GB2422171A

GB2422171A - Capping system for glazing panels

Info

Publication number: GB2422171A
Application number: GB0524607A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Phillip Brian Allport; Mark Charles Allport; Brian Christopher Allport; Susan Margaret Allport; Hannah Susan Allport
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-12-02
Filing date: 2005-12-02
Publication date: 2006-07-19
Anticipated expiration: 2025-12-02
Also published as: GB0524607D0; GB2422171B

Abstract

A capping member 10 for a fixing arrangement for glazing panels 1 comprises a pair of elongate flanges 14 extending outwardly and downwardly from a central section 12. The underside of the flanges has an elongate recess 16 adapted to receive an anchoring means of a sealing gasket 22. The capping member 10 comprises an overhang 18 extending outwardly from the recess 16, the overhang 18 being adapted to overlie, in use, an outermost lip of a sealing gasket located in the recess. The capping member 10 protects the sealing gasket from UV light and improves the aesthetic appearance of the fixing arrangement.

Description

Roof capping system The present invention relates to a roof capping system

and, in particular, to a roof capping member adapted for use in a fixing arrangement for fixing glazing panels edge to edge in a glazed roof assembly or the like.

Known fixing arrangements for glazing panels, for example as shown in GB 2395513 and GB 2261692, comprise an elongate capping member adapted to overlie adjacent longitudinal edges of adjacent glazing panels and bridge a gap between the panels; an elongate base member having a central portion adapted to extend into the gap between the panels, and a pair of wings extending laterally from respective opposite longitudinal sides of the central portion, the wings being adapted to underlie the adjacent longitudinal edges of the glazing panels; and one or more screws adapted to extend through the capping member into the base member.

A recess is provided adjacent each longitudinal edge of the capping member for accommodating a respective weather seal which abuts the upper surface of the respective glazing panel. However, in such arrangements, the sealing gaskets are exposed, in use, and consequently are subject to deterioration due to ultra violet (uv) light. In order to overcome this, such gaskets are generally made from E.P.D.M., a rubber compound which withstands uv light. However, EPDM is not recyclable and therefore has an adverse impact on the environment.

A further problem with known fixing arrangements arises in attempting to match the colour of the sealing gasket to the colour of the capping member profile. It is almost impossible to match the colours sufficiently closely to obtain the desired aesthetic appearance.

The present invention has been made from a consideration of such disadvantages associated with conventional fixing arrangements for glazing panels and in order to provide an improved capping member for use with such fixing arrangements so that the sealing gaskets are protected from uv light and the aesthetic appearance of the fixing arrangement is enhanced.

According to the invention there is provided a capping member for a fixing arrangement for glazing panels, the capping member being adapted to overlie adjacent longitudinal edges of adjacent glazing panels and bridge a gap between the panels, the capping member comprising a pair of elongate flanges extending outwardly and downwardly from a central section, the underside of such flanges comprising an elongate recess adapted to receive an anchoring means of a sealing gasket characterised in that the capping member comprises an overhang extending outwardly from the recess, the overhang being adapted to overlie, in use, an outermost lip of a sealing gasket located in the recess.

Preferably, the overhang comprises a leg depending from the underside thereof. Preferably, the leg is substantially centrally located between an outer edge of the recess and the free edge of the overhang.

Preferably, in use, when an anchoring means of a gasket / is located in the recess, a lip of such gasket engages the outside of the depending leg and the overhang extends outwardly over the gasket.

Preferably, the lateral dimension of the overhang substantially corresponds to the lateral extension of the gasket from the anchoring means, preferably in the region of 0.8 to 1.2 cm, more preferably 1cm.

Preferably, the overhang overlies, in use, substantially the entire lateral extension of a sealing gasket.

Preferably, the overhang comprises an extension of the flange and extends outwardly and downwardly at substantially the same angle as the flange. Preferably, the overhang has a substantially constant thickness across its width and preferably, the flange has the same constant thickness across its width. The recess may be provided on a depending neck.

Preferably, the capping member comprises a cavity for receiving a cover member and the elongate flanges extend outwardly and downwardly from the cavity.

The invention further provides a fixing arrangement for glazing panels comprising: a capping member according to the invention; an elongate carrier member having a central portion adapted to extend into the gap between the panels, and a pair of wings extending laterally from respective opposite longitudinal sides of the central portion, the wings being adapted to underlie adjacent longitudinal edges of the glazing panels; and one or more fixing means adapted to extend through the capping member into the carrier member.

The invention also provides a glazing panel assembly comprising a pair of glazing panels held together by a fixing arrangement of the invention.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a crosssectional view of a glazing panel assembly incorporating a capping member according to one embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 2 is a crosssectional view of a capping member according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Referring to figure 1, a glazing panel assembly comprises a pair of glazing panels 1, for example double or triple glazing panels, held together by a fixing arrangement comprising an elongate capping member 10, an elongate glazing carrier 2 and an elongate cover member 4 each typically comprising a substantially constant cross-section extrusion, for example of aluminium.

The capping member 10 is of shallow, generally arched or inverted Vshaped cross section and is adapted to overlie the adjacent longitudinal edges of the glazing panels and bridge the gap between the panels.

The glazing carrier 2 has a generally T-shaped cross section with a central portion 6 adapted to extend into the gap between the panels and a pair of wings 7 which extend laterally from respective opposite longitudinal sides of the central portion 6 and are adapted to underlie the adjacent longitudinal edges of the glazing panels.

The capping member 10 is secured to the glazing carrier 2 by a series of longitudinally spaced apart screws 8 which extend through the capping member into the central portion 6.

The cover member 4 is a substantially u-shaped profile adapted to locate in a corresponding cavity 12 provided in a central section of the capping member.

The capping member comprises a pair of elongate flanges 14 extending outwardly and downwardly from the cavity 12. A gasket retention recess 16 is provided on the underside of each flange for accommodating a respective sealing gasket 22 which abuts the upper surface of the respective glazing panel. The recesses 16 have inturned edges for retaining the gaskets.

Each flange 14 comprises an overhanging ledge 18 extending outwardly from the recess 16. In use, the overhanging ledge is adapted to overlie a lateral extension of the sealing gasket 22. The overhang 18 typically comprises a leg 20 depending from the underside thereof, typically substantially centrally located between the outer edge of the recess and the outermost edge of the overhang.

The gasket 22 comprises an elongate body having an upwardly extending anchoring means 24 for locating the gasket in the recess 16 and a series of downward projection 26, 27 for sealing against a glazing panel in use. The outermost projection 27 has an upturned lip 28 which, in known fixing arrangements, locates over the outer edge of the capping member so that the projection 27 is exposed.

When the anchoring means 24 of the gasket 22 is located in the recess 16 of the capping member 10 of the invention, the lip 28 engages the outside of the depending leg 20 and the overhang extends outwardly over the projection 27 to conceal and protect it.

Typically, the lateral dimension of the overhang substantially corresponds to the lateral extension of the gasket from the anchoring means, typically in the region of 0.8 to 1.2 cm, more typically 1cm. Thus, it will be seen that the overhang overlies, in use, substantially the entire lateral extension of the sealing gasket. Typically, the overhang 18 comprises an extension of the flange 14 and extends outwardly and downwardly at the same angle as the flange 14.

Typically, the overhang has a substantially constant cross-section in the lateral direction and typically, the flange has the same constant crosssection in the lateral direction.

Referring to figure 2, an alternative capping member of the invention is substantially as described with reference to figure 1 except that the flanges 14 are shorter and extend outwardly and downwardly from the cavity at a greater angle and the recess 16 is provided ( on a depending neck 30 so that the capping member has a narrower width than the capping member of figure 1.

Thus, it will be seen that, with the capping member of the invention, the sealing gaskets are concealed and protected from uv light, unlike known fixing arrangements where the sealing gaskets are exposed to the elements. Since the gaskets are concealed and thereby protected from the detrimental effects of uv light, they effectively have unlimited lives.

In addition, the capping system of the invention allows the use of a gasket comprising recyclable material. In conventional fixing arrangements, the exposed gaskets are generally made from E.P.D.M., a rubber compound which withstands uv light. However, this material once extruded cannot be reprocessed and consequently has a detrimental effect upon the environment, since scrap material is usually buried in landfill sites.

By contrast, the capping member of the invention, which conceals the sealing gaskets, enables T.P.E. plastic polymers to be used. Such gaskets, including any cut- offs from the gaskets, and any waste involved in the start-up process of producing the profile, are recyclable. Accordingly, the invention has ecological advantages.

Furthermore, when people select a roof system of different colours, it has always been a problem near impossible to match gasket colours to the colour of the aluminium profile. With the capping member of the invention, the gaskets are concealed so that the colour of the gasket, which is generally black, does not detract from the overall view of the roofing structure.

It will be appreciated that expressions of orientation or direction, such as "overlie", "underlie", "upper", "underside", "outer", "outside", "outwardly", "downwardly", "upwardly", and the like, are used for convenience and refer to the normal orientation of the glazing panel assembly and capping member as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, such expressions are not to be regarded as limiting the orientation of the capping member in use.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiments, which are described by way of

example only.

Claims

Claims 1. A capping member for a fixing arrangement for glazing panels,

the capping member being adapted to overlie adjacent longitudinal edges of adjacent glazing panels and bridge a gap between the panels, the capping member comprising a pair of elongate flanges extending outwardly and downwardly from a central section, the underside of such flanges comprising an elongate recess adapted to receive an anchoring means of a sealing gasket characterised in that the capping member comprises an overhang extending outwardly from the recess, the overhang being adapted to overlie, in use, an outermost lip of a sealing gasket located in the recess.
2. A capping member according to claim 1 wherein the overhang comprises a leg depending from the underside thereof.
3. A capping member according to claim 2 wherein the leg is substantially centrally located between an outer edge of the recess and the free edge of the overhang.
4. A capping member according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein, in use, when an anchoring means of a gasket is located in the recess, a lip of such gasket engages the outside of the depending leg and the overhang extends outwardly over the gasket.
5. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the lateral dimension of the overhang substantially corresponds to the lateral extension of a gasket from an anchoring means.
6. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the overhang overlies, in use, substantially the entire lateral extension of a sealing gasket.
7. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the overhang comprises an extension of the flange and extends outwardly and downwardly at substantially the same angle as the flange.
8. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the overhang has a substantially constant thickness across its width.
9. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the recess is provided on a depending neck.
10. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the capping member comprises a cavity for receiving a cover member and the elongate flanges extend outwardly and downwardly from the cavity.
11. A fixing arrangement for glazing panels comprising: a capping member according to any preceding claim; an elongate carrier member having a central portion adapted to extend into the gap between r 11 the panels, and a pair of wings extending laterally from respective opposite longitudinal sides of the central portion, the wings being adapted to underlie adjacent longitudinal edges of the glazing panels; and one or more fixing means adapted to extend through the capping member into the carrier member.
12. A capping member, a fixing arrangement, for glazing panels or a glazing panel assembly substantially as hereiribefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

12. A glazing panel assembly comprising a pair of glazing panels held together by a fixing arrangement according to claim 8.

13. A capping member, a fixing arrangement for glazing panels or a glazing panel assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

- - Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A capping member for a fixing arrangement for glazing panels, the capping member being adapted to overlie adjacent longitudinal edges of adjacent glazing panels and bridge a gap between the panels, the capping member comprising a pair of elongate flanges extending outwardly and downwardly from a central section, the underside of such flanges comprising an elongate recess adapted to receive an anchoring means of a sealing gasket characterised in that the capping member comprises an overhang extending outwardly from the recess, the overhang being adapted to overlie, in use, an outermost lip of a sealing gasket located in the recess wherein the overhang comprises an extension of the flange and extends outwardly and downwardly at substantially the same angle as the flange.

- -

2. A capping member according to claim 1 wherein the overhang comprises a leg depending from the underside thereof.

3. A capping member according to claim 2 wherein the leg is substantially centrally located between an outer edge of the recess and the free edge of the overhang.

4. A capping member according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein, in use, when an anchoring means of a gasket is located in the recess, a lip of such gasket engages the outside of the depending leg and the overhang extends outwardly over the gasket.

5. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the lateral dimension of the overhang substantially corresponds to the lateral extension of a gasket from an anchoring means.

6. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the overhang overlies, in use, substantially the entire lateral extension of a sealing gasket.

7. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the overhang has a substantially constant thickness across its width.

8. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the recess is provided on a depending neck.

9. A capping member according to any preceding claim wherein the capping member comprises a cavity for receiving a cover member and the elongate flanges extend outwardly and downwardly from the cavity.

10. A fixing arrangement for glazing panels comprising: a capping member according to any preceding claim; an elongate carrier member having a central portion adapted to extend into the gap between the panels, and a pair of wings extending laterally from respective opposite longitudinal sides of the central portion, the wings being adapted to underlie adjacent longitudinal edges of the glazing panels; and one or more fixing means adapted to extend through the capping member into the carrier member.

11. A glazing panel assembly comprising a pair of glazing panels held together by a fixing arrangement according to claim 10.