GB2062843A - Louvre blade end clips - Google Patents

Abstract

A louvre blade end clip has on one side thereof a longitudinal channel to receive an end of a blade, the other side being adapted to make close pivotal contact with a jamb mounting surface when the clip is pivotally mounted to the jamb about a boss (28) intermediate its ends, said other side being fitted with two wiper members or blades (29, 30) extending from opposite diametral positions at the boss towards the opposite ends of the clip and each obliquely to the longitudinal line of the clip, said two wiper members being substantially parallel to one another. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Louvre windows This invention relates to improvements in and connected with louvre windows, and it has more particular reference to novel forms of louvre blade end clips for such louvre windows.

The invention has for its principal object to provide an improved form of louvre blade end clip which will be particularly effective in operation in that it will be able easily to move pivotally for opening purposes, yet will in its closed attitude afford an effective seal with its mounting frame or jamb for weather-proofing purposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a louvre blade end clip of the aforementioned type which will be very effective in receiving the end of a blade of rectangular cross-section, such as a glass blade, in that it has improved means for retaining the blade without looseness thereof, and also with the end extremity of the blade being sealably mounted to increase weather-proofing characteristics.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a louvre blade end clip of the type described which is of such form that it lends itself readily to being made of a synthetic plastics material. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter apparent.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention in one embodiment resides broadly in a louvre blade end clip of the type having on one side thereof a longitudinal channel to receive an end of a blade, the other side being adapted to make close pivotal contact with a jamb mounting surface when the clip is pivotally mounted to the jamb about a boss intermediate its ends, said other side being fitted with two wiper members or blades extending from opposite diametral positions at the boss towards the opposite ends of the clip and each obliquely to the longitudinal line of the clip, said two wiper members being substantially parallel to one another.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the aforementioned blade receiving channel is provided with resilient flap members protruding into and restricting the channel at its sides and/or base and adapted to contact resiliently the adjacent portions of an inserted blade. For example, the sides of the channel may have a plurality of spaced-apart inwardly-inclined flexible flaps to engage a side of the blade at its end, or there may be an equivalent flap extending longitudinally of the channel to restrict same and preferably inclined for the same purpose. Yet again, the base of the channel may be fitted with a flexible flap or strip extending outwardly of the channel to abut against the end extremity of the louvre blade for sealing therewith. Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a pair of end clips according to the invention, looking at the blade-receiving channels at one side thereof, and Fig. 2 is a similar elevational view of the pair of end clips of Fig. 1, looking at the other side thereof which abuts the louvre jamb.

In this instance, the louvre end clips 10 are made of any desirable and suitable synthetic plastics material, and it will be seen from the drawings that they achieve the same functions as conventional metal clips in conjunction with standard or other types of jambs which obviously do not need to be illustrated or described except so far as to say that they have innermost faces (transverse to the window opening) against which the clips can rotate, said faces suitably being quite planar or flat and at right angles to the window opening plane. The jambs may be of metal or of hard durable plastics material.

Each end clip 10 has a body portion 11 from which front and rear channel-forming strips 12 and 13 extend in spaced parallel relationship, the word "front" being used to indicate the outermost strip 12 exposed to the weather, the channel 14 being inclined downwards and front-wards to receive a blade (not shown) in conventional disposition. It will be seen from the drawings that the front strip 12 has its upper end provided with a flange 1 5 lower than a flange 16 at the upper end of the rear strip 13, while the front strip 12 has at its lower end a flange 1 7 lower than a flange 1 8 at the lower end of the rear strip 13, these arrangements being equivalent to standard or conventional constructions to permit closing of adjacent blades with overlapping of their edges for weather-proofing purposes.Needless to say, all edge faces of the strips 1 2 and 13 and the flanges 15, 16, 1 7 and 18 are substantially coplanar and in this instance are about one-half inch from the body portion 11.

The aforemention flanges provide retention for the blades and also suitable overlap and contact for sealing purposes. According to the invention, the front top flange 1 5 has a resilient flap 1 9 against which the lower front flange 1 7 and the adjacent blade edge may engage for sealing purposes, while the rear top flange 1 6 has similar resilient flap 20 to provide a seal with the adjacent blade portion in closed attitude.

In this instance, the base of the channel 14 is provided with a thin resilient strip 21 of material which may extend out for about one-eighth inch along the line indicated in the drawings and adapted to be compressed against the end extremity of the blade, suitably a glass blade of constant rectangular cross-section as is standard practice. Likewise the rear strip 13 of the channel has a plurality of spaced-apart resilient flaps 22 each one-half inch long and extending into the channel to restrict it and thus be compressed or distorted when the blade is inserted, increasing the sealing effects and preventing tendency of the blade to move or rattle.For insertion or removal of any blades, the upper portion of the body 11 has a weakening slot 23 to permit forced distortion so that the upper end of the rear channel-forming strip 13 can be moved rearwards resiliently and out of normal alignment.

The other features of the invention are illustrated in relation to the face of the clip which bears against or close to the jamb as shown in Fig.

2. The body portion 11 is a flat section spaced about one-quarter inch from the jamb by a plurality of flanges indicated as front flange 24.

rear parallel flange 25, top flange sections 26 and bottom flange sections 27. It should be noted that the aforementioned flaps 19 and 20 extend the full dimension of the clip over both the channel portion and the part innermost of the body portion.

A suitable bearing boss is provided at 28 having its contact faces protruding for a wiping action, and the invention provides additional wiping and sealing actions by virtue of two parallel wiper blades 29 and 30 which seal into apertures in the boss and in the end portions of the clip.

These wiper blades are inclined in the same direction as the blade-receiving channels but at a greater angle, as illustrated. In this instance, the wiper blades are retained resiliently between plastic lugs which permit them to move resiliently while making sealing contact with the jamb, the extremities of the wiper blades protruding beyond the innermost clip extremities so that the wiping is effected by the blades and not by the body sections of the clip. At the same time, it will be noted that the wiper blades are so located and so inclined that any water passing the jamb to the clip will be caused to fall outwards and thus not reach the inside of the window structure.

It will be apparent that the louvre clip as described and illustrated will thus be found very effective in achieving the objects for which the invention has been devised. However, it will be understood that the invention may be subject to many modifications of constructional detail and design so far as the illustrated embodiment is concerned. For example, the wiper blades may be moulded integrally with the clip or could be removably attached, while at the same time they could be secured rigidly and flex their edges or be mounted to flex as a whole.

The plurality of flaps 22 in the channel could be replaced by a single longitudinal flap, particularly if the clip is moulded in two parts to separate at the channel and then be joined together for use. A further possibility would be to provide a cover sheet for the inner portion of the clip adjacent the jamb, said cover sheet having a slit through which the wiper blades could protrude flexibly. Such a cover sheet could be mounted by spring lugs in the clip to be removable, while the wiper blades could be similarly mounted if desired, co-operating spring lugs or ribs or the like being provided for that purpose.

The invention is to be understood to embrace all variations and additions within its broad scope, such a modification is shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 which illustrate an alternate one-piece construction of the invention. As shown, the clip 1 0a is provided with at its rear face a blade 5 formed integrally with the body portion 1 a and adapted to extend just past the common plane containing the outer edge faces 6 of the rear flanges 7. Preferably, the back face of the clip 1 Oa is dished inwards towards its centre in the longitudinal direction whereby in use, the end portions of the clip may be held in close to the jamb.

Then again, a further simplified version of the clip is shown in Figs. 5 and 6 attached hereto which are plan view and inverted plan view respectively, being similar to the clip shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The inclined "wiper blades" are preferably arranged to protrude very slightly from the plane of the clip, while additionally the total clip is very slightly concave on the face which contacts the louvre jamb. Of course all modifications and variations as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to reside within the broad scope and ambit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (2)

1. A louvre blade end clip of the type having on one side thereof a longitudinal channel to receive an end of a blade, the other side being adapted to make close pivotal contact with a jamb mounting surface when the clip is pivotally mounted to the jamb about a boss intermediate its ends, said other side being fitted with two wiper members or blades extending from opposite diametral positions at the boss towards the opposite ends of the clip and each obliquely to the longitudinal line of the clip, said two wiper members being substantially parallel to one another.

2. A louvre blade end clip substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.