Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Cupola or skylight
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-05
2001-04-24
Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Cupola or skylight
C052S198000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219977
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for naturally illuminating rooms, and more particularly to tubular skylights.
BACKGROUND
Tubular skylights have been provided for illuminating rooms inside buildings with natural light. Not only do tubular skylights thus save electricity and, concomitantly, are environmentally benign, but they illuminate rooms in a pleasing way using natural sunlight instead of 60 cycle electric light. An example of a commercially successful tubular skylight is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,622, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.
A tubular skylight includes a roof-mounted, dome-like transparent cover. The cover is mounted on the roof of a building by means of a flashing. An internally reflective tube depends downwardly from the roof to the ceiling of the room sought to be illuminated, and the bottom of the tube is covered with a disk-shaped light diffuser that is positioned at the ceiling. The round cross-sectional shape of the tube promotes light reflectivity and transmission down the tube, into the building.
In most existing tubular skylights, the ceiling dry wall supports the diffuser and the tube. To install a tubular skylight, a circular hole is cut in the existing ceiling dry wall and another hole is cut in the roof, and then the skylight positioned and mounted as described above.
The present invention recognizes that tubular skylights can be used in applications other than in conventional ceiling dry walls. For example, the present invention recognizes that tubular skylights can be used to illuminate relatively larger buildings that have ceilings defined in part by rectangular grids of metal support joists. The grids are used to support rectangular-shaped ceiling panels.
As understood by the present invention, the bottom portion of a tubular skylight should be shaped complementarily to the ceiling opening with which the skylight is engaged. In the case of conventional ceilings made of dry wall, the ceiling opening is formed to accommodate the round cross-sectional shape of the skylight. In the case of larger ceilings having rectangular support grids, however, the opening with which the skylight must be engaged, namely, one of the rectangular areas formed by the grid, is not designed with tubular skylights in mind, but rather with the rectangular shape of conventional ceiling panels in mind. As intimated above, this problem cannot be solved simply by making the skylight parallelepiped-shaped, because a skylight with a rectangular cross-section will not transmit light down to the ceiling as efficiently as will a tubular skylight. Moreover, the tubular shape of skylights is widely accepted and indeed ingrained in the industry. The present invention has both recognized the problem of installing skylights in a ceiling grid, and provides the below-disclosed solution.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A tubular skylight is disclosed for a building having a roof with a skylight flashing and at least one ceiling grid below the roof for supporting a ceiling above a room, wherein the ceiling grid defines at least one rectangular opening. In accordance with the present invention, the skylight includes a transparent cover that is engageable with the flashing, and a tube assembly depending downwardly from the flashing. The tube assembly has an upper end covered by the cover. An adaptor couples the tube assembly to the rectangular opening.
In a preferred embodiment, the adaptor is hollow, and the inside surface of the adaptor is covered with a reflective coating. The preferred adaptor defines a ring-shaped tube segment that is configured complementarily to the tube assembly and that is engaged with the tube assembly. Moreover, the adaptor includes a rectangular-shaped ceiling segment that is configured complementarily to the rectangular opening and that is disposed on the grid. A rectangular-shaped light diffuser is coupled to the rectangular-shaped ceiling segment of the adaptor.
As disclosed in detail below with respect to the preferred embodiment, the adaptor is formed with an intermediate segment that is at least partially frusto-pyramidal shaped. The intermediate segment connects the ring-shaped tube segment of the adaptor to the rectangular-shaped ceiling segment of the adaptor. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the intermediate segment includes a lower intermediate portion defining a right regular pyramidal frustum and an upper intermediate portion defining a circular top edge.
In another aspect, an adaptor for interconnecting a tubular skylight and a rectangular-shaped opening of a ceiling grid that has a rectangular-shaped diffuser disposed therein includes a hollow tube segment. As envisioned by the present invention, the tube segment is circular-shaped to facilitate coupling the tube segment to the tubular skylight. Also, the adaptor includes a hollow ceiling segment is rectangular-shaped to facilitate coupling the ceiling segment to the diffuser.
In still another aspect, a method is disclosed for mounting a tubular skylight in a building having a roof and a ceiling grid below the roof. The method includes attaching the skylight to the roof, and disposing a diffuser in an opening of the grid. The tube of the skylight is then coupled to the diffuser.
The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and operation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:
REFERENCES:
patent: 5502935 (1996-04-01), Demmer
patent: 5896713 (1999-04-01), Chao et al.
Chao Bing-Ling
Prenn Joseph W.
Stevens Christian P.
Chavez Patrick J.
Friedman Carl D.
Rogitz John L.
Solatube International Inc.
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