WO2011095689A1

WO2011095689A1 - Balcony construction

Info

Publication number: WO2011095689A1
Application number: PCT/FI2011/050083
Authority: WO
Inventors: Erkki Vairinen
Original assignee: Jukova Oy
Priority date: 2010-02-04
Filing date: 2011-02-01
Publication date: 2011-08-11
Also published as: EP2531663A4; FI20105102A; EP2531663A1; DE11739446T8; FI20105102A0; DE11739446T1; FI123523B

Abstract

The invention relates to a balcony construction comprising at least two upper (1) and correspondingly at least two lower supporting cantilevers (2) to be fixed to a framework for supporting an upper (3) and a lower balcony element (4), and in which lower balcony element (4) is provided at least one dividing wall (5). The supporting cantilevers (1, 2) are essentially U-shaped in cross-section, opening upwards and forming a collection space (12) for any water entering the balcony element. At least one upper (1) and correspondingly at least one lower supporting cantilever (2) are mutually aligned on essentially the same vertical plane. Between the said mutually aligned upper and lower supporting cantilevers is at least one tubular, non-load- bearing support structure (6) of a dividing wall, which can be functionally connected to the said upper (1) and lower U-shaped supporting cantilevers (2) to guide water from the upper supporting cantilever (1) to the lower supporting cantilever (2).

Description

Balcony construction

The invention relates to a balcony construction comprising at least two upper and correspondingly at least two lower supporting cantilevers to be fixed to a framework for supporting an upper and a lower balcony element, and in which lower balcony element is provided at least one dividing wall.

Balcony elements, for example for ships, are presently made, for example, by welding cantilevers having a T-shaped cross-section to the side plate of a ship, onto which the balcony elements are mounted. Between the balcony elements is fixed a separate dividing wall which rests by its upper part on the upper balcony cantilever.

In this type of construction, a problem is constituted by rainwater and wash- ing water, which have to be led away from the balconies by means of a separate grate and a pipeline which perforates the floors of the balconies.

Another problem relating to this is that the seams between balcony elements and the lead-ins of the pipelines have to be sealed to prevent water from flowing to the lower balconies.

There are vertical pipes which form a part of the load-bearing structure and convey water from an upper level to a lower level. These load-bearing vertical pipes are, however, cumbersome to replace or install afterwards, should the need arise, and cleaning them is difficult.

The aim of the invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a rainwater and washing water discharge system integrated in a balcony construction. The balcony construction according to the invention is characterised in that the supporting cantilever s are essentially U-shaped in cross-section, opening upwards and forming a collection space for any water entering the balcony element, that at least one upper and correspondingly at least one lower sup- porting cantilever are mutually aligned on essentially the same vertical plane, and between the said mutually aligned upper arid lower supporting cantilever s is at least one tubular, non-load-bearing support structure of a dividing wall, which can be functionally connected to the said upper and lower U- shaped supporting cantilever s to guide water from the upper supporting cantilever to the lower supporting cantilever .

An advantage of the invention is that it facilitates installation and maintenance, because a non-load-bearing vertical pipe can easily be retrofitted and replaced as well as cleaned reasonably easily. Another advantage of the in- vention is that in addition to the load-bearing structures, no separate pipelines, or their sealing, are required for conveying rainwater and washing waters past the balcony construction.

The invention is described in greater detail in the following, with reference to the following non-restrictive drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of the balcony construction according to the invention, Figure 2 shows the fixing of the lower part of the support structure of the tubular non-load-bearing dividing wall,

Figure 3 shows the balcony construction according to the invention as seen from the front; and Figure 4 shows the U-shaped supporting cantilever of the balcony construction.

The balcony construction according to Figures 1 and 3 comprises upper and lower supporting cantilever s 1, 2 which can be fixed, for example, by welding or with bolts to the framework 10. Figure 4 shows the upwards opening structure of the supporting cantilever having an essentially U-shaped cross- section which allows the collection of water from adjacent balcony elements into a collection space 12 formed by the U-cantilever . Reference numeral 11 in Figure 3 denotes a railing formed by the outer wall of the balcony.

The upper U-supporting cantilevers 1 support the upper balcony element 3 which forms the ceiling of the balcony construction and the lower supporting cantilevers 2, on the other hand, the balcony element 4 which forms the floor of the balcony. The upper and lower supporting cantilevers are preferably identical, but they may also be structurally different.

Between the adjacent balconies is a dividing wall 5, which is preferably fixed to a wall and to a non-load-bearing tubular support structure 6 located be- tween the upper and lower supporting cantilevers 1, 2. The water collected by the U-cantilever is conveyed via the tubular support structure 6, which can be functionally connected to the cantilever, to a supporting cantilever 2 on a lower level and from the lowest supporting cantilever finally into the ground or the sea, or via a separate pipeline to the sewer network.

In the upper supporting cantilever 1 is preferably at least one coupling 7 which is located in the area between the centre part and outer end of the supporting cantilever 1. The upper end of the tubular support structure 6 can be connected to the coupling 7 of the upper supporting cantilever. There is preferably one pipeline 6 forming the support frame of the dividing wall of the balcony construction and couplings connecting the piping to the support- ing cantilever between each upper and lower supporting cantilever 1, 2, but there may also be more than one of them, for example two or three, in which case they may be located close to one another, or preferably both in the central area and at the outer end of the U-cantilever.

In accordance with Figure 2, the lower end of the tubular support structure 6 preferably extends partly inside the lower supporting cantilever 2 in such a way that water is able to discharge to the lower cantilever 2 and is fixed to a lower balcony element 3 and/or supporting cantilever 2 with connecting means 8. The connecting means 8 is, for example, an attachment flange, through the centre hole of which the lower end of the pipe 6 extends.

To prevent the entry of litter into the collection space 12 of the U-cantilever, the couplings, and through them into the pipeline forming the support of the dividing wall, above the U-cantilever is preferably provided a cover strip or a grate 9. For example, a cover strip made of plastic or stainless steel can be fixed to the cantilever and/or floor part of the balcony in such a way that it is at a vertical distance from the floor surface, whereby water forming on each balcony floor has access to the collection space, but larger pieces of litter are unable to enter it. Alternatively may be used cover grate with an appropriate aperture size.

The balcony construction is preferably the balcony construction of a ship, but it may also be that of a building, such as the balcony construction of a block of flats, where the U-shaped cantilever according to the invention can be used for supporting the balcony elements.

Claims

1. A balcony construction comprising at least two upper (1) and correspondingly at least two lower supporting cantilevers (2) to be fixed to a framework for supporting an upper (3) and a lower balcony element (4), and in which lower balcony element (4) is provided at least one dividing wall (5), characterised in that the supporting cantilevers (1, 2) are essentially U-shaped in cross-section, opening upwards and forming a collecting space (12) for any water entering the balcony element, that at least one upper (1) and corre- spondingly at least one lower supporting cantilever(2) are mutually aligned on essentially the same vertical plane, and between the said mutually aligned upper and lower supporting cantilevers is at least one tubular, non-load- bearing support structure (6) of a dividing wall, which can be functionally connected to the said upper (1) and lower U-shaped supporting cantilevers (2) to guide water from the upper supporting cantilever(l) to the lower supporting cantilever(2).

2. A balcony construction as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that in the upper supporting cantilever (1) is at least one coupling (7) which is located in the area between the centre part and outer end of the supporting cantilever and to which the upper end of the tubular support structure (6) can be connected.

3. A balcony construction as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the open upper part of the U-shaped supporting cantilever is provided with a cover strip or a grate (9) to prevent the entry of litter into the collection space (12).

4. A balcony construction as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 3, character- ised in that the lower end of the tubular support structure (6) extends partly inside the lower supporting cantilever (2) in such a way that water is able to discharge to the collection space (12) of the lower cantilever 2, and is fixed to a lower balcony element (4) and/or supporting cantilever (2) with connecting means (8).

5. A balcony construction as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that the connecting means (8) is an attachment flange, through the centre hole of which the lower end of the pipe (6) extends.