EP0058143B1

EP0058143B1 - Prefabricated balcony

Info

Publication number: EP0058143B1
Application number: EP82850016A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bengt Nilsson
Original assignee: Rovac AB
Current assignee: Cessione bengt Nilsson
Priority date: 1981-02-06
Filing date: 1982-02-08
Publication date: 1985-01-30
Also published as: DE3262071D1; ATE11582T1; DK150583B; DK150583C; DK51782A; SE8100834L; SE437686B; EP0058143A1

Abstract

A prefabricated balcony for detachably mounting on the facade of a building comprises a front wall (11), side walls (12) and a floor (13) forming an integral unit made of a reinforced plastic material. At the side facing the building, the side walls and the floor are formed with side flanges (16, 17), the flanges (16) of the side walls connecting at their upper end to the ends of a substantially horizontal top flange (14) projecting outwardly from the side and front walls of the balcony. The balcony is secured to the building and supported by means of cantilever structures (21) each having one leg portion lying against the lower side of said top flange (14) and the other leg portion against the side flange (16) of one side wall.

Description

The present invention relates to prefabricated balconies of the kind intended to be detachably mounted on the facade of a building, in which the front wall, side walls and floor of the balcony form an integral unit of a reinforced plastic material and the floor turned towards the facade is provided with a flange arranged at an angle to the floor and the upper portions of the side walls and the front wall are angled and formed with a preferably horizontal top flange projecting from the side walls and the front wall, respectively.
The balconies of older buildings are often defective in that reinforcing bars or steel beams cast into the concrete have become exposed due to decomposition of surrounding plaster or concrete and are subjected to severe corrosion. Another drawback of balconies which are cast integral with the buildings is that the supporting parts of the balcony which are usually in the form of beams or reinforcing elements form non-desirable thermal bridges.
From DE-A-2 608 872 is known a freely suspended balcony. One of the embodiments of this balcony consists of a prefrabricated moulded unit of a plastics material comprising a front wall, side walls and a floor, which together form an integrated unit. The metal fasteners required to suspend the prior-art balcony from the building facade are cast into the unit during the manufacture thereof. As a result, the four fasteners which naturally are dimensioned to ensure a large margin of safety, must comprise comparatively large surfaces to which the plastics material may adhere and the material around the four fasteners must be dimensioned accordingly to ensure that the plastics material will be able to take the stress exerted on it by the metal fasteners. One disadvantage found in this prior-art balcony construction therefore is that the area around the fasteners and the points of attachment necessarily must be bulky, which results in high manufacturing costs, increased weight with consequential inconvenience of transport and assembly of the prefabricated balcony.
The object of the present invention is to provide a balcony which may easily replace condemned balconies and which is lightweight, easy to mount and maintenance-free and which may be provided with an optional facing. Another object of the invention is to provide a balcony which is inexpensive and which may be conveniently manufactured in various sizes and models. These objects have been attained with the balcony according to the present invention which is mainly characterized in that the ends of the side walls are provided with side flanges arranged at an angle to the side walls and connected to the flange of the floor and at the upper end with the top flange, that the upper portions of the side walls and the front wall have a Z-shaped cross-section where said top flange forms the web part of the Z-profile, and that a cantilever-shaped support structure is mounted at each side wall under the top flange and against the side wall side flange for supporting the balcony.
One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein

Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of a balcony according to the invention,
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the balcony seen from the back and lower side, and
Figure 3 is a cross-section through the balcony.

The balcony illustrated in the drawings consists of a front wall 11, two side walls 12 and a floor or bottom plate 13, all said parts being formed in one piece of flameproof reinforced plastic. The upper portion of the side walls and the front wall are formed with a Z-shaped cross-section where the web portion of the Z-profile consists of a substantially horizontal top flange 14 from which extends a leg portion 15 of the profile extending substantially at right angles to the web portion 14. The web portion or top flange 14 may be used as a support for flower boxes or the like.
The side walls 12 and the floor 13 are provided, at the edge intended to be turned towards the facade of the building, with side flanges 16 and 17 which are interconnected. The side flanges 16 are also connected at their upper edge to the ends of the top flange 14, which gives a very strong box type structure. The side flange 17 may be turned either upwardly or downwardly, or it may extend both upwards and downwards from the floor 13. Having the flange directed upwardly is of advantage, since the flange then forms a moisture seal against the facade.
The side flanges 16 and 17 are made with a slightly increased thickness so that these flanges may serve as attachment means where the balcony is mounted against the facade of a building. A cantilever-like support structure 18 is provided and adapted to have one of its legs 19 lying against the lower side of the top flange 14, whereas the other cantilever leg 20 is lying against the side flange 16. The cantilever 20 is preferably made from a strong flat iron bar which has been bent at a right angle between the legs of which is welded a support plate 21. The cantilever is made of stainless steel and is intended to be connected to the building by means of bolt connections or the like. Below the cantilever 20 the side flanges 16 and 17 may be connected to the facade by suitable attachment means such as wood screws or the like.
The floor 13 is made slightly sloping in the direction from the side flange 17, so that water may flow towards the front wall 11 which is provided with one or several outlet openings 22.
On the outer side of the front wall, side walls and floor of the balcony are provided horizontal and/or vertical ribs 23 which are preferably molded into the structure of the balcony and which form attachment supports for an outer facing 24, 25 which may be in the form of wooden panels or the like.

Claims

1. A prefabricated balcony of the kind intended to be detachably mounted on the facade of a building, in which the front wall (11), side walls (12) and floor (13) of the balcony form an integral unit of a reinforced plastic material and the floor turned towards the facade is provided with a flange (17) arranged at an angle to the floor (13) and the upper portions of the side walls and the front wall are angled and formed with a preferably horizontal top flange (14) projecting from the side walls and the front wall, respectively characterized in that the ends of the side walls (12) are provided with side flanges (16) arranged at an angle to the side walls and connected to the flange (17) of the floor (13) and at the upper end with the top flange (14), that the upper portions of the side walls (12) and the front wall (11) have a Z-shaped cross-section where said top flange (14) forms the web part of the Z-profile, and that a cantilever-shaped support structure (18) is mounted at each side wall under the top flange (14) and against the side wall side flange (16) for supporting the balcony.

2. A balcony as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that the side walls (12), the front wall (11) and the floor (13) are provided at their outer sides with horizontal and/or vertical ribs (23) which form attachment supports for a facing.