WO2019186310A1

WO2019186310A1 - Profile for connecting panelling to a building element and for adjusting its inclination

Info

Publication number: WO2019186310A1
Application number: PCT/IB2019/051983
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sabatino Faraone; Matteo PAOLINI; Gabriele ROMAGNOLI
Original assignee: Faraone S.R.L.
Priority date: 2018-03-29
Filing date: 2019-03-12
Publication date: 2019-10-03
Also published as: EP3775429B1; ES2928460T3; IT201800004095A1; EP3775429A1

Abstract

The object of the present invention is a profile (1) for the connection of one or more panellings (2) to a building element (E) comprising: a bottom (10) capable of being anchored to an installation surface (SE) of said building element (E), a first (11) and a second (12) wing opposed and substantially parallel to each other, a cavity (13) that serves as a seat for at least the base (20) of said one or more panellings (2), locking means (4; 40, 41, 42, F) adapted to retain said one or more panellings (2) in a set-up coplanar to the median plane β-β of said profile (1). Said locking means (4; 40, 41, 42, F) also serves as adjusting means (4; 40, 41, 42, F) of the inclination of said one or more panellings (2) manoeuvrable from the outside with specific manoeuvring tools and in the proximity of the distal zone (14) of the cavity (13) of said profile (1).

Description

PROFILE FOR CONNECTING PANELLING TO

BUILDING

ELEMENT AND FOR ADJUSTING ITS INCLINATION

D E S C RIP T I O N

The object of the present invention is an apparatus for adjusting the inclination of panellings intended to be installed on a building element so as to define technical structures for the protection and/or delimitation and/or furnishing, such as, by way of an example, parapets, railings, balustrades, fences, partition walls, glass windows, cantilever roofs and the like.

More precisely, the object of the present invention is a system for connecting panels, in particular glazed, of any thickness, comprising means for the quick adjustment of their inclination relative to a building component.

The invention therefore falls within the building field, particularly in the sector of transparent architecture.

Of course, nothing prevents the application of the invention to be extended also to fields different from the building one.

It is known that for the installation of panels on support building structures and/or surfaces to be delimited or that need protection metal profiles are often used, preferably of aluminium, which can be anchored to the building component and adapted to serve as a seat and support for said panels, retaining them in a substantially vertical and/or horizontal set-up.

These known systems, despite being widely widespread and used for a long time, are not free from difficulties in the positioning of the panels.

If we can certainly admit that all the elements making up an apparatus for connecting panellings are perfect from the dimensional point of view or better that their imperfections are absolutely imperceptible and irrelevant from a functional point of view, the same can not be said for the building components whereon such apparatus must be constrained; these may in fact have defects and unacceptable dimensional inaccuracies.

Very often, therefore, to compensate for defects of the lying plane of the installation surface of said profiles, ensuring, as a result, the optimal verticality or horizontality of the panellings they support, fitting works, adjustments and the masking of said dimensional defects are required; this ends up with inevitably complicating and extending the installation times in addition to requiring great care and technical preparation of the installers.

Moreover, it is not always easy to place panellings in their correct and desired set-up, especially if the operator operates in rather uncomfortable or dangerous places and positions: very often, in order to carry out the assembly of the panellings and any adjustment of their set-up, the installer must operate from the outside of the building component of installation, leaning in the mid-air or using special equipment, such as aerial platforms or ladders, at the risk of his own safety.

An imperfect positioning of the panelling on the support profile leads to aesthetically unsatisfactory and not fully functional installations.

Set-up defects are in fact very visible on an array of consecutive panellings, especially if having a glossy and/or reflecting surface.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art listed above, by designing an innovative apparatus for connecting panellings, preferably glass windows, to a building component and defining technical structures for the protection and/or delimitation and/or furnishing, such as, by way of a non-limiting example, parapets, railings, balustrades, fences, partition walls, glass windows and similar elements, optionally even not vertical.

More in particular, the object of the present invention is to provide a profile capable of retaining panellings of any thickness in use in the building industry and of compensating for any defects of the lying plane of the installation surface of said profile.

Even more precisely, the object of the present invention is to provide a profile comprising adjusting means of the inclination and set-up of the panellings of easy accessibility and manoeuvrability from the outside of the same profile.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a profile adapted to retain panellings of any thickness easily and conveniently installable by an installer operating in totally safe conditions.

These and other objects are achieved according to the invention, with the features listed in the annexed independent claim 1.

Further features of the present invention shall be better highlighted by the following description of a preferred embodiment, in accordance with the patent claims and illustrated, purely by way of a non-limiting example, in the annexed drawing tables, in which:

Figure 1 shows a section view of an apparatus for connecting panellings to a building element according to the invention;

Figures 2a and 2b show a section view of two different installation configurations of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows an axonometric view of the apparatus for connecting panellings to a building element of Figure 1;

Figure 4a schematically shows the adjusting means of the inclination and set-up of the panellings of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 4b schematically shows two different operating configurations of the adjusting means of Figure 4a.

The elements of the apparatus according to the invention are now described using the references contained in the annexed figures. It should be noted that any dimensional and spatial term (such as "lower", "upper", "right", "left" and the like) refers, unless otherwise indicated, to the position according to which the object of the invention is shown in the drawings which not necessarily coincides with the position of the invention in operating conditions. With the purpose of highlighting some features instead of others, not necessarily what described in the annexed drawings is to scale.

Not all the elements shown in the figures are also essential for the purposes of the invention; those that are will be explicitly indicated.

As clearly shown in Figure 1, reference numeral 1 indicates, as a whole, a profile for connecting one or more panellings 2 to a building element E (which, in general, may consist of a usable floor or a wall in whole or in part in masonry work or metalwork or other).

In the example of the figure, the building element E may consist of a balcony E and the profile 1 serves as a support of one or more panellings 2 that are part of the parapet provided for such a balcony E.

The support profile 1 is preferably made of one of the metal alloys (aluminum alloys, in general) suitable for obtaining profiles but nothing prevents, if the structural requirements allows it, that it is made of other material, e.g. wood or PVC.

The support profile 1 has a substantially El-shaped section with a median plane b-b and comprises a basement 10 for anchoring (by known means not shown) to an installation surface SE of said building element E and a first 11 and second 12 opposed wings, substantially parallel to each other and to said plane b-b.

Between said wings 11, 12 and the bottom 10 a cavity 13 is made that serves as a seat for at least the base 20 of the panelling 2 that projects outwards for its remaining part.

Preferably, the base 20 of the panelling 2 may rest on a board 6 that extends crosswise between the two wings 11, 12 of the support profile 1, in the proximity of its bottom 10, parallel to it.

Nothing obviously prevents the possibility that said base 20 of the panelling 2 may rest directly on the bottom 10 of the profile 1.

As shown in Figure 1, locking means 4 allow retaining the panelling 2, inserted within the cavity 13 of the profile 1, in a set-up substantially coplanar to the plane b-b, for example substantially vertical. More precisely, said locking means 4 may comprise elements 40, 41, 42 capable of acting reciprocally on the opposite faces 21, 22 of the panelling 2, locking it in said cavity 13.

What described thus far does not substantially depart from the prior art and the panelling 2 thus installed will be in a set-up substantially coplanar to plane b-b. As already mentioned, the panelling 2 retained on the corresponding support profile 1 may require an adjustment of its set-up in order to compensate for laying defects of the installation surface SE of the building element E.

For this purpose, said locking means 4 are appropriately designed to also act as adjusting means suitable for imparting at least to the base 20 of the panelling 2 a controllable rotation around a fulcrum F, centred in a preferably convex surface and parallel to the plane b-b.

More in detail, this adjustment may be obtained by enabling and imparting a rotation around the fulcrum F of at least the base 20 of the panelling 2 inside the cavity 13 of the profile 1, between its first 11 and second 12 wing, i.e., as shown in Figure 2a, 2b with respect to said plane b-b.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said adjusting means 4 may preferably comprise:

- on a first wing 11 of the profile 1, at least a first 40 and second 41 actuator at a distance "H" from each other, the first located substantially in the proximity of the distal zone 14 of said profile 1 further from its bottom 10 (said therefore "distal actuator 40"), the second place in the proximity of said bottom 10 (which can therefore be indicated as "proximal actuator 41"); said actuators 40, 41 being capable of cooperating with each other and pressing, in the manner that will be seen, on the opposite face 21 of the panelling 2 to cause at least its base 20 to rotate;

- on the other wing 12 of the profile 1, an abutment element 42 substantially parallel to the plane b-b, fixed, projecting and capable of cooperating with the other face 22 of the same panelling 2.

For the purposes of the invention, the projection of the abutment 42 on the first wing 11 is substantially such as to "fall" in the space H comprised between the actuators 40, 41.

In such way, the abutment 42 may substantially define and serve as a fulcrum F for the rotation, in clockwise or anticlockwise direction, of the panelling 2 inside the cavity 13 of the profile 1, said fulcrum F being located in an intermediate position between said actuators 40 and 41.

Each of said actuators 40, 41 is capable of translating crosswise within the cavity 13 of the support profile 1 to the extent most suitable for the adjustment and in the manners that will be described shortly.

More precisely, by translating the distal actuator 40 towards the panelling 2 and by simultaneously acting in an opposite manner and direction on the proximal actuator 41, the panelling 2 will rotate in a clockwise direction; vice versa if the actuators 40, 41 are translated in the opposite manner.

Such translations and movements shall obviously be prolonged until the desired inclination for the panelling 2 is reached.

The results of such rotation of the panelling 2 in the respective support profile 1 are well visible in Figures 2a and 2b showing for said panelling 2 different inclinations a, relative to the plane b-b, such as to compensate for the gradients and the planarity defects of the installation surfaces SE of the building element E.

At the end of such adjustment, as anticipated, the adjusting means 4 also serve as locking means 4 of the panelling 2 that in fact is firmly and permanently retained in the desired set-up, clamped between the actuators 40, 41, and the opposed abutment 42.

It is also noted that a plurality of actuators 40, 41 of the type just described may be provided along the entire longitudinal development of the support profile 1; that is, there can be provided a first array of distal actuators 40 located in the proximity of the distal zone 14 of the profile 1, and a second array of proximal actuators 41 close to the bottom 10 thereof. To this end, please see Figure 3.

In order to facilitate the operations of adjustment of the inclination and locking of the panelling 2, the wing 11 whereon the actuators 40, 41 are provided is preferably that facing inwards of the building element E of installation, while the wing 12 carrying the abutment 42 is the outer one; in this way, the installer can operate totally safely by working comfortably from within the parapet (or balustrade) that the panelling 2 (if vertical) contributes to make, without the need of leaning dangerously out of it or using aerial or suspended equipment.

Likewise, if panelling 2 is provided substantially horizontal (e.g., to define a cantilever roof or roof) the wing 11 is preferably the one facing downwards (e.g. towards the walking surface, floor, etc.).

To manoeuvre both the actuators 40, 41 it is also possible to operate from the outside by inserting the most suitable manoeuvring tool within the support profile 1 from its distal opening 14.

According to such preferred executive embodiment, it is however necessary that each distal actuator 40 is misaligned and staggered relative to the underlying proximal one 41; in other terms, the projection of each of the actuators 40 defining the distal array must be comprised in the interspace identified between two consecutive actuators 41 of the proximal array (or vice versa), so that they are all equally and easily reachable by the manoeuvring tool.

In the installation configuration of Figure 1, said distal 40 and proximal 41 actuators consist, respectively, of upper 40 and lower 41 actuators of the profile 1

According to the invention, both the distal actuator 40 and the proximal actuator 41 are directly manoeuvrable by acting at the distal zone 14 of the cavity 13 of the profile 1 of the invention, that is, from the zone of insertion of the panelling 2 in the profile 1, which is the one furthest from its bottom 10.

Having described in its more general aspects the profile 1 and the relative adjusting system 4 of the inclination of the panelling 2 inserted therein, a possible embodiment shall now be described, without any limiting intent, without prejudice to the possibility of providing technically equivalent solutions. As clearly shown in the annexed Figures, the distal actuator 40 may consist of a register (which may be totally known and equivalent to those already widely used in the prior art solutions) comprising:

- a first head, fixed, 400 retained in a seat 15 of the inner wall of the first wing 11 of the profile 1 and which is prevented from rotating by interference or shape coupling

- a threaded pin 401 that projects crosswise from said seat 15

- a second head 402 (said "thrust"), coaxial to the pin 401 and screwed/unscrewed thereon by means of the above-mentioned manoeuvring tool, cooperating with a jaw 403, said second head 402 having an outer surface capable of shape-coupling with a specific manoeuvring tool (e.g., hexagonal to be engaged by a wrench).

Of course, head 402 and relative jaw 403 may also constitute a single piece. According to such configuration, a rotation of the thrust head 402 on the threaded pin 401, which is fixed and locked to the bearing profile 1, corresponds to one translatory motion thereof inside the cavity 13 and a consequent approaching/distancing of the relative jaw 403 on the opposite face 21 of the panelling 2 so as to adjust, in the manners already anticipated, the inclination thereof.

According to the invention, the proximal actuator 41 is instead of the type comprising at least:

- an adjusting element 412 capable of translating crosswise inside said cavity 13 of said profile 1 and of cooperating with a face 21 of said one or more panellings 2,

- a drive means 413 of said adjusting element 412:

- manoeuvrable from the outside with suitable manoeuvring tools U,

- comprising a manoeuvring interface 418 for said tools U which is located in the proximity of the distal zone 14 of the cavity 13 of the profile 1.

More precisely, according to a possible embodiment, said proximal actuator 41 comprises:

- a first element 410 integral or constrained to the wing 11 of profile 1, said "chute 410" because it is comprising an inclined surface 411 that defines a "sliding plane 411",

- the adjusting element 412 (hereinafter, for simplicity, referred to as "adjusting wedge 412" or "pressing member 412") capable of sliding along the sliding plane 411 for translating crosswise inside the cavity 13 of the profile 1

- the above-mentioned actuating means 413, preferably consisting of an adjusting screw or dowel 413 capable of being screwed/unscrewed on the chute 410 so as to act and move said adjusting wedge 412.

For greater clarity:

- the screwing operation of the adjusting screw 413 corresponds to a sliding of the wedge 412 downwards along the sliding plane 411 of the chute 410 and its relative translation towards the panelling 2;

- the reverse operation of unscrewing corresponds to a "rising" retrograde motion of the wedge 412 along the same sliding plane 411.

By way of an example, the said passage of the panelling 2 may correspond to said screwing from the configuration of Figure 2b to that of Figure 1 while by rising retrograde motion it is meant a stroke of the wedge 412 along the sliding plane 411 that leads it from a substantially "extracted" position from the chute 411 (e.g., see Figure 2a and/or 1) to one substantially "internal" to the same chute 411 (see Figure 2b, in which the wedge 412 is in abutment with the inner side of the chute 410).

Chute 410 and wedge 412 are in continuous connection by at least one suitable deformable connecting means 7.

Preferably, said connecting means 7 is an elastic means capable of deforming to support and follow the displacement of the wedge 412.

More particularly, said connecting means 7 is capable of:

- elastically extending and loading during the above-mentioned screwing operation of the adjusting screw 413, and of

- compacting during the unscrewing operations for further adjustments of the inclination of the panelling 2, releasing the elastic energy accumulated and accompanying the wedge 412 in its "rising" motion along the sliding plane 411 of the chute 410.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said connecting means 7 may consist of an elastic tongue 7 comprising a shank 70 and a stem 71, connected thereto.

As shown in Figure 1, said shank 70 is inserted inside a seat 417 of the chute 410 while the stem 71 is constrained in known manner with its end 72 to the wedge 412.

Preferably, said connecting means 7 may be co-extruded with the adjusting wedge 412.

Off course, nothing prevents the possibility of adopting equivalent connecting means 7, such as, for example, springs.

Preferably, the adjusting screw 413 comprises:

- a threaded stem 414 having a set-up substantially parallel to the wing 11 of the profile 1 (or, equivalently, to the plane b-b),

- a head 415 acting on the wedge 412,

- the aforementioned manoeuvring interface 418.

Said threaded stem 414 may be fastened in a corresponding through hole (schematically shown with reference 419 in Figure 4b) of the chute 410, in particular in a hole 419 suitably obtained in its appendix 416 projecting towards the inside of the cavity 13 of the profile 1.

Although not explicitly shown, a hexagonal slot (or similar manoeuvring interfaces 418) on the end of the stem 414 opposite the head 415 allows manoeuvring the adjusting screw 413 with suitable tools U (see Figure 4b).

As anticipated, with this type of adjusting screw 413 considerable advantages are achieved with respect to the solutions of the prior art; in fact, also the adjusting actuators 41 positioned in the proximity of the bottom 10 of the profile 1 may be manoeuvred from above and at the distal zone 14 of its cavity 13 (in the examples of the attached figures, said distal zone 14 being able to correspond to the summit one of the profile 1). Such adjusting means are therefore more easily identifiable and reachable by the manoeuvring tools U, this speeding up and improving the procedure of installation of the panellings 2 and of adjustment of their set-up.

The abutment 42 of the adjusting and locking means 4 may equally consist of a sector of the inner wall of the wing 12 of the profile 1 whereon it is provided or preferably of a second fixed jaw 42, constrained (e.g., "snap-wise" on special ribs 16) and having a back adapted to associate and cooperate with the opposite face 22 of the panelling 2. This second solution is preferred because it allows choosing such second jaw 42 of the most suitable material and/or thickness.

In the example of Figure 3, the second jaw 42 may consist of a single rigid bar although it is also possible to provide a plurality of jaws 42 distributed along the entire longitudinal development of the profile 1.

The jaw 42 may comprise both a flat and, alternatively, convex back to favour the rotation of the panelling 2 inside the profile 1.

The convexity of the profile of the jaw 42 also reduces the risk of breakage of the panelling 2 during the operation of adjustment of the inclination.

In general said convexity may be defined by a curved, circle arc profile or according to any geometric line suitable for the purpose, and advantageously may be accentuated or attenuated according to the installation needs, such as for example the thickness or the material of the panelling 2.

For descriptive completeness, it should be noted that for the completion of the profile 1 of the invention casings 8 may be provided, suitable for being hooked (by interference and/or snap-wise, or by means of other known equivalent systems) on at least a part of the outer outline of the profile 1 giving it an increased aesthetic appeal.

For example, reference should be made to the casing 8 of Figure 1 which, once the adjustment and locking procedure of the panelling 2 is finished, it is hooked to the profile 1 at its distal zone 14, in order to make the inner cavity 13 inaccessible.

For such purpose, the casing 8 may carry seals 80 that allow sealing the same cavity 13 preserving it from infiltrations of rainwater, humidity and dirt.

It is clear that in the practical embodiment of the invention numerous modifications and further variants may be provided, all falling within the same inventive concept; all the various components and details previously described may also be replaced by technically equivalent elements.

In particular, although not shown in the annexed figures, nothing prevents that said abutment element 42, instead of being a fixed element of the wing 12 of the profile 1, may comprise means capable of allowing a crosswise translation thereof in the cavity 13 of the same profile 1.

With the profile 1 of the invention for the connection of a panelling 2 to a building element E the stated objects are therefore achieved; in fact, all of its adjusting and locking means 4 both distal 40 and proximal 41 may be manoeuvred directly from the distal zone of the profile 1 that is the one most easily visually identifiable and more easily reachable by the manoeuvring tools. This makes possible a faster and more convenient laying of one or more consecutive panellings 2 compensating for defects in the planarity of the installation surface SE of a building element E.

Finally, by manoeuvring said adjusting means from within the wall structure (e.g., from the walking surface of a balcony) without the need of dangerously leaning in the mid-air, the installer can operate in conditions of absolute safety, preventing injuries and work accidents.

Claims

1. Profile (1) for connecting one or more panellings (2) to a building element

(E) comprising:

- a bottom (10) capable of being anchored to an installation surface (SE) of said building element (E)

- a first (11) and second (12) wing, opposed and substantially parallel to each other, between said wings (11, 12) and said bottom (10) there being defined a cavity (13) that serves as a seat for at least the base (20) of said one or more panellings (2),

- locking means (4; 40, 41, 42, F) adapted to retain said one or more panellings (2) in a set-up co-planar to the median plane b-b of said profile (1), said locking means (4; 40, 41, 42, F) also serving as adjusting means (4; 40, 41, 42, F) of the inclination of said one or more panellings (2), said adjusting means (4; 40, 41, 42, F) comprising:

- at least a first (40) and second (41) actuator:

- capable of translating crosswise inside said cavity (13) of said profile (1) and of cooperating with a face (21; 22) of said one or more panellings (2), said first (40) and second (41) actuator being substantially located on one of said wings (11; 12) of said profile (1) at a distance H from each other so as to determine at least one distal actuator (40) and at least one proximal actuator (41) relative to said bottom (10),

- at least one fulcrum (F) substantially located at one abutment element (42) of the other wing (11; 12), cooperating with the other face (21; 22) of said one or more panellings (2), said fulcrum (F) being in an intermediate position between said distal (40) and proximal (41) actuators the translation of said actuators (40, 41) enabling, inside the cavity (13) of said profile (1), the rotation around said fulcrum (F) of at least said base (20) of said one or more panellings (2),

characterised in that said proximal actuator (41) comprises at least: - an adjusting element (412) capable of translating crosswise inside said cavity (13) of said profile (1) and of cooperating with one face (21; 22) of said one or more panellings (2),

- a drive means (413) of said adjusting element (412):

- manoeuvrable from the outside with specific manoeuvring tools (U),

- comprising a manoeuvring interface (418) for said tools (U) located in the proximity of the distal zone (14) of said cavity (13) of said profile (1)^.

2. Profile (1) according to the previous claim,

characterised in that

- said at least one adjusting element (412) comprises at least one adjusting wedge (412) capable of sliding on a sliding plane (411) of a chute (410) constrained and/or integral with one of said wings (11; 12) of the profile

(i);

- said driving means (413) comprises an adjusting screw (413) capable of being screwed/unscrewed on said chute (410) and of acting on said wedge (412) to allow the sliding thereof along said sliding plane (411).

3. Profile (1) according to any previous claim,

characterised in that said adjusting screw (413) comprises:

- a threaded stem (414) having a set-up substantially parallel to said plane

P-P,

- a head (415) acting on said adjusting wedge (412)

- said manoeuvring interface (418) located at the end of said threaded stem (414) opposite said head (415).

4. Profile (1) according to any previous claim,

characterised in that said adjusting wedge (412) and said chute (410) are in continuous connection with each other through an elastic connecting means (7), said connecting means (7) being capable of deforming to support and follow the sliding of said adjusting wedge (412) on said sliding plane (411).

5. Profile (1) according to the previous claim, characterised in that said connecting means (7) may consist of an elastic tongue (7), said tongue (7) comprising:

- a shank (70) capable of being inserted into a seat (417) of said chute (410),

- a stem (71) directly constrained to said adjusting wedge (412).

6. Profile (1) according to claim 4 and/or 5,

characterised in that said connecting means (7) is co-extruded with said adjusting wedge (412)

7. Profile (1) according to any previous claim,

characterised in that said at least one distal actuator (40) may consist of an adjusting screw comprising:

- a first head, fixed, (400) retained in a seat (15) of the inner wall of one of said wings (11; 12) of said profile (1) and which is prevented from rotating by interference or shape coupling

- a threaded pin (401) that projects crosswise from said seat (15)

- a second head (402) coaxial to said pin (401) and cooperating with a jaw (403) capable of pressing on said one or more panellings (2).

8. Profile (1) according to one or more of the previous claims,

characterised in that said abutment element (42) is at least:

- a sector of the inner wall of one of said wings (11; 12) of said profile (1), or

- a jaw (42) constrainable to the inner wall of one of said wings (11; 12) of said profile (1).

9. Profile (1) according to one or more of the previous claims,

characterised in that the back of said abutment element (42) capable of associating and cooperating with a face (21; 22) of said one or more panellings (2) is a flat or convex surface.

10. Profile (1) according to any previous claim,

characterised in that it comprises a plurality of distal (40) and proximal (41) actuators along its entire longitudinal development so as to form a first array of distal actuators (40) located in the proximity of the distal zone (14) of said profile (1) and a second array of proximal actuators (41) substantially close to its bottom (10), said distal actuators (40) being vertically misaligned and staggered relative to said proximal actuators (41).