GB2490896A - Window opener or window stay - Google Patents

Abstract

A window stay comprising a first link 1 and a second link 2 pivotally attached to one another at their ends with an over-centre action 9; the first link is pivotally attached to a first mounting bracket 3; the second link 2 is connected to an adjustable shoe 5 pivotally mounted to a second bracket 4. The adjustable shoe 5 adjusts the effective length of the second link to adjust the distance between pivot points 9 and 10 to accommodate different installations such that packing shims and spacers are not required to mount bracket 3. Preferably the adjustable shoe provides coarse adjustment by locating pivot 10 in one of a plurality of pivot slots (7, fig.6) in adjustable shoe 5 providing 5mm increment adjustment and fine adjustment by variably clamping together adjustment shoe 5 and second link 2 having serrated teeth engaging with the adjustment shoe clamped by threaded fastener 6 in a slot within adjustment shoe 5. Two window stays may be used in tandem connected by an elongate shaft 12.

Description

I

Improvements in or relating to window openers and window stays.

The present invention relates generally to folding window openers (also known as over-centre cam stays) which are designed for top hung, open out windows and are a cost effective and secure alternative to electric and manual window openers for outward opening casement windows.

Folding window openers are well known and well suited to schools, hospitals, care homes and sheltered housing as well as offices and domestic situations where the windows are hard to reach or out of reach. It is also well known that they can be offered as single or tandem openers which are connected by a pole supplied for wider windows and operated either by hand or window pole when the windows are at a high level.

Typical over-centre window openers, stays or cam stays are well known and require different brackets of varying length and packing plates of plastic or similar material to act as shims to allow for the different recess depths due to the variety of frame construction and material to which the stays are attached. Such shims need to be of different thicknesses in order to accommodate different window frame materials, which may be of aluminum extrusions, timber or UPVC or another. In addition to specifying the recess depth when ordering the window openers, the user or installer needs to drill holes in the packing plates on site to match the holes in the window opener support brackets. This process is often inaccurate, takes a long time and requires a semi-skilled operator. Typically there are 5 variable sizes with packers which need to be offered. In accordance with aspects of the present invention there are no packing plates needed for on-site assembly by installers to accommodate different recess depths, the initial, broad adjustment for different window frame materials being incorporated into the window opener mechanism in the factory before delivery.

In order that the nature of the invention may be clearly understood an embodiment will now be described, by way of example only, together with accompanying drawings, with reference S to a device for opening and closing a window which hinges about hinges at its upper end in which; Figure 1 depicts an exploded view illustration of essential features in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

Figure 2 depicts top view A and underside view B perspective line illustrations of a window opener in the open position in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

Figure 3 depicts top view A and underside view B perspective line illustrations of a window opener in the closed position in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

Figure 4 depicts third angle orthographic projection line illustrations of a window opener in the open position in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

Figure 5 depicts third angle orthographic projection line illustrations of a window opener in the closed position in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

Figure 6 depicts a cross sectional view on the centre line along the length of a window opener in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

In figure 1, a typically, but not exclusively, die cast zinc jointed folding window opener or window stay has two arms, hereinafter called Upper Body I and Lower Body 2, pivoted to Upper Bracket 3 and Lower Bracket 4. Shoe 5 engages with Lower Body 2 loosely, via fastener 6, typically vertically to be able to offer coarse horizontal adjustment from the basic factory-sethng adjustment slots 7, Lower Bracket 4 being located in Shoe 5 by means of 2S fastener 10. Further on-site fine-tuning featuring narrow serrations 8, accommodates smaller variations in window frame material thicknesses to enable accurate vertical alignment of Upper Bracket 3 with Lower Bracket 4 in order to accommodate a variety of window frame recesses and to eliminate the need for traditional plastic packing plates or a variety of different depth brackets when fitting Lower Bracket 4. In the closed position Upper Body I hinges about 9 and sleeves into Lower Body 2 facilitating correct alignment and providing a smooth exterior, hiding all mechanisms and therefore offering no obvious indication of function. When correct alignment is achieved fastener 6 is tightened securely.

in operation and in the extended position the two Bodies just pass over the dead-centre position, the natural lower curve of the exterior surface of the Upper Body acting as a stop to lock the assembly in the open position. Centre Ring 11 sleeves over Link Bar 12 which in turn sleeves into Upper Body 1 when the assembly is fitted to wide windows. Furthermore when the assembly is out of human reach a window pole can be engaged in the Centre Ring aperture to open and close windows. Two End Caps 13 fit into the ends of Link Bar 12.

Figure 2 provides a top perspective assembled view A and an underside perspective assembled view B of a window opener in the open position. Underside view B clearly demonstrates a preferred setting of Shoe 5 aligned with serrations and connected by 6 to Lower Body 2 to suit the measurements for a particular installation.

Figure 3 shows a top perspective assembled view A and an underside perspective assembled view B in the closed position clearly demonstrating the scissors action of the present invention of Upper Body I with Lower Body 2 in order to hide all moving parts and provide accurate alignment on closure. Visible in view B in the secured position is fastener 6, which facilitates on-site fine-tuning adjustment using matthing serrations in Shoe 5 and Lower Body 2, shown in figure 2, while the assembly is in the closed position.

Figure 6 features a cross sectional view on the centre line along the length of a window opener showing hidden assembly detail. Coarse incremental factory adjustment settings are made to individual customer order to enable Lower Bracket 4 to engage with an appropriate wide slot 7 in Shoe 5 via Fastener 10. On-site tuning-assembly in-situ is achieved through the selection and lining up of appropriate serrations in Lower Body 2 and Shoe 5 to ensure that Upper BracketS is aligned with, and in the same plane as, Lower Bracket 4 for accurate installation by unskilled labour.

The window opener or stay device consists of two arms referred to above as Upper Body and Lower Body. The Upper Body at its upper end is pivotally connected to a bracket or like member which is conveniently in the form of a fixing plate called the Upper Bracket The said plate is secured to the lower cross member of the window by screws. The Lower Body at its lower end is pivotally attached to the Upper Body.

The two Bodies at their adjacent ends are pivotally interconnected and the upper end of the Upper Body is formed with an aperture. When the window is open, the two Bodies are extended in alignment with the pivot point at the adjacent ends of the Bodies, moved slightly downwards past its dead centre position, generating a lock out mode utilising the weight of the open window bearing down on the open extended Upper and Lower Body.

To close the window the aperture in the Upper Body is lifted upwards, either by hand or by using an extended device if beyond reach, such device commonly locates in the aperture or on an extruded bar which is inserted into the aperture, causing the Lower Body to pivot about its lower pivot point until the two bodies collapse together and the Upper Body partially sleeves over the Lower Body to nest, facilitating correct alignment and providing a smooth exterior, hiding all mechanisms therefore offering no obvious indication of function with the exception of the fine-tuning, on site, in-situ adjustment system.

lt is commonplace in the industry to set up fixing positions individually and drill location holes on site by skilled personnel. According to aspects of the present invention in order to eliminate the need for skill and eliminate error a method for predetermining fixing positions is offered with the preferred embodiment being as follows; a nut is loosely fitted to secure the Shoe to the Lower Body for shipment to site from indications on the order form by the S customer as to the type of installation required. This preparatory stage undertaken in the factory for the installer consists of the Lower Bracket locating into one of the pivot positions in the adjustable Shoe in 5mm increments in order to align the Lower Bracket with the pre-advised window frame type for accurate fitting by unskilled labour. The Shoe is fitted over the Lower Body and attachment is effected from below via, typically, a standard screw.

In accordance with aspects of the present invention, following on from the factory setting there is now provided fine tuning adjustment on site for the installer in small increments via serrated teeth on the base of the Shoe which relate to similar increments to serrations in the Lower Body. When married together the range of adjustment typically, but not essentially can be as small as one millimeter and can range from 0 up to 26 millimeters depending on the adjustment needed to accurately fit the window opener assembly. The Lower Bracket, typically but not essentially, has 3 variants in design for fitting to either aluminum extruded window frames, timber frames or UPVC window frames.

For example if a timber frame window is specified by the customer then the factory selling will be x. If a UPVC window frame is specified by the customer then the factory selling will be y. According to aspects of the present invention there are typically three interchangeable standard Lower Brackets to accommodate different window materials which are married to one assembly. It is commonly known with existing window openers that at least five different sizes of window opener assemblies are needed in order to fulfill every type of customer requirement.

To facilitate opening and closing of the window opener and thereby the window itself when beyond normal human reach, a centre ring can be sleeved over a length of oval-shaped link bar, which is then sleeved into and secured in the oval aperture in the Upper Body to facilitate attachment to another window opener at the other end of a window so that two openers are able to open in tandem on wider windows using a standard window pole. For S even wider windows three openers can be linked by a length of bar and all three operated together by a standard window pole. Furthermore the said window pole can also be positioned in the aperture at the end of a single window opener to operate a high level or hard to reach window.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any number of combinations of the aforementioned features and/or those shown in the appended drawings provide clear advantages over the prior art and are therefore within the scope of the invention described herein.

Claims (9)

1. Claims I A window opener for operating a hinged window comprising two Bodies pivotally S interconnected at or adjacent one end and at their other ends being pivotally connected to brackets adapted to be secured respectively to the window sash and window frame or associated part so that the window may be opened and closed by extending or collapsing the Upper Body and Lower Body about the pivotal connection, in an over-centre movement, to the said window frame Upper Bracket and Lower Bracket, the latter connecting to the adjustable Shoe, which connects to the Lower Body being pivotally hinged to the Upper Body at the other end, offering an aperture to engage an extruded bar or tube to facilitate the opening and closing of the Bodies via a pole when beyond human reach.
2. 2 A window opener according to claim 1, in which the Shoe can be attached to the Lower Body in horizontal coarse increments of 5mm through factory setting by vertically lowering, sliding and fitting into selected slots in the Lower Body to accommodate tolerance variations in filling the assembly to a variety of window 3D frame and window sash materials and to eliminate the need for traditional plastic packing plates and a variety of different brackets normally stocked by manufacturers.
3. 3 A window opener according to claim 2, in which the Shoe, integrated with the Lower Body facilitates coarse increments of 5mm and further fine tuning adjustment on site from 0 millimetre up to typically 26 millimetres to accommodate tolerance variations in fitting the assembly to a variety of window frame and window sash materials and to eliminate the need for traditional plastic packing plates and a variety of bracket assemblies normally stocked by manufacturers.
4. 4 A window opener according to claim 1, in which the Shoe can be an extrusion which is attached to the Lower Body in horizontal coarse increments of 5mm through horizontal sliding and filling into selected slots in the Lower Body to accommodate tolerance variations in lifting the assembly to a variety of window frame and window sash materials and to eliminate the need for traditional plastic packing plates and a variety of bracket assemblies nomially stocked by manufacturers.
5. 5 A window opener according to claim 3 or claim 4 in which the Shoe can be an extrusion and slid horizontally into incremental slots in the Lower Body to facilitate within the coarse increments of 5mm from 0mm step to 20mm step, fine tuning adjustment on site from 1mm up to typically 6mm to accommodate tolerance variations in lifting to a wide variety of window frame and window sash materials and eliminate the need for traditional plastic packing plates and a variety of bracket assemblies normally stocked by manufacturers.
6. 6 A window opener according to the previous claims in which the selected material is die 3D cast zinc or other rigid material.
7. 7 A window opener according to the previous claims in which an oval-shaped link bar of any suitable length is sleeved and secured into an oval aperture in the Upper Body in order to be sleeved and attached to the Upper Body of another window opener at the other end of the bar to enable the two openers to open in tandem on wider windows.
8. 8 A window opener according to claim 7 in which a centre ring can be added to the link bar to facilitate attachment of a standard window pole to enable the bar to be pushed to open the window openers attached to a wide window when beyond normal human reach.
9. 9 A window opener according to claim 7 in which a standard window pole can be positioned in the aperture at the end of the Upper Body of a single window opener to operate a high level or hard to reach window.