Device for protecting against birds, and arrangement

Abstract

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a device for protecting against birds is provided, which has at least one fastening support on which holders are provided, which holders protrude from the fastening support and through each of which holders a protection element, comprising a head part, can be guided; the holders are formed by guide sleeves, which are held on the fastening support in parallel and at a distance from one another; each guide sleeve comprises a guide channel having an entry opening and an exit opening; and each guide channel has a narrowing of the cross section of the guide channel between the entry opening and the exit opening, each protection element can be moved, in a free falling manner, in the associated guide sleeve from the entry opening thereof at most to the narrowing of the cross section thereof until the fall of the protection element is stopped by the head part thereof resting against the narrowing of the cross section, and adjacent guide sleeves, which are held in parallel with one another on the fastening support, are interconnected by at least one stabilizing connection piece that is spaced apart from the fastening support.

Claims

1. A device for protecting against birds, which has at least one fastening support on which holders are provided, which holders protrude from the fastening supports and through each of which holders a protection element is guidable, said protection element, comprising a head part, wherein: the holders are formed by guide sleeves, which are held on the fastening support in parallel and at a distance from one another, wherein each guide sleeve comprises a guide channel having an entry opening and an exit opening, wherein each guide channel has a narrowing of the cross section of the guide channel between the entry opening and the exit opening, each protection element is movable, in a free falling manner, in the associated guide sleeve from the entry opening thereof at most to the narrowing of the cross section thereof until the fall of the protection element is stopped by the guidable head part thereof resting against the narrowing of the cross section, and adjacent guide sleeves, which are held in parallel with one another on the fastening support, are further interconnected by at least one stabilizing connection piece that is spaced apart from the fastening support.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one stabilizing connection piece is located at the height of the end of the guide sleeves facing away from the fastening support.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one stabilizing connection piece is oriented parallel to the support.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of stabilizing connection pieces form a throughgoing stabilizing strip.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the protection elements are pin-shaped elements, each comprising a head part.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the pin-shaped elements are in each case made of metal or plastic.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the protection elements are wires, each comprising a wire head.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the wires are made of metal.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the guide sleeves are oriented perpendicular to the fastening support.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the portions of the protection elements inserted into the guide sleeves and protruding from the respective exit openings of the guide sleeves form a stabilizing protection region preventing lateral elasticity.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the stabilizing protection region is oriented perpendicular to the fastening support.

12. The device according to claim 10, wherein the length of the stabilizing protection region that prevents lateral elasticity is, in the direction of motion of the protection elements, determined by: the lengthwise portion of the guide sleeves protruding over the fastening supports from the lower edge of the guide sleeve to the narrowing of the cross section of the respective guide channel in addition to: the length of each protection element affixed to the narrowing of the cross section of the respective guide channel and protruding therefrom.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein the entry openings of the guide sleeves can is in each case closeable by a plug, or all of them closed by a plug strip, by means of which the securing elements inserted into the guide sleeves are in each case prevented from falling out of the insertion openings of the guide sleeves.

14. The device according to claim 1, wherein predetermined breaking points are provided between the guide sleeves, which are arranged on the fastening supports in parallel and at a distance from one another.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined breaking points are provided parallel to one another.

16. The device according to ene of claim 1, wherein the guide sleeves are made of UV-stabilized plastic.

17. An arrangement comprising one object and at least one device for protection against birds according to claim 1.

18. The arrangement according to claim 17, wherein the object is a photovoltaic module or a solar module.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a device for protecting against birds according to at least some embodiments of the present invention.

[0041] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of an arrangement for protecting against birds according to at least some embodiments of the present invention, and

[0042] FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a different arrangement according to at least some embodiments of the present invention.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a device 1 for protecting against birds according to at least some embodiments of the present invention. The device 1 for protection against birds can be attached to an object, e.g., a solar module elevated above a roof of a building. Specific embodiments of the present invention are in particular suitable for protection against pigeons.

[0044] The device 1 comprises at least one fastening support 2 on which holders 3 are provided, which holders protrude from the fastening support 2. A protection element 5, which in each case comprises a head part 4, can be guided through each holder 3. According to the present invention, the holders 3 are formed by guide sleeves 6, which are held on the fastening support 2 in parallel and at a distance from one another. The guide sleeves 6 are oriented perpendicular, or essentially perpendicular, to the fastening support 2. Each guide sleeve 6 comprises a guide channel 7 having an entry opening 8 and an exit opening 9. In addition, each guide channel 7 has a narrowing of the cross section 10 of the guide channel 7 between the entry opening 8 and the exit opening 9. The guide sleeves 6 can, e.g., be made of UV-stabilized plastic. The entry openings 8 of the guide sleeves 6 can in each case be closable by a plug 15, or all of them can be closable by a plug strip. The respective protection elements 5 inserted into the guide sleeves 6 are thereby prevented from falling out of the insertion openings 8 of the guide sleeves 6.

[0045] Each protection element 5 can be moved, in a free falling manner, in the associated guide sleeve 6 from the entry opening 8 thereof at most to the narrowing of the cross section 10 thereof until the fall of the protection element 5 is stopped by the head part 4 resting against the narrowing of the cross section 10. Alternatively, the free fall of a protection element 5 in the guide channel 7 of the guide sleeve 6 can be stopped by the oppositely arranged end 13 of the head part 4 resting against the roof surface.

[0046] The protection elements 5 can in each case be, e.g., pin-shaped elements comprising a head part. The pin-shaped elements can in each case be made of metal or plastic. Alternatively, the protection elements 5 can in each case be wires comprising wire heads. Protection elements 5 formed from wire are conventionally made of metal. In FIG. 1, the protection elements 5 are shown before the free fall along the guide channels 7.

[0047] The guide sleeves 6, which are held in parallel with one another on the fastening support 2 and are in each case adjacent one another, are further connected to one another by at least one stabilizing connection piece 11. The at least one stabilizing connection piece 11 is arranged at a distance from the fastening support 2. Conventionally, the at least one stabilizing connection piece 11 is located at the height of the end of the guide sleeves 6 facing away from the fastening support 2 in order to provide the most stable device possible. In addition, the at least one stabilizing connection piece 11 is conventionally oriented parallel to the support. The guide sleeves 6 can be attached to an individual throughgoing stabilizing connection piece 11 or, alternatively, a stabilizing connection piece 11 can in each case be provided between two adjacent guide sleeves 6 so that a plurality of stabilizing connection pieces 11 form a throughgoing stabilizing strip.

[0048] Predetermined breaking points 16, which are arranged in parallel to one another, can be provided between the guide sleeves 6, which are arranged in parallel and at a distance from one another on the fastening support 2. In such a case, the stabilizing connection piece 11, or rather the throughgoing stabilizing strip, is correspondingly prefabricated from a plurality of stabilizing connection pieces 11 having predetermined breaking points 16 between the respective guide sleeves 6. As a result, the device can easily be divided into smaller units.

[0049] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an arrangement for protection against birds according to at least some embodiments of the present invention. The device shown in FIG. 1 is attached to an object 12. The object 12 is, e.g., a solar module elevated above a roof surface 14. The roof surface 14 shown is not entirely flat.

[0050] When the fastening support 2 is installed on the object 12, the protection elements 5 provided within the guide sleeves free fall into their protective positions. Each protection element of the device 1 independently conforms to the roof contour. The free fall of some of the protection elements 5 is stopped by the corresponding head part 4 resting against the narrowing of the cross section 10 of the guide channel 7. The free fall of the other protection elements is stopped by the end of the protection element 13 resting against the roof surface 14. No manual adjustment of the individual protection elements 5 by a user is necessary during installation of the device 1.

[0051] The protection elements 5 arranged parallel to one another prevent birds from entering the interspace between the object 12 and the roof surface 14.

[0052] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a different arrangement according to at least some embodiments of the present invention. The roof surface 14 is formed from multiple roof tiles which overlap one another. An object 12 on the roof is attached at a distance from the roof surface 14 by means of posts 18, resulting in an interspace 17 between the roof surface 14 and the object 12. As shown in FIG. 1, fastening supports 2 for multiple devices 1 for protection against birds are attached to the object 12 such that the interspace 17 is, by way of protection elements 5, circumferentially obstructed by a contiguous array of devices 1. The object 12 can, e.g., comprise a solar module or a plurality of solar modules. As clearly shown in FIG. 3, the circumferentially arranged protection elements 5 each independently conform to the contour of the roof surface 14.

[0053] FIG. 3 likewise clearly shows that a free length of the protection elements 5 between the roof surface 14 and the exit openings 9 of the guide sleeves 6 is relatively short. Any bending or deformation of the protection elements 5 by a bird is thereby prevented, or at least hindered. Therefore, the device 1 according to the invention represents an insurmountable obstacle to a bird, so the interspace 17 (which is protected from the elements) between the object 12 and the roof surface 14 cannot be used as a place for birds to sleep or nest. A negative effect on the utility of the building can thereby be prevented.

[0054] If, upon installation of a continuous array of devices 1, the protection elements 5 protrude beyond the extent of the object 12, then the devices 1 can be made correspondingly smaller using the predetermined breaking points 16, i.e., unneeded protection elements 5 can easily be separated and removed.

[0055] It is understood that the embodiments of the present invention are not restricted to the specific structures or materials disclosed herein. Instead, their equivalents can also be included in a manner discernible by the average skilled person in the relevant field. It is understood that the terminology used herein is merely used to describe specific embodiments and should not be interpreted as being restrictive. The features, structures, or properties described can be combined into one or multiple embodiments in any suitable manner.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0056] 1 Device [0057] 2 Fastening support [0058] 3 Holders [0059] 4 Head part [0060] 5 Protection element [0061] 6 Guide sleeve [0062] 7 Guide channel [0063] 8 Entry opening [0064] 9 Exit opening [0065] 10 Narrowing of the cross section [0066] 11 Stabilizing connection piece [0067] 12 Object [0068] 13 End of protection element [0069] 14 Roof surface [0070] 15 Plugs [0071] 16 Predetermined breaking point [0072] 17 Interspace [0073] 18 Posts