US2100782A - Skylight - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 30, 1937.

A. A. KELLOGG SKYLIGHT Filed April 3, 1957 3 Sheets-Shea?l 1 Inventor". Alfred A. Kel [02%.

H Attorney.

C 0 un n C fl a e \u Nv. 30, 1937. A. A. KELLOGG SKYLIGHT Filed April C5, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I'nvsr-b-or: Alfred A. Kel Io'bng. by

ls Attorney.

Nov. 30, 19317. f A. A. KELLOGG SKYLIGHT Irwvrwtorf Alfred A. Ke l lo .s Attohn ey Patented Nov. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT LOFFICE SKYLIGHT tion of New York Application April 3, 1937, Serial No. 136,055

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to skylights and especially to skylights of the Atype which are placed over the stages in theatres, auditoriums or similar buildings and have sash or shutters which are normally closed but are opened in case of a fire to provide a vent for directing the path of the re. When the shutters are opened, a draft is created tending to carry away the smoke and flames over the stage and conne the fire, at least initially, to the stage, thus preventing its spreading over the seating Aspace of the building.

Heretofore, in structures of this type the shutters, in general, have been held shut byropes which are cut, incase of re, to permit the shutters to open. Such arrangements are open to the objection that it is diilicult to keep the shutters closed tight. Often the ropes stretch permitting the shutters to open ,slightly so that snow, rain or cold can enter. Also, such arrangements present an unsightly appearance because of the number of relatively heavy ropes required.

One object of my invention is to provide an improved construction .and arrangement in a skylight of this type wherein the shutters are held always tightly closed and are not likely to get out of adjustment and vopen slightly.

Another object of-my invention is to' provide a structure'whereby the shutters can be easily and accurately adjusted toclosed position.

A further object of my invention is-to provide an improved structure which is relatively simple in construction, reliable in operation and capable of being built at 'low cost.

For a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention attention is directed to the following specification and the claims appended thereto.

Inthe drawings which show one vembodiment of my invention, Fig.` l is a side elevation, partly broken away atone end, of'a complete skylight, the shutters :being closed; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2 2, Fig. 1 looking in the directionxof theY arrows; Fig. 2a is a detailed sectional View of apart of oneof the corner posts; Fig. 3 -isl a side elevation of a portion of the skylight showing the shutters open; Fig. 4 is a View, onan enlarged scale, of-the shutter shown at the lefthand'end of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 isfa face view of affportion of twoadjacent shutters, looking toward the inside of the skylight, i. e., toward the Yleftin Fignl. Figrais a-detail view of the lower portion of Fig. 4 showing the shutter in open position; Fig. 6 is-aiace viewof a releasing mechanism; Fig. 7 `is-:a sectional view taken on line '1 -1, Fig. 6; Fig. 18 is a sectional View taken on (Cl. S- 16) line 8 8, Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a complete skylight; and Figs. 10 and 11 are detail perspective views of certain parts.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 9, the skylight comprises a rectangular frame having side and end base members I and 2Y adapted to lit over the curbing on a roof, side and top members 3 and 4, and corner posts 5 which hold the base and top members in -spaced relation to each other. Between the top and bottom members in spaced relation to the corner posts and to each other are uprights 'S which serve to divide the sides and ends of the frame into openings or windows in which are located the sashl or shutters l. The top of the frame is closed vby a cover or roof 8 of suitable construction. The specic construction of the roof 8 forms no part of vthe present invention. Accordingly, it is not illustrated and described in detail. The curbing is indicated at 9 in Figs. 1, 4, and 5a and the roof dashing which extends up over the curbing is indicated Yat I0.

The side andend members `I vand 2 are shaped from sheet metal Aof suitable thickness to give the desired strength, to provide a right angle portion I I which rests on the outertop corner of the curbing, a vertical portion I2 and an angularly reversely bent portion 'which provides a .seat I3. Also, each member has an angularly extending bracing member. I4 suitably attached to it to give it rigidity. The side `and end members are fastened to each other and to the corner posts by rivets or othersuitable means and they are suitably anchored to the curbing.

As shown in Fig. 2, the corner posts each comprise a rectangular column I5 having two U- shaped side columns I6 fastened thereto. 4The outer walls ofI the side columns have outturned anges II. The uprights. 6 are U-shaped in cross section and have outturned flanges I8. Attached to the side walls of the uprights (see Fig. 11) and to the side walls of columns I6 are .angle strips I9 which provide guide walls 20 which slope outwardly from their upper ends downward to about their central portions and then slope inwardly to their lower ends. These guide walls extend throughout the length of the uprights'6 as is best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, andare elbow shaped as is clear from Fig. 4. Thus along the sides of each shutter opening or window are opposed guide walls 20 which are alike in structure and arrangement.

Pivotally .mounted in each shutter opening'is a shutter` 21 comprising upperl and lower halves 22 and `2.. hinged together as is indicated at 24 so as to collapse. or fold together outwardly-in Cil All f ,arm 40 normally rests.

vto which is attached a rope 52.

opening. The general structure of the shutters is best shown in Fig. 1l. Each half comprises a body portion having side anges 26 adapted to close against the guide walls 26. The shutters may be constructed from sheet metal bent to the required form and suitably reinforced to give them the desired strength. The central portion may comprise a suitable heat insulating material as is indicated at 21. The upper end of each shutter fits behind a frame strip 23 to make the top tight and the lower end of each shutter engages the outer edge of the strip which forms seat I3. Thus when the shutters are closed they are tightly sealed around the edges. To seal the crack between the two halves of each shutter, the upper half is provided with a downwardly projecting strip 29 which engages the lower half when the door is closed as is shown in Fig. 4.

Attached to the lower edge of each shutter is an angular hinge strip 30 which rests in seat I3. When the shutter is closed the hinge strip occupies the position shown in Fig. 4 and when the shutter is open' it occupies the position shown in Fig. 5a. Fixed to the upper corners of each shutter is a slide pin or guide bolt 3I which engages the guide walls 20. Thus the guide walls 25 are located between the guide bolts 3l and the door iianges 26. When the shutters are closed as shown in Fig. 4, the two halves of each shutter stand at a slight outward angle to each other and due to their weight tend to collapse outwardly, the two halves folding together as shown in Figs. 3 and 5H. Thus the shutters are biased toward open position.

Each shutter is held closed by a rectangular bracket 32 pivotally mounted on the shutter at one end as indicated at 32a and provided with a threaded opening at its other end in which is an adjusting screw 33. The free end of the bracket 32 ts over the end of an arm 34 Iixed on a shaft 35, the end of the adjusting screw engaging with a notch 36 in the end of the arm, see Figs. 4 and l0. There are four shafts 35, one along each .side and one along each end of the skylight as shown in Fig. 2. They are connected together at their ends by bevel gears 31 so that all may vturn together.V The shafts are pivotally supported at spaced intervals by brackets 38, there vbeing a bracket 38 fastened to each upright 6, 4(see Fig. 2). As will be seen in Fig. 2, there is a bracket 32 for each shutter located at about the middle of the shutter and a corresponding arm 34 on the adjacent shaft 35.

Fixed on one shaft 35, the left hand end shaft in the present instance, is a downwardly projecting trip arm. 40 having a notch 4I at its outer end. Fixed to the inner side of the adjacent upright 6 is a bracket 42 on which is pivoted a holding lever 43. One end of holding lever 43 has an opening 44 in which the notched end of trip At 45 is a stop pin for the holding lever 43. Pivoted to bracket 42 beneath holding lever 43 is a release lever 46 having an adjustable weight 41 at one end and an `adjustable screw 48 at the other end which lies beneath the end of holding lever 43. The pivot pin for lever 46 is indicated at 56. Attached to lever 46 adjacent to screw 48 is an eye bolt 5I Rope 52 extends down around a pulley 53 fixed to the adjacent wall I2 thence across the skylight (see Fig. 2), over a second pulley 54 at the other side of the skylight and thence downward to a point on the wall of the building where it is attached to a releasable holder or box 55 (See Fig. 9). Box 55 comprises, as shown in Figs. 6, '1, and 8, walls forming a vertical guide 56 in which is located a slide 51 having an opening 58 in its upper end. in which is fastened the end of rope 52. In the' box is a lever 59 pivoted to walls of the box at 66. One end of the lever rests normally in an'. opening 6i in slide 51 and the other end rests on the top of a glass window 62 suitably supported'` over an opening 53 in the box by a flange 64.- The weight 41 on lever 46 to which one end of rope 52 is fastened tends to pull rope 52 and slide 51 upwards and hence the slide normally pulls upward on the one end of lever 5S but the glass window 62 keeps the lever from turning. It will thus be seen that the window holds the weighted lever 46 in the position shown in Fig. 4. In rope 52 are a number of fusible links 65. Suspended from box 55 is a hammer 66 which may be used for breaking glass 62. Y

Normally the shafts 35 are all held stationary by holding lever 43 which engages trip arm 4I?,

and when held in this position the arms 34 all extend vertically upward and are likewise held stationary. Now by adjusting the screws 33 each shutter can be individually pulled shut tight and each will be held shut independently of the others and also independently of the rope 52. This latter is especially important for even; though the rope stretches it will not aiect the adjustment of the shutters. Also, the arrangement has the advantage that it permits the use of a relatively light weight rope.

To effect the opening of the shutters in the case of a re, it is necessary only to break the glass 52 thus releasing the slide 51. 'Ihis may be done by any suitable implement such as, for example, the hammer 66 shown hung from the box 55. When the slide is released, weight 41 turns lever 45 bringing the end of screw 48 up against lever 43 and turning it to release arm 40. This releases the shafts 35. permittingY all the shutters to open. In opening, the shutters move from a position as shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5a, hinge strip 3B turning in seat I3. The shutters are guided in their closing movement by guide walls 20 along which the guide bolts 3| slide.

Similarly, the weighted lever 46 will be released to effect opening of the shutters in case one of the fusible links 65 is melted.

As pointed out above, each of the shutters is adjusted to closed position by its adjusting screw 33 and when so adjusted it will be maintained in such position. Due to the elbow shape of guide walls 2D, the upper and lower halves of the shutters stand always at a slight outward angle to each other. This angle is sucient so that there is ample force due to the weight of the shutters Vto cause them to collapse outwardly when released. A space is left between the end of screw 48 and the adjacent end of lever 43 so that any stretching or shrinking of rope 52 will not aiect adversely the adjustment of the mechanism. Since rope 52 is required to hold only the weighted lever 46, it may be relatively light in weight. Also, only one rope is required for all the shutters.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle of operation of my invention together with one embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood. however, that the structure shown is only llll by way of example and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a skylight construction, a frame providing a plurality of windows, shutters pivoted in said windows biased toward open positions, a shaft, bearings for the shaft, means normally holding said shaft from turning, an arm on the shaft for each shutter, a bracket attached to each shutter and engaging its corresponding arm to hold the shutter closed, means for adjusting the connection between each bracket and its arm whereby each shutter may be adjusted individually, and means for releasing the shaft holding means to permit the shutters to open.

2. In a skylight construction, a rectangular frame providing windows on its sides, shutters pivoted in said windows biased toward open positions, shafts along the sides of the frame geared together to turn in unison, an arm on the shaft for each shutter, a bracket attached to each shutter and engaging its corresponding arm to hold the shutter closed, means for adjusting the connection between each bracket and its arm whereby each shutter may be adjusted individually, means normally holding said shafts from turning, and means for releasing the shaft holding means to permit the shutters to open.

3. In a skylight construction, a frame providing a window, a shutter pivotally mounted at its lower end in the window comprising two parts hinged together .to collapse, means whereby said shutter is biased toward open position, releasable means holding said shutter closed, and independent means for releasing said releasable means.

4. In a skylight construction, a frame providing a window, a shutter pivotally mounted at its lower end in the window comprising two parts for the shutter against which it closes and which serves to hold the two parts of the shutter at an angle to each other whereby they tend to collapse due to their weight, means for holding the shutter closed, and means for releasing said holding means.

5. In a skylight construction, a frame, a shutter pivotally mounted in the frame biased to open position, means holding said shutter closed, a weighted member for releasing said holding means, a rope connected to the weighted member, a casing having a frangible wall and means in the casing to which the rope is connected and which is held against movement by said frangible wall whereby said frangible wall when broken releases the rope and permits the weighted member to release said holding means.

6. In a skylight construction, a frame, a shutter pivotally mounted in the frame biased to open position, means holding said shutter closed, a weighted member for releasing said holding means, a rope connected to the weighted member, a lever, one end of which is` connected to said rope, and a frangible member supporting the other end of the lever which when broken releases the rope and permits the weighted member to release said holding means.

'7. In a skylight construction, a frame providing a plurality of windows, shutters pivotally mounted at their lower ends in the windows, each shutter comprising two parts hinged together, outwardly angled guide walls for the shutters against which they close and which serve to hold the two parts of the shutters at an angle to each other whereby they tend to collapse due to their weight, pivoted shaft means, releasable means holding the shaft means from turning, arms on the shaft means, adjustable means connecting the shutters to the arms for holding them closed, and means for releasing the shaft holding means.

ALFRED A. KELLOGG.

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