US3742668A

US3742668A - Corner closure assembly

Info

Publication number: US3742668A
Application number: US00144966A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Oliver
Original assignee: Bendix Corp
Current assignee: Bendix Corp
Priority date: 1971-05-19
Filing date: 1971-05-19
Publication date: 1973-07-03
Anticipated expiration: 1990-07-03
Also published as: CA966628A

Abstract

A closure assembly for concealing the ragged edges remaining when siding is applied to a structure is described. A plurality of resilient clips are spaced along the corner after the siding has been applied. The clips are configured to span the corner and to resiliently grasp a corner closure piece which the clips support. The decorative corner closure is configured and dimensioned so that it is firmly retained by the clips and resiliently and snugly held against the siding. The ragged edges of the siding are thus concealed and a decorative appearance realized. However, whenever desired the corner closure can be easily removed or replaced without disturbing the siding or the supporting clips.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Oliver July 3, 1973 CORNER CLOSURE ASSEMBLY 3.442.051 5/1969 Derr 52/278 [75] Inventor: Joseph R. Oliver, East Detroit. Mich. FOREIGN PATENTS R P IC TI S 661,794 11/1951 Great Britain 52/2sa [731 Ass'gnee endix corporafionswthfield' 1,029,548 511966 Great Britain "152/630 [22] Filed: May 19, 1971 Primary Examiner-John E. Murtagh Assistant Examiner-Henry E. Raduazo [21] Appl' 144966 Attorney-Lester L. Hallacher and Plante, Hartz, Smith and Thompson [52] US. Cl 52/288, 52/718, 52/512,

52/469, 52/466 [57] ABSTRACT 5l Int. Cl E04f 19/02 A Closure assemuy f concealing the tagged edges 58] Field of Search 52/717, 7l8, 288, maining when siding is apphed to a Structure is 52/511, 5121 4691 462 scribed. A plurality of resilient clips are spaced along the corner after the siding has been applied. The clips erences Cited are configured to span the corner and to resiliently UNITED STATES PATENTS grasp a corner closure piece which the clips support. 2,121,213 6/1938 Small 52/277 1 The decorative comer closure is configured and 2,423,722 7/1947 Nilson 52/277 sioned so that it is firmly retained by the clips and resill,688,l34 10/1928 Braanstein.. 52/718 iently and snugly held against the siding. The ragged 6,968 2/1927 Hall /6 edges of the siding are thus concealed and a decorative 7 2,072,334 1937 Hogenfionu- 52/278 appearance realized. However, whenever desired the L a corner closure can be easily removed or replaced withan on.... 2,317,634 4/1943 Olsen 52/275 dsmrbmg the the Suppmtmg 2,654,449 10/ 1953 Beamer 52/469 3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Z 22 1 I l v I k I 5 l l5 I Z I 22 W I l 2.1 l /A I /3 22 1/1,

PATENTEI] JUL 3 I973 FIG! lNVENTOR JOSEPH R. OLI VER QMXW ' ATTORNEY CORNER CLOSURE ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When siding, such as aluminum or wood, is applied to a building it is necessary to provide a corner closure so that the ragged edges of the siding are not visible. The most commonly used prior art corner closure consists of a corner member which is fastened to the corner of the building. The corner member is configured so that it hides the ends of the siding, but the siding overlaps a portion of the corner member. As a consequence, whenever a change of the corner member is desirable, such as when it is damaged, the end of the siding must be unfastened so that the closure can be removed from behind the siding. This is very objectionable because it is expensive and time consuming, and also because it disturbs the siding, which ordinarily is undamaged and would not have to be disturbed if it were not necessary to do so to remove the corner member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a corner assembly including a clip member and a corner closure member. If desired the closure member can be decorative by using special configurations and colors. A plurality of the clips is arranged along the corner of the structure. The clips are applied to the corner of the structure after the siding has been applied to the structure so that they lie outside of the siding. Accordingly, the clips are readily removable and replaceable without disturbing the siding. The clips are configured to span the structure corner and to provide a resilient biasing of the ends of the clips toward the structure. The ends of the clips are configured to firmly retain a corner closure member which is applied to the clips and which is then biased toward the structure by the biasing force of the clips. Because of this arrangement, the corner closure can be removed or replaced whenever desired without disturbing the siding, the ends of which the closure member conceals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the inventive structure showing the corner closure broken away to reveal the support clips.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2 but shows the clip and closure member configurations for an inside corner.

FIG. 4 is another preferred embodiment of a clip useful in the inventive assembly.

FIG. 5 is a pictorial view of the clip of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, two sides 11 and 12 of a structure meet to form a corner. This corner can be 90 as shown in FIG. 2 or, obviously, can be some other angle if the structure has more or less than four sides.

Siding Strips

13 and 14 are applied to the structure in known manner to provide weather protection and aesthetically enhance the appearance of the structure. The siding, particularly if it is aluminum, cannot be mitred to form a neat appearing corner, and therefore ragged Ends 16 ordinarily would be visible. It is therefore desirable to add a Corner Closure Member 17 to conceal Ends 16 of Siding Strips l3 and 14 and also to enhance the aesthetic value to the structure.

Corner Closure 17 is applied to the building by first applying a series of Clips 18 to the corner of the structure. The number of clips utilized is dependent upon the height of the structure and is selected to provide a desired structural strength to Comer Closure 17.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, Clips 18 are configured to have an Angular Portion 19, which is congruent with the angular configuration of the corner to be concealed. As illustrated in FIG. 1, Angular Portion 19 is flat so that Clips 18 lie flat against Siding Strips l3 and 14. Because of this configuration, the clips symmetricaly span the corner and lie in the plane of the siding. This causes Clips 18 to align themselves with the structure corner and Closure Member 17 is thus supported evenly and uniformly along the corner. The Clips 18 are held'in place by nails, screws, or some other convenient fastening means as indicated by reference numeral 20.

The Clips 18 are applied after Siding Strips l3 and 14 are applied to the building. As-a consequence, Clips 18 lie outside the siding and can be removed without disturbing the siding. It will be noted that the crosssectional configuration on the siding can be wedgeshaped so that the top edge of a strip of siding fits under, or snugly against, the bottom edge of the siding strip which is located immediately above it. As a consequence, the clips can be applied to the siding at the thin part of the wedge without causing an undesirable deformation of the siding.

Both sides of Clips 18 are formed with two

Curved Portions

22 and 23. Curved Portion 23 is formed in the opposite direction from Curved Portion 22 so that an S-shaped curve is formed. The S-shaped curve is dimensioned so that the maximum Cord 25 of the combined

Curved Portions

22 and 23 is slightly less than the maximum thickness of the siding. This assures a snug biasing of Closure 17 against the siding strips.

The Ends 26 of Clips 18 are formed into eyes having a radius which is selected for convenient fabrication of both Clips 18 and Closure 17. The curved ends of Eyes 26 are utilized as retaining means for firmly retaining Closure 17 in a nonslideable manner and to insure that Closure 17 is firmly biased against the Siding Strips 13 and 14.

Eye 26 and Curved Portion 23 are connected by a substantially linear Leaf 24. Leaf 24 serves as an extension of Curve 23 to add length to Clip 18 so that any convenient dimension can be used. The combined resilient effect of

Curves

22 and 23 is such that when the clips are in their neutral state Eye 26 is pulled toward Angular Portion 19. Accordingly, when the clips are applied to the siding, Eyes 26 are biased toward the siding. When a Closure 17 is put in place, Clips 18 are spread against the biasing force and the closure is firmly biased against the siding. The Clips 18 are formed of aluminum, steel, or some other resilient material to enhance the biasing force.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,

End Closures

17 and 32 are shaped to span Clips 18 and the structure corner to thus conceal Ends 16 of Siding Strips I3 and 14 from view. Closure 17 is formed with a Radius 27 which cooperates with Eyes 26 of Clips 18 to support Closure 17 in a nonmoveable relationship with respect to the structure. The outside radius of Clips 18 will preferably equal the inside radius of Ends 27. Closure 17 is formed such that when in a neutral state the angle formed by the sides is less than the corner angle of the structure.

As a consequence, application to Clips 18 requires a slight spreading against the resilience of the material from which Closure 17 is formed. This also adds to the biasing force which holds Closure 17 in place.

If desired Closure 17 can be configured so that its corner Angle 28 is approximately equal to the corner angle of the structure. However, if desired, Closure 17 can be made in other configurations, such as threesided, as indicated by broken lines 29. Any desired configuration can be used, so long as the configuration of the edges includes Radius 27 to cooperate with Clips 18.

After a sufficient number of Clips 18 is applied to each corner of the structure, Corner Closure 17 is applied to the clips which hold it snugly against the structure. Closure 17 therefore conceals the objectionable ragged Ends 16 of siding. If desired, Closure 17 can be decoratively painted or otherwise fabricated to add an aesthetic appearance to the structure. Because of the unique features of Clips 18 and Corner Closure l7 sim ple removal and replacement of Closure 17 is possible without disturbing Clips 18 or Siding 14.

FIG. 3 shows a closure assembly when the structure corner is an inside corner. In this configuration, Clip 31 is very similar to Clip 18 of FIG. 2. However, the Angular Portion 33 of Clip 31 is bent oppositely in direction from Angular Portion 19 of Clip 18. An inside angle is thus formed by Clip 31. Clip 31 is also formed with an S-shaped Portion 34 and Eye-Shaped Ends 35 in a manner similar to Clip 18.

Corner Closure 32 is configured in the form of an inside corner having curved End Portions 36 which cooperate with Eyes 35 of Clips 31 to hold the closure member in place. Obviously, Closure 32 can be decoratively configured or painted similarly to Closure 17, if desired.

Clip 31 and Corner Closure 32 are fabricated to include the various biasing features described with respect to the FIG. 2 embodiment and, accordingly, Closure 32 is snugly and firmly held against the siding of the structure.

FIG. 4 is an end view of a second preferred embodiment of the inventive clip. Clip 40 includes an Angle 41 which is centrally located of the clip so that it symmetrically spans the corner to which it is applied in a manner similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. Symmetrically located about Angle 41 are two

additional Angles

43 and 44 by which the body of Clip 40 is bent back toward Angle 41. Symmetrically located about Angles 43 are two additional Angles 44 which cause Clip 40 to diverge outwardly from Angle 41 and in essentially the same direction as Angle 41.

Angles

43 and 44 are slightly less than 90 so that the Sides 47 of Clip 40 do not lie against the closure piece when it is in place. This causes the outside portion of the angular Portions 44 to ride against the sides of the closure piece while Ends 46 of Clip 40 firmly rest against the curved Edges 27 of the closure piece. This snugly holds Closure 17 against the clip and retains it in its desired position on the structure.

The angular extent of

Angles

43 and 44 also causes Clip 40 to be spring-biased against Closure 17 to help retain it firmly in position. This is accomplished by configuring Clip 40 so that it is necessary to slightly deform either Clip 40 or Closure 17 when applying Closure 17. When Closure 17 is in place, the resiliency of the clip and closure causes a snug fit of the two members.

As best seen in FIG. 5,

Corners

43 and 44 are provided with

Indentations

42 and 45, respectively. These indentations serve several functions. Firstly, they add structural strength to Clip 40 to assist it in retaining its desired configuration. Secondly, they add to the biasing force of the clip because, when applying Closure 17, the clip must be pushed inwardly against the indentations. Accordingly, when released the indentations cause the angles to spread to their normal position, thereby adding to the biasing force.

What is claimed is: 1. An assembly for concealing the edges of siding along the corner of a structure including: a plurality of clips arranged along said corner and fixedly applied to said structure and said siding, and a closure member configured to span said corner and supported by said clips to be biased against said siding, the improvement wherein:

said clips are configured congruently to said corner and extend away from the apex of said corner to lie flat against said siding on both sides of and immediately extending from said apex and including a resilient portion to effect said biasing, and retaining portions for snugly contacting said closure member, said clips spanning said corner so that said retaining portions lie on both sides of said corner;

said clips including a center angle congruent with said corner; said resilient portion including first and second angles symmetrically disposed about said center angle, said first angles opening in a direction opposite the direction said center angle opens, and said second angles opening in the same direction as said center angle; and dimples in said first and second angles for increasing the closing resiliency and strength of said clip;

said closure member having edges configured compatibly with said retaining portions so that said edges firmly grasp said retaining portions and said closure member is snugly and firmly supported against said siding by said clips.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said first and second angles are a maximum of 3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said retaining means includes one area of said first angles and the ends of said clips.

i i 4 k

Claims

1. An assembly for concealing the edges of siding along the corner of a structure including: a plurality of clips arranged along said corner and fixedly applied to said structure and said siding, and a closure member configured to span said corner and supported by said clips to be biased against said siding, the improvement wherein: said clips are configured congruently to said corner and extend away from the apex of said corner to lie flat against said siding on both sides of and immediately extending from said apex and including a resilient portion to effect said biasing, and retaining portions for snugly contacting said closure member, said clips spanning said corner so that said retaining portions lie on both sides of said corner; said clips including a center angle congruent with said corner; said resilient portion including first and second angles symmetrically disposed about said center angle, said first angles opening in a direction opposite the direction said center angle opens, and said second angles opening in the same direction as said center angle; and dimples in said first and second angles for increasing the closing resiliency and strength of said clip; said closure member having edges configured compatibly with said retaining portions so that said edges firmly grasp said retaining portions and said closure member is snugly and firmly supported against said siding by said clips.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said first and second angles are a maximum of 90*.

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said retaining means includes one area of said first angles and the ends of said clips.