Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As has been pointed out in several of the above noted patent applications, air
and
moisture penetration in and around window, door and louver rough openings, is
one of
the construction industry's most serious problems. Damage caused by
infiltration of air
and moisture at rough openings, and the problem of mold and fungi with their
own
special set of consequences, has been increasingly recognized over the past
several years.
As a result of these problems, there is an aggressive effort by many to
improve
upon the products and installation techniques that are currently in use.
Several of the
above-noted related applications deal with the flashing of rough window
openings using a
special formulated silicone sealing adhesive in combination with a particular
sheet
flashing material that the silicone sealing adhesive readily bonded to form
watertight
joints in and around rough window openings and other openings such as rough
door
openings.
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The Williams,'401 patent noted above deals primarily with a preformed
termination accessory that can be used in any one of the four corners of a
rough opening.
However, its use would most commonly be used at the lower bottom corners where
the
same accessory can be used in any of the lower or upper corners merely by
rotating the
accessory unit ninety degrees. The WilIiams '401 patent also discloses the use
a clay
coated flashing material that is used in conjunction with an elastomeric
adhesive sealant
that readily bonds with the clay coated flashing material.
The Williams '402 patent discloses a pre-folded flashing system and Williams
et
a1,'026 discloses the use of both liquid and solid forms of flashing material.
Pending
Williams application Ser. No. 10/200,259 discloses an integrated system
wherein a
variety of exterior sheathing panels, i.e. foam boards, foil-faced board,
cementitious
based boards, are exteriorly treated with an elastomeric membrane-like
material and the
joints therebetween are taped with clay coated adhesive backed taped. Williams
pending
application Ser. No. 10/670,318 deals primarily with a multi-unit termination
accessory
flashing that is manufactured in molded units of four that are separable and
individually
used in rough opening corners similar to the termination accessory units of
the Williams,
'401 patent.
As can be seen from a review of the above noted patents and pending
applications, solving the problems associated with air and moisture
penetration continues
to be a work in progress. The subject invention is an extension of the prior
attempts to
resolve this serious problem. In the present application there is disclosed a
sill wedge
that is installed beneath the sill pan flashing. Previous to this invention,
when a sill
wedge was used, it was constructed from rigid plastic or wood. Both of these
materials
CA 02530690 2005-12-19
had many drawbacks; consequently, the usage of sill wedges has been limited.
Pan
flashings are a proven method of managing unwanted water at rough openings in
the
building enclosure. However, providing slope for the pan flashing can pose
certain
unique challenges. These challenges are solved by using WillFlash~ Sill Wedge
which
is flexible enough to be coiled on a roll to facilitate shipping, yet is firm
enough to
provide a base for the sill pan itself. This wedge solves many problems by
supporting a
sill pan self adhering membrane and directing water from the sill pan towards
the
building exterior; yet because it is not rigid, it may be conveniently coiled
for storage
and/or shipment. Furthermore, the sill wedge material itself may be easily cut
and
trimmed with scissors or a utility knife, which helps to speed installations.
Additionally,
it has been found that the sill wedge may be most efficiently manufactured by
extruding
two polyethylene sill wedges simultaneously, in a "tip to tip" configuration.
This reduces
the manufacturing costs because two wedges are simultaneously fabricated.
Furthermore,
the two wedge profile is symmetrical, which also benefits the coiling of sill
wedge on a
roll. The symmetrical profile will roll consistently; whereas, a single wedge
profile rolls
unevenly onto the shipping spool. Therefore, the "two wedge profile" may be
rolled
upon itself without the need for a spool, further reducing the cost of
packaging and
transport.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As indicated above, the subject invention provides a component which improves
upon the overall function of sill pan flashing, specifically the use of a
novel sill wedge
that promotes drainage of water from the sill pan. The novel sill wedge is
made from
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polyethylene foam, a flexible material in a unique configuration, which also
provides
support for the bottom of the sill pan. Accordingly, the sill wedge can be
effectively
extruded into a double wedge, continuous roll, shrink wrapped and shipped in
rolls thus
allowing for easy cutting to length in the field, improving performance of the
pan
flashing while also addressing shipping and installation issues.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
A recent search of the Patent Office files in the appropriate Classes and
subclasses
revealed the following prior art documents.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,472,216 - issued to Kasik on June 7, 1949 - discloses a window
stop
in the shape of a wedge. Stop 20 is used to on a window sash to permit opening
the
window any desired amount.
15 U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,176 - issued to Cresci on August 23, 1994 -- discloses
a window
wedge that is used as a stop for a sliding type window such as a double hung
window.
U.S. Pat. No. 5491940 - issued to Bruchu on Feb.20, 1996 - discloses a
variable angle
wedge that supports a replacement window and compensates for whatever sill
angle
20 exists on the previous window frame
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US 2002/0146539 - application of Dwinell published on Oct. 10, 2002 -
discloses a
window stabilizing device including a wedge portion dimensioned for being
positioned
between a lower edge of a window and a corresponding window frame or sill.
In addition to this known patent prior art, there has also been activity in
the field
by a company entitled Vinyl Corp.that published a 2004 PRODUCT DATA
CATALOG, 3 pages, that includes a product called PB SLOPED SILL WEDGE and
contains a statement, "Sloped Sill Wedge- Trim component used to provide a
positive
slope over the sill to direct intruding water to the outside face of weather-
resistive barrier
for drainage out of the system. This is not a flashing use in combination with
a water-
managed system." Additionally, there is a second publication, a one page
article entitled,
CANT LEAK SILL GUARD TAI WINDOW DRAINAGE SYSTEM by Protecto
Wrap Company that refers to a patent pending window sill drainage system for
use in
new and remodeling construction. This publication is rather weak in its
description of the
product and serves more or less as an advertising brochure for the product
without much
detail as to the product per se and its manner of use.
As can be seen from a review of this known prior art, i.e. patent documents,
there
are a variety of wedge devices that are used in their customary manner, i.e.
the tapered
end of the wedge is inserted between a pair of elements to provide a bias
therebetween
and prevent "rattling" or serve as a "stop" between two relatively moveable
members.
However, none of the known prior art "wedges" are used in combination with a
''pan
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flashing" member to provide sufficient elevation to the rear end of the pan
flashing
member thus allowing gravitational flow of any moisture in the area to move
forward and
exit the building structure. The two known non-patent publications, both
indicate an
awareness of the problems in this particular area, however, they both attempt
to solve the
problem in a different manner.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to improve the drainage performance of pan
flashing
that is utilized to control the intrusion of water below a window, door or
louver in the sill
area.
Another object of the invention is to provide a sill wedge that is made of a
suitable density polyethylene foam which is flexible enough to be coiled on a
roll to
facilitate shipping.
A further object of the invention is to provide a suitable density
polyethylene
foam that is firm enough to provide a base for the sill pan itself.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a suitable density
polyethylene
foam that may be cut and trimmed with scissors or a utility knife to improve
the speed of
installation.
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Yet another object of the invention is to provide a unique double width
configuration for the sill wedge to reduce manufacturing costs and aid coiling
of the sill
wedge material onto a consistent roll.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent
hereinafter.
The instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings wherein like reference characters designate the corresponding parts
throughout
the several views.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a window rough opening illustrating the
components
and sequence of their installation in flashing a window rough opening.
Fig. 2 is an illustration of a coil of sill wedge material as shipped from the
factory.
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane 3-3 of Fig. 2, prior to
severing into useful individual sill wedge components.
Fig. 4 is portion of sill wedge material after it has been severed from the
roll
followed by a central split to form an individual sill wedge member.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Refernng now to Fig.l, there is illustrated an exploded view of a rough
opening
25 comprised of the usual header 26, side jambs 27 and sill portion 28. As
illustrated, sill
wedge 29 is about to be placed over rough opening sill portion 28 to provide
some
elevation to the rear end of rough opening sill portion 28 to allow easy
outward draining
of any moisture that might collect on pan flashing member 30 when installed
over sill
wedge 29. Pan flashing member is comprised of a sill portion 32 with an
upstanding rear
lip portion or back dam 33 that extends the full width of window rough opening
28.
Additionally, pan flashing 30 includes a forward apron portion 30A that
extends
downward across the frontal face of the building structure and a pair of
oppositely
disposed panel portions 34 that would extend across the frontal face of the
jamb portions
(not shown). Inasmuch as the pan flashing 30 is made of self adhering
material, once the
release paper material is removed, it can readily be affixed to the rough
opening over the
sill wedge 29. Upon completion of the installation of pan flashing member 30,
a pair of
pre-molded Corner Accessory Pieces 35 (CAPS) are installed in the lower left
and right-
hand corners over the pan flashing member 30. These CAPs 35 in combination
with rear
lip portion 33 cooperate to form the side and end dams for sill pan 30. After
installation
of CAPS 35 in their respective comers, a strip seal 36 ( a self adhering
flashing) is placed
over the right-most edge of the CAP 35 overlying a portion of CAP 35 and also
pan
flashing sill portion 32 to seal the edge therebeneath. It is to be noted that
the rear end of
strip seal 36 (a self adhering flashing) extends rearward to the point where
it wraps over
the back dam giving it added strength in that area. Next, outer seal 37, (a
self adhering
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flashing) is placed over strip seal 36 and also the horizontal leg portion of
CAP 35 to
complete the sealing of the rough window opening 25.
Turning now to Fig. 2, there is shown a roll of sill wedge 50, as shown, the
sill wedge material 29 has been rolled into a reasonably sized roll of
material for shipping
purposes after it has come out of the extruder and cooled sufficiently. As
shown the
polyethylene foam has been extruded into a double wedge configuration 29A and
29B,
with their tapered tips meeting along the imaginary centerline 29CL. As
pointed out
earlier, the main advantage of this "double wedge configuration" is that it
provides
symmetry relative to centerline 29CL and provides balance to the product
allowing it to
become free-standing when rolled as shown in Fig. 2.
Referring now to Fig. 3, there is shown a sectional view taken along the plane
3-3
of Fig. 2 illustrating the "double wedge" configuration referred to above. As
indicated
earlier, this "double wedge" provides balance during the extrusion process and
also
during shipment of the finished product. The second wedge provides an
equalizing or
stabilizing force when combined with the first wedge and permits unsupported
standing
of a roll. As one can imagine, these features greatly enhance the shipping and
handling
features of the product.
Fig. 4 is an illustration of the sill wedge material 29 shown in Fig. 3,
however, in
this view, the material has been cut along the centerline 29CL and in
preparation for
insertion into a rough window opening as illustrated in Fig. 1.
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While the invention has been described in its preferred embodiment, it is to
be
understood that the words which have been used are words of description rather
than
words of limitation and that changes may be made within the purview of the
appended
claims without departing from the full scope or spirit of the invention.
Accordingly, the
present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims, and not by the
foregoing
specification.
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