IE56868B1

IE56868B1 - Building trays

Info

Publication number: IE56868B1
Application number: IE226185A
Authority: IE
Original assignee: John Louis Shillabeer
Priority date: 1984-09-14
Filing date: 1985-09-13
Publication date: 1992-01-01
Also published as: GB8423331D0; BE903221A; GB8521839D0; GB2164368B; GB2164368A

Abstract

Building trays are assembled from a kit of parts that comprises open-ended tray members 10 having a base 12 and side wall 14 and attachable end wall members 62. Attachment may be via a channel 38' defined on one face of the wall member or on both faces, so as to be usable at either end of a tray member 10, and for connecting two tray members together. Wall member may have a gusset portion 64 to produce a tray for a gable abutment.

Description

The present invention relates to cavity trays» In the construction of buildings with cavity walls it is necessary to make provision for preventing rain which penetrates into the cavity from running down within it onto window or door frames or from seeping to the inside of the j building. It is particularly necessary to make such provision when a wing or projection from a building is of lower height than the main structure, or if a new section of building is to be constructed abutting an existing structure or where an outside skin becomes an inside wall. It is also often desirable to have a barrier to rising damp.

Conventionally, damp proof courses are fabricated on site from a flexible material, such as plastics or lead sheeting. This is difficult to do well, and tends therefore to be expensive and unreliable. The use of rigid cavity trays offers great advantages. These trays are now available in a range of preformed shapes and sizes. For example, the Type Y cavity tray produced by Cavity Trays Limited (of Yeovil, England) is a rigid tray having a horizontal base portion which in use lies on the outer skin of a cavity wall, a sloping rear wall which extends across the cavity to abut the inner skin, and a pair of end walls φ which are arranqed to coincide with perpendicular joints between building units (usually bricks) of the outer skin.

Such trays can be straight, or shaped to fit internal or -2external angles. The same Company's Type ”Xn tray, for mounting in stepped array in a gable abutment, is similar but has only a single end wall, since water is intended to drain off the open end onto the tray beneath« Furthermore it is preferably of rigid plastics material (e*g° polypropylene), and the rear wall has a hinged upper portion which can be disposed for bridging cavities of different sizes* However, a drawback of such preformed trays is that they are produced in predetermined sizes, which may impose constraints on a user* Furthermore, if a manufacturer wishes to produce a new size, he has to face substantial tooling costs.

According to the present invention there is provided a kit of parts for producing a cavity tray, comprising: an elongate tray member comprising a base portion from which a rear wall portion extends upwardly, the tray member having at least one open end; and at least one end wall member, said wall member having means defining a channel for receiving a marginal end portion of the base portion of the tray member whereby the wall member and the tray member are adapted to be mutually connected.

The tray member may be produced in large lengths, e.g. as a plastics extrusion, and cut to length as required. A cavity tray closed at both ends may be produced by connecting a pair of end wall members (which may be mirror images of one another) to respective open ends of a length -3of tray member.

Preferably an end wall member has means defining a channel for receiving a marginal end portion of the base portion and also of at least part of the rear wall portion of the tray member. The base portion may have means for attachment of a flashing adjacent its front edge; and the channel may be shaped to accommodate a consequential j thickening. The end wall member may provide a gusset portion that extends in use some way along the front of the base portion, and which may have channel means for engagement of a marginal front portion of the base portion.

The rear wall portion preferably has a hinged upper portion. Conveniently, .the connection of an end wall member is arranged to involve only the fixed portion of the tray member.

A clip for connecting adjacent trays may comprise a channel member dimensioned to engage over marginal portions of end wall members of the two trays, so as to clamp them together. It may be shaped to engage over the top and front of the wall members. It may also include a portion for overlying the upper portion of the rear wall portions of the trays, so as to bridge any gap between them. It may engage over the tops of the rear wall portions. This clip portion may have a hinge to allow it to flex with hinged wall fe portions. Of course, the utility of such a clip is not restricted to trays with non-integral end walls. fe Some embodiments of the invention will now be -4described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figs. 1 and 2 are side and front elevations of a tray member of a first embodiment; Figs. 3 and 4 are side and front elevations of a first type of side wall member; Figs. 5 and 6 are side and front elevations of a connecting clip; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a tray assembly including two tray members, two wall members, and a clip; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a tray assembly with a second type of wall member; and Figs. 9 and 10 are views corresponding to Figs<> 1 and 3 but showing a second embodiment of a tray member and a corresponding side wall member.

Figs. 1 and 2 show a tray member 10 which is a plastics extrusion (e.g. polypropylene) of constant cross-section. It has a base portion 12 (which may have a textured finish to provide a mortar key); a first rear wall portion 14 rising steeply from the rear of the base portion 12; and a second rear wall portion 16 which is connected to the first portion 14 via a line of reduced thickness 18 which provides a resilient hinge. (The line 18 may be produced by the extrusion process, or subsequently added by -5cutting.) The solid line shows the maximum rearward angle of the second portion 16. It is biassed to this position.

At the front edge of the base portion 12, there is a thickening 20 with a forwardly-opening slot 22 for insertion of an apron flashing, e.g. of lead sheeting. The thickening preferably extends beneath the general level of the base portion 12, so that the upper surface is planar. Lead or other sheeting may be connected by suitable means, e.g. rivetting. Instead of the simple, forwardly open slot 22, either the upper 24 or lower 26 arm defining the slot may be continued downwardly and forwardly· Figs. 3 and 4 &how a side wall member 30. This has a planar wall portion 32, with a pair of upstanding ribs 34,36 extending along the rear and bottom edges so as to define a channel 38 in which an edge region of a tray member 10 can be received. That is, the channel 38 has an upright portion 40 for receiving an edge region of the first rear wall portion 14; and a horizontal region 42, with a widened outer portion 44, for receiving the edge of the base portion 12 including the thickening 20. The dimensioning of the ribs 34,36 may be such that the wall member 30 is a firm fit on a tray member 10. However, it may be desired to assist the fit with some sealant and/or adhesive. Whereas Figs. 3 and 4 show a side wall member 30 adapted to fit on the left hand end of a tray member 10 it will be appreciated that a side wall member for the right hand end will have ribs 34,36 extending from the other face of the wall 32. Of course, a -6side wall member could be produced which had a channel on either face, so that it could be used at either end or for connecting two tray members 10 in line.

An alternative means for connecting trays is the clip 50 shown in Figs» 5 and 6 and, in use, in Fig» 7. The clip has an L-shaped channel member 52, open towards the interior of the L, and dimensioned so that if two side wall members 30 are placed side by side (when attached to respective tray members 10s see Fig. 7), their top and front edges can be inserted into the L-channel 52. At the rear, there may be an upright portion rising from the end of the longer limb of the L-channel 52. As shown, this has a line of weakness 56 which in use coincides with the line 18 on the two tray members 10» At its top end, the upright portion 54 has a hooked portion 58 for engaging over the tops of the second rear wall portions 16 of the tray members . Thus two assembled trays may be placed together and clamped by sliding a clip member 50 onto them. At its bottom front end, there may be a stepped portion that extends over and slightly beneath the front edge of the base portions 12 of the tray members 10« Fig. 8 shows a tray assembly using a tray member 10 as previously described, but with a different type of side wall member 62. This differs in having a triangular front gusset portion 64. The ribs 34f,36‘ also extend along the bottom of this, so that there is a channel portion 38* for receiving part of the front edge of the base portion 12. Of -7course, this channel portion 38' will generally have to be wider than the rest, to accommodate the thickening 20» The gusset prevents water from running over the front of the tray in the corner region, and produces a tray similar to the Cavity Trays Limited Type °Xrt tray for mounting in stepped array in a gable abutment.

For some purposes, taller trays may be desired.

Fig. 9 shows a taller tray member 110. As in the case of the previous member 10, this has a base portion 112 with a frontal thickening 120, a first rear wall portion 114, and a second rear wall portion 116. But above this, there is a third rear wall portion 170» This is connected by a line of weakness 172 to the second portion 116» The connection of the first and second portions 114,116 may also be via a line of weakness 118, though this will not generally be used as a hinge. But it may be convenient for the first and second portions 114,116 to be identical to those in a tray member 10, so that such a member (10) may be produced from a tall tray member 110 by cutting at the upper line 172. (If this is not desired, the first and second wall portions 114,116 could be replaced by a single portion of double height.) Fig. 10 shows a tall side wall member 130, which differs from the member 30 in having a much taller wall portion 132, corresponding in height to the sum of all three wall portions 114,116,170. The ribs 134,136 rise to the level of the top of the second wall portion 116o Of course, it would be possible for the wall 122 to terminate level with the top -8of the second rear wall portion 116, more analogously to the wall 32 of the lower side wall member 30. Alternatively, of course a lower side wall member 30” could have a wall 32' which extended in height to the top of the second rear wall portion 16 (when this is flexed to the vertical position).

In Fig. 8, a tall side wall member 190 having a front gusset 164 is shown in phantom. The reader will appreciate that many such permutations and combinations of features are possible.

As a further way of coupling base portions, use may be made of what is in effect a combination of a side wall member (e.g. as shown in Figs. 3 and 4) with a clip (e.g. as shown in Figs. 5 and 6). Thus a side wall member can have its upper margin (or part thereof) turned over outwardly, so that it can be clamped to an ordinary wall member, just as if a separate clip were employed.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1* A kit of parts for producing a cavity tray, comprising: an elongate tray member comprising a base portion from which a rear wall portion extends upwardly, the tray member having at least one open end; and at least one end wall member, said wall member having means defining a channel for receiving a marginal end portion of the base portion of the tray member whereby the wall member and the tray member are adapted to be mutually connected.

2. A kit according to claim 1 wherein said end wall member has means defining a channel for receiving a marginal end portion of at least part of the rear wall portion of the tray member.

3. A kit according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the base portion has means for attachment of a flashing adjacent its front edge, said means comprising a marginal portion thicker than the rest of the base portion; and the channel for receiving the base portion has a corresponding wider portion to accommodate this.

4. A kit according to any preceding claim in which the end wall member provides a gusset portion that extends in use some way along the front of the base portion, and which has channel means for engagement of a marginal front portion of the base portion.

5. A kit according to any preceding claim comprising two tray members and two end wall members assemblable with the -10wall members on opposite ends of respective tray members to form first trays; and coupling means for connecting adjacent first trays to form a larger second tray, the coupling means being arranged to hold the two wall members together.

6. A kit according to claim 5 wherein the coupling means comprises a clip providing a channel member dimensioned to engage over marginal portions of the end wall members of the * two first trays, so as to clamp them together.

7. A kit according to claim 6 wherein the clip is shaped to engage over the top and front of the wall members.

8. A kit according to claim 6 or 7 including a said clip which includes a portion for overlying the rear wall portions of the first trays and engaging over the tops thereof.

9. A kit according to claim 8 wherein the rear wall portions have hinged upper portions and the clip has a hinge to allow it to flex with them.

10. A kit according to any preceding claim including an end wall member having means defining two opposed channels on respective sides, so as to be capable of receiving marginal end portions of respective base portions at either side.

11. A kit of parts for producing a cavity tray substantially as any herein described with reference to and/or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

12. A cavity tray composed of a kit of parts according to m any preceding claim.