Patent Publication Number: US-6988345-B1

Title: Lineal

Description:
This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/357,120, filed Feb. 3, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to building materials and, more specifically, to materials for framing openings in a building. 
     To provide a professional, finished appearance, openings in a building are often framed by lineals. Lineals may be wide-faced pieces that trim or frame a door or window or other types of openings. In the present invention, the lineal may include a nail hem portion having a plurality of openings and an overhang. The nail hem portion may be fastened to the building surface. The lineal may include a channel portion that snaps or slides onto the lineal. The channel portion and the lineal of the present invention may be manufactured as a one-piece unit or as a two-piece unit. The lineal of the present invention may have a backing of insulation. 
     In addition to the novel features and advantages mentioned above, other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following descriptions of the drawings and exemplary embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary lineal according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of another exemplary lineal according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of the lineal of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an exemplary channel portion of a lineal according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of an exemplary, partially assembled two-piece lineal according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 5B  is another perspective view of the lineal of  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 6  is another perspective view of the exemplary lineal of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 7  is another perspective view of the lineal of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is a yet another perspective view of the lineal of  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 9  is a top plan view of an assembly including the lineal of  FIG. 1  (an opening in a structure and a reinforced siding panel are shown in phantom). 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the lineal of  FIG. 1  (an optional piece of insulation is shown in phantom). 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT(S) 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary lineal  100  according to the present invention. The lineal may include a nailing hem  250  and an overhang  260 . The lineal  100  may also comprise a generally J-shaped channel  210  for accepting or being received in another channel portion. In other embodiments, the channel portion  210  may have any other suitable shape for being engaged with another channel portion. 
     Some window frame assemblies may include an integral channel portion (e.g., a J-channel portion) that is adapted to engage the J-shaped channel  210 . In other embodiments, the channel portion that accepts or is received in the J-shaped channel  210  may be a separate component from the window frame assembly. For example, the channel portion that accepts or is received in the J-shaped channel  210  may be an integral or separable portion of the lineal. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of another exemplary lineal  130  according to the present invention. This embodiment of the lineal  130  may include a portion that is substantially similar to the lineal  100  of  FIG. 1 . The edge  170  of the lineal  130  may be positioned generally adjacent to the opening to be framed. The lineal  130  may include two nailing hems  110  and  120 . The lineal  130  may include a channel portion  140  to which the nailing hem  120  is attached. The nailing hems may have a plurality of openings  150  for receiving fasteners  160 . 
     As used, the lineal of the present invention may frame an opening or any other desired portion of a building. For example, a lineal of the present invention may be used to surround a window or a door. The building may have siding that abuts the lineal and lies on top of the nailing hem  110  and under the overhang  260  of the lineal.  FIG. 9  shows an example of the lineal  100  framing an opening  300  (e.g., a window or a door) in a structure. In addition,  FIG. 9  shows an example of a reinforced siding panel  400  inserted in the gap between the overhang and the nailing hem of lineal  100 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the configuration of the exemplary lineal  130  is shown. The channel portion  140  is shown assembled as a portion of the lineal  130 . The top or face portion  130   a  of the lineal  130  may be smooth or may have any number of finishes that are typically known by those in the art of manufacturing vinyl siding. The face portion  130   a  may include an angled portion  230 . The angled portion  230  may function to channel water from the face of the lineal. The underside  130   b  of the lineal  130  may optionally be coated and/or filled with insulation (e.g., foam insulation). The channel portion  140  may be a permanently affixed portion of the lineal  130 , or the channel portion  140  may be a releasably engaged portion of the lineal  130 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of the channel portion  140  of a lineal assembly. The nailing hem  120  may hold the channel portion  140  in place against a wall by use of one or more fasteners in the plurality of openings  150  in the nailing hem  120 . In an alternative embodiment, the nailing hem  120  may extend away from the lineal  130 . 
     The generally J-shaped channel  210  may slide or snap onto the channel portion  140  as shown in  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B . Alternatively, the channel portion  140  may slide or snap onto the generally J-shaped channel  210 . These two portions may also be manufactured as a one-unit piece in an alternative embodiment. The top  130   a  of the lineal  130  may substantially cover the channel portion  140  such that there may be an edge  200  that extends around the opening being framed as is shown in the perspective view of  FIG. 6 . The interior of the lineal  130  may optionally be coated and/or filled with insulation. For example,  FIG. 10  shows an example of insulation  500  adjacent to the underside of lineal  100 . 
     The lineal of the present invention may be of various widths and thicknesses. The exemplary embodiment of the lineal  100  of  FIG. 1  may be approximately 3.5 inches wide. Other exemplary embodiments may be in the range of approximately 2 inches to approximately 10 inches in width according to manufacturer&#39;s preferences. It should also be recognized that other exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be less than 2 inches wide or greater than 10 inches wide. The generally J-shaped channel  210  of the lineal  100  may slide onto or snap into a generally J-shaped channel  220  of the channel portion  140  (or vice versa). Similar to the channel portion  210 , the channel portion  220  may have any other suitable shape. In another embodiment of the present invention, the channel portion  140  of the lineal  130  may be an integral portion of a one-piece unit. In one embodiment of a one-piece unit, the channel portions  210  and  220  may be eliminated. 
     The lineal of the present invention may be a transitional lineal. For example, a channel portion  140  has a gap of a certain distance between the J-channel portion  220  and the nailing hem  120 . Likewise, a channel portion that is an integral part of a window frame assembly may also have a similar type of gap. These gaps may be of a suitable distance for accepting a piece of siding that has a certain thickness. These gaps, for example, may be between about 0.5 inch and about 1 inch (e.g., about 0.75 inch) in some embodiments. The gaps of these channel portions may not be suitable for accepting siding that has a significantly greater thickness. For instance, siding that has a foam backing or another type of reinforcement panel may be too thick to fit into the gap of the channel portion. However, a lineal of the present invention may provide a larger gap that is suitable for accepting the thicker siding. Referring to the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the lineal  100  has a gap between the overhang  260  and the nailing hem  250 . This gap may be of a distance that is greater than the distance of the gap of the channel portion. For example, this gap may be greater than about 1.0 inch (e.g., about 1.125 inch) in some embodiments.  FIG. 3  shows an exemplary embodiment in which the gap underneath the overhang is greater than the gap created by the channel portion  140 . As a result, a thicker piece of siding may be received in the gap underneath the overhang, such as a piece of siding that has foam backing. The angled portion  230  functions as a transition between the smaller gap of the channel portion  140  and the larger gap underneath the overhang. In other words, the angled portion compensates for the different distances of the aforementioned gaps. In this particular example, the angled portion extends only across a portion of the top  130   a . However, it should be recognized that an angled portion of other exemplary embodiments may extend across the entire face of the lineal. 
     The lineal as described herein may be formed from a polymer such as a vinyl material. Other materials such as polypropylene, polyethylene, other plastics and polymers, polymer composites (such as polymer reinforced with fibers or other particles of glass, graphite, wood, flax, or other inorganic or organic materials), metals (such as aluminum or polymer coated metal), or other similar or suitable materials may also be used. The lineal may be molded, extruded, roll-formed from a flat sheet, or formed by any other suitable manufacturing technique. 
     The exemplary embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the present invention so that others skilled in the art may practice the invention. Having shown and described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the described invention. Many of those variations and modifications will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed invention. It is the intention, therefore, to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims.