Multiple Support Balcony

Abstract

A balcony assembly for attachment to two load-bearing structures of a building is provided. The balcony assembly has a pair of plates and a supporting structure. The supporting structure is attached to the plates and provides rigidity to the balcony assembly. An anchor is associated with two sides of the balcony assembly and configured to attach the sides of the balcony assembly to the load-bearing structures of the building. The plates and the supporting structure are made of fiber reinforced plastic. The balcony assembly is useful in improving durability and installation time.

1 . A balcony assembly for vertical support by load-bearing structures of a building, the balcony assembly comprising:
 a pair of plates;   a supporting structure attached to the pair of plates and providing rigidity to the balcony assembly, the supporting structure being formed of ribs integral with and sandwiched between the pair of plates; and   sides of the balcony assembly configured to be supported vertically by the load-bearing structures of the building;   wherein the pair of plates and the supporting structure are made of fiber reinforced plastic.   
     
     
         2 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of plates and the supporting structure form a stressed skin panel in which outer skins are supported by a plurality of shear webs. 
     
     
         3 . The balcony assembly of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the pair of plates has a foam core, the outer skins being further supported by the foam core. 
     
     
         4 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the pair of plates has a foam core that is closed cell. 
     
     
         5 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of plates, the supporting structure, or both are made of biaxial fiberglass mat. 
     
     
         6 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the pair of plates comprises foam nested within the fiber reinforced plastic. 
     
     
         7 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of plates or the supporting structure, or both, are made of fiberglass. 
     
     
         8 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the supporting structure is made of fiberglass cloth nested within fiberglass mat. 
     
     
         9 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of plates comprises a top plate made of fiberglass with closed cell foam core and a bottom plate made of solid fiberglass, and the supporting structure is made of solid fiberglass. 
     
     
         10 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the ribs are distributed across the pair of plates. 
     
     
         11 . The balcony assembly of  claim 10 , wherein a rib of the ribs is bonded to at least one of the pair of plates by an adhesive. 
     
     
         12 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the sides of the balcony assembly configured to be supported vertically by the load-bearing structures of the building comprise ends of the balcony assembly configured to be supported vertically by the load-bearing structures of the building. 
     
     
         13 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the ends of the balcony assembly configured to be supported vertically by the load-bearing structures of the building comprise portions of the balcony assembly shaped to be supported vertically by ledgers of load-bearing structures of the building. 
     
     
         14 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the sides of the balcony assembly configured to be supported vertically by the load-bearing structures of the building comprise portions of the balcony assembly shaped to rest on load-bearing beams of the building. 
     
     
         15 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of plates has a portion that overhangs the supporting structure sufficiently to promote drainage. 
     
     
         16 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of plates has a portion that is made of foam core of sufficiently high density to support a guard rail. 
     
     
         17 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the balcony assembly is laminated with a fire retardant. 
     
     
         18 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the load-bearing structures are load-bearing beams that are posted, and a plate of the pair of plates defines an aperture to receive a post of the load-bearing beams. 
     
     
         19 . The balcony assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of plates enclose the supporting structure in a generally parallel arrangement. 
     
     
         20 . A balcony supported by load-bearing structures of a building, the balcony comprising:
 a pair of plates;   a supporting structure attached to the pair of plates and providing rigidity to the balcony, the supporting structure being formed of ribs integral with and sandwiched between the pair of plates; and   wherein sides of the balcony are supported vertically by the load-bearing structures of the building;   wherein the pair of plates and the supporting structure are made of fiber reinforced plastic.