Lining with fittings for mounting the lining on a window frame and a method of mounting The present invention relates to a lining with fittings for mounting the lining on a window frame for lining a window opening, the lining comprising two opposite side sections and at least a top section interconnecting the side sections to form a box- shaped member, fitting parts being adapted for fixed mounting on the window frame and for abutting an abutment surface on the lining so as to retain the lining in a mounted position determined by the abut- ment surface in relation to the window frame.

EP 0 738 805 describes a lining mounted on a window frame by means of hook-shaped fittings screwed on to the window frame and resiliently gripping a groove extending along the outside of the walls of the lining. When mounting such a lining on the window frame it may be difficult, particularly at windows in pitched roofs and particularly at large windows, to apply sufficient force to the lining to make all hooks grip the groove and retain the lining in a mounted position. Therefore, it is often necessary for two or more persons simultaneously to press the lining into place. Furthermore, the necessary force for the mounting may be particularly large if a va- pour barrier sheet and/or joint sealing compound is applied between the lining and the window frame, as further force may be required to compress these ele- ments.

The object of the present invention is to pro- vide a lining with fittings for mounting the lining on a window frame, the mounting being easier than in the prior-art linings.

In view of this the lining with fittings ac-

cording to the invention is characterized in that the lining with fittings is adapted so that at insertion towards the window frame it can be retained by means of the fittings in a first partially inserted posi- tion and in a fully inserted mounted position.

In this way, without the use of large forces, the lining can first be displaced towards the window frame until the fittings grip the lining and retain it in the partially inserted position, whereupon the fitter can let go of the lining and with both hands press hard on a part area of the lining until the fitting or fittings in this part area abut (s) the abutment surface that determines the mounted posi- tion. Subsequently, the fitter can press against other part areas of the lining in the same way until all fittings abut their respective abutment surfaces and the lining is in its final, mounted position. As the lining is thus pressed into place in several op- erations, far less force is required for the press- ing-in than is the case with the prior-art linings, where a large overall force is required to press the lining into place in the mounted position in one op- eration, or alternatively where one person presses in several operations while others are holding the lin- ing. Therefore, even in case of large skylights the lining can normally easily be mounted by a single fitter.

In a particularly simple embodiment in terms of construction, a fitting part for mounting on the win- dow frame is associated with two abutment surfaces located on the lining and mutually spaced in a direc- tion at right angles to the window plane, and the fitting parts are formed as clips with a gripping surface which can abut the abutment surfaces on the lining and can disengage resiliently from the abut-

ment surfaces at displacement in a direction away from the lining wall. At insertion of the lining to- wards the frame the clip can thus by resilience first abut with its gripping surface on the abutment sur- face of the lining closest to the frame, whereupon the lining can be retained in this partially inserted position. Then the lining can be pressed further to- wards the frame, and the gripping surface of the clip can abut the other abutment surface of the lining, whereupon the lining can be retained in its final, mounted position.

According to another embodiment, the fitting parts adapted for mounting on the window frame are formed as clips with a gripping surface which can abut the abutment surface of the lining, and which can disengage resiliently from the abutment surface at displacement in a direction away from the lining wall, and at least some of the clips have a gripping surface which, in a direction at right angles to the window plane, is spaced from a gripping surface on the other clips. The lining may possibly have only a single abutment surface in the form of the side wall of a groove extending along the periphery of the lin- ing. At insertion of the lining towards the frame, the gripping surfaces of the clips located furthest away from the frame can first abut the abutment sur- face and retain the lining in a partially mounted po- sition, whereupon the lining can be inserted com- pletely and be retained by the gripping surfaces lo- cated closest to the frame.

An advantageous embodiment uses four fitting parts adapted for mounting on the window frame in re- spective corner areas of the frame and with associ- ated, mutually spaced abutment surfaces located on the lining. The lining can then be pressed into place

in its mounted position by being pressed towards the frame in one corner area at a time. The corner areas require less force for the pressing-in, and it is easier to ensure that all clips are brought into en- gagement with the respective abutment surfaces, as this can be ascertained by the sound of a click fol- lowing the pressing-in at each corner, which indi- cates that the clip in this corner is in engagement.

In a particularly sturdy, wear-resistant em- bodiment, the abutment surfaces located on the lining are formed as projections on fitting parts mounted on the outside of the lining. It is furthermore advanta- geous, particularly if the clips and the fitting parts with the abutment surfaces are made of metal, that it is easier to ascertain when the clips enter into engagement with their associated abutment sur- faces, as a clear click is heard when the clips resiliently hit the fitting parts on the lining.

In an advantageous embodiment, a hole through the lining wall is formed opposite to the clips adapted for mounting on the window frame so that the clips can be pressed away from the lining wall by in- sertion of a tool in the hole from the inside of the lining. Often there is so little space between the lining wall and the window opening that it can be difficult or impossible to gain access to the fit- tings this way, and it is therefore much easier to dismount the lining when the clips can be brought out of engagement with their abutment surfaces on the lining from the inside of the lining.

Particularly at large linings, it may be advan- tageous that a guide clip is associated with a middle area of each of the side sections of the lining, which guide clip is adapted to be mounted on the win- dow frame and, when the lining is mounted on the win-

dow frame, to resiliently abut and slide over a plane sliding surface located on the lining wall and being substantially parallel therewith. The guide clip may prevent a long side section of the lining from bend- ing out during the mounting, and this is of impor- tance not least if the window frame has a groove into which the lining walls are to be inserted.

The present invention further relates to a fit- ting for mounting a lining on a window frame, com- prising a first fitting part adapted for fixed mount- ing on the window frame and being bent from spring sheet metal so that it has a flat foot section adapted to be screwed onto the window frame in paral- lel with the window plane, and a spring piece stand- ing upright from the foot section.

The fitting is characterized in that the spring piece standing upright from the foot section has an upper, wave-shaped projection projecting inwards to- wards the lining wall and forming a gripping surface facing the window frame, and that the fitting further comprises a second fitting part adapted for fixed mounting on the lining and formed by sheet metal adapted to be screwed flatly against the outside of the lining wall, and in which two mutually spaced, wave-shaped projections have been formed, each con- stituting an abutment surface facing away from the window frame. Thereby, the advantages mentioned above are obtained.

As also mentioned above, a hole may be provided through the second fitting part.

The present invention also relates to a method of mounting a lining on a window frame for lining a window opening, the lining comprising two opposite side sections and at least a top section intercon- necting the side sections to form a box-shaped mem-

ber, fitting parts being mounted on the window frame, the lining being inserted towards the frame until the fitting parts abut an abutment surface on the lining so as to retain the lining in a mounted position de- termined by the abutment surface in relation to the window frame.

The method is characterized in that, at the in- sertion towards the window frame, the lining is first retained by means of the fittings in a partially in- serted position, and that the lining is then further inserted to the mounted position by means of several consecutive pushes on the lining applied at different areas along the periphery of the lining. Thereby, the advantages mentioned above are obtained.

Before the mounting of the fitting parts, first a deformable sealing compound and then a vapour bar- rier sheet with positioning pieces attached thereon can advantageously be arranged in a groove in the window frame, each fitting part being mounted on top of one of the positioning pieces which is thus pene- trated by a mounting screw. In this way the fitting parts can be mounted on the window frame without breaking the seal of the vapour barrier sheet, as the sealing compound seals the sheet around the screw. At the same time, the sheet fits tightly along the win- dow frame.

The invention will now be described in further detail below by means of examples of embodiments and with reference to the schematic drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a lining ac- cording to the invention, Fig. 2 shows a window frame with fitting parts according to the invention for mounting the lining of Fig. 1, seen from the inside of the window, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the mount-

ing of the lining of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a side view, partially sectional along the line IV-IV in Fig. 5, of the lining of Fig.

1 and the window frame of Fig. 2 with mounted fitting parts before the lining is mounted on the frame, Fig. 5 shows a partial cross section through the lining and the window frame with fitting parts along the line V-V in Fig. 4, Figs. 6 to 8 are cross-sectional views corre- sponding to that of Fig. 5, but at different phases of the mounting, Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to that of Fig. 5, showing the dismounting of the lining, Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to that of Fig. 5, showing another embodiment of the lining and the fitting parts according to the inven- tion, Fig. 11 is a side view of a further embodiment of the lining and the fitting parts according to the invention, and Fig. 12 is a top view of a clip for mounting on a window frame.

Fig. 1 is an oblique side view of a lining 1 according to the invention seen from the side which faces the room in the mounted state. The lining 1 is composed of two trapezoidal side sections 2,3 ar- ranged in parallel and connected at the ends by a top section 4 and a bottom section 5, respectively, mounted so that they follow the trapezoidal shape of the side sections and thus incline towards each other in a direction towards the peripheral lining edge 6 that is to be mounted against a window frame 13. A frame 12 made of mouldings 8,9,10,11 mitred at the corners of the frame 12 is mounted at the peripheral

lining edge 7, which faces the room in the mounted state and flushes with the inside wall. The frame 12 projects beyond the periphery of the lining so that after mounting of the lining 1 in a window opening 14 it abuts the inside wall 15 of the room and thus hides the space between the lining 1 and the window opening.

The lining 1 according to the invention is par- ticularly suited for a skylight mounted in a pitched roof as illustrated in Fig. 3, but can also be used for ordinary front windows, and in that case the bot- tom section 5 may possibly be omitted, for example so that a separate panel of another material can be used instead.

The lining 1 is adapted for mounting against the window frame 13 for the purpose of lining the window opening 14, in which the frame 13 is mounted, see Fig. 2, which shows the window opening seen from the room before the lining is mounted. The window frame 13 has a peripheral groove 16, into which the lining edge 6 fits and can be inserted at the mount- ing, the groove 16 having a slightly larger cross- sectional dimension than the wall thickness of the lining. Before the lining 1 is mounted, a deformable sealing strip 17, for example made of butyl rubber, can be placed at the bottom of the groove 16, and on top of the sealing strip a vapour barrier sheet 18, for example made of polyethylene, with pressing-in pieces 19 attached on top, which may be made of the same material as the sheet and slightly thicker than it, see Fig. 5. The pieces 19 keep the sheet 18 in place in the groove 16 during the mounting as de- scribed in WO 99/02798, from which it also appears how the edge of the sheet can be connected with a va- pour barrier sheet in the building structure.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a fitting 39 according to the invention, comprising a clip 20 mounted on the window frame 13, and a fitting part 21 mounted on the lining 1. In the following description of the design of the fitting parts 20,21, reference is made to the orientation thereof as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which the window frame 13 is shown at the bottom and the lining 1 at the top. On the other hand, when the lining 1 is mounted on a skylight, for example as shown in Fig. 3, the window frame 13 is located above the lining.

The clip 20 is bent from spring sheet metal and has a foot section 22 mounted flatly on top of one of the pressing-in pieces 19 by means of two self- tapping screws 23 screwed through a hole 48 at re- spective ends of the foot section 22, through the piece 19, the sheet 18 and the sealing strip 17 and screwed into the bottom of the groove 16. Fig. 12 gives a top view of the clip 20 before its mounting in the groove 16, and it appears that the foot sec- tion 22 is so much wider than the rest of the clip 20 that there is ample space for a screwdriver at the screwing in of the screws 23 through the holes 48.

Furthermore, at one of its edges extending along one of the outer sides 26 of the groove 16, the foot sec- tion 22 has two projecting flaps 49 which retain the clip during the screwing on at insertion of the clip 20 in the groove 16, the flaps being pressed slightly into the groove wall. Along the other outer side 24 of the groove 16, the sheet metal is bent up from the foot section 22 to form a spring piece 25, which ex- tends substantially upwards in the figure and has been reinforced by a rectangular impression 50 for the purpose of greater stiffness, and which, at the top, has been bent over the foot section 22 to form a

downward gripping surface 27 and bent back in the op- posite direction in an oblique upwardly extending sliding surface 28, and finally concluded in an end section 29 bent obliquely downwards.

The fitting part 21 is bent from sheet metal which, at its upper edge, is screwed flatly against the outside 30 of one of the side sections 2 of the lining 1 by means of one or more screws 31. In the fitting part 21, two wave-shaped projections 32,33, one above the other, have been formed, extending in parallel with the lower lining edge 6 and constitut- ing a first and a second substantially horizontal up- ward abutment surface 34,35, on which the gripping surface 27 of the clip 20 can abut, whereby the lin- ing 1 can be retained in relation to the frame 13 so that it cannot be moved away from the frame 13. The fitting part 21 is bent in under the lower edge 6 of the lining 1 with a flap 36, the bent edge of which can slide on the sliding surface 28 of the clip 20 when the lining is moved towards the frame 13. Fur- thermore, in the fitting 21 between the two projec- tions 32,33, a hole 37 is formed opposite to a hole 38 through the lining wall for the purpose of dis- mounting of the lining as explained below. The holes 38 can be disguised with plugs, not shown, inserted from the inside of the lining wall in the mounted state of the lining 1.

As it appears from Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, respec- tively, one fitting 39 comprising a clip 20 and a fitting part 21 is mounted at each of the corner ar- eas of the window, the fittings being located at the ends of the long sides. Furthermore, at the middle of each long side on the window frame 13, a guide clip 40 is mounted, formed as the clip 20, but not associ- ated with a fitting part with abutment surfaces

mounted on the lining. The guide clip 40 serves only to guide the middle of the lining sides into the groove 16, as it slides on the outside of the lining wall, possibly with an intermediate plane fitting part, not shown, mounted on the lining.

At the mounting of the lining 1 in the window opening 14, the lining can be lifted by a single per- son who grips around each side moulding 8,9 and pushes the entire lining in towards the frame 13 as shown in Fig. 3. Figs. 5 to 8 show the mounting se- quence at insertion of the lining 1 towards the frame 13. In Fig. 5, the fitting part 21 on the lining 1 is located above the clip 20, and at displacement to- wards the frame 13 the bent-over edge of the flap 36 slides on the oblique surface 28 of the clip 20, whereby the latter is resiliently moved away from the lining wall. A little later the oblique surface 28 abuts the lower surface of the first projection 32 and is pressed further away from the lining, as shown in Fig. 6. When the gripping surface 27 is opposite to the abutment surface 34 of the first projection 32, it springs back towards the lining 1 and abuts the abutment surface 34 as shown in Fig. 7. The lin- ing 1 then cannot be moved away from the frame 13, and it therefore hangs by itself and can be let go of so that the fitter has both hands free.

Until this point, it has been possible to in- sert the entire lining 1 by parallel displacement without any special effort. To press the lining edge 6 entirely into place in the groove 16, however, greater force is required, among other reasons be- cause the lining wall slides on the innermost groove edge 26 and because the vapour barrier sheet 18 and the sealing strip 17 may require a little more com- pression in the groove 16. Furthermore, the mouldings

8,9,10,11 on the lining have to abut the inside wall 15 in the room, which may require extra force.

The fitter therefore inserts the lining the last bit of the way by pressing simultaneously with both hands alternately at each corner area of the lining, whereby the clips 20 one by one enter into engagement with the second abutment surface 35 of the fitting part 21, as shown in Fig. 8. Subsequently the lining is retained in the final, mounted position.

Fig. 9 shows how the'lining 1 can be dismounted from the window frame 13 by insertion of a tool, such as a screwdriver 41, through the hole 38 in the lin- ing wall and the hole 37 in the fitting part 21. With the screwdriver 41, pressure can thus be exerted from the inside of the lining on the clip 20 so that the gripping surface 27 of the clip 20 disengages from the abutment surface 35 on the fitting part 21, whereby the lining can be removed from the window frame.

Fig. 10 shows another embodiment of the lining 1 and the fitting 39. The lining 1 has only one abut- ment surface 42, constituted by a side wall in a groove 43 extending along the outside of the lining.

The fitting 39 comprises only the clip 20, which is mounted on the frame 13 and is similar to the one in Fig. 5, except that it has two gripping surfaces 44, 45, one above the other. At insertion of the lining 1 towards the frame 13, the clip 20 can first retain the lining in a partially inserted position, the gripping surface 44 abutting the abutment surface 42 in the groove 43, and then at further insertion of the lining retain it in the final, mounted position by abutment of the gripping surface 45 on the abut- ment surface 42.

Fig. 11 shows a further embodiment in which, on

each long side of the window frame 13, three fitting parts 46,47 are mounted, similar to the fitting part 20 of Fig. 5, but where the middle fitting part 47 has its gripping surface 27 located further away from the frame than the two other fitting parts 46. The fitting parts 46,47 can grip a groove 43 correspond- ing to the groove of Fig. 10. At insertion of the lining 1 towards the frame 13, the middle fitting part 47 first grips the groove 43 and retains the lining in a partially inserted position, and at fur- ther insertion of the lining the two other fitting parts 46 grip the groove 43 and retain the lining in the final, mounted position.

The embodiments described can be changed and combined in different ways without falling outside the scope of the invention; for example, the fitting part 21 in the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 can be re- placed by two grooves, one above the other, extending along the outside of the lining, a side wall of each groove forming an abutment surface for the gripping surface 27 on the clip 20. Likewise, the groove 43 in the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 can naturally be re- placed by a fitting part mounted on the lining 1 and having a projection forming an abutment surface. The fitting part mounted on the lining 1 can also be a clip which can resiliently engage with a fitting part fixed on the window frame 13.