AU2013203019B2

AU2013203019B2 - Cladding for roof-top structures

Info

Publication number: AU2013203019B2
Application number: AU2013203019A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Brett Eugene Watson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-07-24
Filing date: 2013-04-08
Publication date: 2015-11-19
Anticipated expiration: 2033-04-08
Also published as: AU2013203019A1

Abstract

Abstract: A cladding assembly for roof top structures having a top spaced from the roof, the cladding comprising moulded 5 lengths of plastics, retainers adapted to be attached spaced apart along sides of the rooftop structures, the moulded lengths being clipped onto the retainers and corner units are secured to adjacent lengths of each corner of the structure to clad the perimeter of the 10 structure whereby the cladding extends substantially between the top of the structure and the roof. 4232112_1 (GHMatters) P90718.AU.1 8/04/13

Description

- 1 Title: Cladding for roof-top structures Introduction This invention relates to a cladding assembly for 5 roof top structures especially roof top solar panel installations. Background of the Invention Solar panels are frequently mounted within frames on 10 roofs, the frames usually secure the panels spaced above the roof substrate on roof affixed mounts. A problem with this type of roof top solar panel installation is that leaves and other debris have a tendency of becoming caught between the panel and the roof resulting in a potential 15 fire risk. A further issue with such structures is the wind getting between the panel and the roof causing the panels to lift off the roof. Finally, installations of this kind tend to be viewed as unsightly obstructions which is a deterrent against their general adoption. 20 It is these issues that have brought about the present invention. Summary of the Invention 25 In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a cladding assembly for roof top structures having a top spaced from the roof, the cladding comprising moulded lengths of plastics, retainers adapted to be attached spaced apart along sides of the rooftop 30 structures, the moulded lengths being clipped onto the retainers and corner units are secured to adjacent lengths of each corner of the structure to clad the perimeter of the structure whereby the cladding extends substantially between the top of the structure and the roof. 35 Preferably the retainers, lengths and corner units are all moulded in ultraviolet tolerant plastics. 4232112_1 (GHMatters) P90718.AU.1 8/04/13 - 2 Description of the Drawings An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the 5 accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective image of a bank of solar panels installed on a roof with a cladding assembly secured around the periphery of the panels, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the solar panels 10 and cladding assembly with one length removed, Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of part of the assembly showing one length attached to a solar panel, Figure 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken within the circle G of Figure 3, 15 Figure 5 is a cross sectional view of the cladding taken within the circle H of Figure 3, Figure 6 is a part perspective view illustrating a solar panel and location of retainers against the panel, Figures 7a, 7b, 7c and 7d are respectively a plan 20 view, a side elevational view, and end elevational view and an enlarged view within the circle J of Figure 7c, Figures 8a, 8b and 8c are respectively perspective, plan and side elevational views of a retainer, Figures 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d and 9e are respectively 25 perspective, plan and side elavtional views of an outside corner piece, Figures 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d and i0e are respectively plan and elevational views of an inside corner piece, Figures lla, lib and lic are side elevational views 30 of a joiner piece, and Figure lid is a cross section view taken along the lines L-L of Figure 11a. Description of the Preferred Embodiment 35 The cladding assembly 10 illustrated in the accompanying drawings is moulded in a ultraviolet resistant plastics, preferably POM acetyl copolymer. The 4232112_1 (GHMatters) P90718.AU.1 8/04/13 - 3 cladding assembly comprises standard lengths of cladding 20 that are positioned adjacent the sides of rectangular solar panels P. The lengths 20 are joined by corner pieces 30, 40 that may either be external 30 or internal 5 pieces 40. There is also provision for joiners to longitudinally join the two lengths together. The cladding 10 is held onto the solar panels by use of retainers 50 that are screwed, riveted or otherwise fastened to the solar panels P. The finished assembly 10 10 acts like an aesthetically pleasing skirt that surrounds the panels and fills a gap between the panels and the supporting substrate which is usually a roof structure R. The final assembly is shown in Figure 1, Figure 2 shows the assembly 10 with one length missing. The remaining 15 Figures illustrate the components that make up the assembly 10. As shown in Figures 3 to 5 each length 20 of cladding is moulded to define a smoothly curved arcuate skirt 21 20 that terminates in a free edge 22 located adjacent the roof structure R and terminates in an in-turned lip 23 at the other (upper) end. A downwardly extending location flange 25 extends along the length of the cladding substantially perpendicular to the interior surface of the 25 cladding. The location flange defines a small gap G between the interior surface of the flange 25 and the interior surface of the internal lip 23. The free edge 22 of the skirt is provided with a series of parallel cut lines that act as trim guides so that the free edge 22 can 30 be shortened by cutting along an appropriate trim guide. As shown in Figure 4 the extremity of the location flange 25 has an internal tapered rib 28 that extends along the length of the flange. 35 A retainer 50 is shown in Figures 8 and essentially comprises a Z shaped body 51 having an upper flange 52, a downward extending web 53 and a U-shaped channel 54 4232112_1 (GHMatters) P90718.AU.1 8/04/13 - 4 defined by an upturned flange 55 at the base of the retainer. The internal surface of the upturned flange 55 terminates in a tapered rib 58 that extends along the length of the retainer. An aperture 59 is positioned 5 centrally of the retainer to allow the retainer 50 to be screwed or riveted to a support structure. If screws or rivets cannot be used then it is understood that either adhesives or double sided tape could be used to secure the retainer 50 to the support structure. As shown in Figure 10 4 the upper flange 52 of the retainer 50 is dimensioned to fit within the gap G between the location flange 25 and lip 23 on the length of cladding 20. The location flange 25 of the cladding is the same length as the depth of the web 53 and the rib 28 on the internal lower face of the 15 location flange 25 is adapted to interfit with the rib 58 on the upstanding flange on the retainer so that the cladding clips onto the retainer. The moulded plastics structure of both the retainer 50 and the cladding provides 20 a sufficient degree of flexibility to 20 facilitate the clipping action. As shown in Figure 6 the retainers 50 are secured to the solar panel P at spaced locations along the length of the panel and the spacing is selected to provide the desired degree of support for the cladding. 25 In Figures 7 a length of cladding 20 is illustrated in which the upper surface of the cladding has a series of three parallel air vents 29 equally spaced along the length of the cladding. The vents 29 are in the form of 30 rectangular cut outs bounded by an upwardly inclined wall 27 to reduce the likelihood of debris entering into the space between the cladding 10 and the roof support R through the ventilation apertures 29. As shown in Figure 2 not all the lengths of cladding have the ventilation 35 vents 29. The lengths 20 of cladding are joined at the corners 4232112_1 (GHMatters) P90718.AU.1 8/04/13 - 5 by internal and external corner units 30, 40. An external corner unit 30 is shown in Figures 9. Essentially the corner unit 30 includes two sub-lengths 31, 32 of cladding that are mutually perpendicular to define a smooth curved 5 external corner 33 as shown in Figure 9b. The profile of the sub units 31, 32 is the same as the length of the cladding and the sub units 31, 32 are formed as a single piece to define a right angle corner 30 bounded by downwardly extending peripheral skirt 35. Each end of the 10 sub units 31, 32 defines a tiered flange 37 that is slightly higher than the external surface of the corner unit 30. The flange 37 is adapted to be a smooth sliding fit over the adjacent end of the length of cladding 20 to form a neat joint between the corner unit 30 and the 15 cladding 20, see Figures 9d and 9e. The inner corner 38 of the external corner unit 30 has mutual perpendicular flanges 39 that abut the end of the cladding lengths 20. The internal corner 40 as shown in Figures 10 and has 20 a rectangular inner surface 45 formed by mutually perpendicular sub units 41 and 42. The rectangular corner 45 on the inner surface joins the mutually perpendicular sides of the panel, as shown in Figure 2. Each sub unit 41, 42 has a location flange 47 that fits over the end of 25 the adjacent length 20. The sub units 41 and 42 are smoothly curved inner corner 44. The inner corner 45 has a pair of mutually perpendicular downwardly extending location flanges 46, 47 terminating in an elongate rib, as shown in Figure 10e. These flanges allow the inner corner 30 member to clip against retainers 50 on the solar panel. As shown in Figure 2 the inner corner 40 merges with an outer corner 30 to give a smoothly curved corner where two series of panels P are positioned longitudinally end to end. The cladding 10 shown in Figure 2 shows two arrays 35 of three parallel panels P completely surrounded by cladding notwithstanding the panels P being arranged in a slightly offset manner. The inner and outer corners 40, 4232112_1 (GHMatters) P90718.AU.1 8/04/13 - 6 30 facilitate the smooth joins between the lengths of cladding. The corners 30, 40 also have downwardly extending skirts with a series of cut out lines to allow the skirts to be cut to length to accommodate for 5 variations in the gap between the roof structure and the solar panel. Figures 11 illustrate a joiner 60 that can be used to interconnect lengths of cladding 20 end to end as shown in 10 Figure 2. The joiners 60 are H shaped in cross section as shown in Figure lid and are shaped as the cladding to ensure a smooth join between lengths of cladding 20. The assembly described above provides an efficient 15 mechanism for cladding a variety of roof mounted structures such as solar panels, solar hot water collectors and even sky lights. The cladding provides the peripheral boundary between the panel and the roof that considerably improves the aesthetic appearance of the 20 final assembly but also reduces the likelihood of wind getting under the panels or leaves and other debris collecting in the space between the panels and the roof structure. 25 The combination of lengths of cladding, internal and external corner units and joiners together with the retainers that are suitably attached to the roof mounted support structure allows the length of the skirt and length of the members to be adjustable to ensure a neat 30 close fitting finish, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. In a preferred embodiment, the maximum height of the cladding above the roof structure is 150mm. However the height can be cut down to 80mm to suit particular 35 applications. The width of the projection of the cladding is set at a maximum of 200mm and the length of each piece of cladding is 1000mm. The corners, both internal and 4232112_1 (GHMatters) P90718.AU.1 8/04/13 external are 350mm by 350mm. The location flange and co operation with the retainer 50 has a maximum height of 35mm. 5 In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or " comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, 10 i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. 4232112_1 (GHMatters) P90718.AU.1 8/04/13

Claims

1. A cladding assembly for installed roof top structures having a top spaced from the roof, the cladding comprising moulded lengths of plastics that are interconnected by joiners to ensure a smooth joint between the moulded lengths, retainers adapted to be attached spaced apart along sides of the rooftop structures, the moulded lengths being clipped onto the retainers, and the moulded lengths include corner units that are secured to adjacent lengths of each corner of the structure to clad the perimeter of the structure, whereby the cladding extends substantially between the top of the structure and the roof, and whereby the combination of the moulded lengths of plastic, corner units and joiners together with the retainers allows the length of the cladding to be adjustable to conform to the perimeter of the installed structure.

2. The cladding assembly according to claim 1 wherein the retainers, lengths and corner units are all moulded in ultraviolet tolerant plastics.

3. The cladding assembly according to either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the moulded lengths and corner units include a downwardly extending arcuate skirt.

4. The cladding assembly according to claim 3 wherein the skirt can be trimmed in accordance with the spacing between the structure and the roof.

5. The cladding assembly according to claim 4 wherein the skirt has spaced zones of reduced cross section to assist trimming of the skirt.

6. The cladding assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the corner units define either internal or external corners.

7. The cladding assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the moulded lengths and corner units include a downwardly extending mounting flange with a ribbed end.

8. The cladding assembly according to claim 7 wherein each retainer has a ribbed groove arranged to allow the ribbed mounting flange to snap fit therein.

9. The cladding assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a periphery of spaced vents are positioned in the skirt.

10. The cladding assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.