The present disclosure relates to awnings, canopies, and other sunshades. Particularly, the present disclosure relates to awnings, canopies, and sunshades that are attached to buildings, for example commercial buildings, to provide protection from weather, provide pleasing architectural aesthetics, or for use in displaying signage or other advertising.
Awnings are in-use around the world. Awnings enhance the appearance of many buildings, provide shade or cover from precipitation and wind, and can be a useful medium on which to provide advertising or signage for businesses. Awnings are generally constructed from a fabric or similar web of material supported by a frame. Awnings are traditionally affixed to a building and form a permanent fixture, often in-use above windows or doors. In many cases, the frames of existing awnings are generally cantilevered from buildings with attachment points running along the substantial width of the awning, or cantilevered by using two or more spaced apart points of attachment, generally adjacent to each end of the awning.
Inventors have determined that there is a need for awnings and canopies that can be more quickly and easily attached and detached from a building so that the awning can be more easily changed or removed to adapt to weather conditions, or adapt to desired changes in appearance and content.
In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a building-mounted awning. The awning may comprise a support frame and a covering. The covering may be provided over the support frame to act as shelter from precipitation or act as a shade from the sun. The support frame may be attached to the building at only one location along a width of the support frame.
In another embodiment, this disclosure includes a building-mounted awning system comprising a bracket substantially permanently attached to a building, an awning support frame, and a covering provided over the awning support frame. The awning support frame is attached to the building by the bracket with a quick-connect attachment.
A method is also described. The method may include mounting a single bracket to an exterior wall of a building and attaching an awning to the single bracket such that the bracket attaches to only one location along a width of the awning.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiments, when considered in conjunction with the drawings. It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.
Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are described below and illustrated in the accompanying figures, in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views. The embodiments described provide examples and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention. Other embodiments, and modifications and improvements of the described embodiments, will occur to those skilled in the art and all such other embodiments, modifications and improvements are within the scope of the present invention. Features from one embodiment or aspect may be combined with features from any other embodiment or aspect in any appropriate combination. For example, any individual or collective features of method aspects or embodiments may be applied to apparatus, product or component aspects or embodiments and vice versa.
The present disclosure relates to awnings 1. A representative awning 1, attached to a building 20, is shown in
As used herein, the “width” (see “W” in
The present disclosure relates to awnings 1 for use on buildings 20. The awnings 1 may span a range of widths from about 2 feet to about 30 feet. The awnings 1 may span a range of projection sizes from about 2 feet to about 10 feet. The awnings 1 may be provided in a range of profiles and styles, including a variety of shapes and slopes of the top thereof. Example configurations include straight slope (as seen in
The awnings 1 of the present disclosure generally include a support frame 5 (see
Returning to
In some embodiments, the awnings 1 of the present disclosure are configured to attach, or are attached, to a building 20 at a mounting point 9 representing only one location along the width W of the awning 1. As used herein, the term “one location along the width” excludes separate points of attachment substantially spaced apart relative to the overall width of the awning. Further “one location along the width” excludes a continuous or substantially continuous line of attached locations along at least a majority of the width of the awning. Having “one location” of attachment “along the width” does include two or more distinct points of attachment that are so compact in their spacing along the width direction relative to the overall width of the awning that one skilled in the art would reasonably model the anticipated performance of the attachment points as a single point. For example, two or more points may be spaced apart with the distance between the furthest most attachment points being less than about 10%, less than about 5% or less than about 1% of the total width W of the awning 1 to still qualify as “one location along the width.” The attachment points may be located on the same or separate brackets attached to the building. Two or more closely spaced attachment points may help minimize twisting motion of the awning 1.
In some embodiments, the awnings 1 of the present disclosure are configured to attach, or are attached, to a building 20 at a mounting point 9 representing only one location along the height H of the awning 1. As used herein, the term “one location along the height” excludes separate points of attachment substantially spaced apart relative to the overall height of the awning. Further “one location along the height” excludes a continuous or substantially continuous line of attached locations along at least a majority of the height of the awning. Having “one location” of attachment “along the height” does include two or more distinct points of attachment that are so compact in their spacing along the height direction relative to the overall height of the awning that one skilled in the art would reasonably model the anticipated performance of the attachment points as a single point. For example, two or more points may be spaced apart with the distance between the furthest most attachment points being less than about 10%, less than about 5% or less than about 1% of the total height H of the awning 1 to still qualify as “one location along the height.” The attachment points may be located on the same or separate brackets attached to the building. Two or more closely spaced attachment points may help minimize twisting motion of the awning 1. In several embodiments, the awnings 1 will have both attachment at “one location along the width” and attachment at “one location along the height” to result in attachment at substantially a single point.
By providing an awning 1 attached at a single location, and possibly a single point, the awnings 1 of the present disclosure can be more quickly and easily attached to and detached from the building 20. Awnings attached in this manner can be more easily changed or removed to adapt to weather conditions, or adapt to desired changes in appearance and advertising content displayed thereon.
To provide attachment between the building 20 and the awning 1, one or more brackets 30 may be mounted to a wall of the building 20. An example of a suitable bracket 30 is shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket 30 comprises an attachment post 34 configured to protrude from the building and the wall plate 32. The attachment post 34 may be welded to the wall plate 32. The post 34 may be constructed for tubular aluminum, such as about 1.5 inches square with a wall thickness of about 0.188 inches. The post 34 is not necessarily rectangular but could be round, triangular, etc. A round post may be less preferred because a round shape may be less able to resist torque around a longitudinal projection axis of the post 34. The post 34 may project several inches from the building. The post 34 may have a projection that is as long as possible without interfering with the pitch of the awning 1. For example, the projection of the post 34 may be between about 6″ and about 24″. A post 34 that is too short may not provide sufficient support strength. A post 34 that is too long may interfere with the profile of the awning or increase the difficulty of installation if the post 34 and the support frame 5 must be initially aligned too far from the building's wall.
In certain embodiments, as seen in
As shown in
In some embodiments, awnings 1 of the present disclosure are attached to the building 20 by a quick connect attachment. Use of a quick connect attachment allows the awnings 1 to be more readily installed and uninstalled when weather conditions warrant, such as tropical storms, or simply when it is time to change the appearance or content of the covering 7. As used herein, quick connect attachments occur when the awning 1 has a single mounting point 9 as discussed above, but not all single mounting point awnings have quick connect attachments.
As used herein, a quick connect attachment includes, among others:
Quick connect attachment excludes:
A method of installing the awning 1 should also be understood from the example embodiments discussed above. For example, an installation method may comprise mounting a single bracket 30 to an exterior wall of a building 20 and attaching an awning 1 to the single bracket 30 such that the bracket attaches to only one mounting point 9 along a width of the awning.
In certain embodiments where the bracket 30 comprises a post 34 arranged to protrude from the building 20, the step of attaching the awning may further include sliding a portion of a support frame 5 of the awning into or over the post 34. Then, the step of attaching the awning may include passing a pin 38 through the portion of the support frame and the post, to fix the awning to the building.
In some embodiments, the support frame 5 or the bracket 30 may be adapted to allow the awning 1 to be hung with variable pitch relative to the wall of the building 20. In some embodiments, the connection between the bracket 30 and the receiver 52 may be improved by providing silicone, rubber, or other damping material between the attached elements to minimize noise and rattle of the awning at the attachment location. Similar soft rubber-like materials may be provided along an interior edge of the awning positioned to face the building 20 to minimize noise and rattle that could be caused by the unsecured portions of the awning 1 striking the wall of the building 20. Additionally, the rubber-like material may act as a gasket to form a partial seal and help minimize water leaking between the building 20 and the awning 1. In one example the attachment between the awning 1 and the building 20 uses a latch designed such that closing the latch may pull the interior edge of the awning toward the wall of the building, compressing the gasket to increase the sealing and dampening between the wall and the awning.
The present disclosure is not limited to the specific design of the support frame 5 and bracket 30 illustrated but includes all similar single point, and quick connect attachments. In some embodiments, round tubing may be preferred. In some embodiments the connection between the awning 1 and a wall bracket 30 may be in the form of a ball and socket connector.
The awnings 1 may be used for advertising or decoration that would benefit from periodic, seasonal, or even occasional replacement, such as the announcement of a temporary sale occurring within a store. A kit may be provided having a plurality of awnings 1 or a plurality of coverings 7 to facilitate common chances. The kit may be described in terms of the following paragraph:
Paragraph A: A kit comprising:
Paragraph B: The kit of paragraph A, comprising a plurality of support frames equal to or less than the quantity of the plurality of coverings.
Use of the kit, or a plurality of awnings 1, or a plurality of coverings 7, may facilitate a method of advertising described in terms of the following paragraphs:
Paragraph C: An advertising method, comprising:
Although the above disclosure has been presented in the context of exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
This application is a continuation of prior application Ser. No. 14/856,900 filed Sep. 17, 2015, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14856900 | Sep 2015 | US |
Child | 15403574 | US |