Abstract:
A system for covering fasteners that are provided at an exterior building wall for mounting storm panels. The system includes cover plates that are located adjacent to the fasteners. The cover plates are mounted so as to be pivotable about one side of a mounting track. This permits the cover plates to pivot between a closed (use) position for covering the track and fasteners, and an open (non-use) position for permitting installation of storm panels. The cover plates can be painted in a variety of colors to match the building wall or the shutters, which permits the covers to blend into the exterior finish of the building. Thus, when the storm panels are removed, the present system conveniently covers the unattractive and conspicuous fasteners in an attractive manner.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/288,648 filed May 4, 2001. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to plates that cover mounting fasteners for hurricane shutters, and more particularly to plates that are designed to be stored about a window of a building and are easily moved into either a storage position or an in-use position over the fasteners. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   There are known arrangements that do not leave exposed studs, but unfortunately they do leave exposed bolt heads, or exposed tracks, or they fail to provide storage for the covers. The following patents are illustrative of these systems and are described below. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 2,012,388 to Goodman discloses a storm shutter having a frame or sash attached with hinges around a building opening and having protruding studs, and a panel with elongate ports to fit over the studs. A problem with Goodman is that the sash may prove unattractive and conspicuous when the shutter panels are not in use. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,517 to Everson discloses a storm window that can be installed inside of a window opening in a building wall. The storm window is mounted close to the existing window, which may be of different dimensions. The Everson arrangement includes plastic extrusions which are fastened inside the window, plastic panels that are connected to the extrusions and form a closure inside the window, and vertical and horizontal supports over the window. Note, when it is desired to mount the storm window outside of the window opening, a header and sill member (FIGS. 3–4 and 8–9) are mounted on the inside vertical surface. However, in this embodiment, the fastening screws are visible when the panels are not installed. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,503 to Pullens discloses “L” shaped masking mats about the sides of storm shutters. The masking mats slide in and close around the storm shutters to protect the walls of the house from becoming soiled or marked when cleaning, finishing, refinishing or painting variously sized rectangular storm shutters. The adjustable mats of the Pullens device cover the area about the periphery of the shutter, but it does not lend itself to covering studs for storm shutters as there is no room provided for the studs and no convenient mounting means for the covers. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,452 to Taylor discloses storm covers for doors and windows. The disclosed Taylor apparatus includes a panel for fitting a window opening, and a brace member extending across the panel member to secure the panel to the opening, and securing means for removably securing an end of the brace member. The securing means is removably secured to the building by anchors which are spaced apart. The disclosure of Taylor does provide storm shutters and recognizes the problem of exposed studs, however the solution disclosed in Taylor simply eliminates the studs for supporting the panels. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,037 to Apostolo discloses a shutter device for installation onto an exterior building wall over a window for hurricane protection. The Apostolo system comprises two tracks mounted horizontally on upper and lower portions of a window and a panel piece that slides between the two tracks and locks in place so as to completely cover the window. This system uses bolts to mount the tracks to the wall and the bolt heads are visible at all times. There is no covering plate for concealing the presence of the fastening bolts. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,639 to Covington is directed to a storm shutter installation which has a plurality of panels received in parallel channels near the upper and lower edges of a window. The upper and lower supports are aluminum extrusions that form channels for receiving and supporting the structural panels (see FIG. 2). The supports have mounting flanges for attaching the supports to a building wall. The flanges receive fasteners, which are always exposed, i.e. there are not covering plates provided for the fasteners. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide a system that completely covers hurricane shutter mounting fasteners, in particular studs, when the fasteners are not in use and which easily moves away from the fasteners when the shutters are installed. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide cover plates for hurricane shutter mounting tracks and fasteners that lock in a position over the tracks when it is desired to conceal the shutter mounting system, and can be easily pivoted and locked in a position away from the shutter mounting system to allow access to the tracks and fasteners for installation of the hurricane panels. 
   The present invention is a system for covering the attachment tracks and studs that extend outwardly from the window frames for the purpose of mounting storm shutters. The system comprises cover plates, which are typically installed in a horizontal orientation above and below a window so as to extend along the width of the window. However, the tracks and cover plates can also be installed in a vertical orientation adjacent the sides of the window. The cover plates are hingedly mounted at one longitudinal edge of the track, which allows the cover plates to be pivoted away from the track and to pivot toward the track when it is desired to conceal the track and fasteners. The cover plates can be painted in a variety of colors to match the color scheme of the house and shutters. This system conveniently covers unsightly tracks and fasteners in an attractive manner. 
   The cover plates can be locked into either a covering (use) position or a storage (non-use) position with respect to the studs by means of cam surfaces formed on the hinge. This system includes stops on the hinge which limit the travel of the plates between the covering and storage positions. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The drawing figures are briefly described as follows: 
       FIG. 1A  is a front elevation view of a system for covering hurricane panel mounting studs provided about a window with the cover plates in a use position; 
       FIG. 1B  is a front elevation view, which is similar to  FIG. 1A  except that the cover plates are in a non-use position; 
       FIG. 1C  is a front elevation view of the arrangement shown in  FIG. 1B  with hurricane panels partially installed; 
       FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of the upper cover plate as shown in  FIG. 1A ; 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of the upper cover plate as shown in  FIG. 1B ; 
       FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the lower cover plate as shown in  FIG. 1A ; 
       FIG. 5  is a side elevation view of the lower cover plate as shown in  FIG. 1B ; 
       FIG. 6  is a side elevation view of an upper cover plate and track and the connection thereof to a building wall; 
       FIG. 7  is a side elevation view of a lower track connected to a wall of a building; 
       FIG. 8A  is a cross sectional view of the track shown, e.g., in  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 8B  is an enlarged cross sectional view of a male hinge member of the track shown in  FIG. 8A ; 
       FIG. 9A  is a cross sectional view of the cover plate shown, e.g., in  FIG. 4 ; and 
       FIG. 9B  is an enlarged cross sectional view of a female hinge member of the cover plate shown in  FIG. 9A . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Hurricane storm panels are used in many parts of the country to protect windows from flying debris during heavy storms. One of the most common type of hurricane panel is formed of corrugated steel, aluminum or lexan, and includes through holes to permit the panels to be mounted about a window frame by means of studs. Unfortunately, when the panels are not installed, the studs are exposed and appear similar to bullet holes in the side of the building, thereby detracting from the appearance of the building. The present invention provides a system for allowing the studs to be placed about the window to hold the storm panels and then to be concealed when the panels are removed. 
     FIG. 1A  is a front elevation view showing the system of the present invention with upper and lower cover plates  7 A,  7 B deployed in a use (covering) position, and  FIG. 1B  shows the cover plates pivoted into a non-use position to expose panel fasteners ( 15 ,  16 ), which are provided in upper and lower mounting tracks  4 A,  4 B. In the non-use position, the cover plates extend generally in a perpendicular direction away from the building wall. As shown in  FIGS. 2–3 , the upper cover plate  7 A is pivotally connected to an upper edge of the upper track  4 A. And, as shown in  FIGS. 4–5 , the lower cover plate  7 B is pivotally connected to a lower edge of the lower track  4 B. 
     FIG. 1C  is a front elevation view of the window  2  with two hurricane panels  6  installed and a third panel positioned for installation over the window. 
   In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 2–5 , each of the panel fasteners or fastening members include a stud  15  and a wing nut  16  for mounting the hurricane panels to the hurricane tracks  4 A,  4 B. Note that the panels or portions thereof may also be described as panel members.  FIGS. 1A–1C  illustrate the typical placement of hurricane panels and tracks about the window. However, the tracks can also be mounted in a vertical orientation adjacent the left and rights sides of the window. 
   A first track, such as track  4 A, is mounted above the window while a second track, such as track  4 B, is mounted below the window. Each of tracks  4 A,  4 B includes a male hinge member  8  disposed along a longitudinal edge of the track. The tracks may be formed of aluminum or other suitable material. Note that the tracks are designated “upper and lower” even though the structure of the tracks is substantially the same. However, as shown in  FIGS. 2–5 , the upper track  4 A is mounted with the male hinge member  8  at an upper edge of the track, while the lower track  4 B is mounted with the male hinge member  8  at a lower edge of the track. 
   Each track contains a row of studs, such as studs  15 , which project orthogonally outward from the track and also out from the building when the tracks are installed thereon. The studs are preferably formed of stainless steel. The hurricane panels are preferably corrugated, and the portion of the corrugation in the panel that contacts the track contains holes through which the studs pass as the panels are pressed against the tracks. After a stud passes through a panel, a wing nut  16  is threaded onto the stud and tightened to hold the panel in place. Then, after the storm has passed, the panels are removed, which exposes the tracks and studs, as shown in  FIG. 1B . This is the appearance that most typical hurricane panel installations leave once the hurricane panels have been removed. However, due to the construction of the present invention, the studs are quickly and simply removed from view by pivoting the cover plates  7 A and  7 B into the positions shown in  FIGS. 1A ,  2  and  4  to cover the unsightly studded tracks. 
   As can be seen in  FIGS. 2–3 , the upper cover plate  7 A is attached to the upper track  4 A along the upper edge of track  4 A. This attachment is by way of a special hinge that permits the cover plate to remain in its non-use or outward orthogonal position with respect to the track, and then it can be snapped down into its use position to cover the studs, where it will remain until it is desired to raise the cover plate back to the non-use position. The lower cover plate is similar to the upper cover plate, only its positioned is reversed. The lower cover plate is attached to the lower track along its lower edge and is snapped upward to cover the studs on the lower track. The cover plates may be constructed of aluminum, plastic material, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or any other suitable material. 
   FIGS.  8 A–B and  9 A–B show the details of the components of the hinge connection between the track and the cover plate. Note that only the lower track  4 B and lower cover plate  4 A are shown, however, as noted above, the upper and lower cover plates and tracks are identical except for their orientation. 
     FIGS. 2 and 4  show the cover in its closed position, covering the studded plates, while  FIG. 4B  shows the cover plate in its open or outwardly orthogonal position, leaving the stud  5 C exposed. The cover plate follows an arcuate path when travelling between the open and closed positions. 
   The track is a plate which has several longitudinal ribs on one side, such as stand-off ribs  5  that function to space the track away from the building surface, thereby providing sufficient space to accommodate the heads of the studs  15 . As shown in  FIGS. 6–7 , the track is typically mounted to the building wall by driving fasteners  14  through holes in the track and into the wall. The type of fastener will be determined by the material forming the building wall. 
   As indicated above, the tracks  4 A,  4 B are connected the cover plates  7 A,  7 B by means of a hinge formed of a female hinge member or connecting member  9 , attached to the cover plate, and a male hinge member or connecting member  8 , attached to a longitudinal edge of the track. Both hinge portions are approximately semi-circular in cross section. Further, at the open ends of the semi-circular sections are radial projections referred to as stops. The male hinge member  8  is formed with stop projections  10  that are directed radially outward, while the female hinge member is formed with stop projections  11  that are directed radially inward. 
   As the cover plate is pivoted, the corresponding stop projections  10 ,  11  will engage to prevent the cover plate from going beyond the open or the closed positions. In addition, the outer peripheral surface of the male hinge member increases in diameter near the stops. These increased diameter portions cooperate with the stops on the female member to sufficiently lock or hold the cover plate in its open or closed position until this interference is intentionally overridden by manual force. Upon application of sufficient force, the stops on the female hinge will slightly deform so as to ride over the enlarged diameter portions on the male hinge member. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1A–1C , each of the tracks  4 A,  4 B is provided with end caps  17 , which provide the cover plate with an even more finished appearance. Although the caps are shown on the tracks, they can also be connected to the cover plates  7 A,  7 B. 
   The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. For example, a conventional hinge may be used with external stops and locks, and the components of the disclosed hinge could be reversed. Also, the cover plate may be connected to the track by means of alternate coupling arrangements. In particular, instead of the hinge connection, the cover place may be snap-fastened over the studded plate by snaps that grip the upper and lower edges of the plate. Alternatively the upper and lower edges of the cover plates may be slid behind the projections on the outward face of the tracks. Accordingly, the illustrated embodiment should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and reference should be made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.