ROOFLIGHT
There is disclosed an improved rooflight 100. A first aspect of the rooflight provides a perimeter lip 1401 which protects an edge of a pane 210 of glass from being accidentally chipped or cracked. A second aspect of the present invention provides a channel for a blind 1100, which channel is formed by two cooperating channel sections 1601, 1602. A third aspect of the present invention provides a flashing system 1700. Another aspect of the rooflight 100 provides a water deflector 450 for preventing rain water from impinging directly onto a weather seal between a casement 120 and baseplate 110. Another aspect provides removable linings 610, 620, 1210, 1220 which can be mounted an interior face of the casement 120 and/or baseplate 110. Another aspect provides a slot 1000, for securing flashing 800, 810, which extends around the perimeter of the baseplate 110. Another aspect provides a blind 110 which is recessed within cavities and a blind runner 1300, thus reducing unwanted transmission of light when the blind 1101 is pulled.
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The present invention is concerned with windows, particularly (but not exclusively) rooflights. Rooflights are windows suitable for installation into roofs. Roofs are often angled (so that rain can run off into guttering) and thus rooflights are typically installed into an angled roof.
The uppermost end (i.e. the end nearest the apex of an inclined roof) of a rooflight is typically referred to as the head end. The sides of a rooflight are typically referred to as jambs. The lowermost end (i.e. the end nearest the gutter of an inclined roof) of a rooflight is typically referred to as the cill (sometimes spelled sill) end.
A rooflight comprises a casement and a baseplate. The casement is glazed and is moveable relative to the baseplate. The baseplate is secured to the roof in which the rooflight is mounted.
A first aspect of the present invention provides a casement with a protective perimeter lip or flange.
A second aspect of the present invention provides a combined lining and guide rail for a blind.
A third aspect of the present invention provides a flashing system for a rooflight.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a water deflector for preventing rain water from impinging directly onto a weather seal between a casement and baseplate. Another aspect provides removable linings which can be mounted an interior face of the casement and/or baseplate. Another aspect provides a slot, for securing flashing, which extends around the perimeter of the baseplate. Another aspect of the present invention provides a blind which is recessed within cavities and a blind runner, thus reducing unwanted transmission of light when the blind is pulled. Some or all of the various aspects may be used in conjunction with each other.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGSEmbodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the following Figures. For clarity, some features are not illustrated in all Figures. For clarity, in cross section views, only features in the plane are shown (unless stated otherwise).
In this embodiment, the rooflight 100 is formed from profiles produced by a pultrusion moulding process. The baseplate 110 comprises four lengths of a profile which are joined together by a mitre joint at each corner. The casement 120 also comprises four length of a profile (different from the profile of the baseplate 110) which are joined together by a mitre joint at each corner. In a pultrusion process, glass fibre and thermosetting resin are pulled through a passage in heated metal die to produce a glass-reinforced plastic profile having a substantially constant cross section. The pultruded profile has the same cross section as the passage in the metal die. In alternative embodiments, materials such as aluminium (whether formed by extrusion or by machining) or PVC (polyvinyl chloride) may be used instead or in addition.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, tiling battens (not shown) typically extend across the rafters. Tiles/slates are mounted above the tiling battens by nailing the tiles/slates to the tiling battens. The tiling battens are also used to attach roofing felt underneath the tiling battens. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the rooflight 100 requires an aperture in the roofing felt and that the roofing felt is sealed to the rooflight 100 (around the perimeter of the rooflight 100) to prevent entry of rainwater through to the interior side of the roofing felt in the region of the rooflight 100.
In this embodiment, the rooflight 100 is double glazed. An alternative embodiment is single glazed. In this embodiment the rooflight 100 is generally rectangular. In alternative embodiments the rooflight is polygonal.
Water Deflector
In this embodiment, when the casement 120 is closed, the casement 120 is spaced apart from the baseplate 110 by 2 mm. The rubber gaskets 431, 441 bridge the 2 mm gap. The 2 mm gap forms, in effect a channel at the split line (the split line is, strictly speaking, planar but at the head end of the rooflight 100 the split plane can be regarded as a split line) which could convey impinging rain drops directly towards the primary water seal.
A deflector plate 450 is mounted to the baseplate 110 (in other embodiments the deflector plate 450 is instead mounted to the casement 120). The deflector plate 450 prevents rain drops from impinging directly on the split line between the casement 120 and baseplate 110, and thus improves the ability of the primary water seal 430, 431, 432 to prevent entry of water into the rooflight 100. In other words, the deflector plate 450 ensures that the kinetic energy of falling raindrops is substantially dissipated before the water encounters the primary water seal. The deflector plate 450 also reduces water entry through the head end of the rooflight 100 when the casement 120 is partially opened.
In this embodiment the defector plate extends the entire width of the casement 120 and overlaps the casement 120 (when the casement 120 is closed) by an overlap distance 460. In this embodiment the overlap distance is 5 mm but in alternative embodiments the overlap distance may be any integer in the range 1 mm to 40 mm inclusive. In this embodiment the deflector plate 450 is made of stainless steel and is attached to the baseplate using adhesive (not shown) and screws 470.
In this embodiment, the deflector plate 450 is positioned on the baseplate 110 so that when the casement 120 is closed, there is a substantially zero gap between the deflector plate 450 and the casement 120. In alternative embodiments, the deflector plate 450 is positioned so that when the casement 120 is closed, the deflector plate 450 is spaced apart (in a direction perpendicular to the distance 460) from the casement 120, for example by 2 mm.
Although not shown by
The various linings close off what would otherwise be open cavities of the baseplate profile 410 and casement profile 420, and therefore prevent access to the cavities. It will be recalled that, for clarity, a handle (having a handle mechanism), an electric motor mechanism, optional gas springs, and linkages have not been shown. In this embodiment, the handle mechanism, electric motor mechanism and linkages are mounted in the cavities of the baseplate profile 410 and casement profile 420. The various linings therefore prevent inadvertent access to the handle mechanism, electric motor mechanism, optional gas springs, and linkages. Access to the handle mechanism, electric motor mechanism and linkages may be obtained by pulling the appropriate lining to overcome the friction fit between the lug and groove.
The arrangement shown by
The embodiment shown by
In yet other embodiments, different methods may be used to detachably mount the linings. For example, magnets may be mounted in the linings and profiles. Alternatively, a hook and loop type fasteners may be used.
In alternative embodiments, either only the baseplate or only the casement is provided with removable linings. In other embodiments, the rooflight comprises a glazed baseplate but does not comprise a casement that is movable relative to the baseplate.
In an alternative embodiment, the panes 210 and 220 are the same size. In this alternative embodiment, the profile 420 has a perimeter lip which surrounds both the panes 210, 220 and is spaced apart from the panes 210, 220 by a 3 mm perimeter gap. The lower pane 220 is bonded to the profile. A weatherproof seal is formed between the upper pane 210 and the perimeter lip using silicone sealant to bridge the 3 mm gap.
Jamb Flashing and Cill Apron
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, lead flashing is conventionally used to integrate a rooflight with, for example, tiles or slates of the roof. The lead flashing guides rain water over the first or so row of tiles downstream of the rooflight. The installation of lead flashing is a skilled operation which increases the cost of installing conventional rooflights.
The cill ends of the jamb portions of the jamb flashing 800 overlap the ends of the cill apron 810 but do not overlap a central portion 820 of the cill apron 810. Once the rooflight 100, jamb flashing 800 and cill apron 810 have been installed into a roof, the jamb flashing 800 is covered by roof tiles/slates and is thus hidden; the central portion 820 of the cill apron 810 is visible as the cill apron 810 overlies a row (or several rows, depending on the size of the tiles/slates) of tiles/slates.
As shown in more detail by
To mount the cill apron 810 to the slot 1000, the slot 1000 is first filled with a sealant such as silicone sealant. The cill apron 810 is then inserted into the slot 1000 and the grub screws 1010 are tightened to secure the cill apron 810. Excess sealant on the top surface 810t of the cill apron 810 is then removed (excess sealant on the bottom surface 810b of the cill apron 810 need not be removed).
The jamb flashing 800 is mounted to the baseplate flange 130 in the same way as the cill apron 810, using sealant and grub screws. The jamb flashing 800 may be mounted to the baseplate flange 130 before or after the cill apron 810 has been mounted (provided that the cill ends of the jamb portions of the jamb flashing 800 overlap the ends of the cill apron 810).
As shown by
In this embodiment, the slot (i.e. including the slot 1000 at the cill end of the baseplate flange 130) is formed in the baseplate flange 130 during the pultrusion moulding process used to manufacture the baseplate profile 410.
As shown by
An advantage of the rooflight 100 over prior art rooflights is the use of profiles having cavities; the cavities allow components (such as the roller blind 1100) to be mounted inside the frame of the rooflight 100. This avoids obscuring the glazed aperture of the casement 110. Conventional rooflights are manufactured from solid materials such as timber and thus if a roller blind is fitted, the roller blind is mounted to the head end of the baseplate. Ignoring the matter that conventional rooflights do not have baseplate linings, a conventional rooflight would, in effect, mount the roller blind 1100 to the head baseplate lining 610, thus obscuring a portion of the glazed area of the casement and thus reducing the amount of light transmitted through the rooflight.
As shown by
Again, conventional rooflights are made from solid materials such as timber and thus, ignoring the matter that conventional rooflights do not have baseplate linings, for a conventional rooflight the blind runners would be mounted to, in effect, the jamb baseplate linings, thus obscuring a portion of the glazed area of the casement and thus reducing the amount of light transmitted through the rooflight.
A further advantage of having the roller blind 1100 and blind runners 1300 mounted within a cavity of the profile 420 is that unwanted transmission of light around the edges and ends of the blind 1101 is reduced. As shown by
As was mentioned above in connection with
Prior art rooflights include a frame which encases the perimeter region of the glazing 210, 220. Such prior art rooflights do not therefore suffer the problem of damage to the edge of the glazing. The rooflight described herein has the advantage of simplified manufacture as it is not necessary to encase the perimeter of the glazing in a frame (i.e. the glazing of the present rooflight is frameless). Instead of using a frame, the glazing is bonded (as described below in more detail) to the casement 120 and then a weatherproof seal is applied between the glazing and the casement 120. Without a protective lip, the advantage of easier manufacturing would be offset by the risk of damage to the edge of the glazing.
In
In alternative embodiments, the cleats 1430 may be dispensed with and a single upstanding member (not shown) may be used to replace the inner 1421 and outer 1420 upstanding members.
In alternative embodiments, the panes 210, 220 may be the same size. However, an advantage of panes 210, 220 of different size is that the cleats 1430 and inner upstanding members 1421 may be recessed under the pane 210.
The protective lip/flange 1401, 1501 is preferably provided on all four sides of the casement 120 (of course, the casement 120 need not be rectangular). In some embodiments, the protective lip 1401 may be provided on some, but not all, side/surfaces of the casement 120.
Integrated Linings and Guide Rail for Blind
The channel sections 1601, 1602 cooperate to form a blind runner which captively retains the retention studs 1310 of blind material 101. Channel section 1602 is mounted on the baseplate 110 whereas channel section 1601 is mounted to the baseplate lining 610. A roller blind 1100 (not shown in
An advantage of
The flashing system 1700 comprises two corner pieces 1701, 1702 which, when in use, are mounted at the head end of the rooflight. The corner pieces 1701, 1702 are substantially mirror images of each other. The flashing system 1700 also comprises two diverter pieces 1711, 1712 which, when in use, are mounted at the cill end 300 of the rooflight. The diverter pieces 1711, 1712 are also substantially mirror images of each other. The corner pieces 1701, 1702 are interconnected by a head piece 1720. The corner piece 1701 is connected to the diverter piece 1711 by a jamb piece 1731; the corner piece 1702 is connected to the diverter piece 1712 by a jamb piece 1732. The jamb pieces 1731, 1732 are substantially mirror images of each other.
The jamb piece 1732 is similar to a “U” shaped channel but rotated through 90°. A jamb slot portion 1801, of the jamb piece 1732, fits inside the slot 1000. Silicone sealant (not shown) may be used to seal the jamb slot portion 1801, and hence the jamb piece 1732, to the baseplate flange 130. Also shown by
Above the roofing felt 1810 is a piece of foam 1830 (not shown by
Referring back to
The two diverter pieces 1711, 1712 each have a respective portion 1720 for diverting water onto a cill apron 810 (see
In this embodiment the head piece 1720 and the jamb pieces 1731, 1732 are plastic extrusions; the corner pieces 1701, 1702 and the diverter pieces 1711, 1712 are vacuum formed. At the interfaces between (i) the head 1720 and jamb 1731, 1732 pieces and (ii) the corner pieces 1701, 1702 and diverter pieces 1711, 1712, the corner pieces 1701, 1702 and diverter pieces 1711, 1712 are swollen during the vacuum forming process so that the extrusions of the head 1720 and jamb 131, 1732 pieces may be received inside the corner pieces 1701, 1702 and diverter pieces 1711, 1712.
The flashing system 1700 is modular which allows it to be installed to rooflights 100 of a variety of different sizes. Firstly, an extrusion is cut to the appropriate length to form the head piece 1720 and the jamb pieces 1731, 1732. Secondly, silicone sealant, in the form of a viscous liquid, is inserted into the slot 1000 around the perimeter of the baseplate flange 130. Thirdly, the ends of the head piece 1720 and the jamb pieces 1731, 1732 are then coated with an adhesive or a plastic cement.
Fourthly, the head piece 1720 and the jamb pieces 1731, 1732 are then assembled together with the corner pieces 1701, 1702 and diverter pieces 1711, 1712, by pushing them into the silicone and bonding the head piece 1720 and the jamb pieces 1731, 1732 to the corner pieces 1701, 1702 and diverter pieces 1711, 1712.
In an alternative embodiment of the rooflight, the slot 1000 may, instead of being angled as shown by
In an alternative embodiment of the flashing system 1700, the head piece 1720 and the jamb pieces 1731, 1732 are dispensed with, and the corner pieces 1701, 1702 and the diverter pieces 1711, 1712 are made overlong. The overlong corner pieces 1701, 1702 and the overlong diverter pieces 1711, 1712 are arranged to cooperate with each other without requiring the head piece 1720 and the jamb pieces 1731, 1732. Instead, the overlong corner pieces 1701, 1702 and the overlong diverter pieces 1711, 1712 are cut to the appropriate length and glued (or fastened) together. In yet other embodiments, the corner pieces (1701, 1702) and the head piece (1720) are provided as an integrated assembly, for example formed by vacuum forming; such embodiments are suitable for situations where rooflights will tend to have a standard width.
Claims
1. A casement comprising:
- glazing;
- a lip for protecting an edge of the glazing.
2. The casement according to claim 1, wherein the glazing is frameless.
3. The casement according to claim 1, wherein the lip and the edge of the glazing are positioned relative to each other so that the total angular range of vulnerability is substantially one of: 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°,..., 75°, 90°, 105°,..., 165°.
4. The casement according to claim 1, wherein all edges of the glazing are protected by a respective lip.
5. The casement according to claim 1, wherein the lip comprises an inner and an outer upstanding member.
6. The casement according to claim 1, comprising one or more cleats.
7. The casement according to claim 1, wherein the lip, relative to the glazing, is one of: flush, recessed and protruding.
8. The casement according to claim 1, comprising a sealant between the glazing and the lip.
9. The casement according to claim 1, comprising an adhesive between the glazing and the casement.
10. The casement according to claim 1, wherein the glazing is double glazed or triple glazed.
11. The rooflight, or window, comprising a casement according to claim 1, and a baseplate.
12. A baseplate comprising:
- a removable lining;
- first channel means provided at the lining;
- second channel means provided at the baseplate,
- wherein the first channel means and second channel means are arranged to cooperate to provide a constriction for captively retaining a retention stud.
13. The baseplate according to claim 12, wherein the first and second channel means each comprise a “U” shaped channel section.
14. The baseplate according to claim 12, wherein the first channel means comprises a channel section attached to the lining, and wherein the second channel means comprises a channel section attached to the baseplate.
15. The baseplate according to claim 12, comprising a roller blind having retention studs.
16. The rooflight, or a window, comprising a baseplate according to claim 12 and a casement.
17. A flashing for a rooflight, comprising:
- two corner pieces; and
- two diverter pieces.
18. The flashing according to claim 17, comprising a head piece between the two corner pieces.
19. The flashing according to claim 17, wherein the two corner pieces are integrally formed.
20. The flashing according to claim 17, comprising jamb pieces between the corner pieces and the diverter pieces.
21. The flashing according to claim 17, comprising roofing felt.
22. The combination of a rooflight and flashing according to claim 17.
23. A kit of parts for assembly as flashing for a rooflight, the kit of parts comprising:
- two corner pieces; and
- two diverter pieces.
24-58. (canceled)
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 22, 2007
Publication Date: Feb 14, 2008
Applicant: THE METAL WINDOW CO. LTD. (Cheltenham)
Inventors: Peter Daniel (Shipston-on-Stour), Paul Herbert (Chipping Norton), Peter King (Lechlade), Tim Muller (Oxford)
Application Number: 11/766,969
International Classification: E04B 7/18 (20060101);