GB2293192A

GB2293192A - Joint connector between members, one of which is tubular

Info

Publication number: GB2293192A
Application number: GB9518370A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Malcolm Colin Craddock
Original assignee: ULMKE METALS Ltd
Current assignee: ULMKE METALS Ltd
Priority date: 1994-09-15
Filing date: 1995-09-08
Publication date: 1996-03-20
Anticipated expiration: 2015-09-08
Also published as: GB9418581D0; GB9518370D0; GB2293192B

Abstract

For a joint between a tubular member 4 and a second member 6, an end connector 5, preferably a plastics moulding, is provided having a pad part 12 which abuts an end edge of the tubular member and seats on, to be secured by a staple 23 to, the second member, and a connecting part 13 which inserts into the tubular member, preferably as a frictional push fit. A recess 18 in the connecting part has opposed inclined surfaces 19 which cause prongs of the staple pierced through the pad part to be inwardly deflected over the pad part to enhance the security of engagement of the staple with the end connector. The tubular and second member may be respectively a bar 4 and a frame member 6 of a sealed glazed unit as shown in figure 1. A staple gun may be used having a positioning device (figure 6) by which it is readily centred on the frame member for firing a staple through the second member into the pad part. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO JOINTS BETWEEN MEMBERS OF WHICH AT LEAST ONE IS TUBULAR This invention relates to joints between members of which at least one is tubular, and has particular, though not exclusive, relevance to joints between frame and bar members in sealed glazed units for windows and doors.

Sealed glazed units which have a hermetically sealed space between spaced glazing panes may have bar members provided in the space to give the appearance of glazing bars. Usually the bar members are arranged in a grid form and are commonly called "Georgian bars".

The bar members engage with, and are usually fixed to, the frame members of a peripheral frame surrounding the sealed space. Fixing is by means of end connectors attached to ends of the bar members and secured to the frame members.

Various ways of securing the end connectors to the frame members have been proposed. One method is to drill holes into the frame members and locate pegs on undersurfaces of the end connectors in the holes. The holes are not always accurately centred so that bar members are incorrectly spaced and may not extend perpendicularly to the frame members, with the result that the appearance of the glazed unit is spoiled.

Drilling holes takes time, and connectors can turn on the frame members about the pegs; there can be cumulative error in marking out the frame members for the holes to be drilled and from inadequate hand and eye coordination of the person doing the drilling, and frame members can be wasted because of incorrect drilling, thereby adding to production costs. Another method has been to apply self-adhesive patches on undersurfaces of the end connectors to bond them to the frame members. This is a relatively expensive method and accurate, first time, positioning of the bar members relative to the frame members is necessary because once the end connectors have been bonded to the frame members by the self-adhesive patches it is very difficult to move them to make any adjustment that may be required.A further method of securing the bar members has been by means of staples which are fired through the frame members, from outer peripheral surfaces of the members, into the end connectors.

Since the frame members are usually tubular with thin walls, and commonly made of metal such as aluminium, suitable staples can penetrate through the material of the frame members without undue difficulty. Whilst the staples can be applied quickly, they are not always secured reliably to the end connectors and the person applying the staples has to be particularly careful in positioning the end connectors correctly on the frame members.

It is an aim of the present invention to facilitate fixing together of such members.

According to the first aspect of the present invention an end connector is provided which is adapted for use in a joint between a tubular member and a second member and comprises a pad part adapted to abut against an end edge of the tubular member and to seat on the second member, and a connecting part joined to and extending from the pad part for insertion into the tubular member from said end edge, the connecting part having therein, adjacent to an intermediate portion of the pad part, a recess at which are opposed mutually inclined surfaces converging towards one another away from the pad part, the intermediate portion of the pad part being pierceable by prongs of a staple applied to the second member for the prongs to enter into the recess, and the arrangement of the inclined surfaces being such as to cause staple prongs entered into the recess through the intermediate portion to be deflected inwardly towards one another.

According to a second aspect of the present invention a joint is provided in which a tubular member is connected at an end thereof to a second member by means of an end connector in accordance with the foregoing first aspect of the invention which is secured to the second member by a staple, the end connector being secured by prongs of the staple which pierce through the intermediate portion of the pad part from the second member and are deflected inwardly towards one another in the recess by the inclined surfaces of the connecting part of the end connector.

The inward deflection of the staple prongs at least partially closes them over the intermediate portion of the pad part and thereby assists in retaining the security of the engagement of the staple with the end connector. Preferably the inclined surfaces are inclined at about 700 to the pad part.

The staple holds the end connector firmly, and restrains it from turning relative to the second member.

Preferably the end connector is made of a plastics material, as a moulding.

The pad part may be flat and relatively thin.

The connecting part of the end connector may be of a generally U-shape, the web of the U being remote from the pad part and the space between the limbs of the U defining the required recess in the connecting part.

At least adjacent to the pad part inner surfaces of the limbs of the U may be inclined to provide the mutually inclined surfaces of the recess.

Preferably the connecting part of the end connector is designed to be a push fit in the end of the tubular member. The connecting part may have some resistance to enhance its their frictional engagement in the tubular member. For example, the connecting part may have resilient wing portions which bear on the tubular member as the connecting part is pushed into the end of the member. The wing portions may be of a skeletal form.

The tubular and second members may be made of metal, plastics or other material. Both members may be tubular. The second member may instead be of strip, sheet, channel, angle or other form suitable for fixing to the end connector by the staple.

The tubular member may be a bar of a sealed glazed unit, and the second member may be a frame member of the glazed unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention a sealed glazed unit is provided comprising glazing panes between which there is a hermetically sealed space surrounded by a peripheral frame of connected and sealed members between edge portions of the panes, and in which space are one or more tubular bar members connected at ends thereof to the frame members by means of end connectors each of which is in accordance with the foregoing first aspect of the invention and is secured to the respective frame member by a staple, the staple having prongs which pierce through the intermediate portion of the pad part from the frame member and are deflected inwardly towards one another in the recess by the inclined surfaces of the connecting part of the end connector.

It is usual for frame members of sealed glazed units to be filled with a suitable desiccant and for the frame members to have perforations opening to the space between the glazing panes for the air in the space to be kept dry by the desiccant, so avoiding condensation forming on the panes in the space. The frame members of the sealed glazed unit in accordance with the third aspect of the invention provided may similarly be filled with a desiccant. The use of the staples to secure the end connectors does not impair the effective filling of the frame members with desiccant, unlike the known arrangement described in which pegs of end connectors located in holes drilled into the frame members appreciably restrict the interiors of the frame members, making complete filling of the frame members difficult and a slow process.

As an aid to centring of the or each bar member on the frame members the pad parts of the end connectors are preferably of a width corresponding to the width of the frame members to which the end connectors are secured. Conveniently the pad parts also have parallel side edges along opposite sides of their widths. A person securing the end connectors to the frame members in the construction of the sealed glazed unit will therefore know that when the pad part of an end connector is positioned on a frame member with its parallel side edges coincident with opposite longitudinal sides of the frame member, the end connector is properly centred on the frame member.

Also the connecting part is correctly disposed relative to the frame member for the secured bar member to be square to the frame member. The pad parts extend across the full width of the space between the glazing panes without interfering with the desired flush, abutting contact of the panes against the opposite sides of the frame member.

Glazed units in accordance with the third aspect of the present invention may, of course, be made in various sizes, and with the space between the glazing panes of different widths. End connectors may be made having pad parts in a range of widths to suit the different widths of the frame members.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming a joint in accordance with the foregoing second aspect of the invention between a tubular member and a second member, comprising the steps of attaching the end connector to an end of the tubular member by inserting the connecting part into the tubular member at said end such that the pad part of the end connector abuts against an end edge of the tubular member, locating the tubular member in a required position on the surface of the second member, seating the pad part on said surface,and then securing the tubular member to the second member by fixing a staple through the second member from a surface opposite to said surface for prongs of the staple to pierce through the intermediate portion of the pad part of the end connector and enter the recess of the connecting part, where they are deflected inwardly towards one another by the inclined surfaces of the connecting part.

To assist in positioning the staple correctly for engagement with the pad part of the end connector, a staple gun by which the staple is fired may have a positioning device, for example in the form of a flange or lugs on the front end of the sole of the gun, which projects from the front of the staple gun and engages with the tubular member adjacent to the second member so as to position the staple gun for a staple to be centred properly on the second member for firing into the pad part of an end connector. The arrangement removes the skill requirements for hand and eye co-ordination of the person using the staple gun, enabling staples to be applied quickly and with ease.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an elevational view of a sealed glazed unit in accordance with the third aspect of the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of an end connector used in the glazed unit; Figure 3 is an inverted plan view of the end connector; Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, of a bar member of the glazed unit connected to a frame member by means of the end connector; Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 4, and Figure 6 is a perspective view of a bar member of the glazed unit being positioned on a frame member with the aid of a positioning device.

A simplified form of sealed glazed unit is shown in Figure 1, comprising a pair of parallel glazing panes 1 spaced apart by a peripheral rectangular frame 2 sandwiched between edge portions of the panes and enclosing a sealed space 3 between the panes in which are bar members 4 connected to the frame by end connectors 5.

The frame 2 is constructed of tubular frame members 6, made of rolled and seam welded aluminium sheet, connected at corners of the frame by moulded plastics corner pieces 7 which key into the bores of the frame members. The frame members are each of a modified rectangular cross section presenting a flat inner surface 8 into the frame and a parallel outer surface 9. Along the frame members 6 rows of fine perforations 10 are formed through the inner surfaces 8 into the bores of the members. All other parts of the walls of the frame members are imperforate. The bores are filled with beads, not-shown, of a suitable desiccant, the perforations 10 providing communication with the sealed space 3 between the glazing panes for the air in the space to be dried by the desiccant.

Bar members 4 are made of lengths of aluminium tube. In cross-section, which is elongate, the bar members, as best seen in Figure 5, have a parallel-sided central region and tapering opposite end regions stepped down from the central region terminating in squared ends. At the central region the width of the cross-section between the parallel sides is less than the width of the frame members at their inner surfaces. The bar members are connected together in the form of a right-angled cross by a central, cross-shaped, moulded plastics connecting piece 11 arms, not shown, of which are a push fit in the bores of the adjacent inner ends of the bar members. Outer ends of the bar members are connected to the mid-points of the lengths of the frame members by the end connectors. The resultant appearance is of intersecting glazing bars in the frame.The elongation of the cross-section of the bar members 4 is lengthwise of the frame members.

Each end connector 5 is a unitary plastics moulding, preferably of Nylon 6, comprising, as shown in Figures 2 to 4, a pad part 12 and an integral connecting part 13. The pad part 12 is relatively thin, typically lmm thick, and corresponds in outline shape largely with the external cross-section of a bar member 4, except that at its central region 14 it is symmetrically widened to provide lateral tabs 15 which increase the width of the pad part to be the same as the width of the inner surface 8 of a frame member 6, Figure 5. The connecting part 13 is more robust than the pad part and is of a generally U-shape having spaced limbs 16 joined to the pad part at either side of the central region 14, and a web 17 remote from the pad part. A recess 18 is defined in the connecting part between the limbs 16 behind the pad part. For about half their lengths from the web 17 the limbs 16 are parallel and narrowly spaced; they then splay outwardly, as indicated at 16', to meet the pad part.

Inner faces of the splayed parts 16' are inclined at approximately 700 to the pad part. Adjacent to the pad part the splayed parts 16' are reduced in width to be narrower than the end regions of the pad part at either side of the central region 14, but otherwise they are of the same width as the parallel portions of the limbs 16 and the web 17 which is complementary to the width of the central region of the bore of the bar members 4. Where the splayed parts are wider their inner faces present striker surfaces 19. Outside the limbs 16 the connecting part 13 has skeletal wings 20.

Each wing 20 comprises a lateral arm 21 projecting from the respective limb 16 next to the web 17 and an outwardly bowed rib 22 extending from the free end of the arm 21 to the outer end of the splayed part 16' of the limb, adjacent to the pad part. At their central sections the distance between outer surfaces of the bowed ribs 22 is slightly greater than the distance between the inner surfaces of the narrower ends of the bore cross-section of the bar members and the ribs 22 have some resilience.

The end connectors are attached to the outer ends of the bar members 4 by pushing their connecting parts into the bores of the bar members, their wings 20 in the narrow end regions of the bores of the bar members. The ribs 22 of the wings 20 bear resiliently on the insides of the narrower ends of the bores of the bar members. The lateral tabs 15 of the pad parts project from opposite sides of the central region of the bar members.

Assembling of the bar members 4, connecting piece 11 and end connectors is done before they are fitted into the frame 2. The assembly is fitted into the frame with the bar members at right angles to the respective frame members 6 and their outer ends at the mid-points of the lengths of the frame members. Each bar member is set so that the outer parallel side edges of the lateral tabs 15 of the pad part of the end connector fitted to the bar member coincide with the opposite sides of the frame members. The bar member is then properly centred on the frame member. When the bar members have been set they are secured to the frame members by firing staples 23 through the frame members from the outer surfaces 9 for their prongs 24 to pierce through the central regions of the pad parts and enter into the recesses 18.In the recesses the ends of the prongs 24 strike the striker surfaces 19 of the connecting parts. This helps to retain the staples in secure engagement with the end connectors so that the bar members are securely held in place in the frame.

As an aid for positioning the staples correctly relative to the end connectors for firing through the frame members, the staple gun may be provided with a positioning device 25, as shown in Figure 6. The positioning device 25 comprises an L-shaped flange having a longer limb 26 by which it is attached to the front end of the sole of the staple gun, and a shorter limb 27 which has a recess 28 in its free end edge profiled to fit against one of the longer sides of a bar member. When the staple gun is positioned against the outside of a frame member opposite a bar member to be secured and the profiled recess 28 is engaged over one side of the bar member centred on the frame member, the gun is correctly positioned for a staple to be fired centrally into the pad part of the end connector attached to the bar member.

The glazed unit is completed by fitting the glazing panes 16 to the frame in the usual manner for assembly in a window frame or in a door.

Although the frame members and bar members have been described as being made of aluminium, it will be understood that they may be made of another metal, or of a plastics or other suitable material. It is known, for example, for members of glazed units to be made of a butyl rubber including a sealant and desiccant. Such a material may be used in the embodiment described.

Claims

1. An end connector which is adapted for use in a joint between a tubular member and a second member and comprises a pad part adapted to abut against an end edge of the tubular member and to seat on the second member, and a connecting part joined to and extending from the pad part for insertion into the tubular member from said end edge, the connecting part having therein, adjacent to an intermediate portion of the pad part, a recess at which are opposed mutually inclined surfaces converging towards one another away from the pad part, the intermediate portion of the pad part being pierceable by prongs of a staple applied to the second member for the prongs to enter into the recess, and the arrangement of the inclined surfaces being such as to cause staple prongs entered into the recess through the intermediate portion to be deflected inwardly towards one another.

2. An end connector according to claim 1 wherein the inclined surfaces are each inclined at approximately 700 to the pad part.

3. An end connector according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the pad part is flat.

4. An end connector according to any preceding claim wherein the connecting part is of a generally U-shape having a web remote from the pad part and spaced limbs between which the recess is defined.

5. An end connector according to claim 4 wherein at least adjacent to the pad part inner surfaces of the spaced limbs are inclined to provide the mutually inclined surfaces of the recess.

6. An end connector according to any preceding claim wherein the connecting part is designed to be a push fit in the tubular form of the joint for which it is adapted to be used.

7. An end connector according to claim 6 wherein the connecting part has resilient wing portions adapted to bear on the tubular member as the connecting part is pushed into the tubular member, thereby to enhance frictional engagement of the connecting part in the tubular member.

8. An end connector according to claim 7 wherein the wing portions are of a skeletal form.

9. An end connector according to any preceding claim which is made as a moulding of plastics material.

10. A joint in which a tubular member is connected at an end thereof to a second member by means of an end connector as claimed in any preceding claim which is secured to the second member by a staple, the end connector being secured by prongs of the staple which pierce through the intermediate portion of the pad part from the second member and are deflected inwardly towards one another in the recess by the inclined surfaces of the connecting part of the end connector.

11. A joint according to claim 10 wherein the second member is tubular.

12. A joint according to claim 10 or claim 11 wherein the tubular member and second member are made of metal meterial.

13. A joint according to claim 12 wherein the tubular member is made of aluminium tube.

14. A joint according to claim 12 or claim 13 wherein the second member is made of rolled and seam welded aluminium sheet.

15. A joint according to any of claims 10 to 14 wherein the tubular member is a bar of a sealed glazed unit, and the second member is a frame member of the glazed unit.

16. A glazed unit comprising glazing panes between which there is a hermatically sealed space surrounded by a peripheral frame of connected and sealed members between edge portions of the panes, and in which space are one or more tubular bar members connected at ends thereof to the frame by means of end connectors each of which is in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 9 and is secured to the respective frame member by a staple, the staple having prongs which pierce through the intermediate portion of the pad part from the frame member and are deflected inwardly towards one another in the recess by the inclined surfaces of the connecting part of the end connector.

17. A sealed glazed unit according to claim 16 wherein the frame members are filled with a desiccant.

18. A sealed glazed unit according to claim 16 or claim 17 wherein the pad part of each end connector corresponds in outline shape substantially to the external cross-section shape of the bar member to which the end connector is connected.

19. A sealed glazed unit according to any of claims 16 to 18 wherein the pad parts of the end connectors are of a width corresponding to the width of the frame members to which the end connectors are secured.

20. A sealed glazed unit according to claim 19 wherein the pad parts have parallel side edges along opposite sides of their widths coincident with opposite longitudinal sides of the respective frame members to which the end connectors are secured.

21. A sealed glazed unit according to any of claim 16 to 20 wherein the frame members are made of rolled and seam welded aluminium sheet.

22. A sealed glazed unit according to any of claims 16 to 21 wherein the bar members are made of aluminium tube.

23. A sealed glazed unit according to any of claims 16 to 22 wherein the end connectors are each in accordance with claim 7 or claim 8 and the bar members are of elongate cross section having opposite end regions in which the wing portions of the connecting parts of the end connectors are engaged to bear on opposed surfaces of the bar members in the bores thereof.

24. A method of forming a joint as claimed in any of claims 10 to 15 between a tubular member and a second member comprising the steps of attaching the end connector to an end of the tubular member by inserting the connecting part into the bore of the tubular member at said end such that the pad part of the end connector abuts against an end edge of the tubular member, locating the tubular member in a required position on a surface of the second member, seating the pad part on said surface, and then securing the tubular member to the second member by firing a staple through the second member from a surface opposite to said surface for prongs of the staple to pierce through the intermediate portion of the pad part of the end connector and enter the recess of the connecting part, where they are deflected inwardly towards one another by the inclined surfaces of the connecting part.

25. A method according to claim 24 in which the staple is fired through the second member by means of a staple gun provided with a positioning device which projects from the staple gun and so engages with the tubular member as to position the staple gun relative to the tubular and second members for the staple to be caused to be fixed centrally of the pad part of the end connector.

26. An end connector substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

27. A joint between a tubular bar member and a frame member of a sealed glazed unit substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

28. A sealed glazed unit substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

29. A method of forming a joint between a tubular bar member and a frame member substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.