WO2009093974A1

WO2009093974A1 - Frame system for supporting facade elements and use of the frame system

Info

Publication number: WO2009093974A1
Application number: PCT/SE2009/050068
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jon Henrik Falk
Original assignee: Brunkeberg Industriutveckling AB
Current assignee: Brunkeberg Industriutveckling AB
Priority date: 2008-01-25
Filing date: 2009-01-22
Publication date: 2009-07-30
Anticipated expiration: 2010-07-25
Also published as: SE0800186L

Abstract

A frame system (3) for supporting facade elements (2) is described. The frame system (3) comprises horizontal frame parts (5) and vertical frame parts (4) arranged against a building frame (1) and is characterized in that on at least two of the vertical frame parts (4) there is arranged a support device (7) against which a transport device (6) may be arranged. A use of the frame system is also described.

Description

FRAME SYSTEM FOR SUPPORTING FACADE ELEMENTS AND USE

OF THE FRAME SYSTEM

Technical field

The present invention relates to a frame system for supporting facade elements and to a method for erection of facade elements on a facade.

Description of the prior art

Multi-storey buildings may be constructed in a plurality of ways. Common to them all is that they comprise a facade. The facade may be provided in a large number of different ways and may either constitute a load bearing part of the multi-storey building or only serve as weather protection. In the latter case the building comprises a building frame on which a plate formed facade elements are fastened. The facade elements may comprise one or more panes of glass, thermopanes or laminated glass, one or more weather proofed plates or a combination of panes of glass and weather proof plates and may also comprise a frame which holds the panes of glass and/or the weather proof plates. With thermo- panes is usually meant facade elements with two or more glass plates joined to each other with intermediate air or gas filled spaces. The facade may also comprise double sets of facade elements with an intermediate space in which air may circulate, so called double shelled facades. The facade elements may also com- prise isolation on the inside on the weather proof plates. The weather proof plates may be coonstituted by for example metal plates, plastic plates or composite plates. A combination of different plate formed facade elements may be used for the facade.

The facade elements must be fastened to the building frame in some suitable way so that the facade elements are kept in place. The building frame may thus support a frame system specifically arranged for fastening of facade elements.

During erection of the multi-storey building and the facade the fa- cade elements will usually be hoisted to the correct height on the facade using building cranes which have the purpose of hoisting building material to different parts of the building. The building cranes are often highly loaded which makes the coordination between hoisting for different working tasks very important and often involves a factor which prolongs the building time for multi-storey buildings. This means that a better use of building cranes may result in large economical profits during erection of multi-storey buildings.

In "De-coupling cladding installation from other high-rise building trades: a case study, proceeding. 9^th Annual conference of the International group for lean construction - IGLC9, Singapore, 6-8 August 2001", a method is described for hoisting facade elements on a multi-storey building without the use of building cranes. For the hoisting of facade elements one or more cranes are described which successively may be placed on the floors during the erection of the building and which comprises support for a cable guided lifting device in which facade elements may be transported to the desired height in the building. The facade elements may then be dis- tributed horizontally to the desired place using a overhead travelling collar arranged to be temporarily anchored on the building frame around the entire building and which may be moved continuously upwards in the building. After finished mounting of facade elements all parts, intended for hoisting and distribution of facade elements to the intended place, will be dismantled and may thus not be used for other purposes regarding the building.

In the United States Patent US 6,039,194 a mobile crane is described which may be placed inside a multi-storey building and which can replace a part of the lifting work which is usually performed by a large building crane which is placed on the ground on the side of the multi-storey building or on the top of the multi-storey building.

US 4,887,694 describes a device for rescue elevators on a high-rise building. The device comprises a number of vertical frames which are mounted from the roof on a high-rise building down to a point close to the ground. The frames comprises a cog grip which allows hoisting devices to be moved vertically along the house and to be used for evacuation in case of fire or in order to perform mainte- nance on the facade.

US 4,469,198 shows a rescue elevator for multi-storey buildings. The rescue elevator may run along a pole in a vertical groove mounted in an outer wall of the building. The device may be mounted on already finished buildings or on buildings during erection.

GB 2,284,009 shows a facade construction which comprises horizontal and vertical T-profiles which are used to attach facade ele- ments. On the vertical T-profiles there is arranged integrated racks. In GB 2,284,009 there is also described a hoisting device which may be hoisted on the facade using the racks which are integrated in the vertical T-profiles and the grooves in the vertical gables of the facade elements, which grooves provide guidance for the hoist- ing device.

The PCT-application WO2006/074492 shows a prefabricated facade unit comprising facade elements and vertical profiles which are attached to the facade elements. In the vertical profiles there is ar- ranged grooves for vertical guides for a window cleaning elevator.

US-Patent US 4,591 ,308 shows a guidance jig for lifting a facade element in a facade. The facade elements have a guidance rail. When a facade element has been mounted later mounted facade elements may be guided on the guidance rail on the previously mounted facade element when they are hoisted. During erection of facades for multi-storey buildings, a frame system is usually built with vertical and horizontal parts connected to the building frame for fastening of the facade elements. The frames may be designed in a plurality of different ways and an important function of the frame is that the facade elements are fastened in a good way so that facade elements do not become loose and so that moist and water cannot penetrate through the facade and damage the building behind. Examples on such frames are shown in WO 02/055803, EP 0550808 and GB 2 137 673.

Description of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for erection of multi-storey buildings which allows facade elements to be transported vertically to the height on which the facade element is to be placed without the use of exteriorly placed building cranes or of building cranes placed on the floors for handling of building elements.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved frame system for supporting facade elements.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multi-storey building whose frame system is designed in such a way that maintenance work, inspections and similar is facilitated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-storey building whose frame system is designed in such a way that the exterior of the building may be used to raise the function of the build- ing, for example by attaching advertising signs, sun screens, light fittings, sun panels and similar.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a rational method for erection of facades on multi-storey buildings, which results in that fastening of a facade elements do not require the use of external building cranes and neither as large access to the floors for place- ment of mobile cranes, reloading of facade elements or mounting works, as methods according to the prior art.

The above objects are provided by arranging, on a frame system for supporting facade elements comprising horizontal and vertical frame parts, on at least two of the vertical frame parts a support device against which a transport device, for transports in the vertical direction, may be arranged. The support device may be mounted on the vertical frame part of comprise an integrated part of the vertical frame part. The support device may comprise a vertical pole or girder separately mounted in a groove in the support device against which pole or girder the transport device is arranged to be engaged in order to be moved up and down along the vertical frame part. The pole or girder will, during erection of the building, successively be mounted in the grooves of the support device and each part of the pole or girder may have a length which corresponds to the length between two floors. The parts may also be made with another length and especially the parts may be made with a length which means that the joints of the rod or girder ends up at another height than the joints of the frame parts. The lower most part of the rod or girder, against which a transport device is intended to be arranged, shall in its lower end be anchored against the support device. The upper parts of the rod or girder may be mechanically connected to lower parts. The parts of the rod or girder are mounted so that they may expand without tensions being built into the rod or girder.

The rod or girder may comprise a surface arranged with cog grips against which the transport device may be engaged. The transport device may be used to hoist facade elements to a desired position for mounting of the elements on the facade.

The frame is a part of the building and fills an important function to make it possible to complete a building. By completing the vertical parts of the frame with a support device which enables a transport device to be engaged to transport facade elements and platforms to the intended place, a number of advantages are provided. The support device and the rod or girder mounted in the support device may comprise a mechanical reinforcement of the frame.

By using a transport device, arranged to run along the vertical frame parts in the frame for support of supporting elements, for transport of support elements to the intended place for mounting, the use of a building crane for hoisting facade elements may be avoided. Thus, the subcontractor being responsible for the facade does not have to coordinate the delivery of or the hoisting of the fa- cade elements with the operator of the building crane.

As the hoisting and the mounting is performed from the outside of the multi-storey building no space is required for the facade elements on each floor. This results in that the facade work intrudes minimally on the work of other contractors in the multi-storey building.

Furthermore each floor is loaded less than according to the prior art when no facade elements need to be stored on the floors. This means that the facade elements may begin to be arranged on the facade before the concrete floor beams have reached their full strength.

The rod or girder mounted in the support device may be comprised by a rack. The support device may be designed with a groove in which the rack is placed. The groove may be arranged so that the rack is completely recessed in the groove. The support device may also comprise supporting flanges which surrounds the groove and which can comprise support for the received transport device.

A rack may be comprised by a rod, a pipe or a girder or similar which is provided with some form of folded surface on at least a part of the vertical matrix surface. The folded surface is intended to fit against a corresponding surface of a transport device and thereby be able to be used to drive the transport device vertically. The rack may be joined vertically by a mechanical lock without supplying lose parts such as for example screw unions, rivets or similar. The mechanical lock shall be able to absorb both pressure loads and tension loads. The mechanical lock may be designed so that insignificant deviations arise in measures between the cogs in and outside the joint zone. This enables the engaging driving unit of cogwheels to be precision manufactured and the function with the transport device may be made smaller and more efficient than what is usually the case with construction elevators.

By using, during erection of the building, vertical frame parts provided with support devices comprising rods or girders, for example racks against which a transport device for transport of building elements, such as facade elements, may be arranged, transport of fa- cade elements to the intended position for mounting may be performed and external building cranes may be set free for other tasks in the building process. Likewise may for example facade elements be transported to the intended position without having to arrange lifting cranes on the floors. This results in that the erection of the facade may be performed parallely with other tasks on the floors and that the time for erection of a multi-storey building may be shortened considerably as also the cost for erection of the building. Also other advantages such as decreased weather dependency when for example facade elements are transported fastened to a hoisting device which runs along the facade wall instead of being fastened in guiding wires which are pulled with lifting cranes to the intended position. The risks for damages on for example the facade elements is also decreased when these can be transported directly to the intended placement position without requiring any intermedi- ate stores on the floors or horizontal transports in the floors in order to place the facade elements on the intended position.

The facade elements may also be guided during hoisting by guide rails which are attached to or integrated in the support device or in the vertical frame. By the rods and girders, which are comprised in the support device, being a part of the vertical frame system means that the erection of these is not an extra working operation during erection of the building.

It is however conceivable to mount the support devices comprising racks on the vertical frame parts during the building time, as it after all gives big advantages to be able to perform the vertical transports during the building.

For the finished building which will comprise vertical frame parts comprising support devices with racks, the support devices with racks may be used to enable transport of service equipment, rescue equipment and similar along the facade of the building. The support devices with racks may preferably also be used to support fastening and increase the function of the building, for example by fastening advertising signs, sun screens, light fittings, sun panels and similar.

Between the support device and at least one of said rod or girder there might be arranged an electrically isolating insert. Such an insert prevents galvanic corrosion in the case that the support device and the rod or girder are made of different metals. There is a large number of different materials that the electrically isolating insert may be made of.

As the support devices with racks are arranged in the vertical frame parts which support the facade elements these will constitute a stable system which covers large parts of the facade without this effecting the appearance of the facade to any appreciable extent.

In the following preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the appended drawings.

Short description of the drawings

Fig. 1 shows a part of a multi-storey building with a building frame and a facade during erection. Fig. 2 shows a view of a vertical girder in a profile system with a support device comprising three racks 8.

Fig. 3 shows a joint in a rack.

Fig. 4 shows a cross section of an alternative embodiment.

Fig. 5 shows a cross section of a vertical girder according to an alternative embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a vertical girder with racks according to an alternative embodiment.

Description of preferred embodiments of the invention

In the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention similar parts in different figures will be denoted with the same reference numeral.

Fig. 1 shows a part of a multi-storey building with a building frame 1 and a facade during erection. Facade elements 2 are placed and fastened in a frame system 3 comprising vertical 4 and horizontal 5 frame parts arranged against the building frame 1. A hoisting device 6 is arranged to run in a support device 7 mounted on the vertical frame parts 4. The support device 7 comprises a rod or girder 8 against which the hoisting device 6 may be driven. The rod or girder 8 is mounted fixed against the building frame 1 in its lower most end 22 of its lower most part. The lower most end of the rod or girder 8 need not correspond to the ground floor for the building. The rod or girder 8 may be a rack 9 (Figure 2). In case the support device 7 comprises a rack 9 the hoisting device may comprise a drive unit (not shown) which is arranged to be in engagement with the rack 9 in order to drive the hoisting device along the support device 7. In order to drive the hoisting device 6 upwards on a support device 7 which do not have a rack a winch 24 may for example be used which winches in the wire 25 which is attached to the hoisting device 6.

The hoisting device 6 hoists a facade element 2 for mounting in the frame system 3 in a desired position.

Fig. 2 shows a view over a vertical frame part 4 with the support device 7 comprising three racks 9. The support device 7 is mounted along a surface facing away from the building frame 1 on the verti- cal frame part 4. A guidance rail 14 with a driving unit to a working platform, material elevator or maintenance robot is shown schematically in engagement with a rack 9. The hoisting device 6 shown in Fig. 1 is preferably guided by a guidance rail similar to the guidance rail 14, but without driving unit. The vertical frame part 4 is in- tended to support facade elements 2 (not shown in the figure). The support device 7 comprises a part 10 attached to the outer side of the vertical frame part 4 (seen from the building frame). The support device 7 may also be designed as an integrated part of the vertical frame part 4 and the vertical frame part 4 may be put together by multiple parts and the support device may be an integrated part of one of the parts of the frame part. The support device 7 comprises three grooves 12, in which the racks 9 are mounted. The support device 7 is also provided with supporting flanges 11 arranged at the grooves 12. Each one of the grooves 12 is designed so that the rack 9 may only be moved lengthwise in the grooves. Even if the embodiment in Fig. 2 shows a support device 7 with three grooves 12, 23, it is possible within the scope of the invention to provide a support device 7 with an arbitrary number of grooves such as 23. As has been mentioned above the guidance rail 14 may be ar- ranged on a working platform, material elevator or maintenance robot. In case that a winch 24 (Fig. 1 ) is used for transport along the grooves the guidance rail 14 does not have to comprise any drive unit.

In Figure 2 three racks 9 are shown mounted in three grooves 12 in the support device 7. The racks 9 are placed parallely along the outer side of the vertical frame part 4. The rack in the middle will after placement cover the fastening devices of the support devices 7 against the vertical frame part 4. This rack may be mounted from above after the mounting of the support device 7 and the vertical frame part 4 by lowering down the rack 9 in the groove 12. The outer racks 9 may be mounted continuously as the support device 7 and the vertical frame part 4. The grooves 12 has the form of T- grooves. At the grooves 12 there are arranged supporting flanges 11. The supporting flanges 11 form outer T-grooves in which the hoisting device 6 (Fig. 1 ) may be guided. As an alternative it is pos- sible to let the hoisting device 6 for the facade elements 2 be guided by grooves (not shown) which are arranged on the sides of the support device 7. The hoisting device 6 is then arranged between grooves in two different support devices. A working platform may then be arranged in the grooves 12. This results in that the hoisting device 6 may pass on the inside of the working platform. This may also be achieved if there are arranged four parallel grooves 12 in the support device 7. The two grooves 12 in the middle may then be used for working platforms while the two outermost may be used for hoisting devices 6.

Fig. 3 shows a joint 15 in the rack 9. The joint 15 is designed so that an upper part 16 of a rack 9 easily may be joined with a lower part 17 without the need to use any loose parts such as for example screws, rivets to join the parts. The joint 15 may be designed with an intake 18 in the upper part of each rack part, where a corresponding bulge 20 in the lower part of each rack may be placed. The gear pitch d lengthwise is constant also over the joint 15, which means that all cogs get the same distance from each other. It may be advantageous to place the joints 15 at different heights com- pared to the joints on the vertical frame part 4 in order to achieve support in the joints from the frame system in this way.

Fig. 4 shows a cross section of an alternative embodiment where the vertical frame part 4 has been provided with a support device 7 comprising two racks 9 placed in grooves 12 and an intermediate groove 23 which has not been provided with a rack and may serve as guidance for a hoisting device which is driven upwards using the racks 9. The grooves 12 and 23 are countersinked in the support device 7.

Fig. 5 shows a cross section of an alternative embodiment where the vertical frame part 4 has been provided with a support device 7 comprising two grooves 12 and an intermediate groove 23, which have not been provided with any rack. The grooves 12, 23, may serve as guidance for a hoisting device which is driven upwards along the support device 7. At the grooves 12, 23, there are ar- ranged support flanges 1 1. The grooves 12 and 23 are countersinked in the support device 7.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a support device 7 of an aluminium alloy comprising two grooves 12 with racks 9 of steel and an inter- mediate groove 26 which has not been provided with any rack. Between the racks 9 and the support device 7 there are arranged an insert 27 of plastic. The insert 27 prevents galvanic corrosion between the support device 7 and the racks 9. Against the grooves 12 there are arranged support flanges 1 1 which create outer grooves 28.

The above described embodiments of the invention may be modified in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention which is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. Frame system (3) for supporting facade elements (2), which frame system comprises horizontal frame parts (5) and vertical frame parts (4) arranged against a building frame (1), characterized in that on at least two of the vertical frame parts (4) there are arranged a support device (7) against which a transport device (6) may be arranged, wherein the support device comprises a groove (12) and support flanges (11 ) at the grooves (12).

2. Frame system according to claim 1 , characterized in that the support device (7) is mounted on the vertical frame part (4).

3. Frame system according to claim 1 , characterized in that the support device (7) is an integrated part of the vertical frame part

(4).

4. Frame system according to claim 1 , 2 or 3, characterized in that a separate rod or girder (8), arranged to be engaged against the transport device (6), is mounted in the groove.

5. Frame system according to claim 4, characterized in that the lower most part (22) of the rod or girder (8) against which a transport device (6) is intended to be arranged, is anchored fixed against the building frame (1).

6. Frame system according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the rod or girder (8) comprises at least two parts (16, 17).

7. Frame system according to claim 6, characterized in that upper parts (16) of the rod or girder (8) are mechanically connected to lower parts (17) of the rod or girder (8).

8. Frame system according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the rod or girder (8) has a length that results in that joints (15) between an lower part (17) and an upper part (16) not are placed at the same height as joints between vertical frame parts (4).

9. Frame system according to any one of claims 4-8, characterized in that the rod or girder (8) is a rack (9).

10. Frame system according to claim 9, characterized in that the rack (9) is countersinked in the groove (12) in the support device (7).

11. Frame system according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the rack (9) comprises an upper part (16) and a lower part (17) and a joint (15), wherein the joint (15) is designed in such a way that the gear pitch d, is constant along the rack (9).

12. Frame system according to any one of claims 9, 10 or 11 , characterized in that it comprises an electrically isolating insert which is arranged between the support device (7) and the rod or girder (8).

13. Frame system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the frame system (3) together with the facade elements (2) comprises the facade on a multi-storey building.

14. Use of a frame system according to any one of claims 1-13, in order to transport facade elements on the frame system using a transport device.

15. Use of a frame system according to any one of claims 1-13, in order to perform maintenance on the facade using a transport device.

16. Use of a frame system according to any one of claims 1-13, wherein the frame system is used for fastening of advertising signs, sun screens, light fittings, sun panels and similar.