SE538589C2 - Facade element and fire protection rail for connection therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

13 ABSTRACT The present invention relates to a façade element (2) and a f1re protection rail(20) for retrofitting the façade element With fire protection. The façade element (2)comprises a frame (l2) and façade material (14). The frame (l2) is provided to surroundand hold the façade material (14). An elongate recess (l0) With an undercut (ll) isextending along a the Width (W) of the façade element (2), on the side of the façadeelement (2) that is facing an interior of a building onto Which the façade element (2) ismounted, said recess (10) With the undercut (1 1) being adapted for receiving a fire protection rail (20) in a locking engagement. Fig. 5

Description

FACADE ELEMENT AND FIRE PROTECTION RAIL FOR CONNECTIONTHEREWITH Technical field The present disclosure relates to a façade element and f1re protection rail for connection thereWith.

Background art Multi-storey buildings can be constructed in a variety of Ways. Common to all multi-storey buildings, however, is a façade element. The façade element can be constructedto constitute an integral part of the building as a load bearing component or it may onlyserve as a Weather protective layer. There may of cause also be different combinationsof façade elements With load bearing properties and Weather protective layers. If thefaçade element only is used as a Weather protective layer to seal the building then it isusually formed as a plate. In such a case the multi-story building comprises a building structure onto Which the plate formed façade elements are attached.

It is common that the façade elements arrive at the Working site on pallets. These palletsare then off-loaded by a toWer crane, a mobile crane, a site hoist or the like and lifted tothe floor of the multi-story building on Which they are to be mounted. This step oflifting and installing façade elements is one of the most time consuming tasks When anew multi-story building is built. Thus, by reducing this time it is possible to reduce theoverall time it takes to complete the Who le multi-story building. A further draWback ofthe conventional construction method is that handling and storage of the façadeelements occupies space on the construction site. Moreover, unloading, transporting and installation of the façade panels demands a lot of manual labor Brunkeberg Systems AB has developed an efficient method for mounting façadeelements Which substantially reduces the time to unload, lift and mount façade elementson a building structure of a multi-story building. According to the method, Which isdisclosed in WO2010070082, façade elements are transported on a conveyer directlyfrom a delivery truck to a multi-storey building. The façade elements are then hoisted by an elevator unit, i.e. a crane, Whilst inserted in slots of guiding rails mounted on the building structure, i.e. the vertical edges of the façade element will run in slots whilehoisted. This will make the hoisting procedure less sensitive to weather conditions, suchas wind, since the façade elements run steadily in the slots. The guiding-rails aremounted on the building structure all the way up to the floor that is beneath the floor tobe mounted, i.e. with this method the façade elements are mounted from the bottom andup. When the façade elements have reached the floor on which they are to be mountedthey are pushed in a horizontal direction towards the building and attached appropriatelyto the building.

When the façade elements have been mounted onto the building structure for one floor,the interior work of that floor may start, i.e. equip and decorate the floor. One importanttask is to accomplish fire protection between the different floors of the multi-storeybuilding. Typically this is done by spraying some foam that will need to cure or usesome other type of sealing and together with some adhesive. These materials are notalways healthy to deal with and it also takes time provide the fire sealing between thefloors of the building. The sealing is also sometimes mounted onto the façade elementwhich might damage the façade element. The façade element therefore needs to bedesigned with greater dimensions then is actually necessary for withstanding the weather and wind conditions.

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to achieve a façade element whichfacilitates the installation of fire sealing between the floors. In particular, it is an objectof the present invention to achieve a façade element which does not have to bedimensioned to take into account damages caused by installing fire protection.

A further object of the present invention is to achieve a fire protection rail forengagement with the façade element, which fire protection rail easy may be retrofitted to the façade element without causing damages.

Summary of the invention According to a first aspect of the present disclosure at least one of these objectsis achieved by a façade element comprising a frame and façade material, wherein theframe is provided to surround and hold the façade material. An elongate recess with an undercut is extending along a width W of the façade element, on the side of the façade element that is facing an interior of a building onto Which the façade element ismounted, said recess With the undercut being adapted for receiving a fire protection rail in a locking engagement.

According to some embodiments the façade element may be provided With a recess that is substantially L-shaped or a recess that is substantially anchor-shaped.

According to a second aspect of the present disclo sure at least one of these objects isachieved by a fire protection rail for engagement With a façade element. The façadeelement comprises a frame and façade material, Wherein the frame is provided tosurround and hold the façade material The fire protection rail comprises a L-shapedlifting portion, a shoulder and a locking mechanism, Which are adapted to be receivedby and be in locking engagement With an elongate recess of the frame. The recess hasan undercut and extending along the entire Width W of the façade element, the length ofthe recess corresponding to a length of the fire protection rail, such that When the fireprotection rail is in an engaged state the L-shaped lifting portion is inserted in the recessof the frame and the shoulder rests on a surface of the façade element that is facing aninterior of a building onto Which the façade element is to be mounted and the locking mechanism rests on the same surface, but at the opposite side of the recess.

Furthermore, the locking mechanism is pivotable between an open position, in Whichthe fire protection rail is insertable into the recess of the frame and a locked position, in Which is the fire protection rail is in lo cking engagement With the recess of the frame.

According to an exemplary embodiment the locking mechanism is provided With aspring biased locking ball adapted to engage a cavity of the fire protection rail, When the locking mechanism is in the locked position.

Furthermore, the fire protection rail may be provided With a fire sealing on one side of the fire protection rail.

With such a façade element provided with a recess having an undercut the façadeelement may be easily retrofitted with a fire protection rail. Furthermore, the frame ofthe façade element may be designed with smaller dimensions then is customary, sinceone now no longer need to damage the façade element when installing fire protection between the floors of the building.

By using a fire protection rail that it inserted into the elongate recess it is possible toretrofit the façade element with fire protection without out the need to use hazardousmaterials. Furthermore, the time to fit the fire protection rail by “snapping” it into to therecess and tuming the locking mechanism is negligible compared to the traditional way to install fire protection.

Brief description of drawingsThe inVention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l shows a schematic View of an exemplary embodiment of a façade element; Fig.2 exemplary L-shaped recess; is an enlarged side View of an upper part of the façade element, showing an Fig. 3 exemplary anchor-shaped recess; is an enlarged side View of the upper part of the façade element, showing an Fig. 4 shows a side View of a fire protection rail and part of a floor structure;Fig. 5 shows an enlarged side View of the fire protection rail and part of a ceilingstructure; Figs. 6-8 show enlarged views of different steps of the procedure of when the fire protection rail is brought into locking engagement with the recess of the façade element; Fig. 9 mechanism in an open position, and shows a partial front view of the fire protection rail, with the locking Pig. 10 mechanism in a locked position. shows a partial front view of the fire protection rail, with the locking Detailed description of the embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below withreference to the accompanying drawings in order for those skilled in the art to be able tocarry out the invention. The invention may, however, be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclo sure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Thus, the invention is only limited by the appended claims.

Figure 1 shows a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of a façade element 2.The façade element 2 comprises a recess 10, a frame 12, façade material 14, an upperpart 16, a lower part and a reinforcement frame 18. The main components of the façadeelement 2 are the façade material 14, the upper and lower part 16, 17 and the frame 12.The façade material may by any material suitable used for building multi-storybuildings, such as glass, concrete, metal, bricks, insulation etc. The façade element 2may comprise one or more façade materials in different combinations. Also the upperand lower part 16, 17 of the façade element 2 may be considered as a façade material oras part of the frame 12. In the exemplary embodiment of the façade element 2 in figure1, the façade material comprises glass (windows) 14 and a combination of aluminiumand insulation in the upper and lower part 16, 17. The aluminiuni/insulationcombination of the upper part 16 corresponds in this exemplary embodiment to an areaof a ceiling structure of the building, i.e. it will cover and extend below the ceilingstructure when mounted to the building structure. The lower part 17 corresponds to an area of a floor structure.

The façade material 14, 16 is surrounded and held by the frame 12. In the exemplaryembodiment disclosed in figure 1, the façade element 2 is further reinforced by a reinforcement post 18. The use of such a reinforcement post 18 is optional and depends on which size the façade element 2 has. As is realized by a person skilled in the art theremay be numerous ways to design reinforcement frame 18 and it is believed to be withinin the capabilities of such a person to design a suitable reinforcement frame taking thedimensions of the façade element into account. However, there may also be otherconsiderations than strength, such as the appearance of a façade element 2, when designing the reinforcement frame.

The façade element 2 in figure 1 is provided with two recesses 10 along the entire widthW of the façade element 2. There is actually only necessary with one recess dependingif a fire protection rail 20 is to seal against the floor or against the ceiling. The 10 recessat the lower part 17 is used for sealing against the floor and the recess 10 at the upperpart is used to seal against the ceiling. The recess 10 is designed and adapted to receivea fire protection rail, with help of which the façade element 2 may be retrofitted withfire protection. The recess 10 will be closer described in conjunction with figures 2 and3 and the fire protection rail will be closer described in conjunction with figures 4 and 5.The interaction between the recess 10 and the fire protection rail and how they are brought into a locking engagement is closer described in conjunction with figures 6 to 8.

Tuming now to Figure 2 an exemplary embodiment of the recess 10 will be described.The recess 10 is as mentioned above provided on the upper part 16 or the lower part 17of the frame 12, i.e. a mounting area. Figure 2 shows an enlarged side view of one ofthe mounting areas of the façade element 2. The recess 10 is provided with an undercut11, i.e. it has a hollow space under the surface 4 of the frame 12. The surface 4 is thesurface of the façade element 2 that is facing an interior of a building when the façadeelement 2 is mounted onto the building structure. The undercut 11 is, in the embodimentof figure 2, defined as being the hollow space that is to the left of an axis X that isperpendicular to the surface 4 and running adjacent to the opening of the recess 10. Theundercut 11 is an important feature when bringing the fire protection rail 20 into lockingengagement with the recess 10 as will be explained further below. The shape of therecess 10 as seen in the enlarged side view of figure 2 may be defined as L-shaped or boot-shaped.

Figure 3 shows another exemplary embodiment of the recess 10. In this embodimentthe recess 10 is provided with two undercuts 11, 11” instead of one. The principles for the undercut are the same as in figure 2 and will therefore not be described again. The second undercut 11” in figure 3 is a mirror image of the first undercut 11 in figure 2,which gives the recess 10 an anchor-like shape or an upside-down T-shape. Oneadvantage with having a recess with double undercuts is that the fire protection rail maybe inserted into the recess 10 from two different directs, which may be beneficial duringthe retrofitting process of the façade elements 2. The recess 10 may also be useful formounting other types of rails as well. As is understood by a person skilled in the art therecess 10 may be designed in a Variety of ways. As mentioned above it is import that therecess has an undercut in order to create a locking engagement with the fire protectionrail. The important feature is that the undercut is adapted such as it may receive the fireprotection rail 20, and especially the lifting portion 21 of the fire protection rail 20. Inthe described embodiments the lifting portion 21 of the fire protection rail 20 is shownas L-shaped, but may for example also be J-shaped or any other suitable shape adapted for locking engagement with a mating recess 10 having an undercut 11.

Figure 4 shows a side view of a fire protection rail 20 mounted to a floor structure 40 ofa building. The fire protection rail 20 comprises a lifting portion 21, a shoulder 22, a fireprotection sealing 23, a locking mechanism 24. The fire protection rail 20 may bemanufactured in aluminium, steel or any other suitable metal or material with theproperties for sealing the space between two floors. The fire protecting sealing 23 maybe any suitable fire sealing on the market. In some exemplary embodiments the fireprotection rail 20 may be screwed onto the floor structure 40 to increase the sealingpressure. As mentioned above the fire protection rail 20 has the same length as thelength as the width W of the façade element 2.

Figure 5 shows an enlarged side view of the fire protection rail 20 mounted to a ceilingstructure 50 instead of the floor structure. Other then that there are no differencesbetween the embodiments in figure 4 and 5 and the description there of is not repeated once again.

Figures 6 to 8 show enlarged views of different stages of the procedure when the fireprotection rail 20 is brought into locking engagement with the recess 10 of the façadeelement 11. In Figure 6 a first stage of the locking engagement between the fireprotection rail 20 and the recess 10 is shown. In this stage the fire protection rail 20 isangled and the L-shaped lifting portion 21 of the fire protection rail 20 is inserted into the recess 10. As soon as the L-shaped lifting portion has been inserted into the recess 10, the fire protection rail 21 is rotated in the direction of the arrow T into an uprightposition, i.e. perpendicular to the surface 4 of the upper part 16 of the frame 12. During this movement the L-shaped lifting portion 21 will slide into the undercut 11.

In Figure 7 the fire protection rail 20 is shown in its upright position. In this positionthe upper part of the L-shaped recess 10 is almost completely filled out by the L-shapedlifting portion 21. The shoulder 22 of the fire protection rail 20 is designed such that itabuts the surface 4 of the frame 12 when the fire protection rail 20 has reached its finalupright position. In this position the fire protection rail 20 cannot be rotated anymore inthe direction of arrow T, since the abutment of the shoulder 22 works as a stopper forthe rotational movement in the direction of arrow T. Also the design of the L-shapedlifting portion 21 of the fire protection rail 20 and the undercut 11 of the recess 10 actsas a stopper, since the L-shaped lifting portion 21 will abut the surface of the undercut11 when the fire protection rail 20 is in its final upright position. Thus, the fireprotection rail 20 is securely fixed into recess 10 and may withstand forces applied inthe direction of the arrow T. However, if forces are applied in an opposite direction ofthe arrow T the fire protection rail 20 will reverse its previous movement and fall out ofthe recess 10. To prevent such a movement and securely fix the fire protection rail 20 inthe upright position the fire protection rail 20 is provided with a locking mechanism 24.In figure 7 the locking mechanism 24 is shown in an open position, i.e. the fire protection rail 20 has not been securely fixed into the recess 10.

Tuming now to Figure 8 the locking mechanism 24 is shown in a locked position. Infigure 8, the area of the locking mechanism 24 is also shown in an enlarged view inorder to better understand how the looking mechanism 24 functions. The lockingmechanism 24 may be a block that is pivotally attached to the fire protection rail 20.When the locking mechanism 24 is in its closed position one end surface of the lockingmechanism 24 is in abutment with the surface 4 of the frame 12. In this position the fireprotection rail 20 is in a locking engagement with the recess 10. In a preferredembodiment the locking mechanism 24 may furtherrnore be provided with a spring-biased ball 26. The spring-biased ball 26 is adapted to interact with a cavity 29 providedon the fire protection rail 20. The cavity 29, the ball 26 and the spring 28 are best shownin the enlarged view of figure 8. When the locking mechanism 24 is tumed from theopen position to the locking position the spring 28 will push the ball 28 into the cavity 29 when the locking mechanism 24 has reached its final position and thereby securely fix the fire protection rail 20 into the reoess 10. As realized by a person skilled in the artthere may be many other ways of seouring the looking mechanism 24 in its lookingposition, such as spring-biased pins, pins and ho les or a groove in the fire protection railadapted to receive the looking meohanism when it is in its final position eto. It is ofoourse also possible to provide the spring-biased ball on the fire proteotion rail and the oavity in the looking meohanism instead.

Even if the steps of engagement between the fire proteotion rail 20 and the reoess 10 infigures 6 to 8 relate to a reoess having a L-shaped oross seotion, the steps are of ooursealso applioable for the anohor shaped reoess shown in figure 3 or any other suitable reoess having an underout.

Figure 9 and Figure 10 show a partial front view of the fire proteotion rail with thelooking meohanism 24 in is its open and looking position, respeotively. The springbiased-ball 26 is indioated in the figures by dotted lines, sinoe it is hidden by the lookingmeohanism 24 in figures 9 and 10. In figures 9 and 10 the full length of the fireproteotion rail 20 is not show, but only the two ends where the looking meohanisms 24are provided. The number of looking meohanisms 24 depends on the length of the fireproteotion rail 20, and is preferably two for a façade element with a width W of 3 m.The length of the fire proteotion rail 20 oorresponds to the entire width W of the façadeelement 2.

Thus, it is believed that different embodiments have been desoribed thoroughly forpurpose of illustration and desoription. However, the foregoing desoription is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit example embodiments to the preoise formdisolosed. Thus, modifioations and variations are possible in light of the aboveteaohings or may be aoquired from praotioe of various altematives to the providedembodiments. The examples disoussed herein were ohosen and desoribed in order toexplain the prinoiples and the nature of various example embodiments and its praotioalapplioation to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the example embodiments invarious manners and with various modifioations as are suited to the partioular useoontemplated. The features of the embodiments desoribed herein may be oombined inall possible oombinations of methods, tools, modules and systems. It should beappreoiated that any of the example embodiments presented herein may be used in oonjunotion, or in any oombination, with one another. lO It should also be noted that the Word “comprising” does not necessarily excludethe presence of other elements or steps than those listed and the Words “a” or “an”preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. Itshould fiJrther be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the exampleembodiments and that several “means”, “units” or “tools” may be represented by the same item of hardware.

Claims (8)

1. A façade element (2) comprising a frame (12) and façade material (14), Wherein the frame (12) is provided to surround and hold the façade material (14),characterized in that an elongate recess (10) With an undercut (11) is extending along aWidth (W) of the façade element (2), on the side of the façade element (2) that is facingan interior of a building onto Which the façade element (2) is mounted, said recess (10)With the undercut (11) being adapted for receiving a fire protection rail (20) in a locking engagement.

2. The façade element (2) according to claim 1, Wherein the recess (10) is substantially L-shaped.

3. The façade element (2) according to claim 1, Wherein the recess (10) is substantially anchor-shaped.

4. A fire protection rail (20) for engagement With a façade element (2), saidfaçade element (2) comprising a frame (12) and façade material (14), Wherein the frame(12) is provided to surround and hold the façade material (14), said fire protection rail(20) comprising a L-shaped lifting portion (21), a shoulder (22) and a lockingmechanism (24), Which are adapted to be received by and be in locking engagementWith an elongate recess (10) of the frame (12), said recess (10) having an undercut (11)and extending along the entire Width (W) of the façade element (2), the length of therecess (10) corresponding to a length of the fire protection rail (20), such that When thefire protection rail (20) is in an engaged state the L-shaped lifting portion (21) isinserted in the recess (10) of the frame (12) and the shoulder (22) rests on a surface (4)of the façade element (2) that is facing an interior of a building onto Which the façadeelement is to be mounted and the locking mechanism (24) rests on the same surface (4), but at the opposite side of the recess (10).

5. The fire protection rail (20) according to claim 4, Wherein the locking mechanism (24) is pivotable between an open position, in Which the fire protection rail 12 (20) is insertable into the recess (10) of the frame (12) and a locked position, in Which is the fire protection rai1 (20) is in locking engagement With the recess (10) of the frame (12).

6. The fire protection rai1 (20) according to c1aims 5, Wherein the lockingmechanism (24) is provided With a spring biased locking ball (26) adapted to engage acavity (29) of the fire protection rai1 (20), When the locking mechanism (24) is in a locked position.

7. The fire protection rai1 (20) according to any of c1aims 4 to 6, Wherein the fire protection rai1 (20) is provided With tWo locking mechanisms (24).

8. The fire protection rai1 (20) according to any of c1aims 4 to 7, Whereinthe fire protection rai1 (20) is provided With a fire sea1ing (23) on one side of the fire protection rai1.