EP2770151A1 - Window comprising a multiple glazing panel with open air spaces and a cleaning method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The window (200) has a glass (100) that is maintained in a frame, where the glass is arranged with a number of glass leaves (10a-10c), where the number is equal to or higher than 2. A set of air blades (11a, 11b) is assembled between the number of glass leaves. Each air blade is provided corresponding to a space between two joint glass leaves. The frame has a front opening (231) for allowing passage of air flow (e) circulating in the air blades between outside of the window and a set of lower open zones or a set of upper open zones (31a, 31b) of the glass. An independent claim is also included for a method for cleaning a window.

Description

The present invention belongs to the field of glazed door frames used in building construction.

More particularly the invention relates to a glazed door with an opening, for example an opening of windows, doors or windows, or fixed.

The implementation of glazed frames, opening or fixed, in the field of buildings is widespread.

The need to separate the indoor and outdoor environments to avoid air circulation while allowing light to pass is evident, especially in rooms intended for human occupancy, and justifies the use of transparent surfaces glazed. These glazed surfaces are often associated with windows or other closure means that may be temporarily open or not.

To improve the thermal insulation and soundproofing qualities, doorframes are generally provided with joints and implement assemblies avoiding gaps and other unwanted air passages and often use multiple glazing with several sheets of glass. separated by blades of air or another gas.

The insulation qualities provided by the gas blades are known to be better when the gas is dry for the thermal aspects and no opening allows acoustic waves to pass for the phonic aspects and for this reason the glass sheets of the glazings multiple are assembled at the factory to the desired dimensions for the glazing, so that the gas strips are sealed and retain their original qualities durably.

However, for a room intended for human occupation to remain healthy and to always contain enough oxygen for the occupants, it is necessary to achieve a sufficient air renewal of the local.

With watertight frames by construction, it was realized on the frames of calibrated openings, in the frame or in the opening of the frame, in order to maintain a flow of continuous fresh incoming air to realize the renewal of air in the local, the flow being generally provided by a controlled mechanical ventilation which extracts the stale air of the premises.

However, in this case, the air is introduced to the outside temperature and generates an energy loss for the building, especially in winter. The openings are also passages for the acoustic waves and reduce the quality of the acoustic insulation of the multiple glazings except to realize an acoustic treatment of the openings.

To avoid such openings whose outside air introduction temperature is not controlled, it is also known to implement a double flow mechanical ventilation which introduces the air on the one hand and the extract of other on the other hand, with the possibility of heating the incoming air.

However, dual-flow mechanical ventilation systems are relatively complex and require the installation of numerous ducts and air ducts for the two fresh air distribution and exhaust air extraction circuits, with consequences on the costs of air. installation and maintenance.

Another solution for acting on the temperature of the fresh air introduced into a room is to make the openings in a frame installed on an outside wall and to pass air between two or more panels of glass held by the frame during its circulation from an opening on the outside and an opening on the inside of the room.

Such a solution is known from the patent application FR 2623238 in which the frame combines several windows whose glass panels form a box that allows through a greenhouse effect and recovery on the energy loss of the glazed frame to warm air introduced into the room.

In this case, the air flowing between the glass panels, which can not be totally free of aerosols, deposit on the inner faces of the glass panels particles or dust that it carries, and which degrade the transparency of the glazing and the transmitted brightness.

It is therefore necessary to regularly clean the internal faces of the glass panels.

For this it is known from the patent application FR 2524053 to assemble the different glass panels of a frame on different articulated parts of said frame to separate the different sheets of glass between them.

Such a solution has the advantage of giving easy access to the entire surface of a glass panel to be cleaned, but makes the frame at once complex, heavy and fragile.

It is also known from the patent application FR 2672336 to make temporary openings on the side opposite to the hinges of an opening so as to pass through these openings a squeegee cleaning.

Such a solution, although attractive in theory, is however impractical. Due to the small space generally available between the glass panels it is particularly difficult to carry out a cleaning without leaving any traces, especially as it is practically impossible to reach the corners of the panel, except to have different shapes scrapers which is not very compatible a frequent cleaning and simple windows. Because of relatively large dimensions compared to the window, the openings reduce the rigidity and the mechanical strength of the frame. In addition, such a solution can only be implemented on an opening whose edge is accessible.

In addition, in these different solutions, the different glass panels are conventionally assembled in different rebates of the frame which constitutes a long and expensive assembly process unlike the multi-glazing sealed factory assembled and mounted in the window frame as a single glass panel.

• le vitrage comporte dans une partie haute d'au moins une lame d'air au moins une zone ouverte supérieure au niveau de laquelle ledit vitrage est dépourvu de cale d'épaisseur ;
• le vitrage comporte dans une partie basse de chacune des lames d'air au moins une zone ouverte inférieure au niveau de laquelle ledit vitrage est dépourvu de cale d'épaisseur ;
• le châssis comporte au moins une ouverture arrière permettant le passage d'un flux d'air circulant dans ladite au moins une lame d'air entre ladite au moins une zone ouverte supérieure et une face arrière de la fenêtre ;
• le châssis comporte au moins une ouverture de façade permettant le passage d'un flux d'air circulant dans l'au moins une lame d'air entre une face extérieure de la fenêtre et au moins une zone ouverte inférieure ou au moins une zone ouverte supérieure du vitrage.

To overcome the defects of known windows, the present invention proposes a window comprising a glazing unit held in a frame, glazing comprising a number N of glass sheets, N equal to or greater than 2, assembled together to form one or more blades. air, each blade of air corresponding to a space between two glass sheets adjoining the N sheets of glass, two adjacent sheets of glass being kept spaced apart by thickness shims fixed to said sheets of glass near edges of the glass sheets corresponding to edges of the glazing and determining a thickness of the considered air space, in which window:

• the glazing comprises in an upper part of at least one air space at least one upper open area at which said glazing is free of shim;
• the glazing comprises in a lower part of each air knife at least one lower open area at which said glazing is free of shim;
• the chassis comprises at least one rear opening allowing the passage of a flow of air flowing in said at least one air gap between said at least one upper open area and one rear face of the window;
• the frame comprises at least one facade opening allowing the passage of a flow of air flowing in the at least one air gap between an outer face of the window and at least one lower open zone or at least one open zone upper glazing.

Such a window integrates heating capacities of air entering through ventilation openings by means of a single glazing assembled in the window frame and allowing the incoming air to circulate in the thickness of the glazing.

In a preferred embodiment, the frame of the window has at least one maintenance opening opening at a first end outside the frame and at a second end in an upper open area of an air space, each blade of air being associated with at least one maintenance opening, each maintenance opening having a shape and a section adapted to the passage of a pipe of an outside diameter less than or equal to the distance separating two sheets of adjacent glass and in which window the chassis comprises at least one drainage system comprising at least one drainage orifice and at least one evacuation orifice, if applicable a drainage orifice and an evacuation orifice that can be in extension of one another, in a lower crossmember of the frame, said at least one drainage orifice originating in a rabbet of the frame to the right of an open zone bottom of said at least one air gap.

Such an arrangement makes it possible to penetrate a cleaning liquid between the glass sheets and to evacuate this cleaning liquid without disassembly of elements of the window or complex operations of opening the air knives.

In one embodiment, at least one maintenance opening opening at a first end outside the frame is located in the upper rail of the frame. It is thus obtained a maximum position in height for the maintenance opening.

In one embodiment when the window swivels about hinges fixed to a vertical post, or about a horizontal axis in a configuration giving access to the top of the sash when the window is open, at least a maintenance opening leads to the upper face of the upper rail of the opening. In this embodiment, it is then obtained one or more maintenance openings vertically air blades so that the elements of the cleaning device to be introduced by these maintenance openings are simply introduced.

When it is not possible to access above the sash, or it is preferred that the window can be cleaned without the need to be opened, at least one maintenance opening opens on a front face or on a rear face of the chassis.

To ensure the drainage of the cleaning liquids, at least one discharge opening opens on the underside of the lower rail of an opening, particularly when the lower face is accessible in certain positions of the opening or is above a gutter of the frame able to collect and evacuate the cleaning liquids, and or at least one discharge orifice in the lower cross member of the chassis opens on a front face or on a rear face of the frame, in particular if the window is fixed .

In one embodiment, the glazing of the window comprises at least three glass sheets determining two air gaps and in which a lower edge of the glass sheet separating the two air strips is above the lower edges of the other glass plates, so as to form a communication passage between the two blades of air in said glazing, and wherein said window at least one facade opening and said at least one rear opening are in an upper cross member of the frame. According to this arrangement, the air passing through the glazing undergoes a double path, vertical descending on the one hand and vertical ascending on the other hand, ensuring a better warming and further the openings of the front and rear can be arranged all in the upper part of the window where they are at the same time less vulnerable, less awkward and more aesthetic. Such a configuration is possible with a glazing generally comprising an even number of air blades greater than or equal to two, but at the expense of the weight and the price of the window.

The invention also relates to a method of cleaning a window, according to the windows of the invention, wherein a flexible pipe comprising at least one spray nozzle is introduced through a maintenance opening so as to place the nozzle or nozzles spraying between two sheets of glass whose surfaces are to be cleaned, then at least one cleaning liquid is injected under pressure into the pipe so as to spray the cleaning liquid on the inner faces of the glass sheets of the glazing, and to collect or gravity discharge the cleaning liquid through the drain orifices and drainage port (s) of the drainage system. According to this method it is thus possible to clean without disassembly of the glazing the inner surfaces of the glass sheets inaccessible for conventional cleaning operations.

In one form of implementation of the method, when the window comprises an opening, a chute is placed, after opening the window and before injecting the cleaning liquid, under the lower rail so as to discharge the drained cleaning liquid into a gutter of the frame of the window, said chute being removed before closing the window cleaned. In this way the cleaning liquids are discharged by flows as would be condensed water or runoff, and therefore without requiring that these cleaning liquids are collected to the extent that their direct discharge is not a problem.

To ensure thorough cleaning, if necessary, several cleaning liquids are sprayed successively.

In order to avoid the traces that could be left by drying the cleaning liquid or liquids, the injected cleaning liquid, or at least the liquid injected last in a cleaning sequence in which different cleaning liquids are injected successively, is chosen for do not leave a trace on the walls of the glass sheets after drying, for example the cleaning liquid is deionized water.

In one embodiment, in order to accelerate the drying of the surfaces of the glass sheets having been wetted, an air flow is forced into the air knives by introducing a flow of air, reheated if necessary if desired, by one of the rear openings or facades so as to accelerate the process of drying residues of cleaning liquids in the glazing.

figure 1 :

une section verticale d'une fenêtre suivant l'invention illustrant les traverses haute et basse d'une huisserie dans les zones agencées pour permettre le nettoyage intérieur du vitrage ;

figure 2a :

une vue en plan d'un vitrage triple mis en oeuvre dans la fenêtre de la figure 1 ;

figure 2b :

une vue en coupe du vitrage triple de la figure 2a suivant un plan vertical perpendiculaire au plan du vitrage ; une vue en section du vitrage triple de la figure 2a suivant un plan vertical médian perpendiculaire au plan du vitrage ;

figures 3a et 3b :

des vues en plan partielles du cadre de l'ouvrant et du dormant de la fenêtre de la figure 1 illustrant les ouvertures de façade, figure 3b, et arrière, figure 3a ;

figure 4 :

une vue en plan partielle du cadre de l'ouvrant et du dormant de la fenêtre de la figure 1 illustrant les ouvertures de façade, figure 3a, et arrière, figure 3b ;

figure 5 :

une section d'une traverse haute de l'ouvrant de la fenêtre de la figure 1 et d'une partie haute du vitrage illustrant un tuyau et une buse de pulvérisation en position de nettoyage ;

figure 6 :

une vue partielle en perspective de la fenêtre de la figure 1 en position ouverte montrant la goulotte de récupération des liquide de nettoyage sous la traverse de l'ouvrant ;

figure 7 :

une vue partielle en perspective de la fenêtre de la figure 1 en position ouverte montrant la mise en place du dispositif de nettoyage par l'introduction du tuyau et de la buse de pulvérisation par l'ouverture de maintenance de la traverse supérieure de l'ouvrant.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be better understood on reading the following description of a detailed, non-limiting example of embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings which represent:

figure 1 :

a vertical section of a window according to the invention illustrating the upper and lower rails of a frame in the areas arranged to allow the interior cleaning of the glazing;

Figure 2a:

a plan view of a triple glazing implemented in the window of the figure 1 ;

Figure 2b:

a sectional view of the triple glazing of the figure 2a in a vertical plane perpendicular to the plane of the glazing; a sectional view of the triple glazing of the figure 2a following a median vertical plane perpendicular to the plane of the glazing;

Figures 3a and 3b:

partial plan views of the frame of the opening and the frame of the window of the figure 1 illustrating the facade openings, figure 3b , and back, figure 3a ;

figure 4:

a partial plan view of the frame of the opening and the frame of the window of the figure 1 illustrating the facade openings, figure 3a , and back, figure 3b ;

figure 5:

a section of a high cross of the opening of the window of the figure 1 and an upper portion of the glazing showing a pipe and a spray nozzle in the cleaning position;

Figure 6:

a partial perspective view of the window of the figure 1 in open position showing the cleaning fluid recovery chute under the opening beam;

Figure 7:

a partial perspective view of the window of the figure 1 in open position showing the introduction of the cleaning device by introducing the pipe and the spray nozzle through the maintenance opening of the upper rail of the opening.

For the purposes of the present detailed description of the invention, there is illustrated the non-limiting example of a glazing with three glass sheets and an opening window frame articulated about a vertical axis located on a lateral edge of the opening.

On the figure 1 the different parts represented in section are not necessarily in the same vertical plane.

In the various figures, identical markers are used for similar elements independently of the embodiment, and the drawings are not necessarily shown in scale.

In the description it will be considered that the window is in a vertical position determining the common sense attributed to the terms up, down, up and down.

The figure 1 represents a vertical section of a window 200 according to the invention.

On the figure 1 , the window 200 is shown alone and no wall is shown.

The window 200 conventionally comprises a fixed part, the frame 210, intended to be fixed to a wall masonry and a movable part, the opening 220 articulated on said frame.

The opening 220 itself has a framework frame 230 and a glazing 100.

The figure 2a represents in front view the glazing 100 isolated from the window 200, glazing which is shown in vertical section on the figure 2b .

The glazing 100 comprises in this embodiment three glass slides, two outer glass sheets 10a, 10b and an intermediate glass sheet 10c.

The glass sheets 10a, 10b, 10c are substantially parallel and spaced apart so as to determine in this case two air blades 11a, 11b, on the one hand between one of said outer glass sheets and the intermediate glass sheet 10c and on the other hand between the other outer glass sheet and the intermediate glass sheet.

In a practical case, the glass sheets are substantially parallel and spaced so as to determine air gaps of a few millimeters, for example between five and thirty millimeters.

The glazing 100 illustrated on the figure 2a is of rectangular shape, non-limiting embodiment, with a lower edge 101 of said glazing, an upper edge 102 of said pane opposite the lower edge, and two side edges 103 of said pane.

Shims 20a, 20b distributed between the glass sheets near the edges of the glazing 100 determine the thickness of each of the air knives.

In the example shown in the illustration, the air knives figure 2b a section of the glazing, substantially the same thickness, but this characteristic is not necessary.

The shims are mainly located along the side edges 103 and so as to maintain lower open areas 30a, 30b, and upper 31a, 31b, that is to say zones without shim, of each blades 11a, 11b in a lower portion of the glazing on the one hand and in a upper part of the glazing on the other hand.

In the embodiment illustrated on the Figures 2a and 2b the intermediate glass sheet 10c, located between the outer glass sheets 10a, 10b, has an upper edge 102c upwardly offset from the upper edges 102a, 102b of said outer glass sheets and has a lower edge 101c also shifted upwardly relative to the lower edges 101a, 101b of said outer glass sheets.

The upward shifting of the upper edge 102c of the intermediate glass sheet 10c, surmounted by a longitudinal joint 22, has the effect of separating the two air blades 11a, 11b in their upper parts to the level of the upper edge 102 glazing.

The upward shifting of the lower edge 101c of the intermediate glass sheet 10c has the effect of communicating the two air blades 11a, 11b in their lower parts in the thickness of said glazing, at the lower edge 101 of the glazing .

The shims 20a, 20b are for example made by means of elongate profiles, for example tubes of rectangular or square section, for example metal or in a polymeric material, sufficiently stable in size to determine the desired thickness of the blades air 11a, 11b.

In the glazing 100 the thickness shims 20a, 20b are fixed on surfaces of the glass sheets close to the edges of the glazing, mainly lateral edges 103, for example by gluing on the glass sheets in order to firmly fix the said sheets of glass between them.

The glazing 100 of the figure 2 , according to the illustrated embodiment, has no shim on its lower edge 101, thus determining the lower open areas 30a, 30b over a full width of said lower edge of the glazing, and has upper open areas 31a, 31b on part of the upper edge 102 of the glazing.

In this example, shims fixed between the sheets of glass are arranged at the upper edge 102 on the side of the side edges 103 of the glazing and have limited lengths to maintain between them the upper open areas 31a, 31b without wedge d 'thickness. This arrangement allows to obtain an elongated upper open zone, adapted as will be understood later to openings of the window frame, and to reduce the range of the glass sheets between two thickness shims so as to limit the risk of deformation of the sheets of glass at the level of the upper open area.

In one embodiment, the glazing also includes near the lower edge 101 one or more intermediate shims 23 attached to the glass sheets so as to maintain a separation distance between said glass sheets in the zone without shim on any the length of said lower edge.

In a preferred embodiment, not shown, a space is held under an intermediate shim 23 between a lower face of said intermediate shim and a horizontal plane on which the glazing would rest by its lower edge 101. Said space is here determined by a position adapted in height of said intermediate wedge and or by a suitable shape, for example a curvature giving the underside of the wedge a concave shape, and so as to allow a cleaning liquid to flow under said wedge.

According to one embodiment, illustrated on the Figures 2a and 2b fillers 112a, 112b are arranged without covering the upper open areas 31a, 31b on surfaces of the intermediate glass sheet 10c which protrude above the upper edges 102a, 102b of the outer glass sheets 10a, 10b and on slices of the upper edges of said outer glass sheets. The filling blocks 112a, 112b confer on the glazing unit 100, in the part of said glazing unit affected by said filling blocks, a thickness equal to the overall thickness of the glazing unit and makes it possible to fix said glazing unit in the rabbet without using any specific means. .

The filler blocks 112a, 112b are made of a material that is sufficiently rigid to take up the pressure exerted by the parts of the frame that holds the glazing 100. For example, the filler blocks are made of a rigid cellular foam.

These filling blocks 112a, 112b are limited in extension along the top edge 102 concerned glazing to not hide the open areas 31a, 31b on said edge.

If applicable, the glazing 100, as illustrated on the Figures 2a and 2b , comprises on one edge of the upper edge 102 of the glazing one or longitudinal flexible seals 22 and or transverse flexible seals 21, for example tubular seals made of an elastomeric material.

The glazing 100 is held in a rabbet of the frame 230 of the opening in a manner known to be secured to said frame sealingly, in particular to air and water.

For this, the frame of the opening forms a frame, comprising a substantially horizontal bottom rail 241, a substantially horizontal upper cross member 242 and two substantially vertical side braces 243, in which the glazing unit 100 is held stationary with a minimum clearance, the if necessary by means of shims, and bears against seals of said frame and is immobilized in the rabbet by baffles also provided with seals.

In an upper part of the glazing, as shown on the figure 1 , the seals of the upper cross member 242 and associated end shields are arranged so as to bear on outer faces of the outer glass sheets 10a, 10b, that is to say that the filling blocks 112a, 112b are in a protected part of the outside environment of the window.

The longitudinal flexible joints 22 and transverse 21 of the glazing are supported on upper faces of the rabbet of the frame of the opening so that they seal each of the upper open areas 31a, 31b, on the one hand between said two upper open zones thanks to the longitudinal flexible joints 22, and secondly to the lateral ends of said open zones thanks to the transverse flexible joints 21.

In the upper crossbar 242, the frame of the opening comprises one or more facade openings 231 located on an outer face of said upper cross member, intended to be placed on the outside of a wall on which the window is to be mounted.

The facade openings provide communication between the outer face and the upper open area 31a of the glazing located, relative to the intermediate glass sheet 10c, on the side of said outer face of the frame so as to allow air circulation, materialized by the arrow marked "e" on the figure 1 between the outside and the air gap 11a located on the side of the outer face.

In the exemplary embodiment, the facade openings 231 have, as illustrated in FIG. figure 3b the elongated opening shape formed in the upper cross member 242 so as to correspond substantially in position and size to the upper open area 31a.

In one embodiment, the facade openings 231 are provided with grilles, in particular to prevent insects or wind-driven objects, such as leaves, from entering said facade openings.

In one embodiment, the facade openings 231 are provided with fairings 232 which, without opposing the passage of air due to an open space, prevent infiltration of rainwater.

The upper cross member 242 also has at least one rear opening 233 located on an inner face of said upper cross member to be placed on the inner side of a wall on which the window is to be mounted.

The rear opening provides communication between the inner face of the frame and the upper open area 31b of the glazing located, relative to the intermediate glass plate 10c on the side of said inner face of the frame so as to allow air circulation, materialized by the arrow bearing the mark "s" on the figure 1 between the interior, facing a room where the window is located, and the air knife 11b located on the side of the inner face of the window.

In the embodiment illustrated on the figure 1 , the rear opening is made by an absence of pare-close, or a modified pareclose, on the part of the upper edge 102 of the glazing corresponding to the upper open zone 31b placed in communication with the interior, as illustrated on the figure 3a .

In one embodiment, a ventilation grille, not shown, is attached to the rear opening 233 to effect a regulation of the air flow passing through said rear opening.

As in the case of the openings of frontage, the rear opening or openings comprise as much as necessary a grid intended to avoid that insects or foreign bodies do not introduce by said rear openings and comprise if necessary a deflector 234 which deflects a airflow coming out of the rear opening.

Thus the penetrating air through the front opening (s) 231 passes through the upper air open area 31a 11a located on the side of the outer face of the window, descends into said air gap 11a, passes into the air gap. space of the air knife 11b located on the inside of the window by the communication formed between the two air blades on the lower edge 101 of the glazing, then back in said air plate 11b to emerge from the glazing by the upper open area 31b of said air gap and out of the window by the one or more rear openings 233.

In the upper crossbar 242, the frame of the opening also includes maintenance openings 235a, 235b, at least one opening by air knife.

A maintenance opening 235a, 235b is an opening providing a passage of reduced section between an air gap 11a, respectively 11b, and located in a location accessible to a user of the window in an upper part of the window, in the case described from the opening of the window.

These maintenance openings are not intended to provide air circulation and their sections are adapted to the passage of a pipe cleaning tool as will be detailed later in this description.

In the example shown on the figure 1 , each maintenance opening 235a, 235b forms a substantially cylindrical chimney of circular section whose inner diameter is less than or equal to the thickness of the air gap into which it opens. One, two or more maintenance openings may be arranged to open into a single blade of air, the number and distribution of said maintenance openings being made according to the location and dimensions, the length in particular, the upper open area of said air gap.

In the case illustrated on the figure 1 the chimneys forming the maintenance openings are also substantially vertical. This configuration is possible because the opening in an open position makes accessible said maintenance openings.

In one embodiment, the maintenance openings correspond to simple holes in the frame of the opening of the window.

In another embodiment, as illustrated in the example of the figure 1 , the maintenance openings are lined by tubular elements which provide a protection of the walls of the bore and or sealing of hollow parts of the frame when it is made with a partially hollow profile.

In one embodiment, an upper portion of each maintenance opening is closed by a removable plug 236a, 236b which prevents the entry of foreign bodies by said maintenance openings when it is not in use for a maintenance operation.

Now considering the bottom part of the window, shown in section on the figure 1 it appears that the two air knives 11a, 11b separated by the intermediate glass plate 10c communicate with each other due to the upward shift of the lower edge 101c of the intermediate glass plate 10c, forming a passage above a lower bottom of the rabbet in which is placed the glazing 100.

In addition the lower crossbar 241 of the frame of the opening comprises at least one drainage orifice 237 originating on the lower bottom of the rebate and opening into a hollow portion 296 of said cross member, formed by a profile in the example shown.

A discharge port 297 communicating between the hollow portion 296 and the outside of the cross member allows the evacuation of liquids flowing in said hollow portion through the drain or holes 237.

In the embodiment described, the discharge orifice 297, materialized in projection on the figure 1 , opens on the edge of the opening on the side where said opening is articulated.

If necessary, other locations are possible on the opening for the discharge port 297 as far as they allow the flow of liquid introduced into the hollow portion 296, the choice of such locations being advantageously chosen in functions. means used to collect the drained liquids.

In the illustrated example, the drainage orifice 237 originates under a support piece 238 on which the lower edge 101 of the glazing rests via a finishing plate 298, said support piece and said finishing plate being arranged to allow the circulation of a liquid by gravity, for example by the presence of holes or free passage, not shown, to ensure this flow.

In one embodiment, the drain orifices 237 are located near the lateral edges of the opening 220.

In addition, the frame also comprises in a low position of said frame at least one drainage orifice 217 arranged to discharge by gravity liquids flowing in a channel 211 formed by the frame.

A window such as the window 200 which has just been described has the advantages provided by a known window comprising a plurality of windows assembled on the frame of said known window between the windows of which an air flow is made to benefit from reheating. by greenhouse effect and recovery of at least a portion of the losses of the window of an outside air introduced into a room after passing through the spaces between the glass sheets.

The window 200 also has the advantage of being obtained by the mounting in a window frame of a single glazing unit.

Finally, as will be understood from the description of means and a cleaning method, the inner faces of the glass sheets 10a, 10b, 10c, not accessible because of the non-removable structure of the glazing used, can be easily cleaned.

Due to the desired air flow in the air gaps 11a, 11b of the glazing 100, it is inevitable in an ordinary environment of a home window that, even with the use of grilles or filters on the openings, dust is deposited on the non-accessible faces of the glass slides 10a, 10b and 10c.

Such dusts are particularly troublesome when they are visible, and even when they are not visible to the naked eye, reduce the transparency of the glazing and the transmitted brightness.

It is therefore essential to maintain the glazing by cleaning the inner surfaces of the glass sheets.

In the case of the window of the invention, it is realized, as illustrated on the figure 5 , an internal cleaning by the introduction between the glass sheets 10a, 10c on the one hand and 10b, 10c on the other hand, a spray nozzle 41 of a cleaning device 40 which sprays a cleaning liquid.

• Dans une première étape la fenêtre est préparée, figure 6.
  La fenêtre est placée dans une position ouverte, par exemple à angle droit par rapport à la position fermée, de manière à rendre accessible en partie supérieure de la traverse supérieure 242 de l'ouvrant les ouvertures de maintenance 235a, 235b. Les bouchons amovibles 236a, 236b obturant le cas échéant lesdites ouvertures de maintenance sont retirés de sorte à libérer le passage par les dites ouvertures de maintenance. En outre des moyens de récupération des produits de nettoyages sont installés de sorte à canaliser lesdits produits de nettoyage et les résidus qu'ils entraînent, sortant par le système de drainage comportant les orifices de drainage 237 et d'évacuation 297, vers des moyens de collecte ou vers des moyens d'évacuation.
• Dans une deuxième étape un tuyau 42 du dispositif de nettoyage comportant au moins une buse de pulvérisation 41 est introduit dans chaque ouverture de maintenance et un liquide de nettoyage est envoyé sous pression 43 dans le tuyau 42 de sorte que le liquide est projeté à sa sortie de la ou des buses sur les faces internes des feuilles de verre du vitrage.

For the cleaning process, in the case of the window 200 which has just been described in detail, a sequence of the following steps is carried out:

• In a first step the window is prepared, figure 6 .
  The window is placed in an open position, for example at right angles to the closed position, so as to make accessible to the upper portion of the upper cross member 242 of the opening the maintenance apertures 235a, 235b. Removable plugs 236a, 236b sealing, if necessary, said maintenance openings are removed so as to release the passage through said maintenance openings. In addition, means for recovering cleaning products are installed in such a way as to channel said cleaning products and the residues which they entrain, exiting through the drainage system comprising the drainage orifices 237 and discharge holes 297, towards collection or to means of evacuation.
• In a second step a hose 42 of the cleaning device having at least one spray nozzle 41 is introduced into each maintenance opening and a cleaning liquid is pressurized 43 into the pipe 42 so that the liquid is projected out of the nozzle (s) onto the inner faces of the sheets glass of the glazing.

By acting on the length of pipe introduced by the maintenance opening, and where appropriate by orienting said pipe, the nozzle is moved between two sheets of glass so that the cleaning product is sprayed on substantially all the surfaces to be cleaned. . It is understood here that this result can be obtained by implementing several pipes and or by introducing the same pipe successively by different maintenance openings.

The cleaning liquid then causes the deposits which are deposited on the faces of the glass slides inside the glazing and flows by gravity firstly down the glazing and then in a second step through the drainage holes 237 and discharge 297 of the drainage system after said cleaning liquid has flowed into the lower part of the glazing open on the lower cross member of the opening.

In the example described, the discharge orifice 297 opens at the bottom of the portion of the amount of opening on the side where said opening is articulated on the frame 210 and is therefore directly accessible when the opening is in a position opened.

In an implementation of the cleaning method, the cleaning liquid which exits through the exhaust port (s) 297 is collected in a container, for example a bucket or any other form of tank, not shown, by simple drop or by intermediate pipe, not shown, connected to the discharge port.

In another implementation of the method, a removable chute 34 is fixed under the lower cross member 241 of the opening 220, when said opening is placed in the open position, so as to recover the cleaning liquid flowing through the or the discharge orifices 297 and to discharge the recovered cleaning liquid into the gutter 211 of the frame, which is, in known manner, arranged to collect and evacuate, in particular through the orifice of drainage 217 of the frame, rainwater or condensation seeping around the opening.

The said second step is carried out if necessary several times to obtain the desired cleaning of the interior of the glazing and if necessary with different cleaning liquids such as dissolution liquids and or descaling deposits on the surfaces of the glass sheets , neutralizing and / or rinsing liquids, liquids containing wetting agents ...

This repetition of the second step may, depending on the products used, be necessary to prevent visible residual traces remaining after cleaning.

• dans une troisième étape, le ou les tuyaux 42 utilisés sont extraits des ouvertures de maintenance 235a, 235b et les bouchons amovibles 236a, 236b éventuels sont remis en place sur lesdites ouvertures de maintenance.

In particular, to avoid traces due to scale deposits or other minerals after the drying of residual cleaning liquid, the last spray at least will preferably be performed with a liquid containing no inorganic salts, for example based on Demineralized Water.

• in a third step, the pipe or pipes 42 used are extracted from the maintenance apertures 235a, 235b and the removable plugs 236a, 236b are repositioned on said maintenance openings.

If a removable chute 34 is used, it is removed when more, or not enough, liquid flows through the drain hole 237 and the window can be closed.

In practice, the circulation of air in the air slats 11a, 11b will ensure rapid drying of the walls of the glass slats.

In the case of a room depressed by continuous mechanical ventilation, the simple fact of closing the window (in practice all the windows of the local area) is enough to induce a flow of air in the glazing.

In a particular embodiment, an air blower or suction device, not shown, arranged temporarily on the front openings or the rear openings, creates a forced air circulation in the glazing in a controlled manner. . Such a solution may be useful for accelerating a drying process by increased air flow rates, compared to that induced by conventional controlled mechanical ventilation, and possibly by preheating the air.

The cleaning device 40 comprises means for pressurizing, not shown, the cleaning liquid. Such pressurizing means consist for example of a sealed liquid reservoir in which pressurized air propels the cleaning liquid into the pipe 42. In another embodiment, the liquid is sent under pressure into the pipe 42 by a pump, for example an electric pump.

It should be noted for the present spraying need that the pressure is for the purpose of spraying the cleaning liquid on the maximum of the surfaces of the glass slides with a minimum of operation. The pressure not having a priori in this case for the purpose of performing a mechanical etching, it may be relatively low such as that obtained with a sprayer whose pressure is obtained by a hand pump. Such limited pressure also has the advantage of not subjecting the operator to stringent safety requirements.

The present invention which has just been described in detail is capable of variants without departing from the invention.

The person skilled in the art understands that design details such as the positions and or the shapes of the maintenance openings, drainage and evacuation orifices, front openings or rear openings can be arranged differently on the the window provided that the functions provided by these openings and orifices can be ensured, if necessary by adapting the means used with the cleaning process.

The example described uses a glazing unit comprising three glass sheets determining two air knives.

However, it is possible to realize the invention with a glazing unit using two sheets of glass determining a single open air space. In this case or the rear openings are arranged on the frame on the high or low cross, a priori on the high cross because of the natural tendency heated air to rise and the fact that the rear opening opens into the room where the air is introduced, and the front opening or openings are arranged on the opposite crossbar, low or high reciprocally, so that air circulates in the air gap between said front and rear openings.

It is also possible to realize the invention with a glazing unit having n sheets of glass, n greater than three, and determining n-1 air sheets communicating with each other between two adjacent air blades alternately on the side of the lower edge of the glazing unit. and on the side of the upper edge of the glazing. In this case the rear and front openings are arranged on the frame supporting the glazing in high positions in a manner similar to the case of the glass pane with three sheets of glass if the number n-1 of air knives is even and are arranged for the one in high positions and the other in low positions similarly to the case of glazing with a single open air gap if the number n-1 of air blades is odd.

In addition, one or more of the glass sheets of the glazing may be the result of an assembly of glass sheets, sealed on the sides, forming a multiple glazing element of known structure, but behaving, in terms of its structure, in the case of the invention as a single glass sheet in the absence of open air knife.

Those skilled in the art will be able to combine these different possibilities in the structure of the glazing in function of the desired thermal and acoustic insulation performances, the multiplication of the glass sheets and the air knives bringing on the one hand a thermal performance. air heating through the increased air blades and thermal and acoustic insulation of the window also increased. This result will however be obtained at the expense of the weight and the cost of the window made.

The invention also relates to windows opening by sliding of the opening in the frame or non-opening windows in which the glazing is maintained in a fixed frame.

In these cases, the edges of the upper and lower edges of the openings are not accessible for cleaning the interior of the glazing, the shapes and the positions of the maintenance openings and the drainage holes are adapted so that said drainage orifices and maintenance openings are accessible from the rear face of the window and or from the outer face of the window.

In particular, the maintenance apertures, and their associated chimneys, if any, are inclined and curved to facilitate insertion between two glass sheets of the pipe, provided with one or more spray nozzles, used for internal cleaning. from the window. In this case said pipe is necessarily deformable during its use so as to follow the path deviations that it must perform when it is introduced between two sheets of glass by a maintenance opening. The pipe is for example made of a plastic material and or elastic.

Claims (12)

Window (200) comprising a glazing unit (100) held in a frame, said glazing unit having a number N of glass sheets (10a, 10b, 10c), N equal to or greater than 2, assembled together to form one or more blades of air (11a, 11b), each air space corresponding to a space between two glass sheets adjoining said N sheets of glass, two sheets of glass terraced being kept spaced apart by spacers of thickness (20a, 20b) fixed said glass sheets near edges of said glass sheets corresponding to edges of said glazing and determining a thickness of the considered air space, characterized in that : - The glazing (100) comprises in an upper part of at least one air space at least one upper open area (31a, 31b) at which said glazing is free of shim thickness; - The glazing (100) comprises in a lower part of each of the air slats at least one lower open zone (30a, 30b) at which said glazing is free of shim thickness; the chassis comprises at least one rear opening (233) allowing the passage of a flow of air (s) circulating in the at least one air space between the at least one upper open zone (31a, 31b) and a rear face of the window; the chassis comprises at least one facade opening (231) allowing the passage of a flow of air (e) circulating in the at least one air space between an outer face of the window and at least one open zone; lower (30a, 30b) or at least one upper open area (31a, 31b) of the glazing. Window according to claim 1 wherein the frame comprises at least one maintenance opening (235a, 235b) opening at a first end outside the frame and at a second end in an upper open area (31a, 31b) of a air knife (11a, 11b), each blade of air having at least one maintenance opening, each maintenance opening having a shape and a section adapted to the passage of a pipe of an outside diameter less than or equal to the distance separating two adjacent glass sheets and in which window the frame includes at least one drainage system having at least one drainage port (237) and at least one discharge port (297) in a lower rail (241) of the frame, said at least one drainage port originating in a groove of the frame to the right of a lower open area of the at least one air gap. Window according to claim 2 wherein at least one maintenance aperture (235a, 235b) opening at a first end outside the frame is located in a top rail (242) of the frame. Window according to claim 3 wherein at least one maintenance opening (235a, 235b) opens on an upper face of an upper rail (242) of an opening (220) of the window. Window according to one of claims 2 to 4 wherein at least one maintenance opening opens on a front face or on a rear face of the frame. Window according to one of claims 2 to 5 wherein at least one discharge port (297) opens on a lower face of a lower cross member (241) of an opening (220) of the window. Window according to one of claims 2 to 6 comprising at least one discharge port in a lower cross member of the frame and opening on a front face or on a rear face of the frame. Window according to one of the preceding claims, in which the glazing unit (100) comprises at least three glass sheets (10a, 10b, 10c) defining two air knives (11a, 11b) and wherein a lower edge (101c) of a glass sheet (10c) separating said two air slats is above the lower edges (101a, 101b) of the other glass slats (10a, 10b) so as to form a communication passage between said two air slats in said window, and in which window at least one facade opening (231) and the at least one rear opening (233) are in an upper cross member (242) of the frame. A method of cleaning a window according to one of claims 2 to 8 wherein a hose (42) having at least one spray nozzle (41) is introduced through a maintenance aperture (235a, 235b) so as to placing said spray nozzle between two sheets of glass, then at least one cleaning liquid is injected under pressure into the pipe so as to spray said at least one cleaning liquid on inner faces of the glass sheets of the glazing, and to collect or gravity discharging said at least one cleaning liquid through the at least one drainage port (237) and at least one discharge port (297) of a drainage system. A method according to claim 9 taken in combination with claim 6 wherein a chute (34) is placed, after opening the window and before injecting the cleaning liquid, under the bottom rail (241) so as to discharge the liquid cleaning drained in a gutter (211) of a frame (210) of the window, said chute being removed before closing the cleaned window. A method according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the injected cleaning liquid, or at least one cleaning liquid injected last in a cleaning sequence in which different cleaning liquids are successively injected, being chosen to leave no trace visible on the walls of the glass sheets when said liquid of cleaning has dried, for example the cleaning liquid is demineralized water. Cleaning method according to one of Claims 9 to 11, in which an air flow is forced in the air slats by introducing a flow of air, reheated if necessary, by one of the rear openings (233). or facades (231) so as to accelerate the drying process of cleaning liquid residues in the glazing.

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