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(11) | EP 0 945 569 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Flexible connection device for panelings, particularly for metallic panels for fencings |
| (57) There is described a flexible connection device (1) for panelings, particularly for
metallic panels (3) for fencings, composed of: a section bar (5) shaped as a C equipped
with a projecting wing (7) with one hole obtained therein, the section bar (5) having
obtained therein at least one pair of holes; a L-shaped bracket (9) that has obtained
therein at least one hole for every arm, the bracket (9) being rotatingly connected
to the wing (7) and being adapted to be secured to a support rod (13) of the fencing;
and securing means (15) placed in the holes in the section bar (5) and adapted to
secure the section bar (5) to the metallic panels (3). |
[0001] The present invention refers to a flexible connection device for panelings, particularly for metallic panels for fencings.
[0002] Different types of metallic panels for open-air fencings are known in the art: these panels allow enclosing wide spaces, for example in industrial companies, by following the outline of the ground both along its extension (therefore with different types of rectilinear or curvilinear paths), and along its height (on rough grounds with valleys and hills). Though being prearranged in panels and therefore adapted to guarantee a certain flexibility, do taking into account these applications on open and irregular grounds, these panels must in any case be cut very accurately to the desidred measure at the beginning and the end of the fencing, or when the fencing is curved or changes its slope in such a way as to prevent connection of two panels with standard sizes. Therefore, the installing person must provide preparing some panels with an exact measure, by cutting them from the standard ones, and therefore it must often provide installing metallic support rods to which these final panels must be connected: when particularly severe situations occur, the metallic rods to be provided are as many as two, one providing the support for a set of incoming panels, and the other one composing the support for another set of outgoing panels.
[0003] All panels for fencings are equipped with a plurality of connection devices, usually shaped with drilled wings or ears projecting from every panel and adapted to allow securing the panel on support rods or sometimes to other panels. These connection devices, in case of cutting of final panels, must be rebuilt and welded again to panel crop ends, and sometimes must also be reworked (for example by cutting and bending their structures) to allow non-rectilinear connections of the panels. These workings are costly and affect the price of a traditional panel by an increase of about 25%.
[0004] Object of the present invention is solving the above prior-art problems, by providing a device for connecting panelings that has a very reduced cost and that does not require re-workings before its easy assembly on the interested panel.
[0005] A further object of the present invention is providing a device for connecting panelings that allows a flexible connection of panelings one to the other, providing a final fencing with different shapes and perfectly adaptable to the open space to be enclosed.
[0006] The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are obtained by a flexible connection device for panelings as claimed in Claims 1 and 5. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are claimed in the dependent Claims.
[0007] The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, given as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:
- Figure 1 is a perspective view of part of a fencing with panels equipped with the device of the present invention;
- Figure 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the device of the present invention; and
- Figure 3 is a top view of the device of Fig. 2 provided for an oblique connection.
[0008] With reference to the Figures, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the flexible connection device 1 of the present invention.
[0009] According to such embodiment, the flexible connection device 1 for panelings, particularly for metallic panels 3 for fencings, is substantially composed of a section bar 5 whose cross-section is shaped as a C that is equipped with a projecting wing 7. This wing 7 has at least one hole drilled therein, that allows its different future connections.
[0010] The section bar 5 has obtained therein at least one pair of holes, one hole for every arm of the C, and preferably, as shown, two pairs of holes, also adapted for the following connections.
[0011] The device 1 is further equipped with a L-shaped bracket 9, that has obtained therein at least one hole for every arm of the L. The first hole is useful for a rotary connection of the bracket 9 to the wing 7 by using connection means 11 that penetrate into both holes of bracket 9 and wing 7. The connection means 11, that are commonly composed of rivets, allow inclining the bracket 9 with respect to the wing 7 (and therefore with respect to device 1 and panels 3) in order to adapt the resulting fencing to any bending or roughness of the ground, as also shown in Fig. 3. The bracket 9 is adapted to be secured to a support rod 13 of the fencing, as shown in Fig. 1. As can be seen from such Figure, usually two devices 1 are connected to the two upper and lower side ends of every panel 3, in order to guarantee a more complete and stronger fixing to the support rod 13.
[0012] The device 1 of the present invention is finally equipped with securing means 15 placed in the at least one pair of holes in the section bar 5: these securing means, that are commonly composed of a screw 17 and a corresponding bolt 19, are adapted to secure the section bar 5 to the metallic panels 3, after having placed every section bar 5 astride of the metallic panel 3 itself. In this way, a further translation flexibility for the section bar 5 is guaranteed longitudinally on the panel 3, after having secured it thereabove.
[0013] Numerous variations are possible to the device 1 of the present invention: for example, at least one of the holes of bracket 9, particularly the one serving for the connection to the support rod 13, is composed of a slot, that is an elongated hole, for a further installation flexibility. Or, also the holes in section bar 5 can be composed of elongated slots adapted to contain at least one of the securing means 15.
[0014] The most complete embodiment of the device 1 of the present invention has been previously described. Obviously, it can be built according to several configurations and different embodiments, depending on the applications for which it is provided. For example, the bracket 9 can be omitted and the device 1 can be used to directly connect pairs of panels 3 one to the other, by using the respective slots 7: they can be connected one to the other through securing means that are similar to the previous ones, for example of the rivet type, in order to guarantee the maximum flexibility of use.
[0016] According to the nature of the space to be enclosed, it is provided to manufacture a set of standard metallic panels 3 and some panels 3 that are cut to exact measures. During their installation, then, the two embodiments of the device 1 of the present invention are used (adequately pre-fixed to the different panels 3) to mutually connect the panels 3, or to secure the panels 3 to the support rods 13. After having adequately oriented the brackets 9 with respect to the slots 7, the fencing is completed and it faithfully follows the outline and the roughnesses of the enclosed space, through a simple, quick, flexible and highly strong operation.
1. Flexible connection device (1) for panelings, particularly for metallic panels (3)
for fencings, characterized in that it is composed of a section bar (5) whose cross-section
is shaped as a C and that is equipped with a projecting wing (7) having at least one
hole obtained therein, said section bar (5) having obtained therein at least one pair
of holes, one hole for every arm of the C, said device (1) being further equipped
with securing means (15) placed in said at least one pair of holes and adapted to
secure said section bar (5) to said metallic panels (3).
2. Flexible connection device (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that said section
bar (5) is equipped with two pair of holes inside which two screws (17) with bolts
(19) penetrate, said screws (17) being adapted to secure and fasten the device (1)
to the metallic panel (3).
3. Flexible connection device (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that said holes
of said at least one pair of holes in said section bar (5) are composed of elongated
slots adapted to contain at least one of said securing means (15).
4. Flexible connection device (1) according to any one of the previous Claims, characterized
in that the slot (7) of said section bar (5) is rotatingly connected to a corresponding
slot (7) of another section bar through connection means (11) of the rivet type.
5. Flexible connection device (1) for panelings, particularly for metallic panels (3)
for fencings, characterized in that it is composed of:
- a section bar (5) whose cross-section is shaped as a C and that is equipped with a projecting wing (7) having at least one hole obtained therein, said section bar (5) having obtained therein at least one pair of holes, one hole for every arm of the C;
- a L-shaped bracket (9), said bracket (9) having obtained therein at least one hole for every arm of the L, said bracket (9) being rotatingly connected to said wing (7) through connection means (11) that penetrate into both holes of said bracket (9) and said wing (7), said bracket (9) being adapted to be secured to a support rod (13) of the fencing; and
- securing means (15) placed in said at least one pair of holes in said section bar (5) and adapted to secure said section bar (5) to said metallic panels (3).
6. Flexible connection device (1) according to Claim 5, characterized in that at least
one of the holes of said bracket (9) is composed of a slot.
7. Flexible connection device (1) according to Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that said
section bar (5) is equipped with two pairs of holes inside which two screws (17) with
bolts (19) penetrate, said screws (17) being adapted to secure and fasten the device
(1) to the metallic panel (3).
8. Flexible connection device (1) according to Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that said
holes of said at least one pair of holes in said section bar (5) are composed of elongated
slots adapted to contain at least one of said securing means (15).
9. Flexible connection device (1) according to any one of the previous Claims, characterized
in that said slot (7) of said section bar (5) is rotatingly connected to said bracket
(9) through connection means (11) of the rivet type.
10. Metallic panels (3), particularly for fencings, characterized in that they are equipped
with at least one of the connection devices (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 9,
said connection devices (1) being secured to said panels (3) at the upper and/or lower
ends thereof.