1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to glass construction technologies, and more particularly, to a glass pane connector that serves to position a glass pane with respect to another glass pane or a predetermined site of a building.
2. Description of Related Art
In glass construction technologies, glass pane connectors are usually used to position a glass pane at a predetermined installation site on a building or to construct several glass panes into a glass curtain wall. In such application, holes have to be bored on the substantial structure of the installation site and the glass panes so that plural glass pane connectors can connect and hold the glass panes in position with respect to the installation site.
However, one difficulty of the conventional approach is to ensure the holds bored on the installation site and the glass panes well aligned. In the event that the holes are not properly arranged, such malposition would often not be found until some glass panes have been assembled by the connectors. To remedy the problem, the glass panes have to be disassembled and re-drilled, thereby spending additional time and energy. Besides, in reassembling the glass panes, it is impossible to use the connectors to fix peripheral areas of the previously mis-drilled holes, thereby causing the reassembly of the glass panes unfirm.
Moreover, when surface of the installation site is not even or when the mechanical strength the glass pane connectors apply to the glass panes is not uniform, surface of the assembled glass panes tend to be uneven. Consequently, the assembled glass panes have to be adjusted piece by piece, thus causing additional time and energy costs.
One object of the present invention is to provide a glass pane connector that serves to position a glass pane at a predetermined installation site or to connect glass panes into a glass curtain wall.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a glass pane connector that features automatic angle adjustment, wherein the glass pane connector is capable of automatically changing its angle according to holes formed on a predetermined installation site and glass panes so that when the holes are not well aligned, the glass pane connector can still firmly hold the glass panes with the installation site.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a glass pane connector that features automatic angle adjustment, wherein plural said glass pane connectors can such position a glass pane at a predetermined installation or such connect plural glass panes as a glass curtain wall that surface of the assembled glass panes remains even.
To achieve these and other objectives of the present invention, the glass pane connector of the present invention comprises:
a pane holding assembly, for piercing through and being fixed in a hole formed on a glass pane;
a positioning assembly, for being fastened to an installation site where the glass pane is to be assembled;
a supporting assembly, having one end connected with the pane holding assembly and another end connected with the positioning assembly, and
at least one pivot assembly, allowing the supporting assembly to change included angles between the supporting assembly and the pane holding assembly and between the supporting assembly and the positioning assembly.
The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
While a preferred embodiment is provided herein for illustrating the concept of the present invention as described above, it is to be understood that the components in these drawings are made for better explanation and need not to be made in scale. Moreover, in the following description, resemble components are indicated by the same numerals.
Please refer to
The pane holding assembly 10 pierces through and is fixed in a hole 91 formed on a glass pane 90.
The positioning assembly 20 is fastened to an installation site. The installation site includes, but is not limited to, a substantial structure 92 of a building where the glass pane 90 is to be assembled.
The supporting assembly 30 has one end connected with the pane holding assembly 10 and another end connected with the positioning assembly 20.
The pivot assembly 40 has a spherical receiving portion 41 and a spherical prominence 42. The spherical receiving portion 41 and the spherical prominence 42 may be provided on the supporting assembly 30 and the pane holding assembly 10, respectively for facing and combining with each other. Alternatively, the spherical receiving portion 41 and the spherical prominence 42 may be provided on the supporting assembly 30 and the positioning assembly 20, respectively for facing and combining with each other. The pivot assembly 40 enables the supporting assembly 30 to rotate in all directions so as to change included angles between the supporting assembly 30 and the pane holding assembly 10 and between the supporting assembly 30 and the positioning assembly 20.
More particularly, the pane holding assembly 10 comprises a piercing portion 11 and a fastening ring 12. The piercing portion 11 has a tubular piercing segment 111 and a retaining segment 112 integrally formed at one end of the piercing segment 111. The piercing segment 111 passes through the hole 91 formed on the glass pane 90 and then combined with the fastening ring 12 by means of threads so that the retaining segment 112 and the fastening ring 12 contact surfaces 901 of the glass pane 90 and thereby jointly sandwich the glass pane 90. When the fastening ring 12 is further screwed to the piercing segment 111, a mechanical strength the retaining segment 112 and the fastening ring 12 applying to the glass pane 90 can be enhanced so as to combine the pane holding assembly 10 and the glass pane 90 with improved firmness. In the same reason, the pane holding assembly 10 is enabled to hold glass panes with different thickness.
To describe the supporting assembly 30 in detail, it comprises a supporting shaft 31 and a first positioning sleeve 32 as well as a second positioning sleeve 33 that combine with an outer surface of the supporting shaft 31 by means of threads.
As to the detailed structure of the pivot assembly 40, the spherical prominence 42 is formed at an end of the supporting shaft 31 and the spherical receiving portion 41 is formed inside an annular seat 43, wherein the annular seat 43 is combined with an end of the piercing portion 11 by means of threads. By the spherical connection between the spherical prominence 42 and the spherical receiving portion 41, the supporting shaft 31 is allowed to rotate in all directions. Furthermore, contacting surfaces between the annular seat 43 and the first positioning sleeve 32 may be formed as an arched receiving concave 431 and an arched convex 321, respectively, so that when the first positioning sleeve 32 is further screwed into the supporting shaft 31, the arched receiving concave 431 and the arched convex 321 abut against each other, thereby achieving close and firm combination.
Referring to the positioning assembly 20, it includes a fastening portion 21, a shaft connecting portion 22 and an arm 23 connecting the fastening portion 21 and the shaft connecting portion 22. There are plural holes 211 formed on the fastening portion 21 for allowing a plurality of fasteners passing therethrough so as to fix the fastening portion 21 to the aforesaid substantial structure 92. The shaft connecting portion 22 comprises a slot 221 for allowing an end of the supporting shaft 31 passing therethrough. The shaft connecting portion 22 is sandwiched by the first positioning sleeve 32 and the second positioning sleeve 33 so that when the second positioning sleeve 33 is further screwed into the supporting shaft 31, a mechanical strength the first positioning sleeve 32 and the second positioning sleeve 33 applying to the shaft connecting portion 22 is enhanced so as to combine the shaft connecting portion 22 and the supporting assembly 30 with improved firmness. In the same reason, the supporting assembly 30 is enabled to hold shaft connecting portions 22 with different thickness.
Reference is now made to
In
Although the particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous variations will be possible to the disclosed embodiment without going outside the scope of the invention as disclosed in the claims.
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Number | Date | Country |
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4342097 | Jun 1995 | DE |
WO 9516099 | Jun 1995 | WO |