GB2056520A - A flashing construction for a curtain wall - Google Patents

Abstract

The flashing construction comprises parallel vertical mullions 1 and panels 4 mounted between them. An enclosed vertical space B is formed between mullion 1 and panel 4, said vertical space B being connected to the open air. Intake ports 36, 37, connecting space B to the open air, may be provided on mullion 1. Hence the pressure in vertical space B is equalized to that of the open air, and an inward leakage of rainwater is prevented. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A flashing construction for a curtain wall The present invention relates to a construction of a building, and is particularly concerned with an improved flashing construction for a curtain wall utilizing The Equal Pressure Principle, explained below. When raining with a gale-force winds, leakage of rain water through the frame work of a curtain wall toward the inside of the same is caused by the difference between the pressures prevailing in the open air outside the curtain wall and within the frame work of the curtain wall. It should be noted that, in such a case, the pressure in the open air is higher than the pressure within the curtain wall.

Thus, if the pressure within the curtain wall is established and maintained substantially equal to the pressure in the open air, leakage of the rain water toward the inside of the curtain wall can be fully prevented.

The curtain wall of a building comprises a plurality of vertical mullions fixed on the outer surface ofthe building and arranged parallel to each other at a predetermined distance, a plurality of horizontal transoms connected between said adjacent vertical mullions and arranged parallel to each other, and a plurality of panels, for example, panes, mounted in the framework constructed by the mullions and the transoms. There have been several designs proposed for the flashing constructions of the curtain wall utilizing The Equal Pressure Principle. Such known constructions can comprise, for example, intake ports for the open air provided on the horizontal transoms, through which ports the open air is introduced into the space within the curtain wall. As a resultthe pressures prevailing in the open air and within the curtain wall are equalized.However, it can be easily recognized that, since the outer surface area of the mullions is larger than that of the transoms, larger total areas of the intake ports can be obtained on said mullions than on the transoms, to accomplish the rapid equilibrium of such pressures.

The disadvantage of the above-described construction of the prior art resides in the fact that it is difficult to prevent the invasion of rain water while introducing open air into the mullion, and if rain water enters into the mullion, said water must be thoroughly expelled from the mullion. Forthese reasons, the prior art curtain wall has disadvantageously become a very complicated construction.

Furthermore, the mullion is large in length and, consequently, is heavy in weight. Therefore, manufacturing the mullions so as to provide drain ports, and the like, is extremely difficult.

Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention to provide an improved flashing construction for a curtain wall.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a curtain wall flashing construction comprising a vertical mullion provided with a mounting groove on each side thereof for receiving the side portion of a panel in a manner such that an enclosed vertical space is formed between the walls of said groove and the side portion ofthe panel, said vertical space extending in the longitudinal direction ofthe mullion and communicating with the open air outside the mullion. In this manner, the pressure within the curtain wall is equalized with that of the open air and, consequently, leakage of the rain water through the curtain wall can be prevented.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a curtain wall flashing construction comprising a vertical mullion provided with a mounting groove at each side thereof, a bead disposed in said groove towards the inside ofthe curtain wall and a further bead disposed in said groove towards the outside of the wall, said beads forming a narrower mounting groove therebetween for receiving the side portion of said panel, an enclosed vertical space with intake ports to the open air being formed in said further bead, the mullion, the bead and the panel; the flashing construction further comprising a horizontal transom provided with mounting grooves at the upper and the lower sides thereof for receiving the end portion of a said panel, the transom defining an enclosed horizontal space extending therethrough and being provided with downwardly opening drain ports which serve to communicate said horizontal space with the open air outside the transom for the drainage of rain water, said vertical space in the vertical mullion and said horizontal space in the horizontal transom being in communication with each other at their respective ends.

Advantageously a cover plate can be positioned over the intake ports provided on the mullion, so that the direct entry of rain into said intake ports can be prevented.

Other features of the present invention will become obvious from the embodiments described hereinafter. Furthermore, various advantages not referred to herein will certainly become apparent when the present invention is carried out by one skilled in the art.

Curtain-wall flashing constructions embodying the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same reference numerals are used to designate similar parts throughout the several views, and in which: Fig. 1 is a partial front view showing a first form of flashing construction embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on line Il-Il of Fig. 1; Fig. 2A is a partial perspective view of Fig. 2; Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on line Ill-Ill of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on line IV-IV of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an enlarged front view of a panel guide block positioned within a further bead of the flashing construction;; Fig. 5a is a perspective view of the panel guide block; Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the tightening compound showing the condition said tightening compound contacts with the panel; Fig. 7 is a partial front view showing a second form of flashing construction embodying the invention; Fig. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7; and Fig. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on line IX-IX of Fig. 7.

With regard to Figs. 3 and 4, many parts of the curtain wall are not shown in order to reveal important details.

As shown in Fig. 1, the first form of flashing construction is incorporated in a curtain wall comprising a plurality of vertical mullions or vertical members (1, 1...) disposed parallel to each other at a predetermined distance on the outside surface of a building (not shown). Between said adjacent vertical mullions (1, 1...) a plurality of horizontal transoms or horizontal members (2, 2...)are are also disposed parallel to each other and are connected between the mullions (1, 1) at right angles. Within the opening of the elongate rectangular-shaped frameworks defined by the mullions and the transoms, a panel is mounted. Atypical arrangement of said panels is as follows. The opening facing the end of the floor 3, i.e.

the opening in the spandrel portion is employed for receiving a solid panel 4, for example, a thin metal sheet, a cloudy pane or the like, while the opening spaced apart from the end of the floor 3 is employed for receiving a transparent panel 4', for example, a clear pane, a movable window etc.

As shown in Fig. 2, the T-shaped mullion 1 has an elongate body portion 5, exterior flange portions (6, 6) and interior flange portions (7, 7), which extend horizontally from both sides of said body portion 5, and longitudinally extending legs (8, 8) protruding from said interior flanges, respectively. Two horizontally extending grooves for receiving one end ofthe respective horizontal transom are formed among each of the two opposed flanges (6, 7) and the side of body portion 5. The legs (8, 8) are secured by means of welding or the like to the bracket 9 atthe corres ponding place at the position ofthe spandrel. In addition, said bracket 9 is secured to the anchor member 10 by means of bolts 11 and nuts 12. The anchor member is firmly secured to the floor 3 through a suitable fixing means.

As shown in Fig. 3, the horizontal transom 2 is made substantially in the form of a rectangular hollow tube. The upper and lower walls (13, 14) ofthe transom 2 are provided with mounting grooves for the panel. Said mounting groove on the upper wall 13 is employed for receiving the lower end portion of the panel (4 or 4'), while the mounting groove on the lower wall 14 is employed for receiving the upper end portion of the panel (4 or 4'). The numerals 15, 16 and 17 denotes a tightening compound. In the inner central portion of the transom 2 there is provided an outwardly downwardly inclined partition wall 18 protruding from the back wall of the transom 2. As a result, a horizontally extending space C throughout length of the transom 2 is formed between the upperwall 13 and the partition wall 18.A vertical partition wall 21 is vertically downwardly extended from the leading edge ofthe partition wall 18 so as to be spaced apart at a small distance from the front wall 20 of the transom 2. A small space D having an opening throughout the length of the transom 2 atthe bottom thereof is formed between the vertical partition wall 21 and the front wall 20.

Said opening D connects with the open air outside the panel 4or4'. In the horizontal partition wall 18 and between the spaces C and D, a plurality of first drain ports (23, 23...) are disposed at suitable intervals in the lengthwise direction of the transom 2. An auxiliary horizontal wall protrudes from the midportion ofthe vertical partition wall 21, which divides said small space D into two separated portions. A plurality of second drain ports (24, 24. . .), corresponding to said first drainports (23,23...), are disposed in the auxiliary horizontalwalr.

Returning to Fig. 2, in assembling the abovedescribed curtain wall, firstly boihends of the transom 2 are brought into The mounting grooves for the transom of the adjacentrnullions (1,1), and jointed to the respective mullion by using suitable brackets (not shown). In turn, the spaces between the rrlullion 1 and each end portion ofthetransom 2 are filled with a calking compound, and catch pans (25, 25) are fixed to the top surface of said each end portion A bead 27 is provided immediately inside of the interior flange 7, which bead abuts against the upper and lower transoms (2, 2) at the upper and lower ends thereof.A further bead 26 is provided immediately inside of the exterior flange 6, which further bead abuts againstthe upper and lower transom (2,2) at the upper and lower ends thereof.

Thus, the mounting groove for the panel is formed between said bead 27 and said further bead 26. In said mounting groove each one of the side portions of the panel (4 or 4') is mounted with the aid of a suitable tightening compound.

As shown in Fig. 2, said further bead 26 has a thin body wall 28 and auxiliary walls (29,30,31,32,33) protruding from both sides of said body wall. The auxiliary wall 30 is engaged with the engaging face 34 of the exterior flange 6, while the auxiliary wall 33 is engaged with the engaging face 35 of the body portion 5.Thus, the first vertical space A extending throughout the length of the further bead is formed between the further bead 26 and the mullion 1, and the second vertical space B extending throughout the length ofthe further bead is formed among the extra bead 26, the mullion 1, the bead 27 and the panel (4 or 4'). A plurality of first intake ports 36 for the open air are provided in the wall 30 so as to connect first vertical space A with the open air, and a plurality of second intake ports 37 are provided in the bodywall so asto connectthesecond vertical space B with the open airthrough the first vertical space A.

In Fig. 2, the numeral 38denotes machine screws for fixing the bead 27 with the mullion 1,39 denotes a sealing compound forsealing between the bead 27 and the mullion 1.

As shown in Fig. 4, The legs (8,8) forming a channel-shaped portion ofthe mullion 1 are covered by a cover plate 40.

The function of the described flashing construction is as follows: The open air is introduced into the spaces A, B, C and D through the intake ports (36, 37) and the drain ports (23, 24), so that the pressures prevailing in the spaces A, B, C and D become equal to that of the open air instantaneously. Properly enlarged said drain ports (23,24) may be employed for positive introduction of the open airtherethrough. The open air is introduced through the first intake ports 36 into the first vertical space A, and through the second intake ports 37 into the second vertical space B, so that the pressures prevailing in the spaces A and B are equalized with each other. Thus, according to The Equal Pressure Principle, the invasion of rain water into the mullion maybe almost totally prevented.If the rain water, with kinetic energy being created by the gale-force winds, enters into the space A through the intake ports 36, such rain water can be prevented from further entering into the space B by the auxiliary wall 32 and the body wall 28 of the further bead 26, and goes down into the catch pan 25 along the auxiliary wall 32 and the body wall 28. The rain water also goes down through the horizontal space C of the transom 2, the drain ports 23, the small space D and the drain ports 24, and is finally expelled to the atmosphere outside the curtain wall.

As shown in Fig. 2A, when water droplets like fog enter into the second space B through the intake ports (36 and 37), such fine water droplets being intangible in the space A, they hit the bead 27 and the auxiliary wall (31,33) of the further bead and go down into the catch pan 25. Then such water droplets go down through the horizontal space C, the drain ports 23, the space D and the drain ports 24, and are finally expelled to the atmosphere outside the curtain wall. Therefore, there is no risk of the water droplets hitting the tightening compounds (16, 39) provided in the curtain wall.

If desired, said first and second vertical spaces (A, B) can be manufactured into a single vertical space, and the previously described bead 27 may be integrated into the mullion 1.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 5a, guide blocks (41,41) made, for example, from plastic material are inserted between the bottom portions of the opposed further beads 26 and the panel 4. Said guide blocks 41 have an elongated body portion. The body portion is provided with an inclined face 42 for receiving the panel 4 thereupon, and with a mounting groove 43 longitudinally extending therein.

Thereby, when the groove 43 in mounted on the auxiliary wall 31 the inclined face 42 of the guide block 41 is faced toward the panel 4. As a result of the above, the panel 4 being slid down between the guide blocks (41,41) will automatically take a neutral position. Additionally, said guide blocks (41,41) play a role in preventing the lateral movement ofthe panel, caused by the shock of an earthquake or the like.

As shown in Fig. 6, a tightening compound 15 is made by resilient material, for example, synthetic rubber or plastic having a curved body portion and a plurality of legs 15a protruding from said body portion. Said curved surface of the tightening compound 15 is engaged by the notched depressed face 15b of the extra bead 26 so as to create a firm engagement with each other.

Figs. 7,8 and 9 shows the second form of flashing construction wherein the mullions (1, 1 .. .) manufactured in unit length, for example in 3 meters, are spaced apart with small gaps in the longitudinal direction ofthe mullions. In Fig. 7 said gaps are shown as E. Intake ports (44, 44) for the open air are formed on the outer surface of the exterior flanges (6,6) of the mullion 1.As shown in Fig. 8, said outer surface is exposed to the open air outside the curtain wall. Hook-shaped engaging plates (45, 45) are outwardly protruded from the ends of said outer surface of the exterior flanges (6, 6).A flat channel-shaped cover plate 46 has an elongated body portion which covers the overall width of said outer surface of the exterior flanges and longitudinally extending hookshaped engaging legs (47, 47) inwardly protrude therefrom. This permits the engaging legs (47, 47) of the cover plate 46 to be snapped into and locked with the engaged plates (45,45) ofthe mullion 1. Thus, an elongated vertical passage F is formed between the outer surface of the mullion 1 and the cover plate 46.

Said cover plate 46 is used to cover the intake ports (44, 44). Although the intake ports (44, 44...) may be provided in each mullion 1 at a suitable position and in suitable numbers, two intake ports are illustrated at the middle portion of the mullion 1 depicted in Fig.

8.

According to the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the cover plates (46, 46...) are spaced apart with small gaps G in the longitudinal direction of the cover plate 46. The elongated vertical passage F is closed at its upper end by a blocking member 48 so as to keep off the invasion of the rain water into said passage F, while the lower end of the passage F is opened so as to connect the intake ports (44, 44) with the open air outside the mullion 1. In addition, the positions of small gaps (G, G . . .) are offset from that ofthe small gaps (E, E...) in the vertical direction.

Therefore, the invasion of rain water through gap E can be prevented.

Claims (13)

1. A flashing construction for a curtain wall having a plurality of vertical mullions disposed parallel to each other at a predetermined distance and panels mounted between adjacent mullions, said flashing construction comprising: a vertical mullion provided with a mounting groove on each side thereof for receiving the side portion of a panel in a manner such that an enclosed vertical space is formed between the walls of said groove and the side portion ofthe panel, said vertical space extend ing in the longitudinal direction ofthe mullion and communicating with the open air outside the mullion.

2. Aflashing construction as claimed in Claim 1 including a bead disposed in said mounting groove towards the outside of the curtain wall, so as to form a narrower mounting groove for receiving the side portion of the panel.

3. A flashing construction as claimed in Claim 2 in which an enclosed vertical space is formed between said narrower groove and the side portion of the panel, said vertical space being extended in the longitudinal direction ofthe mullion, said bead being provided with intake ports, which serve to communicate said vertical space with the open air outside the mullion.

4. A flashing construction as claimed in claim 1 including intake ports to the open air provided on the outer surface ofthe mullion so as to connect said vertical space with the open air, and a cover plate, for said intake ports exposed to the open air, said cover plate preventing rain from blowing through the intake ports.

5. A flashing construction as claimed in claim 4 in which said cover plate is made in the form of an elongated channel having a groove thereof facing the outer surface of the mullion, and in which, between the inner surface of the cover plate and the outer surface of the mullion, there is provided a passage for air, said passage for air being closed at its upper end and opened at its lower end.

6. A flashing construction as claimed in claims 4 and 5 including a plurality of mullions connected with each other along a vertical direction, and a plurality of said cover plates spaced apart with small gaps from each other along a vertical direction, each of said gaps being offset from the places corresponding to the connecting points of the mullions, so as not to coordinate said gaps with said connecting points.

7. A flashing construction for a curtain wall having a plurality of vertical mullions disposed parallel to each otherata predetermined distance, a plurality of horizontal transoms perpendicularly connecting between said adjacent mullions and disposed parallel to each other, and panels mounted between said adjacent mullions and transoms, said flashing construction comprising: a vertical mullion provided with a mounting groove at each side thereof, a bead disposed in said groove towards the inside of the curtain wall and a further bead disposed in said groove towards the outside of the wall, said beads forming a narrower mounting groove therebetween for receiving the side portion of a said panel, an enclosed vertical space with intake ports to the open air being formed in said further bead, the mullion, the bead and the panel; the flashing construction further comprising a horizontal transom provided with mounting grooves at the upper and the lower sides thereof for receiving the end portion of a said panel, the transom defining an enclosed horizontal space extepding therethrough and being provided with downwardly opening drain ports which serve to communicate said horizontal space with the open air outside the transom for the drainage of rain water, said vertical space in the vertical mullion and said horizontal space in the horizontal transom being in communication with each other at their respective ends.

8. Aflashing construction as claimed in Claim 7 in which said vertical mullion is divided into a first and a second vertical space, the first vertical space being provided with intake ports, said first and sec ond spaces being connected with each other through connecting ports.

9. A flashing construction as claimed in claim 7 in which said drain ports for the rain water act as the intake ports for introducing open air into the horizon tal space.

10. A flashing construction as claimed in claims 7 and 8 in which said further bead is provided with auxiliary walls forming labyrinths thereupon, which prevent the rain from blowing through the intake ports.

11. A flashing construction as claimed in claim 7 in which said horizontal transom is fitted inside the mounting groove which is provided at each side of the vertical mullion.

12. A flashing construction as claimed in claim 7 in which said panel is a window sash.

13. A flashing construction, substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to Figures 1 to 6 or Figures 7 to 9 ofthe accc;mpanying drawings.