WEATHERPROOFING AND DRAUGHT EXCLUDING DEVICES

Abstract: A weatherproofing and draught excluding device is described which comprises a flexible elongate sealing element (1) which, in use, is mountable on a frame member (12) to project towards and to sealingly engage with an edge of a door or window. The sealing element (1) has an outer lip portion (3) which is adapted for resilient flexing moving about a longitudinal axis of the sealing element so that, in use, the outer lip portion (3) is resiliently retained in sealing engagement with the edge of a door or window.

Description: WEATHERPROOFING AND DRAUGHT EXCLUDING DEVICES This invention relates to weatherproofing and draught excluding devices for inwardly and outwardly opening doors and windows. A known form of draught excluding device, as described in GB 1491016, consists in an elongate seal carrier in the form of a plastics or metal strip for attachment to a jamb or main frame of a door, a slot or groove extending along the seal carrier being provided to retain an elongate flexible sealing element having an integral blade portion which extends outwardly from the seal carrier to sealingly engage with a marginal edge portion of a door when the door is closed. In cases where a door or window is not correctly hung within a frame, or where a door or window becomes warped, a gap of variable dimensions may be present or gradually develop between an edge of the door or window and the associated portion of the frame. In one aspect this invention consists in a weatherproofing or draught excluding device comprising a flexible elongate sealing element which is use is mountable on a frame member to project towards and to sealingly engage with an edge of a door or window characterised in that the sealing element has an outer lip portion which is adapted for resilient flexing movement about a longitudinal axis of the sealing element, whereby in use the lip portion may be resiliently retained in sealing engagement with the edge of a door or window. Preferably, the sealing element is substantially in the form of a flexible blade member having an integrally formed outer lip portion which is connected to body of the blade member by means of a flexible neck portion providing a resilient hinge about which the lip portion may flex or pivot. The neck portion may conveniently be formed by providing a longitudinally extending weakening groove along one surface of the blade member at a suitable distance from the outer lip of the blade. The lip portion of the blade member which is thereby formed may itself be urged, in use, into effective sealing contact with a door, window or the like. The device has the particular advantage that, when employed to seal a relatively wide gap, a degree of further change in the width of the gap can be accommodated without loss of effective sealing action. The lip portion provides a greater area of sealing contact than conventional seals which are less flexible at their outer extremities and the device according to the invention may therefore provide a more dimensionally compact seal than may otherwise be required to seal a relatively wide gap. The device according to this invention is especially suitable for accommodating variations in the gap to be sealed, as may be caused by warping of a door or window for example, since the resiliently biased lip portion may be utilised to accommodate some variation of the gap size. The body of the flexible blade member, from which the lip portion extends, may also accommodate a variation in the width of the gap as may normally occur over a period of time, as is more particularly described herein. The device according to the invention is preferably provided with means to facilitate optimum fitting to a door or window frame which may be achieved when the lip portion of the blade member is urged into sealing engagement with the edge of a door or window. Generally, means may be provided to give a visual indication that the seal member is so mounted on the frame to ensure that the lip portion only is urged into sealing contact with adjacent edge of the door or window. Most conveniently, the axis of the resilient hinge about which the lip portion may flex relative to the blade may be clearly marked by a line in the form of a rib or other surface formation which is visible during the fitting process and which, when aligned with and urged towards an edge of a door or window, will ensure that the lip portion is resiliently urged against the surface to be sealed. The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a cross section of a weatherproofing or draught excluding device according to the invention; and Figure 2 is a cross sectional drawing illustrating the device as shown in Figure 1 mounted in an operative position on a door frame. Referring to Figure 1 the device consists of an extruded silicon rubber seal 1 formed with a blade member 2 provided with an integral tip portion 3 which joined to the blade 2 by neck portion 4 formed by the groove 5 which extends longitudinally along the inner surface 6 of the blade 2. An elongate rib formation 7 extends longitudinally along the outer surface 8 of the blade 2 in a position adjacent to and parallel with the groove 5. The blade 2 is integrally formed with and extends at an acute angle with respect to a base portion 9 to which it is connected by means of a second flexible neck portion 15, the base portion 9 being provided with an extension 10 formed with opposed grooves 11 for retaining the device in a seal carrier, as shown in Figure 2. Referring to Figure 2, the device 1 is retained by a seal carrier 12 which is mounted on a door jamb 13, the blade member 2 extending at an angle towards the edge 14 of a door which is here represented as being in the fully closed position, but with a gap, represented by the dimension x, which is required to be sealed against the ingress of air or moisture. With the opening edge 14 of the door fixed in a closed position the seal carrier 12, together with the device 1 mounted therein, is placed on the shoulder 13a of the jamb 13 and moved towards the door edge 14 until the tip portion 3 of the device 1 is caused to flex or pivot about the neck 4, until it rests substantially parallel to the edge of the door and against which it is urged by the resilience of the material. In this position the rib 7 will be visible and the alignment of seal carrier 12 on shoulder 13a may then be adjusted until the rib 7 can be seen to be aligned with and adjacent to the door edge 14. In this position the seal carrier is firmly fixed to shoulder 13a by pins or other fixings, not shown. Although the gap x may vary between the top and bottom of a door, or from one side to the other, the fitting procedure as just described will ensure that the tip portion 3 of the device 1 will be uniformly in contact with the peripheral edge of the door. As may also be seen from Figure 2, a degree of variation in the dimension of gap x over time may readily be accommodated. A widening of the gap would result in the opening of the resilient hinges at 4 and 15 whereas a closing of the gap would have the opposite effect, in either case without the efficiency of the seal being substantially affected.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A weatherproofing or draught-excluding device comprising a flexible elongate sealing element which is use is mountable on a frame member to project towards and to sealingly engage with an edge of a door or window characterised in that the sealing element has an outer lip portion which is adapted for resilient flexing movement about a longitudinal axis of the sealing element whereby the lip portion may be retained in sealing engagement with the edge of a door or window. 2. A device as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the sealing element is substantially in the form of a flexible blade member the outer lip portion being integrally formed therewith and connected to the blade member by means of a longitudinally extending neck portion to provide a resilient hinge for the resilient flexing movement of the lip portion. 3. A device as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the neck portion is formed by providing a longitudinally extending weakening groove along a surface of the blade member. 4. A device as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the blade member is provided with means whereby, when the device is in use, a visual indication is provided that the lip portion has been flexed about the resilient hinge into sealing engagement with the edge of a door or window. 5. A device as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the surface of the blade member is provided with a longitudinally formation extending parallely to the axis of the resilient hinge whereby in use, when the longitudinal formation is visually aligned with the edge of a door or window, the lip portion will be urged into sealing engagement with the edge of the said door or window. 6. A device as claimed in Claims 2-5 wherein the blade member is integrally formed with a base portion, the blade member being adapted for resilient flexible movement about a longitudinal axis with respect to the base member. 7. A device as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the base member is adapted to be retained in a groove or slot provided in a seal carrier.

Inventors: GALVIN PETER, MAXWELL DIANA, GALVIN, PETER, MAXWELL, DIANA
Applicants: ARCHITECTURAL SEALS LTD, GALVIN PETER, MAXWELL DIANA, ARCHITECTURAL SEALS LIMITED
Application year: 1993
Main classification: E06B7
IPC codes: E06B7