Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SPECIFICATION
This invention relates generally to connectors and
more particularly to connectors for use in the construction of
insulated glass panels.
As is known, insulated glass panels include a pair of
panes of glass slightly spaced from each other to create an insul-
ating air space therebetween. It is a common practice in the
production of such panels to utilize a spacer assembly disposed
between the panels and within the panel-holding frame to maintain
the panes at the proper spacing from each other. Such assemblies -
~are composed of plural elongated spacers, which in the interest of
weight reduction are hollow tubular members, and are held together
by connectors in the overall shape of the periphery of the glass
panel. To that end, the spacer connectors of the prior art common-
ly include a pair of perpendicularly oriented legs, each leg being `
arranged to fit within the hollow interior of a respective spacer
to effect the connection of the spacers at right angles to each
other.
j Heretofore, spacer connectors have been constructed of
a rigid and generally inflexible material, such as die-cast metal.
`` Such prior art spacers have several drawbacks which relate directly
to the assembly of the panel. For example, due to the rigidity of
prior art spacer connectors, such connectors may not fit snuggly
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enough within the associated hollow interior of the spacer to hold `~
the spacer in place as the assembly is assembled. The loose fit ~
of the connectors is commonly the result of manufacturing tolerances -
in the cross-sectional area of the interior of the spacer. In
addition, the inflexibility of the connectors may result in ~heir ~ ~
slipping out of an associated spacer of the assembly should the `~ ;
normal angular orientation of the spacers with respect to each
other be momentarily disturbed or otherwise varied as by being
bumped or impacted as the glass panel is assembled.
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Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention
to provide a connector for use in insulated glass panel spacer
assemblies which overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is a urther object of this invention to provide a
connector for securely connecting a pair of hollow spacers to each
other, irrespective of the manufacturing tolerances in the cross-
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sectional area of the interior of the spacers.
It is still a further object of this invention toprovide a connector for securely connecting a pair of spacers
together at a predetermined angle, yet enabling the spacers to
deviate therefrom without loosening the connection therebetween.
These and other objects of this invention are achieved
by providing a connector for use with a pair of spacers to form
a spacer assembly for an insulated glass panel. Each of the ~`~
spacers is an elongated tubular member having a predetermined
internal cross-sectional area. The connector is adapted for
connecting the spacers together at a predetermined angle while
enabling them to deviate from the angle without loosening the
connection between them. The connector comprises a pair of legs
' 20 connected at its junction at said predetermined angle. Each of
'i the legs includes a resilient finger projecting therefrom to effect ,~
- the frictional engagement of the interior of the spacer by the leg,
irrespective of manufacturing tolerances in the cross-sectional area ,,
of the interior of the spacer. The cross-sectional area of the
junction is substantially smaller than the cross-sectional area
of the interiar of the spacer to enable the legs to flex from the
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preaetermined angular orientation.
, Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of -
this invention wlll be readily appreciated as the same becomes
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`~ 30 better understood by reference to the following detailed descrip-
~ tion when considered in connection with the accompany drawings
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wherein:
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Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a corner portion of an
insulated glass panel utilizing the connector in accordance with
this invention;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line
2-2 of Fig. l; and
Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the ,~
connector in accordance with this invention for connecting a pair
of spacers to each other~
Referring now to the various figures of the drawings
wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, there is
shown in Fig. 1 an improved connector 20. Connector 20 is arranged
to connect a pair of spacers 22 to each other to form the spacer
assembly 24. The assembly 24 is arranged for disposition between
a pair of planar panes of glass 26 to separate said panes and
hold them in a spaced orientation with respect to each other and
thereby form an insulating glass panel.
Each of the spacers 22 is an elongated tubular member
having a wide, inside wall 28, a narrow, outside wall 30 and a ~'
pair of side walls 32. The side walls 32 extend between the in~
side and outside walls and include a major portion 34 contiguous
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with the wide inside wall and a ledge portion 36 contiguous with the
narrow outside wall. The interior distance between the ledge por-
tions of the opposed side walls is less than the distance between the ; ;
major portions of the opposed side walls. The portion of the cross-
sectional area of the interior of each spacer lying between the
major portions of the side walls is hereinafter referred to as the ~;
major internal area 38. The portion of the cross-sectional area
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of the interior of the spacer lying between the ledge portions of `
its side walls is smaller than the major area and is called the
minor internal area ~0.
As will be described later, different portions of
' connector 20 are adapted for disposition within the major and
minor areas in the interior of the spacer to effect the securement
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of the connector thereto and the concomitant securement of the
; spacers to each other via the connector.
The major portions o~ each side wall serves as a stop
against which an associated pane of glass is held to effect the
proper spacing of the glass. A conventional frame (not shown)
serves to hold the glass panes and the interposed spacers in place.
The spacer 22 is formed from a flat metal s~rip, such
as anodized aluminum, which is bent into tubular shape and in-
cludes a longitudinal seam 42 running down the center of the
inside wall 28. The seam is preferably serrated so that the spacer
is enabled to "breath" to maintain a dry, even air balance within
the insulated panel.
The details of the connector 20 of this invention are
` best seen in the perspective view of Fig. 3. As can be seen therein,
connector 20 basically comprises a pair of legs 44 projecting at
right angles to one another from a central portion or junction 46.
Each leg terminates at a rounded free end 43 having a resilient
finger 50 projecting upwardly therefrom and curving backwards
towards the junction. `
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the
invention, the junction, the legs projecting therefromt and the
fingers projecting from the legs, are all formed as an integral
unit from a rugged, yet relatively flexible material, such as
Nylon. -
As can be seen in Fig. 2, each leg 44 of the connector
20 is adapted for disposition within the interior of the spacer
20, with the leg of the connector disposed within the major portion
38 and the finger 50 disposed within the minor portion 40.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this
invention, the distance between the top edge 52 of the spacer 20
and the bottom edge 54 of the leg to which it is connected is
slightly greater than the maximum internal distance between the
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walls 28 and 30 taking into account the varia-tions in manufacturing
tolerances, such that when leg 22 is inserted within spacer 20,
the finger 50 is flexed slightly towards the leg to securely abut t
the inside surface of wall 30 while at the same time the edge 54
of the leg securely aubts the inside surface of the wall 28.
Accordingly, the connector 20 can be firmly secured to a spacer
22 irrespective of variances in the dimensions of the interior
spacer due to manufacturing tolerances. This feature enables the
facile assembly of ~he spacer to one another since it eliminates
10 the delay caused by connectors falling out of the spacers or other-
wise enabling the spacers to se~arate rom one another.
In accordance with another aspect of this invention
the cross-sectional area of the junction 46 of the connector 20
is approximately the same as the cross-sectional area of each leg ~`
44 and each is substantially smaller than the entire cross-sectional
area of the interior of the spacers. This feature enables the legs ;~
to be flexed relative to one another so as to deviate from their `
normal perpendicular orientation. The ability of the legs of the
connector to flex about their junction facilitates the assembly of
20 the insulated glass panel since it insures that the connector will
not come loose upon the jostling or handling of an assembled spacer
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assembly during the assembly of the insulated glass panel.
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Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully
illustrate my invention that othera may, by applying current or
future knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various con-
ditions of service.
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