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

Description

25 30 538 589 building structure, i.e. the vertical edges of the façade element will run in slots while hoisted. This Will make the hoisting procedure less sensitive to weather conditions, such as wind, since the façade elements run steadily in the slots. The guiding-rails are mounted on the building structure all the Way up to the floor that is beneath the floor to be mounted, i.e. with this method the façade elements are mounted from the bottom and up. When the façade elements have reached the floor on which they are to be mounted they are pushed in a horizontal direction towards the building and attached appropriately to 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 important task is to accomplish fire protection between the different floors of the multi-storey building. Typically this is done by spraying some foam that will need to cure or use some other type of sealing and together with some adhesive. These materials are not always healthy to deal with and it also takes time provide the fire sealing between the floors of the building. The sealing is also sometimes mounted onto the façade element which might damage the façade element. The façade element therefore needs to be designed 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 which facilitates the installation of fire sealing between the floors. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to achieve a façade element which does not have to be dimensioned to take into account damages caused by installing fire protection.

A further object of the present invention is to achieve a fire protection rail for engagement 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 objects is achieved by a façade element comprising a frame and façade material, wherein the frame 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 10 15 20 25 30 538 589 element that is facing an interior of a building onto Which the façade element is mounted, 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 disclosure at least one of these objects is achieved by a fire protection rail for engagement With a façade element. The façade element comprises a frame and façade material, Wherein the frame is provided to surround and hold the façade material The fire protection rail comprises a L-shaped lifting portion, a shoulder and a locking mechanism, Which are adapted to be received by and be in locking engagement With an elongate recess of the frame. The recess has an undercut and extending along the entire width W of the façade element, the length of the recess corresponding to a length of the fire protection rail, such that When the fire protection rail is in an engaged state the L-shaped lifting portion is inserted in the recess of the frame and the shoulder rests on a surface of the façade element that is facing an interior 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 Which the fire protection rail is insertable into the recess of the frame and a locked position, in Which is the fire protection rail is in locking engagement With the recess of the frame.

According to an exemplary embodiment the locking mechanism is provided With a spring 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. 10 15 20 25 30 538 589 With such a façade element provided With a recess having an undercut the façade element may be easily retrofitted with a fire protection rail. Furthermore, the frame of the façade element may be designed with smaller dimensions then is customary, since one 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 to retrofit the façade element with fire protection without out the need to use hazardous materials. Furthermore, the time to fit the fire protection rail by “snapping” it into to the recess and turning the locking mechanism is negligible compared to the traditional way to install fire protection.

Brief description of drawings The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 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 ceiling structure; 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; 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 589 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 with reference to the accompanying drawings in order for those skilled in the art to be able to carry out the invention. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, 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 upper part 16, a lower part and a reinforcement frame 18. The main components of the façade element 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-story buildings, such as glass, concrete, metal, bricks, insulation etc. The façade element 2 may comprise one or more façade materials in different combinations. Also the upper and lower part 16, 17 of the façade element 2 may be considered as a façade material or as part of the frame 12. In the exemplary embodiment of the façade element 2 in figure 1, the façade material comprises glass (windows) 14 and a combination of aluminium and insulation in the upper and lower part 16, 17. The aluminium/insulation combination of the upper part 16 corresponds in this exemplary embodiment to an area of a ceiling structure of the building, i.e. it will cover and extend below the ceiling structure 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 exemplary embodiment 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 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 589 on Which size the façade element 2 has. As is realized by a person skilled in the art there may be numerous ways to design reinforcement frame 18 and it is believed to be within in the capabilities of such a person to design a suitable reinforcement frame taking the dimensions of the façade element into account. However, there may also be other considerations 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 width W of the façade element 2. There is actually only necessary with one recess depending if a fire protection rail 20 is to seal against the floor or against the ceiling. The 10 recess at the lower part 17 is used for sealing against the floor and the recess 10 at the upper part is used to seal against the ceiling. The recess 10 is designed and adapted to receive a fire protection rail, with help of which the façade element 2 may be retrofitted with fire protection. The recess 10 will be closer described in conjunction with figures 2 and 3 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.

Turning 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 17 of the frame 12, i.e. a mounting area. Figure 2 shows an enlarged side view of one of the mounting areas of the façade element 2. The recess 10 is provided with an undercut 11, i.e. it has a hollow space under the surface 4 of the frame 12. The surface 4 is the surface of the façade element 2 that is facing an interior of a building when the façade element 2 is mounted onto the building structure. The undercut 11 is, in the embodiment of figure 2, defined as being the hollow space that is to the left of an axis X that is perpendicular to the surface 4 and running adjacent to the opening of the recess 10. The undercut 11 is an important feature when bringing the fire protection rail 20 into locking engagement with the recess 10 as will be explained further below. The shape of the recess 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 embodiment the 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 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 589 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. One advantage with having a recess with double undercuts is that the fire protection rail may be inserted into the recess 10 from two different directs, which may be beneficial during the retrofitting process of the façade elements 2. The recess 10 may also be useful for mounting other types of rails as well. As is understood by a person skilled in the art the recess 10 may be designed in a variety of ways. As mentioned above it is import that the recess has an undercut in order to create a locking engagement with the fire protection rail. The important feature is that the undercut is adapted such as it may receive the fire protection rail 20, and especially the lifting portion 21 of the fire protection rail 20. In the described embodiments the lifting portion 21 of the fire protection rai120 is shown as 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 of a building. The fire protection rai120 comprises a lifting portion 21, a shoulder 22, a fire protection sealing 23, a locking mechanism 24. The fire protection rail 20 may be manufactured in aluminium, steel or any other suitable metal or material with the properties for sealing the space between two floors. The fire protecting sealing 23 may be any suitable fire sealing on the market. In some exemplary embodiments the fire protection rai120 may be screwed onto the floor structure 40 to increase the sealing pressure. As mentioned above the fire protection rail 20 has the same length as the length 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 ceiling structure 50 instead of the floor structure. Other then that there are no differences between 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 fire protection rail 20 is brought into locking engagement with the recess 10 of the façade element 11. ln Figure 6 a first stage of the locking engagement between the fire protection rail 20 and the recess 10 is shown. In this stage the fire protection rail 20 is angled 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 15 20 25 30 35 538 589 10, the fire protection rail 21 is rotated in the direction of the arrow T into an upright position, 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 position the upper part of the L-shaped recess 10 is almost completely filled out by the L-shaped lifting portion 21. The shoulder 22 of the fire protection rail 20 is designed such that it abuts the surface 4 of the frame 12 when the fire protection rail 20 has reached its final upright position. In this position the fire protection rail 20 cannot be rotated anymore in the direction of arrow T, since the abutment of the shoulder 22 works as a stopper for the rotational movement in the direction of arrow T. Also the design of the L-shaped lifting portion 21 of the fire protection rail 20 and the undercut 11 of the recess 10 acts as a stopper, since the L-shaped lifting portion 21 will abut the surface of the undercut 11 when the fire protection rail 20 is in its final upright position. Thus, the fire protection rail 20 is securely fixed into recess 10 and may withstand forces applied in the direction of the arrow T. However, if forces are applied in an opposite direction of the arrow T the fire protection rail 20 will reverse its previous movement and fall out of the recess 10. To prevent such a movement and securely fix the fire protection rai120 in the 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 rai120 has not been securely fixed into the recess 10.

Tuming now to Figure 8 the locking mechanism 24 is shown in a locked position. In figure 8, the area of the locking mechanism 24 is also shown in an enlarged view in order to better understand how the looking mechanism 24 fimctions. The locking mechanism 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 locking mechanism 24 is in abutment with the surface 4 of the frame 12. In this position the fire protection rail 20 is in a locking engagement with the recess 10. In a preferred embodiment 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 provided on the fire protection rail 20. The cavity 29, the ball 26 and the spring 28 are best shown in the enlarged view of figure 8. When the locking mechanism 24 is turned from the open 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 10 15 20 25 30 35 538 589 fix the fire protection rail 20 into the recess 10. As realized by a person skilled in the art there may be many other ways of securing the locking mechanism 24 in its locking position, such as spring-biased pins, pins and holes or a groove in the fire protection rail adapted to receive the locking mechanism when it is in its final position etc. It is of course also possible to provide the spring-biased ball on the fire protection rail and the cavity in the locking mechanism instead.

Even if the steps of engagement between the fire protection rail 20 and the recess 10 in figures 6 to 8 relate to a recess having a L-shaped cross section, the steps are of course also applicable for the anchor shaped recess shown in figure 3 or any other suitable recess having an undercut.

Figure 9 and Figure 10 show a partial front view of the fire protection rail with the locking mechanism 24 in is its open and locking position, respectively. The spring biased-ball 26 is indicated in the figures by dotted lines, since it is hidden by the locking mechanism 24 in figures 9 and 10. In figures 9 and 10 the full length of the fire protection rail 20 is not show, but only the two ends where the locking mechanisms 24 are provided. The number of locking mechanisms 24 depends on the length of the fire protection rail 20, and is preferably two for a façade element With a width W of 3 m.

The length of the fire protection rail 20 corresponds to the entire width W of the façade element 2.

Thus, it is believed that different embodiments have been described thoroughly for purpose of illustration and description. However, the foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit example embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Thus, modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various altematives to the provided embodiments. The examples discussed herein were chosen and described in order to explain the principles and the nature of various example embodiments and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the example embodiments in various manners and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The features of the embodiments described herein may be combined in all possible combinations of methods, tools, modules and systems. It should be appreciated that any of the example embodiments presented herein may be used in conjunction, or in any combination, with one another. 538 589 It should also be noted that the Word “comprising” does not necessarily exclude the 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. It should further be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the example embodiments and that several “means , units” or “tools” may be represented by the same item of hardware. 10

Claims (8)

10 15 20 25 30 538 589 CLAIMS

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 (1 1) is extending along a Width (W) of the façade element (2), on the side of the façade element (2) that is facing an 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 l, 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), said 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), said fire protection rail (20) comprising a L-shaped lifting portion (21), a shoulder (22) and a locking mechanism (24), Which are adapted to be received by and be in locking engagement With 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 the recess (10) corresponding to a length of the fire protection rail (20), such that When the fire protection rail (20) is in an engaged state the L-shaped lifting portion (21) is inserted 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 façade element 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 11 10 15 538 589 (20) is insertable into the recess (10) of the frame (12) and a locked position, in Which is the fire protection rail (20) is in locking engagement With the recess (10) of the frame (12).

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

7. The fire protection rail (20) according to any of claims 4 to 6, Wherein the fire protection rail (20) is provided With two locking mechanisms (24).

8. The fire protection rail (20) according to any of claims 4 to 7, Wherein the fire protection rail (20) is provided With a fire sealing (23) on one side of the fire protection rail. 12