GB2332468A - Weatherbar with drainage holes - Google Patents

Abstract

A weatherbar 10 for sealing the gap between the bottom of a door or window etc. and the floor 16 comprises a sill having a drainage channel 50. The drainage channel 50 is defined by an inner wall 32 and an outer wall 49. There are apertures 38,52 in the inner 32 and outer 49 walls which allow water to drain from a collection gutter 18, along the drainage channel 50, and through the apertures 52 and away from the sill. The apertures 38,52 in the drainage channel walls 32,49 are laterally misaligned from one another to reduce wind/airflow therebetween. The sill can have a main section 12 and a removable front bar 14, where the front bar 14 will then define the outer wall 49 of the drainage channel 50. The sill also comprises a tubular seal 58 and an upstanding resilient strip 24 to provide sealing engagement with the front and the bottom of the door or window etc., respectively.

Description

2332468 is IMPROVED WEATHERBAR The present invention relates to

weatherbars or sealing strips for use with doors, windows, and the like to provide a sealing function against ingress of air, rain, snow and the like.

Weatherbars, also called weather sealing strips, are used to improve the seal between a door or window and the surrounding frame. Weatherbars and trims are commonly used with external doors; the weatherbar is secured beneath the door and the trim is usually secured to the bottom face of the door to provide a drip edge to remove water from the door frame. The weatherbar and trim may have elastomeric elements for sealing engagement with the door to minimise the passage of air and water.

One known type of weatherbar has spaced apertures in the front face through which water drains away from a gutter in the weatherbar to a region outside the door. However, this known type of weatherbar does not provide a good seal against air and water ingress from the outside through the apertures.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the above disadvantage.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a weatherbar for use in an opening to provide a seal between a closure for closing the opening and the base of the opening, the weatherbar comprising: a main sill having a gutter, the sill being adapted to be disposed on said base and having an inner -2 and an outer wall upstanding from the sill, the walls defining a drain channel therebetween; wherein each wall has at least one aperture disposed therein, and the at least one aperture in the inner wall is laterally spaced along said drain channel from the at least one aperture in the outer wall; so that, in use, water collected by said gutter drains from said gutter through said aperture in said inner wall, along said drain channel, and through said aperture in said outer wall.

The closure may be a door, a window, a French window, or the like. The closure may be operable by hinging on one side of the opening or by sliding from one side of the opening to an opposite side of the opening.

Preferably, the main sill also has a resilient seal upstanding therefrom for providing a seal against the underside of the closure.

Preferably, the main sill is formed from extruded aluminium.

Preferably, the outer wall is provided by a bar adapted to be coupled to the main sill, the bar and the main sill having mutually interengagable profiles for effecting coupling.

Preferably, there are a plurality of apertures in the bar and a plurality of apertures in the main sill, where all of the apertures in the main sill are laterally spaced from the apertures in the bar.

Preferably, the weatherbar further comprises a 1 1 3- resilient seal disposed in a recess in the bar for acting against the main sill to urge the bar into close contact with the main sill and for sealing against a lower portion of the closure.

Preferably, the mutually interengagable profiles are provided by a sliding engagement. Alternatively, the mutually interengagable profiles are provided by a snap fit or an interference fit.

Preferably the sliding engagement is provided by a recess defined by the inner wall and a complementary projection defined by the bar.

Preferably, the bar further comprises a drip edge portion spaced from the outer wall.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig 1 is a perspective view of part of a weatherbar according to a first embodiment of the present invention, with a portion shown cut-away for clarity; Fig 2 is a perspective view similar to Fig 1, showing how the front bar is able to slide into the sill; Fig 3 is a side view of the weatherbar of the first embodiment fitted to a doorway; and Fig 4 is a side view, similar to Fig 3, of a weatherbar according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figs 1 to 3 show views of a weatherbar 10 which is used in a doorway to seal the gap between the bottom of is the door and the floor.

The weatherbar 10 comprises a first portion consisting of a main extruded aluminium sill 12 and a second portion consisting of an extruded aluminium front bar (or sill) 14 which is slidingly engagable with the main sill 12, as best seen in Fig 2.

When the weatherbar 10 is assembled, the main sill 12 is secured to the floor 16, and the front bar 14 is located near to the region outside the door 18 for engaging the exterior of the door.

The main sill 12 has a convolute cross-section for increased strength and to define certain features. The sill 12 defines a main gutter 18 for collecting fluid, such as rain, drips, snow, and such like. The sill 12 also defines a seal receiving channel 20 for housing an elastomeric seal 22. Gutter 18 and channel 20 extend the length of the main sill 12. The seal 22 has an upstanding flexible portion 24 for providing intimate sealing engagement with the undersurface 26 of the door 28 when the door 28 is closed against the door frame 30 (as shown in Fig 3). Fig 3 shows the door frame 30 spaced from the closed door 28 because the door 28 has a perimeter seal (not shown), so that when the door 28 is fully closed, the perimeter seal is in contact with the door frame 30.

The sill 12 also defines an inner upstanding wall 32, which, in combination with sloping surface 33, defines gutter 18. Gutter 18 has a lower fluid collecting portion 18a. The inner wall 32 is shaped to define an L-shaped recess 34 and a lower lip 36 for mutual interengagement with complementary profiles on the front bar 14. The inner wall 32 has an outer face 47, and has laterally spaced apertures 38 (one of which is shown) extending from the outer face 47 to the gutter portion 18a. The apertures 38 are disposed at the level of the gutter portion 18a at approximately 10cm intervals along the sill 12 to allow drainage of fluid from the gutter portion 18a.

The front bar 14 also has a convolute cross-section which defines certain features. The front bar 14 has an L-shaped projection 42 and a lipped Lshaped foot 44 for interengagement with the L-shaped recess 34 and the lip 36, respectively.

The front bar 14 has a recess 46 between the projection 42 and the foot 44. When assembled with the main sill 12, the front bar 14 defines a drainage channel SO between the recess 46 and the outer face 47. The inner wall apertures 38 open into the channel 50 which extends the length of the front bar 14. The front bar 14 also defines apertures 52 which are laterally spaced from the inner wall apertures 38 but which also open into the channel 50. The front bar apertures 52 are typically spaced 13cm apart and allow fluid flow from the channel 50 to a region outside the weatherbar 10.

The front bar 14 has an overhanging drip edge 54 which is spaced from outer wall 49 and the ground 16.

is The overhanging drip edge 54 shields the front bar apertures 52 from the effects of wind and rain.

The upper part of front bar 14 also defines a T-shaped recess 56 for receiving a mating T-section portion 57 of tube seal 58. When the front bar 14 is engaged with the main sill 12, the tube seal 58 acts against a top surface 60 of the inner wall 32 and thereby urges the mutually interengagable profiles (34,42,36,44) on the sill 12 and front bar 14 into secure engagement.

The front bar 14 is releasably engagable with the sill 12 in the following way. one end of the bar 14 is aligned with the opposite end of the sill 12 by aligning the L-shaped projection 42 with the L-shaped recess 34 which has the effect of aligning the lipped foot 44 with the lip 36. Once the bar 14 and sill 12 are aligned the bar 14 is slidably moved along the entire length of the sill 12.

To install the weatherbar 10, the bar 14 is first slid onto the sill 12, and the assembly cut to length if required. The weatherbar 10 is then correctly located and secured to the floor 16 by screws 40 located beneath the removable seal 22. The weatherbar 10 is correctly located if positioned so that when the door 28 is closed, the tube seal 58 is at least slightly deformed by the exterior surface of the door 28. This is usually achieved by aligning the outer surface of the inner wall 32 with the inner surface of the door frame 30, as shown in Fig 3. An additional facing strip 70 (Fig 3) having -7drip edges 72, 74 is secured to the door 18. The drip edges 72, 74 act to prevent precipitation falling onto the weatherbar 10.

when the weatherbar 10 is assembled, then the inner wall apertures 38 are mis-aligned (out of registration) with the front bar apertures 52. This is best seen in Fig 1. This structure allows fluid collected in gutter portion 18a to flow through the inner wall apertures 38, along the channel 50 and out through the bar apertures 52 to the outside.

In use, some water 72 is collected by the gutter portion 18a. This water 72 (Pigs 1 and 3) flows from gutter portion 18a through the inner wall apertures 38 along the channel 50 and out through the bar apertures 52, as shown by the arrows on Fig 1. Blow-back of water into the gutter 18 is minimised because overhanging drip edge 54 shields the bar apertures 52 from wind and rain, and the bar apertures 52 are not aligned with the inner wall apertures 38. Also, the inner wall apertures 38 are disposed slightly higher than the bar apertures 52.

Fig 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention designed for use with a door 28 which closes flush with the door frame 30 so that there is no gap between,the door 28 and frame 30. In Fig 4, the sill 12 is identical to the sill 12 of Figs 1 to 3, but the front bar 14b is a modified version of front bar 14. The main difference in bar 14b is that the seal 58 in the modified bar 14b does not engage with the top surface 60 but only -8 provides a seal against the door 28. It will be appreciated that the front bar 14 and modified front bar 14b are interchangeable so that either can be used on the sill 12.

The weatherbar 10 has a low profile (15mm high) and presents very little obstacle to, for example, wheelchair access.

Various modifications may be made to the above described embodiments within the scope of the present invention. For example, the closure may be a window rather than a door. The door or window may slide open rather than pivot or hinge open. The front bar 14 and sill 12 may be made from materials other than extruded aluminium, such as plastics or steel. The weatherbar may also be used in conjunction with a sub sill, for example a lomm high sub sill to raise the height of the weatherbar and thereby provide clearance for carpets, underlay, mats and the like. The inner wall apertures 38 and the bar apertures 52 may be disposed at different spacings to that described above because water can flow along the length of the drainage channel 50 to reach a bar aperture 52; but apertures 38 must be offset from apertures 52. It will also be appreciated that a removable bar 14 is not required to provide the outer wall, as the weatherbar 10 may be a single extrusion having a fixed outer wall in addition to the fixed inner wall with a drainage channel 50 defined between the walls; however, it is advantageous to have a removable 1 front bar 14. The removable front bar can be snap-fitted to the main sill with a structure identical or very similar to that shown in Fig 1; however, it will be appreciated that the front bar is made of resilient plastics material to permit initial deformation prior to snap-fitting in place. The main sill is aluminium or plastics. Furthermore, the front bar may be engaged with the main sill by screws or other similar fasteners or may be press-fitted using projections on the front bar and apertures on the main sill (or vice versa) to create a friction or interference fit.

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Claims (14)

1. A weatherbar for use in an opening to provide a seal between a closure for closing the opening and the base of the opening, the weatherbar comprising: a main sill having a gutter, the sill being adapted to be disposed on said base and having an inner and an outer wall upstanding from the sill, the walls defining a drain channel therebetween; wherein each wall has at least one aperture disposed therein, and the at least one aperture in the inner wall is laterally spaced along said drain channel from the at least one aperture in the outer wall; so that, in use, water collected by said gutter drains from said gutter through said aperture in said inner wall, along said drain channel, and through said aperture in said outer wall.

2. A weatherbar as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the closure is a door.

3. A weatherbar as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the closure is a window.

4. A weatherbar as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the closure is operable by hinging on one side of the opening.

5. A weatherbar as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the closure is operable by sliding from one side of the opening to an

6. A weatherbar as wherein the main sill opposite side of the opening. claimed in any preceding Claim also has a resilient seal i is upstanding therefrom for providing a seal against the underside of the closure.

7. A weatherbar as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the main sill is formed from extruded aluminium.

8. A weatherbar as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the outer wall is provided by a bar adapted to be coupled to the main sill, the bar and the main sill having mutually interengagable profiles for effecting coupling.

9. A weatherbar as claimed in Claim 8 wherein there are a plurality of apertures in the bar and a plurality of apertures in the main sill, where all of the apertures in the main sill are laterally spaced from the apertures in the bar.

10. A weatherbar as claimed in either of Claims 8 or 9 wherein the weatherbar further comprises a resilient seal disposed in a recess in the bar for acting against the main sill to urge the bar into close contact with the main sill and for sealing against a lower portion of the closure.

11. A weatherbar as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 10 wherein the mutually interengagable profiles are provided by a sliding engagement.

12. A weatherbar as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 10 wherein the mutually interengagable profiles are provided by a snap fit or an interference fit.

13. A weatherbar as claimed in Claim 11 where the sliding engagement is provided by a recess defined by the -12inner wall and a complementary projection defined by the bar.

14. A weatherbar as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 13 wherein the bar further comprises a drip edge portion spaced from the outer wall.

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