best seen with reference to Fig. 4. The profile of the front structural beam 110 and the various channels in the profile will be described, but the skilled person will appreciate that the side structural beams 120 and 130 will be configured in a very similar manner.

Front structural beam 110 has a square profile with four planar external faces. An integrated balustrade attachment system is provided on the front vertical face 111 by means of channels 112. Three channels are provided in the embodiment shown, but only two are in use for this particular balustrade design. The standardised profile design allows the attachment of any design of balustrade, and the number of fixing channels in use can be adjusted accordingly, depending on the engineering requirements.

Channels 112 run in an elongate direction along the length of the beam 110 and have a cross-slot profile, with the width of the channel opening in the face of the beam being narrower than the width of the channel behind. Balustrade fixing members 210 are slidably retained in the slot which forms the vertical part of the cross, so they are able to slide along the length of the channels 112. Fixing members 210 are in the form of plates or nuts and provide a threaded hole for bolts 211 to engage. The flexible attachment system allows the alignment of the balustrade 200 to be adjusted and the balustrade can then be securely fixed to the chassis 100 by tightening bolts 211. An optional fascia panel 212 can be provided between the balustrade 200 and chassis 100 if desired.

Two cross-slot channels 114 are provided in the rear vertical face 113 of beam 110 to slidably retain fixing members 160 which are employed to attach beam 110 to other structural members of the chassis 100 via plates 161. Similar channels 154 are provided in the rear structural beam 150.

The top face 115 of beam 110 is provided with a single cross-slot channel 116. A similar channel 156 is provided in the top face of rear beam 150. This channel serves to slidably locate a lifting eye for use during fabrication, transportation and installation, and/or a bolt 170 for securing flooring (not shown) to the chassis. Once installed, channels 116 and 156 serve as drainage channels.

The bottom face 117 of beam 110 is provided with a single cross-slot channel 118 for slidably locating a fixing for securing a soffit panel (not shown). A similar channel 158 is provided in the bottom face of rear beam 150.

Figs. 5A, 5B and 5C show the installation of balcony chassis 100 on a building 10 which has projecting cantilevered I-beams 11 secured into the structure by means of reinforcing bars 12. Fig. 5B and 5C show two different heights of the intermediate beams 140 relative to the front and rear structural beams 110 and 150. The installation method is a straightforward "drop-on" method, with the chassis 100 being lowered onto cantilevered I-beams 11 and secured in place by means of fasteners 13.

Claims

Claims 1. A structural beam for a balcony chassis, wherein the structural beam is elongate and has a channel in the elongate direction of the beam, the channel having a profile configured to slidably retain a fixing member for mounting a component to the chassis.
2. The structural beam of claim 1, wherein the component comprises one or more of the following: structural beam, balustrade, soffit panel, floor member, fascia panel, lifting member.
3. The structural beam of claim 1 or 2, wherein the width of the channel opening is narrower than the width of the channel behind.
4. The structural beam of any preceding claim, wherein the channel profile is C-shaped or cross-shaped.
5. The structural beam of any preceding claim, wherein two or more parallel channels are formed in the elongate direction of the beam, each channel having a profile configured to slidably retain a fixing member for mounting a component to the chassis.
6. The structural beam of any preceding claim, wherein the structural beam has a first substantially planar external face in which the one or more channels are formed.
7. The structural beam of claim 6, wherein the structural beam has a plurality of substantially planar external faces.
8. The structural beam of claim 6, wherein the structural beam has a substantially rectangular cross-section with four substantially planar external faces.
9. The structural beam of claim 7 or 8, wherein a second channel is formed in a second face of the beam, the channel having a profile configured to slidably retain a second fixing member for mounting a second component to the chassis.
10. The structural beam of claim 9, wherein the second component comprises one or more of the following: structural beam, balustrade, soffit panel, floor member, fascia panel, lifting member.
11. The structural beam of claim 7 or 8, wherein a second channel is formed in a second face of the beam, the second channel having a profile configured to slidably retain a lifting member for lifting the structural beam and/or the balcony chassis during fabrication or installation.
12. The structural beam of any of claims 6 to 11, wherein, in use, the first face is mounted substantially vertically.
13. The structural beam of claim 12, wherein a channel is formed in the upper, horizontal face for water management.
14. The structural beam of any preceding claim, wherein the or each channel runs the length of the structural beam.
15. The structural beam of any preceding claim, wherein the structural beam has a hollow section.
16. The structural beam of any preceding claim, wherein the structural beam has the same section along its length such that the beam may be formed by extrusion.
17. A balcony chassis comprising at least one structural beam as claimed in any preceding claim.
18. A balcony for attachment to a structure, the balcony being supported on one or more cantilevered beams projecting from the structure when installed, the balcony including a chassis as claimed in claim 17.
19. The balcony of claim 18, wherein the chassis comprises a plurality of structural beams as claimed in any of claims 1 to 16, wherein the structural beams form the perimeter of the chassis on at least three sides.
20. The balcony of claim 19, wherein the chassis comprises a front structural beam and two side structural beams.
21. The balcony of claim 20, wherein the chassis further includes one or more intermediate structural beams intermediate the side structural beams which are configured to attach to the one or more cantilevered beams when installed.
22. The balcony of claim 20 or 21, wherein the chassis further includes a rear structural beam extending between the side structural beams and/or the intermediate structural beams.
23. The balcony of claim 22, wherein the rear structural beam includes a channel having a profile configured to slidably retain a lifting member for lifting the balcony chassis during fabrication or installation and for water management after installation.
24. The balcony of any of claims 18 to 23, further comprising one or more of the following: balustrade, soffit panel, floor member, fascia panel.
25. The balcony of any of claims 18 to 23, further comprising a floor member which includes an aperture to provide liquid communication to the one or more structural beams of the chassis.