Patent Grant
8739469
This disclosure relates to thresholds used in commercial and residential building entryways. Particularly, this disclosure relates to protective covers for use with thresholds during building construction or renovation.
Entryways in commercial and residential buildings serve several important purposes in their role as a transition from an exterior to an interior environment. The primary goal of an entryway is to allow for ingress and egress while insulating the interior from the exterior. Entryways are intended to prevent intrusion of rainwater. Entryways are also intended to prevent passage of air through the entryway when a door panel is in the closed position, to keeping out cold air in the winter and keeping in air conditioned air in the summer. Entryways can also enhance the appearance of a building using window features, French door arrangements, and varying finishes of sill decks.
Most entryways begin with the same set of base components. Nearly all entryways are framed by a header jamb connected across the top of two vertical side jambs. The bottom of the entryway is then defined by a threshold. These thresholds are typically comprised of a substrate, a sill deck and a threshold cap. The substrate provides a base for the sill deck. The sill deck provides a durable tread surface covering the substrate. The threshold cap fills a channel in, or adjacent to, the substrate to form a sealing surface with the bottom of a door panel.
Sill decks and threshold caps are often installed in the entryway of buildings relatively early in the construction process in order to close the building to the environment. After installation, a significant amount of construction work remains to be performed within the house or building. This continued heavy traffic of workers entering the building, including the movement of substantial equipment and materials, can often lead to denting, scuffing or scratching of the sill deck. Other substances can also stain the threshold during construction, such as dripping paint, stain, or masonry mortar.
Protective covers have been disclosed that are designed to temporarily remain on the threshold during construction. These protective covers help to protect the surface of the sill deck and threshold cap from damage during construction and can be removed by the builder after completion of the final walk through and clean up, to preserve the “like new” appearance of the entryway of the new house.
Besides being susceptible to physical damage, water intrusion between the sill deck and the protective cover can lead to staining of the sill deck. In order to be removable, protective covers are typically manufactured shorter than the threshold so that the protective cover is able to fit between the installed door jambs. As a result, the ends of the sill deck are exposed, allowing water and other debris to find its way between the protective cover and the sill deck. If water becomes trapped between the sill deck and the protective cover, this standing water can cause the surface of the sill deck to oxidize, staining the sill deck and eliminating the intended “like new” appearance. There remains a need for a protective cover that addresses these and other limitations of existing covers.
The present disclosure includes a cover for protection of a threshold. The cover may include a first flange. The cover may also include a cap protecting portion to be disposed above a sill channel, or a threshold cap, of a threshold, where the cap protecting portion extends from the first flange. A sill deck protecting portion with a substantially constant downward slope may extend from the threshold cap protecting portion. A second flange may extend from the sill deck protecting portion. The second flange may include at least one aperture, or notch, formed through the second flange to allow water to drain from under the cover.
The present disclosure also includes a threshold. The threshold may have a substrate, a sill deck disposed on at least a portion of the substrate, and a cover sized to overlap substantially all of the width of the substrate and sill deck, and overlap the majority of the length of the threshold. The cover can include a first flange, a cap protecting portion disposed above a sill channel, or a threshold cap, of the threshold, extending from the first flange; a sill deck protecting portion having a substantially constant downward slope extending from the threshold cap protecting portion; and a second flange extending from the sill deck protecting portion. The second flange may include at least one aperture, or notch, formed through the second flange, provided to allow water to drain from between the cover and the sill deck.
Additionally, the present disclosure includes a protective cover for a threshold. The protective cover may include a first flange, and a cap protecting portion to be disposed above a sill channel, or threshold cap, of a threshold. Preferably, the cap protecting portion extends linearly from the first flange to a sill deck protecting portion. The sill deck protecting portion preferably includes a substantially constant downward slope extending directly from the cap protecting portion to a second flange. The configuration of the sill deck protecting portion provides a clearance above a sill deck of a threshold. In one embodiment, the second flange extends from the sill deck protecting portion and has a shape configured to at least partially engage an exterior end of a sill deck of a threshold.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiments, when considered in conjunction with the drawings. It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.
Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are described below and illustrated in the accompanying figures, in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views. The embodiments described provide examples and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention. Other embodiments, and modifications and improvements of the described embodiments, will occur to those skilled in the art and all such other embodiments, modifications and improvements are within the scope of the present invention. Features from one embodiment or aspect may be combined with features from any other embodiment or aspect in any appropriate combination. For example, any individual or collective features of method aspects or embodiments may be applied to apparatus, product or component aspects or embodiments and vice versa.
As used herein, the term “front” is used to describe portions of the assembly that would be encountered first, or in the near field, by a person viewing the entryway and threshold assembly from the exterior side of the entryway looking inward. The same person viewing the entryway from the exterior side provides a defining reference for the terms “inner” and “outer,” where an inner portion resides toward the interior relative to an outer portion.
As used herein, the term “width” is defined as the dimension along the X axis in
Turning to the figures,
As best seen in the end view of the threshold 1 shown in
The sill deck 4 is disposed on the top of the substrate 2 and forms the tread surface for the threshold 1. The sill deck 4 comprises an exterior end 41 having a slot 43 formed therein. The slot 43 may be generally used to attach deck extensions (not shown) to the sill deck 4.
The protective cover 5 comprises: an interior flange 51 that may be disposed adjacent to the interior of nosing 23 or nosing cover 25; a cap protecting portion 53 extending substantially horizontally from the interior flange 51; a sill deck protecting portion 55 having a substantially constant downward slope, and extending from the cap protecting portion 53; and an exterior flange 57 extending from the sill deck protecting portion 55. The exterior flange 57 can be configured to at least partially engage the slot 43 at the end of the sill deck 4. The exterior flange 57 may be curved, or otherwise project, in a downward and inward direction relative to the sill deck protecting portion 55. The exterior flange 57 may have a radius that sweeps back toward the interior, in order for the exterior flange 57 to engage the slot 43. The engagement between the exterior flange 57 and the exterior end 41 of the sill deck 4 will help to avoid premature or unintended removal of the protective cover 5.
The protective cover 5 may further comprise a tongue 59 extending below the cap protecting portion 53. The tongue 59 is configured to be inserted along the nosing 23 on the side thereof opposite the interior flange 51. In other words, the tongue 59 is configured to be inserted between the nosing 23 and the threshold cap 3 in order to help maintain the positioning of the protective cover 5. The interior flange 51, tongue 59 and exterior flange 57 combine to removably connect the protective cover 5 to the threshold 1.
The sill deck protecting portion 55 covers substantially the full width of the sill deck 4. The sill deck protecting portion 55 is sloped downward, preferably at a constant angle, in order to maintain a clearance 10 between the protective cover 5 and a top surface of the sill deck 4. In other words, the protective cover 5, and particularly the sill deck protecting portion 55, is not contoured to follow the profile of the underlying structure.
The clearance 10 can extend the full width of the sill deck 4, and substantially the full length thereof. By providing the exterior flange 57 with a height D1 greater than the distance D2 between the slot 43 and the top of the sill deck 4, the distal end of the exterior flange 57 will engage the slot 43 and substantially maintain the exterior portion of the sill deck protecting portion 55 above the surface of the sill deck 4.
The clearance 10 left between the protective cover 5 and the sill deck 4 provides a gap in order to avoid water or other debris from becoming trapped between the protective cover 5 and the sill deck 4. It is understood that the protective cover 5 is intended to protect the sill deck 4 from much of the debris in the area, but that due to the shorter length of the protective cover 5, debris, and especially water, are still capable of impinging between the protective cover 5 and the sill deck 4. The clearance 10 will allow the water and debris to flow away from the entryway 100 due to the sloped surface of the sill deck 4. Again, the clearance 10 will help facilitate removal of water that may have been trapped if the protective cover 5 was in close contact with the sill deck 4.
To further facilitate the drainage, or removal of water or debris residing between the sill deck 4 and the protective cover 5, the exterior flange 57 thereof can include at least one aperture 60 formed through the exterior flange 57. Preferably, the at least one aperture 60 will extend to a height above the height of at least a portion of the sill deck 4. This arrangement will increase the capacity of the at least one aperture 60 to drain water. Preferably, a plurality of apertures 60 are formed along the length of the protective cover 5. The apertures 60 form openings through the exterior flange 57. The apertures 60 may alternatively be formed as notches in the exterior flange 57. The apertures 60 are completely surrounded by a portion of the exterior flange 57 while a notch would be cut into the end of the exterior flange 57, thereby having only three sides surrounded by the flange material. The apertures 60, for providing drainage, are preferably between about 0.25 inches and about 1.0 inches in length, and more preferably about 0.75 inches long. The apertures 60 may be spaced apart by a distance of about 1 inch to about 5 inches. Preferably, the apertures 60 are spaced apart by a distance of about 2.5 inches to about 4 inches.
By allowing water to drain out through the apertures 60, the water will not be as likely to remain standing on the sill deck 4, thereby significantly reducing the risk of staining on the sill deck 4 from standing water. Further, the clearance 10 discussed above also provides space for air flow. The air flow will also assist in preventing the occurrence of standing water by helping to move the water around, as well as increasing the potential for evaporation of the water.
Although the above disclosure has been presented in the context of exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
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