CA1303322C

CA1303322C - Skylight

Info

Publication number: CA1303322C
Application number: CA000583720A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Steven M. Sutton
Original assignee: Continuum Developments Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Continuum Developments Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1988-11-22
Filing date: 1988-11-22
Publication date: 1992-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 2009-06-16
Also published as: AU6180494A; CA1334328E

Abstract

- ABSTRACT -A skylight and method of constructing a skylight wherein the method comprises the steps of forming an opening in the roof and ceiling respectively of a housing having a cavity therebetween. A tubular skylight is then inserted into the opening. The tubular skylight has a transparent surface protruding throught the ceiling and roof respect-ively to pass light therethrough. A reflector is located within the domed transparent surface protruding through the roof, and is angled such that it reflects light that would not have passed into the tubular skylight into same.

Description

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Th~ present ~nvention relates to skylights, and ~n particular, to a skylight which has an integral body and is easy to install.
Skyli~ht systems are well known in situations where existin~ or new dwellinqs require further light than is rece~ved throuqh windows or doors.
The most common form of skyli~ht is to construct a frame, usually of e~ther wood or metal, from the ceilin~ to the roofin~ panels. A clear material such as PERSPEX (Trade Mark) covers the openinq in the ceilinq and the openinq in the roof.
This method of construction is not standardized as each separate installation is different. This tends to increase the averaqe cost of installation per unit.
It is also the case that qenerally to obtain suffi-cient light from the skYliqht, the sk~ ht has to be of a size which requires the removal of some sections of roof joist and roof battens which in turn chanqes the loadinq of the roof thereon. To overcome the problems associated with sucn construction, a structual analysis should be made of the renovations and possible further structural members may be required.
It is an ob~ject of the present invention to provide an imProved skyliqht which substantially overcomes or ameliorates the abovementioned disadvantaqes.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a skylight system for a building having a roof and a ceiling spaced from the roof with a cavity therebetween.
The system includes a tubular body for positioning in the cavity and haYing a first end and a second end. A first ,1 - 2 -'~ ..' ~L3~33~

transparent cover is attached to the first end o the body and extends above the roof and forms a light-permeable chamber above the first end of the body. A second transparent cover is attached to the second end of the body and is located at the ceiling. A reflector is located within the light-permeable chamber and extends above the roof, to reflect at least some light incident thereon into the body.
According to anothex a~pect of the in~ention there is provided a method of constructing a skylight system which includes the steps of forming an opening in each of a roof and a ceiling of a building having a cavity between the roof and ceiling, positioning a tubular body in the cavity and securing the body in position. The body has a first and a second end so that a first transparent cover, attached to ~he first end of the body, extend~ above the roof and forms ~ light-pexmeable chamber above the first end. A second transparent cover is attached to the second end so as to be located at the ceiling. The light-permeable chamber has a reflector loc~ted therein, which extends above the roof ~o as to reflect at least some light incident ~hereon into the bod~.
Preferably~ the internal surfaces of the skyliqht tube are coated for maximum transmission of liqht therethrouqh.
Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawinqs in which Fiq. 1 is a partial cut-away side view of an installed skyliqht accordinq to a preferred embodiment, ~l3~3~3~
Fiq. 2 i5 d diacram of a reflector which is used in the skyliqht of Fiq. 1, Fiqs. 3 and 3a are plan views of a roof cavit~
showinq support components for the installation of the skyliqht of Fiq. 1, Fiq. 4 is an inverted plan view of the skyliqht of Fiq. 1~
Fiq. 5 is a ~lan view of the installed skyliqht of Fiq. 1, '"?~ 3a -~3~3~

Fig. 6 is a partial cut-away side view of an installed skylight according to an alternate embodiment, Fig. 7 is a diayram of a reflector to be used in the skylight as shown in Fig. 6, Fig. 8 is a plan view of the roof cavity showing support components for the skylight of Fig, 6, Fig. 9 is an inverted plan ,view of the skylight of Fig. 6, Fig. 10 is a plan view of the installed skylight of Fig. 6, Fig. 11 is a partial cut-away view of an installed skylight with optional venting according to another preferred embodiment, Fig. 12 is a plan view of the skylight of Fig. 11, Fig. 13 is a partial cut-away of an installed skylight with sectional indicator through optional venting of the skylight of Fig. 11, Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the venting of Fig. 11, Fig. 15 is a partial cut-away view of an installed skylight with optional venting according to an internate embodiment, and Fig. 16 is a plan view of the installed skylight with optional venting according to an internate embodiment.
The skylight 1 of the preferred embodiment as illus-trated in Figs. 1 to 5 comprises a tube 2 which has one hemi-spherical end cap or upper bubble 3 and one dished or "bowter" end cap or diffuser 4 attached thereto.

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The top end cap 3 is made of a clear PERSPEX (Trade Mark~ or similar such material and the lower surface has a pattern impressed thereto forming a diffusing effect typical to K15 (Trade Mark). The top end cap or upper bubble 3 has a reflector 5 affixed thereto on its inside surface. The reflector 5 reflects the light that would otherwise pass through the sides of the upper bu~ble 3, into the tube 2 adding to the light incident and transmitted through the tube 2.
The material of the tube 2 is either metal, fiber or plastics, and has a finish which is a highly reflective polish or coating, as found on "11~0 alloy alluminium", electroplating, anodising or metalised plastic film. The coatings applied to all the internal surfaces thereof.
The highly reflective nature of the internal surfaces of the tube 2 assit in transmitting and reflecting light through the diffuser 4. The combined light passes through the diffuser 4 and is re-directed sideways and upwardly, which is then reflected off walls 16 and ceiling 8 and therefore creates indirect lighting for the room 20.
In the installation procedure, the position in the ceiling 8 i-s determined and a suitable hole 9 is cut out.
The corresponding roof tiles 10 vertically above the hole 9 are also removed. ~t is noted at this point that some small portion of battens 13 may need to be removed depending on the positional requirements. The same applies to small and remediable portions of the roof structurei Once the abovementioned has-been noted, the tube 2 .. :

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is then moved into position between the battens 13, and rested on the ceiling 8. Angle brackets 18 are fixed to the ceiling joist 19 with fasteners 21. The tube 2 is then lowered into the correct ceiling 8 level (flush with the ùnderside of) which is aùtomatically determined by aligning a bolt 17 with bracket 18 whereby the bolt 17 is affixed.
This is associated with the embodiment of Fig. 3a whilst in the embodiment of Fig. 3 a plurality of tabs 18 rest on the ceiling 8.
Flashing 6 is then placed and dressed to the tube 2, and the roof tiles 10 are replaced. It should be noted that the flashing 6 is placed under the roof tile 10 surrounding the tube 2. A hose clamp 11 i s then fixed over the tube 2 and the upturn of the flashing 6 and a suitable water resis-tent sealant is applied therebetween.
The upper bubble 3 is then affixed, and is secured onto the tube 2 by a hose clamp 11. The reflector 5 has already been placed upon the top side oF the tube 2 prior to installation.
The lower bubble or diffuser 4 is then affixed to the lower end of the tube 2 through the hole 2 provided in the ceiling 8. The diffuser 4 has a flange 12 or alter-natively a dress trim. The diffuser 4 can have varying shapes as illustrated in Figs. 1, 4, 6, 9, 11 and 13 as well as the upper bubble 3 having different shapes as illustrated in Figs. 1, 5, 6, 11 and 15.
According to the different embodiments of the inven-tion in the drawings, the reflector is illustrated in - ~3~J~3~
Figs. 2 and 7.
After the skylight 1 has been installed, ambient, permeative, and direct sunlight from the sky enters the upper bubble 3, a large proportion of the light striking the reflector 5, the balance of the light that would normally pass through the clear material of the upper bubble 3 is reflected back into the tube 2 by means of the reflector 5 located at the elevation away from the sun of the upper bubble 3 which is fixed to the tube 2 between the external surface of the tube 2 and the internal surface of the upper bubble 3. This reflected light now enters the tube 2 at a corresponding and opposite angle to the light received through the upper bubble 3. The combination of the varia-bility angled light strikes the diffuser 4 and the light is scattered throughout the room 20.
As the skylight 1 is a sealed unit, dust ingress is prevented by the close fit of the upper bubble 3 with the tube 2 and correspondingly the close fit between the tube 2 and the diffuser 4. In a similar manner, pests are also prevented from entering into the skylight 1.
With regard to the thermal. considerations, it is found that greater amounts of heat are found under skylighted areas in the summer time and conversely, less with the lower temperatures in winter. The present invention eliminates - such problems due to the subst`ant.ially sealed nature of the skylight 1. The beforementioned close fit of all the components prevents excess air movement which creates a static column of air within the skylight 1. The column of .

~31~33~2 air acts as an insulator combined with the insulating properties of plastics forming the upper bubble 3 and diffuser 4 which prevents heat from entering the room 20.
The heat that builds up within the skylight 1 is dissipated into the roof cavity via the conductive material of the tube 2.
Conversely, in a winter situation, it is found that heat rises, therefore the roof cavity would not be as cool as the external temperature prevaïiing on the outside of the building. The conductive material of the tube 2 would absorb some of the heat warming the air column within. As the air column is heated, it therefore follows that the skylight 1 acts as an insulator and maintains a substantial amount of heat within the room 20.
Another embodiment of the skylight 1 is illustrated in Figs. 6 to 10. This embodiment illustrated comprises a skylight having a square or rectangular cross-section.
A method of venting the skylight 1 is illustrated in Figs. 11 - 16. When the skylight l is vented, dust and pests are prevented from entering the skylight 1 by means of a fine metal fly screen 14.
Taking into consideration the thermal operation of a vented skylight 1, a venting system 22 has a vent tube 23 painted a substantially black colour which absorbs light.
The light energy is converted into heat energy and the heat causes the air in the exposed portion of the vent assembly 24 to the top of the tube 2 to expand. The expanded air rises out of the vent assembly 24 causing the displacement :
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1;3~33~of air and the displaced air is replaced by cooler air further down the vent tube 23 which subsequently originates from the room 20, thereby creating a constant airflow from the room 20 through to the outside.
A raim cover 27 is additionally supplied to the vent tube 23.
The main benefit of the skylights of the preferred embodiments is that the efficiency of the skylight enables the sky to have a smaller diameter/area than equivalent prior art skylights which provides for economy and speed of installation.
The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention, and modifications obvious to those skilled in the art can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A skylight system for a building having a roof and a ceiling spaced from said roof with a cavity therebetween, the skylight system comprising:
a tubular body for positioning in said cavity having a first end and a second end;
a first transparent cover, attached to said first end of said body, extending above the roof and forming a light-permeable chamber above said first end;
a second transparent cover, attached to said second end of said body, located at said ceiling, and a reflector, located within said light-permeable chamber and extending above the roof, to reflect at least some light incident thereon into said body.

2. A skylight system according to claim 1 wherein said body is internally coated with a highly reflective material.

3. A skylight system according to claim 1 wherein said first cover is substantially convex in shape and said reflector is attached to said first cover.

4. A skylight system according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of tabs provided on the outside of said body for abutting against said ceiling.

5. A skylight system according to claim 1 wherein, in use, said body is secured to at least one cross member which is used to bridge between adjacent points provided in the ceiling.

6. A skylight system according to claim 1 further comprising sealing means which seal said first and second covers to said body to provide an air tight enclosure.

7. A skylight system according to claim 1 further comprising a venting system communicating with said body for raising or lowering the temperature of the air in the skylight system.

8. A method of constructing a skylight system comprising the steps of:
forming an opening in each of a roof and a ceiling of a building having a cavity between said roof and ceiling;
positioning a tubular body in said cavity; and securing said body in position, said body having a first and a second end so that a first transparent cover, attached to said first end of said body, extends above the roof and forms a light-permeable chamber above said first end and a second transparent cover is attached to said second end so as to be located at said ceiling, said light-permeable chamber having a reflector located therein, extending above said roof, so as to reflect at least some light incident thereon into said body.

9. A method of constructing a skylight system according to claim 8 wherein the step of positioning said body includes abutting a plurality of tabs provided on the outside of said body against the ceiling.

10. A method of constructing a skylight system according to claim 8 wherein said body is secured to at least one cross member which is used to bridge between adjacent joinst provided in the ceiling.

11. A method of constructing a skylight system according to claim 8 further comprising the step of sealing said first and second covers to said body to provide an air tight enclosure.

12. A method of constructing a skylight system according to claim 8 further comprising the step of coupling a venting system to said body for raising or lowering the temperature of the air in the skylight system.