Plastic fenestration product

Abstract

A fenestration product such as a skylight or a window assembly is provided having a frame with a peripheral wall with a light transmitting central region and a plastic dome formed of a light transmitting material mounted to the frame. The plastic dome has a central region which transmits light, a downwardly extending peripheral wall extending about and mounted to the peripheral frame, and an outwardly extending flashing flange for mounting the assembly to a building structure. Various embodiments of the part illustrated include a skylight assembly having a frame formed of a plastic layer formed into an inverted “U” shape cross-section forming an annular channel filled with insulating foam. A sealed, vertically mounted window unit is also disclosed. Other embodiments have an insulating layer of transparent plastic material spaced from the dome forming an enclosed, gas filled insulating region. Methods of forming and installing a fenestration assembly are also described.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]This invention relates to fenestration products composed primarily of plastic.[0003]2. Background Art[0004]Plastic is used in a variety of fenestration products such as skylights and windows in buildings as an alternative to a glass panel. Plastic and glass fenestration panels each have their respective advantages and disadvantages. Glass is relatively inexpensive, has good optical properties, is scratch resistant and stable in a variety of harsh environments. Glass, however, is relatively heavy, susceptible to catastrophic failure and can be difficult to handle and fabricate. There is a wide a variety of plastics available for use in fenestration products. Some are low cost, tough, readily formable and environmentally stable. Many plastics, however, are susceptible to scratching, lose their physical properties with age or exposure to environmental factors, and can be relatively expensive.[0005]The use of plastic and fe...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]Accordingly, one of the benefits of the present invention is to develop a low cost fenestration product which is suitable for use in skylights or the like which can match the state of the art water intrusion standards set by the in situ molded polyurethane frame systems. It is a further advantage of the invention to develop a fenestration product which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and requires minimal investment in capital equipment.

[0008]The fenestration product made in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes two main components; a frame and a plastic dome formed of a transparent material which is mounted to the frame. The dome has a central region which transmits visible light and a downwardly extending peripheral edge which extends about the peripheral wall of the frame. The dome is further provided with an outwardly extending flashing flange for mounting the assembly to a wall of a building structure surrounding a building opening.

[0009]In one embodiment of the invention, the frame comprises the unitary plastic ring having a central opening formed therein. The frame peripheral wall is preferably formed of an inverted “U” shape cross-section having an outer peripheral wall cooperating with the plastic dome and an inner peripheral wall aligned with the building opening upon which the fenestration product is mounted.

[0010]The invention further includes the method of manufacturing a fenestration product. The method includes the steps of thermoforming a first plastic sheet into a ring shape frame having a generally “U” shaped cross-section formed by an outer peripheral wall. A second plastic sheet formed of a material capable of transmitting visible light and is thermoformed into a dome having a central portion and a downwardly extending peripheral wall cooperating with the outer peripheral wall of the ring shape frame. The ring shape frame and dome are joined in a nested manner with the dome downwardly extending peripheral flange cooperating with the frame outer peripheral wall, where at least one of the ring shape frame and dome is formed with an integral outward extending flashing flange suitable for mounting the assembly on the building structure.

Problems solved by technology

Glass, however, is relatively heavy, susceptible to catastrophic failure and can be difficult to handle and fabricate.

Many plastics, however, are susceptible to scratching, lose their physical properties with age or exposure to environmental factors, and can be relatively expensive.

Many of the mounting systems are comprised of multiple component parts which require assembly and have joints which are susceptible to water leaks.

This skylight, however, is expensive to manufacture as the tooling and production equipment needed is costly and the raw material cost of the high performance polyurethane utilized prevents this construction system from being used in low price point skylight applications.

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