GB2292170A - Glazing bead - Google Patents

Abstract

A glazing bead (51) for insertion into a window frame (1) for retaining a glass unit (83), has a first portion (53) intended to lie between the frame (1) and the glass unit (83), the first portion (53) having, at one end, means for engagement with the glass unit (83). It has a hook arrangement (61) at the other end for engagement with a recess (23) in the window frame (1). The bead (51) has an inwardly extending leg portion (63) extending generally parallel to to the inner surface of the window aperture and thus at an angle to the flat portion (53) of the bead (51) for engagement with a second recess (27) in the frame (1) opposed to the first recess (23) so as to form therewith an undercut channel. The leg portion (63) is formed with a bend (65) extending towards the window frame (1) such that pressure on the glazing bead (51) in a sense to bow the leg portion (63) will cause the leg portion (63) to bow into engagement with the frame (1) and thus prevent effective reduction of the length of the leg portion (63) and the ability to remove the glazing bead (51) from the frame (1). <IMAGE>

Description

GLAZED WINDOW UNIT.

This invention relates to a glazed window unit and more particularly to means for retaining the glass in such a window unit.

In the field of modern windows, the majority of windows comprise double glazed units. These windows generally comprise a main frame which is fixed to an outer frame or surround which is located and fixed in a window aperture. The outer frame or surround is constructed of timber, PVC or other suitable material. Alternatively.

the main frame may be fixed directly to the structural opening in the building with the outer frame or surround omitted. The main frame is provided with one or more apertures which, in the completed window, receive double glazed units. These double glazed units comprise a sealed unit of two sheets of glass spaced apart around their periphery by suitable spacing elements which not only define a space between the glass panes but seal this space so that it is airtight.

The inner faces of the apertures in the frame have an upstanding flange against which the double glazed units rest and the double glazed units must, therefore, be offered up from the exterior of the frame. The units are held in the frame by means of beading elements which are inserted into the front of the frame and have a portion which will engage a locking member on the bead which is engageable or releasable by pushing the beading inwards.

This can only be achieved with the glass unit in an innermost position. Locking of the double glazed units in the frame is achieved by moving the glass unit outwardly. This outward position of the glass unit is maintained by the insertion of a resilient strip on the inside of the window between the glass and the upstanding flange. It will of course be appreciated that single glazed units, which may be just a single pane of glass, can equally well secured in this way.

It has been found that, while this method of retention of the glass units in the frame is satisfactory most of the time, it is possible for unauthorised persons to gain access to the interior of a building by prizing out the holding bead and removing the glass unit from the frame.

The present invention seeks to provide a glazed window unit in which the removal of the glass units from the frame from the outside by a burglar or the like is made very difficult, if not impossible.

According to the invention, there is provided a glazed window unit having retention means for single or double glazed units comprising a glazing bead for insertion into a window frame for retaining a glass unit therein, the bead having a first portion intended to lie between the frame and the glass unit, the first portion having, at one end, means for engagement with the glass unit and, at the other end, a hook arrangement for engagement with a first recess in the window frame, the bead having an inwardly extending leg portion extending generally parallel to to the inner surface of the window aperture for engagement with a second recess in the frame opposed to the first recess so as to form therewith an undercut channel, the leg portion being formed with a bend extending towards the window frame such that pressure on the glazing bead in a sense to bow the leg portion will cause the leg portion to bow into engagement with the frame and thus prevent effective reduction of the length of the leg portion and the ability to remove the beading from the frame.

Further according to the invention, there is provided a single or double glazed window unit comprising a frame for positioning in a window aperture and having an upstanding flange on its inner periphery and an undercut channel along its outer periphery and facing inwards and a glazing bead for insertion into the window frame for retaining a glass unit therein, the bead having a first portion which, when inserted in the frame lies between the frame and the glass unit, the first portion having, at one end, means for engagement with the glass unit and, at the other end, a hook arrangement for engagement with a recess formed by the outer side of the undercut channel, the bead having a leg portion extending generally parallel to to the inner surface of the window aperture for engagement with a second recess formed by the inner side of the undercut channel, the leg being formed with a bend extending towards the window frame such that pressure on the glazing bead in a sense to bow the leg will cause the leg to bow into engagement with the frame and thus prevent effective reduction of the length of the leg and the ability to remove the beading from the frame.

The second recess may be provided with a shoulder on its side forming the lip of the undercut channel for engagement with the free end of the leg portion of the glazing bead.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a sectional view of a window outer frame; Figure 2 is a sectional view of a glazing bead in accordance with the invention for retention of a glass unit in the frame of figure 1; Figures 3 to 6 are sectional views of a window construction showing the steps of assembly of the window in accordance with the invention; Figures 7 and 8 are views similar to figure 6 showing the effects of various attempts to remove the glazing bead, and Figures 9 shows an alternative form of glazing bead in accordance with the invention.

Referring firstly to figure 1, there is shown a typical outer frame 1 for a window suitable for use with the present invention. It comprises two substantially identical but reversed sections 3 and 5 separated in this case by a thermal break 7. The frame sections 3 and 5 are generally of "L" shape with the feet 9 and 11 of the "L" facing towards each other across the thermal break 7.

The lower part of the frame 1 sits in an aperture in the wall of a building. As shown it suitably sits on a window surround 15 of wood, PVC or other suitable material with, in this case, the front leg 17 of the "L" section 3 lying in front of the surround 15. The "L" section 3 is provided at its upper surface 19 with a lip 21 defining a recess 23 at one side and a lip 25 defining a recess 27 at its other side. This recess 27 has a shoulder 29 on its upper inner surface and extends downwardly beyond the surface of the foot portion 9 of the "L" section 3 at 31. The two recesses 23 and 27 form effectively an undercut channel and are used to retain a glazing bead 51 (figure 2) as will be hereinafter described. The leg 33 of the "L" section 5 provides an upstanding flange around the glazing aperture against which the glass unit rests.The upper surface of the foot 11 of the "L" section 5 is provided with a rib 35 for location of a setting block for the glass unit.

Figure 2 shows a glazing bead 51 for use with the frame of figure 1 for retaining the glass unit in the frame 1.

It comprises a first flat portion 53 which, as will be seen lies, when assembled, at an angle, for example of 450, to the associated glass unit and also to the inner surfaces of the feet 9 and 11 of the window frame 1. The flat portion 53 has, at one end 55, a recess 57 for the retention of a sealing member for engagement with the glass unit and, at the other end 59, a hook arrangement 61 for engagement with the recess 23 on the window frame l.The bead 51 has a leg portion 63 extending inwardly from the hook arrangement 59 and generally parallel to to the inner surfaces of the feet 9 and 11 of the "L" sections 3 and 5 of the window frame 1 and thus at an angle to the flat portion 53 of the bead 51 for engagement with the second recess 27 of the frame 1. The leg portion 63 is formed with a bend 65 extending towards the window frame 1 such that, as will be seen, pressure on the glazing bead 51 in a sense to bow the leg portion 63 will cause the leg portion 63 to bow into engagement with the surface of the foot 9 of the "L" shaped member 3 of the frame 1 and thus prevent effective reduction of the length of the leg portion 63 and the ability to remove the beading 51 from the frame 1.

The free end 67 of the leg portion 63 has an horizontal lip portion 69 for engagement in the recess 27 of the frame 1. This lip portion 69 co-operates with the lip 25 on the "L" shaped member 3 of the frame 1 as will be described hereafter.

The assembly of the double glazed window unit will now be described with reference to figures 3 to 6: Starting from positioning of the window frame 1 in the window aperture and its securing thereto, a setting block 81 is positioned inside the frame 1 as shown in figure 3 to receive a glass unit 83 and position it above the upper surface of the frame 1. Then a glass unit 83 is offered into the window frame 1 from the outside and is positioned on the setting block 81 and against the rear leg 33 of the "L" shaped portion 5. The glazing bead 51, complete with sealing strip 73 is offered into the frame 1.

As can be seen particularly from figure 3, the glazing bead 51 is offered in at an angle so that the hook portion 61 of the glazing bead 51 passes over the lip 21 of the "L" shaped member 3 and the lip 69 of the glazing bead 51 enters the recess 27 in the "L" section 3. As can be seen, the outer edge 75 of the sealing strip 73 is pushed against the glass unit 83.

The glazing bead 51 is then pushed inwardly (figure 4) until the end of the hook portion 61 clears the end of the lip 21. At this point, the lip 69 of the glazing bead 51 is fully home in the recess 27 of the "L" section 3 of the frame 1. It will also be noted that bend 65 of the glazing bead 51 is substantially in contact with the upper surface of the foot 9 of the "L" section 3 of the frame 1.

Next the glazing bead 51 is pivoted downwardly about the groove 27. The double glazed unit 83 is then moved outwardly, and in doing so, locates the hook portion 61 of the glazing bead 51 around the lip 21 of the "L" section 3 of the frame 1 (figure 5). At this point the glazing bead 51 is still removable from the outside of the window by reversing the process.

It is to be understood that since the window is rectangular, four glazing beads 51 are provided around the window and that each one in turn is inserted in the same way. Because of the mitring arrangements at the corners of the window are usually constructed such that the vertical glazing beads overlap the ends of the horizontal glazing beads, the top and bottom glazing beads are inserted first.

To secure the glass unit 83 in place, further pressure is applied to the glass unit 83 to move it outwardly by forcing a wedge gasket 87 between the glass unit 83 and the upstanding leg portion 33 of the "L" section 5 of the frame 1 (figure 6). At this point the sealing strip 73 is fully compressed against the face of the glass unit 83 and the glazing bead 51 is pushed outwards so that its hook portion 61 is fully engaged in the recess 23.

In normal circumstances, if it is necessary to remove a glass unit 83, for replacement or otherwise, it is first necessary to remove the wedge gasket 87. This then enables the glass unit 83 to be pushed backwards from the outside of the window, thus releasing the glazing bead 51 for removal.

However, there are occasions when someone may attempt to gain unauthorised access to the building in which the window is installed. Here, of course, the person concerned cannot reach the wedge gasket 87 and therefore, to be successful, they must remove the glazing bead 51 without removing the wedge gasket 87.

The above described construction is designed to prevent this removal of the glazing bead 51.

Figure 7 shows what will happen if release of the glazing bead 51 is attempted by pushing in on the end 59 of the glazing bead 51, as indicated by the arrow 91.

Firstly the glazing bead 51 will move in a very short distance until the end of the lip 69 of the glazing bead 51 engages the shoulder 29 of the lip 25 of the frame 1.

This will prevent further inward movement of the glazing bead 51. Further pressure in the direction of the arrow 91 will tend to bow the leg portion 63 of the glazing bead 51. Because of the provision of the bend 65 in the leg portion 63, the leg portion 63 will tend to move downwardly in the direction of the arrow 93. However, the leg portion 63 will almost immediately come up against the upper or outer surface 19 of the foot 9 of the "L" section 3 of the frame 1 and further bowing will thus be prevented. The glazing bead will thus not be released and the attempt at entry foiled.

Figure 8 shows what will happen if an attempt is made to release the glazing bead 51 by a twisting action, either up or down, applied between the edge of the glazing bead 51 and the frame 1 to apply a rotation about the point 95. These actions are indicated at 97 and 99 respectively.

By applying a leverage force upwardly (97) or downwardly (99), the hook arrangement 61 will engage in the recess 23 and lock against the lip 21 of the foot 9 of the "L" section 3 of the frame 1. Also by applying leverage force upwardly (97) the glazing bead 51 will be deflected at 101. This will, by using the deflecting properties of the wedge gasket 87, decrease the glazing gap with no reduction in the length of the leg portion 63, again foiling the attempt to release the glazing bead 51.

It will be appreciated that the glazing bead 51 may have a number of different shapes to accommodate different sizes of frame openings and to give different visual effects. One such variation is shown in figure 9. Here the flat portion 53 is of significantly reduced length and the end 59 is enlarged so that there is a vertical portion 111 above the hook portion 61.

It will also be appreciated that while the above described arrangement was applied to a fixed window, the invention applies equally to opening windows in which the glass unit is fixed in a similar fashion into a movable sub-frame.

Furthermore, although the invention has been described in relation to double glazed window units, it is equally applicable to single glazed units even where these comprise only a single pane of glass.

From the above described embodiments, it will be seen that the construction shown gives a glazed window unit an increased resistance to unauthorised demounting of the glass units and thus to unauthorised entry into the building in which the window unit is installed.

Claims (8)

1. A glazed window unit having retention means for single or double glazed units comprising a glazing bead for insertion into a window frame for retaining a glass unit therein, the bead having a first portion intended to lie between the frame and the glass unit, the first portion having, at one end, means for engagement with the glass unit and, at the other end, a hook arrangement for engagement with a first recess in the window frame, the bead having an inwardly extending leg portion extending generally parallel to to the inner surface of the window aperture for engagement with a second recess in the frame opposed to the first recess so as to form therewith an undercut channel, the leg portion being formed with a bend extending towards the window frame such that pressure on the glazing bead in a sense to bow the leg portion will cause the leg portion to bow into engagement with the frame and thus prevent effective reduction of the length of the leg portion and the ability to remove the beading from the frame.

2. A glazed window unit comprising a frame for positioning in a window aperture and having an upstanding flange on its inner periphery and an undercut channel along its outer periphery and facing inwards and a glazing bead for insertion into the window frame for retaining a glass unit therein, the bead having a first portion which, when inserted in the frame lies between the frame and the glass unit, the first portion having, at one end, means for engagement with the glass unit and, at the other end, a hook arrangement for engagement with a recess formed by the outer side of the undercut channel, the bead having a leg portion extending generally parallel to to the inner surface of the window aperture for engagement with a second recess formed by the inner side of the undercut channel, the leg being formed with a bend extending towards the window frame such that pressure on the glazing bead in a sense to bow the leg will cause the leg to bow into engagement with the frame and thus prevent effective reduction of the length of the leg and the ability to remove the beading from the frame.

3. A window unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second recess is provided with a shoulder on its side forming the lip of the undercut channel for engagement with the free end of the leg portion of the glazing bead.

4. A window unit as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein hook arrangement of the glazing bead is held in engagement with the first recess by the pressure of the glass unit against the sealing member.

5. A window unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the glass unit is maintained against sealing member by a resilient glazing wedge inserted between the glass unit and the upstanding flange on the inner periphery of the frame.

6. A window unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the first portion of the bead is flat and is intended to lie at an angle to the glass unit and to the inner surface of the window aperture.

7. A window unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means for engagement with the glass unit comprises a sealing member held in a recess at the end of the first portion of the bead.

8. A glazed window unit substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.