Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Multiroom or level – Curtain-wall; i.e. – panel attached outside floor or beam
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-13
2004-04-06
Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Multiroom or level
Curtain-wall; i.e., panel attached outside floor or beam
C052S204530, C052S212000, C052S745160
Reexamination Certificate
active
06715248
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to curtain walls used for building exteriors and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to methods of and apparatus for constructing, assembling and anchoring sill sections of such curtain walls and the curtain wall panels associated therewith.
HISTORY OF THE RELATED ART
Curtain walls are typically constructed of extruded aluminum frame support members having generally U-shaped channels (although other shapes may apply) for supporting a plurality of panel members that serve as the exterior of a building. Such panel members are most often panes of glass, and often double pane glass sections, but other paneled building materials such as aluminum, granite, slate, or concrete are also utilized. Such panel members are often of identical size and shape. However, near doors, opening windows, or other access points into the building, panel members of different sizes and shapes may be utilized.
More specifically, such curtain walls generally include a horizontal sill member having at least one portion forming an upwardly facing region (or channel) at the bottom of a wall section, a horizontal head member having a downwardly facing channel at the top of a wall section, and a plurality of vertical mullions running between the sill and head members. Panel members are supported by the channels of the sill member and the head member, and the vertical joints between adjacent panel members are formed at the mullions. In some designs, the mullions are disposed interiorly of the sill member, the head member, and the panel members so that only the joint between adjacent panel members, and not the mullions themselves, are visible from the exterior of the building. The designs do, however, vary, depending upon the desired aesthetics of the curtain wall construction. One such design is set forth and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,508, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Another curtain wall construction is set forth and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,182, also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. As set forth in the '182 Patent, multiple panel members
20
are typically arranged side-by-side and are secured and sealed between a sill member
10
and a head member, with their vertical joints overlapping at a mullion. This vertical joint must then be sealed from both the interior and exterior of the building using both resilient gaskets and/or structural silicone, as described for reference purposes below.
Referring now to
FIG. 1
, a schematic, cross-sectional view of sill member
10
of an exemplary, prior art curtain wall is shown. Sill member
10
secures a curtain wall to a structural support surface such as a concrete slab
12
. The concrete slab
12
may be at ground level or comprising a floor surface of a high rise building. Although not shown in
FIG. 1
, a head member similar to sill member
10
secures the curtain wall to concrete slab between floors of a building or other building structures, and a plurality of mullions span between sill member
10
and the head member. Sill member
10
is typically formed as an integral aluminum extrusion. Sill member
10
also generally includes a channel section
14
, an anchoring section
16
disposed interiorly of channel section
14
, and a cover
18
.
Still referring to
FIG. 1
, channel section
14
and cover
18
cooperate to secure a panel member
20
to sill member
10
. More specifically, channel section
14
includes a base
14
a
and two legs
14
b
and
14
c
that form a upwardly facing U-shaped channel. A support member
22
rests on the top surface of base
14
a.
Leg
14
b
has a groove
24
proximate the upper end of its interior surface, and leg
14
c
has a support surface
26
proximate the upper end of its interior surface. Cover
18
has a downwardly depending resilient leg
28
that engages a groove
30
on the exterior surface of leg
14
c.
Cover
18
also has a tongue
32
. Panel member
20
is supported within channel section
14
via setting block
34
and resilient gaskets
36
and
38
. Setting block
34
is disposed on the top surface of support member
22
. Resilient gasket
36
has a tongue
36
a
that engages groove
24
of leg
14
b.
Resilient gasket
36
is typically pre-installed in groove
24
of leg
14
b
during manufacturing of sill member
10
. Resilient gasket
38
has a groove
38
a
that engages tongue
32
of cover
18
and a surface
38
b
that mates with surface
26
of leg
14
c.
Channel section
14
further includes a plurality of support legs
40
below base
14
a.
Anchoring section
16
includes a base
16
a,
a leg
16
b,
and a plurality of support legs
42
below base
16
a.
Base
16
a
has a plurality of holes
44
spaced along its length for receiving bolts or fastening means
46
, and the diameter of each hole
44
is substantially identical to the diameter of a threaded shank
46
a
of each bolt
46
. Leg
16
b
has a groove
48
for receiving a tongue
49
of cover
18
.
The following technique is typically used to install a panel member
20
of such a curtain wall. First, sill member
10
is laid on a shim
56
in the proper position on slab
12
and is used as a template to drill holes into slab
12
for each bolt
46
. One should note that shim
56
does not run continuously along the length of sill member
10
. Instead, shim
56
is used at low points of slab
12
to level sill member
10
, if necessary. Second, sill member
10
is removed from shim
56
, and a hole
50
with a larger diameter is drilled in the place of each of the holes drilled using sill member
10
. Third, a structural insert
52
is secured within each of holes
50
via epoxy or other conventional means. Each insert
52
has an internally threaded hole
54
for receiving bolts
46
. A preferred structural insert
52
is sold by HILTI® of Tulsa, Okla. Fourth, sill member
10
is repositioned on shim
56
and secured to slab
12
using bolts
46
. Fifth, a sealant
58
is disposed on slab
12
along both the exterior and interior sides of shim
56
. Sixth, a head member similar to sill member
10
is secured to part of the building structure using the above-described techniques. Seventh, vertical mullions are secured between sill member
10
and the head member at appropriate intervals along the curtain wall. Eighth, support member
22
is disposed on base
14
a
of sill member
10
, and setting block
34
is disposed on support member
22
. Ninth, panel member
20
is then installed from the exterior of the building, typically first being tilted into the channel section of the head member, and then being dropped into channel section
14
of sill member
10
. Tenth, cover
18
is installed in sill member
10
, and a glazing stop is installed in the head member of the curtain wall. Eleventh, resilient gasket
38
is disposed on tongue
32
of cover
18
of sill member
10
, and a similar gasket is disposed on the tongue of the glazing stop of the head member.
While such curtain walls, and other conventional curtain walls, have proved to be reliable commercial building systems, they suffer from several drawbacks. For example, securing the curtain wall members to their corresponding building structure typically requires, as described above, multiple steps at the job site. The complexity of such steps is exacerbated by the frequent requirement of shimming a sill member
10
that is not yet assembled to oppositely disposed vertical mullions, and then completing the assembly process subsequent thereto. This both increases the cost of this process an requires a high degree of quality control. In addition, installing the panel members at the building site also requires inspections during the process. These inspections must be performed by building code enforcement personnel, whose schedule may or may not be compatible with time schedules for the contractor erecting such curtain walls. For this reason, it would be greatly advantageous to provide a method of and apparatus for curtain wall construction, maximizing the availability of t
Butler Manufacturing Company
Friedman Carl D.
Glessner Brian E.
Jenkens & Gilchrist P.C.
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