IE75741B1

IE75741B1 - Pre-fabricated structure

Info

Publication number: IE75741B1
Application number: IE940477A
Authority: IE
Inventors: Brian C Allport; Susan N Allport; Mark C Allport; Phillip B Allport; Hannah S Allport
Original assignee: Brian C Allport; Allport Susan M; Mark C Allport; Phillip B Allport; Hannah S Allport
Priority date: 1993-06-11
Filing date: 1994-06-09
Publication date: 1997-09-24
Also published as: GB2280914B; GB9411717D0; GB2278860A; GB2280914A; GB9318240D0; IES60160B2; IES930439A2

Abstract

A ridge assembly for a pre-fabricated roof has an elongate ridge member (12) of substantially constant cross section which bridges the adjacent edges of a pair of glazing panels (10) which are upwardly inclined towards one another at the ridge. The ridge member has on its under surface a respective slot (18, 19) extending alongside each lateral edge and has on its top surface a central slot (14). A gasket (20, 21) is accommodated in each slot and seals against the respective glazing panel. A plurality of crest sections (13) are disposed end to end along the central slot with their bottom edges located in the slot.

Description

PRE-FABRICATED STRUCTURE This invention relates to a pre-fabricated structure such as a roof.

According to the present invention there is provided a pre-fabricated structure including first and second elongate channel members of which one end of the second member meets one longitudinal edge of the first member, the structure further including a connector including a tongue extending under the longitudinal edge of the first member and a body portion inserted into the end of the second member.

The invention further provides a pre-fabricated roof comprising a first elongate channel member of substantially constant cross section and, on at least one side of the first member, at least two substantially co~planar glazing panels arranged edge to edge and extending towards and under one edge of the first member, a second elongate channel member extending away from the one edge of the first member to cover the gap between the adjacent edges of the two glazing panels, and a connector at the end of the second member adjacent the one edge of the first member, the connector including a tongue which extends under the said one edge of the first member and a body portion which is inserted into the end of the second member.

The invention also includes a ridge assembly for a pre-fabricated roof, comprising an elongate channelshaped ridge member of substantially constant cross section and, on each side of the ridge member, a plurality of substantially coplanar glazing panels arranged edge to edge and extending upwardly towards and under the respective lateral edge of the ridge member, wherein the ridge assembly further includes a plurality of elongate channel-shaped bridging members each extending downwardly and outwardly from the ridge member each to cover the gap between the adjacent edges of an adjacent pair of glazing panels, and a connecting piece at the upper end of each bridging member including a tongue which extends under the lateral edge of the ridge member and a body portion which is inserted into the upper end of the bridging member, and wherein the ridge member has on its under surface a respective slot extending alongside each lateral edge and has on its top surface a central slot, the assembly further including a respective gasket accommodated in each edge slot which seals against the glazing panels on the corresponding side of the ridge member and a plurality of crest sections disposed end to end along the central slot with their bottom edges located in the slot.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a part of a ridge assembly of a pre-fabricated roof using connectors according to a first embodiment of the invention, Figure 2 is a cross-section of the ridge assembly of figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of the ridge assembly of figure 2, Figure 4 is a perspective exploded view of one of the connectors with an associated bridging member, Figure 5 is a cross-section of part of the ridge assembly where a bridging member meets the ridge member, Figure 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of connector according to the invention, and Figure 7 is a cross-section through the connector of figure 6.

Referring first to figure 1, a pre-fabricated roof comprises a plurality of glazing panels 10 arranged on either side of a ridge 11. On each side of the ridge the panels 10 are arranged edge to edge in substantially co-planar relationship, and are inclined upwardly towards the ridge. Thus, in the arrangement shown in figure 1, there are three glazing panels on each side of the ridge (the panels hidden in figure 1 are symmetrical with those which can be seen), so that there are three pairs of panels upwardly inclined towards one another at the ridge.

An elongate channel-shaped ridge member 12 of substantially constant cross-section bridges the adjacent edges of each pair of glazing panels (see also figure 2), and carries in a central slot 14 on its top surface a plurality of crest sections 13 which form a continuous decorative crest along the length of the ridge member 12. A finial 1 5, to be described, completes the decorative aspect of the ridge 11.

A plurality of elongate channel-shaped bridging members 16, to be described later, extend downwardly and outwardly from the ridge member 12, and each covers the gap between an adjacent pair of the co-planar glazing panels 10.

Referring now more particularly to figures 2 and 3, the roof includes a ridge frame member in the form of a wooden beam 17 which is overlapped on its opposite longitudinal edges by the respective edges of pairs of the glazing panels 10, shown here as triple glazing panels. The panels 10 are held firmly in place on the beam 17 by the elongate ridge member 12 which bridges across the gap between the adjacent edges of the panels 10 on the opposite side thereof to the beam 17.

The ridge member 12, which is made for example from extruded aluminium, has a cross-section which is generally in the form of a shallow arch or inverted V-shape. It is secured to the beam 17 by a series of screws 25 disposed spaced apart along the length of the ridge member 12, the screws extending through respective apertures in the ridge member 12 and passing to the beam 17, into which they are screwed, via the gap between the adjacent edges of the panels 10. Thus the edges of the panels 10 are clamped between the beam 17 and the ridge member 12.

The ridge member 12 has on its under surface a respective pair of slots 18 and 19 extending along each lateral edge. A respective elongate resilient gasket 20 or 21 of substantially constant cross section has a rib which is accommodated in one of the slots 18 or 19 so that the gaskets extend along opposite longitudinal edges of the ridge member 12 to serve as weather seals which seals against the upper surface of the respective glazing panel 10. lit will be understood that two slots 18 and 19 are provided to provide a choice of gasket types to use, gaskets of the type 20 being accommodated in the slot 18 and gaskets of the type 21 being accommodated in the slot 19. Therefore, although figure 2 shows one of each of the two different types of gasket 20 and 21 in use on the ridge member 12, this is for illustration only and in practice both gaskets would be of the same type, either type 20 or type 21. Gaskets 24 are also provided in recesses formed along the opposite edges of the beam 17, as shown.

The top surface of the ridge member 12 has a central slot 14 with a restricted opening, in particular the slot is of shallow inverted T-shaped cross section. The bottom edge or base 13’ of each crest section 13, which is located in the slot 14, has an inverted T-shaped cross section complementary to that of the slot 14. Thus the crest sections 13 have to be slid into the slot 14 from one end of the ridge member 12. The crest sections 13 abut end to end along the slot 14 as seen in figure 3 to form a continuous decorative crest. However, to avoid daylight being seen through the abutting ends of the crest sections 13, these ends have complementary steps as shown at 26 in figure 3. The base of the slot 14 has a channel 27 to accommodate the heads of the screws 25, thereby ensuring that the latter do not interfere with the crest sections 13 as they are slid along the slot 14 into their desired positions.

The finial 15 is essentially a stop member for the otherwise open end of the ridge member 12. Thus it has a horizontal projection (not shown) with substantially the same cross section as the slot 14 which is inserted into the slot after all the crest sections 13 have been slid in. It serves as a decorative end piece to the ridge member 12.

The elongate bridging members 16, which are also of extruded aluminium with a substantially constant cross section generally in the form of a shallow arch or inverted V-shspe, are constructed and arranged essentially the same as shown in figure 1 of our co-pending Irish Patent Application No 921438. Thus they bridge across the gap between adjacent side edges of the co-planar glazing panels 10 on each side of the ridge 11 and damp these side edges to underlying rafters by a series of screws in much the same way as the ridge member 12 clamps the upper edges of the panels to the beam 17.

To provide a weatherproof join between the top end of each bridging member 16 where it meets the lateral edge of the ridge member 12, a respective connector 30 according to the first embodiment of the invention is used. Each connector 30 is of injection moulded W stabilised plastics material and comprises three sections, a flat tongue 31 which extends under the lateral edge of the ridge member 12 (figures 3 and 5), a body portion 32 which has a shallow generally trapezoidal cross section complementary to the internal shape of the bridging member 13 and which fits snugly inside the upper end of the latter (see figure 4), and a flange 33 perpendicular to the tongue 30.

The upper edge of the flange 33 has substantially the same profile as the upper surface of the member 16 so that when the body portion is inserted in the member 16 the upper edge 33 of the flange 33 is flush with the upper surface of the member 16. The flange 33 has lateral portions 34 which cover the open ends of channels 35 in the under surface of the member 16, such channels 35 accommodating gaskets (not shown) which seal against the glazing panels 10 in a similar way to the gaskets 20 or 21.

Thus the body portion 32 inserted in the member 16 locates the connector in position, the tongue 31 which extends under the ridge member 12 covers the gap between the adjacent edges of the glazing panels 10 at the join to prevent the ingress of rainwater and draughts, and the flange 33 prevents the connector from slipping down into the bridging member 16 and provides a neat finish to the join.

The gaskets 20 or 21 may be omitted at the places where the tongues 31 extend under the ridge member 12, as shown in figure 5, or they can continue across the tongues.

Figures 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of connector 30 which may alternatively be used in the aforesaid roof construction. This embodiment differs from the first only in that a flap 40 is integrally joined to the upper edge of the flange 33, the flap extending over and parallel to the body portion 32 to define therewith a slot 41. The slot 41 is substantially the same width as the thickness of the member 16, so that the upper end of the latter is snugly engaged in the slot when the body portion 32 is inserted in the member 32. This assists in preventing the upper end of the bridging member 16 from rising away from the glazing panels 10, and also hinders rainwater from entering between the flange 33 and the end of the member 16.

Although the foregoing has described the connectors 30 used to join the ends of the upwardly inclined bridging members 16 to the edge of the ridge member 12, they can be used at any point in a pre-fabricated glazed structure where one elongated channel member meets another at an angle.

Claims

1. A pre-fabricated structure including first and second elongate channel members of which one end of the second member meets one longitudinal edge of the 5 first member, the structure further including a connector including a tongue extending under the longitudinal edge of the first member and a body portion inserted into the end of the second member.

2. A pre-fabricated structure as claimed in claim 1, 10 wherein the body portion has a shallow trapezoidal cross section.

3. A pre-fabricated structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the connector has a flange intermediate the tongue and body portion. 15

4. A pre-fabricated structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the connector has a flap joined thereto at the junction of the tongue and body portions, the flap extending over the body portion to define therewith a slot engaged by the end of the second member. 20 S.A pre-fabricated roof comprising a first elongate channel member of substantially constant cross section and, on at least one side of the first member, at least two substantially co-planar glazing panels arranged edge to edge and extending towards and under one edge of the first member, a second elongate channel member extending away from the one edge of the

5. First member to cover the gap between the adjacent edges of the two glazing panels, and a connector at the end of the second member adjacent the one edge of the first member, the connector including a tongue which extends under the said one edge of the first 10 member and a body portion which is inserted into the end of the second member.

6. A pre-fabricated roof as claimed in claim 5, wherein the body portion of the connector has a cross section complementary to the internal cross section of 15 the second member.

7. A pre-fabricated roof as claimed in claim 6, wherein the body portion has a shallow trapezoidal cross section.

8. A pre-fabricated roof as claimed in claim 6 or 7, 20 wherein the connector has a flange intermediate the tongue and body portion, the flange having an edge substantially the same profile as the external surface of the second member so as to lie flush therewith.

9. A pre-fabricated roof as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the connector has a flap joined thereto at the junction of the tongue and body portions, the flap extending over the body portion to define therewith a slot engaged by the end of the second member.

10. A pre-fabricated structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connector is substantially as described herein with reference to figures 4 or 6 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A pre-fabricated roof substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1 to 5 or to figures 1 to 3, 6 and 7 of the accompanyingdrawings .

12. A ridge assembly for a pre-fabricated roof, comprising an elongate channel-shaped ridge member of substantially constant cross section and, on each side of the ridge member, a plurality of substantially coplanar glazing panels arranged edge to edge and extending upwardly towards and under the respective lateral edge of the ridge member, wherein the ridge assembly further includes a plurality of elongate channel-shaped bridging members each extending downwardly and outwardly from the ridge member each to 1 1 cover the gap between the adjacent edges of an adjacent pair of glazing panels, and a connecting piece at the upper end of each bridging member including a tongue which extends under the lateral edge of the ridge member and a body portion which is inserted into the upper end of the bridging member, and wherein the ridge member has on its under surface a respective slot extending alongside each lateral edge and has on its top surface a central slot, the assembly further including a respective gasket accommodated in each edge slot which seals against the glazing panels on the corresponding side of the ridge member and a plurality of crest sections disposed end to end along the central slot with their bottom edges located in the slot.

13. A ridge assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein the abutting ends of the crest sections have complementary steps.

14. A ridge assembly as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein the central slot has a restricted opening so that the crest sections must be slid in from an end of the ridge member.

15. A ridge assembly as claimed in claim 12, 13 or 14, wherein the base of the central slot has a channel to accommodate the heads of fixing devices by which the ridge member is secured in position.