Glazing bead

An extruded plastic glazing bead 1 for securing a window 17, 19 which removably locks into place by a resilient locking structure 9 has an elastic cushioning part 7, coextruded with the glazing bead, which makes contact with the frame 15, and thus acts in securing and removing the glazing bead.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to glazing beads for securing windows or 
panels in frames and more particularly to a glazing bead which locks into 
place but which can be easily removed for servicing a broken glass. 
BACKGROUND 
Glazing beads have long been known for holding panels and glass panes in 
appropriate frame members. Among the patent literature there may be 
mentioned the U.S. Pat. Nos. to James 3,487,601; Wendt 4,463,535; Letarte 
3,674,082; Rollyson 4,132,044; Blanchett 4,335,552; preu 3,982,371; 
Litchfield 4,525,966; Johnson 4,742,664; Peters 1,223,609; Owen 3,196,998; 
van Eerden 4,555,884; Owen 3,016,993; and Di Fazio 3,872,638. Among these, 
there are known glazing beads which snap lock into place in one way or 
another, such as those shown in the U.S. Pat. Nos. to Johnson '664, the 
Blanchett et al patent '552 and the Rollyson patent '044. Some of these 
have portions which are springy, flexible or elastic such as James patent 
'601 and Preu patent '371. 
Those glazing beads shown in the aforementioned U.S. patents are typical 
and many others have appeared in the marketplace over the years. These 
prior constructions have come and gone, and most have served in a suitable 
but not fully satisfactory fashion. Insofar as is known, however, no prior 
glazing bead construction has met the requirements of being easily 
installed to lock the panel or pane in place, constructed in such a way so 
that the panel or pane is well retained with the glazing bead being 
positively locked in the extruded sash with little or no chance of 
accidental uncoupling, while still being capable of easy unlocking and 
withdrawal for removal of a broken pane or panel. The prior glazing bead 
constructions can either not be removed once they are installed, can be 
removed only with great difficulty with substantial force required to 
overcome large frictional forces as portions of the glazing bead are 
dragged across the surface of the pane or panel, or they fail to lock in a 
sufficiently positive manner and can thus be accidentally displaced, or 
they suffer from two or more of these defects. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to overcome deficiencies of the 
prior art, such as indicated above. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rigid glazing 
bead which can be easily installed, easily removed for servicing a broken 
glass, and then easily replaced. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide an effective and 
inexpensive glazing bead. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a glazing bead 
which is easily locked into place. 
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an improved 
glazing bead which is made together with a dual purpose lift handle as a 
unitary structure. 
The above and other objectives are accomplished by the use of a glazing 
bead at the top and/or bottom of the sash, the glazing bead having both 
flexible and rigid portions and a snap lock to lock the bead in place in 
the sash frame against the panel or glass pane, and wherein the glazing 
bead is unlockable and removable by sliding in a plane parallel to the 
plane of the panel or pane, such sliding motion causing a compression or 
deformation of a flexible part of the bead so as to "clear" an interlocked 
position. 
In more detail, the invention concerns a glazing bead which is 
predominantly rigid, but which has a flexible portion and at least one 
elastic portion which acts as a spring, the glazing bead being used to 
lock a panel or glass pane into a generally L-shaped sash frame in a 
relatively easily removable manner, the glazing bead and the generally 
L-shaped frame having interengaging locking members. In cross-section, the 
locking bead has a substantially rigid portion which extends co-planar to 
the pane or panel holding the pane or panel in place between its inside 
surface and an opposite parallelly extending inside surface of the 
upwardly extending leg of the L-shaped frame member. Extending downwardly 
in generally the same plane as the substantially rigid main portion of the 
locking bead is a partly flexible locking arm which is adapted to slide 
into and snap-lock within a recess near the end of the foot of the 
L-shaped sash frame member. A key feature of the locking bead is the 
spring-like elastic portion having a height (extending in a plane 
generally parallel to the plane of the pane or panel) approximately equal 
to or at least slightly greater than the height of the snap lock, this 
spring-like elastic portion abutting against the upper surface of the end 
of the foot of the L-shaped frame member to bias the lock in its locked 
position. In addition, the locking bead optionally and preferably has a 
second elastic or flexible portion which projects inwardly from its inner 
surface so as to contact a face of the panel or glass pane. 
Further objects and the nature and advantages of the present invention will 
be more apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment 
of the invention, taken in conjunction with the drawing, wherein:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to FIG 1, a preferred embodiment of the glazing bead 1 of the 
present invention is shown locked into position in a sash frame 3. The 
glazing bead 1, designed particularly for use on one of both of the 
horizontal sash members on the inside of the window, includes a main body 
portion 5 having a generally rectangular cross-section having a long 
surface 6 extending adjacent and parallel to the glass pane 17, and an 
interiorly directed lifting handle 23 which is preferably extruded along 
with the body 5 in a one piece plastic extrusion. The main function of the 
handle 23 is in the raising and lowering of the vertically slidable window 
sash in the conventional manner. However, the handle will also be 
available when needed for grasping the glazing bead 1 in its insertion and 
removal from the sash frame 3 as needed. 
The glazing bead 1 also includes an integral coextruded elastic cushioning 
part 7 which makes contact with an exterior face 15 of a wall 14 of the 
sash frame 3 as the glazing bead 1 is secured in its locked-in-place 
position. The cushioning piece 7 is preferably made of soft polyvinyl 
chloride coextruded as a dual durometer part with the rigid PVC body 5 of 
the glazing bead 1. The glazing bead of the present invention will 
preferably, although optionally, also have a second cushioning part 21, 
also preferably integrally coextruded as a dual durometer part with the 
body 5 of the glazing bead I. The second cushioning part 21 provides soft 
cushioning contact between the glazing bead 1 and the adjacent pane 17 of 
the window, as is generally known. 
Extending generally parallel to the height of the body portion 5 is a 
locking portion 10 of rigid plastic, comprising a connecting arm 12 which 
because of its relative thinness, desirably on the order of 60 mils, is 
capable of flexing, the arm 12 terminating in a catch piece 13 having a 
locking tip 9. In turn, the sash 3 has a cavity 25 in part defined by the 
upper wall 14 which terminates to form a mouth 24 of the cavity 25. The 
upper wall 14 desirably has a catch 11 for interlocking with the locking 
tip 9 of the locking portion 10 of the glazing bead 1. 
The height of the elastic portion 7 must be correlated to the degree of 
movement of the glazing bead 1 relative to the sash 3 in order to unlock 
the bead 1 from the sash 3, i.e. in the FIG. 1 embodiment the length of 
movement necessary to permit the tip 9 to clear the catch 11. In the 
embodiment of FIG. 1, it has been found that a height on the order 125 
mils is satisfactory for the elastic portion 7 when the height of the 
catch 11 is 30-60 mils. 
FIGS. 3 and 4 show possible variations in the upper wall defining the 
cavity 25 of the extruded sash. In FIG. 3 the upper wall 314 has no 
downwardly extending catch such as the catch 11 in the preferred 
embodiment of FIG. 1. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, it will be understood 
that the height of the elastic part 12 of the glazing bead can be 
significantly reduced. In FIG. 4 the upper wall 414 is tapered so as to be 
thicker at its free end, so that in effect such thickened free end, the 
bottom surface of which projects partly downwardly, provide a catch 411. 
Similar and other changes to the locking portion 10 of the glazing bead 1 
will also be readily apparent. 
The glazing bead is driven into place by a force parallel to the pane or 
panel far enough to clear the catch for the positive snap lock. Spring 
action of the elastic part and pulling of the lift handle sets the bead in 
place. Removal of the glazing bead is accomplished by pushing the glazing 
bead parallel to the glass toward compression of the elastic part of the 
bead until the lock clears. The bead is then pushed towards the glass and 
pulled out by a force parallel to the glass. 
The series of FIGS. 2A through 2D illustrate insertion of the glazing bead 
1 into the sash frame 3. FIG. 2A shows the glazing bead 1 prior to 
placement in the sash frame 3. 
In FIG. 2B, the glazing bead 1, hand held by the handle 23, is pressed 
against the window pane 17. The optional contact cushion 21 is displaced 
from its normal position. Catch piece 13 of the glazing bead which extends 
away from the glazing bead 1 is slowly inserted past the catch 11 of the 
sash frame 3 into the retaining cavity 25, as the arm 12 flexes. 
FIG. 2C shows the glazing bead further in the insertion process. Catch 
piece 13 preferably slides down the facing wall 27 of the sash frame 3. 
The arm 12 further bends or flexes to facilitate insertion. The coextruded 
cushioning piece 7, in FIG. 2C, has just begun to make contact with the 
face 15 of the sash frame 3. 
In FIG. 2D the locking portion 10 of the glazing bead has been further 
inserted into the cavity 25 of the frame 3 forcing cushioning piece 7 to 
become compressed against the outer face 15 of the upper wall 14 of the 
frame 3. The locking tip 9 of the catch piece 13 begins to clear the catch 
11. A little more force at the handle 23 in the direction towards the 
frame 3 and parallel to the window pane 17 causes the tip 9 of the catch 
piece 13 to slide past catch 11, locking the glazing bead 1 into place as 
shown in FIG 1 as the arm 12 snaps back into its original position. 
The glazing bead 1 can be removed from the locked in position in frame 3, 
as shown in FIG 1, very easily. Using the handle 23, a force is applied 
downwardly parallel to the window pane 17 compressing the elastic 
cushioning part 7 until the condition shown in FIG. 2D is reached. At this 
time a force towards and perpendicular to window pane 17 is applied at 
handle 23 causing the arm 12 to flex and the locking tip 9 to slip past 
catch 11 so that the glazing bead 1 can be removed with an upwardly 
directed force parallel to window pane 17 and away from the sash frame 3. 
It will be understood from the description above that the elastic 
cushioning part 7 essentially functions like a spring so that in its 
uncompressed state as illustrated in Fig. 1 it keeps the glazing bead 1 in 
its illustrated interlocked position, even if the glazing bead is 
dimensioned so as to fit somewhat looser than is conventional in the prior 
art. Upon compression of the elastic part 7 as illustrated in FIG. 2D and 
as already explained above, the elastic part 7 functions as a means for 
permitting unlocking of the sealing bead 1 from the locking recess 25. 
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal 
the general nature of the invention that others can, by applying current 
knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such 
specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, 
therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to 
be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the 
disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or 
terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of 
limitation.