GB2306998A

GB2306998A - Stay

Info

Publication number: GB2306998A
Application number: GB9622932A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Martin Crawley Franklin
Original assignee: Nico Manufacturing Ltd
Current assignee: Nico Manufacturing Ltd
Priority date: 1995-11-08
Filing date: 1996-11-04
Publication date: 1997-05-14
Also published as: GB9522865D0; GB9622932D0

Abstract

A stay comprises a track 1 secured to a frame and connected by pivotal links to a bar secured to a sash. Track 1 has upstand 12 with projection 13, preferably toothed, inclined at an obtuse angle to upstand 12 and inserted in a hole in an upright frame member. The sash bar of the stay has upstand 9 whose turned-over upper end has tag 10 located in a sash groove. With the stay in a closed position, projection 14 on upstand 12 engages in slot 11 in upstand 9. For a sash without a groove, upstand 9 is not turned over, and is screwed to the sash. Alternatively (Fig. 4, not shown) an upstand on the sash bar engages a side of the projection 14 when the stay is closed. The arrangements increase stay security.

Description

A STAY The present invention relates to a stay suitable for supporting a window or other movable leaf. It is particularly concerned with a stay designed to offer increased protection against forced entry.

In a closed window or door fitted with a conventional friction stay, the stay represents a significant point of weakness. By inserting a crowbar or other lever, it is often possible to prise apart the main bar fitted to the sash, and the track of the stay, making it possible to lift the sash out of the frame. It has been proposed to strengthen stays against this type of attack by, for example, providing an extension on the nose-end of the bar, or on the slider. When the stay is in the closed position, the extension locates in a socket in the frame. While this provides some measure of increased security, it adds significantly to the cost and complexity of the process for manufacture, and also makes it more difficult to fit the stay.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stay comprising a base member which in use is fixed to a frame, a main bar which is fixed to a sash or other movable leaf, and a plurality of stay member pivotally interconnected to each other and to the base member and arranged to support the sash or other movable leaf for pivotal movement out of the plane of the base member1 characterised by an upstand located at one end of the base member and a projection extending away from the upstand at one end thereof at an obtuse angle to the upstand, in use the projection locating in a correspondingly located hole in the frame.

The projection on the upstand of the base member of the stay is surrounded by the side walls of the hole in the frame. Accordingly, any attempt to prise the base member away from the frame is prevented by engagement of the projection with the side walls of the hole.

As the projection is at an obtuse angle to the upstanding portion, rather than being parallel to the base member, the end of the projection tends to engage the top of the hole to provide increased resistance against withdrawal of the projection from the hole.

The upstand and projection may be in the form of an insert having a base portion which is connected to the base member of the stay, an upstanding portion generally at right angles to the base portion, and a projection.

The projection may advantageously be provided with teeth along one of its longitudinal edges to engage the frame and to provide increased resistance against the withdrawal of the portion from the hole.

The upstand preferably includes a second projection extending generally perpendicularly to the upstand and arranged so that, in use, when the stay is closed, the second projection overlies the main bar. With this arrangement, the overlying projection prevents the main bar being prised away from the base member. In this case it is further preferred that the main bar includes an upstand which abuts one side of the second projection to prevent lateral movement of the main bar with respect to the base member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stay comprising a base member which in use is fixed to a frame, a main bar which in use is fixed to one side of a sash or other movable leaf, and a plurality of stay members pivotally interconnected to each other and to the base member and arranged to support the sash or other movable leaf for pivotal movement out of the plane of the base member, characterised by an upstand located at one end of the main bar and arranged in use to extend along at least part of an adjoining side of the sash in the direction at right angles to the main bar, and fixing means for securing the upstand to the sash.

The present inventors have found that a significant increase in the strength of the stay can be realised by providing an upstand which extends along, and in use is secured to, a side of the sash adjoining the side to which the main bar is fixed. Then when force is applied to the stay, that force tends to be born by the body of the sash along its length, rather than being concentrated just at the fixing points between the main bar and the sash.

Preferably the upstand is formed integrally with the main bar. Preferably the upstand includes at its end a folded-back portion lying generally parallel to the main bar and positioned to engage a groove in the sash.

Alternatively, the upstand may be secured to the sash by a screw or other fastening.

Preferably the upstand includes a slot or aperture and the stay further comprises a projecting member fixed to the track and arranged to locate in the slot or aperture in the upstand when the stay is in the closed position.

Preferably the projecting member is formed integrally with a further upstand fixed to the end of the base member which, in the closed position of the stay, is adjacent the said one end of the main bar. In this case, the upstand may be in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention.

To improve the closing geometry of the stay according to either the first or second aspect of the present invention, one of the pivotal connections connecting the base member, main bar and stays may advantageously be provided offset from the centre line of the main bar and base member when closed. This may be achieved by offsetting the pivot point between one of the stay members and the main bar to the outside of the centre line of the main bar.

Systems 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 stay embodying both aspects of the present invention; Figures 2A, 2B and 2C are a plan view, side elevation and end view respectively of a detail of a stay of Figure 1; Figures 3A and 3B are perspective views of the stay in use, Figure 3B omitting the frame for clarity; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a stay showing the features of the first aspect of the present invention.

A friction stay comprises a track 1 which in use is fixed to a window frame and a main bar 3 which in use is fixed to one side of a movable sash. Forward links 4, 5 are pivotally mounted on a slider 7. Trailing link 6 extends between a fixed pivot point at the rear end of the track 1 and a pivotal connection approximately half way along the main bar 3. In this example, the stay also includes a restrictor catch 8.

An upstand 9 is formed integrally with the main bar 3 at its forward end. The end of the upstand 9 is folded back to lie parallel with the main bar 3 and includes at its extremity a tag 10. As shown in further detail in Figures 3A and 3B, the tag 10 locates in a groove in the sash and by so doing secures the sash to the stay. In particular, engagement between the tag and the side walls of the groove helps resist a force applied generally at right angles to the plane of the sash.

The illustrated example uses a Eurogroove profile.

Alternatively, the stay might be used with a flat bed sash.

Then the folded back end of the upstand might be omitted, and the upstand secured to the sash by a screw passing through the portion of the upstand at right angles to the bar. The screw passes into the flat bed of the sash.

In the example shown in Figures 1 to 3, the upstand 9 also includes a laterally extending slot 11. An insert 12 secured to the end of the track 1 is cut and pressed to form two tags 13, 14 at its free end. One of the tags 14 is pressed back to lie generally parallel to the track 1 and is located so that, in the closed position of the stay, it extends through the slot 11 in the upstand 9.

The other tag 13 is pressed forward so that it extends away from the track 1 at an obtuse angle to the upstanding portion of the insert 12. The base portion 14 of the insert 12 extends within the track 1 and is secured by a screw passing through pre-formed apertures 15 in the insert and in the base of the track.

In this example, the tag 13 is formed with teeth along one side to increase locking into the section when under load. As the stay is initially fitted to the frame, it is angled so as to insert the tag 13 through a hole 131 in the inner wall of the frame. The stay is then moved down to locate the track in the frame. The tag 13 then engages the inner wall of the frame and so helps to retain the stay in the frame against forces applied to the stay.

In the present example, the main bar and other stay members are cut and pressed from stainless steel 3mm thick.

This example was tested using the industry standard BSI test for security stays known as PASSO11. The stay readily passed this test, which involves resisting an applied force of 3000N. With the applied load significantly increased, by more than 10%, the stay again passed.

The increased strength inherent in the present design is such that it may be possible to use steel of 2.5mm or thinner while still maintaining a high level of security.

Figure 4 shows an alternative stay embodying the features of the first aspect of the present invention only.

In this case, the track 1, tag 13,14 and forward links 4,5 mounted to the slider 7 are as previously described. The main bar 19 which is connected, in use, to the window sash, does not include an integral upstand with a folded back end, but is instead provided with a nose bar 18 attached to the bar 19 by a rivet 17 connecting forward link 4 to the main bar 19. The nose bar 18 includes an upstand 16. When the stay is closed, the tag 14 overlies the main bar 19, and the track 1. Furthermore, the edge of the upstand 16 abuts the edge of the tag 14 to prevent undesired lateral movement of the main bar 19 with respect to the track 1.

As shown in Figure 4, the rivet 17 connecting the forward link 4 and the arm 19 is offset from the longitudinal centre line of the arm 19. This improves the closing geometry of the stay.

Claims

1. A stay comprising base member which in use is fixed to a frame, a main bar which is fixed to a sash or other moveable leaf, and a plurality of stay members pivotally interconnected to each other and to the base member and arranged to support the sash or other moveable leaf for pivotal movement out of the plane of the base member, characterised by an upstand located at one end of the base member and a projection extending away from the upstand at one end thereof at an obtuse angle to the upstand, in use the projection locating in a correspondingly located hole in the frame.

2. A stay according to claim 1, in which the projection includes teeth along one of its longitudinal edges.

3. A stay comprising a base member which in use is fixed to a frame, a main bar which in use is fixed to one side of a sash or other movable leaf, and a plurality of stay members pivotally interconnected to each other and to the base member and arranged to support the sash or other 9r movable leaf for pivotal movement out of the plane of the base member, characterised by an upstand located at one end of the main bar and arranged in use to extend along at least part of an adjoining side of the sash in the direction at right angles to the one side.

4. A stay according to claim 3, in which the upstand is formed integrally with the main bar.

5. A stay according to claim 3 or 4, in which the upstand includes at its end a folded-back portion lying generally parallel to the main bar and positioned to engage a groove in the sash, thereby providing the said fixing means.

6. A stay according to any one of claims 3 to 5, in which the upstand includes a slot or aperture and the stay further comprises a projecting member fixed to the base member and arranged to locate in the slot or aperture in the upstand when the stay is in the closed position.

7. A stay according to claim 6, in which the projecting member is formed integrally with a further upstand fixed to the end of the base member which1 in the closed position the stay is adjacent the said one end of the main bar.

8. A stay according to any one of claims 3 to 7, further comprising the features of claims 1 or 2.

9. A stay according to any one of the preceding claims in which the base member comprises a track arranged to receive the slider, at least some of the stay members being pivotally connected to the slider, in which the upstand on the base member comprises an insert having a base portion which is inserted into the end of the track, an upstanding portion generally at right angles to the base portion, and a top portion including the projections.

10. A stay substantially as shown in or as described with respect to the accompanying drawings.