GB2301621A

GB2301621A - Window or like stay

Info

Publication number: GB2301621A
Application number: GB9614933A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard John Rawlinson
Original assignee: Nico Manufacturing Ltd
Current assignee: Nico Manufacturing Ltd
Priority date: 1994-07-19
Filing date: 1995-07-19
Publication date: 1996-12-11
Anticipated expiration: 2015-07-19
Also published as: GB9514795D0; GB2291678A; GB2291678B; GB2301621B; GB9614933D0

Abstract

A stay for a window or the like of the type with a track and at least two sliders movable along the track has a catch for locking one of the sliders (113) to the track and the catch is released automatically when the stay reaches a predetermined position of opening. In the embodiment shown the catch comprises a locking member (112) biassed to engage in a recess in the track and withdrawn from the recess by a cam (111) on one of the stay pivots which turns as the stay opens. In an alternative arrangement the locking member is biassed out of the recess but is held in the recess by an overlying stay member until the stay reaches the predetermined position. The two sliders may be held together by a further catch as they move along the track.

Description

STAY WITH CATCH The present invention relates to a stay, and particularly, but not exclusively to an egress stay.

In a conventional friction stay, a main bar, which in use is normally fixed to a window or other moveable leaf, is pivotally interconnected via other stay members to a track and to at least one slider mounted in the track. In the closed position of the stay the main bar and the other stay members overlie the track. To open the window, the main bar moves pivotally outwards away from the plane of the track and is supported at an angle to the track by the other stay members. Typically the other stay members include a rear link which extends from the main bar to a fixed pivot point towards the bottom of the track, together with other links which are pivotally connected to the slider which moves along the track as the stay is opened.

Conventional stays of this type typically allow opening of a window to an angle of, say, 600 or 700.

However it has increasingly been recognised as being desirable to provide windows which can open to an angle of substantially 9oo and which when fully open allow sufficient clearance for someone to escape through the window. EP-B-0294980 discloses one example of such an egress hinge. In this design the rear link, which in conventional stays typically has a fixed pivot point on the track, is instead mounted to a second slider which moves up along the track as the stay is opened. The movement of the second slider is limited at its uppermost and lowermost extremes by appropriately positioned fixed stops in the track. The first slider has only a very limited range of movement between fixed stops set in the track. A disadvantage of this type of design is that the outside surface of the window is not readily accessible from inside for cleaning.To overcome this, it has been proposed to use a first (upper) slider, which instead of being retained by fixed stops has a releasable catch. This is disclosed, for example, in US-A-4571776. Normally the catch is engaged and holds the upper slider fixed. However, with the stay in the fully open position, the catch can be released and then both sliders and the whole stay moves down along the track providing a space above the upper slider to allow access to the outside surface of the window.

According to the present invention, there is provided a stay comprising: a track; at least two sliders mounted for movement along the track; a plurality of stay members pivotally interconnected to each other and to the sliders and arranged to support a window or other movable leaf for pivotal movement out of the plane of the track; and, a catch associated with one of the sliders, the catch when engaged holding the slider against movement along the track, the catch comprising a locking member provided on said one of the sliders, a recess provided on the track arranged to receive the locking member to engage the catch, the locking member being releasable from the recess in response to the opening of the stay to a predetermined position, the locking member being biassed either towards the recess and being withdrawn from the recess by a cam connected to one of the stay members, or being biassed away from the recess and being held in the recess by one of the stay members overlying the locking member when the stay is closed, and being withdrawn from the recess when the stay is opened to a position in which the stay member does not overlie the locking member.

While the use of a releasable catch on a slider has been recognised as providing greater flexibility in the operation of stays, and in particular, as discussed above, has made it possible to move an egress stay into a configuration which allows cleaning of the outside of the window, with designs known hitherto manual intervention has always been required to release the catch. The present inventors have recognised that manipulating the catch to release will often prove difficult, with access to the catch being at least partially blocked by the other stay members, the window and the frame. In the Anderberg example discussed above, for example a special tool is required before the catch can be released. These problems are further magnified by the fact that the stays are generally used in pairs and so two such catches need to be released simultaneously.

The present invention, and that disclosed in our copending application GB-A-2291678 from which the present application is divided, overcomes these disadvantages by providing a catch which is released automatically when the stay reaches a predetermined position. This greatly enhances the ease of use of the stay. The invention can also provided enhanced safety. In the case of side hung windows, the present invention avoids the risk associated with the user having to reach up to the uppermost stay on the top of the window.

Preferably the stay includes a further catch which engages to restrict the movement of one slider with respect to the other so that their relative separation is substantially fixed as the sliders are moved along the track.

This aspect of the invention provides increased safety and convenience of operation for the stay by effectively locking one slider to the other so that, once the catch formerly holding the slider against movement has been released, the two sliders are maintained at a separation which is fixed, give or take any play in the catch, and the stay is thereby kept in a fixed angular position. When, for example, the stay is used to provide an egress stay with an teasy-clean" feature, this aspect of the invention ensures that while the window is being cleaned it remains fixed in the 900 position.

Preferably the further catch is arranged to engage automatically when the stay has been opened to the said predetermined position.

Preferably the further catch is arranged to be released only when the sliders have been returned to a position in which the first catch associated with one of the sliders re-engages to hold the slider against movement along the track.

A further significant advantage of this aspect of the invention is that it ensures that before the stay is closed the restrictor catch acting between one of the sliders and the track is re-set. The further catch acting between the sliders is only released once the sliders have been pushed home to their original position, and only then can the stay be closed.

Preferably the further catch comprises a catch member mounted to one of the sliders and arranged to engage a complementary formation on the other of the sliders.

Preferably the catch member is mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the said one slider.

Stays embodying the present invention will now be described in further detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a partially open egress stay showing the general principle of the present invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the stay of Figure 1 when closed; Figure 3 shows a detail of the stay of Figure 1; Figures 4a and 4b show a first catch design for a stay according to the present invention; Figures 5a and 5b show a second catch design for a stay according to the present invention; Figures 6a and 6b show a third catch design for a stay according to the present invention; and, Figures 7a and 7b show a fourth catch design for a stay according to the present invention.

Figures 1 to 3 show an egress stay which comprises a track 1, which in use is fixed to a window frame and a main bar 2 which in use is fixed to the window. A rear link 3 is pivotally connected at one end to the main bar 2 and at the other end to a lower slider 4. A forward link 5 and further link 6 are pivotally mounted on an upper slider 7.

The other end of the forward link 5 is connected to the main bar 2 towards the nose 8 of the main bar 2. The end of the further link 6 away from the slider 7 is connected to a pivot point part way along the rear link 3.

The catch member shown in Figures 1 to 3 does not fall within the scope of the present invention, but is described here for clarity of the operation of the stays according to the present invention. The catch member shown in Figures 1 to 3 is covered by our co-pending application, GB-A2291678 from which the present application is divided. The catch member 9 is pivotally mounted on the slider 7. It includes a lateral projection 10, which, with the stay closed or partially open as in Figure 1, engages in a slot 11 in the side wall of the track and by so doing holds the slider 7 against movement in the track.

In addition to the lateral projection 10, the catch member 9 includes a longitudinal tongue 12 the end of which is bent over to provide an angled tip. It further includes a small tag 13. A coil spring 14 located within the slider 7 bears against the tag 13 to bias the catch member into engagement with the slot in the track.

Both of the sliders may be formed from a plastics material such as Nylon and may include screws for adjustment of the friction.

In use, as the stay is opened the lower slider 4 moves upwards towards the upper slider 7 until the fully opened position shown in Figure 3 is reached. The lower slider includes an integrally formed longitudinal projection 15 generally complementary in shape to the tongue on the end of the catch member. As the lower slider moves upwards a camming surface 16 on the end of the projection 15, engages the tip of the tongue 12 and begins to displace the tongue 12 laterally. Further upwards movement of the slider 4 then moves the catch member 12 to a position in which the projection 10 clears the slot 11 in the track, thereby releasing the catch.

In this fully open position the friction of the sliders in the track is sufficient to hold the window open against movement as the result of accidental buffeting.

However, since the catch has been released, the user can, by bearing on the window, slide the stay members and sliders along the track, in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 3, to gain access to the outer surface of the window mounted on the bar.

In general a pair of such stays is used and the operation of fully opening the window is effective to release simultaneously the catches on both stays.

After the window has been cleaned, the stay is closed by bearing on the window moving the main bar inwards towards the track. As this is done the sliders move apart towards their respective ends of the track. As the lower slider moves downwards it encounters a portion of the track which has been crimped by pressing the upper lip of the track downwards so as to increase the friction encountered by the lower slider in that portion of the track.

Therefore when it reaches this position the lower slider tends to stop moving and further closing movement of the stay pushes the upper slider fully home to the position in which the catch resets with the projection entering the slot under the bias from the spring. Then with the upper slider fixed by the catch, the lower slider moves further downwards until the stay reaches its fully closed position.

Figures 4 and 7 show a number of catch mechanisms which, when used on a stay generally as described above, form part of the present invention. These are generally applicable to a variety of stay designs, including both normally-easy-clean and normally-egress stays.

In the catch of Figures 4a and 4b, a cam 111 is fixed to a square drive at the pivot point of front bar 110 on slider 113. A parallel knurl engages the front bar to the front pivot and the cam 111 is riveted on the underside.

A pawl 112 is housed within the body of the slider and is spring biased in the direction transverse to the length of the track. With the catch engaged, the pawl enters a slot in the side wall of the track in the region referenced S and so holds the slider against movement. As the stay is opened the cam 110 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow, and at the fully open position engages the pawl 112 and draws it out of the slot in the track thereby releasing the catch.

Figures 5a and 5b show the catch mechanism of Figure 4 operating instead on the other pivot of the slider. As before, movement of the cam 111' lifts the pawl 112' out of engagement with a slot to release the slider for movement along the track.

In the stay of Figure 6, the catch is provided by a locking button 151 carried in the slider and which is normally located in a hole 152 in the base of the track 152. When located in the hole it holds the slider against movement. The button is spring-biased to lift out of the hole, but can only do so when, at the predetermined position, the bar 154 clears the button. The slider is then freed to move. When the stay is closed, the bar 154 passes over the button and pushes it down into the hole 151.

Figures 7a and 7b show a variation on the catch of Figure 6, in which the button 151 is shaped and located so that it is freed from the hole depending on the position of the other bar 161.

Claims

1. A stay comprising: a track; at least two sliders mounted for movement along the track; a plurality of stay members pivotally interconnected to each other and to the sliders and arranged to support a window or other movable leaf for pivotal movement out of the plane of the track; and, a catch associated with one of the sliders, the catch when engaged holding the slider against movement along the track, the catch comprising a locking member provided on said one of the sliders, a recess provided on the track arranged to receive the locking member to engage the catch, the locking member being releasable from the recess in response to the opening of the stay to a predetermined position, the locking member being biassed either towards the recess and being withdrawn from the recess by a cam connected to one of the stay members, or being biassed away from the recess and being held in the recess by one of the stay members overlying the locking member when the stay is closed, and being withdrawn from the recess when the stay is opened to a position in which the stay member does not overlie the locking member.

2. A stay according to claim 1, further characterised by a further catch which engages to restrict the movement of one slider with respect to the other so that their relative separation is substantially fixed as the sliders are moved along the track.

3. A stay according to claim 2, in which the further catch is arranged to engage automatically when the stay has been opened to the said predetermined position.

4. A stay according to claim 2 or 3, in which the further catch is arranged to be released only when the sliders have been returned to a position in which the first catch associated with one of the sliders re-engages to hold the slider against movement along the track.

5. A stay according to any one of claims 2 to 4, in which the further catch comprises a catch member mounted to one of the sliders and arranged to engage a complementary formation on the other of the sliders.

6. A stay according to claim 5, in which the further catch member is mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the said one slider.

7. A stay according to any of the preceding claims, in which the sliders are made from a plastics material.

8. A stay according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a cam is mounted on a pivot of one of the stay members and arranged to turn as the stay is opened to withdraw the locking member from the recess.

9. A stay as shown in, or described with respect to, any one of Figures 4 to 7.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS 1. A stay comprising: a track; at least two sliders mounted for movement along the track; a plurality of stay members pivotally interconnected to each other and to the sliders and arranged to support a window or other movable leaf for pivotal movement out of the plane of the track; and, a catch associated with one of the slides, the catch when engaged holding the slider against movement along the track, the catch comprising a locking member provided on said one of the slides, an opening provided on the track arranged to receive the locking member to engage the catch, the locking member being releasable from the opening in response to the opening of the stay to a predetermined position, the locking member being biassed either towards the opening and being withdrawn from the opening by a cam connected to one of the stay members, or being biassed away from the opening and being held in the

by one of the stay members overlying the locking member when the stay is closed, and being withdrawn from the opening when the stay is opened to a position in which the stay member does not overlie the locking member.