Unitized Structural Frame

摘要

An improvement in a rolling shutter assembly for covering an opening of a structure defined by a top wall, a bottom wall and oppositely disposed side walls. The rolling shutter assembly includes a shutter housing, a shutter support member rotatably disposed within the shutter housing, a shutter coupled to the shutter support member, the shutter comprising a plurality of individual slats and a plurality of hinges interconnecting the slats, and a pair of side tracks. The shutter rolls between a rolled position wherein the shutter is rolled onto the shutter support member and an unrolled position wherein the shutter covers the opening and the ends of the slats are disposed within the channels of the corresponding side tracks. The improvement comprises a support frame having top, bottom and side rails mounted to the walls defining the opening with the side tracks each mounted to a corresponding one of the side rails of the support frame. The support frame reduces or eliminates the transmission of torsion loads from the shutter to the framing elements of the walls during positive and negative pressure conditions.

主权项

1. A rolling shutter assembly for covering an opening of a structure defined by a support structure having a top wall, a bottom wall and oppositely disposed side walls, the assembly comprising:
a shutter housing; a shutter support member rotatably disposed within the shutter housing; a shutter coupled to the shutter support member, the shutter comprising a plurality of individual slats and a plurality of hinges interconnecting the slats; a pair of side tracks; and a support frame having a top rail, a bottom rail and a pair of oppositely disposed side rails, wherein the support frame is mounted to the walls of the support structure defining the opening with the top rail against anchored to the top wall, the bottom rail anchored to the bottom wall and the side rails disposed proximate the corresponding side walls and not anchored to the side walls, wherein the side tracks are each mounted to a corresponding one of the side rails of the support frame, wherein the shutter housing is mounted proximate the top ends of the side tracks such that the shutter rolls between a rolled position wherein the shutter is rolled onto the shutter support member and an unrolled position wherein the shutter covers the opening and the ends of the slats are disposed within the channels of the corresponding side tracks with the side tracks engaging the ends of the slats to retain the ends of the slats within the side tracks.