DEVICE FOR GLAZING A BALCONY

Abstract: A device for glazing a balcony has an upper and a lower, horizontal guide rail (13 and 14, respectively), which extend along a balcony side, and vertical glass panes (17a, 17b, 17c), which are mounted in juxtaposition in the guide rails (13, 14) and laterally displaceable, said glass panes being pivotable at one end of the guide rails about a vertical pivot axis between a closed position, in which they extend along the guide rails (13, 14), and an open position. A narrow door panel (24) is pivotally mounted about a vertical pivot axis at said one end of the guide rails (13, 14). The door panel (24) is pivotable between a closed position, in which it extends along the guide rails (13, 14) and, together with the glass panes (17a, 17b, 17c) when the latter are located in their closed position, covers the entire width of the balcony side and thus constitutes a displacement lock for the glass panes, and an open position, in which it allows successive lateral displacement of the glass panes to said one end of the guide rails (13, 14) for pivoting to an open position.

Description: DEVICE FOR GLAZING A BALCONY The present invention relates to a device for glazing a balcony, said device having an upper and a lower, horizontal guide rail, which extend along a balcony side, and vertical glass panes, which are mounted in juxtaposition in the guide rails and laterally displaceable, said glass panes being pivotable at one end of the guide rails, about a vertical pivot axis placed at the side edge of the respective glass panes which is located closest to said one end of the guide rails, between a closed position, in which the glass panes extend along the guide rails, and an open position. A prior-art device of this kind is schematically shown in Fig. 1. In this prior-art device, the upper guide rail 1 and the lower guide rail 2 together with two vertical frame parts 3 and 4 form a rectangular frame, which covers a balcony side. In the shown example, three glass panes 5a, 5b and 5c are juxtaposed. In the shown closed position, the three glass panes 5a, 5b and 5c together cover the entire width of the frame. The glass panes 5a, 5b and 5c are suspended from the upper rail 1 by means of wheels 6a, 6b and 6c, respectively. In Fig. 1, each glass pane 5a, 5b and 5c is provided with only one suspension wheel 6a, 6b and 6c, respectively, which is arranged in the vicinity of the left side edge, referring to Fig. 1, of the glass pane, but it will be appreciated that several suspension wheels, usually two, may be arranged on each glass pane. Each glass pane 5a, 5b and 5c has at its lower edge a guide wheel 7a, 7b and 7c, respectively, which is placed vertically opposite to the suspension wheel and which is guided in the lower rail 2. As appears from Fig. 1, the distance of the pairs of wheels 6a-7a, 6b-7b and 6c-7c from the left side edge of the respective glass panes 5a, 5b, 5c is shortest at the right glass pane 5a and longest at the left glass pane 5c. Each glass pane 5a, 5b and 5c has at its upper edge an upper guide wheel 8a, 8b and 8c, respectively, which is arranged in the vicinity of the right side edge of the glass pane and guided in the upper rail 1, and at its lower edge a lower guide wheel 9a, 9b and 9c, respectively, which is placed vertically opposite to this upper guide wheel and which is guided in the lower rail 2. The axes of the pairs of guide wheels 8a-9a, 8b-9b and 8c-9c form the vertical pivot axis of each glass pane 5a, 5b and 5c, respectively, about which axis the glass pane is pivotable between its shown closed position, in which it extends along the rails 1 and 2, and an open position, which is pivoted through about 90° in relation to the closed position. To allow such pivoting, a recess 10 is formed in the side of the upper rail 1 and a recess 11 which is placed vertically opposite to the recess 10 is formed in the side of the lower rail 2. As shown in Fig. 1, the upper recess 10 is located opposite to the suspension wheel 6a of the right glass pane 5a and the lower recess 11 is placed opposite to the guide wheel 7a of this glass pane 5a. When the right glass pane 5a has been pivoted to its open position, the other two glass panes 5b and 5c can be displaced individually or jointly to the right until the middle glass pane 5b reaches the opened glass pane 5a, i.e. to a position somewhat to the left of the position of the right glass pane 5a shown in Fig. 1. In this position, the suspension wheel 6b and the guide wheel 7b of the glass pane 5b are located opposite to the recess 10 and 11, respectively, so that the glass pane 5b can be pivoted to an open position. The left glass pane 5c can now be displaced to the right until it reaches the opened glass pane 5b, i.e. to a position somewhat further to the left of the position of the right glass pane 5a shown in Fig. 1. In this position, the suspension wheel 6c and the guide wheel 7c of the glass pane 5c are located opposite to the recess 10 and 11, respectively, so that the glass pane 5c can be pivoted to an open position. When all the glass panes 5a-5c are located in the closed position shown in Fig. 1, the glass panes 5b and 5c cannot be displaced or pivoted, but the right glass pane 5a can, as already mentioned, be pivoted to an open position, since its wheels 6a and 7a are located opposite to the recess 10 and 11, respectively. Correspondingly, the glass panes 5b and 5c can be pivoted when located in their right-hand position as described above. It must be possible to lock the right glass pane 5a in its closed position. Therefore, prior-art devices of the above- described kind are provided with different types of dis- engageable locking mechanisms, which all have the drawback that they are complicated and thus expensive and which in some cases are also deficient in reliability. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a device for glazing a balcony, which device makes it possible to lock the glass panes in a closed position in a very simple and reliable manner. According to the present invention, this object is achieved by means of a device, which is of the kind stated by way of introduction and which is characterised in that a door panel, whose width is considerably smaller than the width of the glass panes, is pivotally mounted about a vertical pivot axis at said one end of the guide rails, said door panel being pivotable between a closed position, in which it extends along the guide rails and, together with the glass panes when the latter are located in their closed position, covers the entire width of the balcony side and thus constitutes a dis- placement lock for the glass panes, and an open position, in which it allows successive lateral displacement of the glass panes to said one end of the guide rails for pivoting to an open position. The vertical pivot axis of the door panel is preferably placed in the vicinity of the door side edge located closest to said one end of the guide rails. In a preferred embodiment, the door panel is a combined locking door panel and ventilation door panel, preferably made of glass. The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 schematically shows the above-described prior-art device. Figs 2-9 schematically show a device according to the present invention. Fig. 10 shows an example of a simple locking device. The device according to the present invention which is shown in Figs 2-9 has a frame 12, which consists of an upper and a lower, horizontal guide rail 13 and 14, respectively, and two vertical frame parts 15 and 16 and which covers a balcony side. In the shown embodiment, the frame 12 supports three juxtaposed glass panes 17a, 17b and 17c, which are displaceably mounted in the frame 12. It goes without saying that the number of glass panes may vary. The glass panes 17a, 17b and 17c are supported on the lower rail 14 by means of support wheels 18a, 18b and 18c, respectively, which are arranged at the lower edge of the respective glass panes. The support wheels 18a, 18b and 18c run on a rib (not shown) , which is formed in the lower rail 14 and which extends along the lower rail. In the embodiment shown in Figs 2-9, each glass pane 17a, 17b and 17c has only one support wheel 18a, 18b and 18c, respectively, which is arranged in the vicinity of the left side edge, referring to Figs 2-9, of the glass pane, but it will be appreciated that several, in particular two, support wheels distributed along the width of the glass pane can be mounted on each glass pane . At the upper edge, each glass pane 17a, 17b and 17c has a guide wheel 19a, 19b and 19c, respectively, which is placed vertically opposite to the support wheel and which is guided m the upper rail 13. As appears m particular from Fig. 2, the distance of the pairs of wheels 18a-19a, 18b-19b and 18c-19c from the left side edge of the respective glass panes 17a, 17b, 17c is shortest at the right glass pane 17a and longest at the left glass pane 17c. Each glass pane 17a, 17b and 17c has at its upper edge an upper guide wheel 20a, 20b and 20c, respectively, which is arranged m the vicinity of the right side edge of the glass pane and guided m the upper rail 13, and at its lower edge a lower guide wheel 21a, 21b and 21c, respectively, which is placed vertically opposite to this upper guide wheel and which is guided m the lower rail 14. The axes of the pairs of guide wheels 20a-21a, 20b-21b and 20c-21c form a vertical pivot axis for the respective glass panes 17a, 17b and 17c, respectively, about which pivot axis the glass pane is pivotable between a closed position, m which it extends along the rails 13 and 14 and which is shown for all glass panes m Fig. 2, and an open position, which is pivoted through about 90° m relation to the closed position and which is shown for all glass panes m fig. 9. This pivoting is made possible m the same manner as m the prior-art device, which is described by way of introduction, by a recess 22 being formed m the side of the upper rail 13 and a recess 23 being placed vertically opposite to the recess 22 and formed m the side of the lower rail 14 to allow passage for the pairs of wheels 18a-19a, 18b-19b and 18c-19c, respectively, of the respective glass panes 17a, 17b and 17c. If each glass pane 17a, 17b and 17c is provided with, for instance, yet another pair of wheels of this kind, it would, of course, be necessary to form a corresponding upper and lower recess for this pair of wheels in the side of the rails 13 and 14. A ventilation door panel 24 made of glass is ar- ranged in the frame 12 adjacent to its right frame part 15. The door panel 24 has a considerably smaller width than the glass panes 17a, 17b and 17c, which in the shown embodiment are equally wide. In the shown embodiment, the width of the door panel 24 is about a fifth of the width of the glass pane. The door panel 24 has an upper and a lower bearing 25 and 26, respectively, by means of which it is pivotably mounted in the frame 12 and which define a pivot axis for the door panel 24 in the vicinity of the right frame part 15. The door panel 24 is pivotable between a closed position, in which it extends along the rails 13 and 14 and, together with the glass panes 17a, 17b and 17c when the latter are also located in a closed position, covers the entire width of the frame 12 (see Fig. 2), and an open position (see figs 3-9) , which is pivoted through about 90° in relation to the closed position. When the glass panes 17a, 17b and 17c and the door panel 24 are all located in a closed position and thus "fill up" the frame 12 (Fig. 2), the glass panes cannot be displaced. The door panel 24 thus functions as a displacement lock, which prevents displacement of the glass panes to the right . In the displacement position of the glass panes 17a, 17b and 17c, which is shown in Fig. 2, the support wheel 18a and guide wheel 19a of the right glass pane 17a are located in a position to the left of the recesses 22 and 23. This means that not only the middle and the left glass panes 17b and 17c, respectively, but also the right glass pane 17a in this position are fixed in the rails 13 and 14 in respect of both displace- ment and pivoting. As a result, there is no need for a special locking mechanism, which prevents pivoting of the right glass pane 17a in the position shown in Fig. 2. Below follows a step-by-step description of the manner in which the frame 12 which is completely "filled" in the position in Fig. 2 is "opened" to a substantially completely uncovered position (Fig. 9) . The ventilation door panel 24 is pivoted from its closed position, which is shown in Fig. 2, to an open position (Fig. 3) . The right glass pane 17a is now displaced to the right to a position (Fig. 4) , in which its right side edge is located near the door panel 24 and its support wheel 18a and its guide wheel 19a are located opposite to the recess 23 and 22, respectively. From this position, the right glass pane 17a is pivoted to an open position (Fig. 5) . The middle glass pane 17b is subsequently displaced to the right to a position (Fig. 6) , in which its right side edge is located near the right glass pane 17a and its support wheel 18b and its guide wheel 19b are located opposite to the recess 23 and 22, respectively. From this position, the middle glass pane 17b is pivoted to an open position (Fig. 7) . The left glass pane 17c is then displaced to the right to a position (Fig. 8) , in which its right side edge is located near the middle glass pane 17b and its support wheel 18c and its guide wheel 19c are located opposite to the recess 23 and 22, respectively. From this position, the left glass pane is pivoted to an open position (Fig. 9), the frame 12 being essentially completely uncovered. Fig. 10 shows an example of a simple locking device 27 for locking the ventilation door panel 24 in its closed position. Fig. 10 shows the lower right portion of a device according to the invention. In this device, the right glass pane 17a and the door panel 24 have at their lower edge a mounting 28 and 29, respectively. The locking device 27 consists of a slide, which is arranged displaceably on the mounting 28 and which in a locking position extends laterally across the entire mounting 29 and a distance under the mounting 28. The slide is displaceable to the left by means of a handle 30 from the locking position to a disengaged position, in which it extends still further under the mounting 28 and has released the door panel 24.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A device for glazing a balcony, said device having an upper and a lower, horizontal guide rail (13 and 14, respectively), which extend along a balcony side, and vertical glass panes (17a, 17b, 17c) , which are mounted in juxtaposition in the guide rails (13, 14) and laterally displaceable, said glass panes being pivotable at one end of the guide rails, about a vertical pivot axis placed at the side edge of the respective glass panes which is located closest to said one end of the guide rails, between a closed position, in which the glass panes (17a, 17b, 17c) extend along the guide rails (13, 14) , and an open position, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that a door panel (24) , whose width is considerably smaller than the width of the glass panes (17a, 17b, 17c) is pivotally mounted about a vertical pivot axis at said one end of the guide rails (13, 14), said door panel (24) being pivotable between a closed position, in which it extends along the guide rails (13, 14) and, together with the glass panes (17a, 17b, 17c) when the latter are located in their closed position, covers the entire width of the balcony side and thus constitutes a displacement lock for the glass panes, and an open position, in which it allows successive lateral displacement of the glass panes to said one end of the guide rails (13, 14) for pivoting to an open position. 2. A device as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c - t e r i s e d in that the vertical pivot axis of the door panel (24) is placed in the vicinity of the door side edge located closest to said one end of the guide rails (13, 14) . 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , c h a r - a c t e r i s e d in that the door panel (24) is lockable in its closed position. 4. A device as claimed in any one of claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the door panel (24) is a glass door panel . 5. A device as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the door panel (24) is a ventilation door panel .

Inventors: BJOERKMAN LARS, BJOERKMAN, LARS
Applicants: BJOERKMAN LARS, NORDISKA BALCO AB, BJOERKMAN, LARS
Application year: 2000
Main classification: E06B3
IPC codes: E05D15, E06B3