Tent – canopy – umbrella – or cane – Portable shelter – Framework
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-16
2001-07-31
Johnson, Blair M. (Department: 3634)
Tent, canopy, umbrella, or cane
Portable shelter
Framework
C135S128000, C135S149000, C052S074000, C160S056000, C160S083100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267130
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dome awning frame assembled without welding from parts connected by fasteners to be secured over windows and the like on a vertical wall of a building structure to support an awning cover.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Awnings are increasingly used over residential windows and over glass covered openings in commercial building walls to shield and shade the windows without obstructing the view. Awnings typically have a frame with a plurality of ribs which are spaced apart in an array and fixed in position by means of side brackets and sometimes by connections between the individual ribs and the awning covering material itself, which may be flexible material or even light gauge metal.
Larger awnings are especially useful to cover large expanses of glass in commercial buildings, with a covering that is brightly colored and labeled. Viewed from the side and cross-section the array of ribs is pie-shaped, each of the ribs extending roughly a radial distance from a side bracket where they are connected. Viewed from the front the large commercial awnings have a cylindrical-shape in the center, representing approximately a quarter of a cylinder, and the ends taper down into opposed rounded end sections which are rounded from the top and rounded from the front to have smooth appearance.
Many awnings, especially the larger commercial awnings, are fabricated in a shop remote from the place of installation where the brackets and ribs are joined by welding the metal frame members together to form the ribs and other parts of the support structure. Sometimes the cover is made from metal as well, and welding is often used to make a completely welded assembly which must be shipped in its completed form, a difficult procedure.
Awnings of the aforesaid character are known and sometimes referred to as “dome” or “bubble” awnings and are disclosed in the prior art. Such dome awnings take various forms and directions, and are typically expensive, costly, heavy and difficult to maneuver, and importantly such designs are generally confined to the original choice of length and width and may not be adjusted without complete revision. When the use of connectable welded joints is employed, dome awnings are heavy, and priced by the piece, are expensive. When joint welding processes are employed, dome awnings are expensive to manufacture, heavy to carry and install, and have no ability to be disassembled, are space consuming and difficult to maneuver. This makes it almost impossible for awnings of this type to be mass manufactured and sold in the mass market, because the bulk precludes presenting them to the customer in a compact package.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention disclosed herein is an easy and inexpensive to manufacture, assemblable awning structure, able to be compactly packaged, easy to assemble and install, lightweight dome awning frame having the flexibility of being lengthened or shortened. Basic end sections are provided which may be separated a desired distance apart with extension tubes and support brackets to make an awning of any chosen length. The dome awning can be produced in various forms with common end sections having multiple bent or curved pipes and non-welded, one-piece engageable brackets for securing the ends of the pipes for the purpose of forming semicircular, half-dome shaped structures. The awning structures so formed may be easily disassembled and shipped to a new location. A specially formed side bracket may, with the aid of ordinary fasteners not visible from the outside, hold the awning tubes in a spread apart array of ribs without further supports.
A specialized support bracket having spaced apart grooves for receiving abutting tubes supports joints between opposite side end sections of tube extensions which laterally spread individual side end section tubes and form awning ribs. Fasteners may be inserted from the underside of the support bracket into the tubes to hold them in position. Connector members may be inserted in abutting tube ends to be engaged by fastener means which connect the joints to the support bracket from the underside. It is desirable to fasten without exiting the wall of any rib forming tube so as to interfere with or damage a cover.
The invention contemplates an awning frame made from awning tubes which are vertical oriented as well as horizontally oriented as indicated in the FIGURES. The vertically oriented tubes utilize a top bracket and conveniently employ the specialized support bracket which is connected to the ends of the downwardly and outwardly extending tubes to form the bottom peripheral edge of an awning frame. Similarly, a triangular-shaped frame can be used which conveniently employs the specialized support bracket connected between upper and lower horizontal runs of awning tubes. The support bracket is angled away from a wall surface from the top outwardly and downwardly to form the support for a side of a triangular-shaped frame. The vertically oriented tube frame may also include two end sections and an intermediate section, also having vertically oriented outwardly and downwardly curved tubes which are connected to the same specialized support bracket. In all cases, preferably end tubes, can extend below the support bracket to provide a convenient extension for insertion into a headed fastener mounted in the wall to support and contain the awning frame.
Now even large commercial awnings can be mass produced with only a few different interchangeable parts to produce an almost unlimited range of widths in a particular end design and packaged in a flat compact box which does not require much storage space.
REFERENCES:
patent: 925231 (1909-06-01), Sanders
patent: 1650111 (1927-11-01), Byne
patent: 2551975 (1951-05-01), Scott
patent: 5842495 (1998-12-01), Egnew et al.
patent: 5927363 (1999-07-01), Olsen
patent: 444816 (1949-02-01), None
Bryan John F.
Johnson Blair M.
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