AU2020267160A1 - Sahading apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Shading apparatus comprising two or more spaced apart line members adapted to be connected to a support structure so as to be held taut, a plurality of upwardly curved elongate support members operatively connected at or adjacent their ends to said line members for sliding movement along said line members and a flexible cover including a plurality of spaced apart sleeves extending thereacross wherein said curved elongate support members extend through respective ones of said sleeves, said sleeves and said elongate support members being so made and arranged that said sleeves substantially inhibit lateral movement of said curved elongate members relative thereto. n to 1~ 1/ / I, 1"/ // 7/~ // / ~/, / / / /\~/ / 1~ g ft N n

Description

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SHADING APPARATUS

This invention relates to shading apparatus. The invention

has particular application to shading apparatus for shading

swimming pools, playgrounds, entertainment areas and the like

and wherein reference will be made to such application. However,

the invention may have application to shading work areas and

other places where shading is required and may even be used to

protect entertainment areas and the like from rain as well as

the sun.

Many types of sunshades have been constructed over the

years. For example, shades comprising shade cloth stretched

between a number of posts and held taut by cables extending

between adjacent posts are known. In some cases, larger areas

can be covered by overlapping pieces of shade cloth with vertical

or horizontal spaces there between. Some of those shades are

referred to as "sails", probably because they have some

resemblance to the sails of sailing ships in the manner that

they overlap.

Such shades are generally considered to be "permanent" and

once erected usually remain in that state until the shade cloth

needs to be replaced. One of the disadvantages of permanent

sunshades is that while they provide suitable shade during the

summer months, they provide unwanted shade during winter months.

Attempts have been made to construct retractable sunshades

?5 or shading apparatus or sunshades which can be opened and closed.

However, those which open and close are relatively expensive to

construct and maintain and those which are flat and tend to

collect leaves, branches, twigs and other debris which put an

undesirable load on the shade cloth or vinyl cloth and causing

damage thereto.

- - - - - - QT

The present invention is aimed at providing relatively inexpensive shading apparatus which provides satisfactory shade

for swimming pools and play areas during summer and can be easily

retracted when desired and which is less likely to collect debris

than presently known flat shades.

With the foregoing in view, the present invention resides

broadly in shading apparatus comprising:

two or more spaced apart line members adapted to be

connected to a support structure so as to be held taut;

a plurality of upwardly curved elongate support members

operatively connected at or adjacent their ends to a respective

one of said line members for sliding movement along said line

members; and

a flexible cover including a plurality of spaced apart

sleeves extending thereacross;

wherein said curved elongate support members extend through

respective ones of said sleeves, said sleeves and said elongate

support members being so made and arranged that said sleeves

substantially inhibit lateral movement of said curved elongate

?0 members relative thereto.

Preferably, the spaced apart line members are stainless

steel cables which are connected at their opposite ends to stand

posts, buildings or some other suitable structure which allows

the cable to be suitably tensioned to support the elongate

?5 support members and the attached flexible cover.

Preferably, said upwardly curved elongate support members

are lightweight tubular members of circular cross-section. In a

preferred form, the tubular members are formed of aluminium,

although they could be formed of high-strength plastics

materials or composite materials, such as fibreglass or carbon

- )AA---- -+ O-,,-- )C )C fibre and the like. In that respect, the elongate support members need to have a sufficient strength to maintain their upward curve under the weight of the flexible cover and preferably have sufficient strength to hold the spaced apart line members in the desired location which in most cases will be parallel to each other.

Preferably, the upwardly curved elongate support members are connected to the line members via end fittings which are slidably fitted to an end portion of the elongate support members at each end. In one preferred form, the end fitting is formed of a glass reinforced plastics material with a socket formed therein and adapted to receive an end portion of the elongate support member in a tight sliding fit. Towards the opposite end the end fitting has a solid portion with a lateral passage there through which is adapted to slidably receive their through the line member.

Preferably, the curved elongate support members are curved to the extent that the height of the middle of the support members is more than about 10% of the length of the curved support members. Advantageously, that curvature provides a curve which satisfactorily reduces the likelihood of debris remaining on the flexible cover. In that respect, while some debris may remain for a short period, that extent of curvature seems to assist the wind in removing debris.

?5 Preferably, the spaced apart sleeves are formed such that the elongate support members are an easy sliding fit therein to allow for fitting but preferably such that unnecessary looseness is avoided. In that respect, it should be noted that the relationship between the sleeve and the elongate support members is such that the tighter the fit of the elongate support members in the sleeves, the more stable the curve of the flexible cover.

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The spaced apart sleeves may be formed in any suitable

manner but in one preferred form, they are formed by gathering

a portion of the shade cloth and stitching along the full width

to form the sleeve. In another form, the sleeve is formed by

stitching a second piece of shade cloth to the main cover sheet.

Preferably, the shading apparatus further includes a second

line member on each side running beside each of the spaced apart

line members for the purpose of sliding the elongate support

members there along from one end to move the elongate support

members and the attached flexible cover from a stowed

disposition to an extended disposition and vice versa. In a

preferred form, where the elongate support members have an end

fitting as previously described, a second passage parallel to

the first passage is provided for the purpose of supporting the

second line member.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood

and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the

accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a pictorial representation of shading apparatus

according to the invention;

Fig. 2 two is another pictorial representation of the

shading apparatus of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a pictorial presentation of an end piece component

of the shading apparatus of Fig. 1.

?5 The shading apparatus 10 illustrated in figures 1 and 2

includes a plurality of upwardly curved elongate support members

11 (which are all identical in this embodiment) which extend

between spaced apart line members in the form of stainless steel

cables 12 and 13 which extend from support posts 32 and 33 to

building roof structure 15 in the background.

- )QIC - O-,,-- )C )C

The support members 11 are formed of curved aluminium tube

and are connected to the line members via end pieces 16 which

can be more clearly seen in Fig 3. Each end piece 16 has a socket

17 extending inwards from one end to approximately halfway along

the end piece which is adapted to receive therein an end portion

of the elongate support members 11. The end pieces have a passage

18 extending therethrough from one side to the other orthogonal

to socket 17, through which the stainless steel cables 12 and

13 extend respectively. A second passage 19 parallel to passage

18 also extends through the end piece and is adapted to receive

therethrough one leg of a second cable 41 or 42, which will be

described later.

A sheet of high-strength shade cloth 26 extends from line

member 12 to line member 13 and is supported by the elongate

support members 11. For that purpose, sleeves 27 are provided

in the shade cloth from side to side and the elongate support

members 11 are fitted in those sleeves. As can be seen in Fig.

2, the elongate support members have a small sliding clearance

within the sleeves and consequently the shade cloth prevents the

support members collapsing towards one end or the other and the

support members prevent the shade cloth collapsing downwards.

In other forms of the invention, waterproof vinyl cloth or the

like may be used instead of shade cloth if desired.

As can also be seen in Fig 2, the end panel 29 (which can

?5 be seen in the background) of the shade cloth cover 26 slopes

downwardly and is secured to steel crossmember 31 which extends

between support posts 32 and 33. Notably, posts 32 and 33 are

rigidly mounted on concrete footings in the ground while the end

in the background is secured to the fascia board 34 of the

building.

A pair of second cables 41 and 42 extend along the sides

of the shade cloth cover 26 through end piece passages 19 which

- )QIC - - O-,,-- )C )C are parallel and close to cables 12 and 13 for the purpose of extending and stowing the shade cloth cover. In that respect, the second cables are arranged to pull the support members 11 along the respective cables 12 and 13 in unison to one end or the other as desired. As that operation occurs, the shade cloth cover falls between the support members 11 in a concertina fashion as the support members gather at one end. In the present embodiment, the cables are pulled by a hand operated winch but electric winches as shown at 36 and 37 is preferred.

As can been seen in Fig. 1, each of cables 41 and 42 is a

loop having an upper run and a lower run arranged such that the

respective winches 36 and 37 pull one leg to extend the cover

and the other leg to retract the cover. In one form of the

invention the loop cables pass through passage 19 while in

another form, they merely run beside cables 12 and 13

respectively.

In another form of the invention the end piece 44 is used

instead of end piece 16. In that respect the end portions of

support members 11 locate in sockets 46 respectively and side

cables 12 and 13 pass through passage 47. Advantageously,

another passage 48 is provided in the end piece and a tie (not

shown) is used to tie the edge of the cover to the respective

end pieces thereby assisting in maintaining the cover taut with

the side cables 12 and 13, and to secure the end piece in the

?5 end of sleeve 27.

It will be appreciated that the present invention provides

a relatively easy light weight system of constructing, erecting

and operating shading apparatus.

The foregoing description has been given by way of

illustrative example of the invention and many modifications and

variations which will be apparent to persons skilled in the art

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Claims (13)

may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described herein and defined by the following claims. - - -)AA ---- QT THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. Shading apparatus comprising:

two or more spaced apart line members adapted to be connected to a support structure so as to be held taut;

a plurality of upwardly curved elongate support members operatively connected at or adjacent their ends to said line members for sliding movement along said line members; and

a flexible cover including a plurality of spaced apart sleeves extending thereacross;

wherein said curved elongate support members extend through respective ones of said sleeves, said sleeves and said elongate support members being so made and arranged that said sleeves substantially inhibit lateral movement of said curved elongate members relative thereto.

2. Shading apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the spaced apart line members are stainless steel cables which are connected at their opposite ends to stand posts, buildings or some other suitable structure.

3. Shading apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said upwardly curved elongate support members are lightweight tubular members of circular cross-section.

4. Shading apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the tubular members are formed of aluminium.

5. Shading apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the upwardly curved elongate support members are connected to the line members via end fittings which are slidably fitted to an end portion of the elongate support members at each end.

6. Shading apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the end

fitting has a socket adapted to receive an end portion of the

elongate support member.

7. Shading apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the end

fitting has a portion with a lateral passage therethrough which

is adapted to slidably receive therethrough the line member.

8. Shading apparatus according to any one of the preceding

claims wherein the curved elongate support members are curved

to the extent that the height of the middle of the support

members is more than about 10% of the length of the curved

support members.

9. Shading apparatus according to any one of the preceding

claims wherein the spaced apart sleeves are formed such that the

elongate support members are an easy sliding fit therein.

10. Shading apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the spaced

apart sleeves are formed by gathering a portion of the flexible

cover and stitching along the width of the cover or at least

part of the width of the cover.

11. Shading apparatus according to any one of the preceding

claims further including a second line member on each side

running beside each of the spaced apart line members for the

purpose of sliding the elongate support members there along from

one end to move the elongate support members and the attached

flexible cover from a stowed disposition to an extended

disposition and vice versa.

12. Shading apparatus according to claim 11 wherein the end

fitting includes a second passage parallel to the first passage

for supporting the second line member.

13. Shading apparatus according to any one of the preceding

claims wherein the flexible cover is secured to at least some

of the elongate support members at or adjacent their opposite

ends.