Patent Application
20160245014
This invention relates to apparatus, articles, and assemblies which are adapted for protecting glass windows from breakage. More particularly, this invention relates to such assemblies which incorporate a polymeric or plastic transparent film applique as a reinforcing component.
Transparent polymeric or plastic films are known to be adhesively applied to the surfaces of transparent glass windows for purposes including window tinting, UV light filtering, maintenance of window screen integrity, and protection against inward projections of glass fragments and shards upon window breakage. Where additional protective measures are sought, transparent window films having thicknesses up to 400 micrometers or 1/62″ are known to be adhesively applied to glass window surfaces, such thicker film appliques maintaining the integrity of the window glass as a barrier in events such as bomb blasts or impacts with storm driven debris.
Such thicker window film appliques are known to provide some protection against purposeful breakage by a burglar. However, such appliques by themselves are only marginally effective because burglars may consciously and purposefully direct strikes against the glass at and about its edges, breaking the window along its juncture with the window's frame. Such directed breakage by a burglar tends to inwardly separate both the glass window and its reinforcing film applique from the window frame, allowing the burglar's entry.
In order to enhance such thickened window film appliques' capacity for resisting impacts and breakage, trim strips are known to be provided and adhesively applied about the periphery of a film reinforced window. Such trim strips provide a structural reinforcing bridge or tie between the film which reinforces the window and the window's peripheral frame. Such additional window reinforcing trim strips are effective in maintaining a glass window's ability to remain in place and to continue to function as a screen or barrier upon experiencing a bomb blast or storm debris impacts. However, installations of such adhesively applied peripheral trim continue to be only marginally effective against purposeful efforts by burglars to gain access to buildings via window breakage. Such adhesively applied trim pieces typically include weak points at mitered corners, and burglars upon seeing such reinforcing trim, may concentrate blows at the window's corners. The typically mitered corners of such adhesively applied reinforcing trim tend to interrupt the structural continuity of the reinforcing trim about the periphery of the film reinforced window. Such mitered corners also undesirably invite a burglar's impacts at the window's corners and allow such impacts to successfully inwardly deflect the reinforced window.
The instant inventive window reinforcing assembly solves or ameliorates the problems, defects, and deficiencies described above, by incorporating within a polymeric film window reinforcement system, a specialized corner piece which markedly lessens corner zone structural weaknesses, and which effectively frustrates a burglar's efforts to break the reinforced window at the window's corner.
A first structural component of the instant inventive window reinforcing assembly comprises at least a first, and preferably a plurality of corner pieces, each corner piece preferably being substantially “L” shaped, and having a pair of window frame contacting legs. In a preferred embodiment, each of the corner pieces' legs has a distal end, a window contacting face, and a frame contacting face. Also in the preferred embodiment, specially fitted trim engaging pins or lugs are fixedly attached to and extend distally from the legs' distal ends.
Further preferred structural components of the instant inventive assembly comprise adhesive pads attached to the corner pieces' window contacting and frame contacting faces.
Further structural components of the instant inventive assembly comprise at least a first, and preferably a pair of stop pin receiving sockets, such sockets preferably opening at the legs' flat window frame contacting faces.
In use of the instant inventive assembly and assuming that a window having a peripheral frame has been preliminarily reinforced by adhesively applied polymer coating or film, one of the corner pieces among the instant invention's plurality of corner pieces may be adhesively installed at each of the window's corners. In such installations, the adhesive pads located at the window contacting faces of the corner pieces' legs preferably directly contact and overlap the edges of the window's reinforcing film.
Where the corner pieces include stop pin reinforcing sockets, as is preferred, stop pins may be advantageously preliminarily installed at the window frame's corners. Such pins may comprise screw or bolt heads which are received within and engage the corner pieces' stop pin receiving sockets. Upon installation and engagements of such stop pins, a burglar's inwardly directed impacts at the corner of the reinforced window are resisted by structural ties which advantageously span between the window and its reinforcing trim and such stop pins. Such ties advantageously prevent inward deflections of the window at its corners.
In installation of the preferred embodiment of the assembly as described above, the fitted lugs or reinforcing pins which extend from the distal ends of the corner pieces' legs preferably nestingly extend into, and are adhesively bound within matching sockets or channels which open at the ends of conventional straight trim pieces, such straight pieces being installed about the periphery of the window.
Upon installation of the instant invention's reinforcing assembly in the manner described above, the corner piece components constitute, in the view of a burglar attempting to break the window, a structural equivalent of a prior art reinforced window which is inherently relatively weak at the corners. Such burglar may thereby be led to direct breaking impacts against the corners of the window pane. However, under the operation of the instant invention, such typically weak corner zones have been desirably transformed into zones of substantially increased strength and integrity. Accordingly, the instant inventive assembly operates to markedly increase the reinforced window's ability to resist break in efforts by burglars.
Accordingly, objects of the instant invention include the provision of a window reinforcing assembly which incorporates structures, as described above, and which arranges those structures in relation to each other, in manners described above, for the achievement of the objects, benefits, and advantages as described above.
Other and further objects, benefits, and advantages of the present invention will become known to those skilled in the art upon review of the Detailed Description which follows, and upon review of the appended drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to Drawing
Referring simultaneously to
In use of the instant inventive reinforcing assembly and referring in particular to
In the preferred embodiment of the instant inventive assembly, and assuming that window film 58 and stop pins 62 have been preliminarily installed as indicated and depicted, a solvent based rubber cement 15 may be preliminarily disposed over the surfaces of pins 18 and 20, such dispositions 18 and 20 constituting second adhesive layers. Thereafter, straight lengths of reinforcing trim 30 may be installed along frame members 50 and 52. In such installations, the rubber cement 15 disposed over pins 18 and 20 initially functions as a lubricant which eases sliding installations of the straight lengths “C” channels 36 over the pins 18 and 20. Upon hardening of the rubber cement 15, the window reinforcing effect of straight lengths 30 advantageously continues at the corners of the window frame 50, 52 while the engagements of pins 62 within sockets 60 enhance the reinforcing strength of the system at the corners beyond the reinforcing strength provided by straight lengths 30. Such other corners of the window and frame components of the assembly constitute a plurality of second corners, and corner pieces similar to corner piece 1 which reinforce those second corners constitute a plurality of second corner pieces. Suitably, screws extending entirely through the corner pieces 1 may be provided in place of the inwardly hidden socket and pin combinations 62 and 60. However, use of such exposed corner piece mounting screws is less desirable because they may be viewed from the outside by a burglar who may undesirably detect and understand the corner reinforced nature of the reinforced window.
In operation of the instant inventive assembly, and referring simultaneously to all figures, a burglar located at the outside of window 54 may seek to gain ingress via breakage of such window. Such burglar, upon seeing trim pieces 30 extending about the periphery of the window 54, and upon seeing the faux mitered seam 3 of corner piece 1 may thereby be attracted or led to direct impacts against the window 54 at and about corner zone 70, such burglar erroneously believing that zone 70 constitutes a weak point in the window's reinforcing system. Breakage efforts directed against corner zone 70 of window 54 are desirably frustrated by the mechanically inter-linked adhesive pads 6, 10, and 12, pins 62, sockets 60, pins 18 and 20, and adhesive 15.
While the principles of the invention have been made clear in the above illustrative embodiment, those skilled in the art may make modifications in the structure, arrangement, portions and components of the invention without departing from those principles. Accordingly, it is intended that the description and drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in the limiting sense, and that the invention be given a scope commensurate with the appended claims.
This application is a continuation of U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/520,981 filed on Oct. 22, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/520,981 claimed the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/895,918 filed on Oct. 25, 2013 which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61895918 | Oct 2013 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14520981 | Oct 2014 | US |
| Child | 15147596 | US |
