GB2313403A - Stays - Google Patents

Abstract

A fixing arm 8 extending perpendicular to a vent arm 3 of a stay is movable with respect to the vent arm in a direction substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vent arm. The fixing arm provides additional strength to a vent mounted on the vent arm 3, without hindering the process of installation of the vent in a fixed frame.

Description

STAYS This invention relates to stays, and in particular to a vent arm of a stay which includes an additional fixing arm.

Friction stays are well known and generally comprise a support track for attachment to a fixed frame of an opening, a slider mounted in the support track, a vent arm for attachment to a vent for closing the opening and a plurality of struts or links joining the vent arm to the support track using the slider. To open the vent, the slider moves along the support track and the struts and links interact to move the vent arm from a position overlaying the track to a position spaced from and angled to the track. In contrast, when the vent is to be closed, the vent arm is moved towards the support track and the struts and links drive the slider along the support track. When the vent arm approaches its closed position, an end point of the vent arm engages an end cap mounted at one end of the support track. If the end point and end cap are shaped in a particular fashion the inter-engagement of these two components can help to improve the pull-in of the vent into the vent opening, thereby improving the seal around the vent.

End points and end caps for assisting the pull-in of a vent into a vent opening, are described in UK Patent 2 133 458.

Furthermore, high security end points and end caps are disclosed in UK Patent Application 2 267 930 and corresponding European Patent Application 0 573 151. In these patent applications, an end point is describedowhich collapses, if sufficient force is applied to the friction stay by an intruder, such that a hook formed on the end of the metal vent arm digs into the end cap to prevent entry by the intruder.

Generally the vent arm of a stay is planar, although it is sometimes desirable to increase the stack height of a friction stay for certain applications. In such cases the vent arm is sometimes formed with kinks to provide raised portions to which a vent is fixed. Alternatively, it is sometimes desirable to use packers to build up the stack height of a vent arm. Such packers generally comprises simple strips of plastics material with holes therein, which are simply attached to the vent arm by riveting or other appropriate means. Other packers are formed integrally with the end point of a stay. Such packers are described in UK Patent Application 2 283 278.

It has been suggested that a stay might include an Lshaped vent arm for extending around a corner of a vent.

The L-shaped vent arm would enable fixing means to be engaged into a reinforced or unreinforced part of the vent adjacent the corner of the vent, thereby providing extra strength and stability to the mounting of the vent. The security of the vent would therefore be increased.

There are a number of problems associated with such a stay; in particular, once the L-shaped vent arm has been attached to the vent very little, if any, movement of the vent relative to the stay can be obtained. This is a major problem as some movement of the vent is generally required after attachment of the stay to a fixed frame, in order to obtain accurate positioning of the vent in the opening of the fixed frame. This is probably why stays having L-shaped vent arms have not achieved commercial success.

With the foregoing in mind, the present invention provides a fixing arm extending substantially perpendicular to a vent arm of a stay, which is moveable with respect to the vent arm in a direction substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vent arm.

The movable fixing arm allows some movement of the vent once it is attached to the stay thereby enabling the vent to be accurately positioned in the opening of the fixed frame.

Preferably, the fixing arm extending from the vent arm is positioned adjacent the end point of the vent arm.

Furthermore, it is preferred that the fixing arm is movable from a distal position, located adjacent the end point, to a proximal position, located along the vent arm.

Preferably, the distance between the proximal and distal positions is between 1 and 30 mm. More preferably the distance between the proximal and distal positions is 10 mm.

The fixing arm can be connected to the vent arm by any appropriate means, provided the fixing arm can move with respect to the vent arm.

In a preferred embodiment the fixing arm is connected to the vent arm by a guide plate which is directly attached to the vent arm. The fixing arm moves along at least a portion of the guide plate in a direction substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vent arm.

Preferably, the fixing arm has a slot formed in one end to enable the fixing arm to be mounted on the vent arm.

The slot is of a size to allow movement of the fixing arm along the mount (i.e. the vent arm or guide plate).

Preferably, the slot and mount on the vent arm are of a size to form a tight fit when connected together whilst still allowing movement of the fixing arm along the mount.

If necessary, the vent arm or guide plate, or portions thereof, can be formed so as to fit within the slot of the fixing arm.

It is further preferred that the fixing arm has at least one hole formed in it for receiving fixing means to secure it to a vent. Preferred fixing means include screws, rivets and nails. The hole may be circular, or oval shaped to allow movement when securing the fixing arm to the vent.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a stay incorporating the fixing arm of the present invention. The stay may be a quadrilateral linkage friction stay.

The friction stay may additionally comprises, an end cap and an end point as described in UK Patent 2 133 458, UK Patent Application 2 267 930 and corresponding European Patent Application 0 573 151. Packers for building up the stack height of a vent arm may also be incorporated into the stay of the present invention.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for attaching a stay according to the present invention to a vent and to a fixed frame of an opening. The method comprises attaching the vent arm and fixing arm of the stay to a vent using suitable fixing means. The support track of the stay is then attached to the fixed frame of an opening and the position of the vent on the stay adjusted to ensure that the vent is accurately positioned in the opening of the fixed frame. The vent is then secured in its final position on the vent arm using further fixing means.

A specific embodiment of the present invention is now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a quadrilateral linkage friction stay incorporating a fixing arm; Figure 2a is a plan view of a guide plate; Figure 2b is a side view, of a guide plate; Figure 2c is an end view of a guide plate; Figure 3a is a front view of a fixing arm; and Figure 3b is a side view, partly in section, of a fixing arm.

With reference to the drawings, a friction stay (1) of the well known quadrilateral linkage type comprises a support track (2), a slider, a vent arm (3), a guide plate (4), a strut (5), a first link (6), a second link (7) and a fixing arm (8). The fixing arm (8) is slidably attached to the guide plate (4), which is riveted onto the vent arm (3), and is free to move along the guide plate (4) in a direction substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vent arm (3). The strut (5) is pivotably mounted on the slider, which is free to move along the support track (2) in either direction. The second link (7) is pivotally attached to the support track (2) and to the vent arm (3), and the first link (6), is pivotally attached to the slider and to the second link (7) to provide reinforcing strength. At one end of the support track (2) an end cap (9) is mounted, a tongue of the end cap (9) extending into the support track (2) for attachment thereto.

With reference to Figure 2; the guide plate (4) is substantially rectangular. At one end, however, the plate (4) is stepped to define a tongue (10) for receiving the fixing arm (8). The tongue (10) is undercut on each side, as shown in Figure 2b. A number of oval holes or slots (Ila, llb and lic) are provided in the guide plate for accommodating fixing screws passing from the vent arm to the secure the vent. One rivet hole (12) enables the guide plate (4) to be fixed to the vent arm via a rivet which passes through the guide plate (4), the vent arm (3) and the strut (5) as shown in Figure 1.

By adjusting the thickness of the guide plate (4), the stack height of the stay can be altered. Accordingly, the guide plate (4) can act as a packer.

Turning now to Figure 3, the fixing arm (8) is a plate like structure having a countersunk hole (13) via which a screw or other fixing means can attach the fixing arm (8) to a vent (not shown). At one end of the fixing arm (8) an open slot (14) is formed which is shaped and sized to receive the tongue of the guide plate (4), with claws (15) of the fixing arm (8) being received by the undercut region of the guide plate (4). The fixing arm (8) which extends substantially perpendicular to the vent arm (3), can therefore slide along the tongue of the guide plate (4) in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vent arm (3).

Although the fixing arm (8) can be moved along the tongue of the guide plate (4), the fit between the fixing arm (8) and guide plate (4) is sufficiently tight that there is substantially no movement between them in the direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the vent arm (3).

In use the stay (1) is attached to a vent by screws passing through oval shaped holes in the vent arm (3) and those in the guide plate (4), and through the hole in the fixing arm (8). The stay (1) with the vent attached is then placed in contact with a fixed frame of an opening and the support track (2) of the stay (1) is attached to the fixed frame of the opening using screws passing through oval shaped holes in the support track (2). The position of the stay (1) can then be adjusted with respect to the fixed frame and the vent can be moved relative to the vent arm (3), thereby enabling the vent to be positioned correctly in the fixed frame. As a result, a tight fit of the vent in the opening can be achieved. Once the desired position has been obtained, the stay (1) is secured into position by passing screws through round holes present in the support track (2) and the vent is secured in position via the vent arm (3) by means of a screw passing through a round hole in the vent arm and a corresponding round hole (16) in the guide plate (4).

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

Claims (12)

CLAIMS:

1. A fixing arm extending substantially perpendicular to a vent arm of a stay, which is movable with respect to the vent arm in a direction substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vent arm.

2. A fixing arm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vent arm includes an end point and the fixing arm is positioned adjacent the end point of the vent arm.

3. A fixing arm as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 which is movable between a proximal and a distal position wherein the distance between the proximal and distal positions is between 1 and 30mm.

4. A fixing arm as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 which is connected to the vent arm by a guide plate which is directly attached to the vent arm.

5. A fixing arm as claimed in any one of the previous claims which has a slot formed in one end to enable the fixing arm to be mounted on the vent arm.

6. A fixing arm as claimed in claim 5 wherein the slot forms a tight fit with a mount on the vent arm.

7. A fixing arm as claimed in any one of the previous claims which has at least one hole formed in it for receiving fixing means for fixing the fixing arm to a vent mounted on the vent arm.

8. A fixing arm substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

9. A friction stay incorporating a fixing arm as claimed in any one of the previous claims.

10. A friction stay as claimed in claim 9 which additionally comprises an end cap, an end point and one or more packers.

11. A friction stay as claimed in claim 9, wherein the friction stay has a quadrilateral linkage between the vent arm and a support track.

12. A method for attaching a stay as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11 to a vent and a fixed frame of an opening, comprising loosely attaching the fixing arm and the vent arm of the stay to a vent, rigidly attaching the support track of the stay to a fixed frame opening, checking the resulting position of the vent relative to the fixed frame, adjusting the position of the vent if necessary and tightening the fixing arm and the vent arm to the vent.