CA1184047A - Process for the installation of curtain walls and wall elements especially for the execution of the process - Google Patents

Abstract

JPB:1jz Docket No. 82127 FRITZ GARTNER

PROCESS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF CURTAIN WALLS AND
WALL ELEMENTS ESPECIALLY FOR THE EXECUTION OF THE PROCESS

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE:
A process for the installation of a curtain wall of a building consisting of posts and tie bars includes the step of preassembling tie bars on an auxiliary frame to form a wall element. The composite structure so provided is then transported to the place of installation of the wall element, at which point it is fastened to the building to form part of its curtain wall. Once the wall element is fastened to the building, the auxiliary frame is then removed for further use in the preassembly thereon of further wall elements. In the pre-ferred practice of the invention the posts and tie bars and any other elements desired to form part of the curtain wall of the building are brought to a floor or floors of the building while the building is under construction wherein the preassembly of the wall elements on an auxiliary frame may take place, as and when necessary. The arrangement facilitates the assembly of the wall elements to form part of the curtain wall in a protected area of the building site which is relatively close to their place of installation. The movement of the preassembled wall elements is aided, preferably, by the use of trolley means connected to the building. Apparatus per the invention therefore includes in the first instance a frame to which are assembled posts and tie bars, together with facade panels and glazing, if desired, to form an individual wall element a plurality of which can be joined in the formation of a curtain wall. The connection between each wall element and the frame on which it is assembled is limited and facil-itates a quick release of the frame from the wall element, once the wall element is attached to form part of a curtain wall.

Description

~ROCESS FOR T~E INSTALLATIO~ OF CURTAIN WALLS AND
WALL ELEMEl~TS E5PECIALLY FOR THE EXEC~ION OF TI~E PROCESS

BACKGRO~D OF THE_INVENTIO~;

This invention relates to a proc~ss ~r ~he installation of a curtain wall or fac~de of a building and wall elemçnts especially for the execu~ion of the process.
In principle two different processes are known for ~he erection of a facade of curtai.n wall~. In on~ mode of construc-tion the entire curtain wall is made up of individual wall elements having the height o one or several stories of the building under construction. ~hese wall element~ are self supporting and in their application they are fastened, for example, to the floor ceilings of ~he building, The installation of these wall elemQnts ta~s place with the aid o~ a cable winch or crane which hoist~
them on the outside of the building, ~om ground levelO Because of ~.heir relatively larg~ area and their exposure to the wind~, the wall elements can b~come difficult to handle during their hoisting. For this reason the hoi~ting of the wall elements can be carried out only ~ery slowly. Otherwise, the wall elements being installed a~ well as the wall elements already in place may be damaged during this procedureO As will be sel evident, the hoisting procedure i~ kime consuming and correspondingly co~tly with re~pect to the expense of the labor and equipment required.
Furthermore, this mode of construction re~uires more expenditure 3ince i~ is neces~ary that joint clo~ures be provided between the wall element~ at the buîlding site. By xeason Gf this it comes abou~ that there is a r~quirement for wide post elevat~on~, having for example a minlmum width of 100 to 120 mm, a construction which is often unde~irable for esthetic reasons. One advan~age of this moda of cen~-~ru~ tion u~ing wall elem~3nts li~3s in that a not incensiderable part o the workirlg operatiorls can be carriPd out in a base workshop, includirlg the in~allation o~ railing elements and glas~ panes.
In the o~her mode of construc~ion for the erection of a curtain wall or ~acade of a building ~he pO8~8 and tie bar~
to c:arry the glazing and ~acade par~la are delivered to the con~ruction si~e a~ indlYidual element~ and only there put together oa~ th~ out~ide o~ the building to form a facade skel-eton, whereupon ~he fltting of the skel0ton with raili~g el -ment~ and ~la3s F>an~s take~ pla ::e from the out~ide . Strip and 3ealing profile~ ar~ th~n appli~d. Thi~ pxocedure i8 carried out m~stly with ths ~ld of a scaf~old or a gondola that i8 ar-ranged to move in all direction~ on th~3 out~ide o~ the buildirlg and at t~ m~3s aan be quite hazardouq ~ Under like condltion~ the aluminum weight of the facade exected in thi~ manner from po~t and tie bars 1~ great:er than that of a similar facade ~rectQd in ths element con~tr.u6tion ~ode, in accordance with the pxior art practice.
A~ between the two hexeto~ore k~own mode~ of con~truction above referred to, the application of ~hc po~ts and tie bars to the out~ide o~ the build$ng at tha con~tructlon site mln$m1zes the time required for pr~paration in the workshop and it al80 giVe~ the po~ibility of employing ~arrower ~ae vieW~ oE the C~08~ bar~.

With due considera~ion for the state o the prior art, underlying the lnverlti on wa~ the problem of finding a process and apparatus in the u~e of which a curtaill wall or Xacade of a bullding could be erected in the shorte~t po~sible ~ime and ln a manner whlch would virtu~lly exclude dangex of ~ny damage thereto or to ~he component~ thereof and would al~o, at the ~ame time, give the workerR installing the curtain wall or facade grea~er prstection from in~ury. Co~r~pc~ndlngly, the object o the e~fort8 which re~ulted in the present inventio was to coJr;blne the advz~n~ages o f the two known type~ of ron-~tructiosl a~ far ~ po~sible while av~dlng their dl~advantage~.

~8~7 _MMARY OF THE I~VENTION
In one broad aspect, -the present invention relates to a process for the installation of a curtain wall of a building, consisting of posts and tie bars, characteri~ed in that a number of posts and tie bars are pre-assembled on an auxiliary frame into a wall element, in that the wall element is transported on the auxiliary frame -to its place of installation, that the wall elemen-t is fastened to the building at its place of installation in such a way to insure the cohesion of the posts and tie bars, and in that the auxiliary frame is removed and transported away from -the wal. element.
In another broad aspect, the present invention relates to an apparatus or use in forming a curtain wall of a building including a frame, an assembly of at least two posts joined with one another by at least two tie bars to form an individual wall element a plurality of which can be joined in the formation of a curtain wall, said assembly being connected with said frame by means providing for a quick release therefrom of said frame on the attachment of said assembly to form part of a curtain wall of a building.
In carrying ou-t the process of the lnvention the advantages of a post and tie bar construction are combined with the advantages of the element construction mode. In accordance therewith posts and tie bars, already in the corresponding lengths required, can be delivered to and stored within the basic frame of the building to which a curtain wall or facade is to be applied while work is still going on in the basic frame of the building. Within the building the posts and tie bars can then be pre-assembled on an auxiliary frame, thereby to eliminate the time consuming and not unhazardous requirement . `!
` ~7.,~, of assembling pos-ts and tie bars on the outside of the building, as dic-tated by the prior art practice in this respect. Fur-ther benefits in the use of the auxiliary frame are that its assembly can be done more rapidly than by -the prior prac-tice and furthermore its assernbly can take place on a secure working surface and without danger to the assembler.

-4a~

In the prea~sembly of the wall element ~:o ~he auxiliary frame only the po~ thereof are detachably joined to ~he frame.
For thi~; purpo~e the auxiliaxy frame i~ provid~d with variou~ly formed arre~ing means with khe aid of which th2 po~ts can be secured to the fr~me by means of ~crews or clamp~. Thi~; insures that the wall element will not fall apart during tran~p:>~t thereof ~co its place o in~tallat~on.
The invention al80 contemplates that gla21ng and facade panels, or the like, c3.n be prea~embled to each wall element 10 at the ime that it i3 initially assembled and prior to i1:8 move3ment from it5 placa of as~embly to it~ point of ~ns;t~l-l~ltioll ~
In order to ~horten the di~tance over which prea s~mbled wall ell3ments ;nu~t be moved ~rom the ps~ t of their as~embly ts:~
thqir place of in~t~llatis:n, the compc)r~ents ~ro~n which they are a3sem~1ed, such as post:8, tie bar~, glazing and panel~, a~e storQd on certain f loor~ of the building under con~truction, at whlch location or location~ the prea~sembly of the wall elements on an auxiliary frame take~ place., Thi~ not only 20 re~ult~ in a ~hortening of assembly time but minimize~ the dan51ers which have heretofore presente~d them~lve~ by reason o~ the considerable di~tanoe~ preassembled wall elements wer~
raquirad to be mov~d ~rom the ground out~id~ of the building to tha place of ~heir applic~tion.

The preaF~sembling of each wall element will ~re~erably occur on an a~sembly staxld loca~ed on ~he floor of a building where i~5 compon~nts are stor~d. Once preassembled the wall element can then ~e transported acro~;s the same floor, on a cart, ~o be positioned immedia~ely outside the ~ide of the bullding at which it will l~e installedO For the movement of the as~embled wall elemen~ it will be in connection with and remairl in connection with its frame not only durin~ its move-ment on a car~ ~o the out~ide of the building, at a location ~elatively adjacen~ point of assembly, but to tha~c point in its movement where it will be fixed in placet in connection with the building. Hoisting apparatus provided in the region of th~ out~ide o~ the building ~o which the a~sembled wall elemant i~ delivered by th~ co.rt will include mean~ ~or en~agel-ment to tlle auxilia:ry frame by being thrust through a tran~port eye in colanection thcrewi~h, by mean~3 of which the wall element will be ~u~;pended on the hoi~ting appar~tus out~ ~de o~ the building. Through the medium of the hoisting apparatu~ ~he frame and the wall elem9nt in colmection thsrewith will be mov~d to the place wher~3 the wall el~ment mu~t be ~osition~d, for ~astening thereo~ to the building. It ~hould be noted tnat the post~ and t~ e bar~ are not much load~d during tran~port ~o their a~t~rling to the ~uxiliary frame can be effected ln a rel~tivel ~implj manner.
Each w~ll element to b~ applled to the out~ide of the build-ing will in accordance with tha E)roce~s of the invention compri~e at lea~ t two po~ts and possibly as mu~h a~ :~ive . This will depend on ~he siz~ of the glaxing and panal areas. Al o there will be ~t least two and pre ferably three tie bars joining the post3 with one ano~her. Middle po~ts can present a closed profile while ou~er or border pos~ may present an o~en pro~ile.
The tia bars are joined o the post~ by slipping them onto yin~
provided in connection wi~h ~he pOS t5 . ~he~e pins can be screwed or welded to t:he post or they may be ormed integral with the post. The tie ba:s~ will prE3erably have a lenyth which 0 i3 somewhat shorter ~an the clear ~pacing be~ween adjacent pO8 t:S to which they apply in order to take into account expansion of their length, when and if such occurs.
In order to make it possible in each case to join two border ~ost~3 pre~enting an open proflli3 to ~onn a po~t with a closed profile, t:he bsrder po~ts can be respectively constructed wi~h a groovc and 21 tongue in which ca~e ~hey may be ~oined to on~ ano~her in a malle-female ~ashion in a mannex believed obviou~0 Als0, the border po~ts can be provided to pr-3sent shank~
the po~ition of which i~ sta~gered 50 that after their joining they are ~eated on one another without play. Where open profiles o~ the border po3ta muat be joined, th1 s aan be achieved by mean~ o screw bolt~. For the xeception o~ sealing strip~ and spaGing stripa, the posta can be provided, for example, with ~wallowt~ hap~d groove~, into wh~ah 3wallowtail tongue~
~ ~9 s~aling 3trips and sp~a:ing stripA may be thrust. The ~ealing and ~pacing strip~ ~ervQ for the ~eaking of the glazing or ~acade panela to be in~talled between the posta and tie bars.

The panels can be executed, for example, in a sandwich con~
struction and may comprise, for example, a glass pla~ and a metal wall b~we~n which an insulating matarial is provided.
A~ an altexnative the sandwich construction may be achieved u~ing two metal plate~ be~ween which is ~andwlched an insulating material. The me~al pla~es in ~uch ca~e may be, for exampl~, of alu~inum or ~tainles~ ~teal.
For the simple fa~tening of the facade panels and the glazing required, ~he pOB~S can pre~en~ rece~es on their out-side corners to wh~ch the glazing and panel~ can be fa~tenedon contact therewi~h. ~oke-like strip~ can be used to clamp the glazing and the panel~ to the posts. Cover strips can be provided to protec~ screw connections and sealing strip~
~rom rain and other ~ffects of w~athering. Thes~ cover ~trip~ will be clamped to the yoke-like strip~ which are clamped in turn to ~ecuxe the glazing and panels to the p~sts, The po8t9 of the indivldual wall elements per the invention can be joined one to the other by mean~ of f itting pieces or they may be aligned without providing direct connecting mean~ In order to accommodate lenythwise expan~ion o~ posts which are ~lignad, a suitable ~pacing is left thare-betw~en, producing thereby a horixontal expan~ion joint betw~en indivi~ual wall el~ment~ which axe plac~d one above the other.
~ow~rd~ th~ out~ide thereof the~e horizon~ally running expan~ion 3Olnt~ can be ¢o~ered by the applicatlon of a metal plate which ~8-present~ ~ for exa.mple, the continuati on of ~che wall o a facade panel and e~cabllshe~ som~3what below the joint a bent-of f zone capable, in a certain range, of c:ompensating fc~r length variations in the po~ts,which s:~ccur, by way of example, through heat expan ion.
Where rectangular c~ ners or corner~ that enclose ano~her angle are recluired in the :eorma~ior of a facad~ or curtain wall, according to the particular requirement~
they may be composed fxom profile~ that can be executed in one 10 or several parts.
Tie bar~ can be provided between the pO~ 3 of a prefabricated or prea~embled wall element differexltly, alccording to their position. The tie bar~ serve primarily to reinforce khe fa~ade or curtain wall and to rec:eiYe glazing and facade panels.
Wlthin an inner zone of ~ wall element th~ tl~ bar~ are prefer-ably made in one piec:e and may be p~ov$ded wlth groo-res for the recept~on o~ ~ealing strip~ and spacing ~rips and with screw thread~ for th~3 reception of ~crew bolt~. The fa~tening of the glazing and the facade panel~ to the kle bar~, where 20 requ~ed, can be carried out in a manner ~imilar to that providing for c:onnection of such component~ to post~.
Tie bax~ running on the upper ~n~ low~r ends o each wall element pre~erably are executed ~ n ~uch a way that in th~
joining of two prea~embl*d or prefabricated elements there ari~e3 a tie bar with a clo~ed pro~ile. For example, tie bar~
runnlng at ~he upper limlt of a wall elemen~ can be provlded with a tongue while tie bar~ running at ~he lower lim~t of the wall element can corre~pondingly pre~ent a groove or the rec2ption of ~he tongue o:E a tie bar of a ~imilar wall element tha~ i~ already mounted on the facade and provide~
a base or lower element for the wall elemen~ to be in~talled ~lere above. In order ~hat there may be achieved a horizon tal expan~ion joint hetw~en wall elements, one of whlch i~
seated above the other, the tonyue: and groove arrangement as between the wall elemen'c~ in their rQla~ve in~allation will provide for ~ui~ play of the tongue in the grosve in which it mate~. To pxovid~3 for ~ealing, t~e groove can have a ~llng lipo In the cas~ of an as~embly ~uch Z18 here described, the outside of a lower tie bar provided on the wall ell3ment will pr~3ferably havs a &ltop ~'crip which on emplasement of the wall element to form part of a curtain wall or facade will overlie a ~eating ~trlp pre~sented in connectlon with the wall elemen lying Imclarnaath. A ~aling llp can be provlded between the ~eatlng atrip and ~:he stop strip. Al~o the ~top ~trip can be arranged to pro~de thereon an upwardly opening gutter which i~ U-shap~d in cro~ 3ection and ~erYe~ :Eor the ~a~tening o~
ths 3top strip to the tie bar to which it f~3at8. ThLfi gutter provld~s for dr~inaga of water aGaumulating ~ n th~ co~struc~iox ~o whioh i~ relates. Screw bolts applied to hold ~he 2top ~txip on the tle bar to which it coran~ct~ may preferably ~e guided through the tie bar and thxough two opening~ in the stop ~t2eip~ Thi~ prov~de~ ~hat ~ltlng movem~3n~ ari~ing in ~he wall 7 - 1~

element s~3ated can be caught up and transferred without it~
being possible ~o cau~e a deformation of the component parts of the wall element to set in.
While tie bar~ presen~ in each s::a~e only a length corresponding to ~e ¢lear spacing of ~he po~t~, tie bar~
composed of two ~ie bar part~ of ~wo different wall element~
can be provided with a stop ~trip whlch i~ executed in one plec~ over th~3 entire width of the wall elements.
Wall el~men~s p~r lthe present inventio~ ds rlot nece~sarily have to be provlded with a tie bar paxt at its upper a~d lower limi.t~ . Tl~ rs may al~o extend bet~P2~r~ ad~acent po~t~ at a di~1:ar~ce from ~e end~ of the po6ts, For th-3 run-off of water collecting in t;ha U-3haped gutt~r of the stop ~trip, abo~e de~ ::rib~3d, ~elect2d po~ts of the wall elementa may include thereon run-of ap~on~ which may be u~d to conduct thi~ wat~r to the outaide of the facade or curtain w~ll o~ whlch they form a part.. To thi~ end t:he aprons can be provided as cove~r mearlE~ on the upp~r end~ o the po~ts, be con~tructed to be ~ubætantially Z-~haped in vertical directior and present a water run-o~ gutter b~tween ralsed border zone~
thereof provided on the po~t~ . The water dralnaga gutter (8), shaped on, for example, b~hind the ~top ~trip or strlps utillzed, may end ov~r th~3 depr~3s~ed middle raçliorl of the ~pron~, ~o 'chat w~ter flow~ from the ~trip~ onto the s.prons and can ~e led of~
fxom th~re. For the fit~ing of the apron~ to the po~t~, po~ t~
may have at the top o~ ~he outsid~ ~hereof ~ rece~ the depth ~L~

of whicll corresponds to about the height of the border zones of he apron.
For the avoidance of heak bridg~ and for the ab~orption of minor movements due to temperature influence~, ~he ~cr~w bolts holding the ~op ~trips on the ~ie bar3 can be ~heathed with a pla~tic pipe.
The inventi~n i~ explain~d in the following with the aid of ~everal ~xample~ of execution which may be seen with reference ~o the accompanyi~g drawing~ wherei~ 9 Fig. 1 shows, in front view, a cut-out of a curtai~ wall of a building;
Fig. 2 show~ a section throu~h ~everal ~tories of the building which i~ under con~truction, schematically illu~trating therein apparatu~ $n ~acordanaa with the invention and itR function in carrying out the proce~s o the invention;
Fig. 3 show~, ~n front view, a partially aR~mbled curtain wall and a further wall element in proce~s of being applied;
Fig~ 4 to e show s~hematic repxe~entations of various pro¢e~ steps;
Fig. 9 ~hows, in front view, an a~sembling stand with a prea~sembled wall element thereon;
F~g. 10 1B a ~ection through ~everal ~tories of a buildlng ~imilax to that illu~trated in Fig. 2 ~chematlcally showing other apparatu~ for caxrying out the func ion of the appar~tu3 ~een in Fig. 2;
Fig, 11 ~how~, in ~ro~t vlew, a wall e~ement pre~en~ i~ an intermediate po3ition,, ir~ the proces~ of its insltallation;
Fig. 12 ~hows a sectior~ through a middle po~3t of a wall element;
Fig. 13 ~hows a section through a border post of two joined wall elemenlts;
Fig. 14 ~how~ a modifled form of execution of a post lining analogou~ to Fig. 13;
Figs~ 15 to 17 show example~ of execution of corner posts of a cur~cain wall;
Piy. 18 æhows a vertical ~ection throl~gh two tie bar~
with di f fererlt con~truction elements;
Fig. 19 ~hows a vertical ~ection through a wall element in the region of a tie bar with a horizontal expansion joint;
Fig. 20 show~ a vertical ~ection through the tiL~ bars of two el~ments placed one ~pon l:he other;
Fig. 21 show~ a modification of the tie bar ~hown in Fig, 20;
Fig. 22 shows, in per~pective, ~h~ forma~ion of the drainage in the reglon of a po~t; and-Fig. 23 ~how~ a ~ection along the line XXIII-XXIII of Fig.
22 .
Fig. 1 ~how~, in front view, ~ section of a facade o~ a bu~lding, ba~ically a curtain wall that i~ comE~os6~d of wall elements 10. Each c~f ~he w~ll element~ 10 exhibits a post and ~i9 ba~
c~n~ ruction and comprise~ middle po~l:8 ~ n outer post 14 a~
the left thereo , ~ outer post 16 ~t the right thereof, middle tie bars 18, upper tie ~ax~ 20 and lower tie bars 22. In the case illustrated ~he wall elemen~ includes ~hree middle po~ts 12 and one middle tie bar 18 and as a pre~erred embodiment of the invention has an area of extent of abou~ 3 me~ers in wid~h a~d 3.5 me~ers in height. In accordance wi~h the inven~ion th~ wall elements 10 are a~sembled on an auxiliary frame 34 w~hin the frame of a building under construc~ion~ on a ~loor thereo~, ~rom po~t~ and tie bar3 and ~ollowing ~he assembly thereo~ the wall ¢lement $~ brought to the outside of the buildtng and there fastened in place a~ required.
More partioularly, in this re-~pect, attention is directed ko ~ig. 2 o the drawineJ$. Here shown i~ a cross ~ect~on thxough - the building under construction whiah i8 ~0 be provided with a ¢urtaln wall arld al~o ~howa on a floor of ~uch bulldiny are the device~ or apparatus~ nece~ary to brirg the wall element ~s~ wall element~ wh~ ch are prea~mbled or pre~abricat~d on the ~uxillary frame 34 to heir plas:e of installation. Flg. 2 illu~trate~
an A$sam~1ing s~and 28 movably arranged on rails 26 in connection with ~nd on the ~loor 24 of th~ building.
2a Th~ s~and 28 h~s a height tha'c permits a convenient assembling procedure. On it~ uppex ~ide it pre~ent~ longitudinally extendln~
~pars 30 transverse to which ar~ roller eïements 32. On the~e roller element~ 32 there rests an auxiliary ~rame 34 on whi~h a wall element i~ to be prea~sembled, immediat¢ly prior t4 it8 installation. What may be con3idered the upper end 36 o~
the auxiliary frame 34 i3 ~hown to be ben~ and provided with - lS

a trarlsport eye 38. When a wall eleman~ i~ assembled on the frame 34, the bent end portion 36 i~ adjacent to and proje::t~;
beyon~ that end portlon of the wall elemen~ which i~ uppermo~t as in~alled. At the ~ame time ~ substan~ial por~iorl of the longitudin~l extent of ~he wall ~slemen~, approaching orle-half ~hereo~, pro~ac:ta beyond ~he opposi~e end por~ion o~ ~he frame.
The benefit o~ ~he overhang of ~he assembl~d wall element Will 500n becoms obvious~
'rhe as~embling ~tand 28 will be positloned relatively 10 clo~e to the ~ide portton of the ~uildi~a~ where the wall elemt3nts will be ln~t~ d. Mounted or~ the ~loor 24 :Eor move~
ment between the ~tand 28 and ~he adjacen~ ~ide o~ th~ bulldirlg where the curt~in wall is to be ~rsct~d i9 a cart 4 O . ~ ~ee~ll im Fig. 2 thero ~ mount~d on the cart 40 a frame 34', corre~ponding to tha fxame 34"on th~ top o~ which i~ ~ttached a wall element 10 ' wh~¢h ha~ previou~ly b~3en prea~embled on the ~t~nd 28 . The h3ight o~ th~ c:elrt 40 ~::orre~pond~ to the h~lght csf the a~sembîlng ~tand 2 8 .
The upp~ ~ide of the cart 40 13 defined by 10~3gitudinal~y 2a ~xt~}nding t~an~v~rs~ly ~pac~d ~paxs 42 whi~h ar~3 tran~ver~ly bridge~d by roll~ ~4 . The act tha~ a :Er~me mou~ ted on th~ upp~3r ~ur~e o~ the ~tand 28 i~ ba~d on roll~sxs 32 ~nd the upp~r su~aae of th~ car~ provides roll~r~ 44 at the ~am~ hE3lgh~, ~hl~
enabl~s ~hat ~ ~rame, onc~3 ~t h~s ~ w~ll elem,i3n~ a~embled the~e~o, m~y be ea~ily and quiakly ~lid i~ro~ the ~tasld to th~3 ~axt. An ~xla ~6 of ~he ~ar~ 4a p~ovid~d at ~he ~nd ~h~reo~ 3d~ac~ t - 1~

the stand 28, in the arrangemellt shown, is s~eerabls, making the cart readily maneuvexable to and from a posi~ion imsnediately of the stand and to and from ~h~3 relatively adjacent ou~er ed5~e of the floor 24 which project forw~rdly and outwardly of the side of the buil~ing in connec~ion with sYhich the prea3sembled wall elements will be ins~alled . A x ailing 54 is mounted at and p~rpendicul~r to ~he floor 24 adjacsnt its outermost edge and a ~imilar railing i~ provided in conne<::tlon with and upstas~ld-ing from eac:h floor of ~he buildlng ad~acent it8 outermo~t edge~
A~ will b~ ~een, as ~he ~art 40 i8 moved from the ~and 28 to ~he outer edge of the floor 24, i~:3 wheels 6Q in connection with an axle parallel to and spaced outwardly f rom th~ axle 4 6 are chocked immediately o the railing. At the ~ame time the top portion o~
the aar'c project3 oYeY, in spaced relation to and beyond the railing 54 .
Included be~we~n and hingQdly coupled ~o ~he spars 42 by transversaly dispo!~Esd pivot mean~ 48 i~ a rame 53, which forms the portion of the top of the cart 4 0 outermost f rom that end which po~itlon~3 ad~acent the ~tand 28 to r~ceive thereon a frame 20 bearing a wall element lO or 10 ' . When a fram~ mounting ~n a~embled wall element i~ ~lid ~rom the stand 2~ onto the top of the cart 40, it will then be moved onto the fr~me 53 and temporarily ~ecured thereto by releasable clamping means lo-cated in the vicinity of the pivot means 4 8 .
A pistQn-cylind2r ur~it 50 i~ pivotally connected at on~ end to a portiorl of t~he Gh~is of the cart 4 0 at a location in undexly~ng ~paced relation to it8 top portion 42, 44 to have the 1 ~ 17 piston which projects :Erom it~ oppo ite ~nd pivotally cor~nected to the frame 53 at a location spaced from the pivot means 48, in thç directioll of ~he end of ~he ~op por~ion of ~he ç:art which irst recelve~ thereon a frame bearing an a~embled wall element~
WhE3n the car~ 40 ls moved outwardly on the ~loor 24 to tha posit~c)n where it~ wlieel~ are chocked as pxeviou~ly d~3scribed~
the piston cylinder wlll be energized ~o projec~ the pi~ton 52, there}:y to pivo~ the frame 53 ~o a ver~ical po.~i~ion ~paeed im-mediately outward ~Erom the outer edge o the f loor 24 and the 10 p~otecti~re ~aillng 54 and.cl~a:r ~hersof. At th~ ~am~ time, a~
- will be obviou~, the framQ 34 ' and the wall ~lemen 10 ' will be orl~ ted tc> b~ gene:rally perpandiculax to the plan~ o f the ieloor 24 and sllb~tantially par~llel to the adjacent ~ide of the buildlng to whi¢h the wal1 ~slement mu~t be applied.
A~ a~so ~hown is~ Fig. 2, a monoxail trolley 5R 1J3 mounted on the proje~:~ed end o~ he ~loox c~iling 56 o~ tha buildir~g whiah ~ ~ above the floor 24 . As schematically i1lu~trated, tha txo1ley 58 em~odie~ xaising and lower1ng appar~u~ including a ~uspen~ion cabla ~lt ~h~ lower end of which i8 a hoo~ means 62.
20 Wh~n the ~ram~ 34 ' is in it~ vertical o~ ntation jUst desoribed, ~he hook means 62 i8 engaged to ~he frame ~chrough ~the tran~por~
~ye 38 ' ~ A~ thi~ point one need mer~ly xele~se the ~lamping msar~s which has t:3mporarily connecte~ the xame 34 ' to the frame 53. Once thi~ c:~leved, the auxillary fr2lme 34 ' may Ibe ea~ily pre~ed ou~ward ~Ero~ and movable lat~ 311y o~ ~he ram~ 53,, ~o it~
~pla~:B 0~ ~nsltallEI~ion~ a~d~d by ~h~ ~bility of th~ monora~ 1 trolley - 1~
4~7 58 to move in a direction parallel to the outer ~urÇace of the building under construction. ~ will be readily obvious, the distances through which the frame 34' must be moved, once it is po~itioned ou~wardly vf the building,are rela~ively shoxt and the ~uidance of the frame and the wall element 10' which i~ bears may be assi~ted by as~embler~ or workers who may stand in~ide th~ railing~ provided at the side o the building where the wall element~ will be ~ppliedO
Attention i~ particularly directed to the fact that by reason of the wall element~ a~embled on the auxiliary frame havin~ a relativ~ dim~nsion to pro~ect outwardly and beyond the Erame as it i~ brought to the ~ide o~ the b~ilding or in~tallation purpo~e~, the movement of the frama 34' together with the frame 53 to a ver~ical orientation at ~he outer ~ide of the building may be achieved with a very mode~t amount o~
effort.
Fig~ 3 is a front view of the side of a building ~hown in cro~s section in Fig~ 2 exhibiting a number of the wall elements lO installed and the wall element lO' o Fig, 2 suspended ~rom ~0 the trolley 58 and in the process of being moved to the left and downward whe~e it is to be ~eated to an underlying wall element ~nd connected to the building to form a continuation o~
the portion of the curtain wall already in place. Fig. 3 reveal~, in broken line~, that included in the frame 34' behind the wall element 10' are a spar 64 and ~tru~ 66 as well a~ a lower spar (not vi~ible) which is parallel to the spar 64.

- 1~
~ A~7 only the po~ts 12, 14 and 16 of the wall element are fastened to the upper spar 64 ancl the lower spax which is not shown.
The tie bar~ of ~he wall element are not per ~e connected to the auxiliary frame in any respect. The tie b~r~ are framed by and moun~ed ~o ~he pOS~5 and made s~able as to their pOB-ition in this manner.
Fig. 4 shows a section through tha building correspondlng to that shown ln Fig. 2 demonstrating the wall element 10' in the cour~e o~ it~ movement, with ~he aid of the trolley 58 J bath in horizontal and in vertical direction. As seen~ the wall element 10~ i~ till fastened to the frame 34'.
Fig 7 5 show~ r on a larger ~cale,a~ intermediate po ition of the wall element 10' a~ it is directed to i~s place of installation, thi~ po~ition corresponding approximately to that shown in Fig, 4.
Fig. 6 shows the same wall element 10' wi~h ~he po~ts thexeof fastened to a floor celling 68 of the building wh~ch is ~elow the level of the floor 24 and the auxiliary frame 34' still joined with 1:he postY of the wall element 1014 Fig. 7 ~how~ the release of the frame 34' from the wall element 10' ~ubsequent to di~ngagement of the means which previously connected the po~ts to the frame~ Ths frame 34' i~
now ~ree to be pulled away ~rom and guided clear of the wall elemen~
10' a~ it is liPted upwardly by the ~uspensio~ means in connection with the trolley 58 to the level of the Ploor 24. At thi~ level the Prama 34' can once more be clamped to the frame 53, whlch i8 ~ 20 '7 pre~ented in a vertical posi~ion at the outer ~ide of the building ad jac:en~ ~hexe~o. Once 'che ra~ 34 ' is c:lamped to the frame 53, the piston 5~ i9 retxacted to bring the fxame 53 and the rame 34 9 bac:k ~o a hc>r:i zon~cal po~ition.
Then, on release of ~he holding clamp~ frame 34' may be ~lid direc'cly oY.rer the roller~ 44 and on~o the rollers 3Z of the assemblirlg stand 28, which will at this poin~ have the top ~hereof free Eor it~
reception. Having reached the a~c;embling ~tatiorl, the frame 34 ' can once more ~e u~ed to ~semble thereon a wall elemg~nt comprised of post~ and tie barst ~nd, 1 de i~ed~ gla~ing and fac~de panal~, th~reby to provide a further prefahriaated or prç~a~emblad wall elam~nt.
F~g. 9 shows a fron~ uiew of an a~embling .~tarld 28 OA
the top of which re t~ an auxiliaxy frame 70 to the upper surface of which has been jolned, by screw~, the middle po~t~
12 as well as thf~ left po~t 14 and ff ght post 16 of a wall element 10. I~R s~en in cross ~ection, the middle po~ts 12 ` have a closed profile whils the outer pOB~ lq and 16 have an open profile. The po~t~ 14 and 16 are so construc~ed 'chat when two of the walll elements 10 are brought together in side by sid.e relation, in the jolniny th~reof an vutl3r post 14 and an o~ter po3t 16 yie.ld a po9t: having a c:lo~ed prof ile ~ Ti~
bars 18, 20 and 22 are provided betweerl ad jacent po~ts of the w 11 element in th~ manner shown in Fig. 1, the low~r tie bar~ 22 being vl~ble in Fig. 9,.
Fig. 10 o~ th~ drawing~ ~hows a vertical section of a -20~

building at a stage ~imilar to that of the building of ~ig. 2.
In this case ~he building i~ ~hown ~o include floor ceiling~
74, 76, 78 and 80. Pos~ , tie bar~, glazing, facade panels and ~ealing means of a curtain wall of a buiiding facade which are to be pre-assembled on a frame into wall elements are stored on ~he floor ceiling 76. Also provided on the ~ame floor, for movements thereacro~s, i~ a car B2 wi~h the aid o~ which each wall elemen~ which is pre-a~embled can be txansported from the point o i~8 assembly the short distance re~uired to posi~ion it b~yond th~ floor railing 106 in front of the outside o the building. There the wall element, through the medium of the frame on which i~ ha~ been pre-a~embled, may be suspended from a trolley 84, by means of which it may b~ carrled to i$~ place of installation.
More speciicall~, on the floor 76 the indlvidual partR
which form awall element axe a~3embled on an auxiliary fr~me 86. As in ~he a590,~bly process previously describedO only the po~t~ o~ thi~ w,~ll element 88 which has been assembled, which po~t~ are to be positioned vertically on the b~ilding to which they attach, ar~ connected to the auxiliary frame 86, in this cas~ by screws. The auxiliary frame 86 diPer~
from the frame 34 and the ~rame 34' ln that it mount~ thereon, to po~ltion about at the center of gravity of each wall ele-ment 88 which i3 applied thereto, a ball turn table 90 pro~
viding thereon mean~ enahling it~ eccentric ~u~p~n~ion.
The transport car 82 comprise~ a ste~rable chassis 92 conventionally supported by wheels 94 and mounting to extend upwardly and pPrpendicular there~o a column 96. ~ boom arm 9B is provided which has one end thereof pivo~ally connec~ed on and to the upper end of the column 960 The vertical shifting of the boom arm 98 about its pivot is accomplished by way o a hydraulic piston-cylinder uni~ 100 the lowermost end of which is based on an underlyin~ portion of the chassi~ 92.
On the free end of the hoom arm 98 lj an arran~ement and con~truction by mean~ of which the boom axm is provided with ~ pivotal cvnnection to a plate 102~ adjacent an edge portlon ther~o, which plate i5 connected in turn to the ball turn ~able 90. The cylinder portion of a piston cylinder unit 104 which i~ pivotally connected to the boom arm 98 9 at a location adjacent and spaced from i~ end remote from the column 96, has the projectad end of its pi~ton rod pivotally connected to the plate 102 at a point in line with the cen~er of the ball turn table 90. As will b~ obviou~ from Fig. 10, on pro-jection of the pi~on rod of the pifi~on-cylinder unit 104, ~he frame 8~ and the wall element a~embled thereto can be pivoted on and with respect to the outer end o~ the boom arm 98, once they are connected a~ here described.
For a prea~embling o~ 3 wall element 88, an auxiliary frame 86 i~ emplaced on a suitable ~tand which provides its support. The wall element 88 i8 th~n a~sembled on the frame in a manner that the pos~s which extend lonyit:udinally of the wall element are a~tached ~o the tran~3ver~e spars of the frame by ~crews. In the preas~smbly of 'che wall elemen~c 88 the dimensional propor~ions of the wall element will be made generally in corr~pondence with the dimensional proportion~
o~ the wall elament~ 10, 10 ' and ~he wall element will pro-ject beyond the rame 86 at one end a descrlbed previously with resE~ec tc> the ~howing in Fig~ 2. A~er 'ch~3 wa~ 1 ele-ment 88 has been prea~Qembled and connected ~o ~he frame 86, the a~sembly so provided i~ ~otated through 180, by sultable means ~ ~o that the auxiliary ~rame 86 i uppermo~t and the ball turn table 90, includiny the plate lQ2 in con nection thexewith, can then be joined in pivotal connection to tha boom arm 913 of the transport car 82. P.~ the same time the proiected extremi y of the pi~ton rs~d in conrle~tion with the pi~ton o~E the pi~ton cylinder unit 10~ connected to the plate 102 and the ball turn ~al:)le. In order that the movemen~ o~ the ~:rame 86 aYad the wall ~lement 88 be Eacilitated, in it movem0rlt by the c:ar 82 betweerl the f loor ceilings 74 and 76 and over tbe protective railing 106 a~ the outer edgq o~ the floor 76, the pi~torl rocl of the piston-cylind~r unit 104 i~
retracted and tha boom arm 9 B appropriatl31y positioned ~o that the wall elem~r~t 88 i~ in a po~ition in which it approaches th~3 hc:rizontal. With the wall element 88 nearly horizontal~
the transps~rt car 82 i~ then caused to travel the relativ~31y ~hort di~tance r~,quired to po~itlon the wall element 88 over ~ 24 and outwardly of the raillng 106 and the adjacent side of the building so tha a ~wingi~g of the wall element, together with its frame into a v0xtical position by means of the projec~ion of the piston rod of the piston-cylinder unit 104 i~ now possible (YigO 10).
It lS noted that in the support and in ~he moveme~t of the wall element R8 in connec~ion with it~ frame $6 from the assembly ~tand to the outside of the building the wall ele-ment has been 80 positioned that it loncJer ex~ent, which is ~o orient vertically in ~he applia~tion ~hereof ~o the building,i~ arranged to ru~ parallel to the ou~side of the building.
Once ~he wall ~lement 88 a~d the frame to which it con-nects ha~ been positioned out over the ralling 106 and swung ~nto the vertical, the wall el6men~ and its frame may then be turned by hand ~hrough 90~, ~he same being accommodated by the ball turn table 90, so that the p~st~ o~ the wall element assume a vertical po~ition~ At thi3 point the frame ~6, and correspondingly the element 88 thereon, can be suspended in connection with the lower end of the ~uspen~ion aable ~mbodied as part of the rai~ing and lowering apparatua oE a trolley 84 whlch is mounted to po ition outwardly o~ the out0rmost edge of the floor ceiling 74 which is at a lavel above the floor celling 76 in the building under con~truction. At this point th0 boom arm 98 and th~ piston of the cylinder 104 are released rom tha plate 102 and tha turn table 90 and ~he tr~nsport car B2 withdrawn~ The wall element 88 can now be guided by hand to its place of in~tallation, ~or example on t.he floor ceiling 7~
where it will ~hen be po~itioned over a wall elemen~ 10B which has been previously installed in connection wi~h the floor ceiling 80, below the floor ceiling 78.
Once the wall ~lem~n~ 88 has been installed, the fram~
86 i~ released rom ~he post~ thereof and then brought back.
o~r the crane or ~rolley track which i~ here provided to the tran.~port car 82, ~o whlch it i~ connected and returned in o~vious manner to the a~embling table for a rep~tition of the a~embly ther~on o~ a wall eLement.
Fig. 11 ~hows, ln xont view, a further vl~w of the pro-c~dure de~cribed wi~h referenae to Fig, 10. In Fig. ll there i8 exhibited the wall el~ments 108 and the wall element ~8 in the course of its m~vement to its in~allation place, at a time when the wall element Q8 1$ ~till joined, by way of ~he turn table 90 of the auxiliary frame to which it mount~, with the kran~port vehicle 82~ ~he wall ~l~ment i~ ~hown in the proces~ of it being kurn~d preci-~ely through g0 in order 20 that it may be suspended on the trolley 84 ~nd then relea~ed ~rom the transport car 82 ~o that it may be moved to it~
plaoe of in~tallatlon.
Flg. 12 ~how~ a hori20ntal ~ection through a middle post 1~ of a wall elemen~ a~embled in accordanca wi~h the i~vent$on which in particular exhibits a alosed pro~ile. On it~ side which ~aces outwardly when ~he a~æembly of whiGh it form~ a part i~ installed, the po~ 12 ~s pxovided with an identical rece~s ~long each of it~ ou~side corners, thereby to provlde a pair of laterally spaced, relat:Lvely recessed, co-planar ~houlders to one of whiGh, a~ one ~ide of ~he pO9~C are fa~-tened the plates of a Thermopane glazing 110 and to the o~her of which 1~ fa~ste~rled a facad~ panel 112. The po~}t 12, i~ made, for example, of aluminum and includea lateral pins 114 which are accommodated in and onto which are slipped the end~ of ti~
10 bar~ lB . The pin~ 114 arQ pref E?rably al~o of alumlnum and ~oined integral wilth the po~t 12. The recessed ~houlders pro-vided on the ou~3r face of the post 12, to either ~ide ther~sof, are each provided with a ~wallowtail sh~ped groove 116 into which ~wallowtail ~haped tongue~ provided in'cegral with ~ealing ~trips 118 ar~ thrul~t and lodged,. Th0 sdge portion~ oE the glazing 110 and faci~de panel 112 which re~pectively overl~,e the re~pective outwardly facing shoulder portions o~ th~ po~t 12 seat to the seal.Lng ~trlp~ 118 as they are applied. The glazing 110 and the panel 112 are cla~ped to th0ir 3eats and to the ~eali~g ~t~p~ 118 by maans o~ ~n externally applisd yoke-like ~trip 120 which includes on ~hank8 or like portions integral therewith interconnected ~ealing strlps 122 through the medium of which pxe~ure i~ applied through the yoke-like ~trip 120 to hold the glazing and the facade panel in place and to provide a ~eal ther~betwe~n. The ~trip 120 i9 secured -26~

in connPction with the po~t 1~ by means of ~crew~ 124, Further-more it has a cover s~r:Lp 126 of tr.ia~gul~r cro~ sec~lon ~een from the outer face ~hereof to includQ angularly diver~nt sides at the inner extremi1:ies o which are later~lly angled direc:tly opposite flange~ 128 whiah snap into ~roove~ formed in the strip 120, at i'cæ 3ides. Tha ~acade panel 112 ~hown in Fig. 12 is formed of a glasa plate 130 presenting i~aelf on the outside of the buildi~g and of an aluminum wall 132 pre~enting it3elf in the ir~terior of tha building. Between ~he gla~s plata 130 and the wall 132 is an in~ulating material 134a E~ig. 13 ~how~ a horizontal section through an assembled po~t consisl~ing of a left po~t part 14 of one wall element and a right po8t: part 16 o~ another. In connection with the po~t part 14 ia a perpenallcularly prvj~cted pin 13B on which there iR slipped the hollow end of a cro~ ti~ 18. The post par~ 14 i8 con~tructed on the inside to define a groo~e 140 into which i~ engaged a tongu~ portion 142 ~ormed on the po~t part 16. On lthe eide khereo whi.ch i5 ps)~itloned outward o the building the po~t part 14 i~ formed to include a ahank 144 which ~eats 20 o~ex and a}: ut~ a ~ha~k 146 incorporated a~ part of the p~ t part 16. Applied through the 3hank~ 144, 146 and the portion~
of the po~t paxt 14 d~firling the groove 140, Z18 w~311 a~ tha tongue 142 aacomnu:~d~ted in thi~ gxoove are screw bolt~ 148, the application of wh~ ch ties together the po.~t parts 14 and 16 and assure~ their cohe~ion. On ~heir outer ~lde poxtions ~27---- 2~

th~ post parts 14 and 16 are provided with corner rec~sses con-structed and arranged similarly to the rec~sse~ illustrated in the ~05t 12 of Fig. 12, in which re~e~se~ there are respectively di~posed edge portions of the glazing and facade panels embodied as par~ of the wall element~ a portion of which is lllu3trate~
in Fig. 13. Thus th~ recess~s provided in th~ outer face of the assembled po~t d~fined by ~he parts 14 and 16 accommodate edge portions, respec~ively, of glazing and a facade panel which are held on he as~embled post, hera designated as 136, by meane of a yoke-lik~ strip 152. On the inner ~ide of the strip 152 are sealing fitrips 150 abu~tsd to the glazing and facade panels as ~he strip 152 i~ secured to the assembled po~t, by ~crews. A vertical cove~ strip 156, clamped between horizontal cover strip~ 154 i~ applied over the strip 152 in order to protect the post construction from the influences of weathering.
Fig, 14 show~ a somewhat modified vrm of execution o a cover strlp 15~ wherein the clamping strip 162 i~ ~ormed integral therewith. Again, the innermo~t face of the yoke-like ~t~ip portion 162 i~ provided with sealing 8trip8 160 corre~p~nding in nature and appliaation to the ~e~ling ~trip~ 150 ~hown in Fig. 13.
Fig~. 15, 16 and 17 ~how various embodlments of facade posts that may be ~mployed in the practlce of the invention.
Fig. 15 ~hows an out~r ~orner post 164 which may be ~4~ ~7 comprised of ~hree par~s. The post 164, as illustrated, con-sist~ of ~hree corner shank~ 166, 168 and 170, de~ined by the three parts of ~ha po~t. As may be saen, the adjacent parts are respec~iv~ly joined by screw~. The confi~uration of this outer corner post ~ ~uch ~o provide tha~ ~here is in each of diagonally oppo~ite corners thereof a re~ess extending lonyi-tudinally of the po~ accommodating the seating therein, re-spectively, of a gla~ing 172 and a facade panel 174, secured thereto and 1n place, wi~h ~ealing strip~ in~erposed ~here-between, by means of yok~-lik~ s~rips 176 and 178. Cover strips 180 are applied in connec~ion wi~h the respective strips 176 and 178 to bridge thelr outermos~ surface portions and tu engage $nto and cover thelr exposed ~ide portion~.
F~g. 16 ~hows an inner corner post 182 con~tructed of two individual po~t partR 184 and 18g eaah of wh~ ch present~
a closed profile in cro~s sect~on. The post part~ 184 and 186 are at right angles to each other to define a corner re-ces~ which is ~ridged by a complemQntarily shaped post part 188 whlch ~eat~ in connection therewith to cap thia reces~
and pre~ent a ~loaed profile ofthe pa~ts 194, la6 and 188.
wh$ch in their compo~i~e ~orm produce the inner oorner po~t 182. On the side o~ the post part 186 remote ~rom ~he part 1~4 is a projected pin 190 over which the open end o a tie bar 192 i~ ~lipped. An expan~ion joint iB provided between the tie bar and th~ ~d~acent ~ide wall surface of the po~t part 186. A~ ~een in Fig. 16 to a rece~se~ corner portion -~ 3~

of the po~t. part 136 i~ abutted a glaziny 194 and to an adjacent recess~c~ corrler portion of the pos~ part 184 i~ abut'ced ~ p~nel 196, with sealing means 200 therebetween. A yoke-li)ce strip 198 is simultaneously applied over both ~he glazing and the ~acade panel, wi~h sealing ~trips 200 inte?rposed therQbetween.
The strip 198 is appropriately secured ~o the corner pos~ 182 'co hold the gla~ing 194 and th~ pan~l 196 in place. A cover strip 2l)2 clamped to and along ~he lens~th of the yoke-lilce ~trip 198 ~3erVeB ~o protect the underlying structure from the 10 effec~c~ o~ weath~ring.
Pig. 17 ~hows a post 204 provided a~ the corner of a build~r~g a~ which t:he facade parts thexeof me0t at an obtuse.
~ngle. The pos~ 204 is compri~ed of ~.w~ par'c~ 206 and 208 forming a clo~ed prof ile in cros~ ection a~d bridged ~t thet r in~erlor by alppropriat~ly prt~iled and mounked long~
tudinally ex~e~ndinsl rails 230 and 232 joined thereto by screw bolts 210. Ra~pect;Lvely molded on the post part~ 206 and 208 are pin~ 212 and 214 on which are respectively sllpped th hollow ~nds o tie bar~ 216 and 218~ Fastened to the out-20 w~rd acing ~ide o~ the post 204, by way of yo~e-likQ ~trip~
220 and 222, are in~ulating plates 224 and 226 which re~pec-tively axtend :Erom ~pposite ~ide~ thereof~ Sealirlg 3trip~
234 are provided betwl3erl the insulsting pl~tes and the po~t and between ~h~ strip~ 220 and 222, the po~t and khe in~ul~ting plate~.
Fig. 18 Rhows a ver~ical ~ection of a wall element in-cluding ~wu differently con~tructed tie bars 236 and ~3B~
The tie bax 236 pre~en~ a clo~ed profile, axially s~mm~trical in cross section 7 provided with corner rece~es on it~ front or outermo~ ~ide into which are re3pectlvely projected a glazing 240 and a facade panel 242~ The glazing and ~he facade panel are co~monly held within the~e rece~se~ by a strip 244 a~ached to the tie bax 236 by mean~ of screws 246.
Sealing ~trips 248 ~re in erpo~ed be~w~en the ~ie bar and the glazing and facade panel while ~dditional ~ealing 3trip3 250 on the inner s~d~ of th~ strip 244 abut edge portions of the glazing and facade panel which it oYerlaps . The seal ing ~trips 248 ara provided with ~wallowtail-~haped tongue~
whi~h enga~0 into ~wallowtail-shaped grooves provid~d in the post surface portion~ to which they seat. The se ling ~trip~ 250 pre~enl: a groove accommoda~ing portions of the strip 24~ whlch anchor therein. Portlons o~ the strip 250 ax~ ~haped to engage about and project in grooves in side poxtion~ o~ the strip 244. A aover ~trip 252 Por the ~trip 244 includes portions which resiliently engage in grooves in the side~ of the strip 244.
In cross section the tie bar 238 i~ ~quare and constructed ~31-with a f lange 254 on its outw~rdly facing side serving a~ a ~top for the facade panel 242. A d~ferently formed acade element 256 i~ arranged under the tie bar 238 to the ~ide ~hereof re-mote from the Pacade panel 2420 The acade elemen~ 256 con-sist~ of an outer met~l plate 258 and an irlner rnetal pla~e 260 with insu~ating material interposed ~here}~etw~en. The ou~er metal pla~e 258 i~ ~paced from the tie bar 238 by a ~lastlc spacer 262. ~ th the panel 242 and the facade elament 256 are held on the tie bar 238, ln connect$orl therewith, by means of a yoke-like ~t~ip 264. Or~ the side~ ther~3of facing thç~
po~t 238 the st~ip 264 has a projected ~hank 266 wh:ich i~
L-~haped in cros~ ~ection, a~ he f lange 2 54 in connection with the tie bar ~3~. ~he shank 266 serves as counter ~upport for ~crews 268 which are projected through the ir~ner elld thereo ,which extentls parallel to the Qtrip 2 64, and are ex tended through and t:hreadedly engaged ~n the adjaaent ~urface of the tie bar 238. So that the head~ o~ the screw~ 268 are acce~ible, pas~age hole~ 268 axe provided in the ~trip 264 which aliyn w~th th~l ~arew~.
A cover strlp 270, approximataly trlangular in cro~s sec~ n, includes, two inwardly divergent sld~ portions the respective extremiti~ are resiliently clamped into the ~ides of the ~trip 264.
The in~.ida wall 260 of the facade elem~nt 256 i~ bent off adjacent to the tte bar ~3B to provide thereon a right angled. ~dge portion provided with a sealing 3trip 272 which is projected to seat to and abut ~he 3urface oE the ~ie bar 238 which is innermo~t of ~he facade of which it forms a part~
Fig. 19 shQw~ a ho~izonkal ~ection t~rough a tie bar 274 in the zone of which the related po~t~ i~clude a horizontal expansion joint 27~. A gu~ter 27~, U-~hap~d in cross ~ection, is formed on the inward fzlcing side of the tie bar 274. It receives ~cherein an es~ge portion of a bacls wall of a facad~s panel 282 thereabov~ having in connection therewith a ~ealing stxip 284 . The ~;trip 284 abut~3 one ~ide wall ~urface of the 10 gutter which i~ an extensios~ of the inward facing ~ide of the tie bar. ~hreaded.ly en~aged in the end portion of the back wall of the pansl 2B2 which projec:ts in the gutter, in ad jacent spaced relation to the ~3ealing strip 284, is a screw 286 the adjuxtment of which aid~ in achievin~ the degree o~ riction de~lred between the ~ealing strip 234 and the surface which it abut~.
The ou~ward facing side o~ th~ kie ~ar 274 i provided with groove~ 288 which are parallel, in which grooves are received the end~ of spacer bodies 290 which are formed of 20 pla~tic,. Thl3 ~pacer bodie~ 290 have a plate-like shape and their end~ oypo~ita tho~e which are received in the grooves 288 are received in grooves formed in a ~trip 292 which i8 approximately F-shaped in cro~ seotioll. The strip 292 i~ thu~
constructed and arranged to be ~paced outwardly of the outer or front face of the tie bar 274 and to hav~ an end por tion thereof overl.ie a boundary por~ion of a glazing 294 and thxough the medium of a sealing s~rip 296 interpo~ed therebetween clamping the glazing against a sealing ~trip 298 anchored in a portion of the front or outermost face of th~ tie bar 274O
The. strip 292 ~hereby ~erves to clamp the glazing 294 to the tie bar 274. The facade panel 282 is provided on it~ under~ide~
adjacent the tie bar 274 an~ ~aced therefrom, with a bo~tom pla e 300 which 18 connected ~o the inner wall of the facade panel 282 and the tie bar 274, the spac~r ~trip 290 and ~he ~trip 292. The front ~r outer wall 302 ~f the facade panel 282 i~ ormed to be generally triangular in cross section at it8 lowermost end adj~cent the bottom pla~e 300. The portion of the wall 302 which i8 ~riangular in croY~ seotion overlaps the tie bar 274, th~ stxip 292 and the portion of the ~lazing 294 which is clampad to tha tie bar At the lowermost end thereo~ the wall 302 has a portion wh~ch iB rever~ely directed to point upward and. be alamped between the strip 292 and a downwardly extending portion of the hot~om plate 300. A sealing band 3û8 which is provided between the ~trip 292 and the end~
portion 304 of the wall 302 wAich i~ upwaxdly direct~d i~
approximately circular in cro3s ~ection. The construction and arrangement here provid~d re~ult3 in the wall portion 304 be~ng clamped in bearing relation to portion~ of the sealing ~trip 308 and th~ s~aling strip 296~
Fig~ 20 ~how~ a vertical ~ction through a ~acade com-pri~ed of wall elem~nts per the pre~ent invention irl the region of a tie bar which is composed of an upper ~ie bar part 310 and a lower ~ie bar part 312. The upper ~ie bar part 310 corresponds to the low~r tie bar of a wall element preassembled from posts and tie bars. The lower tie bar part 312 corx~ponds to the up per tie bar of a second prea~sembled facade or wall el~ment per the inven~ion. On i~3 down ~ide, wi~h reerence ~o the illustration in ~he drawings, the tie bar part 310 i~ construc-ted to include a groove 314 the bounding w~lls of which are U-shaped in cross ~e~tlon. The outer or fron~ side of the tie bar part 310 has a perpe~dicularly projected L-shaped portion which for~s therewith a downward opening gutter 316 al~o bounded by wall6 forming a U shape i~ cro~ 3ection.
The horizontal portion of the project~on from the outer face o~ the tie bar part 310 provides a stop for a glazlng 318~ The ylazin~ 318 has a portisn thereof adjacent the tie b~r part 310 gripped between sealing strips 320 and 322. A~
80 gripped it i8 held to ~he outer face of the tie bar part 310 by a 5t~p ~trip 324 attach~d to the tie bar. Formed on the in~ermost face of the ~top strip 324 i~ an upwardly open-ing guttex 326, thi~ be~ng achieved by an L-~haped projection fsom the rear face o the ~trip 324. The r~sp~ctive projec-tions from th~ inner 3ide o~ the ~top ~trip 324 and the outer side of the tie bar part 310 have thair outermost right angled portion~ of their ~ ~hapes in ~paced p~rall~l relation and provided with ~ligned aperturas to aocommodate th~ application therethrou~h of ~cr~w~ 328 in~erted from out~ide of the stop strip 324 and extended inwardly therefrom to threadedly engage in ~he tie bar par~ 310. Thi~ type of fa ~ening insures that the ~crew~ are ~upps:~rted along their leng~h and in the event of a ~light tiltlng of ~he wall elemen~ thereabo~e they c:annot be bent.
The long downwaxd ext~l3nding shank por~ion of the ~top 32 4 is con~tructed to depend c)ver and below ~he level of tha tie bar part 312. Or~ upper side ~he ~ie bax part 312 inolude~
a perpendieularly projected plate or shank portion 330 the upper-10 mo~t ~nd por~lon of which is pro~ec:ted into the downwardly open-ing groove 314, b~tween it~ ~ides. On one face of ~he end por-tion within the groove 314 which i3 outermost with ra~erence to the interior o~ the buildlng to whlch the ~trulcture appl~e~ i8 a se~ling ~trip 332 engaged to the ad.ja~ent side wall o ~he groove. Formed in corlnec:tion with the outside or ~ront ~o~
o~ the tie bax part 312 are means def ining parallel, horlzontal groove~ respacti~rely r~ceivlng therein one end of a pla~tic spac~r body 334. The opposite end~ o~E the bodieq 334 are respectiv~ly received in gros3ve~ provid~d ln and at the inn~r 20 f~ce of an a~utting ~trip 336. Vertically below the spacer bodies 334 i~ the upper edge portion of a glazlng 338 pro-vided betweerl an outside surf~ port~on o the ~ie bar part 312 and the lowarmost en~ portion o~ the strip 33~. A ~sal 340 is provided betw~en th~ gla~ing 338 and th~ tie bar part 312 while a further seal 342 i~ provided betweell the outer face of the glazin~ and the lowermost end of the strip 336, to which end this seal is connected~ To ~h~ outer ~ide o~ the strip 336 ~ engaged a ~ealing device ~he seallng lip of which lies on and against ~he in~$de o~ he stop ~trip 324. ~he upwardly openi~y gutter 326 -~erve~ the purpo~e of leading off wa~er fro~ ~he insld~ to ~he outside u the facade cons~ruction. Thi~ water may con~i~t of conden~ation or wa~er penetrating rom out~ide ~he building. Apron~ pro-vided o~ the border post~ of the prea~embled wall el~me~
are used to dra~n thQ water ~rom the gutt@x~
Fi~. 21 shQw~ tie bar part~ 346 and 362 the ln~errelat~on o~ which ~orre~pond~ g~nerally to that of ~he tie bar paxts 310 and 312 of Fig. 20. ~owever, in thi~ ca~e t}le execution of the tie bar part 346 i~ ~omewhat diff~rent. The vertical dimension o~ tie bar paxt 346 i~ greater than that of t~e bar part 310. Corre~pondlngly the stop ~rip 348 of the con~truction of FigO 21 ha~ a gr~ater vertic~l extent than th~ stop ~trip 32~. ThiR dl~erance i~ of some advantage in that it pa~mit~ that ~crew~ 350, which corre~pond to the ~crew~ 328, in the zone o~ the hank~ 352 and 354 of the gutt~r~ molded on th~ tie bar part 346 and the stop strip 348 can be provided with a plastic ~leeve 356. A~ in ~37-the cas~ of the configuration, in cro~s ~ection, of the stop ~trip 324, ~he downwardly facing ~hank portion of the stop strip 348 is tap~red in cro~s sectlon a~ itB lower extremity 358. The trip 3q8 terminate~ in a ~hort shank portion which i9 bent upward and forma ~hereb~ a gut~r 360 im;nediately to the rear and at the lower end of ~he stop gtrlp 348~ The lower tie bar part 362 ~ the abut~ing ~trip 364 and their in-ter~elated part~ are 60n~tructed in correspondence with the compara~l~ paxt~ exhibit~d in Fig. 20.
~ig. 22 s~ow~ a pe~p~c~ive view of a po~t 366 of a wall elem~nt which i9 formed wLth a reces~ 368 ln the uppar end of the front thereof, producing an offset at its out~r face.
Supe~rposed on the upper end of the post 366 i~ a water runofi~
apron 370 which i~ ex~ended over its front fa~:e and in~o the ra~c:essed area 368. ~rhe water runof ~pron 370 i3 :formed ~at it~ outer surfac~ with two raised border zones 372 and a middle zon~ 374 and ~ is con~tructed to ~e Mubstantially Z-~haped in longitu,dinal ~ection. The middle zone 374 i~
~ub~tantially wider than the border zone~ 372, The depth of the border zone3 372 i~ about that of th~ depth of the.
recess 368. In fxont o~ the apron 370, at its outex ~ide, are ~top ~trips 376 and 378 on the rear ~ide of whiah are ormed, re3pectivsly, gutter~ 380 and 382. Tha water run-of ~utt~r~ are arranged ~o that ln ~he vicini~y of the post 366 they extend~ approximately, to the edge~ of the middle zone 374 of ~he apron. In ~hi3 way the water accumu-lating in and runnlng in ~he gu~kers can be arranged to drip or run off fxom ~he guttexs to ~he middle zone 374 of the water runo~f a~ron from which poin~ the w2ter will move to the uppar outer side of ~he po~t 3~6. The struoture of the two stop strips 376 and 378 c~n be formed in ~uch a way a~ to provide a vertical expan~ion joint, in the zone of the po~t 3660 Fig. 23 ~hows a ~ectlon through the po~ 366 ln the region of it~ upper end which illu~trates th~t the watex runoff apron 370 fo~m~ with the middle portion of it~ longitudinal extent a oover ~or the po~ and its outer or front vertical ~hank por~
tion 4er~e~ for the dralnage of the water a~ described. The post 384 shown above the pos~ 366 in Fig~ 23 i3 ~uspended fxom and in connection with a floor ceiling or deck 386 ln the building to which the curtain wall embodying the po~ 366 i~ applied. As will be clear, the po~ts 35S and 384 are not firmly joined with one another ~o that there is prov~ded therebetween ~ horizo~tal ~xpanæion joint.
It ~hould be understood that only 80 much of the in-

2~ ventton embodim~t~ and th~ praatiae of the proce~s of the invention are herein illustrated and described a~ appear neoes~ary for the understanding of the lnventlon by one ver~ed in the art. Furthermore, while preferred embodiments and forms of practlae ~f the invention are revealed, such are only exemplary. It 4hould be clear to those ver~ed in - 4~

the art that the same may be executed with modifications without departing from the spiri~ an~ scope of ~he invention.
To ~ummarize, pursuan~ ~o the invention the proces~ for installation of a curtain wall comprised of posts and tie bars provides for a number of po8t8 and tie bars ~o b~ expediently ~reassembled on an auxiliary frame on a floor of a building under construction whare prior thereto tie bars, posts, glazing, facade panels and o~her elements necessary to a cur~ain wall havg been stored. This step in ~he proces~ ollowed ~y bri~ging eaah preassembled wall ~lement, mounted on its auxilia~y frame, to the outer zone of ~h~ building and there su~pending it thxough the medium of the frame on whlch it ha~
been assembled, on a monorail trolley mounted~ for example, over ~he floor on which the wall element has been as~embled.
Through the med~um ~ the ~rolley and with the a~sistance thereof the wall ele~ent together wi~h khe frame on which it h~ been a~sembled may be easily and qu-ic~ly moved to it~ place o~ in~kallation, ~sis~ance in this respect can easily be pxovided by worker~ in the interior of the building who are in a sa~e and ~ecure position. On ~he asse~bly of a wall element on the ~rame only the post~ theraof are fa~tened to transverse bars of the frame while tie bars and other facade parts are held between the po~ts in a ~uitably applied fashion~ When the wall element~ are brought to thelr place of installation, the posts o the.i.r compo~ition are then a~tened to the building whlle the other parts retain their position with re~pect to the posts and remain ~here-h upon rele.a~ing of the auxiliary frame from the posts. The auxili~ry frame may then be easily and quickly tranQported back to the place of assembly of the wall element~ where ano~her pre-assembling operation may be underta3cen. The po~ and tie bars of the wall elements are constructed in each case in ac cordance with their unc~ion and location, as variously de~ignated in the foregoing de~cription ~nd illustrated embodiments, 50 that ater installation of the wall element3 they yield a curtain 10 wall which is optically good and structurally sound~
From the above de cription it will be apparent that there is th~3 provLded a device o~ the character described po~ses~ing the particular ~eatllres of advantage befora enumerated a~ desir-able~ but which obviou31y i~ su3ceptibl~ of modification in ~ts form, proportion~, detall con~truction and arrangsment of parts withou~ departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of it~ advantage~.
While in order to comply with the ~tatute the invention ha~
been de~crlb~d ln language more or les3 specific as to structural feature~, it i~ to b~ under~tood that the lnv~ntion i~ not limlted to the ~p~aific features ~hown, but that the mean3 and construction herein discln~d comprise but one of sevexal modes of putting the invantion i~ therefore claimed in any o~ it~ form~ or modifi-cations withi~ the legitimate and valid scop~ of the appended claims.

Claims (34)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows;

1. A process for the installation of a curtain wall of a building, consisting of posts and tie bars, characterized in that a number of posts and tie bars are preassembled on an auxiliary frame into a wall element, in that the wall element is transported on the auxiliary frame to its place of instal-lation, that the wall element is fastened to the building at its place of installation in such a way to insure the cohesion of the posts and tie bars, and in that the auxiliary frame is removed and transported away from the wall element.

2. A process according to claim 1 characterized that in the preassembly of the wall element only the posts thereof are joined with the auxiliary frame and such posts are detachably joined to said frame.

3. A process according to claim 1 or claim 2 character-ized in that in the preassembly of the posts and tie bars to the auxiliary frame, facade panels, glazing and the like are preassembled therewith.

4. A process according to claim 1 or claim 2 character-ized in that during the construction of a building and subsequent to installation of floors within the frame thereof individual parts of which a curtain wall is to be comprised are stored on certain floors and in that the preassembly of wall elements to provide a part of the curtain wall is conducted on one or more of such floors.

5. A process according to claim 1 ox claim 2 character-ized in that the preassembled wall elements are transported to their place of installation by means of hoisting apparatus pro-vided in the zone of the outside of the building.

6. A process for the formation of a curtain wall of a building of wall elements using the procedure according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterized in that posts, tie bars, glazing and panels are stored on certain floors of the building, in that preassembly of wall elements on an auxiliary frame takes place on these floors, and in that the preassembled wall elements are transported to their place of installation aided by suspension thereof from trolley means provided in the zone of the outside of the building.

7. A process according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterized in that the preassembled wall element together with the auxiliary frame, to which it is detachably joined, is transported on trolley means to its place of installation.

8. A process according to claim 1 characterized in that the wall elements to form the curtain wall are initially assembled to an auxiliary frame mounted on an assembly stand provided in the interior of the building.

9. A process according to claim 8 characterized in that wall elements preassembled on the auxiliary frame on the assembly stand are transported from said stand by means of a cart to hoist-ing apparatus provided for the transport thereof at the exterior of the building.

10. A process according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterized in that the preassembly of the wall elements of a curtain wall takes place within the building to which the curtain wall is to be applied, while the building is under construction, and in that a vehicle is provided within the building mounting means for carrying each wall element assembled on an auxiliary frame over a floor of the building to a location immediately of its exterior and said means is used to properly orient the wall element at the exterior of the building and thereafter, as properly oriented, each wall element is hung on a trolley at the exterior of the building with the aid of which it is transported to its place of installation.

11. Apparatus for use in forming a curtain wall of a building including a frame, an assembly of at least two posts joined with one another by at least two tie bars to form an individual wall element a plurality of which can be joined in the formation of a curtain wall, said assembly being connected with said frame by means providing for a quick release therefrom of said frame on the attachment of said assembly to form part of a curtain wall of a building.

12. Apparatus as in claim 11 characterized in that said assembly includes outer posts and upper and lower tie bars pre-senting an open profile, middle posts and middle tie bars pre-senting a closed profile.

13. Apparatus according to claim 11 or claim 12 character-ized in that pins are provided on the posts for slip fit therto of their tie bars.

14. Apparatus as in claim 11 or claim 12 characterized in that pins are provided on the posts for slip fit thereto of their tie bars and tie bars extending between posts and slip fit to the respective pins thereof have a length slightly shorter than the clear spacing between the posts.

15. Apparatus as in claim 11 or claim 12 characterized in that remote posts forming a part of said assembly are comple-mentary in shape to mate and be joined in the placement of two such assemblies in juxtaposition.

16. Apparatus according to claim 11 or claim 12 character-ized in that the remote posts of said assembly have complementary shapes providing on one thereof a tongue and in the other thereof a groove to accommodate said tongue.

17. A wall element according to claim 11 or claim 12 characterized in that the two posts which serve as the remote posts of said wall element have complementary shapes which in the bringing of two said wall elements together have portions which overlap and are adapted to be secured together to pro-duce a post which in cross section has a closed profile.

18. Apparatus as in claim 11 or claim 12 characterized in that the remote border posts of said individual wall ele-ment are adapted to mate when a pair of said elements are placed in immediately adjacent relation and include means for the connection thereof by screw bolts.

19. Apparatus as in claim 11 or claim 12 characterized in that at least a portion of said posts are formed to include swallowtail-shaped grooves to embody in connection therewith sealing strips or spacer strips.

20. Apparatus as in claim 11 or claim 12 characterized in that portions of said posts present, on their side which face outwardly of the building to which they apply, corner recesses for the mounting thereto of glazing or facade panels.

21. Apparatus as in claim 11 or claim 12 wherein said individual wall element embodies in connection therewith glazing and at least one facade panel and said glazing and facade panel are fastened to a post by anchoring thereto of a yoke-like strip.

22. Apparatus as in claim 11 or claim 12 wherein said individual wall element embodies in connection therewith glazing and at least one facade panel and said glazing and facade panel are fastened to a post by anchoring thereto of a yoke-like strip, and sealing strips are provided respectively between the glazing and the facade panel and the post to which they apply and between the glazing and facade panel and said yoke-like strip.

23. Apparatus as in claim 11 or claim 12 wherein said individual wall element embodies in connection therewith glazing and at least one facade panel and said glazing and facade panel are fastened to a post by anchoring thereto of a yoke like strip, and a cover strip is applied to the yoke-like strip, in a clamped relation thereto.

24. Apparatus as in claim 11 or claim 12 characterized in that in the forming of a curtain wall there are a plurality of said individual wall elements arranged one over another and means are included to provide that one thereof forms an extension of the other.

25. Apparatus as in claim 11 or claim 12 wherein there are a plurality of said wall elements arranged one over the other and their adjacent ends are constructed and arranged to provide therebetween horizontal expansion joints.

26, Apparatus for use in forming a curtain wall of a building as in claim 11 characterized in that, as oriented for installation, said wall element has at the top thereof one or more tie bars for said posts which include on the upper side thereof and to its inner side a projected tongue, provided with a sealing strip in connection therewith, and at the side thereof to face outwardly of the building to which it applies a support strip and said wall element has at the bottom thereof one or more tie bars having a groove therein for mating engagement there-with of said tongue or tongues of a like wall element and further has at the side thereof to face outwardly of the building a stop for a glazing or facade panel which may be positioned thereabove.

27. Apparatus according to claim 26 characterized in said one or more tie bars provided to the bottom of said wall element have, on the outwardly facing side thereof, means connected to form therewith a downwardly opening gutter the bounding wall of which is U-shaped in cross section and in connection therewith and with said tie bar or bars a stop strip at the inner side of which is means defining therewith an upwardly opening gutter and said stop strip and the tie bar or tie bars at the bottom of said wall element are interconnected by screw bolts guided through portions of the bounding walls of said gutters.

28. Apparatus according to claim 27 characterized in that a plastic sleeve for each said screw bolt extends through said portions of the bounding walls of said gutters through which said screw bolts are applied.

29. Apparatus as in claim 27 characterized in that said stop strip has, in connection therewith, means for clamp-ing a glazing or facade panel to a tie bar or tie bars on said wall element.

30. Apparatus as in claim 29 characterized in that said stop strip is constructed in one piece and to extend between remote border posts of the wall element to which it applies.

31. Apparatus according to claim 30 characterized in that said upwardly opening gutter is constructed as a water drainage gutter and in that aprons for drainage of water from said upwardly opening gutter are provided on one ox both said remote posts.

32. Apparatus as in claim 31 characterized in that said apron covers the upper end of the post, to which it is applied, is constructed in a substantially Z-shape in vertical direction and includes raised border zones bounding a relatively depressed zone thereof to form a water drainage gutter.

33. Apparatus 33 in claim 32 characterized in that said upwardly opening gutter terminates at the discharge end there-of over the depressed middle zone of one of said aprons.

34. Apparatus according to claim 32 or claim 33 character-ized in that said remote posts present at the top of the outside thereof a recess the depth of which corresponds, approximately, to the depth of the border zones of said apron.