GB2310448A - Window or door screen - Google Patents

Abstract

A frame member 1 for the mounting of a flexible sheet especially a reticulate insect screen, comprises two webs joined at a hinge line HH. The frame members can be folded between an open position, and a closed position where the webs grip and hold taut the flexible sheet. As shown, the webs lock together through cooperating elongate protrusions 4 and channels 3 on the inside faces of the two webs. A strip of hook and pile material 5 is applied to the inside of one of the webs. This cooperates with a complementing material about the peripheral edge of the flexible sheet. The flexible sheet can be quickly positioned using the hook and pile material before being drawn taut and secured, by 'snapping' shut the frame members. The frame members can be mounted to the periphery of an aperture by double sided tape 6 on the outside of one of the webs. The frame members can easily be opened to release the sheet, so it can be stored or changed for example, from reticulate material to a flexible glazing sheet.

Description

Window or Door Screen This invention relates to the field of screens for windows and doors, in particular but not exclusively for use in providing a barrier to insects.

During the summer months, when windows and/or doors are commonly left open for ventilation, it is often the case that insects etc. fly into the room through the opened door or window and, irritatingly, cannot find their way out again.

More seriously, in certain climates, where biting and diseasewarrying insects such as mosquitoes are prevalent, it is of prime importance to exclude such insects from living areas so as to reduce the risk of being bitten.

It is also important to exclude insects from kitchens etc. for hygiene reasons and from any areas where food preparation takes place.

A number of types of apparatus for excluding insects and the like are known. For example, an insect screen may be installed over the window or door to be protected, the screen comprising a solid frame holding a gauze or mesh, whose reticulations are small enough not to let insects through. This apparatus suffers from the disadvantage that the frame and screen need to be removed in order to open/close the window or door in question.

Freely-hanging nets can be used, which overcome the above problem, but suffer from the disadvantage that they are generally flimsy and can easily blow away from the windowldoar in the wind, for example allowing insects to pass through.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a screen for use in conjunction with either a window or a door, comprising two or more frame members of striplike form adapted for attachment to the periphery of a window or door aperture to at least partly frame the aperture, each member having two elongate webs separated by a fold line so as to he foldable between an open condition and closed condition, and a piece of non-rigid sheet material the periphery of which can be held between the webs of the frame members in the folded condition of the latter, thereby to hold the sheet material taut.

ln a preferred form, one or more edge regions of said sheet material, for example a reticulated material, is or are provided with a strip of Velcro (Trade Mark) or the like for releasable attachment in use to a complementary strip or strips provided on each frame member.

Preferably, said reticulated material is easily replaceable with a material having larger or smaller reticulations, depending upon the type of insect or the like to be excluded.

Advantageously, said reticulated material is flexible.

Ideally, said frame members are releasably attachable to the periphery of a window or door frame.

In a further preferred form, in use said reticulated material is adapted to be rolled up and temporarily secured in that rolled state to one of said frame members.

Advantageously, each of said frame members is adapted to receive one edge region of a glazing sheet (for example a transparent PVC glazing sheet) in place of said reticulated material.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a kit of parts assemblable into a screen for use in conjunction with either a window or a door comprising at least two frame members of striplike form, each having two elongate webs separated by a fold line, securing means for enabling attachment of the frame members to the aperture of a window or door at least partly to frame the aperture, a sheet of non-rigid material cuttable to size, and fixing means enabling attachment of the periphery of the sheet material to the frame members so that said sheet material periphery is held between the webs of the members, holding the sheet material taut, when the frame members are folded into a closed condition.

Preferably, said kit of parts further comprises apparatus for cutting said glazing strip into desired lengths and/or cutting said sheet of reticulated material to the desired size.

In a further preferred form, said kit further comprises one or more additional sheets of reticulated material, each sheet having reticulations of differing sizes so that a user may select a sheet having reticulations of the most appropriate size for his/her needs.

Advantageously, said reticulated material is flexible.

Ideally, said glazing strip includes means for releasably attaching said strip to the periphery of a window or door frame.

Advantageously, said kit further comprises a glazing sheet (for example a transparent PVC glazing sheet) which, in use, can be used in place of said reticulated material.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of assembling a kit of parts substantially as described above comprising the steps of 1. Cutting said glazing strip into suitahle lengths to attach to the periphery of the window or door in question; 2. Attaching said lengths of glazing strip to the peripery of the window or door in question; 3. Cutting said reticulated material to a size and shape suitable for fitting substantially within the frame defined by the lengths of glazing strip; 4. Attaching said additional fixing means (for example Velcro (Trade Mark) or the like) to any edge regions of said reticulated material which are not already provided with such means for releasably attaching said reticulated material to said glazing strips; 5. Inserting each edge region of said reticulated material into a length of glazing strip; 6.Activating said fixing means, by pressing the complementary strips of Velcro (Trade Mark) together; and 7. Snapping said glazing strip closed.

in the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a frame member; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a frame member (open); Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a frame member (closed); Figure 4 is a front view of the reticulated material; Figure 5 is a front view of an open window with the screen of the invention in place; Figure 6 shows the window of Figure 5 with the reticulated material removed; Figure 7 shows the window of Figure 5 with the reticulated material rolled; and Figure 8 shows a portion of a sheet of reticulated material.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, frame member 1 comprises a length of a type of glazing strip known per se which has, on opposing faces, an elongate channel 3 and an elongate complementary protrusion 4. In conventional use, with the glazing strip in its open position (Figure 2), a pane of glass is inserted into the strip as indicated by the arrow in Figure 2. The glazing strip can then be snapped shut (as shown in Figure 3) whereby protrusion 4 snap-fits into channel 3 so as to lock the glazing strip sbut. if the glazing strip needs to be opened again, protrusion 4 is simply pulled from channel 3 by applying a force to the upper part of the strip. However, use of this type of conventional glazing strip is not essential to practice of the present invention, and frame members designed specifically for the purposes of the present invention could be used instead.

Nevertheless, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the known type of glazing strip is adapted for use as follows. A strip of Velcro (Trade Mark) 5 is placed along the length of the frame member, parallel to the elongate channel 3.

Further attachment means (for example double-sided tape or the like) 6 are provided on the underside of glazing strip 2.

Turning now to Figure 4, reticulated material 7 is a sheet of flexible mesh or gauze, the size of whose reticulations are selected according to the type of insect etc. to be excluded by the insect screen in use. Velcro (Trade Mark) strips 8 (complementary to strips 5 on frame members 1) are provided at the periphery of reticulated material 7. Ideally, Velcro (Trade Mark) strip 8 is provided around the full periphery of reticulated material 7, but Velcro (Trade Mark) strips provided on, say, two opposing edges of reticulated material 7 may suffice.

Turning now to Figures 5 to 7, which show the insect screen of the present invention in use, screen 9 is assembled as follows. Frame members ] are cut to the desired length and fixed, by means of attachment means 6, to the frame of window 10. With each frame member 1 in its open position, the edges of reticulated material 7 are inserted into frame members 1 (in the manner indicated by the arrow in Figure 2) until the edge of reticulated material 7 abuts against elongate channel 3 of frame member 1. Velcro (Trade Mark) strips 5 (on the frame members) and 8 (on the reticulated material) are then pressed together so that reticulated material is held on to frame members 1.

To secure the reticulated material 7 in this position, frame members 1 are then snapped shut (in the manner indicated by Figure 3) so as to hold the reticulated material 7 firmly in place. It can thus be seen, as shown in Figure 5, that screen 9, once in place on window 10, will prevent insects or the like from flying into a room through the open window, since the window cavity is completely blocked by reticulated material 7. The screen 9, once in place, also provides a measure of shade or anti-glare from bright sunlight in the manner of an ordinary blind.

lf it is necessary to either open or close the window, once such a screen 9 has been fitted, it is a simple matter of opening one (for example the lowermost) frame member 1 so as to release a part of reticulated material 7 which can then simply be lifted up to allow access to the window catch. This ease of removal and replacement (or partial removal and replacement) is a significant advantage over the above-mentioned prior art insect screen which necessitates removal of the entire screen (including the equivalents of frame members 1) in order to allow access to the window catch.

As shown in Figure 6, it can be seen that reticulated material 7 can be easily removed completely from the window by opening each frame member 1, separating complementary Velcro (Trade Mark) strips 5 and 8 around the periphery of the reticulated material and then removing reticulated material 7 completely.

Frame members I are left in place around the edge of window 10, but do not obstruct or interfere with normal use of the window. When the insect screen is needed again, reticulated material 7 can be simply replaced.

As an alternative to removing reticulated material 7 entirely when the insect screen is not in use, reticulated material 7 may be rolled up and secured to one of the frame members as shown in Figure 7.

It is envisaged that the frame members 1 of the present invention are able to receive a glazing panel, for example a PVC, acrylic, shrink-PVC or the like panel, in place of reticulated material 7. The glazing panel (not shown) would need to be provided with Velcro (Trade Mark) strip around its periphery to engage with Velcro (Trade Mark) strip 5 on frame members 1. The glazing panel could be provided as part of the D-I-Y kit (see below) so that the glazing panel can be used in place of the reticulated material, for example during the winter months when secondary glazing is needed.

One of the key advantages of this invention in relation to the prior art is the ease with which the insect screen can be supplied in D-I-Y form, i.e. as a kit of parts to be assembled by the user. The parts (frame members and reticulated material) could be available in a number of differently-sized kits, with frame members 1 pre-cut to standard lengths and reticulated material 7 cut to standard sizes and shapes. The user would simply select the kit most suitable for the size of the window in question.

Alternatively, the parts could be provided pre-cut roughly to size, ready for the user to cut to the exact size of the window in question.

Alternatively, the parts could be presented in such a way that the user need only buy the precise lengths of frame members and size of reticulated material that he requires. For these latter two alternatives, reticulated material 7 could be supplied as shown in Figure 8. A sheet of reticulated material 7 is supplied larger than the actually-desired size. The sheet of reticulated material 7 is provided with Velcro (Trade Mark) strips 8 along two of its edges only. The user cuts free edges 11 so as to produce a sheet of reticulated material of the correct size. Additional Velcro (Trade Mark) strips (not shown) are then fixed to the just-cut edges so that a finished sheet of reticulated material 7 (like that, shown in Figure 4) is provided.

Throughout this document, the invention has been described for use in conjunction with a window. The screen of the present invention is equally applicable for use in conjunction with a door. Other types of furring means (as alternatives to the Velcro (Trade Mark) and double-sided tape described here) may equally well be ysed.

In an alternative, cheaper, embodiment, frame members 1 may be provided without the uppermost hinging portion (the portion above hinge H shown in Figure 2).

When the screen is used in conjunction with a door, rather than a window, frame member 1 can be magnetically (and hence releasably) fixed to the frame of the door in question. Frame members 1, if fixed together so as to form a complete frame, can be hinged to the door frame so that the door and the insect screen can swing independently from one another (so as to allow the door to open and close freely).

It can thus be seen that the present invention provides a simple-to-use lightweight insect screen for use on either a door or a window and which can be very easily constructed from a "D-I-Y" kit, making it applicable to doors and windows of all sizes.

Claims (18)

Claims

1. A screen for use in conjunction with a window or door, comprising two or more frame members of striwlike form adapted for attachment to the periphery of a window or door aperture to at least partly frame the aperture, each frame member having two elongate webs separated by a fold line so as to be foldable between an open condition and closed condition, and a piece of non-rigid sheet material the periphery of which can be held between the webs of the frame members in the folded condition of the latter, thereby to hold the sheet material taut.

2. A screen according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material is a reticulated material.

3. A screen according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the sheet material is cuttable to size.

4. A screen according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the frame members lock together in the folded condition by means of complementary inter-engaging formations on the two inside faces thereof.

5. A screen according to claim 4, wherein the complementary formations are an elongate channel and an elongate complementary protrusion.

6. A screen according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein at least part of the periphery of the sheet material has hooked pile material applied thereto for cooperation with hooked pile material applied to an inside face of a web of each frame member.

7. A screen according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the frame members are releasably attachable to the periphery of the window or door aperture.

8. A screen according to claim 7, wherein an outside face of one web of each frame member has double-sided adhesive tape applied thereto to facilitate attachment of the frame member to the periphery of the window or door.

9. A screen according to any of claims 1 to 8, in which the sheet material is of a kind capable of being rolled up and temporarily secured in its rolled state to one of the frame members.

10. A kit of parts assemblable into a screen for use in conjunction with a window or door, comprising at least two frame members of striplike form, each having two elongate webs separated by a fold line, securing means for enabling attachment of the frame members to the aperture of a window or door at least partly to frame the aperture, a sheet of non-rigid material cuttable to size, and fixing means enabling attachment of the periphery of the sheet material to the frame members so that said sheet material periphery is held between the webs of the frame members, holding the sheet material taut, when the frame members are folded into a closed condition.

11. A kit according to claim ]0, wherein the sheet material is a mesh or gauze material.

12. A kit according to claim ]0 or claim 11, wherein the securing means comprises double-sided adhesive tape, either applied or for application to the frame members.

13. A kit according to any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the fixing means comprises hooked pile material, either applied or for application to the frame members.

14. A kit according to any of claims 10 to 13, including two or more optionally usable sheets of material.

15. A kit according to claim 14, wherein one said sheet is a transparent sheet for serving as secondary glazing.

16. A kit according to any of claims 10 to 15, including a device for cutting the sheet material to size.

17. A screen substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. A kit of parts for assembling to form a screen substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.