GLAZING BARS

PETITS BOIS

English Abstract

A glazing bar system comprises a support beam (10), upper and lower
cappings (12, 14 respectively) locatable on the beam, an end cap (68) therefor
and
means (61) for mounting the end cap on the support beam end.

Claims

5
What is Claimed is:
1. A glazing bar system comprising a support beam, upper cappings locatable on
the beam, an end cap therefor, and means for mounting the end cap on the
support
beam end, which comprises a bracket securable to the support beam end, wherein
the
bracket and the end cap have mutually engagable formations whereby they
slidingly
interfit.
2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam has lower cappings
locatable thereon.
3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bracket is securable to the end
of
the support beam by means of a screw through the bracket into a screw port of
the
support beam.
4. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the bracket and the end cap
provides a pair of facing channels and the other has a pair of oppositely
facing lugs,
which are a sliding fit in the channels.
5. A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the bracket provides a pair of
opposed ends or lugs spaced from the beam end to receive cooperating internal
formations of the end cap in sliding relationship.
6. A system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the end cap has a pair of opposed L-
shaped projections on its internal face to provide said internal formations in
the form
of facing channels.
7. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end cap has a rim that is
deeper at
its top, whereby the end cap when fitted covers the end of the upper capping.

Description

CA 02232046 2003-10-28
GLAZING BARS
This invention concerns improvements relating to glazing bars.
Glazing bars for constructing roofs of conservatories generally comprise
aluminium support beams, between which are mounted glazing panels and upper
and
lower cappings to secure and seal the roofing panels and conceal the aluminium
beams. Typical glazing beams are of inverted T-section with a channel shaped
capping fitted to the cross bar of the T-section and an upper capping which
has
divergent sides and internally a means for connecting the upper capping to the
top of
the aluminium beam, usually in a press fit manner. Top ends of the glazing
bars are
concealed beneath ridge covers but their lower ends at the eaves of a
conservatory
structure need to be covered. At present an end cap is screwed to the
aluminium
glazing beam end, which is formed with a screw port for that purpose.
However, there are disadvantages with this system. Firstly, of course, the
head of the screw or screws used to secure the end cap is or are unsightly,
even when
masked. Secondly, the screw or screws used are liable to corrosion and to
allow
water ingress into the glazing bar.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved system for securing end
caps to glazing bars in order to avoid or mitigate against the above mentioned
disadvantages.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a
glazing bar system comprising a support beam, upper cappings locatable on the
beam,
an end cap therefor, and means for mounting the end cap on the support beam
end,
which comprises a bracket securable to the support beam end, wherein the
bracket and
the end cap have mutually engagable formations whereby they slidingly
interfit.
The means for mounting the end cap on the support beam end is preferably a

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2
bracket securable to the support beam end. The bracket is preferably securable
to the
end of the support beam by means of a screw through the bracket into a screw
port of
the support beam.
The bracket and the end cap preferably have mutually engageable formations
whereby they slidingly interfit. One of the bracket and the end cap preferably
provides a pair of facing channels and the other has a pair of oppositely
facing lugs or
the like which are a sliding fit in the channels.
The bracket preferably provides a pair of opposed ends or lugs spaced from
the beam end to receive cooperating internal formations of the end cap in
sliding
relationship. The end cap preferably has a pair of opposed L-shaped
projections on
its internal face to provide said formations in the form of facing channels.
The end cap preferably has a rim that is deeper at its top, whereby the end
cap
when fitted covers the end of the upper capping.
The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a glazing bar system of the invention;
Figure 2 is a rear view of the glazing bar system of Figure 1; and
Figure 3 is a further view of the glazing bar system of Figure 1.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, a glazing bar system comprises a
support beam 10 of aluminium and upper and lower cappings 12, 14 respectively
of
u-PVC. In use roofing panels, such as of transparent plastics material, for
example
polycarbonate, will have their edges sandwiched between the upper and lower
cappings on opposite sides of the roof beam arrangement.

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3
The support beam 10 is generally of inverted T-section. Thus, the beam 10
has a pair of flanges 16, which are turned back on themselves at their remote
ends,
and an upstanding limb 18. The limb 18 comprises a stem 20 extending from the
junction of the flanges 16 to a screw port 22, a hollow generally triangular
section
main part 24 above the screw port and an upwardly open channel 26 above the
main
port. The channel 26 has generally parallel sides. On the inside of each side
is a
series of notches 30 forming downwardly open recesses.
Each flange 16 has a first part generally perpendicular to the upstanding limb
18 and a second part which forms a trough 34 remote from the upstanding limb
18.
The upper capping 12 is generally of inverted V-section but comprises a flat
top 40
and depending sides 42. The remote edges of the sides 42 have gaskets 44
formed
thereon by co-extrusion of rubber or synthetic elastorneric material.
Internally of the
capping 12 and depending from its flat top 40 are a pair of resilient
divergent flaps 46
having outwardly projecting lips 48 at their ends.
The lower capping 14 is generally formed as a channel section having a flat
base 50 and upstanding side walls 52. Internally of the channel on the base 40
and
on the side walls 52 are spacing projections 54. The free edges of the side
walls 52
have co-extruded thereon, from rubber or synthetic elastomeric material,
gaskets 56
which extend inwardly and are inclined slightly upwardly. The gaskets 56
include
resiliently deformable projection 58 and 60 on their upper surface along their
outermost edges and 62 centrally thereof.
To assemble a roof using the glazing bars, the aluminium support beams 10
are fixed in position between a ridge and the eaves of a conservatory roof.
The lower

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4
cappings 14 are fitted onto the beams either before or after the beams are
fixed in
place. The glazing panels are positioned between the beams with their side
edges on
the gaskets 56, which are thereby trapped between the beam flanges and the
glazing
panels. Then the upper cappngs are pressed down onto the beams with their
deformable flaps being trapped in the upwardly open channels of the support
beams.
At the end of the support beam 10 a bracket 61 is fixed by means of a screw
62 through the bracket into the screw port 22 of the support beam: The bracket
61
has a wider central section 64 and narrower opposed ends 66, whereby the ends
are
spaced from the end of the support beam. An end cap 6$ for the glazing bar has
a
main surface 70 and a rim 72. On its intended inner face the end cap 68 has a
pair of
L-shaped projections 74 forming two facing open channels, which can be slid
over the
ends of the bracket to fit the end cap to the glazing bar.
The end cap rim 72 is of sufficient depth to extend rearwards over the ends of
the upper and lower cappings. The rim widens to a central part 74 at the top
of the
cap, to ensure that the cap rests on the top of the upper capping when slid
into place
on the bracket.
Thus, the illustrated end cap provides a neat and simple to complete finish to
the glazing bars for a conservatory roof.

Representative Drawing