U.S. patent application number 11/483157 was filed with the patent office on 2008-01-10 for glass curtain fixing device.
This patent application is currently assigned to EPCO ARCHITECTURE HARDWARE (TAIWAN) CORP.. Invention is credited to Andy Lin.
Application Number | 20080005983 11/483157 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38917929 |
Filed Date | 2008-01-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080005983 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Andy |
January 10, 2008 |
Glass curtain fixing device
Abstract
The present invention discloses a glass curtain fixing device,
for clamping and supporting a glass to constitute a glass curtain.
The glass curtain fixing device includes a base, a pressing ring
and a propping rod. The base has a pressing portion transversally
and circularly extended from an end of the base and passed through
a through hole of the glass for clamping the glass by the pressing
portion and the pressing ring. The glass is mounted onto a scaffold
by the connection of propping rods. The invention installs at least
one elastic flange disposed around the pressing portion such that
when the glass is clamped by the pressing portion and the pressing
ring, the pressing portion forms a well-sealed structure by the
elasticity and deformation of the flange to constitute an airtight
and waterproof glass curtain.
Inventors: |
Lin; Andy; (Taoyuan County,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Assignee: |
EPCO ARCHITECTURE HARDWARE (TAIWAN)
CORP.
|
Family ID: |
38917929 |
Appl. No.: |
11/483157 |
Filed: |
July 10, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/235 ;
52/509 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E06B 3/5436
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/235 ;
52/509 |
International
Class: |
E04H 1/00 20060101
E04H001/00; E04C 1/40 20060101 E04C001/40 |
Claims
1. A glass curtain fixing device, for clamping and supporting a
glass having at least one through hole and mounted onto a scaffold,
comprising: a base, being a lump, and having a pressing portion
transversely and circularly extended from an end of said base, and
said base being coupled to said through hole of said glass and said
pressing portion being separated by a pad and pressing against a
distal surface of said glass, and said pressing portion having at
least one elastic flange disposed around the surface of said glass;
a pressing ring, separated by another pad and pressing against
another distal surface of said glass and coupled to said base, for
clamping and pressing said glass with said pressing portion; and a
propping rod, with an end coupled to said base, and another end
coupled to said scaffold.
2. The glass curtain fixing device of claim 1, wherein said pad
comprises an elastic flange disposed around the surface of said
glass.
3. The glass curtain fixing device of claim 2, wherein said flange
of said pad is made of rubber.
4. The glass curtain fixing device of claim 1, wherein said flange
of said pressing portion is made of rubber.
5. The glass curtain fixing device of claim 1, further comprising a
cushion disposed between said base and said through hole of said
glass.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a glass curtain, and more
particularly to a glass curtain fixing device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In general, glass curtain come with a high light
transmission, and thus they can be used for places that require a
good ambient light. Referring to FIG. 1, a piece of glass 1 is
mounted onto a scaffold (not shown in the figure) by a fixing
device 2. The fixing device 2 includes a base 3, a pressing ring 4
and a propping rod 5. The glass 1 has at least one through hole for
installing the base 3, and the glass 1 is clamped by a pressing
portion 3a of the base 3 and the pressing ring 4 and fixed onto the
scaffold by a propping rod 5 coupled to the base 3, so as to mount
the glass 1 onto the scaffold. To prevent the glass 1 from
cracking, a pad 6 is installed between the pressing portion 3a, the
pressing ring 4 and the glass 1 for sharing the forces exerted on
the glass 1 when the glass 1 is clamped. To prevent the pad 6 from
being deteriorated quickly by the incidence of ultraviolet rays,
the pad 6 is made of a hard plastic material. Further, a cushion 7
is installed between the base 3 and the through hole of the glass 1
for providing a better connection for the installation of the base
3 onto the through hole. Several pieces of glasses 1 can be mounted
onto the scaffold by the same fixing devices 2 to form a so-called
glass curtain.
[0003] To resist the impact of external forces, the glass 1 used
for the glass curtain has to go through a tempering process to
enhance the hardness and strength of the glass 1, and the fixing
device 2 is also made of a strong and hard alloy steel, and the pad
6 is made of a hard plastic material. Unlike the traditional fixing
device 2 that may cause a tiny gap at the clamping position
(primarily between the fixing device 2 and the pad 6) due to the
planarity of the installed glass 1 and a water leak problem when it
rains, the tempered glass 1 of the invention features a high
hardness for solving the aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The primary objective of the present invention is to
overcome the foregoing shortcomings and avoid the existing
deficiencies by providing a waterproof glass curtain fixing device
to eliminate possible leaking of the glass curtain.
[0005] The secondary objective of the present invention is to
provide an airtight glass curtain fixing device for clamping a
glass curtain without damaging the air-tightness.
[0006] To achieve the foregoing objectives, a glass curtain fixing
device of the invention is provided for clamping and supporting a
glass having at least one through hole and mounted onto a scaffold.
The glass curtain fixing device comprises: a base, a pressing ring
and a propping rod, wherein the base is a lump having a pressing
portion transversely and circularly extended from an end of the
base, and the base is coupled into the through hole of the glass
and the pressing portion is separated by a pad and pressing against
a distal surface of the glass, and the pressing portion has at
least one elastic flange disposed around the surface of the glass;
a pressing ring is separated by another pad and pressing against
another distal surface of the glass and coupled to the base for
clamping and pressing the glass with the pressing portion; a
propping rod has an end coupled to the base and another end coupled
to the scaffold.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art
structure;
[0008] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 4A is a schematic view of a fixing device clamping the
glass according to the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of section A-A as depicted
in FIG. 4A; and
[0012] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a fixing device clamping
a double-layer glass according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0013] To make it easier for our examiner to understand the
technical characteristics, objective and performance of the
invention, we use a preferred embodiment together with the attached
drawings for the detailed description of the invention.
[0014] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the present invention comprises
a base 10, a pressing ring 20, a propping rod 30 and two pads 50.
The base 10 is a cylindrical lump having a pressing portion 11
extended transversally and circularly from an end of the base 10.
The pressing portion 11 includes at least one elastic flange 12
disposed around the internal circular surface of the pressing
portion 11, an external screw thread 13 disposed on the external
surface at another end of the base 10, and a circular groove 14
disposed inwardly on the pressing portion 11 and having a screw
thread. The circular groove 14 is connected downward to a
hemispherical socket 15, and the pressing ring 20 has an internal
circular surface 21 with a screw thread secured onto the screw
thread 13 outside the base 10. An end of the propping rod 30 has a
spherical joint 31, and the other end of the propping rod 30 has a
screw thread 32, and the spherical joint 31 is contained in the
socket 15 and can be swayed slightly in a small angle. A locking
ring 33 having an external screw thread is secured onto the
circular groove 14 to latch the propping rod 30 and connect the
propping rod 30 with the base 10.
[0015] Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the glass curtain fixing
device of the present invention clamps and supports a glass 40
having at least one through hole and mounted onto a scaffold (not
shown in the figure), wherein the base 10 is connected to the
through hole of the glass 40, and the pressing portion 11 is
separated by a pad 50 and presses against a distal surface of the
glass 40, and the flange 12 of the pressing portion 11 presses
against the pad 50. The pressing ring 20 is also separated by a pad
50 and presses against another distal surface of the glass 40. The
structure of the foregoing screw thread 21 is connected to the base
10, and the pressing ring 20 together with the top and bottom of
the pressing portion 11 are used to clamp and press against the
glass 40. Further, the screw thread 32 of the propping rod 30 of
the present invention is secured to a joint (not shown in the
figure) and connected to the scaffold.
[0016] To improve the waterproof effect, the pad 50 has an elastic
flange 51 disposed around the surface of the glass 40, and the
through hole between the base 10 and the glass 40 also includes a
cushion 70 for providing a better connection, when the base 10 is
installed onto the through hole. The flange 12, 51 of the invention
can be made by an elastic rubber material for providing a better
waterproof effect.
[0017] Referring to FIG. 5, the present invention can be used for a
double-layer airtight glass 60 whose upper and lower layers are
coupled with an aluminum alloy lump 64 and an airtight strip 66,
and an internal space 62 is formed within the two layers of the
airtight glass 60. The internal space 62 of the airtight glass 60
can be a vacuum or filled with a gas for isolating noises and
absorbing ultraviolet rays, and thus it is necessary to maintain a
good airtight effect. The fixing device of the invention can clamp
the airtight glass 60 and mount the airtight glass 60 onto the
scaffold without damaging the air-tightness.
[0018] In summation of the description above, the pressing portion
11 and the pressing ring 20 clamp and press the glass 40 or the
airtight glass 60 tightly, and the elasticity and deformation of
the flange 12 can form a sealed leak-resisting structure, and thus
the present invention constitutes a glass curtain that can provide
a good waterproof effect or can prevent the airtight glass 60 from
leaking air, so as to meet the user requirements.
[0019] While the invention has been described by means of specific
embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made
thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the
scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.
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