Claims
- 1. A joint for connecting a sheet of material to a support member having an outer surface, the joint comprising
- means located along an edge margin of the sheet away from a sheet outer surface and defining at least at each of several places therealong a recess disposed substantially parallel to the edge margin and facing laterally away from a central part of the sheet,
- means extending from the support member outer surface defining shoulder means at least at each of several places along the support member adjacent a desired connected position of the sheet, the shoulder means being located outwardly from the support member outer surface and facing toward the support member,
- resilient gasket means carried by the support member outer surface along the length of the member at a location on the member within said desired position, and
- resilient clip means configured at one end thereof to forcibly engage in a recess and configured at the other end to forcibly engage a shoulder means, each clip means being dimensioned and configured intermediate its ends adequately that, upon placement of the sheet in the desired position and upon engagement as aforesaid of the clip means with the recess and shoulder means, the clip means forcibly urges the sheet into sealing contact with the gasket means and holds the sheet in the desired position.
- 2. A joint according to claim 1 wherein the components of the joint are configured and dimensioned cooperatively and sufficiently that the recess is disposed outwardly of the shoulder means relative to the support member outer surface and the clip means pull the sheet into sealing contact with the gasket means upon assembly of the joint.
- 3. A joint according to claim 1 wherein the components of the joint are configured and dimensioned so that, upon assembly of the joint, no component extends beyond the sheet outer surface.
- 4. A joint according to claim 1 wherein the recess is defined to extend substantially continuously along the sheet edge margin.
- 5. A joint according to claim 1 wherein each recess is defined to have a lip along the side of the recess opening which is disposed away from the sheet outer surface.
- 6. A joint according to claim 5 wherein the clip means is defined to engage in a recess over the lip.
- 7. A joint according to claim 1 wherein the shoulder means is defined to extend substantially continuously along the support member adjacent said desired position.
- 8. A joint according to claim 7 wherein the shoulder means is defined along a rib extending from the support member and extending along the support member adjacent said desired position.
- 9. A joint according to claim 1 wherein the sheet is a translucent sheet, and the means defining the recess comprises a member affixed to the sheet along a margin of an inner surface of the sheet.
- 10. A joint according to claim 1 including a quantity of sealing material bonded to the sheet edge and extending away therefrom substantially flush with the sheet outer surface.
- 11. A joint according to claim 10 including a member disposed in the recess and outwardly therefrom and over which the sealing material is disposed.
- 12. A joint according to claim 1 wherein there is adjacent the sheet edge margin a single recess which extends continuously along the means in which it is defined.
- 13. A joint according to claim 1 wherein the clip means is cooperable with the recess and the shoulder means for pulling the sheet into contact with the gasket means
- 14. A joint for connecting of a sheet of material to a support member having a top surface, the joint comprising
- means extending along an edge margin of an inner surface of the sheet adjacent the sheet edge and defining a recess which extends substantially parallel to the edge margin substantially along the extent of the edge margin, the recess facing laterally away from a central part of the sheet and having an opening bounded along a side thereof disposed away from the sheet by a lip,
- a rib upstanding from the support member top surface along substantially the length of the member to which the sheet is to be connected in a desired position, the rib defining downwardly facing shoulder means on the side of the rib adjacent said desired position,
- resilient gasket means carried by the support member top surface substantially parallel to the rib substantially along the length of the member at a location on the member within said desired position, and
- resilient clip means configured at one end thereof to forcibly engage in the recess over the lip and configured at the other end to forcibly engage the rib shoulder means, the clip means being dimensioned and configured intermediate its ends adequately that, upon placement of the sheet in the desired position and engagement of the clip means with the recess and the rib shoulder means, the clip means forcibly urges the sheet into sealing contact with the gasket means and holds the sheet in the desired position.
- 15. A joint according to claim 14 including additional rib means carried by the support member top surface for carrying the gasket means, and wherein the clip means is configured intermediate its ends to engage the support member top surface between the rib and the additional rib means.
- 16. A joint according to claim 14 for connecting the edge margins of a pair of sheets to the support member, each sheet carrying recess defining means along an inner edge margin thereof, the rib being disposed on the support member centrally between the desired positions of the sheets relative to the support member, the rib defining shoulder means along each side thereof, and a second gasket means on the support member, the rib being disposed substantially centrally of the two gasket means.
- 17. A joint according to claim 16 wherein the joint components are defined so that, when the sheets are disposed in said desired positions in sealing contact with the gasket means, the rib has an upper end not substantially above the recesses.
- 18. A joint according to claim 17 including backing means for engagement between the recesses across the top of the rib and for supporting a sealing material applicable thereover and between the adjacent edges of the sheets.
- 19. A method for mounting a sheet to a support member, the sheet and the support member each having an outer surface, the sheet outer surface extending substantially flush to a sheet edge, the method comprising the steps of
- contacting the sheet adjacent said edge with resilient gasket means carried by the support member outer surface via mounting means carried by the sheet along an inner surface of the sheet adjacent the sheet edge and defining a recess opening away from a central part of the sheet between the sheet outer surface and the support member,
- engaging, between the recess and means carried by the support member inwardly of the sheet outer surface toward the support member, resilient means for making said contact with the gasket means sufficiently forcefully to produce a seal against the gasket means, and
- applying to the sheet edge and essentially flush with the sheet outer surface a sealing material which bonds to the sheet and extends away therefrom.
- 20. A method for mechanically mounting a sheet to a support member comprising the steps of
- providing on the support member within a desired mounted position of the sheet to the support member a gasket element which extends along and adjacent to a mounted edge of the sheet,
- providing mounting means on the sheet along a sheet inner surface adjacent said edge which define a recess opening laterally away from a central part of the sheet inwardly from a sheet outer surface,
- providing on the support member adjacently outside said mounted position of the sheet, and inwardly of the sheet outer surface in the mounted position of the sheet, a shoulder which opens toward the gasket element and the support member,
- placing the sheet in the desired mounted position in contact with the gasket element and with the sheet inner surface toward the support member, and
- engaging between the recess and the shoulder a resilient member which urges the sheet forcefully into contact with the gasket element and which is disposed inwardly of the sheet outer surface when so engaged.
- 21. The method according to claim 20 including providing the shoulder substantially continuously along the mounted position of the sheet.
- 22. The method according to claim 20 including providing the recess substantially continuously along and adjacent to the sheet edge.
- 23. The method according to claim 20 including providing the shoulder and the recess substantially continuously along and adjacent to the sheet edge, and including engaging a plurality of said resilient members between the shoulder and the recess at intervals along the sheet edge.
- 24. The method according to claim 20 as practiced for mounting two sheets to the support member in proximate, spaced, adjacent mounted positions including performing the providing steps, the placing step, and the engaging step as set forth in claim 18 for each of the sheets, and further including disposing space closure means in the space between the mounting sheets substantially flush with the outer surfaces of the sheets.
- 25. The method according to claim 24 wherein the disposing step includes applying a sealing material between the adjacent sheet edges.
- 26. A mounting of a sheet of material to a support member at an edge margin of the sheet, comprising
- mounting means connected to the sheet and extending away from an inner surface of the sheet adjacent the sheet edge associated with the sheet edge margin and defining a recess which opens away from a central part of the sheet,
- a resilient gasket element carried by the support member within a mounted position of the edge of the mounted sheet,
- a shoulder element carried by the support member outside and adjacent to the mounted position of the sheet and defining a shoulder which faces toward the gasket element and the support member, and
- a resilient sheet holder member configured for forcible engagement thereof with the recess and the shoulder to forcibly urge the sheet, when disposed in its mounted position relative to the support member, into contact with the gasket element,
- the mounting means, the shoulder element and the holder member being defined in relation to each other so that no portion of any of them is disposed outwardly of an outer surface of the sheet from the support member upon engagement of the holder member.
- 27. A mounting of a sheet of material to a support member at an edge margin of the sheet, comprising
- mounting means connected to the sheet and extending away from an inner surface of the sheet adjacent the sheet edge associated with the sheet edge margin and defining a recess which opens away from a central part of the sheet,
- a resilient gasket element carried by the support member within a mounted position of the sheet and which extends along and adjacent the position of the edge of the mounted sheet,
- a resilient sheet holder member captive between the support member and the mounting means in engagement with the recess biasing the sheet into engagement with the gasket element,
- the mounting means, the holder member and the support member being defined in relation to each other so that they all are disposed inwardly of an imaginary extension of an outer surface of the sheet beyond the sheet edge.
- 28. A mounting according to claim 27 in which the holder member is disengageable from the recess for disconnection of the mounting.
- 29. A mounting according to claim 27 including a holder member contact surface carried by the support member adjacent the mounted position of the sheet, the holder member being captive in the mounting between the recess and the contact surface.
- 30. A mounting according to claim 29 in which the holder member is configured to engage the support member at the contact surface and at an additional location on the support member.
Parent Case Info
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 07/128,871 filed Dec. 4, 1987 still pending 11-16-88.
US Referenced Citations (12)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
511382 |
Aug 1939 |
GBX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
128871 |
Dec 1987 |
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