Abstract:
A window well structure for protecting crawl space access or basement windows. A molded plastic window well structure is provided in a variety of colors. The structure is easily cut at grooves between adjacent corrugations, to provide a desired height, either singularly by affixing two such structures together with fasteners between the top rim of a first structure and the bottom rim of a second structure. Inward facing flanges are provided to assist in ease of installation and to enable visual inspection of the attachment as the installation ages.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    This invention relates to window wells, typically used in foundations in residential and light commercial construction, and more particularly, to window wells that can be easily provided in a desired height for use in with a foundation wall of preselected height requirements.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    In residential and light commercial construction, it is common practice to provide, either in a poured concrete foundation wall or in a fabricated steel structure, an opening for access to either basement windows, or to a crawl space beneath the building structure. Many workable crawl access and basement window well wall structures (hereinafter, “window well structures”) have been developed thru the years for such applications.  
           [0003]    However, it would still be quite desirable to reduce the overall costs that must necessarily be incurred in the manufacture and distribution of such window well structures. Also, labor saving techniques, or changes in the apparatus which would reduce the overall cost of installation, would be welcome by the contractors charged with installing such window well structures.  
           [0004]    We are aware of various attempts in which an effort has been made to provide an improved window well structure. One of the designs which resembles the instant invention to some remote extent is disclosed by Kemp, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,828, issued Nov. 10, 1987, for a SNAP TOGETHER WINDOW WELL. He shows a window well structure that is fastened together from two similar portions via the use of two superposed unshaped sections made of sheet metal. However, he does not provide a design that includes the feature of being able to cut the base structure to a desired height for fitting a selected building structure. Nor does his window well structure provide for either ended fitting of a window well structure to a building structure, since his structure is manufactured with a definite up and down end. Thus, the advantages of our simple, cuttable, reversible window well structure, which is made with portions that can be mated and fastened together as necessary for providing a desired window well structure height in a pre-selected width, to provide a strong, substantially leak resistant window well structure, which is safe from corrosion and thus environmentally friendly, are important and self evident. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING  
       [0005]    In order to enable the reader to attain a more complete appreciation of the invention, and of the novel features and the advantages thereof, attention is directed to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a well vent structure fabricated in accord with the principles disclosed herein, showing the corrugated plastic body between upper and lower rims, and between first and second flanges, in place next to a building structure to protect a basement window against adjacent earth.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 provides a perspective view of the use of “reversible” two way fastener receiving openings in the inwardly facing flanges provided in the window well structure, showing the use of a nail to attach the window well structure to a building structure.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 provides a perspective view of a pair of window well structure, showing in detail how a first and a second window well structure may be joined at lower and upper flanges to provided a stacked window well structure of desired height; also note that by cutting the plastic window well structure at a selected groove, between corrugations, the first or second window well structure can be sized to a selected height, to produce an assembled window well structure of desired overall height.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 provides a side elevation view of a portion of an inwardly opening attachment flange or rim, showing the “reversible” two way fastener receiving openings in the inwardly facing flange for attachment of the window well structure to an adjacent building structure.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIGS. 5A, 5B,  5 C,  5 D,  5 E,  5 F,  5 G,  5 H, and  5 I represent alternate colors for the material used to manufacture the plastic window well structure described herein.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 6 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3, but now showing the assembly of a first window well structure and a second window well structure after the upper structure has been cut between corrugations along a smooth, relatively flat spot between horizontal sectioning grooves.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 is a side elevation view, taken looking at the outside surface of corrugated body at one inward end of the generally U-shaped open end of a window well structure, taken as if along line  7 - 7  of FIG. 3, here indicated that the outward edge end of the flange also defines the ends of the corrugated body. 
     
    
       [0013]    The foregoing figures, being merely exemplary, contain various elements that may be present or omitted from actual implementations depending upon the circumstances. An attempt has been made to draw the figures in a way that illustrates at least those elements that are significant for an understanding of the various embodiments and aspects of the invention. However, various other elements of the window wells are also shown and briefly described to enable the reader to understand how various features, including optional or alternate features, may be utilized in order to provide a compact, efficiently constructible window well or crawl space access well structure of desired overall height and which can be manufactured of a long lasting material in a desired color.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]    Attention is directed to FIG. 1 of the drawing, where a window well structure  20  is shown as placed against a finished foundation wall  22  to protect window  16  against earth  18 . Window well structure  20  single part construction, i.e. only uses one reversible section of stackable window well structures  20 . The basic design is to provide a lower rim member  24 , and stacked thereabove, an upper rim member  26 , each of which rim members may (but are not limited to) be provided as flat, generally U-shaped or C-shaped members as appropriate. The lower rim member  24  extends between a first end  24   E1 , and a second end  24   E2 . The upper rim member  26  extends between a third end  24   E3  and a fourth end  24   E4 . Extending along a generally vertically oriented plane, between lower rim member  24  and upper rim member  26 , are a plurality of corrugations  30 . As seen in FIGS. 3, 4, and  7 , between corrugations  30 , and in the embodiment illustrated, located at the inward inflection point between corrugations, a groove cutout  36  is defined between a pair of horizontally running parallel first  32  and second  34  edges. For ease in performing the cutting operation, the groove may be oriented coplanar with the horizontal axis of the corrugations  30 . A u-shaped groove  36  can be (but is not necessarily) provided having at the bottom of the groove a flat region, at least a portion of which is preferably aligned substantially vertically between lower rim member  24  and upper rim member  26 . Using groove  36 , the window well structure  20  can be cut as through section  6 - 6  noted in FIG. 3, such as by a power or hand saw, between the edges  32  and  34  (see FIG. 7), to leave a suitable upper end surface  40  as noted in FIG. 6, to allow an overall structure of selected assembled height. H.  
         [0015]    For securing a first window well structure  20 A to a second window well structure  20 B, in upper rim  26  of a lower window well structure  20 A, a plurality of apertures  50  are provided defined by hole edges  52 . In the lower rim  24  of a second window well structure  20 B, a plurality of apertures  54  are provided defined by hole edges  56 . Suitable fastening systems such as threaded bolts  58  and nuts  60  are used to secure the upper rim  26  and lower rim  24  together.  
         [0016]    As seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, inward turning first  60  and second  62  flanges are provided. The inward turning feature is advantageous since this allows visual inspection of the fasteners such as nails  64  that are used to affix the window well structures  20  to the foundation  22 . In the design illustrated, in each of flanges  60  and  62 , reversible fastening receiving keyhole apertures  70  are provided. Each keyhole apertures  70  includes a central, preferably circular apertures portion  72 , and extending therefrom, and upper  74  and lower  76  U-shaped keyhole extension portions. Ideally, and as illustrated herein, the keyhole apertures  70  are reversible, i.e., are mirror images whether placed with a first end  80  up or with a second end  82  up (see FIG. 4).  
         [0017]    The first  60  and second  62  edge flanges are preferably integrally molded with the rest of the window well structure  20 , in an outside width W 60  or W 62 . Each flange  60  is also normally provided in a narrow thickness T 60  or T 62 , but sufficiently robust that the window well structure  20  can be securely affixed to foundation  22 . The vertically extending edge flanges  60  and  62  have a rear surface  80  and  82 , respectively, that fits flush within the surface of foundation  22 . To complete the pleasing visual appearance, and corrugations  30  have first ends  30 E 1  and second ends  30 E 2  that are coterminous with the outward end  60 E 1  of flange  60 , and with the outward end  62 E 1  of flange  62 , respectively. Also, as indicated in FIG. 2, note that for structural and visual purposes, an angle alpha (α) between flanges  60  or  62  and the adjacent vertical plane of the corrugations of slightly more than 90 degrees, or more preferably of about 92 degrees or so, is advantageous, as this also is helpful in the molding process.  
         [0018]    The window well structure disclosed herein is ideal for manufacture as an integral, one-piece window well structure by injection molding or rotomoldingx of a suitable plastic. During the plastic preparation process, a suitable plastic can be developed having a color selected from one of the following: colors: (a) red or pink, (b) brown, (c) violet or purple, (d) green, (e) blue, (f) gray or silver, (g) orange, (h) yellow or gold, (i) or black, all as further noted in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 5A through 5I. Also, the window well structure can be provided in a variety of widths W (see FIG. 6, approximately measured as the width between opposing keyhole passageways in first and second flanges), including popular sizes of (a) approximately twenty four inches in width, (b) approximately thirty six inches in width, (c) approximately forty eight inches in width, or (d) approximately sixty inches in width.  
         [0019]    It is to be appreciated that the various aspects and embodiments of the crawl access and basement window well supports as described herein are an important improvement in the state of the art of structures and materials for crawl access and basement window wells. A plastic window well as described herein is virtually non-destructible by insects, vermin, and the elements. Importantly, such a window well is environmentally friendly, in that no metal oxides are released to the environment as would be the case with steel or galvanized steel window well structures. Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detail, various details are sufficiently set forth in the drawings and in the specification provided herein to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention(s), which need not be further described by additional writing in this detailed description. Importantly, the aspects and embodiments described and claimed herein may be modified from those shown without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages provided by this invention, and may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Therefore, the embodiments presented herein are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. As such, this disclosure is intended to cover the structures described herein and not only structural equivalents thereof, but also equivalent structures. Numerous modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention(s) may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Thus, the scope of the invention(s), as set forth in the appended claims, and as indicated by the drawing and by the foregoing description, is intended to include variations from the embodiments provided which are nevertheless described by the broad interpretation and range properly afforded to the plain meaning of the claims set forth below.