GB2283279A - Stays - Google Patents

Abstract

An end cap 1 for a stay, comprising a body 3 shaped to receive an end point of a vent arm of the stay, when the stay is in its closed position, and a spigot 5 for fixing to a frame 9b of the vent, where the spigot 5 engages an aperture 21 or recess in the body 3 when the end cap 1 is in position on the frame 9 to strengthen the engagement of the end cap 1 with the frame 9. Such an end cap provides additional strength to a friction stay mounted on a frame 9 and assists in preventing an intruder from entering through a vent mounted on the friction stay. Furthermore, an end cap according to the present invention is simple to install and cheap and easy to manufacture. <IMAGE>

Description

STAYS This invention relates to stays, and in particular to an end cap for a stay.

Quadrilateral linkage friction stays are well known for supporting a vent within a frame to enable the vent to close an opening defined by the frame. The vent itself is mounted on a vent arm of the friction stay and the vent arm is attached to a support track by a plurality of struts and links defining the quadrilateral linkage. The support track is attached by screws or the like to the fixed frame. One or more of the struts or links is attached to a slider mounted in the support track which slides up and down the track as the vent moves from an open position to a closed position closing the opening defined by the frame.

To assist in the closing of the friction stay, it is common practice to include an end cap at the end of the support track for receiving an end point of the vent arm of the stay. Asymmetric end caps (cf. GB-2133074) are also known which assist in pulling-in the end point of a vent arm to provide even better closing of the vent.

Although the known prior art friction stays and end caps function satisfactorily, intruders trying to break into a building via the vent are known to force vents open by placing a metal bar between the vent and the frame and levering the vent open such that either the end point of the vent arm is forced out of the end cap or the support track is twisted relative to the frame. In this way, access can be obtained through a vent.

The present invention aims to improve upon the prior art friction stays incorporating end caps as described above by reinforcing the end cap to prevent unauthorised entry by an intruder through a vent.

With the foregoing in mind, the present invention provides an end cap for a stay; comprising a body shaped to receive an end point of a vent arm of the stay, when the stay is in its closed position, and a spigot for attachment to a frame of the vent, wherein the spigot engages an aperture or recess in the body when the end cap is in position on the frame to strengthen the engagement of the end cap with the frame. By providing a spigot attached to the frame of the vent and engaging the body of the end cap, the end cap has additional strength which can assist in deterring an intruder.

Preferably the spigot is slidably received in the aperture or recess in the body to facilitate mounting of the end cap on the frame. If this is the case, the relative positions of the spigot and the body can be adjusted as required in a particular application.

Preferably the body, in use, is attached to a first part of the frame of the vent and the spigot is fixed to a second part of the frame which is substantially perpendicular to the first part of the frame. As a result, a significant increase in the strength of the fixing of the end cap, and hence the friction stay, is achieved.

The spigot may be attached to the frame by means of a fastener passing through the spigot and engaging the frame.

In a preferred embodiment, the fastener is a screw, the thread of which grips the spigot.

The spigot is preferably formed integrally with the body and breaks away from the body during installation of the end cap on the frame. If this is the case, the spigot is preferably joined to the body by means of a frangible web therebetween. When manufacturing such an embodiment, the end cap is formed from plastics material so that the body and spigot can be formed as a one piece molding.

The body preferably includes a tongue for engaging a support track of a stay. This is a common arrangement which provides solid fixing between the end cap and the remainder of the friction stay.

The spigot preferably engages a region of the body spaced from the tongue of the body. More particularly, the tongue of the body is preferably positioned towards the base of the end cap and the aperture or recess in the body is formed towards the top of the body. As a result, more secure fixing of the body to the frame is achieved.

The spigot is preferably substantially cylindrical and engages in a substantially cylindrical aperture through the body. The spigot and aperture are, therefore, not handed in any way, thereby simplifying installation of the end cap.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stay comprising a support track, a vent arm mounted on the support track by means of a plurality of struts or stays and an end cap according to the present invention.

A specific embodiment of the present invention is now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows a partially sectioned side view of an end cap according to the present invention mounted on a support track of a friction stay, which is mounted on a frame of a vent.

With reference to the drawing, an end cap 1 according to the present invention comprises a body 3 and a spigot 5 mounted on a support track 7 of a quadrilateral friction stay as described above. The support track 7 is attached in the normal way to a vent frame 9 defining an opening 11 which is to be closed by the vent (not shown) mounted on the friction stay.

The body 3 of the end cap 1 provides a recess 13 for receiving an end point (not shown) of the vent arm of the stay. The recess may be asymmetric to receive an asymmetric end point, thereby improving the pull-in of the vent arm upon closing of the friction stay. The body 3 includes a tongue 15 extending into the support track 7; the tongue 15 can be attached to the support track 7 by means of either a notch in the support track 7 or a fixing screw (not shown) passing through the track 7 and the tongue 15 into the frame 9. The body 3 also includes an upper wall 17 to close the top of the asymmetric recess 13. This upper wall 17 helps to prevent unwanted removal of the end point of the friction stay when the vent is being forced open.

The spigot 5 and body 3 are formed integrally during manufacture from plastics material with a frangible web (not shown) joining the spigot 5 to the body 3. During assembly, the tongue 15 of the end cap 1 can be inserted into the support track 7 and the support track 7 can be attached to the frame 9 of the vent opening 11. When the track 7 has been positioned as required, a screw 19 needs simply to be driven through the spigot 5 and into the vertical frame 9b of the vent opening 11 which is substantially perpendicular to the horizontal frame 9a carrying the support track 7.

The frangible web between the spigot 5 and the body 3 breaks to allow the spigot 5 to be fixed securely to the vertical frame 9b, the spigot 5 sliding relative to an aperture 21 in the upper region of the body 3. The exact position of the spigot 5 in relation to the body 3 is not important, provided that the spigot engages the aperture 21 to prevent the body 3 and hence the support track 7 from being forced sideways in relation to the frame.

Although it is preferable that the thread of the screw 19 grips the spigot 5 to provide additional strength, this is not essential and the head of the screw can simply be used to retain the spigot 5 in position. However, even better fixing can be achieved if the screw 19 forces the spigot 5 to expand during installation, thereby causing the spigot 5 to grip the walls of the opening 21 in the body 3.

Once the end cap 1 has been positioned and fixed to the frame 9, the force required to cause the support track 7 to rotate about the frame 9 is significantly increased over prior art arrangements. Hence, an end cap 1 according to this invention is a marked improvement over known end caps.

The end cap 1 is also extremely simple to manufacture and easy to install.

Although an aperture 21 has been shown in the body 3, the aperture 21 could be replaced by a recess, opening towards the vertical frame 9b, which receives the spigot 5 therein. In such an arrangement, the spigot 5 would need to be fixed to the frame 9b prior to the body 3 being positioned over the spigot 5 to provide the required engagement between the spigot 5 and the recess in the body 3. The resulting end cap, however, will be provided with similar strength to an end cap according to the first embodiment herein described.

It will of course be understood that the present invention has been described above purely by way of example, and that modifications of detail can be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims (15)

1. An end cap for a stay, comprising a body shaped to receive an end point of a vent arm of the stay, when the stay is in its closed position, and a spigot for attachment to a frame of the vent, wherein the spigot engages an aperture or recess in the body when the end cap is in position on the frame to strengthen the engagement of the end cap with the frame.

2. An end cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spigot is slidably received in the aperture or recess in the body to facilitate mounting of the end cap on the frame.

3. An end cap as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the body, in use, is attached to a first part of the frame of the vent and the spigot is fixed to a second part of the frame which is substantially perpendicular to the first part of the frame.

4. An end cap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the spigot is attached to the frame by means of a fastener passing through the spigot and engaging the frame.

5. An end cap as claimed in claim 4, wherein the fastener is a screw, the thread of which grips the spigot on passing through the spigot.

6. An end cap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the spigot is formed integrally with the body and breaks away from the body during installation of the end cap on the frame.

7. An end cap as claimed in claim 6, wherein the spigot is joined to the body by means of a frangible web therebetween.

8. An end cap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the body includes a tongue for engaging a support track of a stay.

9. An end cap as claimed in claim 8, wherein the spigot engages a region of the body spaced from the tongue of the body.

10. An end cap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the spigot is substantially cylindrical and engages in a substantially cylindrical aperture through the body.

11. An end cap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the body includes an upper wall which, in use, lies substantially parallel to a support track of the stay for covering an end point of the vent arm to assist in retaining the end point of the vent arm in the end cap.

12. An end cap as claimed in any preceding claim, which is manufactured from plastics material.

13. An end cap substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawing.

14. A stay comprising a support track, a vent arm mounted on the support track by means of a plurality of struts or stays and an end cap as claimed in any preceding claim.

15. A friction stay substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawing.