EP1767721A1

EP1767721A1 - Awning arm support with adjustable angle of inclination

Info

Publication number: EP1767721A1
Application number: EP05748694A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Joan Llagostera Forns
Original assignee: Llaza SA
Current assignee: Llaza SA
Priority date: 2004-05-21
Filing date: 2005-05-09
Publication date: 2007-03-28
Anticipated expiration: 2025-05-09
Also published as: ES1057475U; EP1767721B1; ATE465308T1; ES2342779T3; DE602005020792D1; ES1057475Y; WO2005113915A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an awning arm support with inclination adjustment comprising a boss (1) with a through hole (2) housing a pin (3) the projecting ends of which are coupled to respective branches (5a, 5b) of a fork at one end of an awning arm (6). The trough hole (2) defines a cavity suitably shaped for guiding an angular oscillation of said pin (3) in an oscillation plane. A first pushing element (7) is arranged to push the pin (3) in a first direction substantially parallel to said oscillation plane and a second pushing element (10) is arranged to push the pin (3) in a second opposite direction to adjust and fix the inclination of the arm (6) between both. The first and second pushing elements (7, 10) can be accessed through respective first and second openings (8, 11) in at least one surface of the boss (1).

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to an awning arm support with inclination adjustment provided for adjusting an inclination of said awning arm in a folded or nearly folded situation for the purpose of facilitating a correct housing of said arm inside a protective casing of the canvas.
The object of the present invention is generally applicable to retractable awnings and particularly to retractable awnings provided with a roller canvas in a rolling tube and folding arms formed of articulated sections for the support and extension of the canvas.

State of prior art

Retractable awning assemblies are known in the prior art in which a rectangular canvas is fixed at one of its edges to a rolling tube assembled rotatably in supports fixed to a bearing surface and at the other opposite edge to a load bar. Both the rolling tube and the load bar are in a horizontal position. The assembly includes a mechanism for rotatably actuating said rolling tube for the purpose of rolling or unrolling the canvas. The load bar is linked to the supports of the rolling tube by means of folding arms, each of which is formed by two sections articulated to one another and fixed at their free ends to respective ends of the load bar and to the mentioned supports of the rolling tube by means of articulated fixings.
The articulated arms are elastically loaded so that they have a tendency to extend outwards, thus extending the canvas as it is released by the rotation of the rolling tube and keeping the canvas tense. When the canvas is fully extended, the two sections of each arm are substantially aligned in a direction perpendicular to the rolling tube, whereas when the canvas is fully retracted, the two sections of each arm are mutually superimposed in a direction that is substantially parallel to the rolling tube and close thereto. The mentioned articulated fixings of the arms to the supports of the rolling tube can be adjusted as regards the inclination of their axes of rotation in a plane that is substantially perpendicular to the rolling tube, which allows determining a general inclination of the awning desired for a fully or partially extended position.
Patent document ES-A-2099406 , belonging to the current applicant, describes an awning assembly of the type described above comprising a casing in which the rolling tube of the canvas is assembled. The casing has a longitudinal opening for the passage of the canvas and the proximal ends of the articulated arms are hingedly attached to the inner face of side plates closing the ends of the casing. The distal ends of the arms are hingedly attached to the load bar, which is formed to couple in said longitudinal opening when the entire canvas has been gathered, in which position the arms are housed in a folded position inside the casing with the load bar sealing the casing in a substantially hermetic manner.
The casing is assembled at its ends such that it can rotate with respect to a longitudinal axis in supports fixed to the bearing surface, which can be a wall, ceiling, cornice, a door or window sill, a pair of pillars, etc. Adjusting means allow varying and fixing the angular position of the casing, therefore it is possible to select a general inclination of the awning desired for a fully or partially extended position.
Utility model ES-A-1048736 , belonging to the current applicant, describes an arrangement for adjusting the inclination of the shaft of the hinge of a folding arm with respect to the support of the rolling tube in an oscillation plane that is substantially parallel to the shaft of said rolling tube, for the purpose of allowing a correct alignment of the arms in a folded position. The arrangement comprises for each hinge, a through hole through a boss of the support of the awning, and a shaft is inserted in said hole. The shaft has projecting ends joined to the branches of a fork formed in the end of the arm. The hole defines an inner shape suitable for guiding an angular oscillation of the shaft in an oscillation plane that is substantially parallel to the rolling tube, which allows a variation of the inclination of the arm in the mentioned oscillation plane. A first pushing element, accessible from a surface of the boss, is arranged to push the pin in a first direction that is substantially parallel to said oscillation plane to adjust the inclination of the arm, and a second pushing element, accessible from a surface of the support opposite to the boss, is arranged to push the pin in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, that is substantially parallel to the oscillation plane to fix the position of the arm in a desired angular position.
The adjustment arrangement of utility model ES-A-1048736 is applicable to both awning assemblies provided with a casing and to awnings in which the rolling tube is visible. In the first case, the correct alignment of the arms is necessary to allow the entrance of the arms to the inside of the casing without interferences in the last phase of the operation for retracting the awning. In the case of an awning without a casing, the supports of the arms are joined to supports of the rolling tube fixed directly to the bearing surface of the awning, and the mentioned adjustment arrangement allows correcting misalignments of the arms due to irregularities of the bearing surface or to construction imperfections of the awning canvas.
However, with the adjustment arrangement described above, it can occur that, depending on the installation of the awning assembly, the mentioned outer surface of the support, opposite to the boss, is difficult or impossible to access, which prevents the actuation of the mentioned second pushing element in order to adjust the inclination of the arm. This access restriction can occur, for example, when the awning assembly is installed in the sill of a door or window, or between two facing surfaces close to the respective rolling tube end supports.
One objective of the present invention is to provide an awning arm support with inclination adjustment provided with first and second pushing elements to vary and fix the desired inclination of the arm being both accessible from surfaces of the boss of the support, for the purpose of ensuring that one and the other of said elements can be accessed independently of the installing conditions of the supports.

Disclosure of the invention

The awning arm support with inclination adjustment according to the present invention contributes to achieving the previous and other objectives providing, as it is conventional, a boss traversed by a through hole in which a pin is housed, which pin has projecting ends coupled to holes formed in respective branches of a fork at one end of an awning arm. The mentioned through hole defines a cavity with a suitable configuration for guiding an angular oscillation of said pin with respect to the boss in a plane. A first pushing element is designed to push the pin in a first direction that is substantially parallel to said oscillation plane to adjust the inclination of said arm and a second pushing element is arranged to push the pin in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, that is substantially parallel to the oscillation plane to fix the position of the arm in a desired angular position. The awning arm support with inclination adjustment according to the present invention is characterized in that sad first and second pushing elements can be accessed through respective first and second openings existing in at least one surface of the boss encompassed by an angle coinciding with or slightly exceeding the angle swept by the arm when it rotates.
To that end and according to a first exemplary embodiment, the first pushing element and the second pushing element comprise respective adjustment and fixing screws installed in their corresponding first and second openings, which openings are substantially aligned with the plane of the guide defined by the hole and are transverse to the hole. Consequently, heads of said adjustment and fixing screws can be accessed through their respective openings located at different heights in the same side of the boss. The adjustment screw corresponding to the first pushing element passes freely through the first opening of the boss while it is coupled to a threaded through hole transversely traversing the pin, such that an opposite end of said adjustment screw stops against an inner surface of the hole opposite to said first opening. The rotation of this adjustment screw moves the pin inside the hole and given that an end of the hole restricts the movement of the pin, the latter describes an angular movement varying the inclination of the arm.
The fixing screw corresponding to the second pushing element is coupled to a thread in said second opening, and an end of said fixing screw stops against an outer surface of the pin. The rotation of this fixing screw moves the pin inside the hole in an opposite direction to that which results from the rotation of the adjustment screw causing the locking of the pin in the position determined by means of the adjustment screw.
According to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention, the first pushing element comprises an adjustment cam formed in a cylindrical body housed rotatably in said first opening, which opening is in this case transverse to the guide plane and has a side intersection with the through hole through which said adjustment cam contacts the pin. The rotation of this adjustment cam moves the pin inside the hole, and given that an end of the hole restricts the movement of the pin, the latter describes an angular movement varying the inclination of the arm. The position is fixed by means of a fixing screw similar to the one described in relation to the first exemplary embodiment, It will be observed that in this second exemplary embodiment, the first and second openings are angularly offset, for example by 90°, and can be accessed in different sides of the boss.
With any of these arrangements, the awning arm support with inclination adjustment according to the present invention allows pushing the pin in opposite directions by means of respective pushing elements which can be accessed from a same side of the boss, or from contiguous sides thereof. Given that the bosses of the supports are in the inner faces thereof, they can always be accessed independently of the awning installing conditions.

Brief description of the drawings

The previous and other features will be more fully understood from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a partially sectioned elevational view of an awning arm support with inclination adjustment according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 shows a partially sectioned elevational view of an awning arm support with inclination adjustment according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the support of Figure 1; and
Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the support of Figure 2 applied to an awning support which has a base provided with several fixing configurations provided for fixing it to a bearing surface.

Detailed description of exemplary embodiments

With reference first to Figure 1, the awning arm support with inclination adjustment according to the present invention comprises a boss 1 traversed by a through hole 2 housing a pin 3 which has projecting ends coupled to holes 4a, 4b formed in respective branches 5a, 5b of a fork at one end of an awning arm 6 (shown in dotted lines in the figures). As it is known (see the mentioned document ES-A-1048736 ), the mentioned through hole 2 defines a cavity with a suitable configuration for guiding an angular oscillation of said pin 3 with respect to the boss 1 in an oscillation plane. This oscillation plane is generally parallel to the rolling tube (not shown) of the canvas of the awning. In Figures 1 and 2, the mentioned oscillation plane coincides with the plane of the paper. One end of the hole 2 (the upper end in the figures) restricts the movement of the pin 3, therefore any pushing force exerted on the pin 3 will cause an angular oscillation of the pin 3 in the mentioned oscillation plane inside the hole 2. It will be understood that it is not essential for the point of the hole 2 restricting the movement of the pin 3 to be at an end, and it can be in any position along the hole 2.
A first pushing element 7 is provided to push the pin 3 inside the hole 2 in a first direction substantially parallel to said oscillation plane, said first pushing element 7 being arranged to adjust the inclination of said arm 6, and a second pushing element 10 is provided to push the pin 3 in a second direction substantially parallel to the oscillation plane opposite to the first direction, said second pushing element 10 being arranged to fix the position of the arm 6 in a desired angular position in cooperation with the first pushing element 7 and with the mentioned end of the hole 2 restricting the movement of the pin 3.
In this first exemplary embodiment, the first pushing element comprises an adjustment screw 7 passed freely through a first opening 8 which is substantially aligned with the oscillation plane and is transverse to the hole 2. The mentioned first opening 8 opens into the hole 2 and the mentioned adjustment screw 7 is coupled to a threaded through hole 9 transversely traversing the pin 3, such that an end of said adjustment screw 7 projects from the opposite side of the of the pin 3 and stops against an inner surface of the hole 2 opposite to said first opening 8. The adjustment screw 7 has a head with a coupling configuration suitable for the coupling of a driving tool, for example, an Allen type hexagonal cavity. This coupling configuration can be accessed for example through the first opening 8 and allows rotating the adjustment screw 7 to carry out an angular movement of the pin 3 inside the hole 2, and the first opening 8 is wide enough to allow the oscillation of the adjustment screw 7 therein.
The mentioned second pushing element comprises a fixing screw 10 coupled to a thread in a second opening 11 which is substantially aligned with the oscillation plane and is transverse to the hole 2, such that an end of the fixing screw 10 projects form the second opening 11 and stops against an outer surface of the pin 3. The mentioned end of the fixing screw 10 is adapted to be coupled in a ring-shaped groove 12 provided in the mentioned pin 3. In the figures, the end of the fixing screw 10 is pointed and the mentioned groove defines a corresponding V-shaped cross-section, although the end could have other shapes, for example rounded, and the groove can have a corresponding rounded shape.
With the arrangement of the first exemplary embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 3, the first and second pushing elements 7 and 10 make contact against the pin 3 in different heights thereof and can be accessed from a same side of the boss 1, as can also be seen in Figure 3. The boss 1 is integral of a part 16, which can be adapted to be assembled in a base, for example, as explained below with reference to Figure 4.
Referring now to Figure 2, a second exemplary embodiment is shown in which the boss and the hole 2 are substantially identical to those described in relation to the first exemplary embodiment. However, here the first pushing element comprises an adjustment cam 13 formed in a cylindrical body 14 housed rotatably in a first opening 15, which in this case is transverse to the oscillation plane and has a side intersection with the hole 2 though which said adjustment cam 13 contacts the pin 3. The cylindrical body 14 has also a head with a coupling configuration, for example, an Allen type hexagonal cavity, suitable for the coupling with a driving tool, said coupling configuration being accessible, for example, through the mentioned first opening 15 (see also Figure 4) and allowing to rotate the adjustment cam 13 to carry out an angular movement of the pin 3 inside the hole 2.
In this second exemplary embodiment, the second pushing element comprises a fixing screw 10 similar to the one described in relation to the first exemplary embodiment, and arranged in a similar manner, therefore its description will be omitted. With the arrangement of the second exemplary embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 4, the first and second pushing elements 13 and 10 can be accessed from different sides of the boss 1, as can also be seen in Figure 4. In general terms, the axes of the first and second pushing elements 13 and 10 are respectively perpendicular and parallel to the oscillation plane, and therefore they are offset by 90°, although certain angular deviations are admissible. Likewise, although in Figures 2 and 4 the first and second pushing elements 13 and 10 make contact against the pin 3 in different heights thereof, this condition is not essential here and they could contact at the same height but on opposite sides of the pin 3 without interfering with each other.
Referring now to Figure 4, the boss 1 is integrally joined to a part 16 adapted to be assembled rotatably on a base 17, which is provided with fixing configurations 18a, 18b, 18c provided for the fixing to a bearing surface, such as a wall, a ceiling, a cornice, a door or window sill, a pillar or any other structural or construction element. Said base 17 incorporates adjusting means for varying the angular position, or the inclination, of the part 16 with respect to the base 17 and fixing means to fix part 16 in a selected position. These adjusting and fixing means for adjusting and fixing the inclination of the part 6 are known in themselves and can be accessed, for example, through openings 21 in the base 17 for their actuation.
Two opposite support assemblies (as that shown in Figure 4) are necessary for the assembly of an awning, each support assembly including a base 17 and a rotating part 16, both assemblies being symmetrical with respect to a vertical plane and installed facing each other in the same bearing surface or in different bearing surfaces. Each base 17 supports an articulated arm 6 and includes a coupling 19 adapted to rotatably receive one end of a canvas rolling tube fixed at one end edge to a load bar (not shown) linked at its ends to corresponding distal ends of the arms 6.
The mentioned fixing configurations 18a, 18b, 18c are arranged according to three orthogonal support planes which can be selected according to the available bearing surface. Thus, fixing configurations 18a would be used for fixing the base 17 to a wall parallel to the rolling tube, fixing configurations 18b would be used for the fixing to a ceiling or cornice, and fixing configurations 18c would be used for the fixing to a sill or facing walls. In the latter case, despite the fact that some surfaces of the bases 17 opposite to the bosses 1 are attached to or are very close to the bearing surfaces of the sill or facing walls, the possibility of actuating the first and second pushing elements 7, 13 and 10 is assured because the first and second pushing elements 7, 13 and 10 can be accessed through the respective first and second openings 8, 15 and 11, which are arranged in the same surfaces or in different surfaces of the boss 1.
In the base 17 shown in Figure 4, the coupling 19 for one end of the rolling tube is integrated in a detachable part 22 coupled to a wall of the base 17, for example by means of slots 23 and fixed in position by means of a screw 24 for example. The base 17 also comprises a stop 20 assembled in an extension adjustable manner in an appendage of said part 16 to limit the movement of the arm 6 when the latter is in a folded position.
It must be indicated that, although the base 17 is shown in Figure 4 as incorporating the part 6 with the boss 1 according to the second exemplary embodiment described in relation to Figure 2, the part 6 with the boss 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment described in relation to Figures 1 and 3 could be assembled in an identical base 17 with the same result.. Likewise, the boss 1 and the first and second pushing elements 7, 13 and 10, according to either the first or second exemplary embodiment, can be provided in side plates closing a casing or box in an awning assembly like the one described in patent ES-A-2099406 described above, providing equivalent advantages.
A person skilled in the art will be able to introduce modifications and variations to the embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the attached claims. For example, the first and second pushing elements 7, 13 and 10, according to either the first or second exemplary embodiment, do not necessarily have to be perpendicular or parallel to each other, or each one to the axis of the pin 3 or with respect to the oscillation plane, but admit a certain degree of angular deviation provided that they provide a sufficient pushing component in the required direction. This certain degree of angular deviation can facilitate, in some cases, the shaping by molding and/or machining the parts.

Claims

An awning arm support with inclination adjustment, of the type comprising a boss (1) integral with a part (16) and traversed by a through hole (2) housing a pin (3) having projecting ends coupled to respective branches (5a, 5b) of a fork at one end of an awning arm (6), where said through hole (2) defines a cavity with a suitable configuration for guiding an angular oscillation of said pin (3) with respect to the boss (1) in an oscillation plane, a first pushing element (7, 13) being provided and arranged to push the pin (3) in a first direction substantially parallel to said oscillation plane to adjust the inclination of said arm (6), and a second pushing element (10) being provided and arranged to push the pin (3) in a second direction substantially parallel to the oscillation plane and opposite to said first direction to fix the position of the arm (6) in a desired angular position, said first and second pushing elements (7, 13) and (10) being accessible through respective first and second openings (8, 15) and (11), characterized in that said first opening (8, 15) and said second opening (11) are arranged in at least one surface of the boss (1), and in that said surface of the boss (1) is encompassed by an angle coinciding with or slightly exceeding the angle swept by the arm (6) when it rotates.
A support according to claim 1, characterized in that said first pushing element comprises an adjustment screw (7) passed through said first opening (8), which is substantially aligned with the oscillation plane and is transverse to the hole (2), and coupled to a threaded through hole (9) transversely traversing the pin (3), where an end of said adjustment screw (7) stops against an inner surface of the hole (2) opposite to said first opening (8).
A support according to claim 1, characterized in that said first pushing element comprises an adjustment cam (13) formed in a cylindrical body (14) housed rotatably in said first opening (15), which opening is transverse to the oscillation plane and has a side intersection with the through hole (2) through which said adjustment cam (13) contacts the pin (3).
A support according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said second pushing element comprises a fixing screw (10) coupled to a thread in said second opening (11), which is substantially aligned with the oscillation plane and is transverse to the hole (2), where an end of said fixing screw (10) stops against an outer surface of the pin (3).
A support according to claim 4, characterized in that said end of the fixing screw (10) defines an end adapted to be coupled in a ring-shaped groove (12) provided in the mentioned pin (3).
A support according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second pushing elements (7, 13) and (10) contact the pin (3) at different heights thereof.