Thermally insulated section member assembly for making door and window frames

Abstract

 Fixed-frame section members and movable-frame section members cooperate to form an inward facing surface defining inner body (1) and an outward facing surface (2) defining outer body.
The inner an outer bodies, in particular, are mutually coupled by thermally insulating means (3), comprising coupling portions (5) engaging in respective guide seats (6) longitudinally extending on the opposite faces of the outer body and inner body.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a thermally insulated section member assembly for making door and window frames.

[0002] As is known, a problem related to the making of window and door frames starting from conventional aluminium or light alloy section members is that of reducing the thermal losses toward the outside environ­ment.

[0003] This problem has been partially solved by using double-glass arrangements extending through the main portion of the surface of the window or door frame and having a good thermal insulating coeffi­cient.

[0004] Another problem which, however, has not been satisfactory solved is that of the thermal conduction from the inside to the outside environment occurring at the metal portions of the window or door frames, which form a thermal bridge because of the good therm­al conductivity of the metal material being used.

[0005] In order to solve the latter problem, alumi­nium or light alloy section members have been already designed which include the so-called thermal cut-off characteristic, which provides an interruption of the metal continuity of the section member between the in­ side and outside environment.

[0006] Known section members for solving this pro­blem, however, does not perform satisfactorily since an interrupted or "broken" metal surface causes the made window or door frame to have a very poor mechani­cal strength.

[0007] Other known solutions provide a good mecha­nical strength but, for achieving this, the section members comprise regions which couple in a continuous way the inner and outer surfaces of the door or window frames, with a consequent disadvantageous decrease of the thermal insulation properties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Accordingly, the aim of the present invent­ion is to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks, by providing a thermally insulated section member assemb­ly for making door and window frames which comprises thermal insulating means adapted to provide an effi­cient thermal cut-off between the inside and outer environments of said door or window frames.

[0009] Within the scope of the above mentioned aim, a main object of the present invention is to provide such a section member assembly, for making door and window frames, which does not comprise any metal continuous region between the outer surface and inner surface of the door or window frame being made thereby.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide such a section member assembly, for making door and window frames, which affords the possibility of easily and quickly making door and window frames of very high mechanical strength and thermal insula­ting properties.

[0011] Yet another object of the present invent­ion, is to provide such a thermally insulated section member assembly which comprises section members which can be easily and quickly coupled to one another, even by unskilled operators, to make perfectly therm­ally insulated door and window frames.

[0012] Yet another object of the present invent­ion is to provide such a thermally insulated section member assembly the section members of which are very competitive from a mere economic standpoint.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present in­vention, the above mentioned aim and objects, as well as yet other objects, which will become more apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a thermally insulated section member assembly for making door and window frames, characterized in that said section member as­sembly comprises fixed-frame section members and mova­ ble-frame section members, cooperating to form an in­ward facing surface defining inner body and an outward facing surface defining outer body, said inner and outer bodies being intercoupled by thermally insulating means com­prising coupling portions engaging in guide seats longi­tudinally extending on the opposite faces of said outer and inner bodies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Further characteristics and advantages of the thermally insulated section member assembly for making door and windows frames according to the pre­sent invention, will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred, though not exclusive, embodiment, of the section member as­sembly which is illustrated, by way of an indicative but not limitative example, in the figures of the ac­companying drawings where:

Figure 1 shows a generic section member which can be considered a basic section member of the subject section member assembly;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a pair of section members which define the central crossing region of two movable door or window frame wings;

Figure 3 is another cross-sectional view illustrating a section member pair defining an abut­ ment between a movable frame and a fixed frame;

Figure 4 shows the same section member pair of Figure 3, which are associated with a glass restrain­ing element and tightness gaskets;

Figure 5 shows a section member of the sub­ject section member assembly provided with a slanted surface projecting portion;

Figure 6 shows a section member for making covering bands and uprights;

Figure 7 shows a section member for making uprights and cross-members;

Figures 8 and 9 show corresponding corner section members with different corner angles;

Figures 10 and 11 partially show two English glass windows;

Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view show­ing two section members defining an abutment region between a fixed frame and a movable frame;

Figure 13 is a side cross-sectional view showing a movable frame section member abutting on a fixed-frame section member;

Figure 14 shows a cross-sectional view like that of Figure 13 with a different fixed-frame section member; and

Figure 15 shows the central crossing re­ gion of two wings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] With reference to the figures of the accompa­nying drawings, the thermally insulated section member assembly for making door and window frames according to the present invention comprises fixed-frame section members and movable-frame section members which com­prise an inner body defining the inward facing surface indicated overally at the reference number 1 and an outer body defining the outward facing surface, indi­cated generally at the reference number 2.

[0016] The inner body and outer body are coupled to one another by thermally insulating means compris­ing coupling portions 3 which are provided with a flat body 4 ending, at the edges thereof, with expanded portions 5 provided for engaging in corresponding seats 6 formed on the surfaces of the opposite faces of the two bodies.

[0017] Advantageously, the outer body and inner body are mutually coupled by means of a pair of parallel adjoining coupling portions 3, one of which can be pro­vided with a projecting lug 3′ extending nearly per­pendicularly to the laying plane of said portion.

[0018] In this connection, it should be pointed out that the two disclosed section members, which, as as­ sembled through the mentioned coupling portions, pro­vide the subject member assembly, are substantially provided with a box-like body, indicated respective­ly at 7 and 8, including one or more different shape legs.

[0019] In particular, the subject section member assembly comprises: a section member 9 including a projecting box-like portion, a section member 10 for making covering bands, a section member 11 for making uprights and cross-members, a right-angle section mem­ber 12, and an obtuse-angle section member 13.

[0020] There are moreover provided further section members 14 which, by means of a mentioned coupling portion 3, are coupled to intermediate section mem­bers 15 having a box-like body including side tooth members 16 for snap engaging with mating tooth members 17 of a covering section member 17a.

[0021] The subject section member assembly com­prises moreover glass-restraining elements 18 so de­signed as to be easily engaged in corresponding seats 19 formed on the bodies of the basic section members.

[0022] With this glass-restraining elements suit­able tightness gaskets 20 cooperate, while on the leg of the section member restraining the opposite face of a glass plate 21 there are affixed other gaskets 22 of any suitable types.

[0023] Complex structure gaskets 23 are further­more provided for insulating the inside and outside environments of a building, at the abutment region of the fixed frame and movable frame.

[0024] As shown in figure 12, a fixed frame sec­tion member 30 is moreover provided including coup­ling portions 3 to which there is applied a movable frame section member 31 also provided with coupling portions 3, and adapted to allow for the movable wing to slide with respect to the fixed wing.

[0025] Figure 13 is a side cross-sectional view of a door including a fixed section member 32 which defines a lug 33 for tight abutment with an inner projection 34 of a movable section member 35 in turn provided with a counterlug 36 which can be engaged with an outer leg 37 of the fixed section member 32. Thus, at the coupling region of the section mem­bers, a closed chamber will be formed adapted to improve the tightness characteristics.

[0026] Figure 14 shows again the same movable section member 35, while the fixed section member, indicated at 40, has the same outer shape as an inner section member 41 with horizontal leg 42.

[0027] Figure 15 shows the same movable section member 35, while the fixed section member, indicated at 50, has the same shape as the fixed section member 32, with the addition of a bottom outer leg 52.

[0028] From the above disclosure it should be apparent that the invention fully achieves the in­tended aim and objects.

[0029] While the invention has been disclosed and illustrated with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it should be apparent that the disclosed embodiments are susceptible to several modifications and variations all of which will come within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A thermally insulated section member assembly for making door and window frames, charac­terized in that said section member assembly comprises fixed-frame section members and movable-frame section members, cooperating to form an inward facing surface defining inner body and an outward facing surface defining outer body, said inner and outer bodies being inter­coupled by thermally insulating means comprising coup­ling portions engaging in guide seats longitudinally extending on the opposite faces of said outer and inner bodies.

2. A section member assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said coupling portions include a substantially flat central portion with en­larged regions at the edges thereof, said enlarged regions engaging in corresponding guide seats form­ed on the opposite faces of said inner and outer bodies.

3. A section member assembly according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the two sec­tion members which, as assembled through said coup­ling portions, provide individual section members of said assembly, essentially comprise a box-like body including one or more shaped legs.

4. A section member assembly according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said sec­tion member assembly comprises a section member in­cluding a projecting box-like portion, a section member provided for forming covering bands, a sec­tion member provided for forming uprights and cross-­members, a right angle section member, and an obtuse angle section member.

5. A section member assembly, according to one or more of the preceding claims, character­ized in that said assembly further comprises section members in which one of the bodies is open and in­cludes tooth end portions, so as to restrain cover­ing elements, as well as glass restraining elements so designed as to be engaged in corresponding seats formed on the bodies of the basic section members of said assembly, with said glass-restraining elements tightness gasket cooperating whereas, on the leg of the section member restraining the opposite face of a glass plate,there are provided other tightness gaskets.

6. A section member assembly, according to one or more of the preceding claims, character­ized in that said assembly comprises section members coupled, by means of said coupling portions, to in­termediate section members including respective box-like bodies and side tooth members for snap en­gaging with covering section members.

7. A section member assembly, according to one or more of the preceding claims, character­ized in that said assembly further comprises mova­ble frame section members which can be slidingly coupled to fixed frame section members.

8. A section member assembly, according to one or more of the preceding claims, character­ized in that said assembly further comprises fixed section members defining a lug for abutment with an inner projection of a movable section member, said movable section member being provided with a counter-­lug which can be engaged with an outer leg of said fixed section member so as to define a tight chamber.

9. A section member assembly, according to one or more of the preceding claims, character­ized in that said fixed section member comprises a horizontal leg.

10. A section member assembly, according to one or more of the preceding claims, character­ized in that said fixed section member, comprises a bottom outer leg.

Drawing