Process for manufacturing fixing and support devices for points of glass sheets for continuous facades

Abstract

 The bodies making up the fundamental elements of the devices used in the formation of "continuous facades" for fixing and supporting on an appropriate application structure (6) corresponding glass sheets (L) that are in turn fixed to the ends of arms (12) leading radially away from one another of the central body (11) thereof by means of articulated joints (15) engaged in the ends of said arms (12) and in suitable holes made in said sheets (L), that are normally made of an appropriate type of stainless steel with great mechanical features, according to the present invention are instead made of aluminium appropriately strengthened by a strengthening structure (21a-21b-21c-21d-22) made of a suitable steel. Said strengthening structure is produced by prior-art techniques such as fusion, die-casting or other techniques and the corresponding element thereby obtained is inserted into a suitable "die-casting" die in which the aluminium (or its alloy) is then placed that totally incorporates said strengthening structure, generating a fundamental element of a corresponding device (1) of the type in question.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a new and special manufacturing process that is suitable for making cheaper the manufacture of known devices used in the formation of so-called "continuous facades" for supporting and fixing at respective points of application the sheets of glass used to form their relative cladding.
As is known for the external cladding of facades of buildings, it is today very widespread and becoming increasingly common to apply to them glass sheets in order to obtain facades developing totally glassed surfaces formed in other words of a continuous surface of glass sheets, hence the definition "continuous facades".
Of the different systems used for this type of facade, the one that is quite widespread and quite widely used is the one that involves the use of particular metal parts that are suitable for fixing and supporting corresponding glass sheets on an appropriate application structure.
The complete conformation of such devices substantially consists of an appropriately formed central body from which four arms appropriately shaped and substantially the same as one another lead away in a coplanar manner facing radially outwards and are arranged orthogonally divaricated symmetrically to one another,.
The resulting shape of these devices has a similar conformation to that of a four-legged spider, and has led to the definition of "spider glass" used in the specific field to defme also the relative applicational technique. As known, in addition to the conformation fundamentally comprising, as said, four arms, in practical use also reduced elements are used comprising only three, two or even a sole arm.
According to this embodiment system, the corresponding devices used for the formation of a continuous facade are first fixed at suitable points of a corresponding applicational structure by means of suitable fixing means engaged in the respective central bodies, then on the free end of the corresponding arms articulated joints are fixed that are in turn fixed in corresponding holes made in appropriate points of respective glass sheets that are thus fixed to and supported on said application structure.
Clearly, the devices in question are subjected to mechanical stress generated by the weight of the glass sheets and the thrust produced on them by the action of the wind, which as is known are overall considerable. As a result, the structure of such devices, in order to withstand with the necessary security the action of the aforementioned mechanical stress, is obviously made of materials with high mechanical resistance characteristics.
As known, the material that is normally used to produce these devices is steel, in particular a suitable stainless steel that not only has good mechanical resistance characteristics but is not subject to undesirable rusting phenomena to which it would be subject through the action of the atmospheric agents to which the aforementioned devices are subject.
On the other hand, as the cost of steel, particularly stainless steel, is rather high and its relative specific weight is also high, the devices manufactured with this metal are overall significantly costly.
Consequently, other materials such as aluminium and some of its alloys have been tried together with particular implementing techniques to produce devices of the aforementioned type, but the elements thereby obtained, although they are cheaper than those in steel all have limited mechanical resistance characteristics so that their production is limited as their scope is limited to few and particular applications that involve only limited stress.
In the light of the above, it is clear that it would be of considerable advantage to devise a procedure or system suitable for enabling the manufacturing of devices of the type in question that are however cheaper than those that are currently manufactured in stainless steel but maintaining characteristics of mechanical resistance and resistance to atmospheric agents that are at least the same as the latter but without resorting to dimensional increases of the most stressed parts, i.e. keeping them unvaried in their usual and normal conformation.
All this is possible with the particular and new manufacturing process of the devices in question according to which the basic elements of the new devices manufactured with the new process consist of an external body in a cheap material but with limited mechanical characteristics, inside which a suitable internal strengthening structure is arranged in quite a costly material but with great mechanical characteristics that has an appropriate conformation and is of limited weight and therefore cost, thus enabling the resulting overall structure to be given great characteristics of resistance to mechanical stress.
In order to understand better the characteristics and advantages that are achievable with the manufacturing process that is the subject of this invention, everything, in a possible preferred embodiment is disclosed below in detail by way of non-limitative example with reference to the attached drawing in which:

figure 1 is a sectioned partial front view of a device of the type in question, in the sectioned part of which for the sake of clarity a continuous line shows the configuration and arrangement of only the strengthening structure which according to the present invention is applied inside the body forming the basic element of said device, the corresponding external part of which is on the other hand marked with a thin continuous line;

• figures 2 and 3 are respectively the plan view and the side view of the device illustrated in figure 1
• figure 4 is a sectioned view taken along lines A-A and B-B of figure 2 illustrating the internal conformation of the central body of application of the device that is the subject of the present invention.

It should be noted that in the above figure 1 for the sake of clarity and simplicity of illustration on the single arms of the corresponding device the respective transverse sections are directly shown, furthermore in all the aforementioned figures the common details are indicated by the same references.
As can clearly be seen from figures 1, 2 and 3, the general device 1, in the complete general conformation contained therein by way of example, normally consists of a central body 11 from which there lead away, facing radially outwards and orthogonally and symmetrically spread out from one another, four arms 12 that are appropriately formed and are substantially equal to one another that terminate at their free ends, with corresponding cylindrical bodies 13. As usual, the two cylindrical bodies 13 at the top part will be provided with appropriate circular holes 131 and the two cylindrical bodies 13 at the bottom part will be provided with appropriate slotted holes 132.

[0002] As known, in such cylindrical holes 131 and slotted holes 132 corresponding articulated joints 15 will be fitted that are in turn fitted in the holes made in the respective glass sheets L used to carry out the cladding of a corresponding building facade.
It should also be emphasised that, as already said, in addition to the complete conformation with four arms illustrated by way of example in figure 1 and to which for the sake of simplicity and clarity reference is made, in practice reduced conformations will be provided and produced comprising three, two or even a single arm.
In greater detail, said central body 11 of the device 1, in the conformation to which reference is made, consists of a plate 11a with a substantially rectangular form and considerable thickness that at its greater sides is connected to two short portions 11 b of the same thickness, from the ends of which, as said, said arms 12 lead away. Said plate 11 a is provided along its greater axis with appropriate cylindrical holes 11c in which appropriate elements can be engaged that are normally provided for positioning and fixing the latter and therefore the corresponding device 1 on a corresponding support element 6 of the application structure.
It should be noted that said cylindrical holes 11c illustrated by way of example in figure 1 may in practice consist of appropriately slotted and/or threaded holes.
Clearly, it is obvious that what has been related until now is merely the disclosure of the external conformation of a normal and known device of the type to which reference is made but executed in a single metal according to the present device, this device is made of a double structure using two metals with costs and mechanical characteristics that are significantly different.
More precisely, according to the new and special solution that is the object of the present invention, the body forming the global element of a device 1 of the type to which reference is made consists of an external body E (see figures 1 and 4) defining the functional/aesthetic conformation of a normal device of the aforementioned type and an internal strengthening structure.
With reference to all the figures, figures 1 to 4 inclusive will disclose the particular solution that is achievable with the process in question.
As can clearly be seen from the figures, inside the external metal body E forming the aforementioned device 1 that according to the present invention will be made of a cheap metal material but with limited mechanical characteristics, there is arranged a strengthening structure that is on the other hand made of a costly metal alloy but which has high mechanical characteristics.
The conformation and arrangement of this stiffening structure 2 is particularly highlighted in the sectioned plane in the right of figure 1 where it is illustrated by a continuous thick line whilst the corresponding part of the element in which it is contained is shown by a thin line for the sake of clarity.
In the non-sectioned part of said figure 1 and of figures 2 and 3, this internal strengthening structure is clearly indicated only by a dotted line, its particular conformation is furthermore illustrated even more clearly from the sectioned views shown in figure 4 and in those directly shown in figure 1 on the arms 12.
More in detail, always observing the aforementioned figures, it can be seen how this strengthening structure substantially consists of a sheet 21 of limited thickness that in its conformation illustrated by way of example is arranged practically at the centre of the thickness of the relative parts of the body forming the basic element of the device 1 in which it is inserted.
Practically, said sheet 21 extends centrally to the thickness of the plate 11a with the corresponding part 21 a (see figures 1 and 4) then continues in the same way, inside the short portions 11b with the corresponding parts 2 1 b (see figures 1 and 4) from the free ends of which it then diverges into the corresponding arms 12 with the parts 21c (see transverse sections shown on the arms 12) at the free ends of which (21c) it finally joins the looped bodies 21d.

[0003] As can be seen from the illustration of figure 1 and particularly from the transverse sections of the arms 12 shown on them in figure 1 and from the transverse sections of the parts of the central body 11 shown in figure 4, the top and bottom end parts of said plate 21 or rather the perimeter parts of the latter (21) are considerably widened, they practically develop two stringcourses 22 protruding from their opposing surfaces so that they are all in all transverse sections that all develop a characteristic double T configuration that, as is known, enables structures to be obtained that are highly resistant although they use a reduced quantity of material.
It should be noted that the double "T" conformation illustrated by way of example can be replaced by equivalent conformations such as a "C" conformation or others.
Still observing all the figures from 1 to 4, it can also be noted that the strengthening structure 2 is totally comprised in the external body E that will cover all its parts with a cladding that in its thinnest parts nevertheless has a minimum thickness of at least 1 or 2 millimetres.
Having completed the disclosure of the part regarding substantially only the conformation of the double structure of the device in question, the process and relative executive techniques used for making everything will be disclosed concisely below.
According to the process that is the subject of this invention, in the first place, the strengthening structure is produced, that is obtained by means of fusion or another suitable prior-art technique of a suitable steel. The element that is thereby obtained, normally without undergoing further particular processing, a simple and nevertheless necessary reclining operation is usually sufficient, is then inserted into a normal metal "die-casting" die in which lastly an appropriate aluminium alloy is inserted, thereby obtaining a practically finished piece constituting practically the fundamental element of a corresponding device of the type in question.
It should be noted that the type of stainless steel used to produce said strengthening structure can be advantageously replaced by a non-stainless steel, in fact as the strengthening structure is totally incorporated into the successive aluminium structure, it is totally clad by the latter and is thus insulated and protected from atmospheric agents, so that it can clearly not suffer any oxidation process.
It is therefore possible to resort to the use of a non-stainless steel that is less costly than the stainless steel that is normally used but which still has mechanical characteristics that are at least the same as if not greater than those of the latter.
In a first experimental embodiment conducted to check the solidity of the theoretical principles on which the idea behind this invention is based, it was possible to establish that the body forming the strengthening structure of the basic element of a device of the type to which reference is made, but which was made only by the process that is the subject of the invention, weighed about a quarter of the weight of the body forming the basic part of an equivalent device but which was made totally of stainless steel, which as is known has a considerable cost. Consequently, also the cost of such a strengthening structure is reduced to a quarter of the cost of the equivalent device produced in the traditional manner. The further additional costs basically arising from the need for a second operation (die-casting) and thus the cost of the die-casting die and the relative amortisation costs, the cost of the second material used in this operation and the corresponding operational costs amounted to approximately a quarter of the costs of the device manufactured in the traditional manner.
The new and particular process that is usable to produce the basic elements of devices (1) of the type in question thus enables the very significant advantage to be obtained of reducing their production cost by about 50%, i.e. of practically halving their value.
It is clearly understood that different variations can be made to the process that is the subject of the present invention without thereby departing from the ambit of the present disclosure and the following claims with reference to the attached drawings and therefore from the scope of protection of this industrial patent.

Claims

1. Manufacturing process suitable for reducing the manufacturing costs of the fixing and support devices for points of the glass sheets for the manufacture of continuous facades, said process being characterised in that the bodies making up the fundamental elements of said devices (1) normally made of a suitable stainless-steel alloy, are instead made of aluminium or of an aluminium alloy and inside them there is inserted a strengthening structure made of a suitable steel;

2. Process according to claim 1, characterised in that said strengthening structure substantially consists of a steel sheet (21) of limited thickness arranged centrally to the thickness of the different parts (11a-11b-12) of the body forming the basic element of the device (1) in question, along the perimeter edges of the opposing surfaces of the parts (21a-21b-21c) of said sheet (21) that extend in the corresponding parts (11a-11b-12) of said basic element two opposing stringcourses (22) are obtained protruding to a considerable degree to confer on the corresponding transverse sections a characteristic "T" conformation;

3. Process according to the preceding claim characterised in that said strengthening structure is also obtainable from a non-stainless steel alloy having mechanical resistance characteristics that are almost the same as or even greater than those of the stainless-steel alloys normally used to produce the bodies of the basic elements of the usual devices of the type in question;

4. Process according to the preceding claims, characterised in that said strengthening structure (2a-21b-21c-22) is totally comprised in the structure of the external body (E) made of aluminium or its alloys, the thinnest parts of the resulting cladding furthermore having a minimum depth of at least 1 or 2 millimetres;

5. Process according to the preceding claims characterised in that running it provides for:

- first the manufacturing the elements forming said strengthening structure, obtainable by means of fusion or another prior-art technique, of a suitable type of steel;

- then the insertion of the elements thus obtained into a suitable metal "die-casting" die;

- lastly the placing in said "die-casting" die of aluminium or a suitable aluminium alloy.

Drawing