GB2336616A

GB2336616A - Coverable viewing panel

Info

Publication number: GB2336616A
Application number: GB9808427A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kirk John Huelin
Original assignee: PHARMACEUTICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY S
Current assignee: PHARMACEUTICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY S
Priority date: 1998-04-21
Filing date: 1998-04-21
Publication date: 1999-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 2018-04-21
Also published as: GB9808427D0; GB2336616B

Abstract

A viewing panel for a door or the like comprises a pair of circular panels (5,6) which are adapted to be installed in circular apertures (3,4) in a door or the like (1) in such a manner that the panels are spaced apart from each other. Each panel has a substantially semi-circular transparent or translucent region (8), the remainder of the panel being opaque. A disc (17) is pivotally mounted between the panels, the disc being substantially semi-circular and being translucent or opaque. The disc is movable between a first position in which it is located between the opaque regions of the panels, and a second position in which it is located between the transparent or translucent regions of the panels, thus either permitting or obstructing light to pass through the viewing panel.

Description

1 Title: IMPROVEM IN VIG PANELS FOR DOORS AND THE LIKE 2336616 This

invention relates to improvements in windows or viewing panels and is particularly concerned with a window or viewing panel for use in a door or the 5 like.

When a door is provided with a window or viewing aperture, there is frequently a requirement to obstruct the window from time to time, for example, in the interests of privacy or to restrict or obstruct the passage of light. One such use is in the field of animal holding rooms in which controlled lighting is required.

Such rooms usually have a door which is provided with a viewing panel and if light is to be controlled in the room, it is necessary to black out the viewing panel. This creates a problem in that conventional doors have a minimum thickness of only 16mm. For cleaning and safety reasons, it is usually necessary to install two panels of toughened glass each having a minimum thickness of 6mm in a viewing panel of the door, the outwardly facing surfaces of the glass panels being substantially flush with the surfaces of the door. This leaves a maximum space of only 4mm between the glass panels.

Various measures have been suggested for blacking out viewing panels or windows such as, for example, louvres or relatively slidable panels. However, it has not been possible to achieve total obstruction of fight or black out by fitting such devices in the limited space between two flush glass panels. Moreover doors fitted with such devices cannot be easily washed without water penetration.

The present invention seeks to solve these problems.

According to the invention, there is provided a viewing panel adapted to be fitted 25 in a door or the like, said panel comprising a pair of panels which are adapted to be fitted in an aperture in a door or the like in such a manner that they are spaced apart, each panel having a substantially semi-circular transparent or translucent 2 area and the remainder of each said panel being opaque; a disc pivotally mounted between said panels, said disc being substantially semi-circular and being opaque or translucent or being substantially circular and having a substantially semicircular region which is opaque or translucent the remainder of the disc being transparent, and means for moving the disc between a first position in which said disc or the opaque or translucent region of the disc is located between opaque portions of the panels to permit light to pass through the transparent or translucent areas of said panels and a second position in which said disc or the opaque or translucent region of the disc is located between the transparent or translucent areas of the panels to obstruct or restrict the passage of light through the said transparent or translucent areas of the panels.

Preferably, the transparent or translucent areas of one or both of the panels is/are slightly less than a semi-circle and the disc or the opaque or translucent region of the disc is slightly greater than a semi-circle whereby, when the disc is in said second position, the edges of the disc or the edges of the opaque or translucent region of the disc are still located between opaque portions of the panels. In the case in which the disc is opaque, this prevents spillage of light through the panels.

The diameter of the disc is desirably slightly greater than the diameter of the transparent or translucent area of at least one of the panels, again to prevent spillage of light through the transparent or translucent areas of the panels when the opaque disc or the opaque region of the disc is in said second position. In this case, the transparent or translucent area of the or each panel and the disc could be semi-circular provided that the straight edge of the or each transparent area islare overlapped by the straight edge of the disc.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the panels are substantially circular and are made of transparent material, the opaque portions being formed by a coating on the panels. Such coating may be applied, for example, by screen printing. The panels may be made of glass or of a transparent plastics material.

3 One of the panels is desirably provided with a central aperture in which a bearing bush is located. The bush is desirably made of nylon or like synthetic plastics material and is secured in the aperture in the panel by a suitable adhesive. A boss extends through the bush and is secured to the disc prior to installation of the panels in a door or the like. The boss extends from the side of the panel remote from the disc and is arranged to be driven by the means for moving the disc. These means may comprise a lever or handle mounted on the boss.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of a viewing panel according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the viewing panel shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a section, to an enlarged scale, through the central region of the viewing panel shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, the viewing panel according to the invention comprises a pair of toughened glass circular panels 5, 6 which are adapted to be installed in respective circular apertures 3, 4 in a door 1. The panels 5 and 6 are spaced apart by a spacer 2 which is formed between the edge regions of the apertures 3 and 4. The door 1 will normally have a thickness of approximately 16mrn and 20 each of the toughened glass panels will have a thickness of approximately 6mm. Since, when installed, the outwardly facing surfaces of the panels 5 and 6 will be substantially flush with the surfaces of the door, the spacing between the panels will be approximately 4mm.

Each of the panels 5 and 6 is covered with a coating 7 of opaque material, for 25 example, by screen printing, to leave a transparent area 8 which is substantially 4 semi-circular. The panel 5 is provided with a central bore or aperture 9 in which a bush 11 of nylon or like synthetic plastics material is secured by an adhesive. The bush 11 is provided at one end with a flange 12 which extends over the panel 5 around the edges of the aperture 9 and the length of the remainder of the bush 5 is substantially equal to the thickness of the panel 5.

A boss 13 likewise of nylon or like synthetic plastics material has a cylindrical extension 14 which is adapted to be rotatably mounted in the bush 11. The boss is provided with a groove 15 in which the flange 12 of the bush 11 is located and the cylindrical extension 14 is provided with a threaded closed bore 16. A disc 17 is secured to the boss 13 by a screw 18 which passes through an aperture in the disc and engages in the bore 16. The disc 17 is spaced from the panel 5 by a spacer 19 which is made of nylon or like synthetic plastics material and a backing plate 21 is held by the head of the screw 18 against the other side of the disc 17, the screw passing through bores in both the spacer 19 and the backing plate 21. Locking pins 22 are inserted in aligned bores in the backing plate 21, disc 17, spacer 18 and boss 13 to prevent relative rotation between the disc 17 and boss 13.

The disc 17 is substantially semi-circular and has a diameter which is slightly greater than that of the transparent areas 8. The straight edge 17a of the disc overlaps the straight edges 8a of the transparent areas 8 when the disc is located in the position shown in Fig. 1 in which it is between the opaque regions of the panels 5 and 6. The disc 17 further has a central circular region 23 to facilitate fastening of the disc to the boss 13. It is preferably made of "Tufnol" (Registered Trade Mark) and has a thickness of approximately 2mm. The thickness of the spacer 18 and backing plate 21 should be not more than Imm.

A lever or handle 24 is secured in a bore in the boss 13 and extends radially therefrom. Finally, two stops 25 and 26 are adapted to be secured to the door 1 in the path of movement of the lever or handle 24. In the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the handle 24 butts against the stop 25 and, in this position, it is possible to see through the transparent areas 8 of the panels 5 and 6. The handle is mounted on the side of the door which is intended to be outside of a room for which the door is intended.

When it is desired to obstruct the passage of light through the transparent areas 8 of the panels 5 and 6, the handle 24 is moved in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 until it reaches the position shown in chain-dotted lines when it butts against the stop 26. Movement of the handle in this manner is effective to cause the boss 13 and hence the disc 17 to rotate so that the disc is moved to a position in which it is located between the transparent areas 8 of the panels 5 and 6 and is effective to block the passage of light through said transparent areas. Movement of the handle 24 in the opposite direction is effective to return the disc to its initial position in which the transparent areas are no longer obstructed by the disc.

It has been found that the viewing panel according to the invention has proved to be particularly effective for use in blocking out light to animal holding rooms which require controlled lighting conditions. The invention is not, however, restricted to this use. If it is not necessary to see into a room but merely to allow light into a room, the transparent areas 8 could be merely translucent. Further, if the control of light is not important and only privacy is desired, the disc 17 could be made of translucent material instead of being opaque.

Further, although the viewing panel according to the invention has been designed so that it can be fitted flush in a door having a thickness of only 16mm, the viewing panel could be fitted in thicker doors or in any panel other than a door such as a wall panel.

The flush fitting of the panels 5 and 6 in the door and the flange 12 on the bush 11 enable a door fitted with a viewing panel according to the invention to be washed without the fear of water penetrating into the space between the panels.

6 The position of the lever or handle 24 gives a clear indication as to whether or not the areas 8 of the panels 5 and 6 are obstructed by the disc 17. It is therefore possible to view a series of doors fitted with viewing panels according to the invention along a long corridor without it being necessary to inspect each door in 5 turn.

Finally, it should be noted that the invention is not restricted to the abovedescribed embodiment but variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, instead of being substantially semi-circular, the disc could be circular and made of transparent or translucent material. A region of the disc which is slightly greater than a semicircle is then coated with opaque or translucent material in the case of a transparent disc or opaque material in the case of a translucent disc.

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Claims

1. A viewing panel adapted to be fitted in a door or the like, said viewing panel comprising a pair of panels which are adapted to befitted in an aperture in a door or the like in such a manner that they are spaced apart, each panel having a substantially semi-circular transparent or translucent area and the remainder of each panel being opaque; a disc pivotally mounted between said panels, said disc being substantially semicircular and being opaque or translucent or being substantially circular and having a substantially semi-circular region which is opaque or translucent, the remainder of the disc being transparent, or being substantially circular and having a substantially semi-circular region which is opaque, the remainder of the disc being translucent; and means for moving the disc between a first position in which said disc or the opaque or translucent region of the disc is located between opaque portions of the panels to permit light to pass through the transparent or translucent areas of the panels and a second position in which said disc or the opaque or translucent region of the disc is located between the transparent or translucent areas of the panels to obstruct or restrict the passage of light through the transparent or translucent areas of the panels.

2. A viewing panel according to claim 1, wherein the transparent or translucent areas of one or both of the panels islare slightly less than a semi-circle and the disc or the opaque or translucent region of the disc is slightly greater than a semi-circle whereby, when the disc is in said second position, the edges of the disc or the edges of the opaque or translucent region of the disc are still located between opaque portions of the panels.

3. A viewing panel according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the diameter of the disc is greater than the diameter of the transparent or translucent area of at least one of the panels.

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4. A viewing panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the panels are substantially circular.

5. A viewing panel according to claim 4, wherein the panels are made of transparent or translucent material, the opaque portions being formed by a coating on the panels.

6. A viewing panel according to claim 5, wherein the coating screen printing.

is applied by

7. A viewing panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the panels are made of glass or of a transparent or translucent plastics material.

8. A viewing panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of the panels is provided with a central aperture in which a bearing bush is located.

9. A viewing panel according to claim 8, wherein the bush is made of nylon or like synthetic plastics material and is secured in the aperture in the panel by an adhesive.

10. A viewing panel according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the bush is provided at one end with a flange which extends over the said one of the panels around the edges of the aperture.

A viewing panel according to claim 10, wherein the length of the remainder of the bush is substantially equal to the thickness of the panel.

12. A viewing panel according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein a boss extends through the bush and is secured to the disc.

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13. A viewing panel according to claim 12-, wherein the boss is secured to the disc by a screw.

14. A viewing panel according to claim 13, wherein a backing plate is held by the head of the screw against one side of the disc.

15. A viewing panel according to claim 14, wherein the other side of the disc is spaced from the said one of the panels by a spacer.

16. A viewing panel according to claim 15, wherein locking pins are located in aligned bores in the backing plate, disc, spacer and boss to prevent relative rotation between the disc and the boss.

17. A viewing panel according to any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein the boss extends from the side of the said one of the panels remote from the disc and is arranged to be driven by means for moving the disc.

18. A viewing panel according to claim 17, wherein the disc moving means comprise a lever or handle mounted on the boss.

19. A viewing panel according to claim 18, wherein the lever or handle extends radially from the boss.

20. A viewing panel according to claim 19, wherein a pair of stops are located in the path of movement of the lever or handle to restrict the angular movement of said lever or handle.

21. A viewing panel adapted to be fitted in a door or the like and substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.

22. A door fitted with the viewing panel claimed in any one of the preceding claims.