Shutter system and method

A shutter system for enclosing an opening in a wall of a structure comprising, in combination:

• a header member essentially of a U-shaped track being positioned with the open side of the U-shaped track facing downward;
• a footer having a vertical face with threaded means for receiving nuts;
• and
• a plurality of shutter panels,
• each of said panels having lateral edges that terminate in a pair of parallel lips,
• each such lip having a lip bottom and an edge lock angled upwardly from the lip bottom, such that each panel can be overlapped with a like panel along their lips,
• each of said panels having a vertically spaced releasably securable means along the lip bottoms for securing said panel to a like panel that has been placed adjacent thereto and overlapped along the lip,
• each of said panels having a laterally spaced releasably securable means for securing said panel to the footer,
• each U-shaped track member being proportioned approximately the same size of the panels so as to be capable of receiving the same,
• each panel being characterized by an isosceles trapezoidal cross-sectioned configuration comprised of a pair of parallel ribs flanking a single groove,
• whereby the panels can be raised into the header and overlapped on their lips and secured both to the footer and to each other to form an interlocked panel system that inhibits wind from getting between the adjacent, overlapped panels.

The method of assembling a shutter system for enclosing an opening in a wall of a structure in which a plurality of shutters is employed, each of which has an isosceles cross-section configuration including a pair of parallel ribs flanking a single groove and lateral edges with lips, and each of the shutters having a keyhole mounting means, the steps comprising:

• securing a header member to the wall above the opening, said header member being essentially a U-shaped track with the "U" pointing downward;
• securing a footer member to the wall below the opening, said footer having a vertical face with mounting means for receiving threaded nuts;
• securing each of the panels firstly upwardly into the header, and thereafter placing each of the shutter's keyhole mounting means over the mounting means on the footer overlapping adjacent panels by their lips only;
• positioning uniformly spaced panel lock assemblies along the lips of adjacent overlapped shutter panels;
• and
• engaging the panel lock assemblies and the keyhole mounting means to secure the panels to the footer and to each other, thereby enclosing the opening in the wall of the structure.