AU2004202545B2 - Removable enclosure protective shields - Google Patents

Description

54543 HKS:PAB:JPH P/00/009 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR AN INVENTION ENTITLED Invention Title: REMOVABLE ENCLOSURE PROTECTIVE

SHIELDS

Name of Applicant: GREGORY JAMES MENZEL Address for Service: COLLISON CO. 117 King William Street, Adelaide, S.A. 5000 The invention is described in the following statement: 2 This invention relates to protective shields and in particular to shields useful for protecting people from wind and rain in fixed installations.

It is currently known to have rolls of plastics sheet material which are usually supported so that when unrolled from above, the plastic sheeting is then secured at a lowermost edge to a ground or lower ledge so as to provide a temporary shield in the sense of a barrier against wind and rain for people who will be conventionally in a fixed location with a fixed extent of infrastructure.

Such screens have also zippers which then connect adjacent sheets together so that collectively such shields can provide protection across larger areas, which can be lifted to leave totally free a large open area, but when these are down they provide a degree of protection and allow for viewing therethrough.

In other words such arrangements are currently used where it is required to have as open an area as is practicable when these shields are lifted, and provide minimal interference with any view when they are lowered.

In practice however, such shields made from a type of plastics material that is appropriate for the application, have significant difficulties.

A first of these is that the plastic sheeting is found to tear at its edges where it is joined to a side of a zip. Such tearing is difficult to limit and means that such roller shields or curtains are of limited longer-term benefit to users.

Once tearing has started, then firstly this looks very poor indeed for commercial premises and also has the disadvantage of allowing wind to pass through the tear area, but also, such tearing is progressive once it starts, to the stage where once tearing starts the whole of an installation may be prejudiced and have to be replaced.

A further difficulty is that, where the plastics sheet material itself is rolled up to a storage position or lowered to a protective position from time to time, and the sheet material in doing so is relatively loose during this process, creasing of the plastics material is likely to occur and such creasing causes distortion in transparency where the plastics sheeting material is transparent.

This means that over time, the otherwise clear appearance of a plastic sheet becomes covered by striations or cloudy lines, which are increasingly unpleasant to look through.

The pliable plastic sheeting sometimes has a fabric skirting which can be connected by zippers to adjacent sheets and can be adjusted when in use, by being rolled up or down to allow for different degrees of opening or closing.

There are various problems associated with these curtains however. The plastic sheeting is seldom retained sufficiently taut so as to provide good levels of optical quality when looking through them. This has the further disadvantage that after a while, exposure to the elements can cause further warping or creeping of the plastic, and the properties of the fabric skirting will be insufficient to prevent this occurring.

In cases where these blinds are left rolled up for a prolonged period of time, such as the duration of summer, it is recommended that a user wait 15-30 minutes before using the zips. Furthermore, the plastic sheet material can appear wrinkled and have a white frosted discolouration. In such cases it is necessary to allow 2-7 days, depending on direct exposure time, for these unsightly characteristics to subside. This can be a significant disadvantage if a sudden change in weather requires the immediate use of such a blind.

This difficulty remains however that there is still a need which it would be very helpful indeed to be able to provide substantial protection against wind and rain across an area behind which people may be located, where the means providing such protection can be substantially cleared away to allow for a fully open area when the protection is not needed.

It is of course known to use windows that can swing open but there is an implicit difficulty with windows where the framing necessary for traditional windows means that there is a significant amount of infrastructure covering an area to support windows, and individual windows need significant support to hold the weight of the glass.

An object of this invention is to propose a different form of shielding which is appropriate for the type of area being discussed, namely where in many instances the area is to be kept clear of any interruptions but when appropriate, can be closed so as to provide shielding protection against wind and rain but which allows still reasonable viewing.

Other possible objects of this invention can be as follows namely; to provide a means for enclosing outdoor areas that is non-permanent, and which facilitates fast, simple installation and dismantling.

It can be a further object of the invention to provide a means for removably enclosing outdoor areas that, when in position, offers the convenience and aesthetics of permanent structure.

It can be a further object of the invention to provide a means for removably enclosing outdoor areas that is lightweight, to facilitate ease of handling.

It can be a further object of the invention to provide a means for removably enclosing outdoor areas that will reduce the effects of UV degradation on the optical properties of clear plastic sheeting retained therein, when in use.

It can be a further object of the invention to provide a means for facilitating removably enclosing outdoor areas that will reduce the effects of UV degradation on articles enclosed therein.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a means for removably enclosing outdoor areas that facilitates storage for significant periods of time when not in use, with negligible degradation in the optical properties of the plastic retained therein.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a means for removably enclosing outdoor areas that facilitates the placement of identifying and advertising indicia thereon.

At the least, it is an object to provide the public with a useful alternative.

What I propose, according to this invention, is that there be provided removable frames which are supporting plastic sheet material held taut between opposite parts of the respective frame.

In a further form this can be said to be a shield including a perimeter rectangular frame and a sheet of pliable plastics material extending across all of an area defined by an inner perimeter of the frame, where the sheet is held taut between opposite sides of the frame and where the size of the perimeter frame measured across its outermost perimeter is not less than one metre in length and not less than of a metre in width.

My first discovery has been that plastic sheeting can be held effectively within a perimeter frame in such a way that it can be held taut, and as such is no longer subject to creasing and therefore gross deterioration over time during handling.

Significantly however, by using a perimeter frame and a plastic sheet being held by the frame, the overall weight of even large shields is light enough for a person to individually lift and therefore locate or store these as appropriate.

The significance then of this arrangement is that instead of providing storage by rolling the sheet material, a shield panel is now able to be stored by simply lifting each individual shield and locating this in an appropriate alternate storage location.

The effectiveness of the invention is assisted by the frame of each individual shield being self supporting so that each of these can be located with a minimum of other structural support so that when they are removed, there is an open area without intervening support trusses for instance, as might be most common with conventional windows.

Such an application might be as an outdoor restaurant located adjacent gardens with thereby a totally unimpeded position adjacent such features.

To this extent then, in preference, the size of the perimeter frame to which this invention applies is within a minimum size of at least one metre in length and 0.5 of a metre in width.

One difficulty using plastic sheeting is that this material over time may differentially contract. This is probably as a result of its method of manufacture.

I have found that such material contracts more in one orientation of the plastic as compared to an orthogonal orientation.

The difficulty with this is that, if this plastic is secured to a perimeter frame in an originally "taut" position, then over time, there will be considerable contraction and 6 therefore stress dragging the frame inwardly and perhaps again causing unreasonable stress and possible tearing of the plastics material.

In preference, the frame is of rectangular proportions and is adapted so that the longer sides of the rectangular shape will generally align to be generally parallel to the direction along which the plastic sheet will contract.

The advantage here is that it is preferable to have the contracting ends of the plastic sheet pulling against the shorter perimeter frame members which are therefore able to resist deformation to a larger extent than the longer frame members.

If the sheet were to be orientated so as to pull in against the longer frame members, then these either have to be of significantly stiffer and probably stronger cross sectional shapes to resist significant bending over their length.

The problem with this is that this then would significantly increase both potential weight of the frame and cost of the frame.

In preference, plastic sheet can be held by having an edge of the plastic sheet inserted within an otherwise open channel and a spline plugging the thus inserted plastic sheet edge whereby to hold this.

Such a system is known to be used in other applications for instance the holding of a fly wire screen material in a door frame, and in preference, a similar holding system is used in this case.

With the advantage that we now have lightweight shields that will be at least a metre in length and in preference, more than two metres in length and at least onehalf to one metre in width, the individual frames when filled with secured plastic sheeting become a lightweight panel that can now be used and removably held in shielding positions contiguously with other like shields.

In preference, there can be provided in preference, upper and lower engaging brackets so that such shields can be hung from an overhead beam, or they can be co-joined with other screens to be self supporting.

In each case however, these are provided so that they will be generally sufficiently light enough to be individually removable in preference.

In preference, the shields are intended to be used in conjunction with existing buildings and the invention can therefore be said to reside in an assembly in which there are at least two shields as described in any one of the preceding descriptions of the invention relative to these supported, so as to be adjoining one with respect to the other and supported so as to provide shielding to an area within a building as defined in part by the shields.

In preference there is proposed in addition, a method of providing for protection for those within a building, where there are at least two shields as described in relation to the invention hitherto, the method including locating the shields in a protective position, defining an enclosed area thereby with respect to the building, where the method includes personally locating each of the shields in a position so as to be contiguous, one with the other, and affixing these in a removable way in such location.

In preference there is proposed an assembly including a perimeter frame defining a rectilinear area within the confines of the frame, and where two opposite sides of the frame have a length of at least one and one-half meters, and the two remaining sides of the rectangular frame have a length within the range of at least 0.6 meters and one meter, a continuous substantially imperforate sheet of pliable transparent or translucent plastics material secured to the frame so as to fully extend and be stretched across the frame, and being orientated so as to have the constituent shrinkage alignment aligned so that the direction of shrinkage over time will occur at least predominantly in a direction transverse to each of the respective shorter sides of the frame.

In preference the sheet is secured to the frame by being embedded at its edge within a channel within the frame, and a spline within the channel engaging with an interference fit the sheet material with the sides of the channel and the sheet material thereby.

In a further form of this invention, it can be said to reside in an assembly including a perimeter frame, defining by surrounding a rectilinear area where two opposite sides of the frame have a length of at least one and one-half meters and the two remaining sides of the frame have a length within the range of at least 0.6 meters and one meter, a sheet of plastics material secured to the frame so as to fully extend across and thereby cover the area defined by the frame the plastics material having a constituent alignment aligned so that contraction over time will occur at least predominantly so as to reduce the length of the plastics material between the shorter sides.

In preference said frame has means for facilitating suspension of the panel from a structure at its top edge, and means for securing the panel relative to the floor on its bottom edge.

In preference, the perimeter frame is an aluminum frame.

In preference, said flexible sheeting is PVC.

In preference, said perimeter frame retains the plastic sheeting so that it is taut, thereby restricting warping and creeping of the sheeting.

In preference, the orientation of the flexible PVC sheeting retained in the rigid perimeter frame is such that the material as produced along the roll is substantially vertical.

In preference, the plastic sheeting is retained in the perimeter frame by means of an elongate strip known as a spline trapping the sheeting between itself and a groove or channel formed into the inwardly facing surface of the panel, in the same fashion that conventional screen doors retain fly screen.

In preference, said suspension means includes at least one hook attached to the top edge of the perimeter frame, said hook being adapted to engage with receiving means in the structure.

In preference, receiving means for the hook may include an aperture through the structure, or a bracket or rail attached to the structure.

In a further form the invention can be said to reside in a method of assembly of a shield which includes the steps of having a sheet of plastic placed fully over a frame and then clamping this plastic to the frame at each corner of the frame while the plastic sheet is being held under hand tension to maintain a modest straightening pressure on the plastic, then pushing the plastic sheet into a channel provided by the frame with the first inserted location being in a center of a one of the shorter frame sides, then effecting an insertion of a plastic spline material to maintain the plastic sheet in such a first position, then inserting the plastic sheet close to but not at each respective corner of this first short frame side and hereafter into the remaining channel area so that there results one short side of the frame with plastic secured to this along its length except right at its end corners.

In preference the method of assembly of a shield is further characterized in that the plastic sheet is then inserted and retained with a spline at a center of a longer of the sides of the frame, then the plastic is retained at locations close to but not at the respective corners and then the remainder of the length is filled in with these steps being further repeated at an opposite long side and finally with the remaining short side again however not joining the plastic at the actual corners to the frame, thereafter the plastic is released from the clamping, trimmed by cutting any excess plastic away from outside of the channel areas, and at this stage then the plastic sheet at each of the corners is inserted into the respective channels at each corner and secured with the spline material.

For a better understanding of this invention it will now be described in relation to a preferred embodiment which shall be described with the assistance of drawings wherein; Figure 1 is a perspective view of the shield according to the first embodiment; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the panel mounted to a structure, in this case a veranda, so as to enclose an area; Figure 3 is a front elevation of the panel according to the second embodiment, wherein the panel incorporates a door; Figure 4 is a side elevation of a perimeter frame illustrating the dimensions of longer sides B and shorter sides C; Figure 5 is a cross sectional view of a perimeter frame portion used in the embodiment; and Figure 6 is the same view as in Figure 5 with the edge of plastic sheeting captured and plugged by a spline in a channel of the frame.

Now referring to the drawings in detail there is a shield 1, having an aluminium perimeter frame 2 of rectangular dimensions with a longer side B and a shorter side

A.

Each of the sides of the frame 2 is comprised of a cross-sectional shape as shown in Figure 5 typically, which also includes a channel 40, with a spline 42 so that insertion of this spline locks the edge 44 of the plastic into the channel The plastics material in this instance is a clear PVC which is manufactured by being calendered, and has a thickness that is in this case 0.75mm. Such pliable plastic sheet material can be obtained from a retail supplier such as Nolan Warehouses in Australia, and there is therefore provided a clear PVC 3 which can be secured so as to be taut between respective opposite sides of the rectangular perimeter frame.

The orientation of the plastics material 3 is a factor that for the embodiment is to be taken into account, and the direction of contraction can be established by the way in which the roll of plastics material is provided, which is to say that the direction of maximum contraction is along the unrolling direction of the plastic sheet.

In trials so far the dimensional stability of the calendered sheet is relevant to the temperatures that it is subjected to and as an example at 60 degrees C contraction is at 100 degrees it is and at 120 degrees it is (At the same time there can be slight expansion in a transverse direction which however in a taut tightly held position as we are disclosing in this embodiment is not such a problem with the transverse contraction helping to take up such possible slackness.) More to the point, the orientation is selected in this embodiment so that the unrolling direction of the calendered plastics material is parallel to the longer sides B of the rectangular perimeter frame 2.

This then ensures that contracting stresses of the plastic sheet will pull against the shorter sides A and because these are supported at each end therefore, there is much greater stiffness at a center of such shorter frame members which therefore will not distort so much as would be the case with a transverse orientation pulling the longer sides B together.

11 In trials the longer sides B show significant bowing with the opposite orientation of the plastic sheeting being used after a period of time, which is disadvantageous when the shields are to be held against one another in a contiguous adjoining alignment.

The frame 2 has along its upper edge a pair of hooks, 4 and The frame 2 has along its bottom edge a pair of barrel bolts, 6 and 7.

The structure 10, which can be a building, a verandah or any other support structure from which the panel is to be suspended has brackets 8 and 9 attached thereto, which are adapted to accept the hooks 4 and 5 of the panel 1.

The floor of the enclosure has holes 11 and 12, for the bolts 6 and 7 respectively to engage therein, thereby kinematically restraining the panel.

In this fashion it is possible for a plurality of shields 13, 14 and 15, which are to be located in a contiguous adjoining fashion, which is to say in a touching side by side relationship, to enclose an area under a pergola 16.

Now referring to Figure 3, there is a panel or shield 20, having a rigid perimeter frame 21, there being a door 22 attached thereto via hinges 30 and 31. The door 22, having a rigid perimeter frame 23, retaining pliable clear calendered PVC 24 so that it is taut.

Figure 4 is a side view showing the outer and inner dimensions of the perimeter frame that is the size according to embodiments. The purpose of these shields is to ensure that they provide substantial protection for a substantial area, but at the same time are light enough to be able to be handled by a person manually and stored conveniently. The outer dimension for the longer sides B is therefore a minimum of 1 meter. Each of the shorter sides A is therefore a minimum of meters and a maximum of 3.5 meters.

We will now describe a method of assembly.

When a frame 2 as such has been constructed, which may be an aluminium frame made from an extruded aluminium or indeed an alloy, a sheet of plastic 3 as described is placed fully over the frame 2 and then is clamped to the frame at each 12 corner of the frame. This is done while the plastic sheet 3 is being held under hand tension to maintain a modest straightening pressure on the plastic. The plastic sheet material is then pushed into a channel or channel 40 provided by the frame 2 with the first inserted location being in a center of a one of the shorter frame sides A.

A plastic spline material 42 as previously described is then inserted to maintain the plastic sheet in such a first position. Then the plastic is inserted close to but not at each respective corner of this first short frame side A. Thereafter the remaining channel area 40 is caused to receive the plastic 3 so that there results one short side A of the frame with plastic secured to this along its length except right at its end corners.

The plastic 3 is then inserted and retained with a spline 42 at a center of a longer of the sides B of the frame 2. Then the plastic is retained at locations close to but not at the respective corners and then the remainder of the length is filled in. This process is then further repeated at an opposite long side and finally with the remaining short side again however not joining the plastic at the actual corners to the frame.

At this stage the plastic 3 is released from the clamping, trimmed by cutting any excess plastic away from outside of the channel areas 40, and at this stage then the plastic at each of the corners is inserted into the respective channels at each corner and secured with the spline material 42.

The result of this method of manufacture is to then have a result where the plastic is kept relatively straight and under even pressure which allows for a best result in practice.

Articles such as those described herein prove to be of considerable benefit in applications where it is desirable to enclose the area under verandas and pergola's with removable panels, which, when in place offer the convenience and aesthetics of permanent structure.

While the shields have been described as a rectangular perimeter frame with an inner area covered by plastic sheeting held at its edges along the edge of the respective perimeter frame, there can be a variety of ways in which the shields themselves can then be used to provide protection.

13 Several of these have been described so far but in a further embodiment which is not shown in the drawings includes the use of such shield so that it extends with its longer sides substantively horizontal and that it can be then secured so as to extend above a balcony rail as a temporary shield.

In one further embodiment, such a shield can have a pivotal connection along its lower edge to the top rail of a balcony so that in a storage position it can be swung down behind the balcony edge or in an alternate arrangement, be held so as to extend at least somewhat vertically above the balcony rail.

This is of particular benefit to those who cannot provide permanent constructions where balconies are externally visible, and Council or other regulations constrain the use of such permanent additional structures.

A temporary structure of this type then can be simply placed in position from time to time when protection is needed but can be removed once the use for it is not remaining. Its storage can either be as described, that is behind and beneath the rail or it can be completely separated and stored at another place entirely.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognised that departures can be made within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details described herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

Claims (19)

1. A shield including a perimeter rectangular frame and a sheet of pliable plastics material characterized by having a heat influenced shrink characteristic which is substantially along a one axis than an orthogonal axis of the sheet, and where the sheet is extending across all of an area defined by an inner perimeter Ci of the frame, where the sheet is held taut between opposite sides of the frame, o where the size of the perimeter frame measured across its outermost perimeter ci is not less than one metre in length and not less than 0.5 of a metre in width.

2. A shield as in claim 1 further characterized in that the sheet Is orientated so that its axis of maximum heat influenced shrinkage is at least substantially at right angles to the respective oppositely aligned shorter sides of the perimeter frame-

3. A shield as in either one of the preceding claims, further characterized in that the plastic sheet is secured to the frame by having an edge of the plastic sheet inserted within an otherwise open channel, and a spline plugging the thus inserted plastic sheet edge.

4. A shield as in any one of the preceding claims further characterized in that the frame is comprised of sides being each an extruded metal frame, joined by corner brackets extending into each of ends of respective sides.

5. A shield as in any one of the preceding claims further characterized in that the shield has upper and lower engaging brackets, whereby the shield can be hung from an overhead beam,

6. An assembly in which there are at least two shields, where each of the shields is as in any one of the preceding claims, which are joined together and supported so as to provide shielding to an area within a building. COMS ID No: ARCS-216904 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:17 Date 2008-12-12 12/12 2008 15:40 FAX 6182311273 COLLISON IP AUSTRALIA Z019/034 00 0 oD

7. An assembly including a perimeter frame defining a rectilinear area 0 within the confines of the frame, and where two opposite sides of the frame _have an external length of at least one and one half meters, and the two remaining sides of the frame have an external length within the range of at least 0.6 meters and one meter, a continuous substantially imperforate sheet of pliable transparent or translucent plastics material secured to the frame so as to ci o fully extend and be stretched across at least the rectilinear area within the frame, the plastics material being orientated having a major heat influenced oshrinkage axis alignment aligned so that the direction of shrinkage over time will occur at least predominantly in a direction transverse to each of the respective shorter sides of the frame.

8. An assembly as in the immediately preceding claim further characterized in that the sheet is secured to the frame by being embedded at its edge within a channel within the frame, and a spline within the channel engaging with an interference fit the sheet material with the sides of the channel and the sheet material thereby.

9. An assembly including a perimeter frame surrounding a rectilinear area where two opposite sides of the frame have a length of at least one and one half meters and the two remaining sides of the frame have a length within the range of at least 0.6 meters and one meter, a sheet of plastics material secured to the frame so as to fully extend across and thereby cover the area defined by the frame, the plastics material being aligned so that contraction over time will occur at least predominantly so as to reduce the length of the plastics material between the shorter sides.

10. An assembly as in claim 10, further characterized in that said frame has means for facilitating suspension of a panel from a structure at its top edge, and means for securing the panel relative to the floor on its bottom edge.

COMS ID No: ARCS-216904 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:17 Date 2008-12-12 12/12 2008 15:40 FAX 6182311273 CLIO PASRLA 2/3 COLLISON IP AUSTRALIA lj 020/034 00 0 16 o11. An assembly as in any of claims 10 to lip further characterized in that 0 the perimeter frame is an aluminum frame.

12. An assembly as in any of claims 10 to 12, further characterized in that the sheet is PVC.

13. An assembly as in any of claims 10 to 13, further characterized in that cxl said perimeter frame retains the plastic sheeting so that it is taut, thereby o restricting warping and creeping of the sheeting.

14. An assembly as in any of claims 10 to 14, further characterized in that the orientation of the flexible PVC sheeting retained in the rigid perimeter frame is such that the material as produced along the roll is substantially vertical.

An assembly as in any of claims 10 to 15, further characterized in that the plastic sheeting is retained in the perimeter frame by means of an elongate strip or spline trapping the sheeting between itself and a groove or channel formed into the inwardly facing surface of the 'panel.

16. An assembly as in any of claims 10 to 16, further characterized in that said suspension means includes at least one hook attached to the top edge of the perimeter frame, said hook being adapted to engage with receiving means in the structure.

17. An assembly as in claim 17 further characterized in that there are receiving means for the hook including an aperture through a structure, or a bracket or rail attached to the structure.

18. A shield substantially as described in the specification with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

19. An assembly substantially as described in the specification with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. COMS 10 No: ARCS-21 6904 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:17 Date 2008-12-12