This invention relates to a watertight seal for the upper and/or lower rails of enclosures that prevents the entry of water, wind or other elements.

In dwellings, the enclosures considered consist in several panels, typically made in glass, each finished at least on the top and bottom with rails that are currently made in PVC plastic or aluminium. Non-fixed panels move by sliding, runners or by pivoting, frames, and they have the problem that where the panels join there may be entry of water, wind, etc., either directly, by filtration, or when the seal is good against water, by capillarity.

Currently a vertical H-shaped joint is placed between two contiguous panels, which prevents in some way the entry of water, wind and other elements in a more or less horizontal direction and in the area of the panels themselves, but it is not prevented at the joint between the upper and lower rails of contiguous panels, and does not at all prevent the entry of water and moisture that occurs in all elements of the enclosure that are close to the joint between the panels.

This is why there is a need for a truly effective watertight seal.

This invention is a watertight seal for upper and/or lower rails of enclosures that meets such need and solves the drawbacks in the state of the art.

The present invention is established and characterised in the independent claims, while the dependent claims describe additional characteristics thereof.

The subject matter of the invention is a watertight seal for upper and/or lower rails of enclosures that prevents the entry of water, wind or other elements, so that the dwelling in which it the seal is fitted does not have an entry of moisture, mainly, and other elements such as wind, dust, etc. The technical problem to be solved is to configure the seal in order to achieve the aforementioned goal.

In view of the above, this invention relates to a watertight seal for upper and/or lower rails of enclosures, that is, the enclosures include upper and lower rails with respect to the central panel of said enclosures, the seal may be provided only between two contiguous upper rails, between two lower rails or between both upper and lower rails. With watertight we mainly refer to the entry of water and wind, although this could include other elements such as dust, dirt, etc. The rails are of the known kind, typically PVC or aluminium extrusions.

The seal, as is known, comprises a first cap placed at the end of a first rail and a second cap placed at the end of a second rail and facing the first cap, in other words, the rails are capped at their ends by caps that are the elements that make contact when closing.

The invention is characterised in that the first cap comprises a vertical housing along the entire cap in which a gasket is placed that seals the enclosure when in contact with the facing side of the second cap. Moisture and wind are the main elements to be sealed out; in particular, with respect to moisture, even though it may cross the enclosure by direct incidence, for example when rain falls at a certain angle, almost horizontal, it is more problematic when water falls by dripping or and/or capillarity, and so crosses the vertical section of the enclosure by gravity. This is why the seal spans the entire length in the vertical direction, since it would otherwise not provide an effective watertight seal.

Optionally, the second cap comprises a housing to receive the gasket, thus ensuring the correct placing of the gasket in the enclosure, better than when it is simply pressed against the corresponding face of the cap.

Another option is for the first cap, although it could also be the second, comprises a vertical drainage channel along the entire cap, such that any moisture that penetrates by capillarity, which is usually very little, drains vertically along the closure, preferably all the way to the lower guide of the lower rail of the panel, which then evacuates it outward.

Preferably, and for greater efficacy as has been verified, the gasket and the drainage channel are placed each on one side of the panel of the enclosure.

Regarding materials, the most common option is for the rails to be made in aluminium, the caps in plastic and/or metal, and the gasket from thermoplastic elastomers, such as rubber and/or silicone compounds.

This specification is supplemented with a set of drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment, which are never intended to limit the invention.

• Figure 1 shows a plan view of the enclosure of the invention.
• Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the first cap with the gasket in exploded view.
• Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the enclosure.
• Figure 4 shows another perspective view of the enclosure.

An embodiment of the invention based on the figures is provided below.

Figures 1, 3 and 4 show a watertight seal for upper and/or lower rails of enclosures comprising a first cap (1) placed on the end of a first rail (2) and a second cap (3) placed on the end of a second rail (4) and facing the first cap (1), wherein the first cap (1) comprises a vertical housing (1.1) along the entire cap (1) in which a gasket (5) is placed that provides the watertight seal when in contact with the facing side of the second cap (3).

Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the first cap (1) and the gasket (5) such that it clearly shows the housing (1.1) for the same. The placing and fastening of the gasket (5) can be performed by over-moulding, although any other method is accepted, for example by glueing.

The embodiment shown shows the option of the second cap (3) comprising a housing (3.1) to receive the gasket (5), as well as the first cap (1) comprising a vertical drainage channel (1.2) along the entire cap (1).

It also shows that the housing (1.1) with the gasket (5) and the drainage channel (3.1) are placed one on either side of a panel (6) of the enclosure.

The caps (1, 3) can have a Z-shaped configuration, as shown in the figures, or they could also be flat or one concave and the other convex.