GB1574546A

GB1574546A - Windows

Info

Publication number: GB1574546A
Application number: GB1266578A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: IMI FINANCE Ltd
Current assignee: IMI FINANCE Ltd
Priority date: 1978-03-31
Filing date: 1978-03-31
Publication date: 1980-09-10

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN WINDOWS (71) We, IMI FINANCE LIMITED, a British Company, formerly of Inkerman Road, Hermitage Road, Woking Surrey and now of Forsyth Road, Sheerwater, Woking, Surrey, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to windows, more particularly dormer windows, that is to say windows that protrude from walls or, more usually, sloping roofs of buildings.

According to the present invention there is provided a unitary dormer window comprising a front portion having mounted therein, or suitable for having mounted therein, one or more casements containing glass or other glazing material, a pair of opposed side walls integral with said front portion and extending generally backwardly from, preferably substantially normally to the plane containing, said front portion, a roof portion integral with said side walls and/or with said front portion and, integral with the rear edge of each side wall, an outwardly extending flange that, together with an external portion of its respective side wall, defines an inclined, elongate water drainage channel.

The flanges additionally provide convenient means for attaching the unitary window to a roof or wall of a building. For example, an opening in a roof or wall may be defined by timbers or other members (known as "trimmers") to which the dormer window may be fixed by means of screws passing through the flanges. In order to enhance the aesthetic looks of a dormer window of the invention, there is preferably an integral flange extending around the whole of the periphery of the window, that is to say that, in addition to the two flanges just mentioned, there are two further flanges, one extending along, and being integral with, the rear edge of the roof portion and the other extending along, and being integral with, the lower region of the front portion.As will be appreciated, these further flanges may additionally or alternatively be used in securing the dormer window to the wall or roof of a building.

In fact, those further flanges alone may be used to secure the dormer window to a wall or roof.

In preferred embodiments the flanges integral with the side walls are substantially Shaped so that the drainage channels are substantially U-shaped.

The front portion of a dormer window of the invention will usually define a rectangular opening for receiving fixed or openable rectangular casements, for example, sliding, pivot hung or hinged casements. However, as will be appreciated, the front portion may define any desired shape of opening.

The side walls of the dormer window are preferably of substantially triangular shape, the lower apical angle of each such side wall preferably corresponding to the pitch of the roof or wall to which the window is to be fixed so that, when installed, the front member (and hence its associated glazing) lies in a substantially vertical plane. The pitch of roofs, in particular, is often about 69 , 74" or 45" and, accordingly, said apical angle will usually take a corresponding value, i.e.

21", 16 or 45" respectively. However, that apical angle may, of course, take any other suitable value depending, for example, on the pitch of the roof or wall to which the dormer window is to be fixed.

The roof portion is preferably externally convexly curved so that rain water can readily drain therefrom onto the side walls of the dormer window and thence into the drainage channels. The roof portion is advantageously thermally insulated by, for example, a layer of insulating material such as foamed polyurethane, as are the side walls.

The unitary dormer window of the invention preferably comprises a synthetic plastics material, for example a polyester.

The plastics material is preferably reinforced with glass fibres or other types of fibres. However, a dormer window of the invention may be made of other materials, for example sheet metal such as aluminium or steel. Although glass reinforced plastics (GRP) materials are inherently sufficiently strong for the purposes of the present invention, preferred dormer windows of the invention, when made of GRP or other plastics material, are additionally strengthened by, for example, wooden or metal members that are preferably encapsulated between superposed layers of the plastics material. It has been found that plywood members provide an especially suitable and cheap means of reinforcement. The peripheral flanges are, in particular, preferably reinforced by such members.

The preferred plastics dormer windows of the invention may be made by any one of a number of processes, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the plastics art. In the case of GRP, for example, unitary dormer windows of the invention may conveniently be made by the so-called "hand lay-up" or "spray-up" moulding processes by which processes reinforcement members such as lengths of wood may be encapsulated in the plastics material and thereby hidden from sight.

A unitary dormer window of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: - Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front of the dormer window; Figure 2 is a side view of the dormer window in the direction of arrow II of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the dormer window through the line III-III of the window of Figure 1 when installed in a roof; Figure 4 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through the line IV-IV of the window of Figure 1 when installed in a roof; and Figure 5 is a perspective view of the dormer window installed in a roof.

Referring to the drawings, the unitary dormer window illustrated comprises a front portion 1 defining a substantially rectangular opening, a pair of substantially triangular, opposde side walls 2 and 3, a roof portion 4 and a peripheral flange 5. The portion 1, walls 2 and 3, roof portion 4 and flange 5 are integral with one another and comprise glass-reinforced polyester, the window having been made by a hand lay-up process using a suitably-shaped mould. For the sake of clarity, the casements and glazing have been omitted from Figures 1 and 2 but they can be clearly seen in Figures 3 to 5. The window illustrated is intended for installation in a roof having a pitch of 690 and accordingly the apical angle a of the side walls 2 and 3 is about 219.

As can be seen from Figure 4, each side wall 2 and 3 comprises a double skin portion 6, 7 of glass-reinforced polyester, the cavity between the two skins 6 and 7 containing a thermally insulative material 8, for example flameless polyurethane foam. The regions of the side walls 2 and 3 adjacent to the window zone 9 merge into U-shaped sections constituting part of the front portion 1. These U-shaped sections each includes a length of reinforcing timber 10 bonded to the glass-reinforced polyester.

As can be seen from Figure 3, the lengths of reinforcing timber 10 are part of a rectangular timber frame which completely surrounds the window zone 9. As is the case with reinforcing timbers 10, the other lengths of timber of the rectangular frame are bonded to the glass reinforced polyester.

As well as serving a reinforcing function, the rectangular timber frame enables a window frame 11 to be readily secured to the dormer window unit by, for example, screws and also attachment of ceiling, wall and baselinings, if desired, to the unit. As will be appreciated, the rectangular frame comprising lengths 10 of timber could be made of a material other than wood, for example aluminium or steel.

The rear edge of each side wall 2 and 3 is provided with an integral, substantially L-shaped flange 5 which, as well as providing means whereby the dormer window may readily be attached to a roof or wall, provides inclined drainage channels 12 which are of substantially U-shaped cross-section.

The channels 12 ensure that water draining off, inter alia, roof portion 4 is diverted away from surrounding areas of the roof or wall of the building.

The roof portion 4 is externally convexly curved to enable water readily to drain therefrom and, like the side walls 2 and 3, comprises a double skin portion 13, 14 of glass reinforced polyester with thermally insulative material 15, for example polyurethane foam, between the skins 13 and 14 (see Figure 3). The front edge of the roof portion 4 merges with the front portion 1 just below the top edge of the latter whereby water impinging on the roof portion 4 cannot drain therefrom directly onto the window panes. As can be seen, the peripheral flange 5 extends along the rear edge of the roof portion 4 and along the base of front member 1.

The upper and lower horizontal flanges 5 also comprise a double skin of glass reinforced polyester, as can be seen in Figure 3 in the case of the upper flange 5, there being lengths of plywood reinforcement 16 sandwiched between the two skins. Again, the reinforcing material may comprise a material other than plywood.

Referring specifically to Figures 3 to 5 of the drawings, which show various views of the unitary dormer window installed in an opening in a roof 17, the dormer window is fixed to roof opening "trimmers" 18 and 19 of wood, which together with corresponding bottom and left hand trimmers (not shown) define a rectangular opening in the roof 17, by means of stainless steel screws 20 or other suitable fastening means. The unitary dormer window could equally well be fixed to roof members other than wooden trimmers, for example concrete or steel trimmers or other roof members.

After fixture of the dormer window to the roof 17, flashing 21, for example of lead, may be applied as in the case of conventional window structures and a window frame and one or more glazed casements may then be fitted if they have not already been.

The unitary nature of a dormer window of the invention has the advantage that a complete dormer window can be quickly and easily installed in buildings with the use of relatively unskilled labour. Further, the window can be relatively light. For example, a GRP window suitable for a roof opening of 1290 X 1200 mm having a pitch of 690 may weigh only about 140 lbs (64 Kg).

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A unitary dormer window comprising a front portion having mounted therein, or suitable for having mounted therein, one or more casements containing glass or other glazing material, a pair of opposed side walls integral with said front portion and extending generally backwardly from said front portion, a roof portion integral with said side walls and/or with said front portion and integral with the rear edge of each side wall, an outwardly extending flange that, together with an external portion of its respective side wall, defines an inclined, elongate water drainage channel.

2. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the side walls extend substantially normally to the plane containing said front portion.

3. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the rear edge of the roof portion and the base of the front portion each is provided with respective integral outwardly extending flanges that also are integral with the flanges on the side walls.

4. A unitary dormer window as claimed in one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein said channel is of substantially U-shaped cross-section.

5. A unitary dormer window as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the side walls are substantially triangular.

6. A unitary dormer window as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 wherein the roof portion is externally convexly curved so that water can readily drain off the roof portion towards the side walls.

7. A unitary dormer window as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6 made of a material comprising a plastics material.

8. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 7 wherein said plastics material comprises a glass-reinforced plastics material.

9. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8 wherein the roof portion and/or the side walls comprise, at least in part, a double skin of plastics material, the space between the skins containing a thermally insulative material.

10. A unitary dormer window as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9 wherein one or more of the flanges comprises a double skin of plastics material, the space between the skins containing one or more strengthening members.

11. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 10 wherein said strengthening members comprise lengths of plywood.

12. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 7 or any claim when appendant thereto wherein the front portion comprises a substantially rectangular frame bonded to the plastics material.

13. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 12 wherein said frame comprises wood.

14. A unitary dormer window substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

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Claims

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3 in the case of the upper flange 5, there being lengths of plywood reinforcement 16 sandwiched between the two skins. Again, the reinforcing material may comprise a material other than plywood.

Referring specifically to Figures 3 to 5 of the drawings, which show various views of the unitary dormer window installed in an opening in a roof 17, the dormer window is fixed to roof opening "trimmers" 18 and 19 of wood, which together with corresponding bottom and left hand trimmers (not shown) define a rectangular opening in the roof 17, by means of stainless steel screws 20 or other suitable fastening means. The unitary dormer window could equally well be fixed to roof members other than wooden trimmers, for example concrete or steel trimmers or other roof members.

After fixture of the dormer window to the roof 17, flashing 21, for example of lead, may be applied as in the case of conventional window structures and a window frame and one or more glazed casements may then be fitted if they have not already been.

The unitary nature of a dormer window of the invention has the advantage that a complete dormer window can be quickly and easily installed in buildings with the use of relatively unskilled labour. Further, the window can be relatively light. For example, a GRP window suitable for a roof opening of 1290 X 1200 mm having a pitch of 690 may weigh only about 140 lbs (64 Kg).

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A unitary dormer window comprising a front portion having mounted therein, or suitable for having mounted therein, one or more casements containing glass or other glazing material, a pair of opposed side walls integral with said front portion and extending generally backwardly from said front portion, a roof portion integral with said side walls and/or with said front portion and integral with the rear edge of each side wall, an outwardly extending flange that, together with an external portion of its respective side wall, defines an inclined, elongate water drainage channel.
2. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the side walls extend substantially normally to the plane containing said front portion.
3. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the rear edge of the roof portion and the base of the front portion each is provided with respective integral outwardly extending flanges that also are integral with the flanges on the side walls.
4. A unitary dormer window as claimed in one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein said channel is of substantially U-shaped cross-section.
5. A unitary dormer window as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the side walls are substantially triangular.
6. A unitary dormer window as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 wherein the roof portion is externally convexly curved so that water can readily drain off the roof portion towards the side walls.
7. A unitary dormer window as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6 made of a material comprising a plastics material.
8. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 7 wherein said plastics material comprises a glass-reinforced plastics material.
9. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8 wherein the roof portion and/or the side walls comprise, at least in part, a double skin of plastics material, the space between the skins containing a thermally insulative material.
10. A unitary dormer window as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9 wherein one or more of the flanges comprises a double skin of plastics material, the space between the skins containing one or more strengthening members.
11. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 10 wherein said strengthening members comprise lengths of plywood.
12. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 7 or any claim when appendant thereto wherein the front portion comprises a substantially rectangular frame bonded to the plastics material.
13. A unitary dormer window as claimed in Claim 12 wherein said frame comprises wood.
14. A unitary dormer window substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.