GB2391876A

GB2391876A - An awning which converts into a cover with a skirt

Info

Publication number: GB2391876A
Application number: GB0219135A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stuart Edmund Jones
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-08-16
Filing date: 2002-08-16
Publication date: 2004-02-18
Anticipated expiration: 2022-08-16
Also published as: GB0219135D0; GB2391876B

Abstract

An awning comprises a roof (5) including a sheet (6) and sheet support members (2, Figure 1), the roof being carried by a support (3a, 3b) where the roof is capable of being raised and lowered. When functioning as a cover (Figure 3) the roof is lowered and a skirt (8) is unfurled or disengaged from the roof members at the periphery of the roof. When functioning as an awning, the roof is raised and the skirt is stored in a furled manner or is attached to the roof members and may become part of the roof itself (Figure 6). The skirt may be formed from a single or multiple panels of material and flap or a slit (20, Figure 7) may be provided in the skirt or roof sheet.

Description

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Awning Aouaratus This invention relates to an awning which can be converted into a cover for tables, chairs and the like.

5 Awnings are typically used outdoors to provide shelter from the weather, for example as sunshades and/or rain covers, for example, to shelter garden furniture, display tables and exhibition stands. Awnings typically have sufficient ground clearance to allow persons to enter and stand beneath them without having to stoop. The large open sides, however, mean that in windy weather lo articles and persons standing beneath are not well protected and indeed smaller articles can be blown over or away. In addition, in windy and wet conditions, rain can encroach into areas of the awning that in calmer conditions would remain dry. It is also not unknown for awnings to be uprooted from their tethers in windy conditions.

15 Shops often provide awnings over goods displayed outside during the day to prevent sun and/or rain damage. At night, such displays generally need to be covered up in order to protect them from both the elements and over-exposure to pollutants such as diesel fumes from passing vehicles. This is achieved by bringing the display indoors or dissembling the awning and then placing a to separate cover over the display. This is a tedious and time-consuming exercise, especially when it has to be done on a daily basis.

Thus, in a first aspect, this invention provides an awning which converts into a cover, the awning including a roof which incorporates a sheet supported by roof members, the roof being carried by a support which is capable of

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Jr À À À À À À À * e À À adjustment so as to raise and lower the roof and the roof having dependent from its periphery a flexible skirt which can be furled or unfurled, wherein the awning is converted into a cover by lowering the roof and unfurling the skirt.

In a second aspect, this invention provides an awning which converts into s a cover, the awning including a roof which incorporates a sheet supported by roof members, the roof being carried by a support which is capable of adjustment so as to raise and lower the roof, wherein part of the sheet is capable of disengagement from the roof members at the periphery of the roof so as to form a dependent flexible skirt, wherein the awning is converted into a lo cover by lowering the roof and disengaging the part of the roof sheet.

In a third aspect, this invention provides an article covered by an awning according to the first or second aspect, in which the awning is in the lowered position with the flexible skirt dependent from the periphery of the roof.

It will be appreciated that an awning which doubles as a cover negates 15 the need to remove the awning prior to applying a separate cover, for example, when protecting outside displays ovemight.

This dual functionality is achieved through the combination of (i) being able to raise and lower the awning roof, and (ii) having a skirt attached to the awning roof. When functioning as a cover, the awning roof is lowered and the to skirt depends therefrom. When functioning as a conventional awning, the awning roof is raised and the skirt can be "stored" away. The skirt can be "stored" by furling and tethering it about the periphery of the awning roof or by becoming part of the awning roof itself.

36.'... it,. À: À:. À ate Àe:e As used hereinafter, the term awning refers to any roof-like or canopy construct extended over a place as a shelter from the sun and/or rain.

The support may support the roof from above or from below. If supported from above, the roof may be suspended from one or more cantilever s arrangement attached to a wall or its own stand. Altematively, the roof may be suspended from an existing ceiling of, for example, a veranda or covered walkway. When supported from above, the roof may be raised and lowered by shortening and extending a suspending structure which may, for example, be a suitable cable or system of cables or a telescopic arrangement.

to Preferably the support supports the roof from below, for example, on one or more support legs. The legs may be supported in or on the ground by, for example, driving them into the ground, inserting them into heavy bases, providing them with retractable struts or pegging the base of the legs.

When supporting from below, the roof may be raised and lowered by 15 extending and shortening the supporting legs. This may be achieved simply by having legs made up of two or more parts which can be slotted together. A preferred mechanism, however, is to have legs which include one or more telescopic mechanisms.

In an alternative arrangement, wherein at least part of the support is to elongate, the roof can move up and down along the length of part of the support.

For example, an awning roof may move up and down the length of a single central leg support through a suitable aperture in the centre of the roof. The raising and lowering mechanism may include a ratchet mechanism or

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À e alternatively a pulley system, for example similar to those employed in the raising and lowering of sails on masts.

The roof may be raised and lowered manually or automatically.

The roof members can be any construct used in conventional awnings.

5 The precise make-up of the roof members will to a large extent depend on the shape of the roof, the size of the roof and the nature of the support members. A roof of umbrella design which is capable of folding may be employed. However, the roof is preferably of a fixed structure, although it may of course be dissembled. The roof may be substantially horizontal or inclined in one or more lo planes. If inclined, any inclinations are preferably no more than 45 , preferably no more than 30 and more preferably no more than 20 from the horizontal. We have found that roofs with higher inclinations often require more complex support arrangements which tend to interfere with the ability of the awning to function as a cover or at least a cover which is easy to deploy. In a preferred 15 embodiment, the roof is substantially horizontal.

The support member and roof members can be made from any suitable materials used in conventional awnings. However, they are preferably metal, for example, aluminium.

The dependent flexible skirt is formed by (i) unfurling a furled skirt at the to periphery of the roof, (ii) by disengaging part of the roof sheet from the roof members at the periphery of the roof, or (iii) a combination of (i) and (ii).

However it is formed, the depending skirt is connected to the roof and preferably to the roof sheet.

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r^ Àe À À À À r À À À The skirt may take the form of a single enclosing wall of flexible material or comprise multiple sidewalls. If a skirt is formed of separate sidewalls, adjacent edges are ideally brought together, and preferably closed, using suitable closure members such as zips, with complementary teeth and claws on s adjacent edges, hook and eyes arrangements (including Velcro), ties sewn into the edges and cord passed through complementary eyes in adjacent edges.

Suitably, the skirt reaches substantially to the ground when depending.

Suitably, the skirt is no more than 30 cm, preferably no more than 20 cm and more preferably no more than 10 cm from the ground when depending. This lo helps prevent wind getting under the cover and ballooning it. Suitably the skirt may be varied in length to allow for different height articles being covered.

Methods for doing this will be obvious to the skilled person and include concertinaing the skirt or having a skirt operating like a blind, e.g. a roller blind.

The skirt is preferably either tethered to the ground or to an article it is 15 covering (for example a table leg). In this respect, the skirt may have eyes in its base through which cord may be passed or have tethering loops which can be pegged to the ground. As an alternative, the skirt may have a weight or weights, for example, a metal strip, integrated into its base, to weight the skirt down.

The roof sheet can be any suitable material used in conventional to awnings. It may be a rigid material such as wood or metal. Preferably the roof sheet is a flexible material. In the case where the flexible dependent skirt is formed by disengaging part of the roof sheet from the periphery of the roof, the part of the roof sheet disengaged is a flexible material.

: - ' #..DTD: À.. Preferably, the roof sheet and skirt are flexible materials having one or more of the following properties; they do not allow water to pass through, they are relatively tough and resistance to tear, they do not stretch to any significant degree and they are breathable (at least allowing air to pass out of the awning or I 5 cover). Materials may be coated with suitable agents to impart for example waterproofing or protection from UV. Preferred materials include canvas, nylon, coated nylons such as polyvinylurethane(PVU/coated nylon and coated plastic I polyethylenes and polyesters. Particularly preferred are polyesters coated with waterproofing agents and optionally UV protection agents. In a preferred to embodiment, the skirt is made of the same material as the roof sheet. I The skirt and/or roof sheet may contain holes or slits to allow air to circulate around covered article(s) and/or to allow for blow- hole type venting for any strong wind/air that may find its way inside the cover or under the awning roof. Holes or slits in the roof sheet are preferably around the centre of the roof.

i5 The holes or slits can be open or loosely covered by flaps. Holes may comprise sections of netting material in the skirt or roof sheet.

Access points may be provided in the roof sheet or skirt through which the inside of the awning can be accessed when it is functioning as cover to aid conversion back to a conventional awning. These access points may be th to same slits or holes a described above or alternatively may be resealable flaps or slits.! Although the invention has been defined above, it is to be understood that it includes any inventive combinations of the features set out above or in the following description.

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The invention can be performed in various ways and specific embodiments will now be described and illustrated with reference to the following figures in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an awning framework based on a single I 5 telescopic support leg.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an awning, using the framework of Figure 1, in a raised position with a furled skirt and standing over a table. I Figure 3 is a perspective view of the awning of Figure 2 in a lowered position with the skirt unfurled and covering the table.

lo Figure 4 is a perspective view of an awning framework based on four I support legs.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of an awning, using the framework of Figure 4, in a raised position with a furled skirt.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of an awning in which a dependent skirt is |5 formed by disengaging part of the roof sheet from the roof members.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a further awning in which a dependent skirt is formed by disengaging part of the roof sheet from the roof members.

Figure 1 shows a simple awning framework 1 having roof members 2, comprising struts spanning diagonally from corner to corner and along the to edges defining a square-shaped roof, a support leg 3a/3b and a base 4 in which the support leg 3a/3b sits. The support leg 3a/3b is telescopic, shaft 3a being! slideable within shaft 3b. A catch (not shown) is provided near the top of shaft 3b to hold shaft 3a in a telescoped position. The roof may just as readily be round in Figure 1 with multiple struts spanning the diameter of the roof.

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Figure 2 shows an awning on the framework of Figure 1 having a roof 5 with a roof sheet 6 supported on roof members 2 (not shown). The awning is in a raised position and stands over a table 9, the support leg 3a/3b passing through a hole 10 in the tabletop. Awnings of the present invention can be used s to cover a variety of articles including garden furniture such as tables and chairs, outdoor equipment such as barbecues, shop display tables and vehicles. It has been found that invention is particularly useful in garden centres where plants being displayed outside during the day might require shading from the sun or sheltering from the rain and then covering at night to, for example, protect from lo frost or pollutants.

The awning roof may also comprise a pelmet around its periphery. In addition to being a decorative feature, a pelmet helps to hide the furled skirt. A "double" pelmet arrangement, i.e. one pelmet lying outside of the skirt and one lying inside, is particularly useful at obscuring the furled skirt. A decorative 15 pelmet 7 is shown around the periphery of the roof 5 in Figure 2.

Figure 3 shows the awning of Figure 2 functioning as a cover for the table 9. The roof 5 of Figure 2 has been lowered over the table 9 by telescopically adjusting the support leg 3a/3b and the skirt 8 unfurled so as to depend from the periphery of the roof 5. Eyeholes 11 are provided in the skirt 8 through which a to cord (not shown) can be passed to tie the edges of the skirt 8 together.

Figure 4 shows an awning framework 12 having roof members 13 defining a square-shaped roof and four support legs 14. The support legs have two parts 14a and 14b. The framework, and thus the roof, is lowered by removing parts 14a or 14b. By having parts 14a and 14b of different lengths, the

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awning structure can be lowered to different heights. The same effect can be obtained by having parts 14a and 14b as a telescopic mechanism.

Figure 5 shows an awning on the framework 12 of Figure 4 having a roof 5 with a roof sheet 6 supported on roof members 13 (not shown). The awning is s in a raised position, supported on legs 14 comprising parts 14a and 14b. A skirt 8 is furled around the periphery of the roof 5 and eyeholes 15 are provided near the top of the skirt 8 which can be used to help furl the skirt 8 and/or secure the furled skirt 8 to the periphery of the roof 5.

Framework 12 can be used for awnings having a skirt at the roof lo periphery which furls and unfurls, or alternatively for awnings having to a skirt formed by disengaging part of the roof sheet from the roof members. In the case of the latter type of awnings, the dependent skirt may be formed by (i) changing the construction, i.e. altering the frameworl<, of the roof members; (ii) releasing the roof sheet from support by the roof members, for example, by 15 unzipping suitably located zips in the roof sheet, or releasing tethers attaching the roof sheet to the roof members; or (iii) a combination of both. As regards framework 12, strut elements of the roof members are provided with two parts 13a and 13b and removal of parts 13a or 13b results in part the roof sheet no longer being supported by the roof framework and thus depending from the to periphery of the roof as a skirt. The same effect can be obtained by having parts 1 3a and 1 3b as a telescopic mechanism.

In Figure 6, which is an example of method (i), an awning has a roof 5 with a roof sheet 6 in which extension roof members 2a, supported by extension legs 16, have been added to the corners of the roof framework in Figure 1. The

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awning is converted into a cover by removing the extension roof members 2a and optionally also removing the extension legs 16, and lowering the roof as described in Figures 1-3. Removing the extension roof members 2a releases the roof sheet 6 from any support along the dotted lines 17, and outside of these 5 lines the roof sheet 6 becomes a dependent skirt. The same effect could be obtained by having telescopic arms extending from the corners of roof framework described in Figure 1.

When the skirt is formed be disengaging part of the roof sheet, this can result in excess material in the skirt and a ruffling effect, especially down the to corners of the cover. This can be alleviated by having sections, especially corner sections, of the roof sheet, being releasably attached to the roof sheet by suitable attachment members such as zips, hook and eye arrangements (including Velcro_), ties and cord passing through complementary eyeholes.

This is exemplified in Figure 6, where comer pieces 18 of roof sheet 6 are Is removably attached to the roof sheet 6 along the lines 19. When the extension roof members 2a are removed, the comer pieces 18 can be removed and the edges of the skirt side walls brought together along the lines 19. The attachment members used to attach the corner pieces 18 can then double as closure members to bring adjacent edges of the skirt sidewalls together.

to Figure 7 shows an awning on a framework similar to that depicted in Figure 4 having a roof 5 with a roof sheet 6 and a skirt 8 furled at the periphery of the roof. The awning is in a raised position, supported on four legs 14. In addition to the fuded skirt 8, Figure 7 allows a dependent skirt to be formed by releasing the roof sheet from support by the roof members. In general, this may

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be achieved by releasing two edges of the roof sheet being held together by attachment members such as described above, or by releasing part of the roof sheet by undoing connecting members, such as ties, between the roof sheet and the roof members. Of course, the attachment members and connecting 5 members should be reconnectable. In Figure 7, a zip is employed in the roof sheet along line 20. The eyeholes 22 act as closure members when the skirt is depending to bring together the skirt along the dashed lines 23.

Claims

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......CLME: Claims

1. An awning which converts into a cover, the awning including a roof which includes a sheet supported by roof members, the roof being carried by a support which is capable of adjustment so as to raise and lower the roof and having s dependent from its periphery a flexible skirt which can be furled or unfurled, wherein the awning is converted into a cover by lowering the roof and unfurling the skirt.

2. An awning which converts into a cover, the awning including a roof which includes a sheet supported by roof members, the roof being carried by a support to which is capable of adjustment so as to raise and lower the roof, wherein part of the sheet is capable of disengagement from the roof members at the periphery of the roof so as to form a dependent flexible skirt, wherein the awning is converted into a cover by lowering the roof and disengaging the roof sheet.

3. An awning according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the support supports 15 the roof from above.

4. An awning according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the support supports the roof from below.

5. An awning according to claim 3 or claim 4, in which the roof is raised and lowered by means of a telescopic arrangement in the support.

to 6. An awning according to claim 3 or claim 4, in which the support includes a elongate part and the roof is raised and lowered along the length of the part of the support.

7. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the roof is a fixed structure.

À 13 * c e. , r c I e e a c 8. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the roof is substantially horizontal.

9. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the dependent skirt is a single enclosing wall of flexible material s 10. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the dependent skirt has multiple sidewalls.

11. An awning according to claim 10, in which adjacent edges of sidewalls are brought together using closure members.

12. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the skirt reaches a lo substantially to the ground when depending.

13. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the roof sheet is a flexible material.

14. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the roof sheet and skirt are flexible materials having one or more of the following properties: 15 (i) they do not allow water to pass through (ii) they are breathable.

15. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the same flexible material is used in the skirt and the roof sheet.

16. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the material used 20 in the skirt, the roof sheet or both is a coated polyester material.

17. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the skirt, the roof sheet or both has a hole or slit in it, which may optionally be covered by flaps.

18. An awning according to any preceding claim, in which the skirt, the roof sheet or both has a resealable flap or slit.

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.e can c 19. An awning according to any one of claims 2 to 18, in which the dependent flexible skirt is formed by altering the framework of the roof members.

20. An awning according to any one of claims 2 to 18, in which the dependent flexible skirt is formed by releasing a part of the roof sheet from the roof without 5 altering the framework of the roof members.

21. An awning according to claim 20, in which the dependent flexible skirt is formed by releasing attachment members and/or connecting members in the roof sheet.

22. An article covered by an awning according to any preceding claim, in to which the awning is in the lowered position with the flexible skirt dependent from the periphery of the roof.

24. An awning substantially as described herein with reference to and as shown in the drawings.