Movable or removable closures – With operator for movably mounted closure – Operator drives closure along guide
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-21
2004-01-20
Lev, Bruce A. (Department: 3634)
Movable or removable closures
With operator for movably mounted closure
Operator drives closure along guide
C049S322000, C049S407000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06679002
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a retractable screen system for a closure assembly and improvements thereof which allows the secure sliding and subsequent retraction of the screen from a operative position to a retracted position. The invention is preferably embodied in a window assembly but finds application also in large pivoting windows and patio doors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The reader is referred to Applicants Co-pending Applications abovementioned for teachings in relation to improvements to closure assemblies, the teachings thereof which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Screens are generally provided for doors, patio doors, and windows. One particular type of screen utilized for patio doors for example, includes a metal frame having a groove disposed around its edges. The screen is affixed to the frame by using a spline, a long extended piece of flexible material, which is forced into the groove capturing the edges of the screen. The screen is then slid in front of the opening when the patio door is moved to an opened position. The screen therefore permanently blocks the view of the occupant of the dwelling. The same is true for screens provided with double-hung windows, tilt and slide windows, and casement windows. The screen generally is always in position whether the window is opened or closed.
Various examples therefore have been developed by inventors to address this problem.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,244 to Thumann describes a retractable covering for a door including a housing containing a roll of screen as best seen in
FIGS. 2
,
5
,
6
A and
6
B thereof. The cover may be affixed to a door adjacent the frame thereof as an after-market product.
Another example of an after-market type of product is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,786 as best seen in relation to
FIG. 6
therein, the structure is adapted to be mounted on one side of a door jamb to be releaseably connected to the other. The assembly is quite complicated and complex and may be considered as an add-on structure.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,990 provides a screen in combination with a sliding door. The screen is disposed upon a spring-loaded roller installed on the exterior of the framing sections of the opening adjacent to the window frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,852 describes a box-like housing carrying a tube for paying out and taking up a mesh screen. The housing is fastened over a window or door and is not part of the framing section of the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,797 describes a roll-up screen door included in a narrow housing containing a conventional spring-biased roll onto which flexible screen material is taken up and paid out. The housing is mounted adjacent one side of a vertical curved strip along one side of the door casement opening. The front vertical edge portion of the screen material is anchored within a vertical groove of the anchoring strip as best seen in
FIGS. 3 and 5
. Again, the housing extends from the framing section and is not part thereof. A more complex arrangement is found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,359,081 and 4,261,524.
Referring now to U.S. Pat. No. 1,150,000 to Matthews, there is described a window screen coiled on a roller for installation on a window frame. The roller for the window is illustrated in
FIG. 5
including a hook portion for hooking a complementary hook portion on the screen. The other edge of the screen includes a hook portion for engaging with the trim portion
34
.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,141,996 to Vanasdale describes another type of roller screen which may be attached to the sill or lintel portion of the frame by mounting brackets as best seen in relation to
FIGS. 1 through 6
.
None of the above-mentioned references teach or even infer the installation of a screen within the framing sections of a closure assembly such as a jamb. Each of the products may be considered as an after-market product which is installed upon, adjacent to, on or butting up against the framing section of the appropriate closure member. In essence, some of the installations are unsightly with a housing extending from the general plane of the home or window, extending either outwardly away from or inwardly toward the interior being closed by the closure member. It would therefore be advantageous to solve this problem by providing a screen assembly which may be contained within the framing sections of a closure assembly and which retracts into the frame member and which is substantially invisible until such time as needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,921 describes a screen assembly having supporting elements secured along the edge of the material as best seen in relation to
FIGS. 4 and 7
. The structure also includes a spring-biased element which rides in a track. As best seen in
FIGS. 9 through 11
, the screen is considered to be an add-on, after-market device as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,890 to Kramer describes a coilable closure device as best seen in
FIGS. 1 and 18
which includes a frame including a side jamb and a storage jamb,
34
and
36
respectively. The coilable closure device does not include a post and includes a multiplicity of sections as best seen in
FIGS. 1 and 6
which sections include elements extending up into and down into respective track areas provided with the frame. The material which coils upon itself is particularly plastic sheet including reinforcing ribs which also act as guiding elements for the sheet. However, nowhere within the reference does it teach the use of such a structure for a screen, but merely as a closure to replace a door between adjacent rooms, for example. Nowhere within the reference does it teach the combination of a closure member such as a window or patio door and a screen. This is simply not described. Therefore, one would not be motivated to solve the problem of combinations of closure members and screens by the reading of the Kramer reference.
Nowhere therefore within the prior art is there taught improvements to screen assemblies, wherein the entire screen assembly is contained within the framing sections found adjacent to a closure member in a closure assembly, for example a window assembly. Further, nowhere within the art is there found a roll-out screen assembly embodied in a cassette which may be readily inserted within the hollow of a framing section sized to receive said cassette or screen assembly. Further, nowhere in the prior art is there manufactured a screen having an abutment on one edge thereof for engaging with a cooperative abutment on the roller of a screen assembly which may be cut to size as desired to repair a roller screen assembly. Further, nowhere within the prior art is there found various improvements to roll-up screen assemblies to simplify their installation, adjustment and replacement.
Nowhere within the prior art is such a simplified improved screen assembly provided which retracts into the jamb, sill or header of the frame portion of a window assembly in the retracted position and which is preferably guided to its operative position in guides provided with the jamb, sill or header, and which allows for the manufacture of heavier screens in larger sections without continuously covering of the window.
It is therefore an object of this invention to overcome many of the deficiencies in the prior art stated above which allows for smooth and simple operation of a retractable screen which is capable of both sliding within a guide channel between the retracted and the operative positions and which at the retracted position is fully contained within the jamb, sill or header section of the closure assembly.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a retractable screen assembly of appropriate size and construction to replace existing retractable screen assemblies for casement, double hung and/or tilt and slide windows as well as patio doors.
It is further a primary object of this invention to provide a roll-up screen embodied in the frame of a closure assembly which is retractable into the frame itself without requiring an additional housing.
It is a further object of the invention
Davies John Robert
Davies Sean
Kupenthirarajan Sinnathamby
420820 Ontario Limited
Hughes Ivor M.
Hughes Neil H.
Lev Bruce A.
Sarkis Marcelo K.
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