GB2508807A

GB2508807A - Cover for a translucent roof.

Info

Publication number: GB2508807A
Application number: GB201219917A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kenneth Smith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-11-03
Filing date: 2012-11-03
Publication date: 2014-06-18
Also published as: GB201219917D0

Abstract

Noise, heat and light levels within a building with a translucent roof 3, such as a conservatory or sunroom, are reduced by the use of an external cover 1. The cover may comprise stranded tufts of plastic, as found in artificial turf or grass, anchored to a flexible backing material. Alternatively the cover may be formed from a mesh of resilient, flexible fibres. Both options cushion the impact of raindrops on the roof, thus reducing the levels of noise generated. The cover may be retrofitted to the existing building structure using a double sided sealing strip. A clip for attaching a cover and a method of fitting a cover are also claimed.

Description

Environmental cover for a Translucent Roof

Background

There are many problems associated with the use of most translucent roofmg materials in spite of the admirable features of these such as, bringing the outside in and creating an intermediary extra-covered space between say, a garden and the main dwelling. Over time, design improvements to the structures mainly expected to have translucent roofing has led to an extension (pardon the pun) of theft use as additional living space for dwellings, killed ôüt with all the modem trappings of full lounge and / or dining facilities. The structures are also used to extend and diversi!' the use of many business premises such as pubs, hotels and conference venues, to name a few. Owing to the preceding, the shortcomings of translucent roofmg have become increasingly apparent, especially to those possessing a majority glass sided and translucent roof conservatory / sunroom.

Following from this, there have been several attempts to address this situation, some usinghigh tech and expensive solutions that address only some of the problems with some of the roofing materials. Take blinds for instance, whilst these are probably adequate for windows, they have limitations as roofmg features, such as, the heat is inthe room before their action and dust gathering in undesirable and not easily accessed locations e.g. over dining tables etc. This has led me to the conclusion that a more comprehensive solution is required to alleviate all the problems of both existing and future structures having translucent robfmg and I would categorise these as: - 1. Noise Level Excesses (note the expressions -Rain Drumming on the roof and A -Wind Whistling in the eaves.) <1 2. Overheat Internally (mainlyinsunimertime).

3. Ultra Violet Attack (both to occupants and fhrnishings).

4. Glare from Sunlight (nuisance and medical concerns).

5. Heat Losses (due to lack of insulation).

6. Ambience Reduction (owing to preceding and acoustic effects).

*The effect of fitting an External Environmental Covering of the construction to be described is Dramatic on some and Positive on AU the listed limitations.

* The fact that this can be readily Retrofitted is a very considerable feature.

Statement of Invention

The present invention relates to arid consists of An Environmental Cover which by virtue of its constituent materials and their combined relationships is able to exhibit the following properties: -Is stable in an external environment.

Breaks up and cushions water droplets to reduce noise nuisance.

Reflects the heat and light components of direct sunlight.

Can be retrofitted onto existing structures.

Advantages There are numerous advantages that can be attributed to the fitting of an Environmental Cover over a translucent roof, which mainly can be categorised as: -Noise This is undoubtedly a major cause of concern within these structures and I am confident that the use of this external roof cover above polycarbonate or any other sheet roofmg would be deemed essential, rather than just desirable, when the dramatic noise reduction is witnessed during rain or storm conditions. Other sOurces of nuisance noise are also mitigated tO some extent by its use. You would even be able to watch The match" or your favourite film without interruption! Also just imagine the embarrassment of say; an importantjecture in a venue being interrupted by weather-generated noises. T will leave it at that but I am sure you will have got the gist of my explanation of advantage.

Overheating As an example: -Where the vertical glass aspects, of say a conservatory, are fitted with blind controls; in order to alleviate the effects of direct sunlight but has no roof blinds, the internal temperature can exceed 46°C during a bright summers day. A typical reduction of 15°C and up to 20°C can be achieved by the fitting of the environmental cover, which is far less costly and environmentally friendly than the installation of any form, of air conditioning.

This overheating effect is particularly of concern in relation to security when doors and windows are obliged to be left open, in an attempt to alleviate the situation, even when the occupants are not home.

Consider now the effect of the fitting of expensive internal, remotely or even more expensive, automatically, controlled roof blinds, Although these would afford a degree of remedy to the problems of overheat and glare, they would introduce the problem of internal dust collection in an undesirable location and would also be less effective, v'hen one considers that the heat enters the structure before any action is taken.

Ultraviolet For many known health reasons the restriction of our exposure to excesses of ultraviolet radiations has become of increasing importance within our daily lives and it is also a factor to consider in relation to our.furnishings. Inherent to the fitting of an environmental cover is the necessary level of protection from ultraviolet rays. Glare

Even with window blinds fitted, glare from sunlight entering via a translucent roof is a significant problem that requires remedy, both from our health and convenience of space usage viewpoints (or not if a television is located within). This problem is completely solved by the fitting of the cover.

Heat loss By the very nature of opaque roof coverings the adoption of normal insulating methods associated with roofs are negated but an external environmental cover, being an additional roof covering, which traps air within its structure gives an insulating effect, a ffirther quality provided by its adoption. As the old saying goes, every little helps! Ambience A general improvement in the space ambience will be appreciated owing to the forgoing, particularly where it is used as an extra living room with dining or lounge activities. I believe that acoustic benefits, attributed to the cover, will be part of this.

Retrofitting In adopting this solution, a major consideration is that this remedy can be readily retrofitted to improve existing structures, in both commercial and residential use.

The materials involved are relatively light and therefore it is not envisaged that roof strengthening would be required in most retrofit situations.

Optional preferred fetures The ability to select the level of function and aesthetic appeal is a feature of manufacturrng the cover; this can be achieved by colour, opacity, texture, quantity, size and positioning of the components. . . * , The introduction of selectable cover component locations and size telationships gives the added value of the ability to determine the level of heat and light reflection according to the angle of incidence of the suns rays to the translucent roof.

I 5*

Example

An example of this invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: - Figurel -Shows an example of an Environmental Cover together the retrofitting details to one form of translucent roofing structure commonly used for conservatory / sunrooms.

Figure 2 Shows an example of a securing clip designed to aid the fitting of an Environmental Cover.

Figure 3 Shows an optional construction of an Environmental Cover with illustration of its function in relation.to, weather conditions, time of dày and seasonal variations.

Detailed description.

The invention is an Environmental Cover 1 that can be fitted to new and retrofitted to existing structures 2 as detailed in figure 1. The following relates to an example, which is generally but not exclusively of a flexible nature and as such can be fined in the manner described.

The cover may consist of a flexible backing material supporting and anchoring a large quantity of usually flexible stranded plastic tufts as such it can be manufactured to a large variety of specifications relating to its opacity, porosity, ultraviolet stability and suitability for long term external exposure.

Referring to figure 1 and taking this as a retrofit situation, a roof rafter 2 that supports translucent polycarbonate sheets 3 on lower seals 4 is showil with its sealing cover 5 having top sea4 6, released to enable the Environmental Cover 1 to be fined. A weatherproof PVC foam sealing strip 7 having double sided adhesive properties is attached along the edge of the roofmg sheet 3 to facilitate a rise in the level of and assist positioning of the cover 1 during fitting. The cover is readily Cut *to the required size and as indicated this is in excess of the roofmg sheet dimensions, with the cover in position, the sealing cover 5 is returned to its original location and this action secures the side edges. A simple UPVC sthp, a regular feature in these structures, fitted across the toper most edge of the cover, in combination with the use of several clips, as described with reference to figure 2, will form a secure and quite aesthetically pleasing result, .. . / . Notes on figure 1 This shows an example of one type, of a wide variety of existing structural designs, to which the cover could be fitted.

The roofmg sheets 3 shown are of the simplest twin-wall, multi compartment design but there are many, much more elaborate ones of various dimensions and materials to which this environmental cover could be fitted? -Figure 2 shows a clip 8 as example of one design, which could be adopted to secure an environmental cover, generally but not exclusively, at its lower edge. The bend curvatures shown example 9 are not a prerequisite of the clip design and the gap between the gripping faces 10 èan be set in manufacture or adjusted on site to accommodate various dimensions of roofmg sheets. A more secure cover 1 fixing is achieved when it is taken over the lower end of the roofing sheet, allowing the clip 8 to secure the cover 1 above and below the sheet 3. The clip 8 material is expected but not exclusively, to be UPVC or the like, of sufficient dimension and resilience to accommodate a sprung fit.

Figure 3 is an illustration of the two dominant weather conditions that the environmental cover I mitigates the detrimental effects of, namely, the anytime rain and the summertime midday sun 11. H Rain -The kinetic energy gained in the fall or wind drive of raindrops exhibits itself * as noise vibrations of roofmg sheets 3 such as those generally used in conservatory * type structures; the internal noise level is significant in most cases and can be intolerable with multi cell polycarbonate sheets. Due to this the environmental cover is constructed to have the outer features give cushioning and breaking up effects to the raindrops, this absorbs the kinetic energy, which is demonstrated by a dramatic reduction to the noise levels. A typical construction of one example of the cover to achieve this reduction, consists of multi stranded plastic tufts anchored into a flexible base layer, the materials chosen being suitable for long term, all weather external exposure. Owing to the chosen colour and opacity being of lithe or no significance to noise, the field is open in this respect, for other features of the cover.

Summertime midday sun -Excessive Heat and Glare during the midday periods of the summer season are both well known detrimental and therefore undesirable products Of a translucent roof which are mitigated by the fitting of an environmental cover. Figure 3 illustrates one environmental cover design that addresses the noise, overheating and glare problems whilst allowing for the beneficial effects of the *evening and other seasonal variations Of the suns rays.

In figure 3 one variation of environmental cover 1, having rows of say, flexible, reflective, plasiic tufts of a particular length, set at an optimum angle, within a translucent base material is shown. The left of illustration refers to the action of the cover 1, with regard to the main noise culprit, rain and due to the stated parameters of the tufts employed, namely flexibility for cushioning and stranded for break up, the raindrops kinetic energy is dissipated without the harmful effect of excessive noise.

To the right on figure 3, the time of day and the seasonal effects of the suns rays are illustrated. In brief the midday summer sun 11, with higher angle and greater power in its rays, has its detrimental effects relating to excesses of ultraviolet radiation, heat and glare mitigated by reflection of the rays from the upper surfaces of the rows of tufts. Only a small portion of the suns rays passes to the internal space, with obvious environmental and health benefits.

Now consider the evening and other seasonal effects of the suns rays where theft level of intensity is reduced by the suns angle. under these situations it is prudent both economically and environmentally to allow more of the suns effects to enter the internal space. There's nothing like a bit of winter sun! The evening/winter sun 12, by virtue Of their ray angle, is proportionally less restricted by the reflective effect of the tufts top surfaces as the sun lowers, allowing more of the radiation to hit the translucent base and therefore transfer to the internal space. It is important to note that this feature would be inherent to the' design, requiring no other physical intervention.

Additional information regarding environmental cover construction, The environmental cover may also be in other forms, an example of which is a flexible mesh of fibres, suitable for long-term external exposure, arranged as a pad with sufficient depth and space profile to absorb the kinetic energy of rain. The coloth, section, strength and spacing of the fibres may be adjusted also to give the following additional features: -a). Selection of the degree of reflection of the suns rays.

b). Good drainage of the roof area.

c). Sufficient strength and stability, within the mesh mat, to avoid the necessity of providing a backing layer, should this be advantageous.

Adding an engineered profile such as a spaced tooth formation of the uppermost surface of a mesh mat may achieve the environmental cover properties shown in figure 3, although my instinct is that this may not be the preferred option.

Claims

Claims 1. An environmental cover for a translucent roof that has long-term stability within an external environment and acts externally to reduce nuisance levels of weather generated noise, heat and light that invades the internal space.
2. An environmental cover for a translucent roof according to claim 1, in which the design features enable retrofit to existing structures and incorporation into new structures.
3. An environmental cover for a translucent roof according to claim 2, in which rows of stranded tufts of flexible plastic or the like anchored into a supporting and fixing translucent base layer, with colour texture and spacing of the tufts, chosen to determine reflection of the suns rays, are the means adopted.
4. An environmental cover for a translucent roofaccording to claim 2, in which a mesh of resilient, flexible fibres, arranged and fixed to a supporting base translucent layer as a pad layer of an, adequate depth to cushion and fibre spacingto break up raindrops, with colour, texture, section and spacing of the fibres selected to determine reflection levels of the suns rays, are the means adopted.
5. An environmental cover for a translucent roof according to claim 4 with the exception that the pad layer requires no base layer to maintain its stability.
6. An environmental cover for a translucent roof according to claim 3, in which the stranded tufts length, angle to base and row spacing are arranged such that the angle of the suns rays incidence to the roof determines the amount of reflection of the rays.
7. An environmental cover for a translucent roof according to claim 4, in which the uppermost surface of the mesh pad is arranged in a profile that determines the amount of reflection of the suns rays by their angle of incidence tO the roof
8. A securing clip to aid and method of fitting an environmental cover to a new or existing structure having a translucent roof