GB2291913A - Weather excluder - Google Patents

Abstract

A weather excluder comprises an elongate sill member 10 for locating on a threshold 14 below the lower edge of a door 16. The sill member 10 has a rear wall 22 to which is secured a barrier 46 of thermally insulating material. <IMAGE>

Description

WEATHER EXCLUDER This invention relates to a weather excluder of the kind comprising an elongate sill member for locating on a threshold below the lower edge of a door.

According to the present invention there is provided a weather excluder of the kind comprising an elongate sill member for locating on a threshold below the lower edge of a door, the sill member having a rear wall to which is secured a barrier of thermally insulating material.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing whose single figure is a cross-sectional view of a weather excluder located on the threshold below the lower edge of a door.

The weather excluder comprises an elongate sill member 10 of extruded aluminium or other nonrusting lightweight metal or metal alloy, which is fixed by a series of screws 12 to the threshold 14 below a door 16.

In the figure the exterior of the building is assumed to be on the left hand side of the door 16 and the interior of the building on the right hand side.

It will be recognised that the sill member 10 is highly elongated in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the figure, and extends fully across the width of the door opening.

The upper surface of the sill member 10 has a downwardly and forwardly sloping portion 18 at the front and a substantially flat horizontal portion 20 at the rear, the two being separated by a step 21 with a forwardly inclined riser. The rear edge of the sill member is formed by a substantially vertical wall 22 with an overhanging ledge or shelf 24. An inverted channel 26 depending down from the underside of the sill member 10 at the step 21, and whose open mouth faces and engages the door threshold 14, is filled with a waterproof sealant such as a mastic to prevent rainwater and draughts being driven under the sill member from the exterior to the interior of the building by wind pressure.

An elongate seal holder 30 is fixed to the lower edge of the door 16 as shown by a series of screws 32. The holder 30 is likewise made of extruded aluminium or other lightweight metal. The holder 30 has a downwardly and forwardly inclined drip deflection ledge 34 on the outside surface of the door and a plate 36 which extends under the bottom of the door. The plate 36 has two parallel channels 38 which accomodate and retain the heads of two angled flexible sealing blades 40 whose lower free ends engage the portions 18 and 20 of the upper surface of the sill member 10 to seal the gap between the sill member and the bottom of the door against rainwater and draughts. The door 16 may open outwardly or inwardly, but in either case the sealing blades 40 come to rest substantially as shown in the figure when the door is closed.

Because there is, particularly in winter, liable to be a substantial temperature difference between the exterior and interior of the building, the sill member 10 can form a cold bridge leading to condensation on the inside of the sill member. This can lead to rot of wooden floors 42 or carpets 44.

To avoid this, a thermally insulating barrier 46 is provided against the rear wall 22 of the sill member 10, under the shelf 24. The barrier 46 is preferably made from a closed cell plastics or rubber foam, and its thickness "t" in the horizontal front to rear direction of the sill member is selected according to the internal humidity and the expected temperature difference. The rear face 48 of the barrier 46 is provided with a smooth "wipe clean" surface, and the opposite front face 50 may be secured to the rear wall 22 by a strong adhesive, for example a contact adhesive. The shelf 24 at the rear of the sill member 10 which overhangs the barrier 46 protects the barrier against being crushed by persons walling across the threshold.

The provision of a thermal barrier is not limited to the particular weather excluder shown in the drawing. It is usable in any kind of weather excluder whose sill member has a suitable wall at the rear to which the thermal barrier can be secured, and may be used in relation to sill members having one or more sealing blades or other sealing members which are mounted on the sill member itself and extend upwardly into contact with the bottom of the door rather than, as described in the embodiment, extend from the bottom of the door into contact with the sill member.

Claims (4)

CLAIMS:

1. A weather excluder of the kind comprising an elongate sill member for locating on a threshold below the lower edge of a door, the sill member having a rear wall to which is secured a barrier of thermally insulating material.

2. A weather excluder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the barrier is located beneath an overhanging ledge at the rear of the sill member.

3. A weather excluder as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the barrier is made of a closed cell material.

4. A weather excluder substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

4. A weather excluder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the barrier is secured to the rear wall by adhesive.

5. A weather excluder substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS: 1. A weather excluder of the kind comprising an elongate sill member for locating on a threshold below the lower edge of a door, the sill member having a rear wall to which is secured a barrier of thermally insulating material, the rear wall having an overhanging ledge and the barrier being located beneath the overhanging ledge.

2. A weather excluder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the barrier is made of a closed cell material.

3. A weather excluder as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the barrier is secured to the rear wall by adhesive.