Patent Publication Number: US-8528255-B2

Title: Outward opening window unit

Description:
This invention relates to an outward opening window unit, which is opened by pushing the movable frame towards the outside. Outward opening window units addressed by this invention come in different types: windows with traditional opening style, referred to in the jargon of the trade as “side hung”, or windows hinged at the top, referred to as “top hung”. 
     Outward opening window units of this type, usually made of metal, PVC or the like and of wood, are used for airing rooms and the parts of the windows inside the rooms are often equipped with accessories such as fly screens. In addition, to comply with safety regulations in the countries in which these window units are most widely used, these window units must have controlled opening with a limit on the angle achievable by the sash moving away from the fixed frame, the limit often being fixed by a pushing/pulling arm. 
     In the prior art, an outward opening window unit basically comprises:
         a fixed frame;   a movable frame connected to the fixed frame usually by   a pair of hinged arms interposed between the respective upper and lower crosspieces of the two frames (side hung) or interposed between the uprights of the two frames, towards the top of them (top hung);   an operating unit located on the crosspiece of the fixed frame and acting directly on the lower crosspiece of the movable frame to allow the movable frame to move away from the fixed frame (that is to say, controlled opening of the movable frame) and also to allow the movable frame to return in contact with the fixed frame;   an element for stably closing the movable frame on the fixed frame, the element usually being located on an upright of the fixed frame and acting on the respective upright of the movable frame in order to stabilize closure.       

     Up to now, windows of this type have had in common the fact that their operating units and their closing units have separate structures and controls. 
     In other words, the necessary presence of two separate units, one for operating and one for closing, makes a window unit structured in that way complex to make and hence expensive overall, as well as making operation complex for the user (who is obliged to go through various steps to open and close the window). 
     To simplify the structure of outward-opening windows, the Applicant has made a combined operating and closing unit disclosed in patent publications WO 2011/036639 and WO 2011/036641. 
     This solution combines in a single control unit equipped with a handle (located on the upright or on the lower crosspiece of the fixed frame, depending on whether the window is side hung or top hung) the mechanisms used for the two unlock and open or close and lock operations on the movable frame. 
     The unit has a slide combined with a kinematic pair connected to a single handle which the user can simply turn to perform all the above operations intuitively, easily, and conveniently. 
     It should be noted that this control unit is used, in particular, on frames with tubular profiles and is fixed to a flat surface of the tube using a guide which slidably supports the drive rods that transfer the control movement applied by the handle. 
     In effect, the drive rods have closing pins or bosses on the ends of them to interact with striker elements mounted on the movable frame. 
     This control unit makes the window extremely practical to operate and secure in the closed configuration. 
     Based on a structure of this kind, the Applicant has noticed that, for added security, larger-than-standard windows are required to have two or more closing points also on the sides of the window that are not fitted with the control unit, that is to say the frame members without the control unit as mentioned above (uprights in the case of a top-hung window or crosspieces in the case of a side hung window). 
     This is, however, true also for small windows installed at the lower storeys of a building where the need for improved security of windows in the closed configuration is more strongly felt. 
     At present, with the closing unit described above, this need might be met with a multiple closure system. 
     This type of solution, however, leads to at least two problems, linked to:
         the current structuring of prior art frames which do not provide enough internal space for drive rods with closing bosses on different members of the fixed frame (uprights and crosspieces); and   the total absence of right-angle accessories for transmitting motion round the corners of the fixed frame.       

     This invention therefore has for an aim to overcome these disadvantages by providing an outward opening window unit which can be fitted with a high number of closing points round its perimeter without altering the basic structure of the window and of the control system for opening/closing and locking the window. 
     A further aim of this invention is to provide a process for making an outward opening window and the accessories needed to make a multiple closure system. 
     According to the invention, this aim is achieved by an outward opening window where the fixed frame has a perimeter channel running along an inside surface of the profile constituting the fixed frame; the channel defines a groove provided with two undercuts for the slidable coupling, inside the profile, of operating rods which are connected to a window operating unit and which are furnished with means for closing a movable frame relative to the fixed frame. 
     Also according to the invention, the window comprises at least one corner drive element for transmission of motion and composed of two arms joined at right angles and able to be slidably coupled to one of the arms inside the perimeter channel to be positioned at a corner formed by the fixed frame; the corner element is provided with means configured to connect two corresponding rods which are slidably positioned in the channel on two corresponding angled members of the fixed frame so as to synchronize the movement imparted to them by the operating unit. The combination of fixed frame channel and corner element connecting the rods furnished with the closing means on two angled members of the fixed frame makes it possible to reduce the dimensions of these accessories and to provide closing points which are far from the zone where the operating unit is located. 
     Preferably, the operating unit and a control handle are located on a member of the fixed frame which is free of the hinge arms and the corner element connecting the rods is associated with a corner of the fixed frame which is formed by the member engaged by the operating unit and the member engaged by a hinge arm. 
     In effect, thanks to the channel and the corner element, closing points can also be mounted on the side of the window where the hinge arms of the selfsame window are located. 
     Preferably, the fixed frame has a wide slot formed on one or more sides of the perimeter channel and configured to provide access from the front and allow the corner element to slide and the operating rods to be inserted. 
     Thanks to this slot, the accessories can be fitted, removed and/or adjusted at any time before or after installing the frames which make up the window unit. 
    
    
     
       The technical features of the invention, with reference to the above aims, are clearly described in the claims below and its advantages are more apparent from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred non-limiting example embodiment of the invention, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic front view of an outward opening window unit according to the invention; 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  show a side hung outward opening window unit according to the invention, both in perspective views and in an open configuration and with some parts cut away in order to better illustrate others; 
         FIG. 4  shows an enlarged detail from  FIG. 2  with some parts cut away to better illustrate others; 
         FIG. 5  is another detail from  FIGS. 2 and 3 , showing in particular a corner element associated with a fixed frame and connected to drive rods, in a perspective view, with some parts cut away in order to better illustrate others; 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  are, respectively, a perspective view and a top plan view of a portion of a profile making up the fixed frame of the window unit of the preceding figures; 
         FIG. 8  is cross section through line VIII-VIII of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a portion of the profile making up the fixed frame of the window unit, where it is coupled to a drive rod; 
         FIGS. 10 ,  11  and  12  are respectively, a perspective view, an exploded perspective view and a side view of a corner element applicable to the window unit of the preceding figures. 
     
    
    
     With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , the window unit according to the invention, denoted by the numeral  5 , is of the outward opening type, that is to say, with a movable frame that opens towards the outside of the room where the window unit is installed. 
     More specifically, window units falling within the scope of this invention may be of the type known in the jargon of the trade as “top hung” windows, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , or “side hung” windows, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
     The only difference between these two types of windows lies (as will become clearer as this description continues) in the position of the operating accessories which, although mounted at different points, serve the same function. 
     The outward opening window unit  5  according to the invention comprises a fixed frame  1  and a movable frame  2 . 
     The fixed frame  1  has a pair of vertical members or uprights  1   a  and  1   b  which are parallel with each other, and a pair of horizontal members or crosspieces  1   c  and  1   d  which are parallel with each other. 
     The movable frame  2  has a pair of vertical members or uprights  2   a  and  2   b  which are parallel with each other, and a pair of horizontal members or crosspieces  2   c  and  2   d  which are parallel with each other. The movable frame  2  is connected to the fixed frame  1  through a pair of hinge arms  3  and  4  joined to the corresponding members of the fixed frame  1  and of the movable frame  2  to allow roto-translational movement of the movable frame  2  from a closed position to an open position towards the outside of the room where the window unit  5  is installed, and vice versa. 
     In light of this, see  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a window unit  5  of the top hung type ( FIG. 1 ) comprises two hinge arms  3  and  4  interposed between the corresponding uprights  1   a ,  1   b  and  2   a ,  2   b  at the top of the two frames  1  and  2 , while in the case of a window unit  5  of the side hung type, the hinge arms  3  and  4  are interposed between the respective crosspieces  1   c ,  1   d  and  2   c ,  2   d  of the two frames  1  and  2 . 
     The structure of the hinge arms  3  and  4  is not illustrated or described in detail since it is of known type and does not strictly form part of this invention. 
     The window unit  5  also comprises at least one movement arm  6  configured to push or pull the movable frame  2  from the closed position to the open position, and vice versa. 
     The arm  6  is moved by an operating unit  7  mounted on the fixed frame  1  and connected to the selfsame arm  6  in such a way as to move the movable frame  2  relative to the fixed frame  1  from the closed position to the open position, and vice versa. 
     The operating unit  7  and the arm  6  are not described in detail since they are the objects of two patent publications WO 2011/036639 and WO 2011/036641 in the name of the same Applicant as this invention. 
     The window unit  5  also comprises means  8  for stably closing or locking/releasing the closed position of the movable frame  2  on the fixed frame  1 , these means being connected to the operating unit  7  and acting on the striker elements  9  associated with the movable frame  2 . 
     The closing means  8  may comprise bosses or pins adapted to come into contact with striker plates  9  associated with the movable frame  2 . 
     Both the closing means  8  and the strikers  9  are of known type and not described in detail. 
     The window unit  5  is also furnished with a handle  10  associated with the outside of the fixed frame  1  and connected to the operating unit  7  in such a way as to manually release the movable frame  2  from the fixed frame  1  and then move the movable frame  2  towards the open position, and vice versa. 
     In the case of a top hung window, the handle  10 , the operating unit  7  and the respective arm  6  are positioned on the lower crosspiece  1   c  of the fixed frame  1  (see  FIG. 1 ). 
     In the case of a side hung window, the handle  10 , the operating unit  7  and the respective arm  6  are positioned on the upright la of the fixed frame  1  (see  FIGS. 2 and 3 ). 
     According to the invention, the fixed frame  1  of the window unit comprises a perimeter channel  11  running along an inside surface of the profile constituting the selfsame fixed frame  1  (see  FIGS. 4  and from  6  to  8 ). 
     Also according to the invention, the channel  11  defines a groove provided with at least two undercuts  12  for the slidable coupling of operating rods  13   a ,  13   b , connected to the operating unit  7 , and furnished with the closing means  8 . 
     According to the invention, the window unit  5  yet further comprises at least one corner drive element  14  for transmission of motion and composed of two arms  14   a ,  14   b  joined to each other and able to be slidably coupled to one of the arms  14   a  or  14   b  inside the perimeter channel  11  to be positioned at a corner formed by the fixed frame  1 . 
     Also according to the invention, the corner element  14  is provided with means  15  configured to connect two corresponding rods  13   a ,  13   b  which are slidably positioned in the channel  11  on two corresponding angled members of the fixed frame  1  in such a way as to synchronize the movement imparted to them by the operating unit  7 . 
     In this specification, the inside surface of the fixed frame  1  is the surface which, when the window  5  is closed, faces a corresponding surface of the movable frame  2  on which the hinge arms  3 ,  4 , the closing means  8 , the striker elements  9  and the operating unit  7  are mounted. 
     The two rods  13   a  and  13   b  are positioned on both sides of the corner element  14  which connects them so as to synchronize their movement when the operating unit  7  imparts to the rod  13   a  or  13   b , which is connected directly to the selfsame unit  7 , the movement from the handle  10 . 
     The combined presence of the channel  11  on the fixed frame  1  and of the corner drive element  14  makes it possible to:
         house in reduced and confined spaces the accessories necessary to move the closing means  8  without affecting the other accessories and the size of the fixed and movable frames;   place two or more closing points even on the members of the frames  1  and  2  where the hinge arms  3  and  4  are mounted.       

     In light of this, still with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , if the operating unit  7  and the handle  10  are mounted on one of the fixed frame  1  members which is free of the hinge arms  3  and  4  (crosspiece in  FIG. 1 , upright in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ), the corner element  14  connecting the rods  13   a  and  13   b  is associated with its arms  14   a  and  14   b  at a corner of the fixed frame  1  made by the member engaged by the operating unit  7  and the member engaged by a hinge arm  3 ,  4 . 
     Thus, in the case of a window unit  5  like that of  FIG. 1 , the corner elements  14  connect the rods  13   a  and  13   b  (with closing means  8 ) from the zone of the crosspiece  1   c  to the uprights  1   a  and  1   b  and slide upon the action of the unit  7  and of the handle  10  located on the selfsame crosspiece  1   c.    
     In the case of a window unit  5  like that of  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the corner elements  14  connect the rods  13   a ,  13   b  (with the closing means  8 ) from the zone of the upright  1   a  to the crosspieces  1   c ,  1   d  and slide upon the action of the unit  7  and of the handle  10  located on the upright  1   a.    
     In both cases, the rods  13   a ,  13   b  located on the members of the fixed frame  1  where the hinge arms  3 ,  4  are mounted extend for a length that is calculated as a function of the size of the respective hinge arm  3  or  4  so as not to interfere with the latter as they slide. 
     Preferably, one of the arms  14   a ,  14   b  of the corner element  14  (see  FIGS. 10 to 12 ) is furnished with guides  16  which allow sliding along the channel  11  on the fixed frame  1  and which are configured to position and hold the corner element  14  against the selfsame fixed frame  1 . 
     Further, the other of the arms  14   a ,  14   b  of the corner element  14  is configured to rest on the profile of the fixed frame  1 . 
     Preferably, the guides  16  are configured to be coupled to the profile of the channel  11  formed on the fixed frame  1 . 
     The above mentioned means  15  for connecting the corner element  14  to the rods  13   a ,  13   b  are located inside the corner element  14  and are configured to protrude at least partially into the channel  11 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 10 to 12 , the means  15  may comprise a flexible bar  15   a  slidable inside a channel  14   c  of the corner element  14 . The bar  15   a  has sockets for coupling its two ends to two end pieces  15   b ,  15   c , each of which is equipped with teeth protruding operatively into the channel  11 . 
     The teeth are operatively coupled to sockets  13   c  formed on respective rods  13   a ,  13   b.    
     Looking in more detail, the corner element  14  is provided with means  17  for fastening it to the surface of the profile of the fixed frame  1  and located on one of the arms  14   a ,  14   b.    
     Preferably, the means  17  are located and operative on the arm  14   a  which is equipped with the guides  16  for sliding along the channel  11  of the fixed frame  1 : that way, once the corner element  14  has been placed on the fixed frame  1 , by making it slide along the fixed frame  1 , the selfsame corner element  14  can be fixed at the required position. 
     In light of this, the fastening means  17  may comprise a pair of screws  17   a  accommodated in through holes made in the arm  14   a  and designed to lock the arm  14   a  itself by contact with the profile of the fixed frame  1  at the channel  11 . 
     Preferably, the fixed frame  1  has a wide slot  18  (see  FIGS. 6 to 8 ) formed on each side of the perimeter channel  11  and configured to provide access from the front for the arm  14   a  of the corner element  14  furnished with the guides  16  to allow the sliding and insertion of the operating rods  13   a  and  13   b  (see  FIG. 9 ). 
     Still with reference to  FIGS. 6 to 8 , the channel  11  of the fixed frame  1  comprises a central opening  19  (which is wider in the zone where the slot  18  is made). 
     The opening  19  is delimited by two mutually opposed flanges  20  made on the inside surface of the profile. 
     The profile from which the fixed frame  1  is made has an internal tubular chamber  21  which accommodates the remaining surface of the channel  11  and which comprises two parallel tracks  22  mutually opposed to the corresponding upper flanges  20  (with which they form the above mentioned undercuts  12 ) in such a way as to define the sliding supports for the guides  16  of the corner element  14  and for the operating rods  13   a  and  13   b.    
     This invention also provides a process for making an outward opening window unit. 
     The process comprises the steps of:
         preparing a fixed frame  1  having a pair of vertical members or uprights  1   a ,  1   b , parallel with each other, and a pair of horizontal members or crosspieces  1   c ,  1   d  parallel with each other;   preparing a movable frame  2  having a pair of vertical members or uprights  2   a ,  2   b , parallel with each other, and a pair of horizontal members or crosspieces  2   c ,  2   d  parallel with each other;   associating a pair of hinge arms  3 ,  4  with corresponding members of the fixed frame  1  and of the movable frame  2 ;   preparing an operating unit  7  comprising a movement arm  6  and associating the unit with the fixed frame  1 ;   associating also the movement arm  6  to the movable frame  2 ;   connecting to the operating unit  7  means  8  for the stable closing or the locking/releasing of the movable frame  2  on the fixed frame  1 ;   associating with the movable frame  2  striker elements  9  which interact with the closing means  8 ;   associating a handle  10  with the outside of the fixed frame  1  and connecting the handle  10  to the operating unit  7 .       

     According to the invention, the process also comprises the steps of:
         making a channel  11  along the inside surface of the profile constituting the fixed frame  1  during the step of preparing the selfsame fixed frame  1 ;   coupling at least one corner drive element  14  for transmission of motion inside the channel  11  and positioning it at a corner defined by the fixed frame  1 ;   inserting operating rods  13   a ,  13   b , which are furnished with the closing means  8 , into the channel  11  of the fixed frame  1  and at least along the two members which form the corner of the fixed frame  1  which is engaged by the corner element  14 ;   connecting the operating rods  13   a ,  13   b  to the corner element  14 .       

     Preferably, the process comprises a step of making a wide slot  18  in the channel  11  on at least one member of the fixed frame  1  and configured to allow access from the front for the corner element  14  and the subsequent sliding thereof. 
     Preferably, the step of making the wide slot  18  is performed on at least two contiguous members of the fixed frame  1  and is intended to provide access to and allow sliding of both the corner element  14  and at least two operating rods  13   a ,  13   b.    
     Preferably, the slot  18  is made on at least three members of the fixed frame  1 , centrally on each of these members. 
     Preferably, the closing means  8  are connected to the rods  13   a  and  13   b  after the selfsame rods have been inserted into the channel  11 . 
     The invention described above is susceptible of industrial application and may be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all the details of the invention may be substituted by technically equivalent elements.