Residential sunshade sun control

Abstract

A sunshade sun control including a pair of molded plastic outriggers of substantially mirror-image configuration and a plurality of extruded plastic airfoils to be fitted between apertures on the outriggers at predetermined spacings, with the airfoils being secured within pluralities of oppositely facing apertures extending through the outriggers in accepting the opposite ends of the airfoils when slid within the apertures.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

NONE

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Research and development of this invention and application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

NOT APPLICABLE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to sunshade sun controls for screening glass, in general, and to a sunshade sun control advantageous in screening windows and patio doors of residential homes, in particular.

2. Description of the Related Art

As will be appreciated, advances and developments in industry and commerce oftentimes leads to their utilizations in residential and consumer applications. One area in which this has not generally followed, however, is the use of sunshade sun controls to screen window glass on the exterior of residential homes as an alternative to awning shadings.

As will be understood, such sunshade sun controls as are utilized for commercial structures are both costly in design and labor intensive in installation. In particular, architects and draftsmen are often employed in designing the panel outriggers of such sun control systems; mechanics are then employed to cut the aluminum or steel airfoils to size, preparatory to drilling the outrigger for screwing or bolting each airfoil into spaced position. What with the airfoil being extruded, with the panel outrigger being cut from a sheet of aluminum to the proper shape and size, and with the necessary securement of the airfoil to the outrigger and then the outrigger to the facade of the structure itself, it is not unusual to find that the cost of a 15 foot section might cost some $8K-$10K for a unitary installation, and some $4K-$5K each if installed in quantity. As will be apparent, even for an extension from a facade of only 4 feet or so, such costs are well beyond the means of the average homeowner—who, for a two-story colonial home, might choose to screen 6 or so windows and a front door at the front of the house, and/or a like number of windows and a patio door at its rear.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a sunshade sun control which can be purchased and installed at a far lower cost.

It is an object of the invention, also, to provide a sunshade sun control for a residential home which can be simply and easily installed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a residential sunshade sun control which can be inexpensively purchased, and which can be installed by the homeowner alone, without the need for professional assistance.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a residential sunshade sun control fabricated not only of plastic so as to keep costs low, but of a plastic yet strong enough to withstand those types of winds which might be encountered at the location of installation and use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As will become clear from the following description, a residential sunshade sun control according to the invention includes first and second panel outriggers of substantially mirror-image configuration, along with a plurality of airfoils of predetermined length for fitting between the outriggers at predetermined spacings thereon. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the outriggers includes a plurality of oppositely facing apertures which extend through the outriggers to accept opposite ends of each of the airfoils when slid into the apertures. Means are then provided to secure the ends of the air foils with the outriggers once inserted within the facing apertures.

For a preferred installation, each of the airfoils are of a common cross-section across their respective lengths, with the securement of the airfoils being by way of a pair of internal connectors configured to fit within the cross-section of the airfoil at one end, and with the facing aperture of the outrigger at an opposite end. In closing off the installation—that is, where only one section of sun control is utilized, or where two or more such sections are coupled as in series—the sunshade sun control also includes at least one of a pair of end caps configured to fit within the cross-section of the apertures on a side opposite to that where the fitting of an internal connector into the aperture takes place. With the airfoils and internal connectors being composed of extruded plastic and with the end caps composed of a molded plastic, a particularly attractive and strengthened construction results when they, and the outriggers themselves are composed of a polyvinylchloride or like plastic composition. To enhance and strengthen the securement, a plastic adhesive may be applied, according to the invention, a given distance along facing surfaces of the airfoil cross-section lengths or along the ends of the internal connector.

In the preferred embodiment of the residential sunshade sun control to be described, the common cross-section of the airfoils include four internal surfaces of substantially equal length arranged in oppositely facing upwardly and downwardly V-configurations. The opposite ends of the internal connectors are selected of a diamond configuration so as to seat within the V-configurations, such that with the oppositely facing apertures of the outriggers being of a substantially square-configuration, the airfoils would dip down at a substantially 45° angle in providing shading from the sun. The end cap, in this respect, includes a shelf section of like diamond configuration to fit over the internal connectors and close off the installation in giving it its attractive appearance.

In one such construction of the invention, extruded airfoil lengths of 8 feet have been found particularly attractive—although in windy locations, shorter lengths of as little as 5 feet may be employed to provide added wind resistance and stability. Outriggers of 3½ feet to 6 feet have been found sufficient to stand the sunshade away from the house while providing adequate shading. Airfoils of a width of only some 6 inches have been proven effective as to this.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the present invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of one of the two panel outriggers employed in carrying out the invention, the second outrigger being of substantially mirror-image configuration;

FIG. 2 is a side view of an airfoil extrusion helpful in understanding the principles of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the internal connectors which secure the airfoils to the apertures of the outriggers;

FIG. 4a is a plan view of the end cap employed in closing off the installation, as illustrated in the view of FIG. 4b;

FIG. 5 pictorially shows how the internal connectors of the invention couple with the airfoils in joining outrigger sections together; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a completed section of the residential sunshade sun control of the invention installed over a window.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the Drawings, the residential sunshade sun control of the invention 10 includes first and second panel outriggers 12 of substantially mirror-image configuration having a plurality of oppositely facing apertures 14 which extend through them. A plurality of airfoils 16 of predetermined length are fitted between the outriggers 12 at predetermined spacings which correspond with the apertures 14 so that opposite ends of each airfoil slide within the apertures. As more clearly shown in FIG. 5, the airfoils 16 are inserted into the apertures 14 in this “sliding” manner by coupling with an internal connector 18, one section of which 18a couples with the airfoil 16a while a second section of which 18b couples with the airfoil 16b in coupling two outrigger sections together in series. At the ends of a chain of such sunshade sun controls, a cap 20 is fitted to the airfoil—or fitted at the opposite ends of a single outrigger section where only one parallel arrangement of airfoils is used. As will be appreciated, such end caps secure the ends of the airfoils with the panel outriggers.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the outriggers 12, the airfoils 16 and the end caps 20 are all composed of a plastic composition—such as polyvinylchloride. With the internal connectors 18 also being of a like plastic composition, the airfoils 16 and the internal connectors 18 could all be extruded; the outriggers 12 and end caps 20 could then be molded. To further secure the airfoils in place, the opposite ends of the internal connectors 18 could receive a plastic adhesive along a given distance of its length.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the airfoils 16 are of a common cross-section across their respective lengths, and include four internal surfaces 30, 31, 32, 33 substantially equal in length forming oppositely facing upwardly and downwardly “V-configurations” (FIG. 2, end view). As the end view of FIG. 3 illustrates, the internal connector 18 is constructed to have a “diamond” configuration so as to seat within the spacing formed by the surfaces 30-33. Applying a plastic adhesive a given distance along either the ends of the internal connector 18 or a given distance along a length of the surfaces 30-33 further serves to secure the ends of the airfoils 16 with the outriggers 12. With such a configuration for the internal connectors 18, inserting them within the “square-configured” apertures 14 in the outriggers 12 as in FIG. 1 thus results in the airfoils 16 being positioned at a downwardly facing 45° angle. As will be appreciated, this provides an optimum sunshade sun control.

FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate the end cap 20 to include a shelf section 40 of similar “diamond” configuration which both fits over the outwardly extending internal connector section 18a of FIG. 5 and fits within the “diamond” configuration at the airfoil end between the surfaces 30, 31, 32 and 33. The arrangement of FIG. 6 thus results for a single section of two outriggers 12 and six airfoils 16, which, without either or both end caps 20, would allow for “ganging” additional outrigger sections together in series as a chain to form ever longer sunshade sun control alignments.

In a preferred construction of the invention, as might be employed over the windows of a house, front door or patio door, extruded lengths of airfoils of between 5 feet and 8 feet prove quite adequate. (As will be understood, in geographical areas of greater wind presence, the shorter lengths may be more advantageous in their being less unstable to swirling air currents.) The outriggers 12 may be of a length between 3½ feet and 6 feet in standing away from the house, and may be secured simply by being screwed or bolted in as illustrated at 50 in FIG. 1. Airfoil widths of some 6 inches have been determined to provide effective shading under conditions typically encountered, and a usage of 6-8 airfoils per outrigger section has been found to be quite adequate. The “dotted” depictions 52 about the apertures 14 in FIG. 1 illustrate the use of eight such airfoils, each of which is downwardly angled at 45° in accordance with the “diamond” cross-section of the internal connectors 18 within the “square” configured apertures 14. FIG. 6, on the other hand, shows six such airfoils in place over a window 54.

With the invention as described, installation is easily had; the panel outriggers are first screwed or bolted to the exterior wall of the house at a window location for example, and an extruded internal connector is then slid into one of the outrigger apertures at one end, and to the airfoil at the other end—repeated in the same manner at the opposite end of the airfoil. With the sunshade section thus in place, the end caps can then be inserted over the extending end of the internal connectors into the outrigger apertures on either side to achieve a pleasing appearance. Where desired, adhesive cement to secure the airfoils in place can be applied in this process either at the ends of the internal connectors, or to the internal surfaces of the airfoils, or to both. Analysis has shown that a package of this type consisting of two outriggers, eight airfoils, sixteen internal connectors and sixteen end caps could easily be extruded and/or molded for sale, at a package cost of less than $100.00. This will be seen to provide the same shading sun control as presently designed for commercial and industrial buildings, but at a cost many, many times less. Where sections are to be strung together in series, instead, the end caps will be seen to be inserted only at the outside surfaces of the outriggers at the terminations of the chain.

While there have been described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the teachings herein. For at least such reason, therefore, resort should be had to the claims appended hereto for a true understanding of the invention.

Claims

1. A residential sunshade sun control comprising:

first and second panel outriggers of substantially mirror-image configuration;

a plurality of airfoils of predetermined length for fitting between said outriggers at predetermined spacings thereon;

with each of said outriggers including a plurality of oppositely facing apertures extending through said outriggers to accept opposite ends of each of said airfoils when slid therein; and

means for securing said ends of said airfoils with said outriggers once inserted within a facing aperture.

2. The sunshade sun control of claim 1 wherein said first and second panel outriggers and said plurality of airfoils are each of a plastic composition.

3. The sunshade sun control of claim 2 wherein each of said airfoils are of a common cross-section across their respective lengths, and wherein said securing means include a pair of internal connectors for each airfoil configured to fit within said cross-section of said airfoil at one end thereof, and with said facing aperture at an opposite end.

4. The sunshade sun control of claim 3 wherein said internal connectors are of a plastic composition.

5. The sunshade sun control of claim 4 wherein said securing means also includes a plastic adhesive applied a given distance along opposite ends of said internal connectors.

6. The sunshade sun control of claim 4, also including at least one of a pair of end caps configured to fit over an extending end of said internal connector and within said cross-section of said apertures on a side opposite to a fitting to an internal connector thereto.

7. The sunshade sun control of claim 4 wherein each of said airfoils and internal connectors are composed of an extruded plastic.

8. The sunshade sun control of claim 6 wherein each of said airfoils and internal connectors are composed of an extruded plastic, and wherein said panel outriggers and said end caps are composed of a molded plastic.

9. The sunshade sun control of claim 7 wherein said outriggers, said airfoils and said internal connectors are each composed of a polyvinylchloride composition.

10. The sunshade sun control of claim 8 wherein said outriggers, said airfoils, said internal connectors and said end caps are each composed of a polyvinylchloride composition.

11. The sunshade sun control of claim 4 wherein said common cross-section of said airfoils include four internal surfaces of substantially equal length arranged in oppositely facing upwardly and downwardly V-configurations, and wherein opposite ends of said internal connectors are of a diamond configuration to seat within said V-configurations.

12. The sunshade sun control of claim 11 wherein said oppositely facing apertures of said outrigger are of substantially square-configuration to receive said diamond configured internal connectors at a downwardly facing 45° angle.

13. The sunshade sun control of claim 4, also including at least one of a pair of end caps configured to fit within said cross-section of said apertures on a side opposite to a fitting of an internal connector there into, with said end caps including a shelf section of diamond-configuration to fit within said internal connectors.

14. The sunshade sun control of claim 11 wherein said securing means also includes a plastic adhesive applied a given distance along facing surfaces of said airfoil internal surface cross-section lengths.

15. The sunshade sun control of claim 4 wherein said airfoils are of a length between five feet and eight feet.

16. The sunshade sun control of claim 15 wherein said airfoils are of a width of substantially 6 inches.

17. The sunshade sun control of claim 4 wherein said outriggers are of a length between 3½ feet and 6 feet.