EP2472046A1

EP2472046A1 - Window or door structure made from an assembly of profiles

Info

Publication number: EP2472046A1
Application number: EP12150041A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Henning Stagsted
Original assignee: HansenGroup AS
Current assignee: HansenGroup AS
Priority date: 2011-01-03
Filing date: 2012-01-03
Publication date: 2012-07-04
Also published as: DK201100002A

Abstract

Window or door structure whereby a substantially enclosed space (7) is defined, between the first frame member (1) and the sash frame member (2), characterised in that in the substantially enclosed space (7) a resilient blade (8) is fastened and extends from either the first frame member or the sash frame member towards the opposite member inside said enclosed space, but does not come into contact with said opposite member.

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a window or door structure made from an assembly of profiles.

Background of the Invention

In the art it is well-known to assemble window or door structures from pre-made profiles, for example from extruded plastic or glass fibre reinforced profiles. The advantages of using such profiles is the fact that they may be made with countersunk grooves, ridges, flanges or other features which facilitate mounting of the glass panes, resilient weather strips and the like. Furthermore, by choosing an appropriate material, the heat conducting properties of such a profile may be minimized. Also the strength characteristics of many of these materials is such that very stiff and strong structures having good weather resistant properties and not being subjected to thermal stresses is achieved. Therefore, there are a number of advantages by manufacturing window or door structures from such materials.
One such example is known from DE 8202323 U1 which describes a construction made from extruded metal profiles. At appropriate places the extruded metal profiles are provided with countersunk grooves and flanges such that it is possible to attach weather strips or other insulating means to the extruded profiles whereby a highly insulating construction is achieved.
The construction known from DE 8202323 U1 has some drawbacks relating to its insulating properties, and furthermore the construction is only suitable for so-called inwardly opening windows and doors which are typically used in Middle Europe. In other areas it is necessary to provide a construction which is suitable to be opened outwardly as well as inwardly depending on the construction, and at the same time addresses the increased requirements as to heat insulating properties which are being introduced throughout especially Northern Europe. These requirements have among other things made the use of triple glazing more widespread and as such the entire frame construction needs to take into account the somewhat thicker and heavier glass pane construction wherein three layers of glass are used.
Typically, a window pane with this construction will have a 4 mm glass pane separated by 16 mm of either vacuum or gas filled space from another 4 mm glass pane which again is separated by 16 mm of gas or vacuum from the third 4 mm glass pane. Therefore, the overall thickness which needs to be accommodated in the frame construction is approximately 44+ mm and additionally weather strips or other sealers need to be accommodated along the interface between the glass and the window frame.
Along with the increased thickness is also the increased weight which puts substantial loads on the hinge constructions and thereby also both the frame which is built into the building and the sash frame into which the opening window is placed which also needs to be addressed by the construction of the extruded profile.
A further prior art construction is known from US2010/0175339 wherein a window/sash construction corresponding to the preamble of claim 1 is disclosed. In the space enclosed by the resilient insulating means arranged adjacent the inner and outer sides, respectively is arranged a further insulating element. This insulating element may be divided in two where one part is arranged on the moveable sash frame and the other on the window frame. This further insulating element is provided with upstanding ribs where one or more ribs are designed to positively engage the opposite part of the insulating element or frame, and in this manner reduce the size of convention currents in the space between the inner and outer resilient insulating means, by sub-dividing the enclosed space. More ribs are provided in order to take account of variations in the distance between the window frame and the sash frame. Common however for all embodiments ist the fact that at least one rib is in contact with the opposite member. In this manner the friction between the two frame members, i.e. the sash and window frames, is dramatically increased. When opening or closing the window, the rib will provide resistance. Furthermore over time the engagement between the rib and the frame will cause wear and eventually tear, whereby the joint between the sash and window frame will lose its claimed insulating properties. This problem only becomes more aggravated the more ribs are activated on the insulating element.

Object of the Invention

Consequently, there is a need for a window or door structure which addresses these issues and at the same time provides for better insulation properties without substantially increasing the size/bulk of the window or door structure as it is desirable for aesthetic reasons to minimize the size of the window or door structure, i.e. provide as much open glass area as possible.

Description of the Invention

The present invention addresses this by providing a window or door structure made from an assembly of profiles, where the structure comprises a first frame member adapted to be mounted in an opening in a building, and a second sash frame member, where the window or door structure has an outer side suitable to be exposed to the outside environment, and an inner side suitable to be exposed to an interior environment, where at least said sash frame is made from extruded or pultruded profiles, the sash frame being suitable to be mounted inside the first frame member by means of one or more hinges, whereby the sash frame may pivot relative to the first frame member, and further where first resilient insulating means are arranged adjacent the inner side of the sash frame member or the first frame member, and second resilient insulating means arranged adjacent said outer side of the sash frame member or the first frame member such that, when the sash frame member is in its closed position relative to the first frame member, a substantially enclosed space is defined, between said first frame member and said sash frame member, such that in the substantially enclosed space a resilient blade is fastened and extends from either the first frame member or the sash frame member towards the opposite member inside said enclosed space, but does not come into contact with said opposite member.
It is especially between the opening part of the window and the window frame and a door frame and a door blade where the insulating properties of these constructions tend to be inadequate. It would of course be possible to fill the entire gap between the window frame and the sash frame such that no air could penetrate the gap and thereby lower the insulating properties of this part of the construction. This, however, is not feasible in that if the gap is filled, it will be very difficult to open the sash frame relative to the stationary frame which is mounted to the building and thus part of the idea behind installing an opening window may be lost.
The balance is therefore to create good insulating properties in the space between the frame member and the sash frame member without creating difficulties for opening or closing the two frames relative to each other. It is well recognized that closed airspaces provide very good insulating properties and as such it is the aim of the present invention to provide these closed airspaces without diminishing the ability to open or close the frames. The blade which extends from one or the other member towards the other without coming into contact separates the space into two substantially separated "sub-spaces". The tests and computer simulations indicate that the insulating properties of such a construction are greatly increased in comparison to the insulating properties of one coherent enclosed space. At the same time the blade is distanced approximately 1-2 mm from the opposite frame member, and as such there is a connection between the two sub-spaces. In practice and with computer simulation models this has no effect, and the two subspaces in this manner act as two enclosed spaces each providing a great contribution towards the overall insulating properties of the frame system. As the blade does not come into contact with the opposite frame member to which it is mounted the blade does not provide any resistance when opening or closing the sash frame relative to the first frame and therefore has no effect on the overall use properties of the window.
In a still further advantageous embodiment the distance between the distal end of the plate and the surface of either the sash frame or the first frame is between 1 and 4 mm, preferably 2 mm. The computer simulations and tests have indicated that even with distances up to 4 mm between the distal end of the blade and the opposing frame section the two sub-spaces will act as separated insulating spaces. However, in practice 2 mm have proven to be a manageable distance not only from a manufacturing point of view but also from an assembly point of view, and furthermore in use the distance provides a long life expectancy of the blade in that even if small amounts of debris are assembled in the frame they will not affect the blade as such and thereby not interfere with the insulating properties of the window or door structure.
In a still further advantageous embodiment of the invention the blade is arranged closer to the inner side of the sash frame or first frame member, and that an insulating block member is provided between the blade and the outer side of either the sash frame or first frame member.
By additionally providing an insulating block member within the enclosed frame the insulating properties are further increased. The insulating block member will in addition to providing insulation by itself also delimit the space where air is present and as such create further insulating sub-spaces which provides a substantial addition to the improved insulating properties achieved by the blade as discussed above.
In a further advantageous embodiment the block is made from a resilient material where closed cavities are arranged inside said block, and where said block does not come into contact with the other frame member to which it is not mounted.
As was the case with the blade, the block should be dimensioned such that it does not come into contact with the opposing frame section to that to which it is mounted. As was the case with the blade a distance of 2 mm as disclosed in a further advantageous embodiment between the block and the frame has been found to be optimum.
By furthermore providing a block which fills approximately 50-80% of the enclosed space very good insulating properties are achieved for the window or door structure.
Although the insulating system using one or more blades and an insulating block is to be used with any type of materials from which the window or door structure is made, particularly advantages of the construction is achieved when the extruded or pultruded profiles are made from glass, carbon, polymer or Kevlar® fibre reinforced composites, where said composite comprises a polyurethane, polyester or epoxy compound or where said profiles are made from extruded aluminium profiles.
This shall be seen in connection with the fact that the listed materials on their own have excellent insulating properties and as such enhance the overall construction of the window or door structure.
Above the inventive construction has been described as having better insulating characteristics than what is otherwise available at present, due to its inventive construction. The glass panes used by various manufactures is more or less the same, but the big difference is the frame construction, and especially openable window and/or door frame-constructions. A unit traditionally used to express a construction's insulating properties is the so-called U-value. The U-value is defined as the effect in Watts passing through 1 m² at a temperature difference of 1 °K (Kelvin), and is expressed i W/m²K. Therefore, the lower the U-value, the better the insulating properties.
With the present invention U-values of approx. 0.83 W/m²K are typical. The second best performance of a comparable composite frame construction is approx. 1.4 W/m²K. The present invention therefore is more than 40% better than the second best. Other more "normal" constructions (wood/alu and PUR/wood) have comparable values of from 1.5 W/m²K and larger.
Consequently there is no doubt that the inventive construction provides a significant improvement over prior art constructions. Furthermore this improvement is achieved with a profile only having a 47 mm construction thickness allowing more free glass area.

Description of the Drawing

The invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein

Figure 1 and 2: illustrate a schematic cross section through a window frame construction according to the invention
Figure 3: illustrates a cross section through a window or door structure made from glass fibre reinforced, pultruded profiles

Detailed Description of the Invention

In figure 1 is illustrated a schematic cross section through a window frame construction according to the invention. In this connection it should be mentioned that the principles of the present invention are also to be implemented with corresponding effect in for example door frame constructions but for the sake of clarity the invention will only be explained with reference to a window frame construction.
Typically, this type of window or door structure is made from assembled profiles where the profiles for example may have a substantially constant cross section throughout the entire frame structure. The structure furthermore usually comprises a first frame member 1 which is suitable to be mounted/fixed in an opening in a building such as a window opening or a door opening. For windows and doors which need to be opened the window or door structure furthermore comprises a sash frame member 2. The sash frame is typically mounted on hinges (not illustrated) such that it is possible to open and close the window, i.e. moving the sash frame 2 away from the first frame member 1 in the directions indicated by the arrow 10 in figure 1. In the sash frame 2 is typically mounted a window 3 which in this example comprises 3 layers of glass separated by either a vacuum or gas-filled spaces and which are mounted to the sash frame 2 by appropriate and in its own right well-known means 4.
Furthermore, resilient weather-strips 5, 6 are typically arranged between the sash frame 2 and the first frame member 1 where they engage each other in order to create an enclosed space 7. In this enclosed space 7 the air is isolated from the inside and the outside such that the enclosed space 7 creates its own insulating cell. It is well-known that air which is not able to move provides very good insulation and as such the enclosed space 7 is a substantial factor in the overall insulation capability of constructions of this type.
The invention has furthermore found that by dividing the enclosed space 7 into two sub-spaces 7', 7" the insulating properties are greatly increased. In the embodiment illustrated in figure 1 the separation is created by providing a blade 8. The blade is in this embodiment mounted to the sash frame 2 such that as the window is opened by moving in the direction of the arrow 10 the blade 8 does not come into contact with the first frame member 1. Tests have indicated that even though there is a distance between the distal end of the blade 8 and the upper surface of the first frame member, the two sub-enclosures 7', 7" in reality act as two separated enclosed spaces increasing the insulating properties of the overall construction. In this embodiment the blade 8 is attached to the sash frame 2, but it could as well be attached to the first frame member 1.
The fact that the blade 8 does not come into contact with the opposing surface provides the advantage that the blade does not provide a mechanical resistance to opening or closing of the sash frame relative to the first frame member but at the same time provides for a thermal barrier between the two sub-spaces 7', 7" which tests indicate increase the insulating properties of the overall construction.
In figure 2 the same features are denoted by the same reference numbers.
The enclosed space 7 is in this embodiment in addition to the blade 8 also provided with an insulating block member 11. In this embodiment the blade has been moved further inwards in the enclosed space 7 in order to make room for the insulating block member 11. The block member 11 as well as the blade 8 are attached to the sash frame 2, but may alternatively be mounted to the first frame member 1 and thereby create the same insulating effect. As should be visible from the illustrated schematic drawing in figure 2, the insulating block 11 is not in contact with the opposing surface 9 in the same manner as the blade 8 is not in contact with the surface 9. In this manner it is achieved that it is still very easy to open and close the sash frame member relative to the first frame member 1 whereby the insulating means do not hinder the use of the frame construction.
By providing the insulating block member 11 and especially by providing further cavities 12 inside the insulating block 11 the insulating properties of the window or door structure is greatly increased. By providing the block 11 and the blade 8 three relatively small sub-spaces 13, 13', 13" are created which in combination with the insulating properties of the block itself greatly increases the insulating properties of the overall construction. The cavities 12 provided in the insulating block again further increases the insulating properties such that the overall construction exhibits superior insulating capacity.
In figure 3 is illustrated a cross section through a window or door structure made from glass fibre reinforced, pultruded profiles which are particularly adapted for high insulation window frames. This is evident from the figure, the profiles are very slim-line such that the profiles making up the frame system only provides a very limited thermal bridge and the insulating properties especially of the enclosed space 7 have been diminished by placing the insulating block 11 and the blade 8 as close to the cold side 15 as possible. In this manner it is ensured that the highest possible insulating properties of this type of construction are achieved. Although it is difficult to recognize, the insulating block 11 is not in contact with the first frame profile 1. The insulating block 11 is mounted to the sash profile 2 by a click system where the block 11 is provided with a type of dovetail protrusion 14 which fits into a corresponding part in the sash frame 2.
Although the invention has been explained with reference to a window construction it is clear that it is also adaptable to be used in connection with openable doors, and furthermore in all the illustrated embodiments described with reference to the figures an outwardly openable sash frame is provided. It is, however, clear that the same inventive principles may be provided for an inwardly openable door or window construction.

Claims

Window or door structure made from an assembly of profiles, where the structure comprises a first frame member adapted to be mounted in an opening in a building, and a second sash frame member, where the window or door structure has an outer side suitable to be exposed to the outside environment, and an inner side suitable to be exposed to an interior environment, where at least said sash frame is made from extruded or pultruded profiles, the sash frame being suitable to be mounted inside the first frame member by means of one or more hinges, whereby the sash frame may pivot relative to the first frame member, and further where first resilient insulating means are arranged adjacent the inner side of the sash frame member or the first frame member, and second resilient insulating means arranged adjacent said outer side of the sash frame member or the first frame member such that, when the sash frame member is in its closed position relative to the first frame member, a substantially enclosed space is defined, between said first frame member and said sash frame member, characterised in that in the substantially enclosed space a resilient blade is fastened and extends from either the first frame member or the sash frame member towards the opposite member inside said enclosed space, but does not come into contact with said opposite member.
The window or door structure according to claim 1 where the distance between the distal end of the blade and the surface of either the sash frame or the first frame is between 1 and 4 mm, preferably 2 mm.
The window or door structure according to claim 1 where the blade is arranged closer to the inner side of the sash frame or first frame member, and that an insulating block member is provided between the blade and the outer side of either the sash frame or first frame member.
The window or door structure according to claim 3 where said block is made from a resilient material and where closed cavities are arranged inside said block, and where said block does not come into contact with the other frame member to which it is not mounted.
The window or door structure according to claims 3 or 4 where said block fills between 50 % and 80% of the enclosed space, and where the distance between the block and the frame member to which it is not in contact is between 1 mm and 4 mm, preferably 2 mm.
The window or door structure according to any preceding claim wherein the extruded or pultruded profiles are made from glass, carbon, polymer or Kevlar® fibre reinforced composites, where said composite comprises a polyurethane, polyester or epoxy compound or where said profiles are made from extruded aluminium profiles.