GB2142681A

GB2142681A - Alignment device for windows

Info

Publication number: GB2142681A
Application number: GB08314738A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Cheriton
Original assignee: DUSKHURST Ltd
Current assignee: DUSKHURST Ltd
Priority date: 1983-05-27
Filing date: 1983-05-27
Publication date: 1985-01-23
Also published as: GB8314738D0; GB2142681B

Abstract

The alignment means comprises a first alignment member (21) securable to a frame (11) and a second alignment member (22) securable to a casement (10), the first alignment member (21) having a V-shaped projection (26) and the second alignment member (22) having a V-shaped recess (34), the projection and recess co-operating with each other to guide the closure member on movement towards its closed position, to its correct closed position. The alignment members are capable of being secured to the casement (10) and frame (11) in a position proximate to fastening means (13) to prevent twisting or distortion of the casement or its hinges during the closing movement. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Alignment device The present invention relates to an alignment device for use on a closure member such as a window or door mounted relative to an opening and being movable relative to said opening between an open position and a closed position, in the latter of which it closes said opening.

The invention is primarily, but not exclusively, concerned with maintaining correct alignment of casement windows, that is windows having inner frames pivotally mounted relative to respective outer frames.

It is a common occurrence once a window inner frame, hereinafter for convenience referred to as a casement, has been pivotally mounted on an outer frame, by means of hinges for example, after some use for the window to "drop", so that the edge or side of the casement remote from the hinged side is lower than its initial aligned position.

There are three primary reasons for such a drop to occur: (a) the weight of the casement itself; (b) the application of a downward force on that side of the casement remote from the hinged side, caused by operation of a casement fastener to secure the casement in a closed position; (c) incorrect fitting and alignment of the casement to the outer frame.

It is usual for casement fasteners to be mounted about a generally horizontal pivotal axis, the fastener being arranged so that in order to close the casement the handle thereof has to be pulled in a downwards direction.

For such a closing action, particularly when the fastener is stiff, or for other reasons, a considerable turning force is required to close the fastener, and thus causes a large downwardly directed component of force which, coupled with the lever effect depending on the width of the window, causes a considerable moment to be exerted on the hinges of the casement which may cause distortion of the hinges and/or the casement itself.

It is known to provide at the lower edges of such casements one or more contact members to fill part of the cavity between the casement and the outer frame adjacent the lower edge of the casement and thus prevent any further drop. Such a solution however does not entirely solve the problem since, as soon as the contact member serves any useful purpose and there is contact through the intermediary of the contact member between the lower edge of the casement and the outer frame itself, the frictional force will tend to cause a drag on the lower edge of the casement during its opening and closing movement and, since closing of the casement generally involves a considerably increased downwards force on the edge thereon remote from the hinged side in order to operate the fastener, the drag on the lower edge of the casement will be much greater than during its opening movement.

There is therefore a considerable tendency for the casement to become distorted leading to the lower portion of the casement remaining partially open whilst the remainder of the casement is closed.

Such an affect is emphasised with modern materials such as aluminium commonly used for casement windows which have low inherent elasticity, and hence when distorted the distortion tends to be permanent.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means to overcome or minimise the above mentioned problems.

According to one aspect of the present invention, we provide closure member alignment means to align a closure member relative to a surrounding frame during movement to a closed position, said alignment means comprising a pair of interengageable members, one capable of being secured to said closure member and the other capable of being secured to said frame, each of said alignment members having a respective alignment surface, said alignment surfaces cooperating with each other at least on occurrence of misalignment between said closure member and its frame and wherein said alignment means is capable of being secured to said closure member and associated frame adjacent or proximate to fastener means provided for maintaining said closure member closed relative to said frame.

The alignment means of the present invention thereby enables any frictional forces occurring between the two parts of the alignment means during use to be at a position adjacent the force applied to the fastener means thereby eliminating or significantly reducing any twisting of the closure member itself, thus minimising occurrence of distortion to the closure member.

Preferably said alignment members are made from a material having a relatively low coefficient of friction and preferably they are made from a plastics material, for example PVC, nylon, polytetrafloroethylene or any other suitable material.

Preferably said alignment means comprises two alignment members each provided with a pair of alignment faces, the arrangement being such that on closure of the closure member any relative vertical misalignment of the closure member relative to its frame causes contact between a respective pair of alignment faces, one on each alignment member.

Preferably the or each face on the alignment members are inclined relative to the direction of movement of the closure member towards its closing position enabling the gra dual correction of any misalignment as the closure member approaches its closed position.

Preferably one of said alignment members comprises a V-shaped part and the other of said alignment members defines a V-shaped recess, said alignment members being secured one to the frame and one to the closure member, and positioned so that when the closure member is in its closed position the Vshaped projection is located in said V-shaped recess.

A further unexpected advantage is obtained by the alignment means of the present invention since, when the closure member is in its closed position, movement in a vertical direction of the closure member relative to the frame is restricted, and when each alignment member is provided with a pair of alignment faces, such a vertical movement can be almost entirely eliminated. Since the opposite edge of the closure member is securely held in its closed position, decreasing the risk of possible entry by forcible opening of the closure member.

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 illustrates a closure member and frame in the form of a casement and its associated outer frame, having the alignment means of the present invention secured thereto; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the alignment means of the present invention.

A closure member in the form of a casement 10 is secured to an outer frame generally indicated at 11 by means of hinges (not shown) secured to the lateral edge member 1 2 of the casement 10 and the adjacent lateral edge member of the outer frame 11.

The casement 10 can be pivotally moved between an open position as shown in Fig. 1, and a closed position in which it closes the opening defined by the outer frame 11.

To maintain the casement 10 in a closed position, a fastener 1 3 having a locking element 14 and a lever handle 1 5 is pivotally mounted to the lateral edge 1 6 of casement 10 and is movable about a pivotai axis 17.

In order to close the casement, it is pivoted towards its closed position and the handle 1 5 of fastener 1 3 is pivoted in a clockwise direction until the locking element 14 is firmly engaged with a keeper 1 8 secured to the lateral member 1 9 of outer frame 11.

Movement of the handle 1 5 in an anticlockwise direction may cause a significant downwards force to be applied through the fastener 1 3 to the lateral member 1 6 of casement 10.

The casement 10 and its outer frame are provided with alignment means comprising a first alignment member 21 and a second alignment member 22.

The first alignment member 21 comprises a base part 23 having a pair of through bores 24 and 25 through which securing means, such as screws or bolts may pass, to secure the first alignment member 21 to the lateral frame member 19.

Projecting from the base member 23 there is provided a V-shaped alignment part 26 having an upper alignment surface 27 and a lower alignment surface 28. The alignment part 26 may be secured to the base member 23 or may be formed integrally therewith as a plastic injection moulding for example.

The second alignment member 22 comprises a base member 30 having through bores 31 and 32 through which securing means such as screws or bolts may pass to secure the alignment member 22 to the lateral member 1 6 of the window 1 0.

Projecting from the base member 30 is an alignment part 33 presenting a V-shaped recess 34 having an upper alignment face 35 and a lower alignment face 36.

When the casement 10 is moved towards its closed position, little or no downwards force is applied to the lateral member 1 6 of the casement 10 until it is required to operate the fastener 1 3 to close the casement.

The fastener 1 3 is only operated when the casement 10 approaches the closed position, since otherwise operation of the fastener 1 3 will be fouled by lateral member 1 9 of outer frame 11, by which time the V-shaped alignment part 26 projects into the V-shaped recess 34 provided on the second alignment part 22.

Any relative vertical movement between the casement 10 and outer frame will thus be minimal and downwards force applied through pressure exerted on the lever handle 1 5 of fastener 1 3 will be resisted by interengagement between upper alignment surface 35 of alignment member 22 contacting the upper alignment surface 26 of alignment member 21.

Since the alignment means of the present invention is mounted in proximity to the fastener 13, little or no bending moment, racking or other distortion producing force will be applied to the casement thus enhancing its useful life in effecting proper closure with its outer frame 11.

It will be appreciated since, many circumstances the only significant force applied to a closure member will be either downwards or upwards, i.e. when the latch is operated to shut the casement, then it will only be necessary for the alignment means to have a single pair of alignment faces, one on each alignment part. However, the dual tapered faces provided on the alignment means as illustrated in the accompanying drawings provides the additional security as aforementioned.

The alignment means of the present invention has been described specifically in relation to a casement and outer frame, it is envisaged that its use will extend to other closure members, and is of particular benefit where either the closure member or the surrounding frame or both are made from materials, such as aluminium, in which distortion thereof can easily occur leading to lack of effective sealing between the closure member and its frame when in a closed position.

Claims

1. Closure member alignment means to align a closure member relative to a surrounding frame during movement of the closure member to a closed position, said alignment means comprising a pair of interengageable members, one capable of being secured to said closure member and the other capable of being secured to said frame, each of said alignment members having a respective alignment surface, said alignment surfaces cooperating with each other at least on occurrence of misalignment between said closure member and its frame and wherein said alignment means is capable of being secured to said closure member and associated frame adjacent or proximate to fastener means provided for maintaining said closure member closed relative to said frame.

2. Alignment means as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said alignment members are made from a material having a relatively low coefficient of friction.

3. Alignment means as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, said means comprising two alignment members each provided with a pair of alignment faces, the arrangement of said faces being such that on movement to a closed position of said closure member, any relative vertical misalignment of the closure member relative to its frame causes contact between a respective pair of alignment faces, one on each alignment member.

4. Alignment means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the or each alignment face on the alignment members is inclined relative to the direction of movement of the closure member towards its closed position enabling the gradual correction of any misalignment as the closure member approaches its closed position.

5. Alignment means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein one of said alignment members comprises a Vshaped projection and the other of said alignment members defines a V-shaped recess, said alignment members being secured one to the frame and one to the closure member, and positioned so that when the closure member is in its closed position the Vshaped projection is located in said V-shaped recess.

6. A casement window comprising alignment means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, one of said alignment members being secured to the casement and the other to the frame.

7. Alignment means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the or each alignment member is made from an injection moulding.

8. Alignment means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein one of or each alignment member is provided with means whereby it can be secured in a readily adjustable manner to the closure member or its associated frame.

9. Alignment means as claimed in Claim 8 wherein said means for relative adjustment comprises one or more elongate slots formed in said member through which slot a threaded fastener may pass for engagement with said closure member or said frame.

10. Alignment means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said alignment members are made from a PVC material.

11. Alignment means as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9 wherein said alignment members are made from nylon.

1 2. A casement window comprising fastening means for fastening the casement relative to its associated frame in a closed position and alignment means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said alignment means comprise a pair of alignment members one secured to the frame and one secured to the casement, said alignment members being formed separately from said fastening means.

1 3. Alignment means substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A casement window comprising alignment means substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

15. Alignment means including any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein and/or shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 6. A casement window including any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein and/or shown in the accompanying drawings.