GB2178085A - Lean-to roof structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A lean-to roof, more particularly for a conservatory for placing in front of a wall of a building, comprising roof struts made of sectional members for holding roofing, e.g. glazing, the ends of the struts being connected to bearing means extending mainly in a perpendicular plane, eg. glazed side walls of the conservatory at one end and the wall of the building at the other end. The device comprises a connecting member in the form of a link 1 movable around a pivot 2, a first arm 3 of the link being connectable to a roof strut 11 whereas the second arm 4 is for securing to a bearing means 12a, 12b. Preferably the link is a lockable link; in a first embodiment, the first arm 3 of the link is constructed as a shank (5,5 Fig. 1) for inserting and fitting into a roof strut 11 constructed as a hollow section member. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Lean-to roof structure This invention relates to a lean-to roof structure. more particularly for a conservatory in front of a wall of a building, and comprising roof struts made of sectional members for holding roofing, which may be glazed. the ends of the struts being connected to bearing means extending mainly in a perpendicular plane. ffor instance glazed side walls of the conservatory at one end and the wall of the building at the other end.

In conservatories and other buildings having relatively large glazed roof and side-wall surfaces, the roof is usually a frame constructed from roof struts which bear the roofing, preferably glazing.

During assembly, difficulties often occur at the part of the building where the roof is adjacent a side wall. In the case of lean-to roofs in particular, the angle of inclination of the roof surface depends on the details of the site and the planned dimensions of the building, so that the roof struts for each individual structure have to be secured at a different angle to the side walls. To avoid expensive special manufacture of components adapted to the special requirements of an individual building, e.g. roof struts bent at the end at an angle corresponding to the angle of inclination of the roof, roof struts are often cut to only one suitable length, bevelled at the ends and connected to the side walls of the building by simple means such as metal screws, plug connections or the like.These connections, however, must be regarded as makeshift; their stability is doubtful and they are difficult to seal.

The object of the invention is to improve a lean-to roof structure of the initially-mentioned kind so that its connecting areas can be connected to bearing means, e.g. side walls, in a simple, stable manner and at a predetermined angle of inclination.

According to the invention, there is proposed a connecting member in the form of a link movable around a pivot, a first arm of the link being connectable to a roof strut whereas a second arm of the link is for securing to a bearing means.

Advantageously the roof strut is pivotably connected by the connecting member to the bearing means so that the angle of inclination of the roof can be adjusted as desired by rotating the strut around the pivot. The roof struts are thus connected in a simple, stable manner to the bearing means and hold the roofing or glazing, which is preferably made of double plastics web plates.

The connecting member according to the invention can advantageously be produced cheaply, because it can be prefabricated in large quantities by mass production and stored, since it can be individually inserted in a variety of buildings irrespective of the desired angle of inclination of the lean-to roof.

The roofing or glazing preferably projects over the bearing means to which the lower ends of the roof struts are secured, thus for example preventing rainwater from penetrating the building. Rainwater should be prevented from accumulating on the roof to avoid unsightly growth of algae, which is particularly undesirable on glazing. To this end the roof is preferably without cross-struts which prevent rainwater from running away. Preferably the roof structure according to the invention has a gutter at its lower edge, the gutter extending along the top edge of the bearing means and the back of the gutter facing the bearing means comprising a sealing strip which closes the gap left between the bearing means and the roofing or glazing, against which it bears in a water-tight manner.The gutter may with particular advantage be secured by the second link arm of the connecting member which is attached to the bearing means.

More particularly when the strut holds glazing, the strut preferably has heat insulation extending in its longitudinal direction and thermally separating the rest of the strut from the components holding the glazing. This prevents the inside of the glazing from cooling, which would result in water condensing there and the glazing clouding over. Advantageously the first link arm of the connecting member according to the invention can be connected to the strut in such a manner that the connecting member, which is preferably of metal, does not bridge the heat insulation of the roof strut.

In a preferred embodiment of the connecting member according to the invention the link is lockable, so that when the connecting member is attached to the roof strut the lean-to roof can be adjusted to the desired angle of inclination, after which the strut can be connected via the connecting member to the bearing means without altering the adjusted angle of inclination. The link can be locked in a simple manner for instance if the pivot is a threaded bolt and the link arms are secured at the appropriate angle to one another by tightening a nut.

Conventionally, the struts for conservatories or similar buildings are constructed as hollow section members having profiled outer surfaces particularly suitable for holding roofing or glazing. In order to prevent the first link arm secured to the strut from reducing the efficiency of the aforementioned external profiling, in an advantageous embodiment of the connecting member according to the invention the first link arm is a shank for inserting and fitting into the roof strut, which is constructed as a hollow section member.

To ensure the most inexpensive manufacture of the connecting member according to the invention, the link is preferably constructed as follows: the first arm of the link ends in a plate having an aperture surrounded by a forked end of a second arm of the link, which is formed with holes corresponding to the aperture in the plate and into which the link pivot, constructed as a bolt, is inserted. It does not affect the operation of the link whether the first arm ends in a plate and the second arm ends in a fork or vice versa. In a particularly simple, inexpensive, preferred embodiment of the link according to the invention, the second link arm has the forked end and comprises two angular flat-iron members, one limb of each member co-operating to form the forked end of the second link arm, which surrounds the plate at the end of the first link arm.Preferably, the other limbs of the angular flat-iron members, which are remote from the plate at the end of the first link arm, have free ends which point in opposite directions and form a securing web divided approximately in the middle and lying in a single plane, the web bearing flat on the securing member and being secured thereto, for instance by screws.

To reduce costs, the connecting member according to the invention can be further simplified without reducing its stability if the first link arm, constructed preferably as a shank, comprises two web straps instead of being an expensive solid part. Preferably the web straps are flat-iron members extending substantially parallel to one another in planes at right angles to the link pivot, their upward edges bearing the weight of the roof.

Since the dimensions of lean-to roof struts vary, the shank cross-section may advantageously be matched to the cross-section of the corresponding strut if the end regions of the two web straps are adjacent one another whereas the central regions are spaced apart.

In the particular case of roof struts of rectangular cross-section, the web straps are preferably flat iron members extending substantially parallel to one another, the central region of their flat sides bearing on two facing inside surfaces of the roof strut and the width of the flat sides corresponding to that of the inside surfaces, so that the edges of the flat iron members abut the other two inside surfaces of the roof strut.

Both ends of a lean-to roof strut are connected to a bearing means, e.g. one end being secured to the side wall of a conservatory whereas the other end is secured to a wall of the building. In the lean-to roof structure according to the invention, advantageously a connecting member is disposed at each of the two ends of an associated roof strut. The struts of the lean-to roof structure according to the invention, which are equipped with two connecting members, can for instance advantageously be first connected to the conservatory side wall when the roof is constructed, and then rotated round the connecting-member pivot and folded against the wall of the building, to which they can also be secured by the second connecting member.

It is known, particularly in the case of largearea lean-to roofs, for a roof strut, preferably constructed as a hollow section member to be strengthened by a reinforcement extending along it. A reinforcement is usually necessary when the roof strut has a length exceeding about 2.30 m. If a strut of the lean-to roof structure according to the invention has connecting members at both ends connected via a first link arm to the roof strut and thus already strengthening it at its ends regions, advantageously the first link arms of the two connecting members associated with a roof strut are interconnected so that they reinforce the associated strut along its entire length, so that there is no need for additional strengthening of the strut.

Preferably the two interconnected first link arms of the two connecting members are constructed as a continuous component. The advantage is that the resulting first link arms do not have any weak places resulting from a joint.

Embodiments disclosing these and other inventive features are shown in the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of a connecting member according to the invention: Fig. 2 is an end view of the connecting member according to Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 is a side view of a roof strut of a lean-to roof structure according to the invention and having connecting members at both ends, with a gutter and bearing means.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a connecting member 1 according to the invention. This member 1 is constructed as a link movable via a pivot 2 and having a first arm 3 for connecting to a roof strut 11 and a second arm 4 for securing to a bearing means 12a, 12b (see Fig. 3).

The first link arm 3 is constructed as a shank for insertion and fitting into a roof strut 11, constructed as a hollow section member.

The shank comprises two web straps 5 which are adjacent at their ends whereas their centre regions are parallel and spaced apart. The second arm 4 has bores 6 for inserting screws or similar securing means. The arm 4 has a forked end 7 surrounding a plate 8 at the end of the arm 3. The arms 3 and 4 are connected by a pivot 2, which takes the form of a threaded bolt, so that the link can be secured by tightening a screw 9.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the connecting member 1 in Fig. 1. Similar components bear the same reference numbers as in Fig. 1.

More particularly, Fig. 2 shows that the arm 4 comprises two angular flat-iron members 10, one limb of each member forming the forked end 7 of the arm 4, through which the pivot 2 is inserted. The limbs of the member 10 which are not connected to the pivot 2 have free ends pointing in opposite directions and form a securing web lying in a plane and divided approximately in the middle.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a roof strut 11 having a connecting member 1 at each end.

Like components are indicated by like numbers to those in the preceding drawings. The first link arms 3 of the two connecting members 1, which are constructed as shanks for insertion into the hollow section-member roof strut 11, can be interconnected inside the strut 11 or can be constructed as a continuous component extending all the way along the strut 11.

The second link arms 4 of the members 1 are connected to bearing means 12a, 12b, means 12a being a frame-like side wall of a conservatory and having a transverse strut to which the member 1 is secured, whereas means 12b is a wall of a building.

The members 1 are secured to the strut 11 so as to provide thermal insulation 13.along the strut 11 and thermally insulate the rest of the strut 11 from the retaining elements 14 bearing the glazing, without providing any heat-conducting bridge.

A gutter 15 extending along the inner edge of the roof is held between means 12a and the associated connecting member 1. The gutter 15 has a sealing strip 16 which bears in a water-tight manner against a sealing lip 17 on the glazing or the roofing, thus sealing the gap left between the bearing means 1 2a and the glazing or roofing.

Claims (11)

1. A lean-to roof structure, comprising roof struts made of sectional members for holding roofing, the ends of the struts being connected to bearing means extending mainly in a perpendicular plane, characterised by a connecting member in the form of a link movable around a pivot, a first arm of the link being connectable to a roof strut whereas a second arm of the link is for securing to a bearing means.

2. A lean-to roof structure according to claim 1, characterised in that the link is a lockable link.

3. A lean-to roof structure according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the first arm of the link is constructed as a shank for inserting and fitting into a roof strut constructed as a hollow section member.

4. A lean-to roof structure according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first arm of the link ends in a plate having an aperture surrounded by a forked end of the second arm of the link, which is formed with holes corresponding to the aperture in the plate and into which the link pivot, constructed as a bolt, is inserted.

5. A lean-to roof structure according to claim 4, characterised in that the second arm of the link comprises two angular flat-iron members, one limb of each member co-operating to form the forked end of the second link arm, which surrounds the plate at the end of the first link arm.

6. A lean-to roof structure according to any of claims 3 to 5, characterised in that the first link arm or shank comprises two web straps.

7. A lean-to roof structure according to claim 6, characterised in that the ends of the two web straps aTe adjacent one another whereas the central regions are spaced apart.

8. A lean-to roof structure according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that a connecting member is disposed at each of the two ends of an associated roof strut.

9. A lean-to roof structure according to claim 8, characterised in that the first link arms of the two connecting members associated with a roof strut are connected together.

10. A lean-to roof structure according to claim 9, characterised in that the two interconnected first link arms are constructed as a continuous component.

11. A lean-to roof structure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.