AU4892400A - Door seals - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT, 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for service in Australia: Invention Title: FLETCHER ALUMINIUM LIMITED SEAN FRANCIS O'SULLIVAN A J PARK, Level 11, 60 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2601 Door Seals The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us -2- The present invention relates to joinery and components therefore.

There are many instances where two stiles of a joinery panel assembly (eg; a door) are brought into close proximity and yet need to provide a significant measure of weatherproofing. One such instances are the stiles of French Doors.

The present invention is directed to components, methods, subassemblies and assemblies useful in the provision of French Door or other similar panel closure assemblies to provide improved resistance to water penetration up at the sill and/or down at the head between the two proximate stiles when in the panel closed condition and from thence into the building envelope, eg; house.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such means and methods which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Accordingly, in a first aspect the present invention consists in, a door or window assembly for associated with a sill and/or a head of a door or window opening, said assembly having a pair of complementary stiles where, at the sill end or at the head end, o. :or both, a seal providing means is provided to act as a seal between the complementary parts of each stile in the closed condition, such seal providing means not extending substantially up from the sill or substantially down from the head or both.

Preferably said seal is at an inner region of the mating stiles.

Preferably said mating stiles are provided with an external weather seal (eg; a brush "feature) in addition to the sill end and/or head end seal inwardly therefrom.

Preferably said stiles are of extruded members preferably adapted by appropriate rebates to provide for a lapping of one over the other on an external face plane and a complementary lapping on an internal face plane, and said seal at the sill end and/or head end is at said region of the overlap on the internal side of the mated stiles.

Preferably each stile is extruded and is provided with a channel to lap over a rebated region of a like or other complementary stile extrusion.

Preferably said constricted channel provides part of the means to locate a said seal at the sill end and/or head end.

Preferably said constricted channel on the exterior part of the mated stiles provides for the location of a weather sealing member whether of a rubber or brush type.

In still a further aspect the present invention consists in French Doors or a French Door assembly (whether including the door frame or otherwise) which embodies the between stile sealing feature previously set forth.

In still a further aspect the present invention consists in a component for engagement to a door stile, said component having provision to provide a flexible, resilient or the like seal between mating stiles (mating only when in the closed condition) which is not fully extensive of the stile(s) length (eg; preferably between mating extrusions each providing a stile preferably at a lapped rebated region, ie; one of the complementary pair of stiles having a region that laps over a rebate of the other, and duly up to about the sill height and/or down to about the head bottom).

Preferably said component is slide engageable into a constricted channel of one extrusion.

Preferably said component is capable of being fixed in the vertical sense by appropriate screw or the like means and preferably it is provided with a hole or holes for that purpose.

Preferably said component for engagement to a door stile is of a composite construction, for example, of an aluminium or metal component capable of being engaged to a complementary stile and carrying a seal member, for example, of a flexible or resilient nature, eg; an appropriate plastics or rubber material.

In still a further aspect the present invention consists in a method of minimising leakage into a building envelope between the distal stiles of two doors or other panels S. which comprises providing a seal at the sill end and/or head end between the stiles when in the closed condition, said seal(s) not being fully co-extensive of the vertical mating of the stiles.

Preferably said vertical mating of the stiles at the sealed sill region and/or seal head region is of an overlapping region.

Preferably said overlapping region is internally of a weather sealed exterior region of the mated stiles in their enclosed condition (preferably with a measure of overlap).

Reference herein to "mating" etc, in respect of the stiles between which the seal is .to be provided should be construed broadly. It covers not only complementary lapping stiles but also simple non lapping stiles.

Preferably the reference to the seal being up to about the level of the sill for a sill end seal or being down to the lower level of the head for a head end seal is with a view to minimising the visibility thereof from either side of the closed stile including panels.

Hence it may encompass some small emergence into view but preferably is to and not beyond or only close to the sight line of either the sill or head or both.

Preferably the vertical extent of such a component when fitted to a particular stile is such that it is at a height over which there is also a horizontal seal at the sill between the sill extrusion respectively with the lower rail and stiles of the door panel. Preferably likewise for the head.

A preferred form of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Figure 1 shows a pair of mated like stile extrusions, (eg; of aluminium) allowing for overlapping of one over the other by virtue of the rebates whereby, on the exterior -4face, an external weather seal can be provided (a brush is shown held in the constricted channel) and the corresponding inward lapping allows a seal at both the sill level and the head level, Figure 2 shows the component of Figure 1 in isolation from the (preferably single) stile extrusion to which it is shown fixed by both a self tapping screw and its engagement in a constricted channel, Figure 3 is an elevation of a stile looking along the end of a door sill showing how the vertical extent of the component shown in Figures 1 and 2 is not substantially above the view line of the interior upper extremity of the sill extrusion and substantially at the same level as a preferred internal weather seal which extends horizontally along between the sill and the doors, Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the component of Figure 2 showing by broken lines a preferred positioning of a single hole for a self tapping screw into the stile extrusion, Figure 4 showing the means by which there can be engagement of the aluminium or other metal part of the component 4 into a constricted channel of the stile and yet a resilient or flexible material (for example, a rubber, synthetic plastics material (foamed or otherwise)) can be dependent therefrom whether by direct moulding or the use of adhesives, ::"Figure 5 is a view "AA" showing the elevation of the component of Figure 4, and Figure 6 is the elevation "BB" with respect to Figure 4.

In the preferred form of the present invention the partial sealing component 1 (partial only in that it is not fully co-extensive with the vertical extent of the mating between stiles) is as shown in Figures 2, 4, 5, and 6.

This component 1 is shown in Figure 3 from the direction "CC" with respect to Figure 4 in a stylised form so as to show its extent from the end of the door stile and its flush fitting with the rail 2 positioned at the bottom of, for example, French Doors so as to enable the sill 3 to present a horizontal seal 4 along a region of the closed doors so that there is a continuous seal along the bottom of the French Door (including the stiles 5 and 6 shown in Figure 1) at at least the sill level thereof or at (when considered inverted) the head region thereof.

By restricting the vertical extent of the component 1 when attached as shown in Figure 1 to one of the stiles there is no need to attempt to obscure the region 7 of the member 1 which is of an appropriate sealing material, eg; a natural or synthetic rubber, a resilient plastics material, a resilient foamed plastics material, etc.

As can be seen, the component 1 is able to have its region 8 received in the constricted channel 9 of stile extrusion 5 and to have by appropriate fixing through the opening 10 a self tapping screw fixing as shown as 11 to the stile 5 so that there is no vertical movement from the condition as shown relative to the components 2 and 3 in Figure 3.

It is not necessary for there to be a corresponding component on the other stile 6 at the interior side but preferably there is the provision (where the same extrusion is being used for the door stile) of an exterior seal 11 taking advantage of the corresponding constricted channel 12 to that 9 of the extrusion Persons skilled in the art will appreciate how glazing or the like can be provided into the regions 13 with appropriate seal etc.

In use therefore the end stop component 1 stops water penetrating up at the sill and or down at the head between the two joined stiles 5 and 6. In so doing it prevents leakage into the house.

Currently most window suppliers have two adjoining door stiles without any such partial seal and thus such doors are believed not to comply with building requirements that French Doors should not leak to the interior.

The component utilised blocks up a small area at the bottom and top only where the panel of the door closes against the rear seal on the rear upright of the door frame. By not running that component all the way up the height of the stile there is no need to attempt to disguise the sealing material from view. If such a seal were to run the full length between such door stiles and, if because of the nature of the extrusions utilised, it would otherwise be visible, there would be a need for colour coding etc. all of which adds to fabrication difficulty.

oo The extrusions shown as 5 and 6 preferably have an angle of about 15 0 such that there are parallel about 150 opposing slopes. Such slopes are matched by the component 7 with the outcome that the respective angles ensures that the opposing stiles pull away from the seal 7 when a door panel is opened rather than pulling towards and possibly ripping the component seal. Whilst such a seal angle and an angle on the extruded stile components is not mandatory, it is preferred.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention provides an alternative to existing seal arrangements for joinery such as occurs with the distal stiles of French Doors.

Claims (13)

1. A door or window assembly for associated with a sill and/or a head of a door or window opening, said assembly having a pair of complementary stiles where, at the sill end or at the head end, or both, a seal providing means is provided to act as a seal between the complementary parts of each stile in the closed condition, such seal providing means not extending substantially up from the sill or substantially down from the head or both.

2. An assembly of claim 1 wherein said seal is at an inner region of the mating stiles.

3. An assembly of claim 1 wherein said stiles are provided with an external weather seal (eg; a brush feature) in addition to the sill end and/or head end seal inwardly therefrom.

4. An assembly of claims land 2 wherein said stiles are of extruded members adapted by appropriate rebates to provide for a lapping of one over the other on an external face plane and a complementary lapping on an internal face plane, and said seal at the sill end o :and/or head end is at said region of the overlap on the internal side of the mated stiles.

5. An assembly of claims 1 wherein each stile is extruded and is provided with a constricted channel to lap over a rebated region of a like or other complementary stile extrusion.

6. An assembly of claim 5 wherein said constricted channel provides part of the ooo. means to locate a said seal at the sill end and/or head end.

7. An assembly of claim 5 wherein said constricted channel on the exterior part of the mated stiles provides for the location of a weather sealing member whether of a rubber or brush type.

8. A set of French Doors or a French Door assembly (whether including the door frame or otherwise) which embodies the between stile sealing feature of claims 1 through 7.

9. A component for engagement to a door stile, said component having provision to provide a flexible, resilient or the like seal between mating stiles (mating only when in the closed condition) which is not fully extensive of the stile(s) length (eg; preferably between mating extrusions each providing a stile preferably at a lapped rebated region, ie; one of the complementary pair of stiles having a region that laps over a rebate of the other, and duly up to about the sill height and/or down to about the head bottom). A component of claim 9, said component being slidably slide engageable into a constricted channel of one extrusion.

11. A component of claims 9 and 10 which is capable of being fixed in the vertical sense by appropriate screw or the like means and preferably it is provided with a hole or holes for that purpose.

12. A component of claims 9, 10 and 11, wherein said component said for engagement to a door stile is of a composite construction, for example, of an aluminium or metal component capable of being engaged to a complementary stile and carrying a seal member, for example, of a flexible or resilient nature, eg; an appropriate plastics or rubber material.

13. A method of minimising leakage into a building envelope between the distal stiles of two doors or other panels which includes or comprises providing a seal at the sill end and/or head end between the stiles when in the closed condition, said seal(s) not being fully co-extensive of the vertical mating of the stiles.

14. A method of claim 13 wherein said vertical mating of the stiles at the sealed sill region and/or seal head region is of an overlapping region. A method of claim 13 and 14 wherein said overlapping region is internally of a weather sealed exterior region of the mated stiles in their enclosed condition (preferably with a measure of overlap).