GB2406588A

GB2406588A - Variable angle eaves beam joint for use in a conservatory

Info

Publication number: GB2406588A
Application number: GB0319821A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Malcolm Hullock
Original assignee: HADJCO 259 Ltd
Current assignee: HADJCO 259 Ltd
Priority date: 2003-08-26
Filing date: 2003-08-26
Publication date: 2005-04-06
Also published as: GB0319821D0

Abstract

A joint (103) has first and second connection elements (106, 107) each adapted to be secured to an end (104a, 105a) of first and second eaves beams (104, 105) respectively, the elements being connected together in a pivotable or rotatable manner. The joint includes locking means, preferably a pair of locking nuts (109, 110), to secure the joint at the desired angle. The joint may be provided on an in use lower side with a means (111) to connect to a roof support (112), and on an in use upper side with means (113) to support a glazing bar/ jackrafter.

Description

2406588 -. . . I. . ..

EAVES BEAM FOR A CONSERVATORY

This invention relates to an eaves beam for a conservatory or the like.

A typical conservatory structure consists of a base and vertical side panels, which extend from the base to a generally horizontal eaves beam (also commonly referred to as a ring beam). The eaves beam forms the lower support for the framework of the conservatory roof, which typically consists of a number of upwardly inclined glazing bars or jackrafters that support the side edges of one or more upwardly inclined roof panels, which are usually formed from either glass or polycarbonate. The lower edge of the roof panel is also secured to the eaves beam by a connector consisting of a generally U-shaped clasp element, which is fitted over the lower edge of the roof panel, and a support element which extends from the U-shaped clasp and is secured to the eaves beam.

A typical eaves beam for a conservatory is a cast metal beam, which is formed in straight lengths. This can create problems during the assembly of a conservatory because nearly all modern conservatory designs comprise one or more corners, which must also be present in the shape of the eaves beam structure. This requires the eaves beam to be either precisely formed with the corners present prior to assembly of the conservatory, or cut into a number of separate eaves beam members, which are then assembled on site to provide the necessary corners of the eaves beam structure.

e.e.. ..

.e e - The object of the present invention is to provide a more adaptable means for forming corners in the eaves beam structure of a conservatory.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a variable-angle eaves beam joint which is adapted to be fitted to the ends of adjacent eaves beam members to form a variable-angle joint therebetween, said variable-angle eaves beam joint comprising a first connection element adapted to be secured to the end of a first eaves beam member and a second connection element adapted to be fitted to the end of a second eaves beam member, said first and second element being pivotally or rotatably mounted with respect to one another so as to permit the angle between the first and second connection elements to be varied.

The provision of a variable-angle eaves beam joint according to the present invention enables adjacent eaves beam members to be easily angled with respect to one another, thereby enabling the formation of a corner joint within the eaves beam structure. This will increase the ease and speed with which the eaves beam structure for a conservatory can be assembled and also permits variations in the angle between adjacent eaves beam members (or more specifically, the angle between the longitudinal axis of the first and second eaves beam numbers) to be made on site to account for minor errors/misalignments in the shape of the base structure of the conservatory.

ee se a. * C .e . . ë e. Preferably, the variable-angle eaves beam joint comprises a locking means to enable the first and second connection elements to be secured at a fixed position relative to one another, thereby fixing the angle of the corner between the adjacent eaves beam members. Any suitable locking means may be used, but preferably one or more locking nuts are provided at the pivotal or rotatable mounting between the first and second connection elements so that tightening the locking nuts forces the first and second elements into a tight abutment with one another and thus, prevents the pivotal movement of the first element relative to the second or vice versa.

Preferably, the variable-angle joint is adapted to facilitate the formation of a 90 corner between adjacent eaves beam members. The angle may be a 90 external angle or a 90 internal angle, or any angle therebetween. This enables at least 180 of free movement about the pivotal connection between the first and second connector elements. Internal corner angles of 90 or 135 are especially common in modern conservatory designs.

At a corner of a conservatory structure, it is usual to have a vertical roof support, which extends from the base to the eaves beam structure. For this reason, it is also preferable that the under-surface of the eaves beam joint is provided with a further connector which is adapted to receive a vertical or substantially vertical roof support of the conservatory frame.

ceca e ë . . . , . It is also usual for a glazing bar or jackrafter of the roof frame structure to extend from a corner of the eaves beam structure to provide the necessary support to the roof panels of the conservatory roof. For this reason, it is preferable that the eaves beam joint is provided with a glazing bar/jackrafter S support on its upper surface. The glazing bar/jackrafter can be secured to the support during the assembly of the roof structure.

It is especially preferred that the glazing bar/jackrafter support is height adjustable so as to enable the pitch of the glazing bor or jackrafter to be varied.

Preferably, the pitch of the glazing bar/jackrafter can be varied between 5 and 4S .

It is especially preferable that glazing bar/jackrafter support and the connector adapted to receive a roof support are joined by a vertical or substantially vertical bar, to which the first and second connection elements are also pivotally/rota/ably mounted, i.e. the first and second connection elements can pivot or rotate about said vertical or substantially vertical bar in a common plane (which in practice is usually a horizontal plane). 1 his is advantageous because it facilitates the direct transfer of the load of the roof structure through the eaves beam joint to the vertical support extending from the base to the eaves beam joint.

20In addition, internal and/or external covers may be fixed to the internal and/or external surfaces of the adjacent eaves beam members to cover the joint ce ce e . ce.

ë ë.- and create the impression of a continuous eaves beam member, and as a result, improve the aesthetics of the resultant eaves beam structure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an eaves beam structure for a conservatory comprising a first eaves beam S member and a second eaves beam member, said first and second eaves beam members being connected by variable-angle eaves beam joint as defined herein.

As discussed above, the variable-angle eaves beam joint enables the angle between the longitudinal axis of the first and second eaves beam members to be varied.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conservatory comprising an eaves beam structure as defined herein.

How the invention may be put into practice will no" be described farther, by way of example only, in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a plan view of an eaves beam structure incorporating a variable-angle eaves beam joint of the invention, in diagrammatic form; and FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of the eaves beam structure shown in Figure 1, in diagrammatic form.

In the following description of the figures, like reference numerals are used to denote like or corresponding parts in different figures.

'e <-cea c ä .

c a Figure 1 shows an eaves beam structure 101 with a corner 102 formed therein. The corner 102 is formed by a variable-angle eaves beam joint 103, which is fitted to the ends 104a and lO5a of adjacent eaves beam members 104 and 105 respectively. The eaves beam joint 103 comprises a first connection element 106, which is fixed to the end of the eaves beam member 104 via flanges 106a and 106b, and a second eaves beam connection element 107, which is fixed to the end of the eaves beam member 105 via flanges 107a and 107b. The flanges 106a and 106b, and 107a and 107b may be secured into the ends of the eaves beam members 104 and 105 respectively by any suitable means known in the art. For example, the flanges may be secured into the ends of the eaves beam members by a resistive fit, welding, bolt or rivet.

As shown in Figure 2, tne iirsi and second connection elements 106 and 107 are both pivotally or rotatably mounted to a central pin 108, which enables pivotal movement of the first element relative to the second element, thereby permitting the angle between the first and second elements to be varied.

Locking nuts 109 and 110 are positioned either side of the mounting of second connector element 107. The locking nuts can be tightened to force the pivotally/rota/ably mounted portions of the first and second elements together, thereby preventing any movement of one element relative to the other. At the bottom of the pin 108 is a connector element 111, which is adapted to receive a roof support leg 112 of the conservatory. Positioned at the top of the pin 108 is a glazing support 113, which is adapted to receive and support a glazing ' c 1 C r r bar/jackrafter of the conservatory roof structure. The glazing support 113 is variable in height so as to permit the pitch of the glazing bar or jackrafter to be varied.

Referring to both Figures 1 and 2, it will be appreciated that the variable eaves beam joint can be simply fitted to the respective ends of the eaves beam members 104 and 105, as shown, and the angle between the members can be varied in a horizontal plane to forth a corner 102 in the eaves beam structure.

Degree markers and depressed location points 115 are provided for determining the desired angle between the longitudinal axis of the eaves beam members 104 and 105. The first and second elements of the eaves beam joint can then be locked at the desired angle by tightening the locking nuts 109 and 110.

Once the required corner in the eaves beam structure has been formed, the joint may be covered on the internal or external surfaces as shown by the dotted lines 120 and 121 of Figure 1 to provide more aesthetically pleasing appearance for the corner section.

It shall be appreciated that the variable-angle eaves beam joint solves the problem of providing a convenient means by which the angle between adjacent eaves beam members can be varied to form a corner in the eaves beam structure. The invention also has other advantages in that: 1. it allows the use of square-cut eaves beam section; l c I c he set see C16 2. it facilitates the formation of a connection between the eaves beam joint and the roof and support legs to be prepared with greater ease; 3. it allows direct transfer of the load of the roof through the eaves beam joint to the roof support; and 4. the eaves beam structure can be either pre-assembled or assembled in situ during the construction of the conservator. l e e

Claims

- ë CLAIMS

1. A variable-angle eaves beam joint comprising a first connection element adapted to be secured to an end of a first eaves beam member and a second connection element adapted to be secured to an end of a second eaves beam member, said first and second connection elements being pivotally or rotatably mounted with respect to one another so as to permit the angle between the first and second connection elements to be varied.

2. A variable-angle eaves beam joint according to claim 1, further comprising a locking means to enable the first and second connection elements to be secured at a desired angle relative to one another.

3. A variable-angle eaves beam joint according to claim 2, in which the locking means comprises one or more locking nuts arranged such that tightening of the or each locking nut forces the first and second connection elements into a tight abutment with one another.

4. A variable-angle eaves beam joint according to any previous claim, in which the joint is adapted to facilitate a 90 degree corner between adjacent eaves beam members.

5. A variable-angle eaves beam joint according to claim 4, in which the joint is adapted to facilitate a 90 degree internal or a 90 degree external corner between adjacent eaves beam members.

6. A variable-angle eaves beam joint according to any previous claim, in which the joint is further provided on a side thereof that is generally downwardly facing, in use, with a connector adapted to receive a roof support.

7. A variable-angle eaves beam joint according to any previous claim, in which the joint is provided on a side thereof that is generally upwardly facing, in use, with a connector that is adapted to receive a glazing bar/jackrafter.

ee e I e . e.

8. variable-angle eaves beam joint according to claim 7, in which the height of the connector adapted to receive a glazing bar/jackrafter relative to the rest of the joint is adjustable.

9. A variable-angle eaves beam joint according to claim 6 in combination with claim 7 or claim 8, in which the connector adapted to receive a roof support and the connector adapted to receive a glazing bar/jackrafter are interconnected by means of a bar, to which the first and second connection elements are also pivotally or rotatably mounted.

lO. A variable-angle eaves beam joint according to any previous claim, in which the joint further comprises an internal and/or an external cover that may be fixed to the internal and/or external surfaces respectively of the adjacent eaves beam members to cover the joint.

11. A variable-angle eaves beam joint as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawing.

12. An eaves beam structure for a conservatory, comprising a first eaves beam member and a second eaves beam member, said first and second eaves beam members being connected by means of a variable-angle eaves beam joint according to any previous claim.

13. A conservatory comprising an eaves beam structure according to claim 12.