Movable or removable closures – With protective grille or safety guard – Removable
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-30
2001-02-20
Johnson, Blair M. (Department: 3634)
Movable or removable closures
With protective grille or safety guard
Removable
C049S062000, C049S463000, C052S202000, C160S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189264
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improved storm shutters that cover and protect windows and other openings even in hurricane-strength winds. This invention not only allows installation from the exterior of a house, the invention also allows installation from the interior of a building. By installing from the interior, the storm shutters of the invention can protect windows and openings above the ground floor with a minimum of risk to the installer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In Broward County, Florida, the County Board of Rules and Appeals recently implemented a change in the code governing shuttering of all windows above the ground floor on all structures, except single family detached homes. The Code prohibits the use of storm panels above first story windows due to safety to life issues. Specifically, the concern is for individuals climbing ladders to install storm panels during pre-hurricane strength winds and rain. Existing alternatives to storm panels include accordion shutters, roll-up shutters, or impact glass windows.
An alternative to attachable shutter is roll up shutters. Roll-up shutters cost eight times as much as storm panels. Additionally, existing homes may require the area around the windows to be redesigned to accommodate the accordion or roll-up shutters.
Impact-resistant glass (also known as impact glass) is made by reinforcing glass with layers of transparent polymer. The polymer reinforces the glass and prevents shattering even if the glass becomes broken. Impact glass windows cost about eight times as much as storm panel systems. Furthermore, the polymeric layer of impact glass is soft and subject to scratching. Scratches in the polymer are visible and can weaken the impact glass. Scratch resistant impact glass turns yellow when exposed to ultra-violet rays. Impact glass comprising two-layers of glass sandwiching the polymer increases the cost beyond other impact glass.
Existing storm shutters must be installed from the outside. Existing storm shutters cannot be installed from the inside because the bolts that attach the shutter to the house are only reachable from the outside. So, once the window is covered the user can no longer reach around to insert the bolts.
These existing storm shutter systems typically use two tracks to hold shutters. The top track, also known as the h-track, in shaped like a lowercase “h” having the long edge mounted horizontally against the wall above the opening. The bottom track typically has an L-shaped cross-section and has its vertical portion mounted horizontally to the wall beneath the opening. This L-track has horizontal pegs protruding perpendicularly to the vertical leg. A shutter is inserted into the h-track and then bolted to the peg. The shutter must be attached from the outside to fasten the shutters via the bolts. These systems do not utilize panel hangers that hook onto the tracks.
The following U.S. Patents are examples of shutters that cannot be deployed from within the inside of the structure being protected: Caplan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,716; Taylor, U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,452; Seaquist, U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,261; Covington, U.S. Pat. No. 3745,704; Covington, U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,639; Golen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,221; Sanford U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,190; Hill, U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,849; Hoffman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,615; Hill, U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,244; and Dietz et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,646.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,149 issued to Tryba for a “Fixture for Protection of Windows.” The fixture is a plywood panel that can be seated from inside into a window frame where a screen is typically fitted. This device is limited to use with windows having extruded casings. In addition, the window frame itself is not protected by the shutter.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,704 issued to Covington for a “Storm Shutter Installation.” In one embodiment, the invention can be installed inside a building. However, in this embodiment the shutter is placed inside of the glass. The shutter does not protect the glass but only mitigates the damage caused should the glass break.
The design of windows can worsen the problem of attaching shutters from the inside. Most windows are one of two types of design: single hung or horizontal sliding. A single hung window involves two panes of glass stacked vertically. A single hung window is opened by raising the bottom pane. Once open, a single pane window allows access across the entire width of the window. The second type of design is the horizontal sliding window. A horizontal sliding window has two panes stacked horizontally (side by side). To open a horizontal sliding window, the first pane is slid sideways to overlap the second pane. Once open, a horizontal sliding window only allows access to half the width of the window—the other half is blocked by the stacked panes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a storm panel system that can be installed from the inside containing a track, at least one panel braced on the track, and a means for blocking the panel from lifting from said panel.
The system includes a shutter that covers an opening of a structure. The shutter can comprise a single panel or a plurality of panels that interconnect.
The storm panel systems of the present invention includes a track along the top of the opening, a shutter that covers the opening, a retainer that braces the shutter so it is retained by the track and a means to prevent the panel from lifting from the track. The retainer can be any suitable device that braces the panel. Examples include but are not limited to a track and bolts threaded through the panel into the structure.
In one embodiment, the top of each panel includes one or more panel hangers that attach to a J-track. The J-track and the inverted h-track are rigidly attached to the structure, above and below respectively of the opening. The hook and J-track allow the panels to be easily hooked and slid along the J-track.
The storm panels are shaped to add strength. A preferred shaped is an isosceles trapezoid corrugation. The panels can be made of impact resistant material such an steel, aluminum, polycarbonate, and LEXAN®.
In one embodiment of the invention, an inverted h-track is located to the exterior of an opening. The inverted h-track is rigidly attached to the building structure. The inverted h-track is horizontal to the opening and in close proximity and below the bottom of the opening that is desired to be covered. Above the window in close proximity thereto is a J-track. The J-track is also parallel to the opening and rigidly attached to the structure.
The openings to be covered typically include either a single hung window or a sliding window arrangement with one end window pane fixed in place.
Installation for a horizontal sliding window poses challenges that are not present in a single-hung window. In a horizontal sliding window, when the window is open, half the width of the window in blocked by the overlapping window panes. This blocking prevents the installer from being able to reach around to the exterior of panels that cover the overlapping panel.
This invention provides a shutter system and method of use that uses two tracks to hold panels without reaching around to the front of the panels for horizontal sliding windows. To install the panels, first, the horizontal sliding window is opened. Then, while the installer stands inside the structure at close proximity to the window opening. A corrugated panel is moved through the window opening to the exterior of the structure. The bottom of the corrugated panel is first placed in the inverted h-track and the top is tilted outward, away from the structure. The corrugated panel has a plurality of panel hangers on its top. A panel hanger is an upside down J-shaped member that engages and hangs from the J-track. Said panel hanger acts like a hook on the J-track. The J-track acts like a rail such that the hook slides on the rail. The arrangement can be reversed such that the panel hanger is the rail and the track is the hook.
To engage the J-track, th
Johnson Blair M.
Malin Haley & DiMaggio, P.A.
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