AU607307B2

AU607307B2 - Insulating windows

Info

Publication number: AU607307B2
Application number: AU29686/89A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Christopher Jordan Gregory
Original assignee: Gregory Robert Walter Thomas
Current assignee: Gregory Robert Walter Thomas
Priority date: 1987-12-07
Filing date: 1989-02-07
Publication date: 1991-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 2009-02-07
Also published as: AU2968689A

Description

R ,730 7 FORM COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952-1962 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (Original) FOR OFFICE USE: Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art: This document contains the amendments made under Section 49 aryd is curr:c.t for priii ling.

Name of Applicant: CHRISTOPHER JORDAN GREGORY and ROBERT WALTER THOMAS GREGORY -Address of Applicant: 1 Anstey Street PEARCE ACT 2607 Actual Inventor(s): CHRISTOPHER JORDAN GREGORY and ROBERT WALTER THOMAS GREGORY Address for Service: DAVIES COLLISON, Patent Attorneys, 1 Little Collins. Stret,. Melbourne V 3000, Australia.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: INSULATING WINDOWS The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us 1 i 2 0 04 S0 9 Sno 0004 0 0 r, 0 0 a a 00 4 000 Ot a a o o 00 0 60 A 0 04a 0 04*r 0s 0 0 04 00 4 0 009 4, 00B 4 0.44 Technical Field This invention concerns the insulation of windows.

More particularly, it concerns the thermal insulation of windows by using a sheet of acrylic material mounted on the inside of the window.

Background to the invention The use of two sheets or panes of glass in a window frame, with a low pressure region between the sheets, is a well known technique for thermally and acoustically insulating a window space in a building.

That technique is known as "double glazing". Double glazing can be implemented in a variety of ways. It is an effective way of providing thermal and acoustic insulation, but it is expensive.

15 A less expensive approach to insulating window spaces has been to provide two panes of glass in a window, but without the low pressure region between the panes of glass. A dessicant is usually provided in the space between the panes of glass to prevent fogging 20 of the inside surfaces of the panes of glass, due to condensation of water, at low temperatures. This approach avoids the need for effective long-life seals between the window frame and the edges of the glass panes. It is less effective, both thermally and acoustically, as far as insulation is concerned; nevertheless it is a significant improvement in the insulation properties of a window when compared with a single sheet or pane of glass.

p 3 't Our as a8 90 a q 09 00 06 09 0 0 0 it I p- 099 O 99 00 9E Io The use of this less expensive insulation technique still requires the mounting of the two sheets or panes of glass in the window frame. Thus the technique cannot be applied to existing sihgle-pane windows. To overcome this problem, a Mr Bruce Morley, in Canada, has developed an insulating technique in which a second pane of glass or of a transparent plastics material is provided with an edge strip that is bonded to the existing glass of a 10 single pane window preferably on the inside of the single pane window. Mr Morley markets his product and window insulation services under the name "Energy Doctor".

Mr Morley's technique is relatively low cost, but it 15 has some drawbacks notably the inability to clean the.facing surfaces of the two-panes sandwich, and the inability of this technique to provide good insulation at the edges of an existing single-pane window.

Disclosure of the present invention It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for fitting a second window pane to a window, which overcomes the drawbacks of Mr Morley's technique, and which is straightforward to apply.

This objective is achieved by applying a strip of a ferromagnetic material, or a strip of a transversely magnetised material, to the frame of an existing 4 window or to the edge of a window pane, and bringing up to that strip a sub-frame carrying a sheet of an acrylic material, the sub-frame having a shape and dimensions corresponding to the frame or the edge of the window pane, and having a strip of transversely magnetised material (if the window pane or window frame has been fitted with a strip of ferromagnetic material) or a strip of ferromagnetic material i affixed to it, at least in locations corresponding to the location on the window pane or window frame of 0 the strip of ferromagnetic or transversely magnetised 3Oe material. The sub-frame will be made from a 4 c non-magnetisable material, preferably a vinyl-based o4 or other suitable plastics material, or aluminium.

If the material used for the sub-frame is vinyl-based kt or another plastics material, the sub-frame 0 4 preferably contains a slot which is generally keyhole 0 8$ o0 shaped in cross-section, to grip the acrylic sheet 0 a firmly yet provide a degree of flexibility for the a 20 edges of the sheet.

The strips need not be affixed completely around the 0 go pane (or frame) and sub-frame, but they should cover a substantial part of the edges of these components.

The sub-frame may be readily affixed to the existing window, and removed to enable the acrylic sheet and the glass pane of the window to be cleaned. The sub-frame may be fitted with a locking device and/or be connected to an alarm system.

5 Thus according to the broadest form of a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for insulating windows which comprises 'the steps of applying a first strip of a ferromagnetic material, or a strip of a transversely 4 magnetised material, to the inside edge region 04 of a window pane or a window frame, said first 4' strip extending at least partially around said o o inside edge region; and bringing up to said first strip a sub-frame of a onon-magnetisable material, said sub-frame having 4 dimensions which correspond to the dimensions of said edge region and supporting within .t a sheet of an acrylic material, said sub-frame having a second strip of transversely magnetised 6t. ~material (if the first strip is a strip of a ferromagnetic material) or ferromagnetic material (if the first strip is of transversely magnetised material) positioned at least partially around the edge region of the sub-frame, the first and second strips having complementary locations and dimensions; whereby Ssaid first and second strips become firmly but I 6 removably held in contact with each other by the magnetic attraction of said first and second strips.

Also according to the present invention, there is provided apparatus for insulating a window, said apparatus comprising SW, at least one length of a first strip of a Derferromagnetic material or a transversely ;E magetised material, adapted to be fitted to at vote 10 least part of the edge region of a window pane 49 C tor a window frame; o' a sub-frame having dimensions corresponding to said edge region, said sub-frame being made from a non-magnetic material and suporting within it a sheet of an acrylic material, said sub-frame t having at least one second strip of a transversely magnetised material (if the or each first strip is of a ferromagnetic material) or of a ferromagnetic material (if the or each first strip is of a transversely magnetised material) affixed to an edge region of the sub-frame, the or each second strip corresponding in length and location to the length and location of the or each first strip when affixed to the window pane or the window frame.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7 Brief description of the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional view, partly schematic, of a window frame mounted in a wall, with a sub-frame constructed in accordance with the present invention in position for connection with the window frame.

Figure 2 is a sectional view, illustrating how the ,0 sub-frame of the present invention may be mounted 0 Oq O directly onto a first strip bonded to a window pane.

0 01 oo Detailed description of the illustrated embodiments Q@ q Figure 1 depicts a window frame 10 supporting a glass D panel or pane 11 between a frame baton 12 and a fillet of putty 13. Those skilled in this art will appreciate that this arrangement is but one of many .oo possible ways in which a window pane may be supported o0* 15 within a frame 10. The window frame 10 is mounted in 0o0 a wall 14.

A strip 15 of ferromagnetic material (or transversely magnetised material) is mounted on the inside edge Sregion of the frame 10. The strip forms a continuous 20 gasket-like member around the inner edge of the frame, which is the preferred realisation of the present invention. However, the strip 15 can be applied to the frame 10 as a plurality of strip elements, with gaps between the strip elements, or as a single continuous strip which has ends that do not ROr -8abut against each other. Such a continuous strip may be used to ensure that air can move freely into and out of the space between the pane 11 and an acrylic sheet 20 (see below) when the present invention is in use in an environment where substantial ambient temperature variations can occur, or to provide a drainage hole adjacent to the lower frame member for condensation that may occur on the facing surfaces of the pane 11 and the sheet 0 po o0 0 10 Figure 1 also depicts a sub-frame 16 having O*Qt OO 0 dimensions which correspond, substantially, with the Sdimensions of the window frame 10. In the illustrated embodiment of Figure i, the window frame and hence the sub-frame 16, are rectangular.

15 However, the present invention is not restricted to rectangular windows, but is applicable to all shapes of window.

The sub-frame 16 is made of a non-magnetic material, which may be aluminium but in the illustrated form is a plastics material. The sub-frame 16 supports a sheet 20 of acrylic material within a continuous slot 18 in the sub-frame, the slot having a cross-section that is keyhole shaped. Such a slot can be formed in an aluminium extrusion, but is relatively easy to create in a vinyl-based plastics material which is essentially rigid but exhibits a small degree of resilience. The protruding "jaws" of the keyhole-shaped slot 18 grip the acrylic sheet firmly, but if the sheet should have pressure applied 'ii 9 to its central region (for example, by pressure building up or being reduced in the region between the pane 11 and the sheet 20 due to temperature changes, or by deliberate manual or accidental pressure applied to the sheet 20) the sheet can flex. Its edge regions can then move in the larger space of the rounded cavity of the 0 "keyhole" slot.

0000 ao 9 °0 Preferably the acrylic sheet 20 is about 3 mm thick, 0ooo 10 for such a sheet 20 has both strength and good 0 0o a 0 insulating properties. The acrylic material may 0 contain coloured elements or ultraviolet absorbing additives (to create a special effect or to give additional protection to curtains from sunlight).

go 9 15 The acrylic material may be coated with a coloured an 0Q compound; it may be constructed as a laminated sheet with patterned or coloured layers included within the So0 0 laminated structure.

A second strip 17 is affixed to one side of the 0 14 20 sub-frame 16.' The strip 17 corresponds in length and location to the first strip 15. If the first strip is applied as a plurality of lengths, the second strip 17 may (but need not be) correspondingly applied. If the strip 15 is of ferromagnetic material, the strip 17 will be a strip of transversely magnetised material. If the strip 15 is of a transversely magnetised material the strip 17 will be of a ferromagnetic material.

10 900 o o~.

a go00 0 04 V C 4 tc 4g a 4 Preferably the facing surfaces of the strips are smooth so that, when the sub-frame 16 is bought close to the frame 10, the magnetic attraction between the strips pulls them together to form a seal between the frame 10 and the sub-frame 16 wherever the strips coincide in position. To provide a good seal, the strips 15 and 17 may each be coated with a thin layer of a compressible material (such as thin film of a laquer or a plastics material), or thin strips of a plastic sheet may be interposed between the strip and the frame 10 and the strip 17 and the sub-frame 16, and a similar thin strip may be bonded to one of the opposed faces of the strips 15 and 17.

Normally a plurablity of holding members 19 (such as 15 rounded knobs) will be mounted on the side face of the sub-frame 16 on which the strip 17 is not mounted. The holding members 19 enable the position of the sub-frame relative to the frame 10 to be adjusted and held manually while the frame and sub-frame are brought into contact, and also enable the sub-frame to be removed from the frame 10 against the magnetic force between the strips 15 and 17, and permit adjustment of the positions of the frame and sub-frame after the strips 15 and 17 have been brought into contact with each other.

Any one of a variety of known locking devices may be used (none is shown in Figure 1) to prevent removal of the sub-frame 16 from the frame 10, thus enhancing the security of a window that has been insulated by 11 the technique of the present invention. Alarm systems may also be wired into a window which has been modified by the present invention. An alarm system may utilise electrical wiring containing a pair of terminals that are closed only while particular regions of the strips 15 and 17 are in contact with each other.

4 9 In a variation of the arrangement shown in Figure 1, *a 01 the sub-frame 16 may be connected to the frame 10 or gc 10 to the wall 14 (or to an attachment to the wall 14), v^o s by a hinge or a plurality of hinges mounted on one S edge of the sub-frame 16. The use of a hinged edge a 9 ensures the correct alignment of the strips 15 and 17 when the present invention is used and facilitates 15 the separation of the sub-frame from the window frame a* 10 when direct access, from inside the building, to the window pane 11 is required.

The optional hinged connection, in fact, is shown in the embodiment of Figure 2, in which the strip 15 is a, 20 bonded to the edge region of the glass window frame 11. A hinge 21 connects the top edge of the sub-frame 16 to the top frame member of the window frame 10. Otherwise, the embodiment of Figure 2, in which similar features have been given similar reference numbers, operates in the same manner as the embodiment of Figure 1. The hinge 21 need not be on the top edge of the sub-frame 16 and the top frame member of the window frame it may be positioned on any convenient corresponding pair of edges.

12 Whichever arrangement is used, the addition of the acrylic sheet, extending effectively to the edges of the glass window pane, improves the thermal and acoustic insulation of a window, at a significantly lower cost than double glazing, and without the disadvantages noted above for the technique used by Mr Morley.

It will be appreciated that although specific embodiments of the present invention have been 10 illustrated and have been described above, variations to and modifications of those embodiments (some of the modifications and variations have been noted already) may be made without departing from the present inventive concept.

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Claims

1. A method for insulating windows comprising the steps of applying a first strip of a ferromagnetic material, or a strip of a transversely magnetised material, to the inside edge o oO region of a window pane or a window frame, 0000 0o n said first strip extending at least 0 o0 partially around said inside edge region; 0 00 on a oeo and 0c00 0 0 bringing up to said first strip a sub-frame 0 0, of a non-magnetisable 4 said sub-frame having dimensions which correspond to the dimensions of said edge region and 0000 "o supporting within it a sheet of an acrylic o0" material, said sub-frame having a second 0 Qo strip of transversely magnetised material 0o 0 o (if the first strip is a strip of a ferromagnetic material) or ferromagnetic material (if the first strip is of *0 o 0 transversely magnetised material) positioned at least partially around the edge region of the sub-frame, the first and second strips having complementary locations and dimensions; whereby said first and second strips become firmly but removably held in contact with 4 other by the magnetic attraction of said first and second strips.

14. 0 O a a a 00 o O0 4 04 00 0 0000 0 o0 0 a e0 no 0 P 00 00os 0 00 0 00 00 0 S0 a 00 0 0 1 0 406 2. Apparatus for insulating a window, said apparatus comprising at least one length of a 'first strip of a ferromagnetic material or a transversely magnetised material, adapted to be fitted to at least part of the edge region of a window pane or a window frame; a sub-frame having dimensions corresponding to said edge region, said sub-frame being made from a non-magnetic material and supporting within it a sheet of an acrylic material, said sub-frame having at least one second strip of a transversely magnetised material (if the or each first strip is of a ferromagnetic material) or of a ferromagnetic material (if the or each first strip is of a transversely magnetised material) affixed to an edge region of the sub-frame, the or each second strip corresponding in length and location to the length and location of the or each first strip when affixed to the window pane or the window frame. 3. A method as defined in claim 1, in which said first strip extends without a break around the inside edge region of the window pane or the window frame, and the second strip extends without a break around the edge region of the sub-frame. 15 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, in which said first strip is formed in a manner, or a plurality of said first strips are applied in a manner, such that a continuous strip thereof is affixed or affixable around the edge region of the window pane or window frame without a break, and the second strip extends without a break around the edge region of the sub-frame. A method as defined in claim 1 or claim 3, or apparatus as defined in claim 2 or claim 4, in which the sub-frame is connected to the window frame or to a wall adjacent to the window frame by at least one hinge affixed to an edge surface of the sub-frame and to the window frame or the wall. 6. A method as defined in claim 1, claim 3 or claim or apparatus as defined in claim 2, claim 4, or claim 5, including at least one holding member affixed to the sub-frame for use in manually adjusting the position of the sub-frame relative to the frame and for use in manually ,removing the sub-frame from the frame. 7. A method as defined in claim 1, claim 3, claim or claim 6, or apparatus as defined in claim 2, claim 4, c:aim 5 or claim 6, in which said acrylic sheet is mounted in the sub-frame with its edges located within a continuous slot within the sub-frame, said slot having a o 16 cross-section generally in the shape of a keyhole, said slot having dimensions such that said acrylic sheet is gripped by the sub-frame where the acrylic sheet passes through the narrow region of said slot. 8. A method or apparatus as defined in claim 7, in So which the sub-frame is made from a plastics material. 0 00 o oo 00 4 a o 4 0 o 9. A method or apparatus as defined in any 0oo0 preceding claim, in which the acrylic sheet is W coated with or contains an ultraviolet absorbing material as an additive. A method or apparatus as defined in any preceding claim, in which the acrylic sheet is a o, ~laminated sheet. 11. A method or apparatus as defined in any preceding claim, including locking means associated with the sub-frame for securing the sub-frame adjacent to the window frame. 12. A method or apparatus as defined in any preceding claim, including an alarm system adapted to provide an alarm signal upon removal of the sub-frame from its position adjacent to the window frame with the first strip or strips and the second strip or strips in engagement. 14 I t 4; i 17 13. A method of insulating a window, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1 or Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings. DATED this seventh day of February 1989 CHRISTOPHER JORDAN GREGORY and ROBERT WALTER THOMAS GREGORY By their Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON O,194 0 r'N O'