GB2440538A

GB2440538A - Sheet material connecting system

Info

Publication number: GB2440538A
Application number: GB0615250A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chung-Cheng Wu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-08-01
Filing date: 2006-08-01
Publication date: 2008-02-06
Anticipated expiration: 2026-08-01
Also published as: GB2440538B; GB0615250D0

Abstract

A frame structure for the positioning of a sheet material (see Figure 4), comprising a stand 10, roof sheathing 20, and a connector 30; the stand 10 and the roof sheathing 20 are formed from aluminum, the connector 30 is an elastic member, one end being a T shaped head 31 for engaging in a sliding slot 21 on the inner side of the roof sheathing 20, and the other end having an elastic hook portion 32 to be vertically inserted in a slot coupling 11 in the stand 10. The slot coupling may include a barbed portion 13. The frame structure is ideally used in greenhouses and the sheet material is a transparent or translucent material, for example glass.

Description

ASSEMBLED GREENROUSE STRUCTURE

BACKGROU OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of the Invention

The present invention refers to an "assembled greenhouse structure," especially to a greenhouse frame structure that applies a pleasant appearance from the exterior with the advantages of easy and convenient assembly, disassembly, and replacement of components.

IL. Description of the Prior Art

Generally, a conventional greenhouse is comprised of the following four structures: I. A greenhouse frame structure of a prior art made of one-piece metal stands (aluminum extrusion metal) (as shown in Fig. 6), wherein each stand 61 has at least a gutter 62 set on the lateral side thereof, wherewith to sandwich a transparent or translucent sheet material 63 in between. Upon the assembly of said conventional greenhouse structure, each of the sheet material 63 has to be embedded in the opening of each said gutter 62 and positioned between two corresponding stands 61; however, some of the openings of said gutters 62 are unable to be used for embedding the sheet material 63 after all stands 61 are assembled, for the openings of said gutters 62 are hidden. Consequently, the stands and the sheet material of said conventional greenhouse structure have to be assembled at the same time. However, the drawback of assembling said greenhouse lies in that the whole structure is not stable before the frame structure is completely assembled, so it requires a lot of time and work to set up the stands 61. At the same time, another shortôoming is seen when embedding said sheet material 63 in the gutter 62 of two corresponding stands 61; another drawback is the difficulty in dismantling, repairing, or replacing some of the components. Said conventional greenhouse is, therefore, not suitable for do-it-yourself assembly. In addition, it is much more difficult for a user to downwardly insert sheet material 63 in two corresponding long and narrow gutters 62 after the whole stand is constructed by increasing 4-8 times of working hours; moreover, in general, the openings of said gutters 62 are set on the top, so that it causes danger to a user * who climbs to the roof to downwardly insert said sheet material 63.

2. A metaJ stand with a T-shaped cross-section surface (as shown in Fig. 7A), the stand 71 has a protruding rib structure 711 vertically disposed in the middle of the interior; upon the assembly completion of the stand 71 into a greenhouse frame, the interior of each of the rectangular frames is covered over by a sheet material 73; subsequently, the space between the edge of the sheet material 73 and the rib structure 711 of stand is inserted with a rubber or plastic layering 72 to position said sheet materials 73 thereof. Therefore, firstly, each stand can be assembled into a complete greenhouse frame structure; then each of the sheet material 73 is covered on an individual frame and said rubber or plastic layering 72 is pressed into the space along the edge of the sheet material 73 and the rib structure 711 of stand in order to complete the assembly of said greenhouse. The drawbacks of the assembly of the conventional greenhouse structure of Fig. 6 can be effectively improved; however, it is time-consuming work to press respective layering 72 into the space. In addition, said rubber or plastic layering 72 for elastically positioning the sheet material 73 comes off easily; moreover, the rubber or plastic layering 72 is easily deformed, cracked, or broken under long-term weather exposure. Another drawback of said conventional greenhouse structure is the lack of an integral pleasant appearance for it is the combination of assembling the aluminum stand 71 and the rubber layering 72 together 3. Another greenhouse structure that has improved from a conventional greenhouse structure shown in Fig. 7A replaces the above rubber or plastic layering 72 with a metal button 74 (as shown in Fig. 7B) to position said sheet material 73. Although said improvement enables a shortening of the time required for pressing the layering into the space of the structure, the metal button coupling the sheet material 73 has poor stability and strength on the assembly of the structure. Furthermore, it is difficult to dispose of respective metal buttons 74 at appropriate intervals and said appearance of greenhouse seems not to be strong enough without a better outlook.

4. Another greenhouse structure that is composed of a aluminum extrusion stand 81 and a plastic layering 82 (as shown in Fig. 8) has a Y-shaped rib 811 disposed on the lateral side of the stand 81; in addition, the inner side of the opening of the Y-shaped rib 811 has an enibedded groove 812 inwardly formed on the flange thereof, two fins 821 are formed inside both lateral sides of the layering 82 on the slant, an arrow-tip shaped button 822 is protruding out and inwardly formed in the middle of the layering 82; the button 822 is formed in a strip shape to be embedded in said groove 812. Upon the assembly of the greenhouse for use, a sheet material 83 is firstly placed in a frame formed by two and above Y-shaped ribs 811 of the stands 81 and then the button 822 of the layering 82 is pressed into the embedded groove 812 of the Y-shaped rib 811 for positioning, thereby enabling the fins 821 of the layering 82 to set against the sheet material 83 for positioning said sheet material 83 on the structure. The drawbacks of said conventional greenhouse structure are that it is time-consuming work to press and fit the layering 82 with the stand 81 for the integral combination of the structure; secondly, when the button 822 of the plastic layering 82 is removed from said groove 812, the button 822 is easily broken and cannot be re-used. Moreover, seeing that the material of the stand 81 differs from that of other components, said greenhouse structure has an inconsistent appearance; the layering 82 has a shortened life span due to long-term weather exposure.

To solve the foregoing drawbacks of the assembly and use of said conventional greenhouse structure, the invention is disclosed herein. The main objective of this invention is to provide an assembled greenhouse structure that applies an easy, convenient, and rapid assembly method to save time and work in dismantling or replacing components with the advantage of a pleasant appearance from the exterior as well as providing sun and wind protection.

SUMMARY OF TUE INVENTION

In view of the drawbacks of prior art, an innovative "assembled greenhouse structure" is therefore disclosed hereafter. The main objective of the present invention is to provide a frame structure and a transparent or translucent sheet material that is set on the frame; the characteristic of the invention lies in that the said frame of the greenhouse frame structure for positioning the sheet material is composed of a stand, a roof sheathing, and a connector; the stand and the roof sheathing are made of aluminum alloy extrusion. In addition, the exterior surface of the stand has at least a slot coupling, the roof sheathing on the inner side thereof has at least a sliding slot, the connector is an elastic member, having a T-head on one end thereof to be embedded in the sliding slot on the inner side of the roof sheathing and the other end thereof has an elastic hook portion vertically inserted in the slot coupling corresponding to the stand.

Accordingly, when the greenhouse structure of the invention is assembled in use, a plurality of stands are formed into the frame and then the roof sheathing is used to position said sheet materials by embedding a plurality of connectors into the sliding slot at proper intervals; subsequently, the plurality of the connectors inside the roof sheathing are combined together with the hook portion by inserting said hook portion in the slot coupling of the stand.

Therefore, the invention is an assembled greenhouse structure that applies an easy, convenient, and rapid assembly method, so as to save time and work in assembling dismantling, or replacing components; in addition, the roof sheathing is made of an aluminum extrusion material so that the invention has the advantage of a pleasant appearance from the exterior and providing sun and wind protection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. I is a three-dimensional perspective view showing an overall greenhouse structure; Fig. 2 is a three-dimensional exploded view showing an embodiment of a greenhouse frame of the invention; Fig. 3 is a three-dimensional rear perspective view showing a roof sheathing of the greenhouse of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a three-dimensional perspective view showing the assembly of the greenhouse of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a three-dimensional exploded view showing another embodimentof the frame of the invention; Fig. 6 is a partial perspective view showing the assembly of a conventional greenhouse; Fig. 7A-78 are other partial perspective views showing the assembly of a conventional greenhouse; and Fig. 8 is another partial perspective view showing the assembly of a conventional greenhouse.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Further aspects, objects, and desirable features of the invention will be better understood from the detailed description and drawings that follow in which various embodiments of the disclosed invention are illustrated by way of examples.

With reference to Figs. 1-5, the "assembled greenhouse structure" of the invention mainly comprises a frame structure 1 and transparent or translucent sheet materials 2, which are fitted on the frame structure I; the characteristic of the invention lies in that the frame of the frame structure I for positioning said sheet materials 2 is composed of a stand 10, a roof sheathing 20, and a connector 30. The stand 10 and the roof sheathing 20 are made of aluminum alloy extrusion; in addition, the exterior surface of the stand 10 has at least a slot coupling 11, the roof sheathing 20 on the inner side thereof has at least a sliding slot 21, the connector 30 is an elastic member, having a T-head 31 on one end thereof to be embedded in the sliding slot 21 on the inner side of the roof sheathing 20, and the other end thereof has an elastic hook portion 32 vertically inserted in the slot coupling 11 corresponding to the stand 10.

The cross-section surface of the slot coupling 11 of the stand 10 of the frame structure I shows that the width on the top of an opening edge 12 is less than the width between both lateral walls extended downwardly, so as to form a barbed portion 13; the sliding slot 21 on the inner lateral surface of the roof sheathing 20 has two fins horizontally positioned corresponding to each other; the connector 30 is made of an elastic metal plate or a plastic material, having one end thereof form a T-head 31 to be embedded in the sliding slot 21 on the inner side of the roof sheathing, and the other end thereof has a hook portion 32 formed in an arrow-tip shape, a compressed space 33 is formed between the both ends thereof, thereby enabling the connectors to have the elasticity to be opened or closed and to be vertically inserted in the hook portion 32 of the connector 30 for coupling.

To stably couple said connector 30 on the position inside the roof sheathing 20, the roof sheathing has two gaps 22 set on proper locations corresponding to two fins on the sliding slot 21 (as shown in Fig. 3) for containing said connector 30 inside thereof. Moreover, as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 5, the appearance and shapes of the stand 10 and the roof sheathing vary according to different locations of design of the greenhouse structures; Fig 2 shows a greenhouse structure with a stand that is used to set the wall, whereas Fig. 5 shows another greenhouse structure with a stand that is used to set the corner position of the frame.

Upon assembling the structure in use, first of all, a plurality of stands 10 are fonned into the frame body and then the roof sheathing 20 is used to cover over the sheet materials 2 on top of the frame and a plurality of the connectors 30 are embedded into the sliding slot 21 at proper intervals (e.g., the location of the gaps 22); subsequently, the roof sheathing 20 having said connector 30 embedded therein and the stand 10 is combined together for effectively and rapidly fixing the sheet material 2. The integration of the roof sheathing 20 and the stand 10 is to use the elastic hook portion 32, which is backwardly protruding on the connector 30 inside the roof sheathing 20, to quickly couple into the slot coupling 11 of the stand 10. Jn addition, the invention enables a user to press a plurality of connectors 30 to buckle the positions and to improve the drawbacks of using rubber or plastic roof sheathing to combine with the groove of the stand of a conventional greenhouse structure. The invention has easy assembly, disassembly, and replacement of components with less time and work; even if there is any sheet material 2 or other components to be replaced, or the shape of the frame structure 1 needs to be altered after the completion of the greenhouse structure assembly, it only needs to pull out some of the connectors 30 on the roof sheathing 20 to enable the hook portion 32 of each of the connectors to come off the slot coupling 11 of the stand, the roof sheathing 20 is then easily dismantled for the purpose of repairing or replacing components; in addition, the roof sheathing 20 is made of aluminum extrusion material, so that the invention has the advantage of a pleasant appearance from the exterior and is durable under weather exposure.

Upon the assembly of the invention, the assembled greenhouse structure 10 is designed with a pleasant appearance, applies an easy, convenient, and rapid assembly method, so as to save time and work in assembling, dismantling, or replacing components. To sum up, the "assembled greenhouse structure" of the invention has the characteristics of easy assembly, disassembly, and replacement of components to possess the "practicability" and

"advancement" in the industry field.

New characteristics and advantages of the invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Those who are skilled in the art may make changes in the details of the methods, shapes, structures, or devices without exceeding the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

CLAIMS

What is claimed is: 1. An assembled greenhouse structure which is mainly comprised of a frame structure and a transparent or translucent sheet material disposed on the frame structure, the characteristic lies in: The frame of the frame structure for positioning said sheet materials is composed of a stand, a roof sheathing, and a connector; the stand and the roof sheathing are made of aluminum alloy extrusion; in addition, the exterior surface of the stand has at least a slot coupling, the roof sheathing on the inner side thereof has at least a sliding slot, the connector is an elastic member, having a T-head on one end thereof to be embedded in the sliding slot on the inner side of the roof sheathing; the other end thereof has an elastic hook portion vertically inserted in the slot coupling corresponding to the stand.

2. The assembled greenhouse structure of claim 1, wherein the slot coupling of the stand has the cross-section surface thereof which shows that the width on the top of an opening edge is less than the width between both lateral walls extended downwardly, so as to form a barbed portion.

3. The assembled greenhouse structure of claim 1, wherein the roof sheathing on the inner lateral surface thereof has two fins horizontally positioned corresponding to each other.

4. The assembled greenhouse structure of claim 1, wherein the connector is made of an elastic metal plate or a plastic material, having one end thereof in a T-head shape to be embedded in the sliding slot on the inner side of the roof sheathing and the other end thereof has a hook portion formed in an arrow-tip shape; a compressed space is formed between both ends thereof, thereby enabling the connectors to have the elasticity to be opened or closed and to be vertically inserted in the hook portion 32 of the connector 30 for coupling.

5. The assembled greenhouse structure of claim 1, wherein the roof sheathing has two gaps set on proper locations corresponding to two fins on the sliding slot for the connector to be positioned inside thereof.

6. A greenhouse structure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

7. A method of assembling a greenhouse substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

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CLAIMS

1. An assembled greenhouse structure which comprises a frame structure and a plurality of sheets of transparent or translucent material disposed on the frame structure, and in which the frame structure includes a plurality of frame members, a plurality of roof sheathing elements, and a plurality of connectors; the frame members and the roof sheathing elements being made of aluminum alloy extrusions, the exterior surface of each frame member including a slot coupling, each roof sheathing element including a sliding slot, and each connector being an elastic member, having a T-head on one end thereof that is embedded in the sliding slot of the associated roof sheathing element, with the other end of each connector including an elastic hook portion that is inserted in the slot coupling of the associated frame member, in which the slot coupling of each frame member has a cross-section such that the width of an opening of the slot coupling is less than the width between opposed walls of the slot coupling, so as to form a barbed portion, and in which each roof sheathing element includes two fins formed with gaps for engagement with the connectors.

2. A greenhouse structure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying *S..

drawings. S.... * I

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* 3. A method of assembling a greenhouse substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to : 5 of the accompanying drawings. IC)