Curtain wall for a building
First Claim
1. A curtain wall module for a building, comprising:
- a frame having a top chord, a bottom chord and a plurality of transverse studs spaced at intervals along the length of the chords defining a plurality of panels, the top end of each stud being connected to the top chord and the bottom end of each stud being connected to the bottom chord, the top chord being a single downwardly open channel section, the bottom chord being a single upwardly open channel section, and with one chord being reinforced with a beam of strength greater than said channel section;
sheet form cladding mounted to the frame; and
adjustable restraint means connected at two or more places along the top of the frame to the building structure for transferring the weight of the wall module, and the loads imposed upon the module, to the building structure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A curtain wall for a building structure is provided in which structural members and diaphragms are used to reinforce a relatively light frame such that the number of connections to the building required is reduced to one or two. The curtain wall module comprises a frame having a top and bottom chord and a plurality of transverse studs spaced at intervals along the length of the chords defining a plurality of panels. Exterior cladding including a layer of sheet metal is mounted to the exterior face of the frame strengthening the frame as a stressed diaphragm. In the preferred embodiment the top chord of the frame includes a relatively strong reinforcing beam (such as a square hollow structural section) parallel to and connected to the top chord along the full length of the top chord. The weight of the wall may be supported upon the building by vertically adjustable connectors at two points on the beam. Vertical pins connected to the upper surface of the beam project through the bottom chord web of a like upper adjacent wall module. Diagonally slotted washers engage the pins to allow adjacent modules to be aligned while allowing adjacent modules to deflect vertically relative to each other in an unrestricted fashion.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A curtain wall module for a building, comprising:
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a frame having a top chord, a bottom chord and a plurality of transverse studs spaced at intervals along the length of the chords defining a plurality of panels, the top end of each stud being connected to the top chord and the bottom end of each stud being connected to the bottom chord, the top chord being a single downwardly open channel section, the bottom chord being a single upwardly open channel section, and with one chord being reinforced with a beam of strength greater than said channel section; sheet form cladding mounted to the frame; and adjustable restraint means connected at two or more places along the top of the frame to the building structure for transferring the weight of the wall module, and the loads imposed upon the module, to the building structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A curtain wall module for a building which module is used in combination with a span of window frames, the module comprising:
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a frame having a top chord, a bottom chord and a plurality of transverse studs spaced at intervals along the length of the chords defining a plurality of panels, the top end of each stud being connected to the top chord and the bottom end of each stud being connected to the bottom chord, the top chord being a single downwardly open channel section, the bottom chord being a single upwardly open channel section, the studs being roll formed sheet metal channel sections with at least one stud being a reinforcing beam having a strength greater than that of the other studs; sheet form cladding mounted to the frame; and restraint means for attaching the module to the building, the restraint means extending from the reinforcing beam to the building structure. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification