Improvements to Retractable Awnings

Abstract

An awning assembly including: a longitudinal support assembly adapted to be fixed to a supporting wall and from which a flexible covering may be withdrawn to provide an awning roof extending from the supporting wall and retracted for stowage; a longitudinal rail assembly attached to the outer longitudinal edge of the flexible covering; at least one strut assembly connected at one end to the longitudinal rail assembly and at its opposite end to a slide assembly adapted to be fixed to the supporting wall such that movement of the longitudinal rail assembly away from the supporting wall causes travel of the opposite end of the strut assembly along the slide assembly from a stowed position to a deployed position, and control means for locating the strut assembly during movement between its stowed and deployed positions.

Claims

1. An awning assembly including: a longitudinal rail assembly attached to the outer longitudinal edge of the flexible covering; at least one strut assembly connected at one end to the longitudinal rail assembly and at its opposite end to a slide assembly adapted to be fixed to the supporting wall such that movement of the longitudinal rail assembly away from the supporting wall causes travel of the opposite end of the strut assembly along the slide assembly from a stowed position to a deployed position; extension means for extending the strut assembly from a collapsed condition to an expanded position, and control means for locating the strut assembly during movement between its stowed position and collapsed condition and its deployed position and expanded condition.

2. (canceled)

3. An awning assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the longitudinal support member includes a retracting roller supported within a housing.

4. An awning assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the housing is an open bottom housing which is operatively closed by the longitudinal rail assembly when disposed in its retracted position.

5. An awning assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible covering is unwound from an underside of a retracting roller.

6. An awning assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible covering is provided with a bolt rope edging along its respective transverse edges and which terminate spaced from the longitudinal support rail to expose accessible bolt rope ends adjacent the longitudinal support rail.

7. An awning assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slide assembly includes an open vertical track adapted to be fixed to a sidewall of a caravan and operatively closed by the associated strut assembly when disposed in the stowed attitude.

8. An awning assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strut assembly is adjustably connected to the longitudinal rail assembly.

9. An awning assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control means is a link which extends down from a fixed pivot on or adjacent a caravan wall to a pivot on the strut assembly located between the ends thereof.

10. An awning assembly of the type including: a longitudinal support assembly from which a flexible covering may be withdrawn to provide an awning roof extending from a supporting wall and retracted for stowage adjacent the supporting wall, wherein: transverse edge portions of the flexible covering are provided with bolt rope edging which terminates in spaced relationship with the supported longitudinal edge of the deployed flexible covering which is distant from the wall to expose accessible bolt rope ends adjacent said longitudinal edge.

11. An awning assembly as claimed in claim 10, and including a stiffening bar adapted to be secured to each respective transverse edge portion by engaging an open end of a captive slot in the stiffening bar with the accessible rope ends and sliding the stiffening bar onto the respective transverse edge portion.

12. A method of installing a respective flutter dampening member to an unsupported transverse edge of the retractable flexible covering of a caravan awning, including: providing a bolt rope type edge along said transverse edge such that an end portion of the bolt rope type edge remote from the caravan is accessible for engaging a complementary tracked member therewith for sliding along the bolt rope type edge, and sliding a complementary tracked member onto the bolt rope type edge from a position spaced from the caravan and in a direction toward the caravan.

13. A method as claimed in claim 11 and including forming the caravan awning whereby the retractable edge of the flexible covering when deployed may be disposed in a supported lowered position at which the end portion of the bolt rope type edge may be accessed by an installer at a height below the normally deployed height of the retractable edge.

14. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the unsupported edge transverse edge is an edge of an awning assembly as claimed in claim 1.

15. (canceled)

Description

[0040] In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate typical embodiments of this invention and wherein:

[0041] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of an annex assembly according to this invention and illustrated in its stowed attitude;

[0042] FIG. 2 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1 illustrating the awning assembly in its deployed attitude;

[0043] FIG. 3 is a cutaway perspective view showing a partially deployed awning assembly mounted on a caravan;

[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates one support assembly with the strut and rail sectioned to reveal their connections to one another;

[0045] FIG. 5 is an enlarged end view illustrating the connections between the struts, longitudinal rail and housing assembly;

[0046] FIG. 6 illustrates the connection between the deployed support rail and flexible covering and the method of stiffening its unsupported edge;

[0047] FIGS. 7 and 8 are corresponding inner side views of the deployed support rail and flexible covering and showing the method of securing the flexible edge stiffening bar to the support rail;

[0048] FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrammatic sectional views of a slide locking mechanism in a locked and unlocked condition respectively;

[0049] FIG. 11 is a pictorial view of the locking mechanism of FIGS. 9 and 10;

[0050] FIG. 12 is a pictorial view showing a section detail of a longitudinal rail for the retractable awning of the present invention;

[0051] FIG. 13 is a pictorial view showing a section detail of a side rail for the retractable awning of the present invention;

[0052] FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 show detail of a strut locking mechanism for the retractable awning according to the invention;

[0053] FIGS. 17 and 18 show in pictorial view and in section a lockable sliding carriage assembly for the connection of the strut to the guide rail of the retractable awning according to the invention;

[0054] FIG. 19 is another view of the retractable awning according to the invention illustrated as a stand-alone awning; and

[0055] FIG. 20 is a pictorial view of a gas strut dampener for the retractable awning illustrated in FIG. 19.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0056] The awning assembly 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 according to this invention is typically mounted on the entry door side wall 11 of a caravan 12 such that when stowed the awning assembly does not interfere with the windows 13 or door opening 14 and the like of the caravan.

[0057] The awning assembly includes an upper housing assembly 15 which retractably supports a flexible covering 16, and respective support assemblies 17 adjacent the ends of the flexible covering. Each support assembly includes an upstanding guide rail 18 fixed to the caravan wall and a deployable strut 19, both of which, when stowed, nest together closely adjacent the sidewall of the caravan so as not to cause undue wind resistance during travel. When fully deployed, the struts extend substantially horizontally from the vertically disposed guide rails to support a longitudinal rail 20 to which the outer end of the flexible covering is attached. The housing assembly is illustrated without its end caps in place which may incorporate the retracting mechanism or drive means for manually or remotely retracting the covering.

[0058] Preferably the retracting mechanism is a spring operated mechanism which does not have a cam-lock mechanism for locking the supporting roller against rotation during retraction of the flexible covering so that only the position of the support assemblies control the extension/retraction. This ensures complete retraction of the fabric covering and maintains tension in the covering at all times. This arrangement also simplifies the retracting mechanism enabling enhanced reliability of the mechanism.

[0059] Each strut assembly has an inner end 21 which attaches pivotally to a carriage assembly 22 for guided up and down movement only along the guide rail. An upper slender control arm 23 is suspended pivotally at 24 from the upper end of each guide rail and extends downwardly and into an intermediate pivot mounting 25 within the associated strut so as to control the orientation of the respective strut as its inner end is moved along the associated guide rail. In the stowed attitude, an outer flange portion 26 of each U-sectioned strut engages about the guide rail to enclose the control arm and close the open fronted rail to reduce ingress of road grime and the like thereto.

[0060] The inner ends have their webs 27 cutaway so that shaped side flange end portions 26 can overlie the spaced apart outer returned flanges 29 of the rails 18 whereby lateral loads which may be accidentally or otherwise applied thereto can be accommodated by abutment between the flanges 26 and 29 and not through the carriage assembly. In addition this flange to flange engagement assists in providing lateral location of the strut assemblies when fully and partially deployed.

[0061] A supporting roller assembly 30, which is spring biased for winding the flexible covering onto a spindle forming part of the roller assembly, is supported within the housing assembly 15, which in use, is mounted so as to extend along the side wall of a caravan at or near the top and above the window and door openings. The flexible covering is retractably supported with its retractable or outer end 31 secured in a bolt rope track 32 extending along the longitudinal rail 20. In the stowed attitude the longitudinal rail closes an open bottom 33 of the housing assembly.

[0062] The longitudinal rail is fixed to the upper ends of the respective longitudinally spaced struts such that when the longitudinal rail is pulled away from the housing assembly it will be carried outwardly by the struts along a substantially horizontal path such that it remains easily accessible to the person deploying the awning who will not have to support the weight of the longitudinal rail or the flexible covering as at all times these are supported by the struts.

[0063] Fixed stops 35 are positioned in the rails 18 to limit the upward movement of the carriage assembly 22. These stops may be positioned to prevent movement of the inner ends beyond a position at which the struts are substantially horizontal, or alternatively as illustrated in FIG. 3, the stops are positioned higher along the rails 18 to permit the support struts to pivot beyond the horizontal attitude. This lowers the longitudinal rail relative to the ground 36 as indicated by the dimension line 37 to provide ease of access to the outer bolt rope ends of the flexible covering 16. This lowering may also be achieved by making the control arms 23 length adjustable so that the deployed height of the support rail 20 can be selectively varied, either up or down.

[0064] It will also be seen that the lower face 40 of the support rail 20 is provided with a captive slot 41 so that the connector members 42 which provide the connection between the longitudinal rail and the struts can be selectively positioned along the length of the longitudinal rail corresponding to positions of clear vertical panel portions on the caravan wall so that the associated rails can be selectively positioned where they will not interfere with caravan openings or on strong points of the wall structure such as alongside the doorway. This enables the awning assembly to be fitted to most caravans without causing interference to windows and the like.

[0065] Referring to the sectioned view in FIG. 4, it will be seen that each carriage assembly 22 has an upper mounting part 44 which supports vertically spaced rollers 45 at each side thereof which roll along the front and rear webs of the open section rail 18 and which protrudes through the front opening between the returned flanges 29 to support a mounting boss 47 which is through bolted to the side walls 48 of the struts 19 for pivotal connection thereto. Similarly the ends of the control arms 23 extend through the free inner edges of the outer flanges 26 and through the slot between the returned flanges 29. These ends are secured with further through-bolts to effect the respective pivotal connections to the strut 19 and the guide rail 18. Through bolts may also be utilised to form the stops in the guide rails 18.

[0066] The lower body part 49 of the carriage assembly 22 supports a stud 50 which projects between the returned flanges 29 to support a friction washer 51 secured by a wing nut 52 threadedly engaged with the stud. This forms a clamp assembly 53 in which the wing nuts may be tightened to clamp the carriage assembly 22 to the rail 18 at any desired position therealong. Accordingly, the tensioned flexible covering may be operatively secured in any partly deployed position simply by actuating the clamp assembly when the covering has been pulled from its housing a sufficient distance to suit the user.

[0067] It will also be seen that the arm 23 is relatively short so that as the strut pivots toward the horizontal attitude and simultaneously moves closer to the tensioned covering, the weight of the strut portion and longitudinal rail extending beyond the intermediate mounting 25 will overcome the tendency of the tensioned covering to retract the strut to its stowed attitude. As a result, when fully deployed the awning will remain in the deployed position without external influence and with maximum tension applied to the covering by the retracting mechanism. In this stable position a person deploying the awning may casually move toward the inner ends 21 to operate the clamp assemblies 53 and positively lock the awning in its fully deployed attitude.

[0068] Furthermore, if the user intends to fully deploy the awning for an extended stop the longitudinal rail may be dipped, as illustrated in FIG. 7, to make the free ends 37 of the bolt rope edges 56 accessible for slidably engaging stiffening bars 57 thereon. In this attitude the struts are much closer to being aligned with the flexible covering which will have insufficient tension to retract the longitudinal rail so that the operation of installing the stiffening rails may be carried out without fear of sudden unexpected movement of the awning. Of course the clamp assemblies may also be engaged as a further safety measure.

[0069] Each stiffening bar is formed from two separate lengths which engage telescopically with a common joiner 59 whereby they are length adjustable. Tongues 60 protrude from each remote end 61 of the assembled stiffening bar and engage non-rotatably in slots 62 formed in the deployed inner faces 40 of the longitudinal rail 20 and housing 15.

[0070] Referring to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 it will be seen that the outer corners of the flexible covering are cropped at 63 to expose the outer ends 37 of the bolt rope edges 56 formed on the covering to enable the slotted stiffening bars 57 to be oriented for easy feeding onto the bolt rope edge 56 and thereafter rotated inwards to pull the edge 56 downward to permit the tongues 60 to be engaged in their respective slots 62 for securing the flexible edge against fluttering movement caused by wind action and to provide further captive slots 66 and 67 which may be used for adding walls or an awning extension or other purposes as desired.

[0071] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the underside of the longitudinal rail 20 is formed with a nut retaining slot 41 such that a T-shaped connector assembly 42 can be secured to the rail 20 at any desired position therealong, such as to coincide with a suitable rail mounting position on a caravan wall. The shaft 72 of each T-shaped connector assembly 71 is received in the strut 19 between its side walls 73 and between the back wall 74 and the opposed intermediate stiffening ribs 75 which extend in from each side wall 73. This shaft 72 may be fixed in place by screws or other mechanical fastening or bonding. In another embodiment this shaft 72 may be an elongate shaft of say or about one metre long which may be selectively extended from the outer end of the strut assembly and locked in a desired position, such as by clamping or by passing pins through registering apertures formed therein and in the strut, to increase the span of the awning.

[0072] FIG. 5 also illustrates the arrangement of feeding the flexible covering from the underside of the roller assembly 30 to a slot 32 adjacent the outer edge of the longitudinal rail such that the longitudinal rail is pulled to the closed position by tension in the covering. In addition, clamp screws 78 are provided at the upper end of each strut such that they may be positively locked to the rails 15 for transport.

[0073] A seal 80 located in an outer slot 81 formed in the housing assembly 15, which may be a lip seal or a brush-type seal, engages the rail 20 in its stowed attitude to span the gap between the rail 20 and the front wall 82 of the housing assembly 20. This seal also acts to wipe debris from the upper surface of the flexible covering as it is retracted into the housing to further assist in reducing debris into the housing which otherwise can build up and prevent even wrapping of the flexible covering about the roller which may cause it to jam or otherwise malfunction. A further seal 83 is located in a captive slot 84 provided at the back of the housing assembly 20 to effect a weatherproof connection between the housing assembly 20 and the wall to which it is attached.

[0074] In a preferred arrangement, as illustrated, the housing assembly 15 has a back wall configured to hook over the upper spaced lip 88 of a mounting bracket 89 which fixes permanently to the wall on which the awning assembly is to be mounted. This bracket provides a locking tab 90 which engages in front of the lower rear edge 91 to secure the housing assembly 15 to the bracket 89.

[0075] In this embodiment the bracket 89 is also provided with a depending angled flange 92 which is adapted to be received into the upper end of the slide rail 18 so that this rail may be secured to the mounting wall through a lower bracket which is screwed or otherwise fastened to the base of the wall and the bracket 89 and without the requirement for further fixings which penetrate the wall. If desired double sided tape and the like may be utilised to secure the intermediate portion of the slide rail to the wall.

[0076] The slide locking mechanism 100 illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11 includes a slide lock body 101 and a slide lock lever 102 pivotally mounted thereto which can pivot between a lock position as shown in FIG. 9 and a release position as shown in FIG. 10. In the lock position, the struts are free to extend, but not retract against the retracting force applied by the tension of the flexible covering.

[0077] The rails shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 may further include a LED channel 103 along a portion of the extrusion selected to enable LED lighting to be installed for illuminating at last some of the space covered by the flexible canopy. The C-section channels are sized to receive the bolt rope.

[0078] The strut locking mechanism 104 illustrated in FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 by which the struts are held against the guide rails. The strut locking mechanism includes a strike plate 105 which also acts as a resting pad between the guide rail and the strut. The strike plate is co-operable with a latching mechanism 106 which has a latch formation 107 on a latch body 109 which has a thumb grip to permit sliding motion with respect to a bezel plate 108. The bezel plate is fastened to a backing plate 110. A spring 111 is interposed between the backing plate and the latch body to urge the latch body upwards to latch the strut against the guide rail.

[0079] The lockable sliding carriage assembly 112 illustrated in FIGS. 17 and 18 has a pivot for attachment of the strut and a lever 114 for locking the carriage assembly in a selected location along the guide rail. The lever actuates a spring loaded locking pin 115 to engage corresponding apertures in the guide rail. The carriage assembly also has two rail mount apertures through which wheels or guides 116 may be inserted to engage with complementary slots in the guide rail. of the retractable awning according to the invention; and

[0080] FIG. 19 is another view of the retractable awning according to the invention illustrated as a stand-alone awning, but specifically includes a gas strut dampener 117 between the deployable strut and control arm.

[0081] It will be seen that an awning according to aspects of this invention may be readily deployed and stowed by a single user either for short time use or for longer use when utilised with easily fitted anti-flap bars. It will also be seen that the simplicity of construction of awnings made in accordance with aspects of this invention will provide an awning assembly which will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and reliable in use.

[0082] It will of course be realised that the above has been given by way of illustrative example of this invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art will fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as is set forth herein and/or defined in the appended claims which embrace combinations which are to be regarded as combinations apparent from the description and disclosed therein.