Wall frame structure

Abstract

 Wall frame structure comprising at least a first outer profile (2) made of aluminium and a skeleton (3) placed inside the same, and a second outer profile (8) made of aluminium, fixed substantially transversely to the first outer profile, and a skeleton placed inside the same. The skeleton inside the first outer profile is provided with a supporting board (4) whose position in the skeleton may change in the longitudinal direction of the skeleton, and the skeleton inside the second outer profile, substantially transverse to the first outer profile, is fixed to said supporting board by means of a connecting piece (5).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a wall frame structure according to the preamble of the appended claim 1.

[0002] Façades for buildings are constructed of various elements, such as glass elements which are assembled on the support of metal frame profiles. Typically, these frame profiles are used as the load-bearing construction for the wall structure. The frame profiles should be sufficiently strong and rigid but preferably also as light in weight as possible. It is possible to make light-weight profile structures of aluminium, which are sufficiently strong and rigid for normal use conditions; however, the use of aluminium is problematic when forming fire-resistant and compartment structures. A structure made solely of aluminium will lose its strength substantially at high temperatures which occur at fires, due to the softening and melting of aluminium. For this reason, in sites requiring fire safety, metals other than aluminium have been typically used in part or in whole for the manufacture of frame profiles, or the profiles made of aluminium have been equipped with various reinforcement profiles. Fire resistance can be further improved by including heat absorbing or insulating material, for example a gypsum board, inside or on the outer surface of the frame profile.

[0003] For reinforcing the frame structure of a wall, it is possible to install, for example, a steel reinforcement profile, a so-called skeleton, inside a hollow profile made of aluminium. In said structure, aluminium and steel are used, which have different coefficients of thermal expansion, and they may have different temperatures. This will result in different thermal expansion of the inner structure and the outer structure in fire situations. It is problematic to join structures made of different materials so that the different thermal movements of the materials will not cause extra stress and deflections in the structure. Such problems are not caused by thermal variations occurring during normal use, but when the temperature rises several hundreds of degrees in the case of fires, it may occur that the structure becomes weaker or collapses prematurely due to thermal movements.

[0004] It is an aim of the present invention to provide a wall frame structure which reduces the deflection of the structure due to variations in the temperature and which may thus be used in fire-resistant and compartment structures.

[0005] To achieve this aim, the wall frame structure of the wall according to the invention, comprising at least a first outer profile made of aluminium and a skeleton placed inside the same, as well as a second outer profile made of aluminium and fixed substantially transversely to the first outer profile, and a skeleton placed inside the same, is primarily characterized in that the skeleton inside the first outer profile is equipped with a supporting board whose position in the skeleton may be changed in the longitudinal direction of the skeleton, and the skeleton placed inside the second outer profile substantially transversely to the first outer profile is fixed to said supporting board by means of a connecting piece.

[0006] The other, dependent claims will present some preferred embodiments of the invention.

[0007] The basic idea of the invention is to construct the wall frame structure of an aluminium outer profile forming an outer casing and a skeleton inside the same in such a way that the vertical and horizontal parts of the frame structure are connected to each other in such a way that they can move in relation to each other, if necessary, for example as a result of different thermal expansion of the materials due to an increase in the temperature. The frame structure consists of first outer profiles, or so-called main profiles, and second profiles fixed substantially transversely to these main profiles, or so-called transverse profiles. A supporting board is placed inside the skeleton of the main profile in such a way that the supporting board may, if necessary, move within the skeleton in the longitudinal direction of the skeleton. The skeleton of the transverse profile is fixed to this supporting board inside the skeleton of the main profile by means of a connecting piece. The connecting piece is designed to allow the movement of the skeleton of the transverse profile in the longitudinal direction of the transverse profile in the connecting piece, when necessary. The skeletons to be placed inside the outer profiles made of aluminium, the supporting board and the connecting piece are made of a material having a higher melting point than aluminium. In this way, the strength of the frame structure according to the invention remains sufficient at high temperatures, for example in a fire, because the supporting board and the connecting piece prevent deflections and other stress in the frame structure due to the different thermal movement of the skeletons and the aluminium profiles in such a way that the skeletons can move within the structure.

[0008] Thanks to the structure and the fixing mechanism of the invention, a change in the temperature will not cause forces between the outer profile and the skeleton inside the same, in contrast to a case in which the connecting piece is fixed directly to the skeleton in a stationary manner. Consequently, a deflection of the structure due to temperature variation does not occur or it remains small in the frame structure of the invention. This feature improves the fire resistance of the wall frame structure in such a way that the structure remains in one piece for a sufficient time in a fire situation.

[0009] In an embodiment of the invention, filling material, for example a plaster element or the like, can be placed between the outer profile and the skeleton inside the same, to decelerate the temperature rise.

[0010] In the following, the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings, in which

Fig. 1

shows parts of the frame structure according to the invention in an exploded view,

Figs. 2a to 2d

illustrate the fixing of the parts of the frame structure according to the invention to each other,

Fig. 3

shows a cross-sectional view of the skeleton belonging to the frame structure according to the invention, and the supporting board inside the same, and

Fig. 4

shows the connection of the parts of the frame structure according to the invention in a side view.

[0011] In the description, the term longitudinal direction is used to refer to the direction parallel to the longest side of the outer profile beam or skeleton. The cross-section of the outer profile and skeleton of the frame structure is constant.

[0012] Figure 1 shows the parts of the frame structure according to the invention, and Figs. 2a to 2d show the connection of the parts of the structure to each other. The wall frame structure comprises main profiles and transverse profiles connected substantially transversely to them. The figures show, by way of example, one vertical main profile and a horizontal transverse profile connected to the same. It will be obvious for a person skilled in the art that the wall frame structure may comprise a varying number of main profiles and transverse profiles, depending on the desired wall frame structure. The main profile may be horizontal or vertical, at least one transverse profile being connected to it in a substantially transverse direction. The main profile is normally greater in length than the transverse profiles connected to it in a substantially transverse direction.

[0013] The figures show a frame structure, in which the main profile comprises an aluminium outer profile 2 with a skeleton 3 installed inside the same, and the transverse profile, in turn, comprises an aluminium outer profile 8 with a skeleton 7 installed inside the same. Supporting boards 4 are placed inside the skeleton 3 of the main profile in such a way that they are placed at the joints of the transverse profiles in the longitudinal direction of the skeleton 3 of the main profile. The skeleton 7 of the transverse profile is fixed to the supporting board 4 by means of a connecting piece 5 in such a way that the skeleton 7 of the transverse profile is placed substantially transversely against the outer profile 2 of the main profile. The connecting piece 5 is fixed to the supporting board 4 through the outer profile 2 belonging to the main profile by means of one or more fixing members 10, for example screws.

[0014] The aluminium outer profile comprises a contour, by means of which glass panels or other planar elements of the façade, sealing tapes, covering strips and the like can be connected to the frame structure. This contour and its purpose are prior art.

[0015] The cross-section of the skeletons 3, 7 resembles substantially an I-beam, and the supporting board 4 is placed inside the skeleton 3 of this main profile with the shape of an I-beam, on the side of the transverse profiles. The supporting board 4 is placed in the groove of the I-beam in such a way that it can, as a result of different thermal movements of the materials caused by a change in the temperature, move substantially freely in the longitudinal direction of the groove. When the main profile is vertical, the downwards movement of the supporting board 4 is prevented by providing the skeleton 3 with a stopping piece, for example a screw 9, underneath the supporting board 4. Supporting boards 4 are placed at joints of the transverse profiles in the skeleton 3 of the main profile, so that their placement and number in the skeleton 3 of the main profile may vary, depending on the desired wall frame structure.

[0016] The connecting piece 5 is fixed, at its part in the direction of the supporting board 4, to the supporting board 4 by fixing members 10 through the outer profile belonging to the main profile. The connecting piece 5 also comprises flanges on both sides of the connecting piece, substantially transversely to the direction of the supporting board, the inner surface of the flanges being provided with protrusions 6 transverse to the flanges. The skeleton 7 of the transverse profile is fitted with the protrusions 6 of the connecting piece in such a way that the protrusions 6 are placed in grooves on the outer edge of the skeleton 7 of the transverse profile with the shape of an I-beam. The outer profile 8 of the transverse profile is placed on top of the skeleton 7 of the transverse profile and the connecting piece 5 in such a way that these remain inside the outer profile 8. Furthermore, the outer profile 8 of the transverse profile is connected to the outer profile 2 of the main profile.

[0017] Figure 3 shows the skeleton 3 of the main profile and the supporting board 4 placed inside the same, in a cross-sectional view. The supporting board 4 has the shape of a bent board that is placed in the groove formed by the skeleton 3 having the shape of an I-beam.

[0018] Figure 4 shows that the skeleton 7 of the transverse profile is placed in the connecting piece 5 in such a way that the protrusions 6 in the connecting piece 5 are placed in grooves on the outer edge of the skeleton 7. The skeleton 7 of the transverse profile is allowed, if necessary, to move in these protrusions for the length of the protrusions. The connecting piece 5 is connected by fixing members 10 through the outer profile 2 of the main profile to the supporting board 4 inside the skeleton 3. The outer profile 8 of the transverse profile is placed on top of the skeleton 7.

[0019] The main profile may also be horizontal, vertical transverse profiles being connected to the same. In this case, the fixing mechanism is similar to that described above. The supporting boards are placed in the skeleton of the main profile and enable the movement of the skeletons of the transverse profiles, fixed to the supporting boards by means of the connecting piece, in the horizontal position, when necessary. The vertical skeletons of the transverse profiles also move, if necessary, within the range allowed by the protrusions 6 of the connecting piece 5.

[0020] The outer profiles 2, 8 are made of aluminium by extrusion. The skeletons 3, 7 to be placed inside the outer profiles and the supporting board 4 are made of a material having better heat resistance than aluminium. Preferably, the skeletons 3, 7 and the supporting board 4 are made of steel. The connecting piece 5 is also made of a material having better heat resistance than aluminium, preferably steel.

[0021] In a fast temperature change, such as in a fire, the outer profile 2, 8 made of aluminium becomes softer or melts earlier than the skeleton 3, 7 inside the aluminium profile. Before melting, aluminium expands as the temperature rises. The skeleton 7 of the transverse profile is connected by means of the connecting piece 5 to the supporting board 4 in the skeleton 3 of the main profile, moving in the longitudinal direction of the skeleton 3 simultaneously when aluminium is thermally expanded. In other words, the supporting board of steel moves with the aluminium in the skeleton. Consequently, forces between the outer profile of the structure and the skeleton inside the same cannot occur, and deflections of the structure due to the temperature rise do not occur or they remain small, and the frame structure thus remains in one piece for a determined time. In a fire situation, the outer profile 8 of the transverse profile, made of aluminium, also expands more than the skeleton 7 inside the same, but forces affecting the structure cannot occur, because the skeleton 7 can move on top of the protrusions 6 of the connecting piece 5. This supports the wall frame structure further in fire situations.

[0022] For example, the thermal movement caused by a fire may be even 40 mm in a main profile having the length of 4 metres. Consequently, with the above-described method of fixing the main profile and the transverse profiles it is possible to substantially reduce and prevent deflections and distortions of the wall frame structure in fire situations and the structure remains in one piece for a sufficient time.

[0023] Filling material, for example a plaster element or the like, can be placed between the outer profile of the main profile and/or the transverse profile and the skeleton inside the same, to decelerate the temperature rise.

[0024] It is naturally obvious that the invention is not limited solely to the above-presented embodiments, but for example the skeleton and/or the outer profile can be designed in a way different from the examples. The aim of the skeleton is the same as in the solutions of prior art: to maintain the load-bearing capacity of the structure for at least a given time in case the outer profile collapses or loses its strength in a fire situation, and to act as an element reinforcing the structure in general.

[0025] The invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments presented as examples above, but the invention is intended to be applied widely within the scope of the inventive idea as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wall frame structure comprising at least:

- a first outer profile (2) made of aluminium and a skeleton (3) placed inside the same, and

- a second outer profile (8) made of aluminium, fixed substantially transversely to the first outer profile (2), and a skeleton (7) placed inside the same,

characterized in that the skeleton (3) inside the first outer profile (2) is provided with a supporting board (4) whose position in the skeleton (3) may change in the longitudinal direction of the skeleton, and the skeleton (7) inside the second outer profile (8), substantially transverse to the first outer profile, is fixed to said supporting board (4) by means of a connecting piece (5).

2. The wall frame structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting piece (5) is fixed with one or more fixing members (10) through the first outer profile (2) to the supporting board (4).

3. The wall frame structure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the skeleton (7) inside the second outer profile (8), substantially transverse to the first outer profile, is placed in the connecting piece (5) in such a way that protrusions (6) of the connecting piece are inside grooves in the outer edge of the skeleton (7).

4. The wall frame structure according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that when the first outer profile is vertical, the downwards movement of the supporting board (4) in the longitudinal direction of the skeleton (3) is prevented by fixing a stopping piece (9) underneath the supporting board (4).

5. The wall frame structure according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the skeletons (3, 7) and the supporting board (4) are made of steel.

6. The wall frame structure according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that filling material is placed between the outer profile (2, 8) and the skeleton (3, 7).

Drawing