A glazing assembly

The invention relates to a glazing assembly and in particular to a glazing assembly for large-scale structural applications such as curtain walling and the like.

Known glazing systems of this type suffer from the considerable disadvantage that because of the need to provide sufficient structural strength for wind resistance the applications of such systems is limited.

This invention is therefore directed towards providing a glazing assembly which may be used in a wide range of applications, particularly in large-scale structural applications.

Statements of Invention

According to the invention there is provided a glazing assembly comprising a glazing unit having at least two sheets of glass, adjacent sheets being separated by a spacer means comprising an inner spacer bar and an outer seal extending around the periphery of the glazing unit; the seal having a number of peripherally spacedapart fixing clips and associated fixing elements for fixing the glazing unit to an adjacent support, in use.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the fixing clip is a press fit into the seal.

Preferably the fixing clip has a base wall section, parallel side walls and end wall sections which define a slot for receiving a fixing element.

Ideally the slot is of arcuate shape.

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In a preferred embodiment the fixing element is a toggle which is rotatable from a locating position to a locking position in which the toggle is engaged in the slots of adjacent clips.

Preferably the side walls of the fixing clips are substantially flush with inner faces of the glass sheets.

In a preferred arrangement the toggle has a hole for engagement by a fixing screw which also engages the nose of a structural element on fixing of the toggle.

The support may be a mullion or transom, for example of a curtain walling.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description thereof given by way of example only, in which:Fig. 1 is an exploded view of part of a glazing assembly according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective, partially cut-away view of the glazing assembly of Fig- l;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the glazing assembly of Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational, partially cross sectional view illustrating the operation of the glazing system;

Fig. 5 is a front view of a glazing clip of the assembly;

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view on the line V - VI in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view on the line VII - VII in Fig. 5.

Detailed Description

Referring to the drawings there is illustrated a glazing assembly according to the invention. A glazing unit 1 comprising two sheets of glass 2, 3 which are separated by a standard spacer bar 5 which is perforated on the inner side and contains a moisture absorbing means such as silica gel crystals. An outer secondary seal 10 extends around the periphery of the glazing unit.

The secondary seal 10 is formed by injecting a curable silicone rubber sealant to fill the gap between the outer face of the spacer bar 5 and the outer edges of the sheets of glass 2, 3. A suitable seal is, for example, that sold under the name Elastosil 500 (Elastosil is a registered trademark of Wacher-Chemie GmbH). It is a non-sag condensation cross-linking, two-part silicone rubber with a high mechanical strength and resistance to weathering.

In this case the secondary seal 10 has a number of peripherally spaced-apart slots 15 extending around the periphery of the glazing unit to receive fixing means, in this case in the form of fixing clips 50 for fixing the glazing unit to an adjacent support 17.

The slots 15 may be formed in the secondary seal 10, before it has cured, by inserting an appropriately sized forming tool into the body of the seal 10 leaving the desired slots 15 on curing of the seal. To ensure integrity of the seal 10, the seal is not removed back to the spacer bar 5 but a depth of seal is retained between the spacer bar 6 and the fixing clip 16. A gap 18 is also left between the rear face of the fixing clip 16 and the front face of the seal part and also, in this case, between the inner faces of the glass sheets 2, 3 and the adjacent faces of the fixing clip 16. The arrangement will be particularly apparent from Fig. 4 and accommodates expansion/contraction of the glass sheets 2, 3.

The support 17 is in this case a mullion bar 17 having a central projecting glazing nose 25 to receive fixing screws 62 which are used to fix the clips 50 and hence the glazing units into position.

In this case, each fixing clip 50 is typically of a plastics or nylon material having a base wall section 51, parallel side walls 52 and end wall sections 53 which define an arcuate slot 55 closed at both ends. The configuration of the fixing clips 50 allows simple fitting while ensuring the maximum bulk of material in the clip for structural strength. It will be noted that the outer faces of the side walls 52 of the clips 50 are flush with the inner faces of the glass sheets 2, 3 for ease of fitting, integrity of sealing and maximum wind force resistance. The clips 50 are press fitted into the seal 10 before the sealant material has set.

Opposed fixing clips 50 are engaged by a toggle 60 in the form of a generally rectangular piece of aluminum having a receiving hole 61 for a fixing screw 62 which screw-threadingly engages the toggle 60 and the nose 25 of the mullion bar 17. The toggle 60 has an extension 63 which projects from the toggle to engage a correspondingly recessed portion 64 of the nose 25 of the mullion bar 17. In this way a more positive location and fixing of the toggle is achieved. It will be appreciated that the toggle projection 63 and recessed part 64 of the mullion nose 25 may be shaped to interlock only when the toggle 60 is in the locking position.

The toggle 60 is fitted in the vertical orientation illustrated by dotted lines 60’ in Fig. 4 for entry through the slot 66 between adjacent glass sheets 3. The toggle 60 is then rotated to the horizontal locking position and fixed in this position by the fixing screw 62 prior to sealing with a sealing compound 69.

The glazing assembly according to the invention is particularly preferred because of the simplicity and effectiveness both in fitting and in use.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which ί

may be varied in construction and detail.

CLAIMS