HK1020080A1

HK1020080A1 - Insertable connecting element for insulating glass pane spacers

Info

Publication number: HK1020080A1
Application number: HK99105347A
Authority: HK
Inventors: Kronenberg Max
Original assignee: 马克斯‧克罗南伯格
Priority date: 1996-08-05
Filing date: 1997-08-01
Publication date: 2000-03-10
Also published as: DK0916013T4; DE59701192D1; DK0916013T3; PL189228B1; PL331482A1; WO1998005843A1; CZ38599A3; EP0916013B2; ES2143322T3; PL189230B1; EP0916013B1; DE29613519U1; EP0916013A1; ES2143322T5; ATE190116T1; CZ295710B6

Abstract

This invention concerns an insertable connecting element (1) which has a small and thin-walled stop (12) at the connection point (5) which has sides (13) which are parallel or at an acute angle. The stop (12) inserts fully into the profile face walls (6) upon pushing the profiles (3, 4) together, so that the side walls (6) tightly abut above the stop (12). With regard to the stop (12), the connecting element (1) has a tolerance compensator (16) which allows the guidance of the lateral walls (10) into the hollow profiles (3, 4) without vertical play.

Description

The invention relates to a spacer and a connector for insulating panes of glass with the characteristics of the main claim.

The side joints have wide triangular fasteners for the hollow profiles on the lower edge in the area of the connection point. The fasteners have flankers on both sides with a large flank angle of significantly more than 90°. The flankers thus serve as starting slopes at which the plugged hollow profiles are to be launched without any engraving. The alternative action of the folding drive drives the starting slopes of the high-pressure plug in the hollow profiles against the automatic upward force of the spring spring. These are pressed by the spring and the spring.

Another straight connector is known from the DE-U-94 11 067, which also has rigid wide connectors with slanted sides, which in part act as starting points, as the state of the art mentioned above, and are intended to take up the height play by a slide.

Alternative designs of metallic and plastic connectors are known from EP-A-0 283 689, DE-U-88 05 575 and DE-U-90 16 592 which have spring-loaded fasteners which, when the hollow profiles are suspended, elasticize and disappear into the interior of the profile.

DE-U-94 12 570 and EP-A-0 133 655 also include connectors with rigid connectors in the form of cylindrical studs or transverse circular studs, where the hollow profiles are connected to their front walls, thus distancing the hollow profiles at the connection point and creating an unwanted gap.

The present invention is intended to provide a better way of tightly connecting the hollow profiles at the connection point.

The invention solves this problem by the general characteristics of the two subsidiary claims.The invention has the advantage that by completely engraving the small inserts on the profile face walls a perfectly tight connection of the profile face walls can be achieved without any other negative effects having to be accepted.

The parallel or pointed edges and their thin walls allow the correspondingly narrow grooves to be particularly well embedded in the profile face walls. In contrast to the previously known wide-angle grooves and the pitch slopes, no noticeable backing forces are created during the engraving. The cold hardening in the hollow profile material is less. The hollow profiles remain close together.

In order to facilitate the complete excavation of the beds, it is advisable to make them as small as possible, i.e. narrow and short in particular.

A height-free guide of the connector in the hollow profiles, which preferably fixes the connector side walls, has the advantage that the connectors can be very small and still come into contact with the profile face walls safely.

The design of the device does not require the connectors to compensate for the height tolerances of the connector in the hollow profiles; rather, the connector may be guided through a separate height-free tolerance compensation on the side walls, which also prevents the formation of unfavourable back-up forces on the connecting point.

The solid side walls in the area of the connecting point make it particularly resistant to bending and deformation at this highly stressed place. The tolerance compensation can also improve the proper stability of the connector. The notch effects in this area are largely avoided. The high structural strength and bending resistance allow, on the other hand, to reduce the wall thickness of the connector and save costs.

The two-sided free cut on the flanks of the impact is also advantageous, as it allows the hollow profiles to come into contact with the middle and upper areas of the impact flank, which is more advantageous for cutting into the profile face wall and avoiding the use of backing forces than a cut on the side foot, which, by rounding at the edge of the sidewall, would favour the less desirable slide.

The design, function and efficiency of the connector make it advantageous to make it of metal, especially steel, as metallic connectors are easier and more easily digested than plastic ones.

The smaller the connectors, the more important the size of the connector. For this purpose it is advantageous to provide a centrifugal device that ensures an exact bending of the connector and an evenness of the side walls and the connectors. The smaller the bending tolerances, the smaller and still functionally safe the connectors can be.

In a metallic design, it is advantageous to make the connector from a pre-finished material that no longer requires further treatment. This ensures that the tiny patches retain their shape and do not break or otherwise deform during a post-treatment. Pre-treatment preferably makes the metal, especially a so-called cold strip of steel, stainless. This can be done by galvanizing and/or chromating before stamping and bending the material.

The sub-claims give further advantages of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings, for example, showing in detail: Figure 1 and 2 : a connector in bottom view and folded side view,Figure 3 : an enlarged representation of the centre area of the connector of Figure 2 with the plug,Figure 4 : a front view of the connector according to arrow IV of Figure 1,Figure 5 : a spacer holder with the connector in place in broken and cut side view according to Figure 2 andF 6 : a sliced front view of the connector of Figure 5 at the intersection.

Figures 1 to 4 show a straight connector (1) for use in the spacers (2) for insulating panes shown in Figures 5 and 6. The spacer (2) consists of one or more curved and/or straight hollow profiles (3,4) which are bluntly pressed at the connection point (5) and held together by the straight connector (1) used there.

The connector (1) is preferably made of metal, especially steel sheet, as a punching and bending part. It is essentially U-shaped in cross-section and preferably open at the front (21) so that the granulated drying agent in the hollow profiles (3.4) can flow through the internal cavity (22) of the connector (1) through the connecting point (5).

The connector (1) preferably has two rigid, two-way connectors (12) at the centre of the connector (1) at equal height; the connectors (12) are located at the edges (11) of the side walls (10) of the connector (1) and protrude above them; the connectors (12) are in the wall plane and have the low wall thickness of the side walls (10), which is less than 1 mm and in the preferred embodiment is about 0,5 mm.

The hinges (12) are essentially triangular in shape with slanted sides (13), which have a sharp angle α between them of less than 90°, preferably about 45°.

In an alternative embodiment, the flanks (13) can also be straight and parallel, and then at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the connector (20).

As illustrated in detail in Figure 3, the rigid attachments (12) are very small, having a width (b) of less than 0,5 mm, preferably about 0,3 to 0,15 mm, at the height of the side walls (11).

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the edges (11) of the side walls (10) may have free cuts or recesses (14) on either side of the studs (12) into which the flanks (13) extend with a rounding in favour of the notch. In this case, the height of the stud (h) can be calculated from the base of the free cuts (14). In the embodiment shown, the free cuts (14) recede from the side walls (11) by about 0,15 mm. This results in the studs (12) protruding with their tips at a height of the stud (h) of 0,3 mm by 0,15 mm above the edges (11). This overhang may be approximately in the range of the tolerance of the hollow film dimensions.

The connector (1) has a tolerance compensation (16) at the connecting point (5) opposite the connectors (12) for precise and high-frequency guidance of the connector (1) in the hollow profiles (3,4) at least in the area of the connecting point (5). The guidance preferably acts on the side walls (10). This ensures that the edges (11) of the side walls (10) are on the inside wall of the joined hollow profile (8) and that the tiny connectors (12) come into contact with the front walls (6) of the hollow profiles (3,4) safely and cannot be pushed over.

The tolerance compensator (16) may be formed in any suitable way, e.g. as free-cut and curved spring nuts (9) at the centre wall. In the preferred embodiment shown in detail in Figure 3, the tolerance compensator (16) may consist of rectangular two-sided contact lenses (16) formed as a bend or bulge at the centre wall (9) and/or at the adjacent edges or edge walls (18) of the side walls (10). The curved contact lenses (16) also make the connector (1) firm and stabilize by increasing the bending cross section.

The head is at the connection point (5), where the width of the contact slopes (16) may be several millimetres, e.g. about 10 mm. At the contact slopes (16) the hollow profiles (3.4) slide upwards, thus absorbing the internal mass tolerances of the hollow profiles (3.4) and leading the connector (1) at least within the area of the connection point (5) free of height play in the hollow profiles (3.4). The height of the tolerance compensation or contact slopes (16) is a few tenths of an inch, e.g. 0.15 mm.

The sockets (12) are used to limit the depth of immersion of the connector (1) in the hollow profiles (3.4) when plugged in and to center the hollow profiles (3.4). As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the hollow profiles (3.4) are simultaneously or successively pushed up from the front sides (21) onto the connector (1) and meet at the connection point (5) in the centre of the connector.

The rigid studs (12) are embedded in the front walls (6) of the hollow profiles (3.4) which is facilitated by the tiny and thin walls of the studs (12) and the steep side shape. Slip is preferably prevented in favour of the embedding. The stud height (h) is smaller than the wall thickness of the hollow profiles, which also supports the embedding. The studs (12) are fully embedded in the front walls (6). This means that the hollow profiles (3.4) and the front walls (6) can close together at the connection point (5).

The precise and smooth running of the connector (1) is advantageous in preventing overlapping and overlapping of the connectors (12) and in ensuring that the hollow profiles (3.4) meet and join together precisely without any shifting, edging or twisting.

The connector (1) can be otherwise designed in any way. In the example shown, the central wall (9) is essentially solid and has no wall breaks. It may have flat protrusions (17) in places in the hollow profiles (3.4) with a basically square shape for stabilization and improved installation. In the example shown, there are three protrusions (17) evenly distributed along the length, the middle of which is located at the connection point (5) and can be formed as a starting slope (16).

Between the projections (17) the bottom (19) of the middle wall (9) is lowered. The projections (17) close at the height with longitudinal edge grooves (18) at the transition of the middle wall (9) into the side walls (10). They are therefore close to the inserted profile wall (7). Between the projections (17) and the edge grooves (18), according to Fig. 6, there may be a longitudinal use for incorporating perforation rows on the hollow profiles (3.4).

The connector (1) formed as a punch and bending part does not have a centrifuge (23) for exact bending of the U-shape. This makes the sidewalls (10) and their terminals (12) equal in height. The centrifuge (23) can be formed in any suitable way. In the example shown, two eight-point free-standing centrifuge holes (23) are located on the connector, through which the bends are held by search pins and which center the board and lead it into the bending tool. The centrifuge holes (23) are preferably located at protrusions (17).

The support of the connector (1) in the hollow profiles (3.4) can be secured in various ways. In the preferred example, there are on both sides and at a distance from the connecting point (5) support elements (15) on the side walls (10). These may be, for example, freestanding and slanted downwards and outwards. The support elements (15) can also be completely different, e.g. as spring-loaded springs on the middle wall (9), rifle-shaped, etc. It is also possible to provide the support by wall gasket, in which the hollow profile walls are made from the outside into appropriate exceptions on the middle wall (9) or/and the sides (10).

The connector (1) is oriented in its cross-sectional design and dimensions to the interior of the hollow profiles (3.4); as shown in Figure 6, it is preferably installed in a position where its centre wall (9) is attached to the profile floor (7), the profile floor (7) is on the inner wall of the spacer holder (2) and points to the interior between the insulating panes (not shown). The side walls (10) point to the profile (8) and may be slightly slanted to press themselves against the profile sides by means of a spring.

The pre-treatment can be used, for example, to protect against corrosion, in particular rust, and may consist of galvanizing and/or chromating. Low-carbon steels, e.g. STK2, are suitable as the base material. The so-called cold strip, which is so pre-treated, is then stamped and bent into the required shape during the manufacture of the connector.

The design shown can be modified in various ways. The connector (1) can be a fully or partially closed box instead of a U-shape. The connectors (12) can also be located elsewhere. Their number can also vary. Tolerance compensation (16) can be achieved or eliminated in other ways. The same applies to the free cuts (14). Closed front sides (21) of the connector (1) are possible.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down the rules for the application of this Regulation.

1 connector2 spacer holder3 hollow profile4 hollow profile5 connecting point, impact point6 mast wall7 profile floor8 profile roof9 middle wall10 side wall11 edge, bottom edge12 housing13 flank14 free cut, exception15 restraint element, spring base16 tolerance compensation, starting slopes17 lead18 edge wool19 floor20 connector longitudinal axis21 mast side22 hollow23 centrifugal device, centrifugal bore α flank angle

Claims

Spacer for insulating glass panes, comprising one or more hollow sections (3, 4) with a straight connecting element (1) which is inserted at the connection point (5), is guided in the hollow section(s) (3, 4) and has at least one rigid stop (12) which is active on both sides, characterized in that the stop (12) is designed to be small, thin-walled and to have flanks (13) which are parallel or at an acute angle, the end walls (6) of the hollow section(s) (3, 4) butting tightly against one another at the connection point (5) above the stop (12), and the stop (12) being completely recessed into the end walls (6).
Spacer according to Claim 1, characterized in that the connecting element (1), by means of its side walls (10), is guided without vertical clearance in the hollow section(s) (3, 4), by means of a tolerance-compensating means (16).
Straight connecting element (1) for metal spacers (2) of insulating glass panes, having at least one projecting, rigid stop (12), which is active on both sides, for the end walls (6) of one or more hollow sections (3, 4) at the connection point (5), characterized in that the stop (12) is designed to be small, thin-walled and to have flanks (13) which are parallel or at an acute angle, in order to be completely recessed into the section end walls (6).
Connecting element according to Claim 3, characterized in that the connecting element (1), with respect to the stop (12), has a tolerance-compensating means (16) in order for the side walls (10) to be guided without vertical clearance in the hollow section(s) (3, 4).
Connecting element according to Claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the flanks (13) have a flank angle α of between 0° and 60°.
Connecting element according to one of Claims 3, 4 and 5, characterized in that the stop (12) has a width (b) and a height (h) of in each case less than 0.3 mm, preferably of approx. 0.15-0.25 mm.
Connecting element according to one of Claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the stop (12) has cutouts (14) on both sides in its base area.
Connecting element according to one of Claims 3 to 7, characterized in that the connecting element (1) is essentially U-shaped in cross section, a stop (12), which projects in the plane of the side walls, being arranged at the same height on each of the edges (11) of the two side walls (10).
Connecting element according to one of Claims 3 to 8, characterized in that the tolerance-compensating means (16) is designed as hump-like run-up slopes (16) on the side walls (10) and/or the centre wall (9) of the connecting element (1).
Connecting element according to one of Claims 3 to 9, characterized in that the centre wall (9), on both sides, has longitudinally running edge beads (18) and a base (19) which is at a lower level with respect thereto, one or more shallow protrusions (17), which project to the level of the edge beads (18), being arranged on the base (19).
Connecting element according to one of Claims 3 to 10, characterized in that the connecting element (1), which is designed as a stamped and bent part, is made from a metal which has been pretreated to make it stainless.
Connecting element according to Claim 11, characterized in that the connecting element (1) is made from pre-galvanized and pre-chromated cold-rolled steel strip.
Connecting element according to one of Claims 3 to 12, characterized in that the connecting element (1) has a centring device (23) for exact positioning in order to allow accurate bending.