This invention relates to awnings and more particularly to an awning which is suspended over water by a cantilevered frame in order to protect a boat from rain and the sun while the boat is moored beneath the awning.
An awning is vulnerable to damage in a heavy wind and an awning suspended over a large body of water such as the ocean or lake is particularly vulnerable. That is because there usually is little to moderate the force of wind on the side of the awning facing the body of water since that is often where the wind comes from. The wind will cause an awning to flap excessively, to lift, or to be forced away from where it is normally standing with resulting tearing and other damage to it.
Such damage can be reduced by means of vents for moderating the force of the wind or for deflecting the wind from where it will do most harm to an awning. Examples of such vents are described in a number of U.S. published applications and patents such as no. 2011/0023921 and no. 2010/0243013 both to Li, no. 2004/0121721 to Williams and U.S. Pat. No. 7,913710 to Bougioukos.
I have invented an awning and a cantilevered support for the awning which is particularly suitable for use to protect a boat from rain and the sun while it is moored at a dock or elsewhere on a body of water. To moderate the strength of the wind on the awning, a longitudinally extending opening is formed in the lee side of the awning and the opening is opened or closed by a flap which extends the length of the opening The opening may be entirely open or covered with a mesh which serves to reinforce the area of the awning surrounding the opening.
Briefly, my invention is a combination of an inverted V-shaped awning having a pair of upper surfaces which slope downward and away from opposite sides of an elongated central apex and a cantilever which supports the awning and projects from a vertical support. The vertical support may be positioned such that one of the upper surfaces of the awning faces a prevailing wind and forms the windward side of the awning. The other upper surface of the awning is sheltered from the prevailing wind and forms its lee side. The latter upper surface has an elongated opening through which the wind may flow. A flap is movable from an open position for allowing the wind to pass through the opening to a closed position for preventing the wind from doing so. The flap is adapted to open at such time as the force of the wind is sufficient to cause it to do so and to close under the force of gravity at other times.
The combination of awning and cantilevered support of the subject invention is described with reference to the accompanying photographs and drawing in which:
Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the following description.
With reference to
The vertical supports are each composed of a pair of vertical columns 30, 32 spaced apart by horizontal spacers 34. One column 32 of each vertical support is joined integrally with lower stringer 18 while the other column 30 is joined integrally with the upper stringer 20.
The stringers and spacers of the cantilever and the columns and spacers of the vertical support are preferably composed of a light weight metal such as aluminum and are hollow and tubular in order to achieve sufficient strength to support the awning without applying an excessive weight on the deck or other solid surface on which the vertical supports rest.
The columns of the vertical supports are welded or otherwise attached to shoes or T-bars 36 in the form of flat bars or tubes which cover a relatively small area or “footprint”. Numerous holes are formed in the shoes for accommodation of bolts for attachment to a dock or other solid base. The many holes makes it possible to position the vertical supports so that one of the upper surfaces in the awning faces the prevailing wind whatever its direction.
With reference to
An elongated longitudinally extending opening 42 (illustrated in
In order to moderate the amount of flapping in the wind, the flap is attached to the awning adjacent to its lower edge 44a by pieces of cord or rope 46 preferably spaced about 25 to 35 cm apart.
If desired a mesh 50 can be placed over the opening to reinforce the area of the awning surrounding the opening Alternatively, the edges of the opening can be reinforced by a hem to reinforce the edge of the opening and the canvass adjacent to the opening.
It will be understood, of course, that modifications can be made in the structure of the cantilevered support and awning of the invention without departing from the scope and purview of the invention as defined in the appended claims.