EP0663982B1

EP0663982B1 - Weatherproofing and draught excluding devices

Info

Publication number: EP0663982B1
Application number: EP93921033A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Peter 17 Victoria GALVIN; Diana Flat 4 MAXWELL
Original assignee: CARADON ASL Ltd
Current assignee: CARADON ASL Ltd
Priority date: 1992-09-30
Filing date: 1993-09-30
Publication date: 1998-02-18
Anticipated expiration: 2013-09-30
Also published as: DE69317054D1; EP0663982A1; WO1994008124A1; DE69317054T2; GB9220606D0; AU4831093A

Abstract

A weatherproofing and draught excluding device is described which comprises a flexible elongate sealing element (1) which, in use, is mountable on a frame member (12) to project towards and to sealingly engage with an edge of a door or window. The sealing element (1) has an outer lip portion (3) which is adapted for resilient flexing moving about a longitudinal axis of the sealing element so that, in use, the outer lip portion (3) is resiliently retained in sealing engagement with the edge of a door or window.

Description

This invention relates to weatherproofing and draught excluding devices for inwardly and outwardly opening doors and windows.

A known form of draught excluding device, as described in GB 1491016, consists in an elongate seal carrier in the form of a plastics or metal strip for attachment to a jamb or main frame of a door, a slot or groove extending along the seal carrier being provided to retain an elongate flexible sealing element having an integral blade portion which extends outwardly from the seal carrier to sealingly engage with a marginal edge portion of a door when the door is closed.

In cases where a door or window is not correctly hung within a frame, or where a door or window becomes warped, a gap of variable dimensions may be present or gradually develop between an edge of the door or window and the associated portion of the frame.

GB 2102868 relates to a resilient sealing blade for use in a weather excluder for a door or window. The blade is engaged and deflected sideways by an edge of the door or window upon closure of the latter to form a seal against said edge. There is only a single continuous contact region between the blade and the door and the blade does not provide a secondary seal between the blade and the door/window. Consequently, it is difficult to determine whether or not the degree of contact between the blade and the door/window is satisfactory.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least one of the aforementioned disadvantages.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a weatherproofing or draught excluding device comprising a flexible elongate sealing element which, in use, is mounted on a frame member to project outwardly towards, and to sealingly engage with, an edge region of a door or window, the sealing element having a base portion for coupling to said frame, a blade member extending outwardly from the base portion and being provided at an intermediate region with a neck portion to facilitate resilient movement of an outer lip portion of the blade member with respect to the base portion, and a free end of the outer lip portion of the blade member for sealably engaging said door or window edge region, characterised in that the blade member also has a further projection extending parallel to the flexing axis of the blade member, between the neck portion and the free end of the lip portion, wherein the projection engages the door or window when said outer lip portion has been caused to flex by contact between the door or window and the lip portion so that a seal is provided by the lip portion and the further projection .

The neck portion may conveniently be formed by providing a longitudinally extending weakening groove along one surface of the blade member at a suitable distance from the free end of the outer lip of the blade. The lip portion of the blade member which is thereby formed may itself be urged, in use, into effective sealing contact with a door, window or the like. The device has the particular advantage that, when employed to seal a relatively wide gap, a degree of further change in the width of the gap can be accommodated without loss of effective sealing action. The lip portion provides a greater area of sealing contact than conventional seals which are less flexible at their outer extremities and the device according to the invention may therefore provide a more dimensionally compact seal than may otherwise be required to seal a relatively wide gap. The device according to this invention is especially suitable for accommodating variations in the gap to be sealed, as may be caused by warping of a door or window for example, since the resiliently biased lip portion may be utilised to accommodate some variation of the gap size. The body of the flexible blade member, from which the lip portion extends, may also accommodate a variation in the width of the gap as may normally occur over a period of time, as is more particularly described herein.

The device according to the invention is preferably provided with means to facilitate optimum fitting to a door or window frame which may be achieved when the lip portion of the blade member is urged into sealing engagement with the edge of a door or window.
Generally, means may be provided to give a visual indication that the seal member is so mounted on the frame to ensure that the lip portion only is urged into sealing contact with adjacent edge of the door or window. Most conveniently, the axis of the resilient hinge about which the lip portion may flex relative to the blade may be clearly marked by a line in the form of a rib or other surface formation which is visible during the fitting process and which, when aligned with and urged towards an edge of a door or window, will ensure that the lip portion is resiliently urged against the surface to be sealed.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a door or window frame comprising a door or window surround and a jamb projecting from the surround into the opening defined by the surround, the jamb presenting an abutment surface for abutting an edge region of the inwardly facing surface of the door or window when the door or window is shut, the frame further comprising a weatherproofing or draught excluding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 attached to the door jamb to project outwardly from the jamb in a direction perpendicular to the surround plane.

The invention will now be described by way of examply only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross section of a weatherproofing or draught excluding device according to the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional drawing illustrating the device as shownin Fig. 1 mounted in an operative position on a door frame.

Referring to Fig. 1 the device consists of an extruded silicon rubber seal 1 formed with a blade member 2 provided with an outer lip portion 3 which joined to the blade 2 by neck portion 4 formed by the groove 5 which extends longitudinally along the inner surface 6 of the blade 2. An elongate rib formation 7 extends longitudinally along the outer surface 8 of the blade 2 in a position adjacent to and parallel with the groove 5. The blade 2 is integrally formed with an extends at an acute angle with respect of a base portion 9 to which it is connected by means of a second flexible neck portion 15, the base portion 9 being provided with an extension 10 formed with opposed grooves 11 for retaining the device in a seal carrier, as shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 2, the device 1 is retained by a seal carrier 12 which is mounted on a door jamb 13, the blade member 2 extending at an angle towards the edge 14 of a door which is here represented as being in the fully closed position, but with a gap, represented by the dimension x, which is required to be sealed against the ingress of air or moisture.

With the opening edge 14 of the door fixed in a closed position, the seal carrier 12, together with the device 1 mounted therein, is placed on the shoulder 13a of the jamb 13 and moved towards the door edge 14 until the lip portion 3 of the device 1 is caused to flex or pivot about the neck 4, until it rests substantially parallel to the edge of the door and against which it is urged by the resilience of the material. In this position the rib 7 will be visible and the alignment of seal carrier 12 on shoulder 13a may then be adjusted until the rib 7 can be seen to be aligned by and adjacent to the door edge 14. In this position the seal carrier is firmly fixed to shoulder 13a by pins or other fixings, not shown. Although the gap x may very between the top and bottom of a door, or from one side to the other, the fitting procedure as just described will ensure that the lip portion 3 of the device 1 will be uniformly in contact with the peripheral edge of the door.

As may also be seen from Fig. 2, a degree of variation in the dimension of gap x over time may readily be accommodated. A widening of the gap would result in the opening of the resilient hinges at 4 and 15 whereas a closing of the gap would have the opposite effect, in either case without the efficiency of the seal being substantially affected.

Claims

A weatherproofing or draught excluding device comprising a flexible elongate sealing element (1) which, in use, is mounted on a frame member to project outwardly towards, and to sealingly engage with, an edge region of a door or window, the sealing element (1) having a base portion (9) for coupling to said frame, a blade member (2) extending outwardly from the base portion (9) and being provided at an intermediate region with a neck portion (4) to facilitate resilient movement of an outer lip portion (3) of the blade member (2) with respect to the blade member (2), and a free end of the outer lip portion (3) of the blade member (2) for sealably engaging said door or window edge region, characterised in that the blade member (2) also has a further projection (7) extending parallel to the flexing axis of the blade member (2), between the neck portion (4) and the free end of the outer lip portion (3), wherein the projection (7) engages the door or window when said outer lip portion (3) has been caused to flex by contact between the door or window and the lip portion so that a seal is provided by the lip portion and the further projection (7).
A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the neck portion (4) is formed by providing a longitudinally extending weakening groove (5) along a surface of the blade member (2).
A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the blade member (2) is provided with means whereby, when the device is in use, a visual indication is provided that the lip portion has been flexed about the resilient hinge into sealing engagement with the edge of a door or window.
A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the blade member (2) is integrally formed with the base portion (9).
A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base portion (9) is adapted to be retained in a groove or slot provided in a seal carrier.
A door or window frame comprising a door or window surround and a jamb projecting from the surround into the opening defined by the surround, the jamb presenting an abutment surface for abutting an edge region of the inwardly facing surface of the door or window when the door or window is shut, the frame further comprising a weatherproofing or draught excluding device according to any one of the preceding claims attached to the door jamb to project outwardly from the jamb in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surround plane.