Mounting Rims

Abstract

A mounting rim for light domes, ventilator frames and like structures comprises a plurality of prefabricated interconnected shaped members made of heat-insulating material. Each two adjacent shaped members are connected together by co-operating connecting portions provided on the respective shaped members. The connecting portions of adjacent shaped members form a connection in their longitudinal and transverse directions and can be tightened together.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mounting rims have been proposed which comprise glass fibrereinforced plastics materials which are mainly made by a hand lamination or fibre injection method (German Gebrauchsmuster No 1901804). However such manufacturing methods are generally complicated and expensive.

In order to simplify the manufacture of mounting rims, it has also been proposed that a mounting rim should be composed of separate hollow shaped members made by an extrusion pressing method; however the individual members must then be cut on a bevel and stuck or welded together (German Pat. specification No 1202464 : German Gebrauchsmuster No 6903940). Depending on the particular size of the mounting rim, this method of manufacture has a more or less high wastage or scrap quota and is therefore also uneconomical.

For this reason, a mounting rim has also been proposed which comprises a plurality of individual members made from plate material and each shaped in one piece, the individual members being connected together on a bevel by screwing or the like. In this arrangement connecting limb portions are arranged at the end faces of the individual members, to carry screws or the like fixing means (German Gebrauchsmuster No 1861685). With these proposed mounting rims however, a disadvantage is that they do not have the necessary heat-insulation action. A further disadvantage is that the connecting limb portions at the corners of the members are a hinderance when fitting the roof sheathing and they cannot therefore be enclosed sufficiently sealingly and surely, resulting over a period of time in structural damage due to the ingress of moisture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a mounting rim which overcomes the above disadvantages.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mounting rim construction which is easy to assemble and is torsionally strong at the connecting points of the members forming the mounting rim.

According to the present invention, there is provided a mounting rim for light domes and like structures, comprising a plurality of interconnected prefabricated shaped members which are made from heat-insulating material and which are provided with tightenable portions for connecting together each two adjacent shaped members, said connecting portions being effective in the transverse and longitudinal directions.

The prefabricated shaped members are produced for example by a foaming, pressing or casting process. The above defined arrangement ensures a particularly favourable load-carrying capacity at the connecting points which may be subject to loadings due to the load of the rim members themselves, wind forces and thermal and mechanical stresses.

The material used also permits any lugs, holes, bevels and the like, which are necessary for the connection, to be formed directly on the rim members, so that there is no need for any dressing or finishing operations when assembling the mounting rim.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the effective connection of the shaped members can be tightened by eccentric pin means operative to urge the connecting portions of the shaped members firmly together. Further, in accordance with the invention, it is particularly desirable for the connecting portions of respective adjacent shaped members to be in the form of conical or wedge-shaped inter-engageable connecting lug and recess.

In order to provide for a torsionally strong and flush connection in the region of the base supporting flange of two adjacent shaped members, the supporting flange preferably has a groove and key connection at its co-operating end faces.

In a further aspect of the invention, the connecting portions are provided on one side of each shaped member with conical projections or pins which engage into corresponding recesses on the other side of the respective adjacent shaped member; with this arrangement, the connecting portions can also be tightened together by means of one or more screws. If the connection is to be additionally stuck at the supporting flange, it is desirable for the connection of the supporting flange portions of two adjacent shaped members to be in the form of an overlap connection.

For the purpose of fitting securing and sealing materials for the light dome or ventilator frame to be fitted on the mounting rim, the invention also provides that in the region of an upper flange portion on which the light dome rests, the shaped members have a longitudinally extending shaped portion. If excessively complicated shaping in the upper flange portion is required to receive the securing and sealing means, it is desirable for the upper flange portion to be provided with an additional shaped bar; this permits the provision of any shaping that may be required in the region of the connection of the light dome.

In order to give the mounting rim a better seating in a bitumen bed of a roof surface, in accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the base supporting flange is perforated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of a mounting rim according to the invention, which is composed of four shaped members, will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a mounting rim,

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a shaped member of the mounting rim shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 2a shows a sectional view of the shaped member shown in FIG. 2 along the line II--II,

FIG. 3 shows a section through a connecting point, provided with an eccentric connection, between two shaped members as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of another embodiment of a shaped member, with lateral pins and corresponding recesses,

FIG. 5 shows a section through a connecting point between two shaped members as shown in FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 shows a section through a shaped member with attached shaped bar.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The mounting rim shown in FIG. 1 comprises four shaped rim members 1, 2, 3 and 4 which are connected together by connecting portions comprising interengaging lugs and recesses, and eccentric pins to tighten the connections. One of these four shaped members which form a mounting rim in accordance with the invention, is shown in plan view in FIG. 2, to which reference will also be made. The shaped member has a lug 5 in which there is a hole 6 to receive a tightening eccentric. At its other end, the shaped member has a recess or pocket 7 which receives the lug 5 of the adjacent shaped member. The walls of the recess 7 have a bore 8 and a blind bore 8', respectively (FIG. 3) in which the eccentric is also carried. At the lug end of the shaped member, in the region of the base or supporting flange 9 thereof, there is a key member or feather 10 which in the connected position engages into a groove-like recess 11 provided at the recess-carrying end of the adjacent and co-operating shaped member. The interengaging projections and recesses of the shaped member can be of a substantially conical configuration.

FIG. 2a shows a section through the shaped member on line II--II of FIG. 2. The supporting flange 9 is joined to an inwardly inclined portion 12 which is in turn continued upwardly (that is, in a direction away from the flange 9) by an upper flange 13 on which a light dome, ventilator frame or like structure can be supported. The upper flange 13 can also be provided with an additional projecting shaped portion 13a, to accommodate if required means for securing and/or sealing the light dome.

In the sectional view shown in FIG. 3 through the connecting point between two adjacent shaped members, the recess 7 is shown as being formed in the shaped member 1, while the lug 5 is carried on the shaped member 2, the lug 5 engaging with the recess 7 in the shaped member 1 when the two shaped members are fitted together. Mounted in the bores 8 and 8' in the shaped member 1 is the tightening eccentric in the form of a pin 14 which carries an eccentric 15 which is brought into engagement with the hole 6 in the lug 5 of the shaped member 2. With this arrangement, rotating the pin 14 tightens the lug connection such that the side and end faces of the shaped members 1 and 2 are form-lockingly and force-lockingly connected together. The connecting action can be further increased if adhesive is introduced into the gaps at the join lines 16 and 16' before the members are brought together. As a result, the pin 14 is also moistened with adhesive, and prevented from possibly being rotated out later.

In the further embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, frusto-conical projections or pins 18 and 18' are formed on an inclined bevel surface 17 on the inwardly inclined portion 12 (the inclination of the surface 17 is shown in FIG. 5). The pins 18 and 18' engage into recesses 20 and 20' located in an inclined bevel lug portion 19 of each adjacent shaped member when two shaped members are fitted together. Disposed on the lug portion 19 of one shaped member, in the region of the base or supporting flange 9, is an overlap portion 21 which co-operates overlappingly with a suitable recess 22 formed in the supporting flange 9 of the adjacent shaped member, in the region of the inclined surface 17 thereof.

FIG. 5 is a section through a connection between the shaped members 1' and 2' shown in FIG. 4. In this case, the pins 18 and 18' are provided on the member 1' and engage with the recesses 20 and 20' in the shaped member 2'. When the shaped members are tightened together to form the mounting rim, the edge portion 23 of the recess 20 slides along the inclined face 24 of the pin 18, whereby the shaped members 1' and 2' are form-lockingly and force-lockingly connected to and braced against each other by tightening a screw 25, similarly to the connection shown in FIG. 3. The connection can be further improved by applying adhesive into the joint 26.

If more complicated shaping of the flange 13 than the portion 13a (FIG. 2a) is required, a shaped bar 27 can additionally be fitted, as shown in FIG. 6, to accommodate fastening and seal material for fitting a light dome.

Various other modifications may of course be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A mounting frame for roof skylights such as light domes comprising a plurality of like prefabricated frame members, a connecting portion provided at each end of each frame member, the connecting portion at a first end of each frame member being bifurcated to form a recess and the connecting portion at the second end of each frame member comprising a projection, at least one of said recess and projection being tapered to provide a wedge fitting when adjoining frame members are connected, a first hole located in said projection and a second hole extending through at least one of said bifurcations and adapted to be aligned with said first hole when adjoining frame members are connected, and securing means for securing adjacent frame members together at the connecting portions, said securing means comprising eccentric pin means positioned in said first and second holes, the eccentric portion of said pin means being operatively arranged in said first hole in said projection, the securing means being such that tightening thereof to secure the frame members together causes displacement of the frame members relative to each other in the longitudinal direction of the mounting frame.

2. The mounting frame of claim 1 wherein each frame member comprises a base flange, each end of the base flange being of a configuration such as to form an interengaging recess-and-projection connection with the base flange of a respective adjacent frame member.

3. The mounting frame of claim 1 wherein each frame member is of heat-insulating material.

4. A mounting frame for roof skylights such as light domes comprising a plurality of like prefabricated frame members, a connecting portion provided at each end of each frame member, the connecting portion at a first end of each frame member comprising a first wedge-shaped portion and the connecting portion at the second end of each frame member comprising a second wedge-shaped portion, the two wedge-shaped portions of adjacent frame members overlapping in the manner of a scarf joint, and securing means for securing adjacent frame members together at the connecting portions, said securing means comprising frustoconical projections on the wedge face of the first wedge-shaped portion, and bores in the wedge face of the second wedge-shaped portion for receiving respective ones of said frustoconical projections, the frustoconical projections being urged into respective ones of said bores by means of screws, with only one side wall of each bore lying against the associated frustoconical projection.