GB2417513A

GB2417513A - Roof vent frame section

Info

Publication number: GB2417513A
Application number: GB0412685A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Snowdon
Original assignee: APROPOS TECTONIC Ltd; CLEAR SPAN Ltd
Current assignee: APROPOS TECTONIC Ltd; CLEAR SPAN Ltd
Priority date: 2004-06-08
Filing date: 2004-06-08
Publication date: 2006-03-01
Also published as: GB0412685D0

Abstract

A member for a roof vent for a building such as a conservatory comprises first and second frames 13 and 14 preferably formed from aluminium extrusions. Each frame 13, 14 comprises four parts 15 to 18 joined together at four mitred joints 19 to 22, The parts are welded together at the joints on the side of the parts to the interior of the member so that the member presents a smooth external appearance. The frames are clipped together and a thermally insulating barrier 30 is disposed between them to provide a thermal break.

Description

A Roof Vent For a Building The present invention relations to a roof vent

for a building particularly, but not exclusively, conservatories, glass houses and the like.

Roof vents for conservatories, glass houses and the like are already well known. The construction of these known roof vents, however, is such that they do not provide a thermal break as between opposite sides of the frame of the vent, or leak through joints in that frame, or have unsightly visible joints or any combination of these. It is an object of the invention to mitigate or eliminate one or more of these disadvantages.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a member for a roof vent for a building, comprising first and second frames spaced apart to define a void there between, each frame comprising two or more component parts welded together and a layer of thermally insulating material disposed in the void to provide a thermal break between the frames.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a process of making a member for a roof vent for a building including the steps of making first and second frames each comprising two or more parts welded together, placing a layer of thermally insulating material between the frames and connecting the frames together to hold the infill therebetween.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second frames comprise aluminium extensions. Each frame comprises four component parts joined together at four mitred corners by welding. The lines of welding are preferably to the inside of the frame of the member so that the member displays a smooth aesthetically pleasing external appearance. The layer of thermally insulating material comprises four parts mitred at four corners. The frames are advantageously connected together by lengths of trim. For this purpose, these lengths of trim are formed with interlocking projections which are complementary to projections formed on the component parts of the frame. The member formed a first part of a roof vent for a S conservatory or the like. The vent comprises a second member which is pivotally connected to the first member. In use the first member is connected into an aperture in the roof of the conservatory and the second member may be pivoted between open and closed positions in relation to the first member.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, one embodiment thereof will now, be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is front view of a typical conservatory, incorporating roof vents according to the invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of the conservatory of Figure I, Figure 3 is a side view of the conservatory of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a cross-section to an enlarged scale of a roof vent along the section line B-B of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a plan view in the direction of the arrow A of the roof vent shown in Figure 4, and Figure 6 is an exploded view of a corner of the frame of the roof vent shown in Figures 4 and 5.

Referring to Figures I to 3, the conservatory illustrated is of generally conventional construction comprising a front wall 1, two side walls 2 and 3 extending substantially at right angles to the front wall and a rest 4 sloping downwardly to the front wall of the conservatory. Although not shown, the conservatory is attached to and extends from a main building in the usual way. Each of the walls 1, 2 and 3 and roof 4 comprises a member of translucent or transparent panels 5 of glass, plastic are other suitable material supported in a wooden or metal frame. The metal of the frame may be aluminium or other suitable material. The front wall comprises a door 6 allowing access to the conservatory from the exterior. In this particular example the roof comprises two roof vents 7 and 8 installed in respective panels 5 of the roof 4.

The number of roof vents may be varied as desired.

One of the roof vents 7, 8 will now be described in more detail with referenced to Figures 4 to 6 of the drawings. The roof vent comprises first, frame member 10 and a second, operable, member 11. The first member 10 is pivotally connected to the second operable member 11 by means of a pivot arrangement indicated generally by the reference numeral 12. This allows the second, operable, member to be pivoted between open and closed positions by means of a mechanism 13. The mechanism comprises an actuating rod 14 defining an aperture 15 at its lower end. The rod 14 is pivotally connected to an arm 16. On rotation of the rod, which may be achieved by an operator standing on the floor of the conservatory and inserting an operating member through the apertures, the arm 16 is pivoted to raise and lower the member 1 1 about the pivot 12.

Referring more especially to Figure 6, which shows an exploded view of part of frame member 10 shown in Figures 4 and 5, the frame member 10 comprises first and second frames 13 and 14 in the form of aluminium extrusions. Although aluminium is the preferred material other suitable materials may be used such as plastics, as may other methods of forming, such as moulding. Each frames 13 and 14 comprises four parts 15 to 18 which are joined together at four corner mitre joints 19 to 22 for simplicity, only two parts 15, 16 and one joint 19 are shown in Figure 6.

Abutting faces of the parts at each joint 19 to 22 for each of the frames 13 and 14 are fully welded to provide a secure and leak proof joint. The lines of welding are formed on that side of the parts facing to the inside of the frame for aesthetic reasons although they could be formed externally if desired. Having the lines of welding facing to the interior of the frame produces a smooth aesthetically pleasing appearance on the visible faces of the frame. The frames 13 and 14 are clipped together by means of moulded or extruded lengths of plastic trim. There are four lengths of laterally 10extending trim, 8 only two of which are shown at 23 and 24 and form lengths of trim on the upper face of the frame only two of which are shown at 25 and 26. The latter lengths of trim are mitred at the corners where they abut. Each length of trim is formed with interlocking projections 27 which clip into complementary formed projections 28 formed on the frames 14 and 15.

15When clipped together, the frames 13 and 14 define a void therebetween.

This void houses a thermally insulating barrier 30 of rigid styrene infill. This infill comprises four parts, only two of which are shown, which are mitred at their abutting corners. Preferably the infill 30 is placed between the frames 13 and 14 before the frames are clipped together with the trim to complete the assembly. Alternatively, the frames may be partially assembled together leaving lateral sides open and the infill introduced into the void. In either case as the welding of the frames has already been done, no heat damage is caused to the infill thereby. In this way, the frames 13 and 14 are thermally insulated from each other to provide a thermal break by means of the combination of the infill 30 and plastic trim. s

It will be appreciated that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only and that many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. b

Claims

1. A member for a roof vent for a building, comprising first and second frames spaced apart to define a void there between, each frame comprising two or more component parts welded together and a layer of thermally insulating material disposed in the void to provide a thermal break between the frames.

2. A member for a roof vent for a building as claimed in Claim 1, in which the first and second parts comprise aluminium extrusions.

3. A member for a roof vent for a building as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, in which each frame comprises four component parts joined together at four mitred corners by welding.

4. A member for a roof vent for a building as claimed in Claim 3, in which the lines of welding are disposed to the inside of the frame so that the member displays a smooth external appearance.

5. A member for a roof vent for a building as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the layer of thermally insulating material comprises four parts mitred at four corners.

6. A member for a roof vent for a building as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the frames are connected together by lengths of trim.

7. A member for a roof vent for a building as claimed in Claim 6, in which the lengths of trim comprise interlocking formations and the component parts of the frames comprise complementary interlocking formations.

8. A member for a roof vent for a building substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A roof vent for a conservatory or like building comprising a member as claimed in any preceding claim.

l O. A roof vent as claimed in Claim 9, in which a second member is pivotally connected to the member and may be pivoted between open and closed positions in relation to the first member.

11. A process of making a member for a roof vent for a building including the steps of making first and second frames each comprising two or more parts welded together, placing a layer of thermally insulating material between the frames and connecting the frame together to hold the infill therebetween.

l2. A process of making a member for a roof vent for a building as claimed in Claim 11, in which the parts are extruded.

: lo. A process of making a member for a roof vent for a building as claimed in Claim 11 or 12, in which the parts are welded on the inside so that the member displays a smooth external appearance.

14. A process of making a member for a roof vent for a building as claimed in Claims, 11, 12 or 13, in which the frames are connected together by zu lengths of trim.

l a. A process for making a member for a roof vent for a building as claimed in Claim 14, in which the length of trim interlock the frames by means of complementary interlocking formations formed on the frames and trim.

16. A process of making a member for a roof vent for a building substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.