AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Standard Patent Applicant(s): Rowan Bruce Hay Invention Title: Improvements relating to an edge support for a panel The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method for performing it known to me/us: P79126.AU Pat SetFi1ng Appicaton 2008-10-1.1.doc (M) - 2 IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO AN EDGE SUPPORT FOR A PANEL This invention relates to a support for retaining the edge of a panel, for example, in a door, window, wall, 5 partition, balustrade, or the like. The panel may be made out of any suitable material, for example, glass, wood, paper, canvas, plastic, metal, or any combination of suitable materials. In a preferred 10 embodiment, the panel is made out of glass. As used throughout the specification, the term "glass" is intended to refer to any type of glass or glass-like material, including but not limited to: acrylic glass, beveled glass, frosted glass, glazed glass, laminated glass, 15 mirrors, patterned glass, plate glass, safety glass, security glass, stained glass, tinted glass, toughened glass, or wired glass. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 20 Glass has long been used in construction for practical reasons, for example, to let in light. Increasingly, glass is also being used in construction for aesthetic reasons. Consumers perceive glass as being elegant and 25 unobtrusive. Consequently, a major trend in construction has been the incorporation of glass panels into objects such as doors, walls, partitions and balustrades. When used in construction, glass panels are typically 30 supported along at least one edge. The purpose of the glass edge support will differ depending upon the application of the glass panel. For example, a glass panel in a window will require support along the edges to N:\Melbourne\Caeee\Patent\79000-79999\P79126.AU\Spece\P79126AU.GHSPEC.doc 1/10/06 - 3 hold the panel in the window frame while a glass panel in a shower door will require support along the edges to allow the door to engage with the door frame. 5 Known glass edge supports have consisted of an extrusion with an adhesive coated recess to receive the edge of the glass panel. The most common adhesive used is a silicone adhesive that also acts as a sealant. This method has a number of disadvantages, including the long drying time 10 needed for the silicone to set and the difficulty in removing the glass panel from the support, for example, during replacement or repair of the panel, after the silicone has set. 15 It is an object of the invention to provide an edge support for a panel that will overcome at least one of the abovementioned difficulties and/or disadvantages, or that will at least provide the public with a useful choice. 20 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an edge support for a panel, the panel, which can be of variable thickness, having opposed first and second 25 surfaces and at least one edge to be supported, the opposed surfaces of the panel being substantially parallel at least in a support region adjacent the or each edge to be supported; the support comprising a generally U-shaped support channel with a base and first and second arms 30 extending substantially perpendicularly from the base, the channel being adapted to receive the panel between the arms; at least a part of the first arm of the channel forming a housing containing a sealing means which, in - 4 use, abuts the first surface of the panel in the support region; at least a part of the second arm of the channel providing a support which, in use, abuts the second surface of the panel in the support region, the support 5 having at least one adjustable substantially U-shaped clamping means and at least one adjustment means, the or each adjustment means capable of urging a first clamping face of the clamping means into contact with the second surface of the panel in the support region, the or each 10 clamping means being separate from the channel and located between the arms of the channel when in use, the clamping means cooperating with the sealing means housed in the first arm to locate and secure the panel. 15 According to one embodiment, the support comprises a plurality of spaced apart adjustable clamping means, each having an adjustment means. According to a second embodiment, the or each adjustable clamping means has more than one adjustment means spaced along its length. 20 The support may also comprise locator means to facilitate position and support of the panel within the support channel. Preferably the locator means is in the form of a lug or ridge projecting from the base of the support 25 channel. In a preferred embodiment, the or each clamping means contains a second clamping face that is opposed to the first clamping face, one or more adjustment means being 30 adapted to contact at least a portion of the second clamping face to urge the first clamping face into contact with the second surface of the panel.
- 5 The clamping means may contain one or more perpendicular protrusions from the second clamping face, each protrusion being adapted to engage with a corresponding guide on the second arm of the channel to support the clamping means. 5 In one embodiment, the or each adjustment means is a grubscrew. The support region may comprise one or more support ridges. 10 In a preferred embodiment, the panel is made from glass. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the edge support for a panel 15 will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of the U-shaped support channel and the clamping means. 20 Figure 2 is a side view of the clamping means inside the channel. Figure 3 is a side view of the clamping means inside the channel with a locator means on the base of the channel. Figure 4 is a side view of the channel, the clamping 25 means, the sealing means and a thin glass panel. Figure 5 is a side view of the channel, the clamping means, the sealing means and a thick glass panel. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the channel, the clamping means, the sealing means and the adjustment 30 means.
- 6 In the preferred embodiment, the panel (1) is made from glass. The panel has opposed first (2) and second (3) surfaces and at least one edge (4) to be supported. The opposed surfaces of the panel are substantially parallel 5 at least in a region adjacent the or each edge to be supported. The edge support (5) enables glass panels (1) of varying thicknesses to be retained in either the vertical or 10 horizontal position without the need for penetrations, check outs or alterations to the panel. The support (5) comprises two major parts: a generally U shaped support channel (6) and an adjustable substantially 15 U-shaped clamping means (7) . Figure 1 shows the channel (6) separate from the clamping means (7). The channel (6) consists of a base (8) and two perpendicular arms, a first arm (9) and a second arm (10). 20 The arms (9) and (10) extend substantially perpendicularly from the base (8) to create an interior for receiving the panel of glass (1). The channel (6) may be made out of any suitable material, for example, metal or plastic. In the preferred embodiment, the channel (6) is an aluminium 25 extrusion. A region of the first arm (9) provides support elements (11) in the interior of the channel (6) which, in use, abut the first surface of the panel (2). The purpose of 30 the support elements (11) are to create one or more points of contact between the first arm of the channel (9) and the first surface of the panel (2). N:\Melbourne\Cases\Patent\79000-79999\P29126.AU\Specis\P79126AU.GHSPEC.doc 1/10/08 - 7 The adjustable clamping means (7) is in the form of a generally U-shaped channel and presents a first clamping face (12) for contacting the second surface of the panel (3) . The clamping means (7) of the preferred embodiment 5 also presents a second internal clamping face (13) that is opposed to the first clamping face (12) as well as two perpendicular protrusions, an upper protrusion (14) and a lower protrusion (15), which extend from the second clamping face (13). 10 The second arm (10) of the channel contains an upper guide (16) and a lower guide (17) in the interior of the channel. The purpose of the guides (16) and (17) is to act as runners for the protrusions (14) and (15) on the 15 clamping means (7). Consequently, the distance between the upper guide (16) and the lower guide (17) is such that the upper protrusion (14) on the clamping means (7) is in movable contact with the upper guide (16) and the lower protrusion (15) on the clamping means (7) is in movable 20 contact with the lower guide (17) . Figure 2 shows the positioning of the protrusions (14) and (15) on the clamping means (7) relative to the guides (16) and (17) on the channel (6). 25 An adjustment means, comprising a stainless steel grubscrew (18) is located in a threaded bore (19) in the second arm (10) of the channel between the upper (16) and lower (17) guides. However, it will be clear that any number of suitable adjustment means and corresponding 30 mountings could be used, for example, a bolt, rivet, or alternative screw such as a wing nut screw. N:\Melbourne\Case\Patent\79000-79999\P79126.AU\Speci\P29126AU.GHSPEC.doc 1/10/08 -8 The grubscrew (18) can be rotated in a clockwise direction through the bore (19) on the second arm (10) of the channel and into contact with the clamping means (7). When the grubscrew (18) contacts the second clamping face 5 (13) of the clamping means, the clamping means (7) is urged away from the second arm of the channel (10) using the guides (16) and (17) as runners for the projections (14) and (15) . The clamping means (7) will continue to move along the guides (16) and (17) until the first 10 clamping face (12) is in contact with the second surface of the panel (3) and the first surface of the panel (2) is in contact with the support elements (11) on the first arm of the channel (9). The panel (1) can be easily removed from the channel (6) by rotating the grubscrew (18) in an 15 anticlockwise direction until the tension between the first clamping face (12) of the clamping means (7) and the first surface of the panel (2) is reduced and the panel (1) can be removed. 20 It will be appreciated that the edge support (5) can retain panels of varying thicknesses. The distance that the clamping means (7) will move will depend upon the thickness of the panel. Figure 4 shows a thin panel of glass (1) where the projections (14) and (15) on the 25 clamping means (7) have almost reached the ends of the guides (16) and (17). In contrast, Figure 5 shows a ticker panel of glass (1) where the projections (14) and (15) on the clamping means (7) are in almost complete contact with the guides (16) and (17). 30 In the preferred embodiment, in order to make the interior of the channel (6) water proof, the first arm of the channel (9) contains a housing (20) for a sealing means N:\Melboune\Caseo\Patent\79000-29999\P79126.AU\Specis\P79126AU GHSPEC.doc 1/10/08 - 9 (21) The sealing means (21) can be made of any suitable material such as rubber or neoprene. In the preferred embodiment, the sealing means (21) is a flexible neoprene seal. When the first surface of the panel (2) is in 5 contact with the support elements (11) on the first arm (9) of the channel, the first surface of the panel (2) will also be in contact with the sealing means (21). The exterior of the base (8) of the channel (6) can 10 contain one or more mounting means (22) to assist in the attachment of the support (5) to a surrounding material. In the preferred embodiment, the mounting means (22) consist of a housing for a screw as well as four mounting ridges. 15 The interior of the base (8) can contain one or more locator means (23) to assist in positioning and holding the panel (1) within the interior of the channel (6). In the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 3, the locator 20 means (23) is a lug or ridge projecting from the base (8) of the channel. While some preferred aspects of the invention have been described by way of example, it should be appreciated that 25 modifications and/or improvements can occur without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in this specification. The terms comprise, comprises, comprising, or comprised, 30 if and when used herein, should be interpreted non exclusively, that is, as conveying "consisting of or including". N:\Melbourne\Caea\Patent\?9000-79999\P9126.AU\Speci0\P79126AU.GHSPEC.dc 1/10/08 - 10 It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any 5 other country. N:\Me1bourne\Cases\Patent\79000-79999\P79126.AU\Specia\P79126AU.GHSPEC.doc 1/10/08