GB2233698A

GB2233698A - Glazing bead assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2233698A
Application number: GB9015118A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Arthur John Burt
Original assignee: Titon Hardware Ltd
Current assignee: Titon Hardware Ltd
Priority date: 1989-07-07
Filing date: 1990-07-09
Publication date: 1991-01-16
Also published as: GB9015118D0

Abstract

A glazing bead assembly comprises a rigid glazing bead (26) and a retaining spacer (10). The spacer is secured to the inner surface of a window frame by a nail (16). The bead is formed with a flared projection which is received in a complementarily shaped recess 18 in the spacer. The spacer is also formed with a slot extending toward the recess from the underside of the spacer which makes that side of the spacer yieldable for the recess to accept the flared projection on the bead. The edge of adjacent side of the spacer and the corresponding edge of the projection is each formed with a chamfer to facilitate engagement between the two as the spacer yields. Abutment surfaces on the bead and spacer serves to retain engagement of the projection and recess. <IMAGE>

Description

GLAZING BEAD ASSEMBLY This invention relates to a glazing bead assembly for retaining a glazing panel in position, e.g. in a frame.

The invention is particularly applicable to a form of glazing bead assembly in which a glazing bead is received on one or more retaining spacers attached to the frame.

The spacers are fixed to, for example, a frame and then the bead is attached to the spacers to hold the panel in place. Normally the spacer and/or bead will abut the window frame at either end, thus precluding a sliding fit one to another.

Glazing bead assemblies are known in which one or more retaining spacers are so formed as to allow the glazing bead to be snap fitted onto a spacer in situ in place to hold the pane of glass, for example, in place in a frame.

In one form of known assembly the bead must be pushed into place in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the glass. The assembly comprises an elaborately sectioned bead which provides a channel for a further retaining member. The further member is formed with a pair of hooks which engage complementary recesses in an elastomeric spacer attached to the ledge of the frame. Both hooks prevent the bead from being lifted out of place in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the glass. Additionally, an innermost one of the hooks, with respect to the glass, also prevents the bead being pulled perpendicularly out of place with respect to the plane of the glass.

The sections of the bead, the further member and the retaining spacer are all relatively complex in section.

Furthermore, the assembly must be partly assembled away from the frame by running the further members along the channels in the bead to convenient places before offering the bead up to the spacers. Thus, the further members can slide about unless care is taken to keep them in position.

A simpler form of snap-fit glazing bead assembly is also known in which the bead itself serves both to hold the pane in place and to engage the spacer. Again, the assembly makes use of an opposed and spaced pair of hook section projections which engage complementary projections on the spacer. In this form, an outer hook, with respect to the frame, is engaged with its complementary projection on the spacer which is located adjacent an outer vertical surface of the frame. The bead is then rotated about this engagement to bring an inner hook into engagement with its complementary projection above a horizontal ledge portion of the frame. The bead is thus held in place against the pane by the spacer.

While the construction of this known assembly is somewhat simpler than that described previously, in order to gain sufficient flexure in the spacer for it to yield and accept the inner hook in a retained position, the moment between the outer and inner hooks must be taken into account. The moment needed between the inner and outer hooks will not lend itself to a compact assembly. This is shown by the fact that in this known form of construction the outer dog is located adjacent a vertical surface of the frame to provide sufficient distance between it and the inner hook. An added disadvantage of this type of assembly is that the distance between a pane to be retained by the bead and the end of the ledge portion of the frame is thus fixed for a given spacer.

The present invention is defined in the accompanying claims to which reference should now be made.

An assembly according to the present invention provides a panel retaining assembly which is both simple to manufacture and install and yet is acceptably strong when assembled by using a deformable, yet sufficiently rigid, joint between the bead and spacer.

Two specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a section of an assembly according to the invention mounted on a window frame; Figure 2 is a section of a glazing bead used in the assembly of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section of a retaining spacer used in the assembly of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a section of a second assembly according to the invention mounted in a double glazing window frame; Figure 5 is a section of a glazing bead used in the assembly of Figure 4; and Figure 6 is a section of a retaining spacer used in the assembly of Figure 4.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, a glazing panel retaining assembly comprises a retaining spacer 10 which, in use, is mounted on the surface of a ledge 12 of a window frame 14 by means of a nail 16, screw or the like.

Figure 1 illustrates the lower horizontal ledge. The spacer 10, which is made of a resilient yet stiff polyvinyl chloride material, has a lower flat surface and an upper surface inclined thereto. In section, the spacer 10 defines an inclined dovetail recess 18 in its upper inclined surface which recess extends longitudinally along the spacer. One side 19 of the surface of the recess 18 remote from the edge of the ledge is chamfered, creating a face subtending an angle of 450 to the upper inclined surface. The other side 17 of the surface constitutes an abutment.

The spacer 10 also defines a slot 20 which extends horizontally into the spacer 10 from the side thereof remote from the edge of the ledge 12 towards the edge of the ledge. One side of the slot 20 is defined by a lower inner portion 22 of the spacer. The other side of the slot 20 is defined by an upper inner portion 24.

The lower portion 22 extends to the back of the ledge.

The upper portion 24 stops short of the back of the ledge, thus defining a space for a pane of glass between the upright of the frame 14 at the back of the ledge 12 and the end of the upper portion 24 of the spacer. The spacer is about 20 mm wide, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the pane. The base of the slot is radiused to distribute the stress created when the upper portion 24 is flexed.

An extruded aluminium glazing bead 26 comprises an outer visible surface 28 including a middle ledge portion 30, a depending skirt 32 along one lateral edge of the middle portion 30 and an upwardly extending ridge 34 along the other lateral edge. A channel 36, facing the back of the ledge, is formed in the ridge 34. A strip of elastomeric gasket material 38 is mounted in the channel 36.

The inner surface of the glazing bead 26 is formed with a longitudinally extending dovetail section projection 39 providing inner and outer mutually divergent side faces 40 and 42 and a central channel 44. The inner side face 40 of the dovetail projection 39 is also formed with a chamfered corner 46.

To assemble the parts of the assembly, lengths of the spacer 10 are nailed or otherwise secured to the ledge 12 at approximately 300 mm spacings. When sufficient spacers 10 have been secured in place around the frame, a pane of glass 48 is installed in the frame resting on the lower portions 22 of the spacers 10 on the horizontal ledge.

In Figure 1, a second gasket 50 is illustrated adhered to the frame. The pane 48 rests up against the second gasket 50.

Dealing with the horizontal portion of the frame, the glazing bead 26, which is cut to the length of the base of the frame, is located with the outer side face 42 of the dovetail projection 39 engaged within the recess 18, against the abutment 17, in each spacer along the frame 14. The bead 26 is then rotated about the engaged outer side of the projection 39 to bring the gasket 48 towards the glass. In so doing, the chamfered edge 44 of the projection 39 will eventually come into contact with the chamfered edge of the side 19 of the dovetail recess 18. Further force applied to rotate the bead 26 will cause the side 19 of the recess 18 to deform out of the path of the projection 39 by flexing about a thinner portion 52 of the spacer between the recess 18 and the base of the slot 20.

Once the projection is fully within the recess the deformed side 19 will return to its unstressed orientation and hold the bead in place by engaging the inner side face 40 and thus compress the gaskets 38 and 50 against the pane 48 to create outer and inner seals, respectively.

In another form of the invention the projections could equally well be resiliently deformable instead of, or as well as the sides of the recess. It is also the case that the location of the projections and recess could be transposed to equivalent effect.

The slot creating the region of flexure for one of the sides of the recess could be replaced by a softer resilient material. Thus, the solid composite spacer would flex as the softer material yields.

Furthermore, the dovetail is depicted in this embodiment as having two equally outwardly flared sides with respect to the inner face of the bead from which they depend. However, since it is the primary purpose of the inner side of the dovetail to prevent the bead from coming out of engagement with the spacer by radial movement and it is the primary purpose of the outer projection to prevent dislocation by substantially linear movement away from the window, the outer projection could equally well depend more vertically downwardly when in the position indicated in Figure 1.

Thus, the divergence of each side face 40 and 42 need not be the same. Consequently, the term dovetail is intended to embrace any projections which are mutually divergent and consequently able to perform the retaining function when inserted in a suitable recess.

Additionally, the dovetail feature on the bead can be formed as a 'solid projection instead of with a central channel as illustrated.

In an alternative form of the invention, illustrated in Figures 4 to 6, the inner side of a resilient spacer 10' defining the recess 18' is replaced by a hook-like projection 60. The outwardly facing edge 62 at the free end of the projection 60 is chamfered to encourage a complementary hook-shaped member 64 on the aluminium (or rigid plastics) glazing bead 26' to urge the projection 60 towards the glazing panel to allow engagement between the two.

As with the bead in Figure 2, a foam gasket 66 is mounted on a holding face 68 of the bead adjacent the glazing panel. However, in this embodiment the gasket 66 is adhered on a ledge on the lower part of the face 68 to position it correctly.

In both forms of the invention the side of the projection 42 abutted against the abutment defined by the side of the spacer partially defining the recess 18, or simply the opposing abutment opposite the projection 60, serves both to keep the bead up against the glazing panel and also to keep the hook projection 60 in engagement with the member 64. Because the abutments can be first engaged, the bead can then be rotated about that engagement to effect complete engagement between the bead and spacer.

In both embodiments the spacer is mounted on a ledge of the frame extending substantially perpendicularly from the plane of the glazing panel. However, the spacer could be mounted on a surface parallel to the panel.

With a modified glazing bead section the assembly would work to equal effect.

This alternative form provides a secure glazing bead assembly. However, it is also particularly advantageous in that it is possible to remove the bead itself even with a glazing panel in place. It will be appreciated that previously known assemblies were made to be as easy as possible to fit and secure when in place, but without any attempt to address the problem of removing a fitted bead. The bead of Figure 5 can be released from the spacer of Figure 6 using a special release tool shown in Figure 7. The tool comprises a handle portion 70 formed of two parallel lengths of the same piece of bent spring steel. Each free end of the wire is bent into an outwardly projecting portion 72, and thence a longitudinally projecting portion 74 and a further inwardly projecting portion 76, the latter forming opposed parallel tines.

The gap between the tines 76 is larger than the longitudinal dimension of a spacer. Thus, the tines can be inserted between the bead 26' and the ledge of the frame to either side of the one of the spacers 10' holding the bead. By squeezing the handle portion 70 the tines 76 close around the spacer. By then pushing on the handle the tines can be made to engage the projection 60 to push it back out of engagement with the hook-shaped member 64. Thus the bead is removable from that spacer. By repeating this at each spacer, the bead can eventually be removed completely.

Claims

1. A glazing bead assembly for retaining a glazing panel in a frame, comprising a rigid glazing bead and a retaining spacer which is securable to the frame and adapted to receive the bead as a push-fit to hold it in place, one of the bead and spacer having a resiliently deformable member formed with a face which is engageable with an opposing surface on the other of the bead and spacer, the spacer and bead being formed with abutments which are arranged to maintain the engagement of the face of the resiliently deformable member with the opposing surface.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the spacer is arranged to be secured to a ledge portion of the frame.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the face of the or each abutment, in use, generally faces the glazing panel.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 3 in which the said face projects from the spacer.

5. An assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the bead is formed with a glazing panel holding face.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 5 in which a gasket is mounted on the holding face.

7. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 in which an outer edge bead of the spacer, defining the said engaging face, is chamfered.

8. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 in which the resiliently deformable member is part of the spacer and defines a hook-like projection including the said engaging face.

9. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 in which a flared recess is formed in the spacer which is resilient, the thickness of the section of the spacer adjacent one of the lateral sides defining the flared recess being reduced to provide a region of flexure for that side.

10. An assembly as claimed in claim 9 in which the spacer is formed with an aperture which extends laterally generally towards the said one of the sides to create the said reduction in thickness.

11. An assembly as claimed in claim 10 in which the aperture is a longitudinally extending slot.

12. An assembly as claimed in claim 11 in which the slot extends laterally into the spacer toward the recess.

13. An assembly as claimed in claim 11 or 12 in which the base of the slot is radiused.

14. An assembly as claimed in claim 12 or 13 in which a lower portion of the spacer defining one surface of the slot extends beyond another portion of the spacer defining another, opposed, surface of the slot away from the base thereof.

15. An assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the projection and recess constitute a dovetail joint.

16. A glazing panel retaining assembly substantially as specifically described herein with reference to figures 1 to 3 or 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.