Patent Application
20140237938
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for assembling simulated divided light window grids. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and tool for making repeatable assembly of simulated divided light window grids.
2. Description of the Related Art
In view of the constantly rising costs in the building materials industry, it has become increasingly important for builders and material suppliers to find fast and reliable methods and substitute materials to replace existing conventional materials and methods in order to effect economies in building construction without undue sacrifice in quality of construction and in the appearance of the finished product. The use of individual horizontal and vertical muntin bars and other window dividers provide good aesthetic feel, but the existing fabrication methods increases the overall material and labor cost. Increased fabricating costs and increased labor costs result from the use of improper muntin bars and divided light windows. Accordingly, by changing the fabrication methods to produce divided light windows of various sizes, a considerable manufacturing and labor cost savings can be realized by providing repeatable process.
Grids formed by interconnected muntin bars are often installed on glass panes or between glass panes of a double pane or insulated sash window. Typically, these grids are comprised of multiple muntin bars arranged in a grid pattern and interconnected at interior intersecting points by muntin joiners. The grid is then placed between the panes of glass. The periphery of the grid is then mounted to the sash frame, or more typically, to a spacer frame separating the panes, by a series of muntin clips. Muntin bars are often used for decorative purposes to divide light in windows and make a large integral window appear as if it were formed of a number of smaller window panes separated from each other. Decorative muntin bars simulate the colonial style of numerous panes of glass in individual wooden frames. Conventional muntin bars are integrally formed and such muntin bars may be coated in a variety of matching colors to coordinate with the color of the sash of the window; however, these muntin bars are not suited to easily have two distinct colors or textures respectively located on the interior and exterior surfaces of the muntin bar.
One prior art patent is U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,284 issued to Cribben on Mar 20, 1984, discloses a false muntin assembly for converting a single window pane into one having multiple lights by having a muntin bar of desired outside appearance with a central hole and channel lengthwise along the back of the muntin bar, using pin connectors at intersections and in the peripheral sash and adhering snap-fit metal clips to the glazing panel in line with the false muntin design to prevent the false muntin from floating away from the pane. But the muntin assembly is difficult to fabricate and consume more man-hours of work thereby increasing the overall cost of construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,976 issued to Burkhart on Jan. 4, 1994 relates to a window that contains a decorative grill bar assembly which is mounted atop a single glazing panel to simulate the presence of separate window panes. The grill bar assembly comprises a plurality of hollow metal extrusions which are connected to one another, and to the window frame, by plastic inserts which are press-fit in hollow ends of the grill bars. The inserts are connected to the grill bars and to the window frame by tongue-and-recess connections. The above said window unit does not provide a specialized tool and method to quickly and easily construct the muntin assembly with minimum labor costs.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. Application publication No. 20060026914 by Schultz on Feb. 9, 2006, discloses a muntin grid having a plurality of muntin bars joined at intersecting points to form a grid. The grid further has a plurality of muntin bar ends located near a periphery of the grid, each muntin bar end having a depending tab. A muntin clip is provided for receiving the tab wherein the tab attaches the clip to the muntin bar end. But the muntin grid and the method of forming the grid does not have any tools or novel methods to easily assemble the muntin bars to form the grid.
Hence, it can be seen that there is a need for a new method and tool for assembling a simulated divided light window grid. The needed method and tool would provide unique setup/assembly steps, with minimal labor costs. The needed method and tool would also reduce the necessity of highly skilled labor to assemble the window grid. Moreover, the needed method and tool would also provide good aesthetic feel to the windows with reduced fabrication cost and time.
The above-mentioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems are addressed herein which will be understood by reading and understanding the following specification.
A simulated divided light window grid assembly and a method of assembling the simulated divided light window grid is provided. The simulated divided light window grid assembly comprises a rigid muntin bar having a top portion, a bottom portion, a left elongated edge and a right elongated edge. The rigid muntin bar has a pair of grooved channels extending along the length of the rigid muntin bar, a first grooved channel is positioned near the left elongated edge and a second grooved channel is positioned near the right elongated edge. A simulated divided light window gauge having a top edge, a bottom edge, which are substantially perpendicular to each other, and a left edge and a right edge, that are substantially perpendicular to each other, with grasping means is provided. The simulated divided light window grids are manually assembled by horizontally and vertically interconnecting the plurality of rigid muntin bars by using the simulated divided light window gauges to quickly, accurately, and repeatedly determining the proper spacing of the muntin bars.
The unique features of the system are the ability to easily and quickly construct the simulated divided light window grid assembly with the use of the plurality of simulated divided light window gauges. The horizontal and vertical assembly of the rigid muntin bars leaves a vacant space inside, in-between the rigid muntin bars, and the simulated divided light window gauges are positioned in these vacant spaces. These simulated divided light window gauges helps to easily and repeatedly assemble the simulated divided light window grids. A cross-style connector is used to connect the horizontal rigid muntin bars and the vertical rigid muntin bars. The simulated divided light window gauge is adapted to fit within a grooved channel provided on the rigid muntin bar. The simulated divided light window grid is assembled by joining the plurality of rigid muntin bars to one another to form a grid shape. After completing the muntin bar assembly the window gauges can be easily removed by holding the grasping means on the window gauges and lifting them out of the muntin bar assembly.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
Elements in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale in order to enhance their clarity and improve understanding of these various elements and embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, elements that are known to be common and well understood to those in the industry are not depicted in order to provide a clear view of the various embodiments of the invention, thus the drawings are generalized in form in the interest of clarity and conciseness.
In the following discussion that addresses a number of embodiments and applications of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Various inventive features are described below that can each be used independently of one another or in combination with other features. However, any single inventive feature may not address any of the problems discussed above or only address one of the problems discussed above. Further, one or more of the problems discussed above may not be fully addressed by any of the features described below.
Once the cross-style connector is attached to each rigid muntin bars 12, the overall simulated divided light window grid assemblies 10 may be attached to the window frame. As can be seen by the above, according to the invention, the simulated divided light window gauge may be utilized with a variety of rigid muntin bars designs. So long as the grooves on the rigid muntin bars 12 may fit with the edges of the simulated divided light window grid assembly 10, even very loosely. A rectangular or triangular shaped simulated divided light window gauges may also be used with the simulated divided light window grid assembly 10.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, a wide range of rigid muntin bar designs and simulated divided light window gauge designs may be obtained by varying the shapes of the edges of the window gauges and by accordingly varying the shape of the grooves on the rigid muntin bars. This system can also be extended to other areas like advertising boards, door and window assembly etc. It is intended that the scope of the present invention not be limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims appended hereto.
