The present invention generally concerns systems and methods for assembling construction sections; and more particularly, representative and exemplary embodiments of the present invention generally relate to assembly and construction of glass panel walls.
A variety of systems are used in the construction of buildings. Many of these systems employ a framework, such as in the case of conventional point-supported and conventional glass wall systems. In these systems, panes of glass are attached to, and supported by, an aluminum framework; however, such systems suffer from substantial drawbacks.
One problem presented by conventional glass wall systems is the need for significant structure to support the panes of glass. Existing systems often require both horizontal and vertical support members in order to provide structural integrity for retaining panes of glass making up the wall. Implementing such an extensive framework is often costly due, at least in part, to the amount of construction material required and the time needed to build the framework. Additionally, horizontal and vertical supports generally are connected together in a substantially unitary manner, and such restriction often limits architectural design options for an engineer or architect employing such a system. As a result, conventional glass wall systems have been constrained to substantially orthogonal frameworks.
Another problem involves the difficulty associated with constructing conventional point-support frameworks. For example, some systems require holes to be drilled in the glass panes in order to permit bolts to be inserted to attach the glass panels to the support structure. In generally, these holes typically are drilled with a relatively high degree of precision, or the pane of glass may not properly fit within the structure. Moreover, holes in the glass panels general present additional problems associated with sealing the glass wall from the exterior environment. Thus, the time and skill required to drill holes in the glass panes and mount the panes on existing framing systems becomes a substantial portion of the overall cost of implementing conventional point-supported glass wall systems.
The amount of structural support typically required in conventional glass wall systems also exacts a toll on the aesthetic properties of the framework system. While a glass wall with fewer supporting elements may give the appearance of a wall made nearly entirely of glass, the volume of columns, beams and other structural elements typically found in conventional point-supported glass walls often detract from their appearance and overall aesthetic appeal. Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method that addresses the deficiencies of conventional point-supported and conventional construction frameworks.
In various representative aspects, the present invention provides a system and method for the assembly and support of construction sections. Exemplary features generally include a guide track disposed within a mullion and a fitting that is suitably adapted for supporting a construction section, where the fitting is configured to hold and retain a construction section once the fitting is engaged within the guide track of the mullion.
Advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the Detailed Description which follows and may be apparent from the Detailed Description or may be learned by practice of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Still other advantages of the invention may be realized by means of any of the instrumentalities, methods or combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.
Representative elements, operational features, applications and/or advantages of the present invention reside inter alia in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereafter depicted, described and claimed—reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. Other elements, operational features, applications and/or advantages will become apparent in light of certain exemplary embodiments recited in the detailed description, wherein:
Elements in the Figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the Figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, the terms “first”, “second”, and the like herein, if any, are used inter alia for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. Moreover, the terms “front”, “back”, “top”, “bottom”, “over”, “under”, “forward”, “aft”, and the like in the Description and/or in the claims, if any, are generally employed for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for comprehensively describing exclusive relative position. Any of the preceding terms so used may be interchanged under appropriate circumstances such that various embodiments of the invention described herein, for example, may be capable of operation in other configurations and/or orientations than those explicitly illustrated or otherwise described.
The following representative descriptions of the present invention generally relate to exemplary embodiments and the inventor's conception of the best mode, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description is intended to provide convenient illustrations for implementing various embodiments of the invention. As will become apparent, changes may be made in the function and/or arrangement of any of the elements described in the disclosed exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Various representative implementations of the present invention may be applied to any system for construction. Certain representative implementations may include systems and methods tailored to a specific type of construction, such as point-supported glass wall systems. A detailed description of an exemplary application, namely a construction system for point-supported glass-paned walls, is provided as a specific enabling disclosure that may be generalized to any application of the disclosed systems, devices and methods for construction in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.
As generally depicted in
Mullion 110 is generally configured for engagement with fitting 130 and provides support for a construction section held in place by fitting 130. Mullion 110 may comprise any material, such as, for example: metal; polymer; graphite; alloy; wood; composites and/or any other types of material, whether now known, hereafter discovered or otherwise subsequently described in the art. Mullion 110 may also comprise any structural or design features that may be employed to allow for the attachment of fitting(s) 130 for providing support and/or retention of construction sections. Construction sections may comprise, for example: wood; ceramic; glass; polymer sheeting; bullet-proof glass; synthetic paneling and/or any other type of material, whether now known, hereafter discovered or otherwise subsequently described in the art.
Mullion 110 may be fabricated using any method of manufacture known in the art and may include any number of suitable materials, such as aluminum, steel, graphite, composite and/or the like. In an exemplary embodiment, for example, mullion 110 may be fabricated from forged or extruded aluminum. In another embodiment, according to various representative aspects of the present invention, mullion 110 may comprise a steel rod configured for attachment to a fitting suitably adapted to support a shelf plate. In such an embodiment, the rod may provide anchoring support of the shelf plate, and the shelf plate may be configured to at least partially support, for example, panes of glass at the corner edges of a glass wall.
Mullion 110 comprises a first end 112 that may be positioned towards the interior of a structure being constructed. A connecting projection 114 may be provided to join the first end 112 with a second end 116 of mullion 110. Mullion 110 may also comprise a guide channel 120 substantially disposed on second end 116. Guide channel 120 may be positioned, for example, towards the exterior of a structure being constructed using the disclosed systems and methods, and may provide suitable anchor points for attachment of fitting(s) 130 that subsequently operate to retain and support a construction section. In such an exemplary embodiment, the depicted structure of mullion 110 allows it to support the weight of the construction section held by fitting 130. Additionally, mullion 110 may permit translational or rotational motion in response to environmental effects, such as wind, rain and/or thermal expansion or contraction.
Referring now to
Alternatively, conjunctively or sequentially, referring now to
Mullion 110 may interface with or be joined to other mullions in any suitable manner. Mullion 110 may connect with any suitable structures, systems and devices in any suitable manner to achieve any particular purpose. Mullion 110, in accordance with various aspects of the present invention, may be suitably configured for attachment to a surface such as a floor, wall and/or the like. Mullion 110 may be attached to any suitable surface in any suitable manner, and may be configured to support any structure, system, device or architectural element in any suitable manner. For example, in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the structure of mullion 110 may comprise a guide channel 120 that operates inter alia to provide attachment and support for panes of glass. Mullion 110 may be adapted to include any other suitable features, such as weep holes to allow moisture to drain away from the guide track 120 of mullion 110, or any other design features whether now known or hereafter described in the construction art.
In another exemplary embodiment, referring now to
In another exemplary embodiment, referring now to
In general, guide channels generally enable the fittings to be connected to the mullion. The guide channels may be fabricated from any material, whether now known or otherwise hereafter described in the art. Guide tracks may comprise any shape, size or configuration and may include any number of sub-systems and/or design features to achieve any particular purpose. For example, in the embodiment generally depicted in
Fitting 630 may be generally configured for attachment to mullion 110 and may be suitably adapted to retain and support a construction section. Fitting 630 may include any number of sub-systems, structures and/or devices to achieve any particular purpose.
In an exemplary embodiment, referring now to
Fitting 130 may be adapted to support a construction section in any manner, whether now known or hereafter described in the art. For example, referring now to
Fittings in accordance with various representative embodiments of the present invention may include any structure, sub-system and/or device suitably configured to support a construction section in any manner for any particular purpose, whether now known or otherwise hereafter described in the art. For example, referring again to
Referring now to
In another exemplary embodiment in accordance with various aspects of the present invention (referring now to
Fitting 130 may interface with any structures, sub-systems and/or devices to achieve any particular purpose. Referring now to
Referring now to
The disclosed construction system may also be suitably adapted to provide a dual or plural glass panel. In a representative embodiment, a first glass panel may be disposed substantially exterior to the mullion and a second (or subsequent) glass panel may be disposed substantially interior to the mullion with an air-gap therebetween. This would provide inter alia improved acoustic dampening and energy efficiency.
The disclosed construction system may also be suitably adapted to provide a hurricane resistant glazing system attached to the front of the mullion. In this configuration, fitting 130 may be modified to provide a hook structure suitably configured to support a framed glass panel—for example, with a relatively small aluminum edge frame of the panel continuously supporting the glass construction section. The assembled panel would subsequently offer “point-supported” retention at the hook fittings. Such a system would be particularly well adapted to satisfy large projectile impact requirements of building materials in, for example, hurricane conditions.
In a construction system according to various aspects of the present invention, mullions may be attached to the structure of a building to provide a framework for supporting construction sections. Suitably configured fittings may be attached to the mullions to provide point-supported or continuously supported retention of construction sections. Construction systems in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be used to build any type of structure, whether now known or hereafter described in the art, such as a point-supported glass wall, for example. The construction system may also be used to achieve various aesthetic benefits. For example, the panes of glass used to form a glass wall will generally be displaced away from the mullions, making it more difficult to see the mullions from an exteriorly disposed vantage point. Additionally, construction systems in accordance with the present invention may be used to achieve any structural benefit, whether now known or hereafter described in the art, such as the ability to construct a multi-story point-supported glass wall system using substantially vertically-aligned mullions without the need for horizontally-aligned mullions.
Constructs (i.e., construction designs) that may be realized via implementation of various embodiments of the present invention shall be understood to comprise anything that may be at least partially assembled from at least one or more component parts, such as, for example: a window; a wall; a partition; a frame; a panel; a covering; a dome; a door; a display case; a display wall; a display frame; a cubicle; a presentation display; a booth; an enclosure; a temporary habitat; a mobile home; a video device array; various architectural construction elements; and/or the like.
A ‘construction section’ shall be understood to comprise any component part of a construct surface, such as, for example, a pane of glass, a panel of wood, a sheet of drywall, a graphite board, Plexiglas, Lucite, a video device element, etc. Furthermore, a construction section may comprise any two-dimensional (e.g., substantially planar) or three-dimensional (e.g., polyhedral, spherical, hemispherical, elliptical, parabolic, etc.) geometry and/or any combination thereof.
In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments; however, it will be appreciated that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. The specification and Figures are to be regarded in an illustrative manner, rather than a restrictive one and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined by the claims appended hereto and their legal equivalents rather than by merely the examples described above.
For example, the steps recited in any method or process claims may be executed in any order and are not limited to the specific order presented in the claims. Additionally, the components and/or elements recited in any apparatus claims may be assembled or otherwise operationally configured in a variety of permutations to produce substantially the same result as the present invention and are accordingly not limited to the specific configuration recited in the claims.
Benefits, other advantages and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to particular embodiments; however, any benefit, advantage, solution to problem or any element that may cause any particular benefit, advantage or solution to occur or to become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required or essential features or components of any or all the claims.
As used herein, the terms “comprise”, “comprises”, “comprising”, “having”, “including”, “includes” or any variation thereof, are intended to reference a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, composition or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements recited, but may also include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, composition or apparatus. Other combinations and/or modifications of the above-described structures, arrangements, applications, proportions, elements, materials or components used in the practice of the present invention, in addition to those not specifically recited, may be varied or otherwise particularly adapted to specific environments, manufacturing specifications, design parameters or other operating requirements without departing from the general principles of the same.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/724,996 filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 7, 2005 by Franz Safford.
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