Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Cupola or skylight
Reexamination Certificate
1997-05-22
2001-04-10
Safavi, Michael (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Cupola or skylight
C052S060000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06212834
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a flashing arrangement for windows, in particular roof windows, with a mainly rectangular window frame comprising a top member, two side members, and a bottom member, comprising flashing elements attached to the frame members, said flashing elements being profiles of a flexible material for providing a waterproof flashing frame around the window frame, the flashing elements at the top and side members of the window having a U-shaped cross section comprising a bottom plane, which in its working position is substantially parallel to the glass section of the window, and two upwardly protruding side flanges, of which a first side flange is attached to the outside of the corresponding member of the window frame.
When installing windows in inclined roofs the establishment of weatherproof and waterproof joints between the main frame structure and the surrounding roofing material has traditionally been performed on site in connection with the installation and by means of for instance lead, zinc, copper, aluminum or other types of deformable materials.
From DK-B-148922 a flashing arrangement of the above-mentioned kind is know incorporating a flashing collar providing a water discharge duct and connectable with an extension profile of metal, plastics or another rigid or slightly flexible material. In this prior art design, a special member is required to provide sealing towards the underside of the surrounding roofing and the arrangement is not adapted for easy connection with a standard flashing element such as a conventional lead skirt below the bottom member of the frame.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,238 a window structure with a frame constructed from hollow plastic profiles is known, where the profile elements by co-extrusion are produced in one piece with an encircling flexible sealing flange of PVC, which is placed under the surrounding roofing.
With this design a window can be delivered substantially ready for installation, such that an easier installation is achieved, which is particularly advantageous when several closely spaced windows are to be installed either side by side or above each other.
However, the latter design is limited in that it can only be used together with plastic frame structures and mainly plane types of roofing, such as slating and the like, since the sealing flange has not been designed to be deformable to such a degree that it may be placed in sealing abutment with a wave-shaped roofing, such as for instance roofing tiles.
Starting from this known technique it is the object of the invention to provide a flashing arrangement suitable for factory assembly, such that the installation work is made easier and less expensive, while it may be utilized together with all common types of roofing and easily connected with the surrounding roofing as well as other conventional flashing elements without the use of separate sealing members.
To achieve this object the sealing arrangement according to the invention is characterized in that the flashing elements at the top and side members of the window frame are made of an elastically deformable material and that the other of said two side flanges serves as a seal in sealing abutment with the underside of the surrounding roofing, while the flashing element at the bottom member includes a profile with a mainly L-shaped cross section with an upright flange for connection to the outside of the main frame bottom member and an outwardly protruding flange.
With this arrangement a U-shaped channel is established along the top and side members of the main frame structure, said channel at the top member providing a valley from which water may be led around the frame structure and through the channels acting as drains along the side members, in order to finally be drained off across the sealing element connected to the bottom member.
The elastic deformability of the flashing arrangements together with the U-shaped cross-sectional profile results in a particularly good fit to the surrounding roofing, in that the other side flange, which is separated from main frame structure, can be deformed for a sealing abutment with the underside of any common roofing, for instance by bending the side flange more or less outwards from the U-profile, possibly to such a degree that it is nearly flush with the bottom plane of the profile.
As a further consequence of the elastic deformability the factory mounted flashing elements can easily be wrapped up over the main frame structure during packing and shipping, resulting in only a minimal increase of its outer dimensions.
In the case of flat and plane roofings, such as for instance slating or cardboard, the L-shaped flashing element at the bottom member can be joined directly to the roofing by placing the protruding flange of the profile either under or in sealing abutment with the top side of the material underlying the roofing. As another possibility, particularly well suited for wave-shaped roofings as for instance tiles, the protruding flange of the L-shaped flashing element may be designed to be connected, for instance by gluing, to another flexible and plastically deformable flashing element, which may be of the above mentioned traditional type or of the unleaded design described in International Patent Application No. WO 93/06318, and having improved deformability which will further contribute to facilitating the installation work.
As a particular advantage, the invention makes it also possible, in a simple manner to establish sealing flashings between relatively closely spaced neighboring windows, for instance when the spacing is about 100 mm, corresponding to the normal width of a rafter, regardless of whether the windows are placed next to or above each other.
For windows placed side by side a particularly well suited embodiment according to the invention is characterized in that a coupling flange is constructed on the top side of the bottom face of the U-profile at a relatively short distance from said first side flange, where said coupling flange extends towards said first side flange substantially in parallel to the bottom face, and during the installation of two windows side by side may be placed in abutment with the corresponding coupling flange of the neighboring window after having cut off the part of the flashing elements lying between said coupling flange and the other side flange along the mutually opposing side members of the window frame, after which the two coupling flanges are connected by a profiled sliding rail with bent flange sections fitting into the space between the two coupling flanges and the bottom faces of the respective flashing elements.
Since the flashing element at the top member of the main frame on account of providing a valley preferably is designed with an increased width compared to the the flashing requirements at the side members, a similar building together of windows placed above each other may be obtained when the flashing element at the top member of the window frame in the middle section between said first and second side flange has an additional upwardly protruding flange, which during the installation of two windows above each other may be placed under the L-shaped flashing element at the bottom frame member of the above window after having cut off the part of the flashing element lying between said additional flange and the second side flange.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4527368 (1985-07-01), Jentoft
patent: 5207036 (1993-05-01), Sampson et al.
patent: 2449176 (1980-10-01), None
patent: 1587199 (1981-04-01), None
patent: 31879 (1943-06-01), None
Safavi Michael
Shannon John P.
V. Kann Rasmussen Industri A/S
Venable
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