Device for fastening a panel to a facade

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for fastening a panel (1) to a bearing structure (110) of a façade (100) with suspended panels, comprising: - means (3) for fastening to the bearing structure (110), having an aperture (31) configured to cooperate with a pin (5), - a pin (5), characterized in that it further comprises: - a corner fitting (7), comprising latching means (11) arranged on the opposite side to the panel (1) once assembled, - a yoke (9), comprising: * a bearing surface (17) for bearing against the panel (1), * fingers (15) configured to engage with an edge of the panel (1), * a hole (25) forming a passage for the pin (5) in the bearing surface (17), * latching means (19) which are complementary to the latching means (11) of the corner fitting (7), the pin (5) passing through the yoke (9), leading into the aperture (31) and being attached to the means (3) for fastening to the bearing structure (110) in the assembled state.

Description

[0001] DEVICE FOR FIXING A PANEL TO A FACADE

[0002] Technical field

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of building and facade cladding. In particular, the invention relates to the fixing of a decorative or cladding panel on a facade with suspended panels, comprising panels suspended from a structure itself generally attached to a wall, the panels covering the facade once in place.

[0004] Suspended facades allow you to dress up a pre-existing wall or facade with panels such as glazing, facing stone slices or slabs, etc.

[0005] Prior art

[0006] Suspended panel facades improve the aesthetics of building facades and modify the optical and thermal properties when glazed panels use active glass, blocking or reflecting incident solar or infrared rays. Suspended panel facades also allow functional elements such as insulation to be hidden or at least made less visible.

[0007] The panels for these facades are of significant dimensions and mass, and the various elements making up the facade are delivered in kits, which professionals then install on site.

[0008] The facade generally has a supporting structure, which is attached to the wall or building. This supporting structure has regularly distributed fixing points. The panels are then attached to these fixing points using specific fixing devices.

[0009] Since the panels are relatively heavy (tens or even hundreds of kilograms) and the facade can rise to relatively high heights (several meters or tens of meters), fixing the panels to the supporting structure is an important safety element.

[0010] In addition to the weight of the panels, the fixing of the panels to the supporting structure is subject to significant constraints: expansion in two directions of the panel material during temperature changes, vibrations and wind pressure, etc. Degrees of freedom and / or elastically deformable fasteners must be provided without impacting the solidity, safety and durability of the facade.

[0011] Screw fasteners that pass through the panels are known. In these facades, the panels have holes. Screws are inserted into these holes and then engage with the supporting structure. The supporting structure then advantageously includes rails in which the screws can slide in the plane of the panel.

[0012] The holes may include a recess for the screw head, which is flush with the outer wall of the panel.

[0013] In these facades, however, the screws are always visible, and can harm the desired aesthetic result, particularly when decorative panels such as cut or decorated stone panels are incorporated into the facade.

[0014] Furthermore, drilling into the panel weakens its structure and concentrates potentially high stresses. The safety of the facade and passers-by below may be compromised.

[0015] There is therefore a need for a fixing device between a supporting structure and panels for a suspended panel facade, which is solid, easy to assemble, discreet once installed and which can nevertheless withstand the specific constraints of suspended panel facades.

[0016] Statement of the invention

[0017] In order to meet this need, the invention proposes a device for fixing a panel to a supporting structure of a facade with suspended panels, the panel having a rear face oriented towards the supporting structure, and a front face, the device comprising:

[0018] - means of attachment to the supporting structure, having a drilling configured to cooperate with a pin,

[0019] - a pin, characterized in that it further comprises: - a corner bracket, flat and configured to be attached against a corner of the rear face of the panel, comprising snap-fastening means arranged on the side opposite the panel once assembled,

[0020] - a stirrup, comprising:

[0021] * a support surface against the rear face of the panel,

[0022] * fingers configured to engage an edge of the panel,

[0023] * a hole forming a passage for the pin in the support surface,

[0024] * latching means complementary to the latching means of the corner bracket, the pin passing through the stirrup, opening into the drilling and being attached to the means of fixing to the supporting structure in the assembled state.

[0025] The fastening device according to the invention is simple and quick to assemble. In addition, once the panel is in place, only the fingers of the stirrup are still visible on the front face. It is then possible to make the fastening device more discreet, in order to improve the aesthetic appearance.

[0026] The device according to the invention may further have one or more of the following characteristics.

[0027] The corner bracket may be composed of a metal sheet and in that the snap-in means comprise snap-in tabs cut out of the corner bracket, and the complementary snap-in means comprise recesses of corresponding shape and arrangement on the bearing surface of the stirrup.

[0028] The tabs are particularly easy to cut and shape, for example by stamping.

[0029] The device may further comprise an elastic element, arranged, in the assembled state, between the corner bracket and the support surface of the stirrup, and compressed when the panel is in place.

[0030] The elastic element keeps the panel compressed in the stirrup.

[0031] Again, if the corner bracket is composed of a metal sheet, the resilient member may also include resilient tabs cut or stamped into the corner bracket. The device may include a sheet of adhesive that, in the assembled state, sticks the corner bracket against the panel.

[0032] The various elements can then be delivered in the form of a complete kit, without requiring the installer to use glue supplied separately.

[0033] The stirrup can be made of a folded metal strip, and the fingers can be made of the same material as the support surface.

[0034] The stirrup may have side panels, forming a support surface for one edge and one end of the panel, and from which the fingers extend.

[0035] Such a stirrup is easy and quick to produce, by cutting and folding a metal plate.

[0036] The means for fixing the panel to the supporting structure may in particular comprise hooks, configured to engage in a rail of the supporting structure and translate longitudinally relative to said rail.

[0037] The hooks attached, in the assembled state, at an upper corner of the panel, can also advantageously translate according to the height.

[0038] The hooks attached, in the assembled state, to a lower corner of the panel, may further comprise means for engaging with the rail of the supporting structure, preventing removal of the panel when engaged with said rail.

[0039] These hooks make it much easier to install the panel on the supporting structure.

[0040] The corner bracket may have bracket fingers that engage an edge or end of the panel.

[0041] These applique fingers form a natural stop, aiding positioning during assembly.

[0042] Brief description of the figures

[0043] Other characteristics and advantages of the fixing according to the invention will appear on reading the detailed description of the figures below, figures among which: - figure 1 is a perspective view of a facade with suspended panels,

[0044] - figure 2 is a perspective and exploded view of a device for fixing a panel in a facade with suspended panels,

[0045] - figure 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a panel fixed to a supporting structure by means of a device according to the invention,

[0046] - Figure 4 is a front view of an alternative form of corner bracket for the fixing device, and

[0047] - figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of a bracket according to another embodiment of a device for fixing a panel to a facade.

[0048] The embodiments shown are given as illustrative and non-limiting examples. Other embodiments are directly derivable from these by minor modifications and combinations of different embodiments.

[0049] Detailed description of the figures

[0050] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a segment of a facade 100 with suspended panels 1. Said facade 100 comprises panels 1, in particular made of glass, composed for example of tempered glass panels, stacked with one or more layers of plastic lamination between them.

[0051] Alternatively, the panels 1 may be made of stone, including sliced ​​facing stone, laminated glass, solid tempered glass, or even simply metal. The panels 1 may, in particular, be covered with screen printing or other aesthetic coating.

[0052] The panels 1 are arranged vertically, here parallel to a wall 200 of a building. Gravity, or at least the up-down direction of the panels 1 (orthogonal to the edge of the panel 1) if the facade 100 is inclined, provides a height axis, the length (orthogonal to the end of the panel 1) corresponds to a direction considered longitudinal, the third direction, corresponding to the thickness of the panels 1 (orthogonal to the flat of the panel 1), is considered transverse.

[0053] The facade 100 comprises a supporting structure 110 which is anchored to the wall 200. Alternatively, the supporting structure 110 can itself be suspended, from a roof or eaves, between posts or two neighboring walls, etc. Finally, the supporting structure 110 can form the support on its own, without a wall 200 or building, by being directly anchored to the ground.

[0054] The supporting structure 110 is here composed of parallel rails, for example screwed to the wall 200. The panels 1 are attached by fixing devices 10 to the supporting structure 110, which engage both with the panels 1 and with the rails.

[0055] Alternatively, the supporting structure 110 may have discontinuous attachment points, anchored to the wall 200 for example.

[0056] A fixing device 10 is shown in more detail and exploded in Figure 2. The fixing device 10 is in particular intended to be implemented in an upper corner of the panel 1.

[0057] The fixing device 10 comprises:

[0058] - means of attachment to the supporting structure 110, here in the form of a hook 3 configured to cooperate with a pin 5,

[0059] - a corner bracket 7, flat and configured to be attached against a corner of the panel 1, and a bracket 9, shaped at least in section to the corner of the panel 1.

[0060] Pin 5 can be in the form of a bolt or rivet, or even simply in the form of a rigid rod.

[0061] The corner bracket 7 is in particular in the form of a triangle or trapezoid cut from a metal sheet, in particular stainless steel or spring steel. Other shapes are however conceivable without deviating from the concept of the invention.

[0062] The corner applique 7 is glued against the corner of the panel 1 by means of an adhesive sheet 8. These two elements have an identical shape, this allowing them to overlap. The shapes of triangle, in particular right triangle, and trapezoid, with two sides at right angles, make it possible to conform the corner applique 7 to the corner of the panel 1, and in particular to have sides of the corner applique 7 which are parallel or coincident with segments of the edges of the corner of the panel 1 while optimizing the bonding surface. On the side opposite the panel 1 in the assembled state, the corner applique 7 has snap-fastening means 11, here in the form of snap-fastening tabs cut out of the corner applique 7.

[0063] The corner bracket 7 also has on this same side opposite the panel 1 cut-out elastic tabs, which form, in the assembled state, an elastic element 13 arranged between the corner bracket 7 and the stirrup 9.

[0064] The stirrup 9 comprises fingers 15 extending from a bearing surface 17, which engage with the edges of the panel 1, and recesses on the bearing surface 17 of a shape and arrangement corresponding to the elastic tabs forming complementary snap-fastening means 19 to the snap-fastening means 11 of the corner bracket 7.

[0065] The tabs, snap-on and / or elastic, have the advantage of being able to be obtained during a single stamping step, quick and inexpensive, the cutting of the tabs being done by shearing at the same time as the out-of-plane deformation of the sheet of said tabs.

[0066] Likewise, the withdrawals of the caliper 9 can be obtained by drilling or milling, fast and controlled machining methods.

[0067] According to particular embodiments, the same tabs can combine the function of snap-fastening means 11 and elastic element 13.

[0068] Other snap-fastening means 11 and elastic elements 13 are however conceivable: added and glued parts, assembled or riveted to the corner applique 7, conical stamping, spring washers etc.

[0069] The latching means 11 and the elastic elements 13, with the compression between the bearing surface 17 and the fingers 15, hold the panel 1 in a hyperstatic manner. The holding of the panel 1 is thereby reinforced, in particular with regard to vibrations and transverse forces (accidental pressure, wind, earthquake, etc.).

[0070] For the case of a fixing device 10 for an upper corner of the panel 1, the corner bracket 7 further has bracket fingers 21, with one bracket finger 21 bearing, in the assembled state, against the upper edge of the panel 1, and one bracket finger 21 bearing against the end of the panel 1.

[0071] These application fingers 21 form on the one hand an aid for positioning the application 7 during assembly, and on the other hand provide a stop against the translation of the application 7 downwards and towards the inside of the panel 1.

[0072] The stirrup 9 is here composed in particular of a single piece, in particular a folded metal strip, having two folded lateral panels 23 and forming a bearing surface for the edge and the end of the panel 1, and from which the fingers 15 extend. The bearing surface 17, the lateral panels 23, and the fingers 15 come from the same material, the fingers 15 extending the lateral panels 23 when the strip forming the stirrup 9 is considered flat.

[0073] The lateral panels 23 are in particular in the plane containing the transverse and longitudinal directions, the fingers 15 are in the plane containing the height and longitudinal directions.

[0074] Alternatively, the stirrup 9 can be assembled from different foundry or metallurgical elements: a plate forming the bearing surface, and corners or hooks forming the fingers 15 which are welded or fixed to the plate forming the bearing surface 17.

[0075] Alternatively, the stirrup 9 may be molded directly into shape.

[0076] The bearing surface 17 has a hole 25 forming a passage for the pin 5.

[0077] The hook 3 comprises a hook body 27 made of solid metal, for example aluminum or chrome stainless steel, machined by milling, drilling and cutting from the solid.

[0078] The hook body 27 is made of a material with a hook finger 29, of shape and dimensions corresponding to the rails of the supporting structure 110, with which it engages in the assembled state of the panel 1 on the facade 100.

[0079] The hook body 29 has a bore 31, configured to cooperate with the pin 5. The pin 5 here has a washer 33, in particular made of a vibration-absorbing material, such as plastic (high-density polyethylene HDPE for example) or crosslinked rubber. This washer 33 is however optional.

[0080] The hole 25 and the head of the pin 5 are in particular shaped to each other, by milling or stamping, so that the head of the pin 5 is flush with the bearing surface 17 in the assembled state of the fixing device 10, while engaging with the stirrup 9.

[0081] The hook 3 further comprises a blind hole 35, opening at a right angle from one of its sides into the bore 31, and into which a pin 37 is inserted to hold the pin 5 in place.

[0082] Pin 5, during assembly, is therefore inserted into hole 25 of bracket 9, then into hole 31 of hook 3.

[0083] The panel 1, on which the corner bracket 7 is glued in particular by means of the adhesive sheet 8, is then inserted into the brackets 9, and the snap-fastening between the corner brackets 7 and the brackets 9 secures the fixing devices 10 and the panel 1 into a unit that can be handled as a whole.

[0084] Pin 5 is then locked in position by means of pin 37.

[0085] The panel 1, with the fixing devices 10, is then inserted into the supporting structure 110 by engaging the hook fingers 29 with the rails.

[0086] Other variants of the invention may in particular use known alternatives for means of attachment to the supporting structure 110. For example, the pin 5 may extend and engage directly with an anchor or attachment point of the supporting structure 110.

[0087] The assembly formed by the corner bracket 9 and the bracket 9 is adaptable to numerous means of attachment to the supporting structure 110, said means of attachment being able to vary according to the nature of the supporting structure 110 (suspended, anchored in a wall 200, etc.).

[0088] Figure 3 shows a fixing device 10 for the lower corner of the panel 1, assembled and placed on the supporting structure 110, the hook 3 being engaged with the rail. The hook 3, intended for a fixing device 10 for the lower corner of the panel 1, further comprises means for snapping onto the rail 39. These means for snapping onto the rail 39 are here in the form of a Z-shaped arm, articulated at one end to the hook body 27 with an elastic constraint which tends to bring said Z-shaped arm back towards the hook finger 29. The Z-shaped arm engages with the lower face of the rail and prevents, when snapped onto said rail, a withdrawal from the top of the hook 3 and therefore the detachment of the panel 1 from the facade 100.

[0089] The Z-shaped arm is here obtained by deformation of a U-shaped metal rod, and the free ends of the U are folded and inserted into corresponding housings of the hook body 27 and form an axis of rotation.

[0090] The fixing devices 10 all comprise elements which are identical or symmetrical to each other: identical apart from one rotation for the diagonally opposite fixing devices 10, symmetrical for the fixing devices 10 on the same edge.

[0091] It follows that economies of scale can be achieved in the production of the fixing devices 10.

[0092] Figure 4 is a schematic front view of an alternative embodiment of corner bracket 7.

[0093] In this embodiment, the corner bracket 7 has a trapezoidal shape, and therefore there is a recess between the very corner of the panel 1 and the edge of the corner bracket 7. This recess is notably imposed by standards and legislation in many countries. The thickness of the trapezoidal corner bracket 7 and the thickness of the metal strip used to obtain the stirrup 9 of the preceding figures may notably correspond.

[0094] The corner bracket 7 is then made more discreet by being covered by the bracket 9.

[0095] Figure 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of stirrup 9. In this embodiment, the stirrup 9 is for example obtained by assembling profile sections.

[0096] The stirrup 9 has a square U-shaped profile, with two perpendicular arms, the panel 1 being inserted into this U-shaped profile, the two arms resting against the edge and the end 11 of the panel 1. The stirrup 9 therefore has towards the front, on the visible side of the panel 1 in the facade 100, a continuous lip 41 instead of the clearly separated fingers 15.

[0097] The continuous lip 41 is however an obvious alternative to the fingers 15 for those skilled in the art. The fixing device 10 according to the invention, with corner bracket 7 and stirrup 9, is quick and simple to assemble, and simplifies the fixing of the panels 1 to the supporting structure 110.

[0098] Furthermore, unlike through-screw fixing devices, only the end of the fingers 15 of the stirrup 9 appears on the visible face of the panel 1. The fixing device 10 is then potentially more discreet in the facade, or at least makes it possible to offer a visual alternative to through-screws and visible screws.

Claims

Demands 1 - Device for fixing a panel (1) to a supporting structure (110) of a suspended panel façade (100), said panel having a front face and a rear face, comprising: - means for fixing (3) to the supporting structure (110), having a hole (31) configured to cooperate with a pin (5), - a pawn (5), characterized in that it further comprises: - a corner fitting (7), flat and configured to be attached against a corner of the rear face of the panel (1), comprising snap-fit ​​means (11) arranged on the opposite side of the panel (1) once assembled, - a stirrup (9), comprising: * a support surface (17) against the rear face of the panel (1), * fingers (15) configured to grip an edge of the panel (1), * a hole (25) forming a passage for the pawl (5) in the support surface (17), * additional snap-on means (19) of the snap-on means (11) of the corner fitting (7), the pin (5) engaging with the stirrup (9), opening into the bore (31) and being attached to the fixing means (3) to the supporting structure (110) in the assembled state. 2- Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the corner fitting (7) is composed of a metal sheet and in that the snap-on means (11) comprise snap-on tabs cut in the corner fitting (7), and the complementary snap-on means (19) comprise recesses of corresponding shape and arrangement on the bearing surface (17) of the stirrup (9). 3- Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises an elastic element (13), arranged and compressed in the assembled state between the corner applique (7) and the bearing surface (17) of the stirrup (9). 4- Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the corner fitting (7) is composed of a metal sheet and in that the elastic element (13) comprises elastic tabs cut into the corner fitting (7). 5- Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a sheet of adhesive (8) sticking, in the assembled state, the corner appliqué (7) against the panel (1).

6. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bracket (9) comprises lateral faces (23), forming a bearing surface for an edge and an end of the panel (1), and from which the fingers (15) extend. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the means for fixing the panel (1) to the supporting structure (110) comprise hooks (3), configured to engage in a rail of the supporting structure (110) and to translate longitudinally relative to said rail. A device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the hooks (3), attached, in the assembled state, at an upper corner of the panel (1), can further translate vertically.- A device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the hooks (3) attached, in the assembled state, to a lower corner of the panel (1), further comprise snap-on means (39) with the rail of the supporting structure (110), preventing the panel (1) from being withdrawn when snapped with said rail. - A device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the corner fitting (7) comprises attachment fingers (21) that engage with an edge or end of the panel (1).

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