EP0410993B1 - Kit for glass facades - Google Patents

Abstract

A kit for the glass façade of a building comprises a support profile (1), which can be mounted on the outer surface of the building to form a façade substructure, and the glass panes (12) which form the outer surface of the façade. A retaining rail (13) which interlocks with the support profiles (1) is glued to at least the two vertical edges of the glass panes (12) on the inner side of said panes. The edges (19) of the glass panes (12) are bevelled outward. The glass panes (12) are secured by interlocking with an anchorage element (20, 33) inserted in the joints between adjacent glass panes or in the intersections of said joints. Said anchorage element grips the bevelled edges (19) of the glass panes (12) and can be releasably interlocked with the support profile (1).

Description

The invention relates to a kit for a glass facade for a building, with support profiles that can be attached to the outer surface of the building to form a facade substructure, and with glass panes that form the facade outer surface, each of which has an adhesive holding rail on the inside at least on its two vertical edges, which can be positively connected to the supporting profiles , wherein the edges of the glass panes are chamfered outwards, with an anchoring body securing the glass panes in a form-fitting manner being inserted at the joints formed between adjacent glass panes, which overlaps the chamfered edges of the glass panes and is positively and releasably connected to the supporting profile.

In general, glass facades have become increasingly popular for new buildings as well as for the renovation of older buildings. Office buildings in particular are increasingly being constructed with glass facades.

The glass facade can directly form the outer skin of the building. In this case, the facade substructure consisting of the support profiles is attached to the outside of a supporting building structure made of steel profiles or concrete. If the glass facade is designed as a warm facade, insulating glass panes are usually used.

Retaining profiles connected to the facade substructure reach around the edges of the glass panes to secure the glass panes. These holding profiles therefore form a frame which projects beyond the outer surfaces of the glass panes, but which makes cleaning the glass panes more difficult and which is less desirable for aesthetic reasons because it divides the glass facade optically too strongly into a grid of individual glass panes.

In order to obtain a smooth exterior facade surface that is desirable for aesthetic reasons and is inexpensive for cleaning and from which no parts protrude, it is known (brochure DOW CORNING) to fix the glass panes exclusively by means of the glued-on mounting rails that are attached to the facade substructure. This gives the glass facade a largely smooth outer surface, which is only slightly rasterized by the joints between adjacent glass panes. For safety reasons, such glass facades are not yet generally approved by the building authorities without positive locking of the glass panes. The raised concerns essentially result from the fact that there is no sufficiently certain knowledge about the behavior of the adhesive after a long standing time and intensive exposure to environmental influences and solar radiation.

In some cases, such glass facades were admitted, but on the condition that a sufficiently large area at the foot of the glass facade is blocked for access by people. In other cases, additional positive holding elements were prescribed, consisting of the edges of the glass panes in some places loose anchoring components that are connected to the facade substructure. However, these anchoring components protrude on the outside of the facade and thus hinder the cleaning process and are also aesthetically disruptive.

In a known kit for a glass facade of the type mentioned (DE-U-87 14 057), the side edges of the outer panes of double glazing are chamfered and are positively held by short flat anchoring bodies inserted into the joints, which are screwed to the substructure. However, the anchoring bodies designed as thin plates and the relatively thin screws used for fastening are not suitable for absorbing larger holding forces, which can occur in particular if, in the course of time, several glass panes arranged one above the other have come loose from their bonding. Since the anchoring bodies and the screws holding them are embedded in a mass filling the joint after assembly, assembly and disassembly are relatively complex.

EP-A-223 132 also discloses the possibility of an interlocking securing device which is additionally used for gluing the glass panes. However, the anchoring body described there lies outside the glass outside, so that there is no smooth, continuous outer surface of the glass facade. This anchoring body is also not suitable for absorbing the relatively high vertical forces which can build up under a plurality of glass panes which are arranged one above the other when their bonding has become detached.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a kit for a glass facade of the type mentioned, in which a highly loadable and easy to assemble and disassemble form-fitting securing of the glass panes is guaranteed.

This object is achieved in that the edges of the glass panes are chamfered to the outside, an anchoring body securing the glass panes in a form-fitting manner being inserted at the joints formed between adjacent glass panes, which overlaps the chamfered edges of the glass panes and is connected to the supporting profile in a form-fitting and detachable manner is.

 The anchoring crosses are easy to assemble and disassemble. Through the anchoring crosses, the glass panes are held at the specified distances from each other both horizontally and vertically. Since the horizontal arms of the anchoring cross extend into the horizontal joints between the glass panes and rest on the bevelled edges, relatively high vertical forces can also be absorbed. Each anchoring cross forms a stable anchoring body, which can therefore be attached with relatively high force.

Additional joint profiles are preferably inserted between the anchoring crosses. As a result, all joints formed between the glass panes are covered, so that an essentially dense glass facade is created. This effect can be further supported by the fact that the arms of the anchoring crosses, like the joint profiles, each carry a sealing strip on their lateral inclined surfaces which engage with the two edges of the glass panes. This elastic sealing strip also serves to absorb thermal expansion of the glass panes without tension. The glass facade according to the invention is suitable for forming both a warm facade and a cold facade. The glass facade as a cold facade is hung at a distance in front of a building facade with windows and forms an additional heat and sound insulation. In this embodiment, the curtain wall is particularly suitable for retrofitting to existing buildings, the existing facade of which can remain essentially unchanged. The sealing achieved between the glass panes prevents heat loss and in particular the penetration of dirt, rain water and snow.

In order to enable adjustment of the glass pane suspension with simple measures, a further development of the invention provides that the vertical holding rails glued to the glass panes each have at least one projecting hanging element on their rear side facing away from the glass pane, which can be hung on a supporting component which is attached to the supporting profile is height adjustable attached.

This height-adjustable attachment of the support member makes it possible to compensate for deviations caused by manufacturing tolerances and assembly inaccuracies of the facade substructure so that the Glass pane can be attached to the facade substructure at the specified height and exactly vertically. Since the supporting component is accessible from the outside as long as the glass pane is not suspended, the supporting components can be adjusted from the outside, for example by means of a gauge, before the glass pane is suspended. But it is also possible to hang the glass pane first, determine its positional deviation, then unhook the glass pane again and adjust the height of the supporting component so that the positional deviation of the glass pane is compensated.

• Fig. 1 in einem horizontalen Teilschnitt eine als Kaltfassade ausgeführte Glasfassade,
• Fig. 2 eine Ansicht in Richtung des Pfeiles II in Fig. 1 im Kreuzungsbereich der Fugen zwischen den Glasscheiben,
• Fig. 3 eine Seitenansicht eines Verankerungskreuzes,
• Fig. 4 in einem Schnitt ähnlich der Fig. 1 eine abgewandelte Ausführungsform einer Glasfassade als Warmfassade,
• Fig. 5 einen Teilschnitt längs der Linie V-V in Fig. 4 und
• Fig. 6 eine Draufsicht auf die in Fig. 4 verwendete Tragplatte.

The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments which are illustrated in the drawing. It shows:

• 1 is a horizontal partial section of a glass facade designed as a cold facade,
• 2 is a view in the direction of arrow II in Fig. 1 in the intersection of the joints between the glass panes,
• 3 is a side view of an anchoring cross,
• 4 in a section similar to FIG. 1 a modified embodiment of a glass facade as a warm facade,
• Fig. 5 is a partial section along the line VV in Fig. 4 and
• Fig. 6 is a plan view of the support plate used in Fig. 4.

The glass facade for a building consisting of the kit according to the invention, designed as a cold facade, the essential parts of which are shown in FIG. 1, has one facade substructure consisting of support profiles 1, the support profiles 1 being arranged vertically and horizontally along the edges of glass panes. 1 shows a section through a vertical support profile 1.

In cross section, the support profile 1 forms a U-shaped central section 2, which has an outer web surface 3 and two legs 4, 5 directed inward therefrom. One leg 4 is extended further inward compared to the other leg 5 and is laterally fastened by means of screws 6 to a vertical support bracket 7, which is attached to the outer wall of the building (not shown) on the one hand and projects into the U-shaped central section 2 on the other hand. The support bracket 7 can also be part of a support structure of a building.

An angle rail 8 extends laterally from the inner ends of the legs 4 and 5 of the U-shaped central section 2, the inner angle leg 9 of which extends parallel to the facade surface and to which an outwardly directed angle leg 10 is connected perpendicularly thereto.

The glass panes 12 forming the facade outer surface 11 are each provided with a glued-on holding rail 13 at least on their two vertical edges. A permanently elastic adhesive layer 14 is provided between the holding rail 13 and the glass pane 12. The holding rail 13 has an angle leg 15 which is glued to the glass pane 12 and an angle leg 16 which extends inward perpendicularly thereto.

On the angle leg 16 a plurality of suspension bolts 17 are fastened, preferably welded, one above the other, which are suspended in suspension slots 18 of the angle legs 10 of the support profile 1. These suspension slots 18 run vertically in the angle legs 10 and are open at their upper end to the outside, so that the glass panes 12 connected to the suspension bolts 17 can be suspended.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the suspension bolts 17 of the two vertical edges of each individual glass pane 12 are directed towards one another. The angle legs 16 of the holding rails 13 engage in the space open to the outside behind the angle legs 10.

On the outer sides of the two angle rails 8, a further angle rail 8a is provided in one piece, the outer angle leg 8b of which runs parallel to and at a distance from the angle leg 10 and covers the ends of the suspension bolts 17. The outer edge of the angle leg 8b is sealed off from the edge of the holding rail 13 by means of a sealing lip 8c.

The vertical and horizontal edges 19 of the glass panes 12 are beveled outwards, for example under 451, as shown in the drawing . The V-shaped joint profile 20 is integrally connected at its apex to an inwardly extending rib 21.

The joint profile 20 has on its outside a flat longitudinal groove 23 that extends over a substantial part of the width of the joint profile 20.

A profile rail 25 is attached to the end face 24 of the web surface 3, which profile rail forms an outwardly open channel 26 into which the rib 21 projects. The bottom of the channel 26 is formed by a web wall 27 which has keyhole-shaped suspension openings 28. Head bolts 29 screwed into the rib 21 from behind are hooked into the suspension openings 28, as shown in FIG. 2. The threaded shaft of the head bolts 29 can be screwed into the rib 21 at the desired depth in order to align the joint profiles 20 and can be secured in this position by a lock nut 30.

The connection between the profile rail 25 and the web surface 3 is preferably made by plastic connecting elements 31, which are designed as sliding blocks and engage in undercut grooves 32 in the mutually facing surfaces of the profile rail 25 and the web surface 3.

At the crossing points (FIG. 2) of the joints formed between adjacent glass panes 12, an anchoring cross 33 is inserted, which overlaps the chamfered edges 19 of the glass panes 12. Each anchoring cross is positively and detachably connected to the support profile 1, preferably screwed. The arms 33a of the anchoring cross 33 are approximately V-shaped in cross section and are integrally connected at their apex to an inwardly projecting rib 33b.

At the crossing point, the ribs 33b are connected in one piece to a bush 33c which extends over the entire depth of the anchoring cross 33 and preferably up to the supporting profile 1 (FIG. 3). In a central screw bore 33d countersunk on the outside, a screw 33e is arranged, the head of which is countersunk and which is screwed into the support profile 1.

The anchoring crosses 33 form the form-fitting securing of the glass panes 12, while the joint profiles 20 essentially close only the joints between the glass panes 12. The anchoring crosses 33 also prevent the joint profiles 20 from being unintentionally detached.

The joint profiles 20 and the arms 33a of the anchoring crosses 33e each carry an elastic sealing strip 22, for example made of an elastomer, on the lateral inclined surfaces which overlap the two edges 19 of the glass panes 12. As a result, the two adjacent edges 19 are sealed off from one another, so that all of the glass panes 12 of the facade form a substantially sealed surface.

The anchoring crosses 33 can be attached after the glass panes 12 have been hung in and can be detached for dismantling a glass pane, for example in the event of damage.

Instead, the form-fitting securing of the glass panes 12 can also be carried out by means of the joint profiles 20 if these are designed as elongated anchoring profiles 20, as shown in FIG. 1.

The embodiment of a warm facade according to FIG. 4 has a facade substructure consisting of vertical support profiles 101 and horizontal support profiles 102. The support profiles 101 and 102 are each arranged behind the joints of glass panes 103, which in the exemplary embodiment shown are designed as double glazing with double glazing. Instead of transparent glass panes, opaque, for example enamelled glass panes or similar facade panels can also be used.

The support profile 101 has a rear wall 104 on its rear side facing the inside of the building, which is interrupted by a center piece 105 which is offset outwards. A leg 106 projects inward from the rear wall 104 and is intended for fastening to the building.

Overall, the support profile 101 forms an outwardly open trough in which webs 108, 109 project perpendicularly from side walls 107 and from the central section 105 and are arranged parallel to the plane of the glass panes 103. On these mutually projecting, spaced-apart webs 108, 109, support plates 110 are screwed with their two vertical edges.

The glass panes 103 forming the facade outer surfaces are each provided with an adhered holding rail 111 on their two vertical edges on the inside. In the illustrated embodiment, the holding rail 111 is designed as a rectangular hollow profile. A permanently elastic adhesive layer 112 is arranged in each case between the holding rail 111 and the glass pane 103.

A vertical web strip 113, which is made in one piece with it, protrudes from the rear of the holding rail 111. As can be seen in FIG. 5, this web strip 113 is released in such a way that it forms a hook 114, for example open at the bottom, which engages over the upper edge of the support plate 110 in the suspended state.

The support plate 110 shown in a front view in FIG. 6 has a vertical elongated hole 115 and a pin bore 116 on each of its two side edges one above the other. The mounting plates 110 are screwed to the webs 108, 109 so that they can be adjusted in height by means of fastening screws 117 which protrude through the elongated holes 115.

For the lateral guidance of the support plates 110, ribs 118 can project outwards from the webs 108. On the other hand, the support plates 110 are guided through the projecting walls of a retaining groove 123 on the central part 105.

The elongated holes 115 allow height adjustment of the holding plates 110 on the screws 117. For the final, immovable fastening of the support plates 110, holes are made in the webs 108, 109 through the pin holes 116 after the height adjustment of the support plates 110, and the support plates 110 are through these holes pinned through.

A joint profile 119 arranged between the adjacent, externally bevelled edges of the glass panes 103 is provided over its entire length with an inwardly projecting web strip 120, which has a heat-insulating center piece 121 made of plastic can so that it does not form a cold bridge. On its inner edge, the web strip 120 has two spaced-apart holding lips 122, which engage with their toothed outer surface in the holding groove 123 in a snap-in manner.

The two holding rails 111 each have a projecting sealing lip 124 on their side surface facing the adjacent glass pane 103, which is bent over in the assembled state and lies sealingly against the web strip 120 of the joint profile 119. As a result, and possibly by means of an elastic sealing layer 125 on the edges of the joint profile 119, a seal between adjacent glass panes 103 in the joint area is achieved.

The structure is similar in the area of the horizontal joints between the glass panes 103. Here, however, the holding rails 126 glued to the horizontal edges of the glass panes 103 do not have any projecting web strips on the rear.

Claims (10)

1. Kit for a glass facade for a building, with support sections (1, 101, 102) able to be located on the outer surface of the building for forming a facade sub-construction and with panes of glass (12, 103) forming the outer surface of the facade, which at least on their two vertical edges, on the inside, each comprise a retaining bar (13, 111), which is stuck on, which can be connected positively to the support sections (1, 101, 102), in which case the edges (19) of the panes of glass (12, 103) are bevelled towards the outside, an anchoring member securing the panes of glass (12, 103) positively being inserted at the gaps formed between adjacent panes of glass (12, 103), which anchoring member overlaps the bevelled edges (19) of the panes of glass (12, 103) and is connected to the support section (1, 101, 102) positively and detachably, characterised in that the anchoring member is an anchoring cross (33) inserted at respectively an intersection point of the gaps formed between adjacent panes of glass (12, 103).
2. Kit according to Claim 1, characterised in that the anchoring cross (33) supports a sealing strip respectively on its side bevelled surfaces coming into engagement with the edges (19) of the panes of glass (12).
3. Kit according to Claim 1, characterised in that the arms of the anchoring cross (33) are approximately V-shaped in cross-section and at their apex comprise a rib (33b) extending inwards.
4. Kit according to Claim 1, characterised in that on their outer side, the arms of the anchoring cross (33) comprise a longitudinal groove extending over a substantial part of the width of the arm (33a).
5. Kit according to Claim 1, characterised in that the anchoring cross (33) is screwed to the support section (1, 101) by means of a screw (33e) located in the centre of the cross.
6. Kit according to Claim 5, characterised in that constructed in the centre of the cross is a bush (33c) extending over the entire depth of the anchoring cross (33), which bush comprises a screw hole (33d) countersunk from the outside of the anchoring cross (33).
7. Kit according to Claim 6, characterised in that the ribs (33b) of the arms (33a) of the anchoring cross (33) are integrally connected to the bush (33c) and have the same depth as the latter.
8. Kit according to Claim 1, characterised in that in the section between two anchoring crosses (33), the gaps between adjacent panes of glass (12, 103) receive a joint section (20, 119) overlapping the bevelled edges.
9. Kit according to Claim 8, characterised in that the joint section (20, 119) is connected to the support section (1, 101) by way of a heat-insulating web (31, 121).
10. Kit according to Claim 1, characterised in that on their rear side remote from the pane of glass (103), the vertical retaining bars (111) stuck to the panes of glass (103) each comprise a projecting suspension member (113, 114), which can be suspended from a support component (110), which is attached in a vertically adjustable manner to the support section (101).

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