Matching device for profiled sections of sliding doors or windows in a frame

Abstract: A door or window frame (1) with sliding doors or windows (2, 3) has a matching device (14) operative between profiled sections (8, 9) of the sliding doors or windows (2, 3) when they are in the closed position, the device being structurally simple, reliable in operation, and quickly installed and comprising two profiled strips (15, 16) each of which is associated with a respective profiled section (8, 9) and which are in mutual contact under pressure, the profiled strips (15, 16) being made of a thermally insulating material.

Description: The present invention relates to a matching device for profiled sections of sliding doors or windows when they are in the closed position in a frame. As is known, in frames with sliding doors or' windows, there is a need to provide a matching device between the profiled sections of the sliding doors or windows when they are in the closed position. This matching device has to ensure leaktightness between the doors or windows in the closed position. US 4,185,416 discloses a weatherstrip for sealing the meeting stiles of a sliding door, wherein the weather strip comprises two elongated weatherstrip members with a rigid base section fixedly secured to the stile and a first flexible leg for resiliently engaging a corresponding leg of the opposed weatherstrip member and a second resilient leg for sealing against the sides of the meeting stile. US 3,432,966 discloses a plastic interlock and weather seal strip for application to sliding doors and windows, comprising a rigid hollow mounting and interlock portion and a coextruded soft tubular weather seal portion in order to provide an interlocking weather seal. DE 18 95 317 U discloses a sliding window comprising elastic sealing profiles which adhere one another in the closed position of the window. A sealing lip of the sealing profiles has an at least partially hollow configuration. GB 1 496 507 discloses a sliding contact packing comprising a resilient flexible backing lip and a flexible substantially non-resilient low friction sheet of material different from that of the backing lip. The sheet of low friction material is interposed between the resilient flexible backing lip and the surface which is engaged by the contact packing. Nevertheless, the cited prior art solutions are still not sufficiently thermal insulating and show a poor shape stability of the weather seal portions. In accordance with a known solution, a matching device comprises a labyrinth formed between shaped portions of the profiled sections of the doors or windows of the frame when they are in the closed position and weatherstrips disposed along the labyrinth. This solution is structurally complex since it requires profiled sections of complex shape and, moreover, is unsatisfactory from the point of view of thermal insulation since the labyrinth and the weatherstrips arranged as barriers together have high thermal conductivity. Matching devices in which strips of a suitable material are associated with the profiled sections to form the labyrinth and suitable weatherstrips are arranged as barriers for the labyrinth have been proposed. This solution achieves a definite improvement in thermal insulation but has undoubted structural complexity owing to the presence of the strips. The problem upon which the present invention is based is that of devising a matching device of the type specified which has structural and functional characteristics such as to overcome the aforementioned problems. This problem is solved by a matching device of the type specified comprising two profiled strips, each of which is associated with a respective profiled section and which are in mutual contact under pressure, the profiled strips having the features defined in claim 1. Further characteristics and the advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the appended drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic elevational view of a window frame incorporating a matching device according to the present invention, and Figure 2 is a view of the matching device of Figure 1, sectioned on the line II, and on an enlarged scale. With reference to the appended drawings, a frame which, in the embodiment shown, is a window frame, is generally indicated 1. The window frame 1 includes two sliding windows 2 and 3 which have respective double panes 4 and 5 enclosed in respective frames 6 and 7. The frames 6 and 7 are made of profiled sections and comprise, in particular, respective profiled sections 8 and 9 which are intended to meet when the windows 2 and 3 are in the closed position in the window frame. The profiled sections 8 and 9 are identical and are arranged in opposed positions. Each profiled section comprises a box-like body 10 projecting from which there are two flanges 11 and 12 holding the respective double pane, and a transverse flange 13. The window frame 1 comprises a matching device 14 for the profiled sections 8 and 9 of the windows 2 and 3 when the windows are in the closed position. The matching device 14 according to the invention comprises two profiled strips, indicated 15 and 16, respectively, each associated with a respective profiled section 8 or 9. When the sliding windows 1 and 3 are in the closed position in the frame 1, the two profiled strips 15 and 16 of the matching device 14 are in mutual leaktight contact under pressure. The two profiled strips 15 and 16, which are identical and arranged in opposed positions, are made of a thermally-insulating plastics material selected from elastomers constituted by ethylene and propylene copolymers, such as DUTRAL (registered trade mark) and/or similar materials. Each profiled strip 15 (16) comprises a resiliently yielding lip 17a which is in contact under pressure with a flat portion 17b of the other profiled strip 16 (15). Each profiled strip 15 (16) associated with a profiled section 8 (9) advantageously also comprises a resiliently yielding edging 18 which is in leaktight contact under pressure with the transverse flange 13 of the other profiled section 9 (8). At this point, it is easy to see that the matching device 14 according to the present invention has, altogether, four leaktight pressure contact points, more precisely, two leaktight pressure contacts between the edging 18 of the profiled strip carried by each profiled section and the flange 11 of the other profiled section and two leaktight pressure contacts between the lip 17a of each profiled strip and the flat portion 17b of the other profiled strip. Each profiled strip 15, 16 of the matching device 14 is firmly fixed to the respective profiled section 8 or 9 of the window by virtue of the fact that each profiled strip 15, 16 comprises a substantially mushroom-shaped appendage 19 which is engaged in the manner of a press stud in a hammer-shaped recess 20 in the profiled section 8, 9. Each profiled strip 15 or 16 has a body 21 with a substantially rectangular cross-section which is housed between the box-like body 10 and the transverse flange 13 of the respective profiled section. The appendage 19 projects from the body 21 towards the box-like body 10, and the lip 17a and the flat portion 17b project from the body 21 towards the transverse flange 13 of the other profiled section. Each profiled strip 15 or 16 advantageously comprises a plurality of weight-reducing cavities, all indicated 22, which, preferably, are of square cross-section and are formed in the body 21 so as to confer on the cross-section of the profiled strip a substantially cross-walled configuration, achieving low thermal conductivity. The main advantage of the matching device according to the present invention lies in its structural simplicity. It is in fact formed by few parts and allows the profiled sections of the windows to be formed with a simple shape. A further advantage of the matching device according to the present invention is that it improves thermal insulation by virtue of the fact that the same elements which ensure leaktightness also constitute a thermal break. Finally, it should be noted that the matching device according to the present invention can be installed quickly since the individual profiled strips which make up the matching device are identical and can be fitted directly by the engagement of their appendages in the manner of press studs in the recesses in the profiled sections. Not the least advantage of the matching device according to the present invention lies in its compactness. Moreover, it can be produced with an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Furthermore, it should be noted that the matching device according to the present invention can be expected to have a practically indefinite operative life. Naturally, in order to satisfy contingent and specific requirements, an expert in the art may apply to the above-described device many modifications and variations all of which, however, are included in the scope of protection of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims: A matching device (14) for profiled sections (8, 9) of a sliding door or window (2, 3) when they are in the closed position in a frame (1), said matching device (14) comprising two profiled strips (15, 16) each of which is associatable with a respective profiled section (8, 9), the profiled strips (15, 16) being in mutual contact under pressure when the door or window (2, 3) is brought into a closed position, the profiled strips (15, 16) comprising a body (21) and being made of a thermally insulating material, characterized in that the body (21) of the strips (8, 9) comprise a plurality of weight reducing cavities (22) such that the cross-section of the profiled strips (15, 16) has a cross-walled configuration achieving low thermal conductivity. A matching device (14) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the two profiled strips (15, 16) are identical. A matching device (14) according to Claim 1, characterized in that each profiled strip (15, 16) comprises a resiliently yielding lip (17a) which is, in the closed position of the doors or windows (2, 3), in contact under pressure with a portion (17b) of the other profiled strip (16, 15). A matching device (14) according to Claim 3, characterized in that the profiled strip (15, 16) associatable with the profiled section (8, 9) of a door or window (2, 3) comprises a resiliently yielding edge (18) which is, in the closed position of the doors or windows (2, 3), in contact under pressure with the profiled section ( 9 , 8) of the other door or window (3, 2). A matching device (14) according to Claim 4, characterized in that each profiled strip (15, 16) comprises an appendage (19) which is engageable in a recess (20) formed in the respective profiled section (8, 9). A matching device (14) according to Claim 5, characterized in that the appendage (19) is engageable in the recess (20) in the manner of a press-stud. A matching device (14) according to Claim 1, wherein the weight reducing cavities (22) are of square cross-section. A matching device (14) according to claim 1, wherein the profiled strips (15, 16) are made of thermally insulating plastics material. A matching device (14) according to Claim 8, characterized in that the thermally insulating plastics material is selected from elastomers constituted by ethylene and propylene copolymers. A matching device (14) according to any one of the preceding claims, whereby the two profiled strips (15, 16) are of identical crosssection and arrangeable in opposed positions, each profiled strip (15; 16) further comprising: a resiliently yielding lip (17a) which is in contact under pressure with a flat portion (17b) of the other profiled strip (16; 15) when the door or window (2, 3) is brought into a closed position; a resiliently yielding edging (18) which is in leaktight contact under pressure with a transverse flange (13) of the other profiled strip (16; 15) when the door or window (2, 3) is brought into a closed position, providing the matching device (14) with four leaktight pressure contact points. A profiled strip (15,16) for a matching device (14) for two profiled sections (8, 9) of a sliding door or window (2, 3) when they are in the closed position in a frame (1), the profiled strip (15, 16) comprising a body (21) and being made of a thermally insulating material, characterized in that the body (21) of the strips (8, 9) comprise a plurality of weight reducing cavities (22) such that the cross-section of the profiled strips (15, 16) has a cross-walled configuration achieving low thermal conductivity. A profiled strip (15, 16) according to claim 11, made of thermally insulating plastics material. A profiled strip (15, 16) according to Claim 12, characterized in that the plastics material is selected from elastomers constituted by ethylene and propylene copolymers. Frame (6, 7) for sliding doors or windows (2, 3) comprising identical profiled sections (8, 9) which meet when doors or windows (2, 3) are in a closed position and a matching device (14) according to any one of claims 1 to 10. Frame (6, 7) according to claim 14, wherein the profiled sections (8, 9) comprise a box-like body (10) with two projecting flanges (11, 12) holding the panes of the doors or windows (2, 3) and a transverse flange (13), the body (21) of each profiled strip (15, 16) being housed between said box-like body (10) and said transverse flange (13) of the respective profiled section (8, 9).

Inventors: VECOLI LUIGI, VECOLI, LUIGI
Applicants: ALL CO SPA, ALL.CO S.P.A.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: E06B3
IPC codes: E06B3