Vertically adjustable curtain wall bracket

Abstract

A curtain wall window system for a building includes a horizontally-extending substrate forming part of the building, a curtain wall panel mountable to the substrate and including a mullion, and a curtain wall bracket assembly that operatively couples the curtain wall panel to the substrate. The curtain wall bracket assembly includes a backplate securable to the substrate, a bracket in sliding engagement with the backplate, and an adjustment mechanism that operatively couples the bracket to the backplate. Manually actuating the adjustment mechanism causes the bracket to move vertically relative to the backplate. The mullion is attachable to the bracket such that vertical movement of the bracket correspondingly moves the mullion.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A curtain wall window system for a building, comprising:
 a horizontally-extending substrate forming part of the building;   a curtain wall panel mountable to the substrate and including a mullion; and   a curtain wall bracket assembly that operatively couples the curtain wall panel to the substrate, the curtain wall bracket assembly including:
 a backplate securable to the substrate; 
 a bracket in sliding engagement with the backplate; and 
 an adjustment mechanism that operatively couples the bracket to the backplate, 
   wherein manually actuating the adjustment mechanism causes the bracket to move vertically relative to the backplate, and   wherein the mullion is attachable to the bracket such that vertical movement of the bracket correspondingly moves the mullion.   
     
     
         2 . The curtain wall window system of  claim 1 , wherein the backplate provides an adjustment aperture and the bracket provides a lateral projection defining a projection aperture vertically alignable with the adjustment aperture, the adjustment mechanism including:
 a threaded bolt extendable through the adjustment aperture and the projection aperture;   a threaded nut threadable to an end of the threaded bolt such that the lateral projection interposes the adjustment aperture and the threaded nut,   wherein rotating the threaded bolt moves the threaded nut along the threaded bolt and thereby moves the bracket vertically.   
     
     
         3 . The curtain wall window system of  claim 2 , wherein the backplate comprises:
 a planar body providing opposing front and back faces, the back face being arranged against the substrate;   a pair of backplate legs extending from the front face and laterally spaced from each other such that a vertical slot is defined therebetween to receive the bracket; and   a back wall extending laterally between the pair of backplate legs, wherein the adjustment aperture is provided on the back wall and comprises a vertical aperture extending vertically along at least a portion of a vertical height of the back wall.   
     
     
         4 . The curtain wall window system of  claim 3 , wherein the vertical slot is a first vertical slot and a first engagement feature is provided on each backplate leg, and wherein the bracket comprises:
 a U-shaped body including an end wall and a pair of bracket legs extending from the end wall, the pair of bracket legs being laterally offset from each other such that a second vertical slot is defined therebetween to receive the mullion; and   a second engagement feature provided on each bracket leg and configured to slidably engage the first engagement feature of an adjacent backplate leg, and thereby slidably coupling the bracket to the backplate.   
     
     
         5 . The curtain wall window system of  claim 4 , wherein, when the threaded nut is threaded to the threaded bolt, a flat surface of the threaded nut bears against a backside of the end wall and thereby prevents the threaded nut from rotating as the threaded bolt rotates. 
     
     
         6 . The curtain wall window system of  claim 4 , wherein each bracket leg defines an aperture alignable with corresponding apertures defined in the mullion and sized to receive one or more mechanical fasteners used to secure the mullion to the bracket. 
     
     
         7 . The curtain wall window system of  claim 6 , wherein the aperture defined in each bracket leg is horizontally elongated to allow horizontal adjustment of the mullion relative to the curtain wall bracket assembly. 
     
     
         8 . The curtain wall window system of  claim 2 , wherein the curtain wall bracket assembly further includes a locking mechanism attachable to the backplate and engageable with a head of the threaded bolt to prevent the threaded bolt from rotating. 
     
     
         9 . A curtain wall bracket assembly, comprising:
 a backplate securable to a substrate of a building;   a bracket in sliding engagement with the backplate; and   an adjustment mechanism that operatively couples the bracket to the backplate,   wherein manually actuating the adjustment mechanism causes the bracket to move vertically relative to the backplate.   
     
     
         10 . The curtain wall bracket assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the backplate provides an adjustment aperture and the bracket provides a lateral projection defining a projection aperture vertically alignable with the adjustment aperture, the adjustment mechanism including:
 a threaded bolt extendable through the adjustment aperture and the projection aperture;   a threaded nut threadable to an end of the threaded bolt such that the lateral projection interposes the adjustment aperture and the threaded nut,   wherein rotating the threaded bolt moves the threaded nut along the threaded bolt and thereby moves the bracket vertically.   
     
     
         11 . The curtain wall bracket assembly of claim  15 , wherein the backplate comprises:
 a planar body providing opposing front and back faces, the back face being arranged against the substrate;   a pair of backplate legs extending from the front face and laterally spaced from each other such that a vertical slot is defined therebetween to receive the bracket; and   a back wall extending laterally between the pair of backplate legs, wherein the adjustment aperture is provided on the back wall and comprises a vertical aperture extending vertically along at least a portion of a vertical height of the back wall.   
     
     
         12 . The curtain wall bracket assembly of claim  15 , wherein the back wall defines a channel through which the lateral projection traverses as the bracket is moved vertically relative to the backplate. 
     
     
         13 . The curtain wall bracket assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the vertical slot is a first vertical slot and a first engagement feature is provided on each backplate leg, and wherein the bracket comprises:
 a U-shaped body including an end wall and a pair of bracket legs extending from the end wall, the pair of bracket legs being laterally offset from each other such that a second vertical slot is defined therebetween to receive the mullion; and   a second engagement feature provided on each bracket leg and configured to slidably engage the first engagement feature of an adjacent backplate leg, and thereby slidably coupling the bracket to the backplate.   
     
     
         14 . The curtain wall bracket assembly of  claim 13 , wherein, when the threaded nut is threaded to the threaded bolt, a flat surface of the threaded nut bears against a backside of the end wall and thereby prevents the threaded nut from rotating as the threaded bolt rotates. 
     
     
         15 . The curtain wall bracket assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the first and second engagement features comprise a dovetail engagement. 
     
     
         16 . The curtain wall bracket assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the end wall and the back wall are placed in sliding engagement when the bracket is received within the first vertical slot. 
     
     
         17 . The curtain wall bracket assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the curtain wall bracket assembly further includes a locking mechanism attachable to the backplate and engageable with a head of the threaded bolt to prevent the threaded bolt from rotating. 
     
     
         18 . The curtain wall bracket assembly of  claim 17 , wherein the locking mechanism includes:
 an elongate bar having opposing first and second ends; and   a locking profile provided at an intermediate location between the first and second ends and configured to engage one or more flat surfaces of the head.   
     
     
         19 . A method of installing a curtain wall panel for a building, the method comprising:
 securing a backplate of a curtain wall bracket assembly to a horizontally-extending substrate forming part of the building;   placing a bracket of the curtain wall bracket assembly in sliding engagement with the backplate;   attaching a mullion of the curtain wall panel to the bracket;   operatively coupling the bracket to the backplate with an adjustment mechanism of the curtain wall bracket assembly; and   manually actuating the adjustment mechanism and thereby causing the bracket and the mullion to move vertically relative to the backplate and the substrate.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the backplate provides an adjustment aperture and the bracket provides a lateral projection defining a projection aperture vertically alignable with the adjustment aperture, the adjustment mechanism including a threaded bolt and a threaded nut, and wherein operatively coupling the bracket to the backplate comprises:
 extending the threaded bolt through the adjustment aperture and the projection;   threading the threaded nut to an end of the threaded bolt such that the lateral projection interposes the threaded nut and the adjustment aperture; and   rotating the threaded bolt and thereby moving the threaded nut along the threaded bolt and correspondingly moving the bracket and the mullion vertically.