Modular Fire-Resistant Glazing with Spring Connectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fire-resistant glazing solutions are complex to produce, visually unappealing, and require laborious assembly and disassembly, with limited variability and high costs due to the need for hardening sealing compounds and specialized adaptation to local dimensions.
Innovation Solution
The use of fire-resistant panes with a circumferential groove and a connecting element designed as a tongue or spring for form-fitting connection, eliminating the need for hardening sealants and allowing for easy assembly and disassembly, while enabling a visually appealing and adaptable fire-resistant glazing system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If frame construction with metal profile supports is used to hold fire protection panes, then the fire-resistant glazing provides structural support and fire protection, but the frame construction is complex to produce and disturbs the visual appearance and passage of light
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the frame construction entirely from the fire-resistant glazing system. Instead of using metal profile supports that encompass the edges of fire protection panes, the invention extracts the framing element and replaces it with a free-standing support structure consisting of discrete brackets that attach to the glass edges, thereby eliminating the visual and light transmission disturbances while maintaining structural support and fire protection functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the continuous frame construction into discrete bracket elements. Rather than a unified frame encompassing all panes, individual brackets are used to hold each fire protection pane separately. This segmentation simplifies production, allows for easier assembly and disassembly, and eliminates the complex interconnected frame structure while maintaining the necessary support and fire protection functions
2Strength
If brackets with screw connections penetrating the pane are used to fix fire protection panes, then the panes are securely fastened to the support structure, but only solid fire protection panes or composite panes with solid intumescent layers can be used and the support structure requires interior space for assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a sealing profile as an intermediary element between the bracket and the fire protection pane. The sealing profile engages with the groove in the pane edge and is compressed by the bracket's clamping element, creating a secure fastening without requiring screw connections that penetrate the pane. This intermediary mechanism allows the use of various pane types including those with intumescent gel layers, as the sealing profile accommodates different pane constructions while maintaining secure attachment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical screw connection system with a compression-based fastening mechanism. Instead of using screws that penetrate and clamp the pane, the bracket uses a clamping element that compresses the sealing profile against the groove in the pane edge. This mechanical substitution eliminates the need for penetrating fasteners and allows for greater versatility in pane type selection while maintaining secure attachment
3Reliability
If vertical butt joints of fire-resistant panes are filled with sealant, then the connection joints are sealed, but the sealing process is complicated and cost-intensive and the glazing cannot be easily dismantled requiring cutting out hardened sealant for reuse
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sealant filling process from the joint sealing function. Instead of filling the vertical butt joints with hardening sealant, the invention uses a mechanical connection system where brackets and sealing profiles create the seal through compression and physical engagement. This extraction eliminates the complicated sealant application and hardening process, allows for easy dismantling by simply removing the brackets, and enables component reuse without costly mechanical cleaning
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the chemical sealant system with a mechanical sealing system. Instead of using sealant that hardens to seal the joints, the invention uses compression of elastic sealing profiles against the groove surfaces and mechanical engagement of the bracket components. This mechanical substitution provides equivalent sealing reliability while enabling easy assembly and disassembly without the complications of sealant application and removal
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution simplifies assembly and disassembly, reduces costs, and allows for flexible adaptation to local conditions while maintaining high fire and smoke protection standards, with the ability to reuse components without extensive cleaning and maintaining a high level of light transmission.
Implementation Method 1
a shaped body made of an intumescent material, such as, for example, siliceous material, is inserted into a recess provided in the connecting element
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to fire-resistant glazing and a method for its manufacture to prevent the passage of fire and smoke from one room to another in the event of a fire, comprising at least one fire-resistant pane and a holding structure supporting the fire-resistant pane, wherein the fire-resistant pane is composed of at least two parallel spaced-apart glass panes connected to each other by means of an edge seal formed around the perimeter, and the edge seal is recessed from the butt edges of the glass panes to form a groove, characterized in that a connecting element designed as a spring is positively inserted into the groove of the fire-resistant pane to connect several such fire-resistant panes arranged in one plane and/or to fasten the fire-resistant pane to the holding structure.