Abstract:
There is disclosed a glass repair fixture including a mount, a leg, and a chamber, such that the leg is rotatable around the mount that decreases set up time and manufacturing cost, and improves a resulting glass repair.

Description:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to window repair fixtures and specifically to repair fixtures for use on vertically oriented glass panes that maintain a pressurized liquefied glass repair material in close contact with a damaged portion of the glass during the repair operation. 
     Generally, small repairs on glass can be made using a liquefied glass repair material, such as a polymer or resin, that is brought into and maintained in close contact with the damaged glass until the glass repair material is cured and relatively transparent or translucent such that the repair is not readily apparent. To maintain the glass repair material in close contact with the glass, the material is applied under pressure from a pump. To deliver the pressurized fluid material and ensure that it remains in the damaged portion of the glass, a variety of repair fixtures have been employed. 
     One prior glass repair fixture, sold as model FIX 2000 by Aegis Windshield Repair, Division of Autoglass Specialists, Inc., Madison, Wis., includes a suction cup mount, a yoke and leg combination that rotates and pivots relative to the mount, and a chamber joined to a distal end of the leg to engage the glass, receive the glass repair material and maintain the glass repair material in place until it is sufficiently dried or “cured.” The suction cup mount is similar to those used to carrier large panes of glass or wind shields. It includes a rubber cup and a vacuum pump for evacuating air from under the cup to create a suction great enough to ensure a solid mount of the fixture on the glass to be repaired. 
     The mount need only be placed near a break in the glass. To accurately place the chamber over the damaged portion, the yoke and leg combination rotates around a screw in the mount. To lock the yoke, a top knob on the screw is rotated to provide a clamping pressure against the mount. 
     The prior art yoke is slotted for movement toward and away from the mount, and it has a forked distal end through which a laterally extending side screw extends. The side screw joins the leg to the yoke by extending through a slot in the leg so that the leg can be adjusted toward and away from both the yoke and the glass. A side knob locks the leg at a desired position by clamping the forked ends of the yoke on to both sides of the leg. 
     The leg is shaped to angle toward the glass and it terminates at a foot that is intended to be parallel to the glass during repairs. The foot is threaded to receive a chamber. The chamber then can be adjusted normal to the glass by rotating the entire chamber. 
     A disadvantage of this design is that repeated adjustments of the top and side knobs may be necessary to bring the foot parallel to the glass. Any deviation from parallel, and the chamber seal can fail allowing polymeric material to drain out. Further, with the chamber threaded directly to the leg, the chamber nipple is not always maintained upright to prevent drainage of the liquefied glass repair material particularly when the glass is vertical. 
     A partial solution was accomplished with the use of a chamber (part no. KIT 1040, Aegis Windshield Repair, Division of Autoglass Specialists, Inc. Madison, Wis.) that was not threaded directly to the leg. Instead, the fixture uses a bolt threaded to a distal end of the leg and the chamber is freely rotatably mounted on an unthreaded end of the bolt. This arrangement permits the chamber to be rotated to keep the nipple upright and prevent drainage once the bolt has set the chamber at the proper position relative to the glass. 
     To eliminate the need for the leg foot to be adjusted precisely parallel to the glass being repaired, the chamber adjustment screw and leg are joined via an offset bushing that permits less precision in setting the leg foot (part no. FIX 2015, Aegis Windshield Repair, Division of Autoglass Specialists, Inc., Madison, Wis.). Even this arrangement is unsatisfactory because the offset bushing does not provide the degree of accuracy necessary to ensure proper chamber placement and reliable seal against the glass. Further, the leg and offset bushing are expensive to make. 
     Thomas et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,506, discloses a suction cup mounted fixture with a single leg for mounting an injector. Three feet extend downwardly from the fixture toward the glass, extending past the suction cup, so that the cup is spaced from the glass. Turning a lever lowers the cup for engagement to the glass. The feet allow the fixture to be slid along the length of a crack in the windshield without raising the injector from the glass, but the fixture would be impractical for use on vertical glass because its chamber is not configured to rotate to prevent fluid polymer from draining. 
     Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,185, discloses a suction cup mounted fixture having an injector secured to one end of a rigid base and two adjustment screws secured to the other end of the base. This is a cumbersome arrangement that requires turning the rear adjustment screws to pivot the base around the cup to press the injector against the glass. 
     Newsome, U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,649, discloses a bar type repair fixture having a resin injection chamber on one end, and a positioning screw on the other end, with a suction cup between. No rotatable chamber is disclosed for preventing drainage from the chamber. 
     There is a need for a simple, reliable, and inexpensive fixture to repair glass, such as laminated glass and, in particular, vertically oriented laminated glass. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To simplify glass repair procedures and reduce the time necessary to set up glass repair fixture prior to repairing glass, there is provided in accordance with the present invention a glass repair fixture having: a mount; a leg having a proximate portion rotatably joined to the mount, and a distal portion; a chamber adjustment mechanism joined to the distal portion of the leg for movement in a direction normal to a glass surface on which the fixture is mounted; and a chamber rotatably mounted on the chamber adjustment mechanism and having a port for receiving glass repair material. 
     The glass repair fixture mount may include a suction cup and a hand vacuum/pressure pump. The glass repair fixture leg proximate portion may define a slot enabling leg movement toward and away from the mount. The leg may further have a proximate portion fixed relative to the leg distal portion. 
     The glass repair fixture chamber adjustment mechanism may be a screw or other device that moves the chamber in a direction normal to the surface of the glass. When the chamber adjustment is a screw, the screw can be threaded directly to the distal portion of the leg for fine adjustment and secure sealing of the chamber relative to the glass. Further, such a screw may have an unthreaded tip portion for rotatably engaging the chamber to enable the chamber to be rotated relative to the screw even after the screw has been set so that the port or a nipple for receiving repair material will not drain the chamber when filled with glass repair material. 
     The invention includes a method of repairing glass including the steps of securing a mount of a repair fixture to a sheet of damaged glass in the vicinity of a damaged area; adjusting a distal portion of a repair fixture leg in a direction normal to the damaged area; releasably securing the distal portion of the repair fixture leg over the damaged area; rotating an adjustment screw through the distal portion of the repair fixture to contact a chamber and chamber gasket over the damaged area; and rotating the chamber relative to the adjustment screw to orient a chamber nipple to prevent drainage of glass repair material from the chamber. The method can further include the step of moving the distal portion of the leg in a direction radial to the mount prior to releasably securing the distal portion of the leg over the damaged area. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a glass repair kit in accordance with the present invention and mounted on a pane of glass to be repaired. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a glass repair fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the fixture taken along line  3 — 3  in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the fixture circled in FIG.  3 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following detailed description, the same numerals will be used in each of the figures to identify the same or similar part. Illustrated generally in FIGS. 1 to  3  in a glass repair fixture  20  in accordance with the present invention that is preferably used in conjunction with glass repair kits and methods such as the Aegis Deluxe Kit sold by Aegis Windshield Repair, Division of Autoglass Specialists, Inc., Madison, Wis. The fixture  20  is preferably used to repair vertical laminated glass  32  although it can be used to repair any type of glass having damage commonly described as: bull&#39;s eye; half-moon; star break; crack; and combinations thereof. Further, the glass can be at any orientation between horizontal and vertical and be flat, curved, and compound curved. 
     The fixture  20  includes: a mount  22 ; a leg  24 ; a leg knob  26 ; a chamber positioning screw  28 ; and a chamber  30 . The mount  22 , as illustrated, is a conventional suction device having a truncated cone-shaped cup  36 , a hand vacuum pump  38 , and cast housing  40  joined to the cup  36  with screws  42 . The vacuum pump  38  is in fluid communication with the interior of the cup  36  such that pump operation creates a vacuum under the cup  36  when the cup  36  is placed on a pane of glass  32  to mount the fixture  20  securely to the glass  32 . To release the mount  22 , a tab  44  is pulled up to bend the cup  36  and release the vacuum. The preferred type of mount  22  is available from Woods Power Grip, Laurel, Mont., under part nos. TL6 (cup), TLM 50216 (housing), and 90111 (pump), or from Aegis, Windshield Repair under part no. FIX 4000, but other types of mounts other than suction cups can be used within the scope of the present invention. 
     The leg  24  is illustrated in a preferred configuration although other configurations are possible which extend from over the housing  40  toward the glass. The key features of the leg  24  are that it have a proximate portion  50  joined to the mount  22  and a distal portion  52  through which chamber positioning screw  28  is oriented for supporting the chamber  30  substantially perpendicular to the glass  32 . In the preferred embodiment, the proximate portion  50  includes a slot  56  (FIG. 2) through which a mounting bolt  58  from the mount  22  extends. The mounting bolt  58  is secured to the mount  22  by a nut  60  to prevent bolt rotation relative to the mount  22 . On the opposite side of the leg slot  56  there is a washer  62  and the leg knob  26  (preferably part no 3018-B, from Davies Molding Co., Carol Stream, Ill. 60188). The leg knob  26  has female threads matching the bolt  58  so that the knob  26  can be tightened down to secure the leg  24  in a fixed position. With this arrangement it is preferable to include an oversized mortise  64  to accommodate the nut  60 . The proximate portion  50  and the distal portion  52  are fixed relative to one another for ease of fixture operation. The preferred embodiment shows this fixed relationship by use of a solid one-piece leg  24 , but multi-piece legs can be used in accordance with the present invention so long as the proximate portion  50  and the distal portion  52  are fixed relative to one another. Also preferably, the leg  24  is made of aluminum and is anodized. 
     As stated, the leg  24  includes a slot  56  that allows the leg  24  to be rotated and moved radially toward and away from the mount  22 . The leg  24  can move nearly 360°, but due to its shape will engage the hand vacuum pump  38 . Other leg shapes and lengths within the scope of this invention will rotate 360° relative to the mount  22 . The combination of rotational and radial movement permits a glass repair technician to secure the mount  22  to the glass  32  at a location in the general vicinity of the damage, then rotate and axially adjust the leg  24  to be positioned over the damage, and then tighten the leg knob  26  to secure the leg  24  in place. 
     At the distal portion  52  of the leg  24 , there is a drilled and tapped hole  70  for receiving the chamber positioning screw  28 . The threaded engagement of the two permits fine adjustment of the chamber  30  relative to the glass  32 . The chamber positioning screw  28  is preferably finely threaded at twenty threads per inch to enable slight, but critical, adjustment of the chamber  30 , and also ensure fluid-tight contact between the chamber  30  and the glass  32 . 
     The chamber positioning screw  28  includes at one end a knurled knob  72  that permits hand-tightening and adjustment. At the opposite end, the chamber positioning screw  28  includes an unthreaded and relatively smooth post  74  that corresponds to a mating recess  76  in the chamber  30 . This arrangement is snug yet permits the chamber  30  to be rotated independently of the chamber positioning screw  28  so that the chamber positioning screw  28  is set at an appropriate position relative to the glass  32  and the chamber  30  can be rotated as needed to prevent drainage of liquefied polymeric repair liquid, as described more fully below. This arrangement also permits quick interchange of chambers of different sizes. Preferably, the chamber positioning screw  28  is on half inch in diameter and is made of aluminum to resist corrosion. As is inherent in the operation of a screw, i.e. movement in directions normal to the glass surface, there can be other devices that perform the same function and be within the scope of the present invention. 
     The chamber  30  includes a main body  80  and a nipple  82 . The main body  80  is illustrated as generally cylindrical with chambered glass-side corners for better visibility of the gasket/glass seal, but the body  80  can be any shape. Preferably, the main body  80  is made of Delrin®, but other materials can be used. In addition to the recess  76 , the main body  80  defines a port  90  from the nipple  82  to an opening  92  adjacent to the glass  32 . The main body  80  also defines an annular recess that receives a gasket  94  that preferably has four annular ridges (such as the “Quad Rings”, part nos. SBX 2010, 2016, or 2020 available in a variety of sizes from Aegis Windshield Repairs, Inc.) to ensure an adequate seal between the main body  80  and the glass  32 . Once the chamber  30  is positioned properly and the seal is in secure contact with the glass  32 , the liquefied glass repair material can be injected and then put under pressure and vacuum through the nipple  82 , the port  90 , and the opening  92  to repair the glass  32 . 
     The nipple  82  is preferably press-fit into the main body  80 , and preferably includes a quick connect/disconnect configuration for coupling to a pump that delivers and pressurizes the liquefied glass repair material. The nipple  82  may extend out of the main body  80  at a slight angle away from the glass  32  to enable easy connection to a pump (not illustrated). 
     The foregoing detailed description is presented for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations therefrom should be read into the following claims.