US2031328A - Concealed skylight ventilation - Google Patents

Description

Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to skylight, vault light or the like structures and has for its particular object the provision of ventilating means associated with the said lights. Essentially, it aims to provide concealed and automatic ventilation, namely, the provision of skylight or the like supported on a roof curb or other part of a building, with an overhang,1and associated with it the combination of skylight supporting structure, in order that'free air circulation or controlled air circulation under the glass surface and above the support, is provided.

In its preferred form I provide a skylight having fabricated interlocking metal structure carrying and supporting with all the required load strength, the usual glasslights, such as shown and described in my Patent No. 1,784,678 of December 9, 1930, or my co-pending application Serial No. 517,144. Such fabricated metal structure is supported on a masonry or other curb on a roof or other buildingpart or portion, with I a portion of the skylight overhanging the support, and thereby protected by the skylight, while thereunder an open space is provided between the adjacent metal structure members traversing the curb support, so that an air space concealed under the glass and protected by the overhanging glassis provided. This concealed ventilation spacethus provided by the combination of the elements in my structure I make in such proportions to the requirements of ventilation, so that the flow of air automatically approximates the desired volume to meet the conditions of ventilation as desired.

In other forms of construction the concealed and protected air passages are equipped with shutters in various forms so that the flow of air can be regulated. With shutter control a wide range of temperature conditions inside the building, or under the glass light, as compared with outside temperatures can be accommodated by regulation in a very simple manner.

My invention thus provides for automatic or controlled ventilation by the combination of suitable skylight or floor light structure, and in a simple manner mounting the same so as to provide at practically no additional cost for the concealed and protected air passages. In skylights as heretofore made special additional features of construction or variations in shape have been necessary to provide for ventilation, and usually no means for regulation of the ventilation except at much additional cost, and such skylights usually require special shapes expensive to manufacture and to install- In comparison, my skylights may be prefabricated in the shop with economy, and installed at a minimum of cost, and still provide all the necessary strength with the maximum of light penetration, and in addition afford, by their method of installation, the combination of structure assuring the automatic or controlled concealed ventilation.

For purposes of illustration one form of embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. I shows in perspective, fragmentary, an end of a skylight panel, or a portion, overhanging a support or its equivalent for the purpose of this invention.

Fig. II is a section, through II-II, Fig. I.

Fig. III is a partial section on the line IIIIII I of Fig. I.

Fig. IV is a section, showing in part the same as Fig. II, with ashutter carried by the support or other part of the building structure.

Fig. V is a similar view showing a butterfly valve, as in Fig. III, supported on the fabricated structure of the skylight panel.

As shown in Fig. I, a portion of skylight A is shown in perspective as one end of a'panel of a self-supporting fabricated structure carrying the glass or lenses, with that end supported on a curb B which in turn is mounted on the roof 0. The curb projecting above the roof and supporting, in the manner hereinafter described, one end of the panel, serves to illustrate my invention, while it will be understood that any suitable supporting means that will hold the skylight panel and its glass above the adjacent area, and provide for the requirements of my invention, are within the purposes of my invention. It will be noted also that the roof may be any portion adjacent to the overhanging part of the skylight, vault light or the like, and is not necessarily the normal roof of the building, though my invention applies more particularly to skylights on building roofs. And also the sklight may have its weight supported in many ways, so long as the equivalent of the curb as here described provides for air control permitting protected or concealed apertures for ventilation.

As-particularly illustrated, the frame members -D-D and E are outer members of a skylight panel fabricated with structural steel members F-F with interlocking transverse members G-G. This frame with the interlocking fabricated structure,D, E, F, G members-constitute a preconstructed skylight panel with almost the entire area, over ninety per cent are apertures adapted to support the lenses or glass plates,

which may be set into their apertures when the fabricated panel is made in the shop, or may be inserted thereafter. As shown in my issued patent and co-pending application heretofore cited, the glass lenses are set and the interstices are filled with material, as set forth in my previous patent application, forming a weatherproof and expansible joint between the glasses, or between the glasses and any metal fin cooperating for thepositioning of the glasses.

As shown in Fig. II, the frame member F or D rests on a bearing B of the curb so that the skylight panel structure holds the glass H a pre determined distance, that is'spaced above the bearing surface of the curb B,so that an air space is provided between the glass surface of the skylight and the curb underlying the skylight panel. This space' is between the outer frame member E of the panel and the next transverse member G in the fabricated structure of the panel, when such transverse members are of the same depth as the members F or D that support the panel on the curb, thereby giving a space between the lower edge of the outer frame member E, permitting air circulation above the curb surface B and above the adjacent roof portion C. When the transverse member G is of the same depth as the outer frame member E, then the structural member G of the panel is on one side of the curb support B so that there is a space, as desired, to permit the flow 'of air between it and the support, and thus between the glass and support and to the outlet, weather-protected and concealed. Thus I provide the concealed and weather-protected ventilating space inherently in the construction and mounting of my skylight, vault light or the like. The structural dimen- 'sions are made so that variations in height of frame or in the contour or section of the curb establish the-desired area of air vents, in order to suit the particular requirements of ventilation desired in the particular case of installation.

As shown in Figs. III, IV and V, I provide shutter construction to voluntarily close the air ducts which have been established-as a .permanentinstallation. These shutters may be mounted for manual control or automatic control, as may be desired, dependent upon the flow of air or temperature variations, or otherwise.

As shown in Figs. III and V, sheet metal shutters J'J are mounted in each space between members of the fabricated panel structure and carried by pintles K-K, which permit their articulation for opening and closing by shifting from 'a. vertical position to any angle, and affording at horizontal position the maximum open area of the air vent. At the side of the panel, K

is a supporting pintle permitting the articulation of the shutter, while the other pintles may be supported in holes or bushings in the members FF, and when rigidly riveted, welded or bolted to the shutters J-J the entire bank or series of "shutters may be manipulated simultaneously as by the rod L attached to one blade of one shutter, as shown in Fig. V, which rod L-constitutes a manipulating-means for'opening and closing the shutters by hand, or may be connected with any suitable control mechanism to provide for their desired manipulation.

In Fig. IV a shutter M-is mounted on a hinge supported at N on the curb B with a control member 0 adapted toopen and close the shutter.

These shuttersmay be mounted at the point of exit of hot air from the-building going up and through the ventilating vent, -or'may be at any point along the passageway above the curb, or may be mounted at the exit,-and conversely should the ventilation serve for the intake of air the control by shutter may be at any point desired to best regulate and control the air, and at the same time provide the most advantageous arrangement for weather-protection at the exit, or the orifice of the vent is protected from the outside air where snow may accumulate, and for the purpose of preventing any splash of water in the case of heavy rain, as well as many conditions incident to heavy snow fall.

It will be understood that the panel shown in Fig. I may be duplicated, or any number of panels mounted in'a manner suitable for the purpose of my invention, and all the adjacent margins of the panel frame or the outer frames of the plurality of panels, will be sealed to the curb, or may be supported by lateral curbs to provide the normal weathertight closure of the skylight with the roofor adjacent part of the structure in which the skylight is embodied. In this respect the entire skylight structure of one or a number of panels may have its weight carried by curb or curbs around its edges or margins, and the particular curb cooperating with an overhanging portion of the panel or light, may cooperate only for the purposes of this invention, while supporting only little of the weight or even none of the weight, but constituting the means of confining the space under the overhanging skylight in order to provide the air ducts necessary for ventilating purposes-and for automatic or controlled ventilation.

In its preferred'form my structure is particularly advantageous in that it makes possible a. pre-constructed skylight, fabricated entirely in the shop, and may have the entire shutter and shutter-control mechanism fabricated and mounted with the skylight, in the shop, so that the pre-fabricated structure is set in place on the roof, in conjunction with a curb, so that the automatic or controlled ventilation is provided without any-cost of construction or assembly on the job. This provides for a most economical means of construction, and with the types of fabricated skylight and vault light structure as shown in my patent-or patent application heretofore cited, assures a-most'economical production "and installation compared with anything heretofore used, with the added advantages as embodied in this application and set forth in the-appended claims.

While not confining myself to the particular formsof construction herein shown and described,

tural support, whereby 'deep load-supporting -members of said fabricated structure lie across "said support providing passage for air between said portion and the support and between the load-carrying members.

2. The combination of a skylight, vault light 'or the like and a supporting member on a roof or the like, having a load-carrying fabricated metal "structure withdeep frame members and transverseframe members forming apertures, glass lights -supportedadjacent the upper edges ofsaid W apertures forming light panels, a plurality of light panels spanning a roof support with the deep frame members resting on the support transversely and with the other frame members in the opposite direction spaced away from the roof support, whereby air passages are provided above the bottom of the frame members and over the roof support and under the glass light.

3. A ventilating skylight structure cooperating with a supporting member on a roof or the like, a supporting roof curb member, a skylight having a fabricated load-carrying structure with deep members in one direction and transverse members forming apertures, panels supported near the top of the load-carrying frame members, said skylight structure being positioned on said roof support with a panel extending over the roof support with one set of frame members traversing the roof support and the frame members in the opposite direction spaced away from the support, for the purpose described and having a shutter carried by the skylight frame members 7 lower surface of said panel.

4. A skylight, vault light or the like, having a fabricated frame supporting structure with apertures supporting panels adjacent the top surface of the supporting structure, deep load-carrying frame members for said structure extending substantially below said panels, members transverse of the load-carrying members cooperating to support said panels, said fabricated frame structure having a panel partially overhanging a structural support, a structural support on a roof or the like engaging the lower edges of the deep frame members and having said transverse frame members lying in the opposite direction spaced away from the support whereby airflow is permitted between the members of the fabricated structure under the panel and above the support, and a shutter adapted to control the flow of air through the aperture between the panel and the skylight support.

LOGAN WILLARD MULFORD.

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