Adjustable head for fixing and guiding a retractable screen to the frame of a door, a window or a french door

Abstract

Disclosed is an adjustable head for fixing and guiding a retractable screen to a frame of a door, a window or a French door. This head has a semi-tubular rail with a rounded crest and two opposite lateral sides each provided with an internal surface and an external surface. Two sliding bars are mounted in front of each other on the inner surfaces of the rail. These sliding bars extend over the full length of said rail and are devised to receive and guide the retractable screen along this rail. A holding plate is mounted onto the rail for fixing the adjustable head onto the frame. The holding plate extends over the full length of the rail and is positioned so as to extend in the same plane as one of the lateral sides of the rail. The holding plate also has a given height and is provided with at least one cutting line extending parallel to the rail in order to permit reduction of the height of the plate by folding and/or cutting and thus to permit positioning of the adjustable head onto the frame as a function of the respective sizes of the frame and retractable screen. Such facilitates the installation of a screen, especially a retractable mosquito screen, having a height of conventional size, without having to adjust to the height of the door or window where the retractable screen is to be installed.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Canadian Patent Application No. 2,506,489, filed May 5, 2005, all of the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an adjustable head for use to fix and guide a retractable screen, such as a mosquito screen or net, to the frame of a door, a window or a French door.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field to which the present invention belongs, it is known to install a retractable screen, most of the time in the form of a mosquito net, within the frame of a door, a window or a French door. By way of non-limitative examples of such a retractable screen installed onto the frame of a door or window, reference can be made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,890 issued on Jul. 15, 2003 and to European Patent No. EP 1,158,135 B1 issued on Dec. 8, 2004.

The problem that always exists during installation of such a retractable screen lies in the respective height of the screen as compared to the height of the frame where it has to be installed. No standard product actually available on the market can be adjusted if there is a difference between the height of a non-standard frame and the one of screen. As a result, the manufacturer of screen has to deliver a product that has been pre-adjusted in factory to fit with the very specific dimension of the frame of the door of each client.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable head that permits to solve the above-mentioned problem that is encountered when one has to install a retractable screen into the frame of a door, a window or a French door.

More specifically, the object of the invention is to provide an adjustable head that an installator may manually adjust with a very simple tool such as a blade, a knife, scissors or a saw, such substantially facilitating the installation of a screen, especially a retractable mosquito net, having height of conventional size, without having to adjust to the height of the door or window where the retractable screen is to be installed.

As is of common practice, the adjustable head according to the invention which is intended to be used for fixing and guiding a retractable screen to a frame of a door, a window or a French door basically comprises:

• • a semi-tubular rail comprising a rounded crest and two opposite lateral sides each provided with an internal surface and an external surface, the rail being of a given length;
  • two sliding bars mounted in front of each other on the inner surfaces of the rail, the sliding bars extending over the full length of the rail and being devised to receive and guide the retractable screen along the rail; and
  • a holding plate mounted onto the rail for fixing the adjustable head onto the frame with a fixation means, the holding plate extending over the full length of the rail and being positioned so as to extend in the same plane as one of the lateral sides of the rail.

The adjustable head according to the invention is improved in that its holding plate has a given height and is provided with at least one cutting line extending parallel to the rail in order to permit reduction of the height of the plate by folding and/or cutting and thus to permit positioning of the adjustable head onto the frame as a function of the respective sizes of the frame and retractable screen.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the holding plate comprises several cutting lines extending in parallel relationship with respect to each other onto.

To the Applicant's knowledge, there is no adjustable head presently available, which permits to install a retractable screen having a standard height to the frame of a door, a window or a French door having a height different from a conventional and standard height.

The invention and its advantages will be better understood upon reading the following non restrictive description of a preferred embodiment thereof made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a French door comprising a frame, an adjustable head and a retractable screen;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-section view of the adjustable head shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the adjustable head shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4a is a vertical cross-section view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1, showing the upper and lower parts of the frame of the door, the rigid guide of the retractable screen, the lower sustaining rail of the retractable screen and the adjustable head before the holding plate has been cut; and

FIG. 4b is a view similar to FIG. 4a except that the holding plate of the adjustable head has been reduced by cutting part of the holding plate along one of its cutting lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As is shown in FIGS. 1, 4a and 4b, the adjustable head (1) according to the preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in the accompanying drawings, is intended to be used for the installation of a retractable screen (3) within the frame (5) of a French door (7).

As is of common practice, the adjustable head (1) is intended to fix and guide the upper part of the retractable screen (3) comprises inter alia, a vertical rigid support (2) and a net (4). Because this kind of retractable screen is well-known per se, it shall not be described thereinafter in greater details.

Indeed, as previously mentioned, the invention essentially lies in the adjustable head which permits to install the retractable screen (3) onto the frame of the French door (7). The lower part of the rigid support (2) of the screen as well as the net (4) lay and slide onto a rail (6) fixed to the lower part of the frame. The upper part of the support (2) and net (4) are held by the adjustable head (1).

As is better shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the adjustable head (1) comprises a semi-tubular rail (9), two sliding bars (11) positioned in front of each other and a holding plate (13). The semi-tubular rail (9) comprises a rounded crest (15) and two opposite lateral sides (17) and (19) that are devised in such a manner as to incorporate the two sliding bars (11) mounted in front of each other on the inner surface of the rail. As is shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, each of the sliding bars (11) is advantageously devised so as to form a T-shaped cavity in order to receive and hold linear holding brushes (21). These brushes are conventional means that are used to hold and guide the rigid support (2) in the center of the rail (9) as is shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, and to maintain under pressure the net (3). This is made possible thanks to the fact that, during motion of the rigid vertical support (2) the hair of the brushes will penetrate within the hole of the net (4) and thus hold and guide this screen under pressure.

The holding plate (13) is mounted onto the rail in such a manner as to fix it onto the frame (5) of the French door. As is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the holding plate (13) extends in the same plane as one of the faces of the rail (9). This permit to position the adjustable head (1) in such a manner that it fits perfectly within the frame (5) of the French door. Thus such permits to fix the adjustable head onto the frame (5) by means of nails or screws, as is shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b.

In accordance with the invention, the holding plate (13) comprises at least one and preferably several cutting lines (18). These cutting lines may consist of grooves, slots of varying depths or a succession of small holes. Their purpose is to make the plate easy to cut along the cutting lines without reducing its rigidity. The holding plate may have only one cutting line or, as mentioned hereinabove, several lines located on one side only or on both sides in front of each other, as is shown in FIG. 2 in order to facilitate the folding and/or cutting of the plate on one properly side selected by the installator.

Of course, the holding plate (13) must have a thickness that is thin enough to allow the installator:

• • to manually fold the holding plate (13) along one of its cutting lines (18); or
  • to cut it along one of said lines (18) with a blade, a knife, scissors or a saw in order to reduce the height of the holding plate (13) and thus allowing easy adjustment of the adjustable head within the frame (5) of the French door if this frame is smaller in size, as is illustrated in FIG. 4b; and
  • to allow screws or nails to be inserted into the holding plate (13) in order to fix it to the frame (5).

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the whole height of the adjustable head (1) including the holding plate (13) and the semi-tubular rail (9) is equal to about 3″. The holding plate (13) contains on each of its faces sixteen grooves (18) spaced apart from each other at a distance of about ⅛″. The thickness of the holding plate (13) between of its grooves is equal to about 0.026″.

The different element that forms the adjustable head, namely the semi-tubular rail (9), the two sliding bars (11) and the holding plate (13), can be welded, glued or screwed to each other. Preferably, however, the adjustable head (1) is made of one single piece. This piece can be made of extruded aluminum or of any other material to be used according to the user's needs. Aluminum has the advantage of giving to the adjustable head (1) a flexibility that permits to fold easily and manually the holding plate (13) along the selected groove (18) and/or to cut it easily with any kind of blade. Aluminum also gives high rigidity to the whole adjustable head (1).

In view of the above, one may understand that the adjustable head (1) according to the invention is unique and offers a great polyvalency, whatever be the respective sizes of the retractable screen (3) and the door or window (7).

It is obvious that numerous modifications could be made to the preferred embodiments disclosed hereinabove without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, failing within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An adjustable head for fixing and guiding a retractable screen to a frame of a door, a window or a French door, said head comprising:

a semi-tubular rail comprising a rounded crest and two opposite lateral sides each provided with an internal surface and an external surface, said rail being of a given length;

two sliding bars mounted in front of each other on the inner surfaces of the rail, said sliding bars extending over the full length of said rail and being devised to receive and guide the retractable screen along said rail; and

a holding plate mounted onto the rail for fixing said adjustable head onto the frame with a fixation means, said holding plate extending over the full length of the rail and being positioned so as to extend in the same plane as one of the lateral sides of the rail, wherein said holding plate has a given height and is provided with at least one cutting line extending parallel to the rail in order to permit reduction of the height of said plate by folding and/or cutting and thus to permit positioning of the adjustable head onto the frame as a function of the respective sizes of the frame and retractable screen.

2. The improved adjustable head according to claim 1, wherein the holding plate comprises several cutting lines extending in parallel relationship with respect to each.

3. The adjustable head according to claim 2, wherein each of said cutting lines consists of at least one groove made in the holding plate.

4. The adjustable head according to claim 3, wherein each of said cutting line consists of one single groove located on one single side of the holding plate.

5. The adjustable head according to claim 3, wherein each of said cutting line consists of two grooves positioned in front of each other on two opposites sides of the holding plate.

6. The adjustable head according to claim 1, wherein the holding plate is of such thickness as to permit to manually fold it along the selected cutting line by means of a plier or to manually cut it along the same line by means of a blade, a knife, scissors or a saw.

7. The adjustable head according to claim 1, wherein each of the sliding bar is devised so as to form a T-shaped cavity.

8. The adjustable head according to claim 1, wherein the semi-tubular rail, the two sliding bars and the holding plates are made of one single piece.

9. The adjustable head according to claim 8, wherein the piece is made of extruded aluminum

10. The adjustable head according to claim 4, wherein:

the holding plate is of such thickness as to permit to manually fold it along the selected cutting line by means of a plier or to manually cut it along the same line by means of a blade, a knife, scissors or a saw;

each of the sliding bar is devised so as to form a T-shaped cavity; and

the semi-tubular rail, the two sliding bars and the holding plates are made of one single piece.

11. The adjustable head according to claim 5, wherein:

the holding plate is of such thickness as to permit to manually fold it along the selected cutting line by mean of a plier or to manually cut it along the same line by means of a blade, a knife, scissors or a saw;

each of the sliding bar is devised so as to form a T-shaped cavity; and

the semi-tubular rail, the two sliding bars and the holding plates are made of one single piece.