GB2368357A

GB2368357A - A roof including a glazing panel and attachment means

Info

Publication number: GB2368357A
Application number: GB0028381A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Christopher Allport; Mark Charles Allport; Phillip Brian Allport; Hannah Susan Gray; Susan Margaret Allport
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-10-26
Filing date: 2000-11-21
Publication date: 2002-05-01
Anticipated expiration: 2020-11-21
Also published as: IE20000862A1; GB2368357B; GB0028381D0

Abstract

A glazing panel (23), inclined to the horizontal, is secured to a beam (21) by a clip and an anchor member (10). The clip is of channel form an includes upper and lower resilient walls (15, 16), which contact the panel and opposing projections (19) which restrict insertion of the panel into the clip. The anchoring member includes a channel portion (13) into which a downward extension (17) of the clip is inserted. Preferably the clip and the anchoring member overhang the beam and cushioning members (40, Figure 4) are included between the opposing projections and the panel.

Description

A Roof including a Glazing Panel.

This invention relates to a roof including a glazing panel.

According to the present invention there is provided a roof including a support structure, an inclined glazing panel mounted on the support structure, a gutter mounted on the support structure and positioned to receive rainwater which has flowed downwardly over the upper surface of the glazing panel, a clip which presses on the upper and lower surfaces of the glazing panel adjacent its lower edge and which locates and fixes in position said lower edge, and an anchoring member which engages said support structure and the clip and fixes the clip to the support structure, wherein the clip is in the form of a channel with upper and lower resilient walls, the inner surface of each wall having a respective projection, the projections opposing one another across the gap between the walls and together forming a stop which limits insertion of the glazing panel into the clip.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1 and 3 show perspective views of part of an anchoring member and part of a clip, respectively,

Figures 2 and 4 show cross-sectional views of the parts shown in Figures 1 and 3, respectively, Figure 5 shows a perspective view of part of a roof including what is shown in Figures 1 to 4, Figure 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a cushioning member, Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional view of part of an alternative anchoring member, and Figure 8 shows a perspective view of part of a roof including the anchoring member of Figure 7.

Figures 1,2 and 5 show an anchoring member 10 which is much longer than is shown in Figure 1 and is of uniform cross-section, shown in Figure 2, over its entire length. It is in the form of a strip which extends across and beneath an inclined double-glazing panel 23, as shown in Figure 5. The double-glazing panel comprises parallel glass sheets 23A, 23B and 23C.

The sheets 23A and 23B form a laminate on one side of the panel and are spaced from the single glass sheet 23C by a spacer 23D. The glazing panel 23 is shown in Figure 5 with the laminate 23A/23B on top and the single glass sheet 23C underneath, but it could be orientated the other way up. Also, the glazing panel could comprise laminates or single glass sheets, in each case one on each side of the panel. The sheets could be made of a transparent or translucent material other than glass.

The strip 10 has a down-turned portion 13 in the form of a retaining channel at its lower edge. The channel has on one of its walls an inward projection 13A with a downwardly-facing lower surface 13B. The channel also has on its opposite wall an inward projection 13C. The strip also has at its upper edge a downwardly-extending portion 11 which has three lateral projections 12 of semi-tooth form, which project towards the portion 13.

Figures 3,4 and 5 show a clip which is much longer than is shown in Figure 3 and is of uniform cross-section, shown in Figure 4, over its entire length. The clip is in the form of a channel having a base 14, an upper side wall 15 and a lower side wall 16, these walls being resilient so that they press on the upper and lower surfaces of the glazing panel 23 adjacent the lower edge of the panel when that edge is between them. Where the base 14 and the side wall 16 of the channel meet, there is a downward projection 20, which assists run-off of rainwater, and at the end of the side wall 16 remote from the base 14 of the channel - there is a downward extension 17 at the bottom of which is a lateral projection 17A having an upwardly-facing upper surface 17B.

Relative to the lower wall 16 the upper wall 15 of the clip is slightly downwardly inclined towards its tip 25 to ensure that contact with the outer face of the glass sheet 23A is made solely at the tip 25.

The upper and lower side walls 15,16 have facing inner surfaces 18 each having a respective

inward projection 19. Each projection 19 has a generally T-shaped cross section with the enlarged head of the"T"at the free edge of the projection. The projections directly oppose one another across the gap between the walls 15,16 and together form a stop which limits insertion of the glazing panel into the clip (Figure 5).

To avoid damage to the edge of the glazing panel each projection 19 carries a respective cushioning member 40, not shown in Figure 3, made of a resilient material such as rubber or plastic. Each cushioning member has a groove 41 with a restricted-width opening whose cross-section is generally complementary to that of the associated projection 19. In use, the cushioning member 40 is slid onto the respective T-shaped projection from one end such that the projection is substantially wholly accommodated in the groove, Figure 4. The cushioning member is thereby self-retaining on the projection.

A gutter 27 is mounted on a horizontal beam 21 forming part of a composite ring beam of a conservatory, the beam having a planar inclined upper surface 30. Grooves 22 and 31 in this surface 30 extend along the beam.

The lower edge 24 of the glazing panel 23 is fitted into the clip 1, the walls 15 and 16 of which are thereby forced apart, until the upper and lower cushioning members 40 are engaged by the upper and lower corners respectively of the lower edge 24 of the glazing panel. The anchoring member 10 is positioned

as shown in Figure 5 by pushing the portion 11 of the anchoring member into the groove 22, the projections 12 gripping the adjacent wall of the groove 22 to provide a positive anchorage. The portion 13 of the member 10 overhangs the beam 21. Then the glazing panel is positioned as shown in Figure 5, with the lower face of the panel inclined, close to and parallel to the upper surface 30 of the beam 21. The entire clip and the lower part of the glazing panel overhangs the beam.

The extension 17 of the clip is inserted into the retaining channel of the portion 13 of the anchoring member, until the surface 17B lies below, facing and substantially parallel to, the surface 13B, thus producing a detent which inhibits upward movement of the glazing panel, for example due to wind.

The groove 31 receives a sealing member 26 with three tongues which press against the lower surface of the glazing panel to form a seal. A seal is also formed by the tip 25 of the upper wall of the clip bearing on the upper surface of the glazing panel so that rainwater runs down that surface, over the upper wall of the clip, down the parts 14 and 20 of the clip and into the gutter 27. If water should seep under the tip 25 of the upper wall 15 of the clip, it will pass into the clip and flow along it to its end and then into the gutter 27.

The provision of stop members 19/40 on both the upper and lower walls 15 and 16 of the clip ensures that installed glazing panels are substantially free of lateral stress. Glazing panels can be quite heavy, particularly those which are made of glass and include

a laminate such the laminate 23A/23B. If there is a large angle of slope, which can be up to 450 or more, the weight of the panel on the stop members is considerable. If there were only one stop member, on the upper or lower wall but not both, only one corner of the lower edge 24 of the glazing panel would be restrained. The resultant lateral stress in the panel could lead, over time, to differential movement of the upper and lower leaves of the glazing panel, and/or to separation of the layers of the laminate. This is avoided by retaining both the upper and lower corners of the lower edge of the panel.

The anchoring member and the clip are made by extruding a very long length of aluminium or aluminium alloy or of a plastics material such as PVC and cutting it into shorter lengths.

The groove 22 is preferably about 5 mm. wide and its position is carefully chosen such that the projection 20 of the clip is in the desired position in relation to the gutter 27.

If the glazing panel needs to be replaced, it may be pushed a short distance upwardly, in a direction parallel to the surface 30 of the beam, until the detent surfaces 13B and 17B are no longer facing one another and then moved upwardly in a second direction, perpendicular to the first.

An alternative form of anchoring member is shown in Figures 7 and 8. The anchoring member 50 is in the form of a strip which extends across and beneath the

inclined double-glazing panel 23, as shown in Figure 8.

The strip 50 has a down-turned portion 52 in the form of a drainage channel adjacent its lower edge. The outside wall of the drainage channel has a retaining channel, similar to the retaining channel 13 of the Figure 2 anchoring member, for receiving the downward extension 17 of the clip. The strip also has at its upper edge a downwardly-extending portion 54 which has two lateral projections which engage in the groove 22 of the beam 21. The strip includes a recess 56 into which is fitted a resilient member 58 which projects out of the recess and into contact with the lower surface of the glazing panel 23. The drainage channel forms a condensation collection trough for condensation control. Drainage holes in the form of apertures 60 are provided in the drainage channel for conveying internal glazing condensation to the gutter 27.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiments which are described by way of example only.

Claims

1. A roof including a support structure, an inclined glazing panel mounted on the support structure, a gutter mounted on the support structure and positioned to receive rainwater which has flowed downwardly over the upper surface of the glazing panel, a clip which presses on the upper and lower surfaces of the glazing panel adjacent its lower edge and which locates and fixes in position said lower edge, and an anchoring member which engages said support. structure and the clip and fixes the clip to the support structure, wherein the clip is in the form of a channel with upper and lower resilient walls, the inner surface of each wall having a respective projection, the projections opposing one another across the gap between the walls and together forming a stop which limits insertion of the glazing panel into the clip.

2. A roof according to claim 1, wherein each projection carries a respective member for cushioning the glazing panel.

3. A roof according to claim 1, wherein each cushioning member substantially surrounds its respective projection.

4. A roof according to claim 3, wherein each projection has an enlarged head at its free edge and each cushioning member has a groove with a restricted-width opening whose cross-section is generally complementary to that of the projection, the projection being accommodated in the groove such that

the cushioning member is self-retaining on the projection.

5. A roof according to claim 4, wherein the crosssection of the projection and groove is generally Tshaped.

6. A roof according to any preceding Claim in which the support structure includes a horizontal beam with an inclined upper surface below the glazing panel, which overhangs the beam, the anchoring member engaging the beam.

7. A roof according to any preceding Claim in which the lower wall of the clip has a downward extension remote from the base of the channel and a lateral projection at the bottom of the downward extension, the lateral projection having an upwardlyfacing upper surface.

8. A roof according to any preceding Claim in which the anchoring member is in the form of a strip' below the glazing panel, with a down-turned portion at the lower edge of the strip in the form of a retaining channel.

9. A roof according to any of Claims 1 to 7 in which the anchoring member is in the form of a strip below the glazing panel, with a down-turned portion adjacent the lower edge of the strip in the form of a drainage channel.

10. A roof according to Claim 9 in which the anchoring member includes a retaining channel provided on an outside wall of the drainage channel.

11. A roof according to Claim 9 or Claim 10 in which the anchoring member includes a recess into which is fitted a resilient member which projects out of the recess and into contact with the lower surface of the glazing panel.

12. A roof according to any of Claims 8 to 11 in which said down-turned portion of the strip and the whole of the clip overhang the support structure.

13. A roof according to Claims 7 and 8 or 7 and 10 in which the downward extension of the clip projects into the retaining channel of the anchoring member, which retaining channel has on one wall an inward projection with a downwardly-facing lower surface which faces the upwardly-facing surface of the clip and forms a detent with it.

14. A roof according to Claim 13 in which the retaining channel of the anchoring member has, on the wall opposite said one wall, a second inward projection which ensures that insertion of the downward extension of the clip into the channel distorts the channel.

15. A roof according to any preceding Claim in which the anchoring member has a downwardly-extending portion which has a plurality of lateral projections and which is push-fitted into a recess in the support

structure whereby the lateral projections are distorted and grip a wall of the recess.

16. A roof according to any preceding Claim in which the support structure has a recess into which is fitted a resilient member which projects out of the recess and into contact with the lower surface of the glazing panel.

17. A roof substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.