Abstract:
An angle bracket for joining two section bars has a relatively great stability, especially for use for partitions and safety walls. This stability is achieved by supporting walls that join the two legs of an angle bracket to one another and have an outwardly rounded outside contour. This design is relatively simple and inexpensive to implement and allows these angle brackets to be compatible with known designs.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an angle bracket. 
     BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
     Many variants of angle brackets are already known, e.g., from the publication “Bosch, Flexible Automation, Basic Mechanical Elements”, volume 1996/97, pages 3-1 through 3-25. 
     To form partitions or safety walls, which are supposed to protect a hazardous area from unauthorized entry or access, the known angle brackets are mounted on supporting sections to attach framework constructions in the form of safety screens or safety panels, for example, on these supporting sections. In this regard, known angle brackets have the disadvantage of relatively low stability. Notching effects at the transition point of the two legs of an angle bracket allow only relatively lightweight framework constructions to be attached. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An angle bracket according to the present invention has the advantage of an especially high stability, so that relatively heavy framework constructions can also be secured safely and reliably to supporting sections. The supporting sections can therefore be positioned at greater distances from one another. This saves material costs and assembly costs for the partitions. 
     The angle bracket according to the present invention allows the framework constructions to be connectable to the supporting sections at variable distances and in almost any angular positions without making the construction and thus the manufacture of the mounting bracket or its assembly more difficult in comparison with known design variants. The angle bracket can also be designed to be compatible with known design variants, thus covering a wide range of applications. 
     According to the angle bracket of the present invention, centering devices are formed only on the first of the two legs of the angle bracket and engage with play in a longitudinal groove on the supporting sections. These centering devices achieve the result that the angle bracket can be arranged so that the angle bracket is centered and twisting is prevented, allowing displaceability in the direction of the longitudinal groove. In addition, the angle bracket according to the present invention includes section bars that can be arranged on both the inside and outside of the second leg. A further advantage of the angle bracket according to the present invention is that it can be manufactured especially inexpensively by a die-casting method. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a side view of a first embodiment of an angle bracket according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a top view of the angle bracket according to FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 shows a side view of one example of an application of such an angle bracket on a partition or safety wall. 
     FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of an example of the section bar according to FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 shows a top view of another embodiment of the angle bracket according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 shows a top view of another embodiment of the angle bracket according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Angle bracket  10  shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a first leg  12  and a second leg  14 . These two legs  12 ,  14  are each rigidly joined at one end at a right angle. The outer ends of legs  12 ,  14 , opposite the joined ends, are rounded in a semicircular shape. In this embodiment, the two legs  12 ,  14  are designed with equal lengths, for example. 
     The transition point from first leg  12  to second leg  14  is reinforced by two supporting walls  16 , for example, which are spaced apart. These two supporting walls  16  end with their outsides facing away from one another flush with the end faces of angle bracket  10  and their outside contour is concave. This results in uncritical notching effects at the points of transition from supporting wall  16  to legs  12 ,  14  when angle bracket  10  is under load. 
     In addition, two legs  12 ,  14  are provided with recesses arranged symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axes of legs  12 ,  14 . In the case of first leg  12 , the recess is a bore hole  18 , while the recess of second leg  14  is designed as an elongated hole  20 . 
     This elongated hole  20  runs in the direction of the extent of second leg  14  and has a distance  22  with respect to the inside wall of first leg  12 . Distance  22  is composed of the length of two length segments  24 ,  26 . First length segment  24  corresponds to the length of supporting wall  16  in the direction of the extent of second leg  14 , while the second length segment  26  corresponds to the distance between the end of supporting wall  16  and the center of elongated hole  20  facing first leg  12 . The dimensions of this length segment  26  are such that it is longer than the largest radius R of rotation (FIG. 4) of a section bar  38  to be mounted on second leg  14 . This section bar  38  can therefore be turned about its longitudinal axis into any angular position with respect to first leg  12  and thus with respect to a section bar joined to said first leg  12  without striking supporting walls  16  of angle bracket  10 . Section bar  38  is shown in a top view of an example of a design in FIG.  4  and in a side view in FIG.  3 . 
     Angle bracket  10  is secured to the section bars by bolts  40  (FIG.  3 ), for example, passing through bore hole  18  and elongated hole  20 . Elongated hole  20  of second leg  14  thus permits a precision adjustment of the two section bars joined by this angle bracket  10 . 
     Furthermore, a centering device  28  is provided on the outside of first leg  12 . This centering device  28  is formed by a total of four projections  30  extending outward. Projections  30  may be cuboid in shape, for example, and form the corners of a rectangle secured by them. Since two projections  30  are aligned pairwise, only two of four projections  30  are visible in FIGS. 1 and 2. The longitudinal side of the rectangle secured by projections  30  runs parallel to the direction of extent of first leg  12 , and consequently the narrow side is perpendicular to it. The dimension of the long side is selected so that a reliable longitudinal guidance of angle bracket  10  in a groove of the section bar (not shown) is guaranteed by projections  30 . The narrow side is dimensioned so that some play remains between centering device  28  and this groove, so that angle bracket  10  can be displaced longitudinally along the groove. 
     One embodiment of such angle brackets  10  is illustrated in FIG. 3, showing a section of a partition or safety wall having a supporting section  34  which can be anchored on the floor in a manner not shown here. Two framework constructions  36  are mounted on this supporting section  34  independently of one another, each using two angle brackets  10  anchored one above the other on one of the outsides of supporting section  34 . Framework constructions  36  are in turn connected by fastening elements  40 , e.g., screws or bolts, to angle brackets  10 . 
     Framework constructions  36  may be screens or panels, for example, enclosed by a frame formed by section bars  38 . These framework constructions  36  are anchored at second legs  14  of angle brackets  10  with their section bars  38  running parallel to the longitudinal axis of supporting section  34 . Elongated hole  20  in second legs  14  makes it possible to adjust distance A between supporting section  34  and section bars  38  to the given conditions in the case of each assembly. Even minimally adjustable distance A permits section bars  38  to be turned into any angular position with respect to supporting section  34 . Framework constructions  36  can thus be joined to supporting section  34  not only in 90° and 180° positions. 
     In addition, FIG. 3 shows that projections  30  of centering device  28  on angle brackets  10  engage in grooves provided on the outsides of supporting section  34 . This yields a longitudinally displaceable centered arrangement of angle brackets  10  on supporting sections  34  while at the same time permitting angle brackets  10  to be prevented from rotating. 
     FIG. 4 shows a top view of a section bar  38  as an example. This view shows the largest radius R of rotation of this section bar  38  which determines the length of segment  26  of angle bracket  10 . 
     FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of an angle bracket  10 , where second leg  14  is extended beyond elongated hole  20  and has a form element  44  on its bearing face which faces section bar  38  to be mounted. This form element  44  is arranged in the area of the end of second leg  14  facing away from first leg  12  and is symmetrical to the axis thereof. Form element  44  is designed as a web with a T-shaped or dovetailed cross section and is some distance away from elongated hole  20 . Therefore, form element  44  projects into groove  42  of a horizontal section bar  38  of a framework construction  36  connected to angle bracket  10  and establishes an engagement between this framework construction  36  and supporting section  34  without limiting the possibility of adjusting distance A between supporting section  34  and section bars  38  (FIG. 3) to the use conditions. 
     FIG. 6 shows an angle bracket  10  whose second leg  14  is lengthened beyond elongated hole  20  for providing an additional bore hole  46 . With this additional bore hole  46 , additional engagement can be achieved, if necessary, between angle bracket  10  and a framework construction  36  (FIG. 3) which can be mounted using a stud or bolt in elongated holes  20  of lower angle bracket  10 .