Weather protection device

Abstract

The invention relates to a weatherproofing arrangement having a textile sheet material which forms a screen against the effects of weather, in particular against solar radiation and/or rain, and has warp threads and weft threads connected to one another in the manner of latticework. In order to achieve particular protective functions, it is proposed for the warp threads and weft threads to bound elongate-rectangular latticework openings, wherein the length of these openings is at least 10 times the width thereof, and wherein the width of the openings is from between 0.1 and 0.001 mm.

Claims

1. A weather protection device for shielding against weather influences, comprising a textile sheet material having warp threads and weft threads connected to one another in a grid, the warp threads and weft threads delimiting elongate rectangular grid openings, the opening length of the grid openings being at least ten times the opening width of the grid openings, the opening width being between 0.1 mm and 0.01 mm, the textile sheet-like material being hydrophobic and air permeable and being configured for location in open air as sun protection and/or rain protection on or outside a building.

2. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the opening width is between 0.07 and 0.03 mm.

3. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the opening width is about 0.06 mm.

4. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grid openings are delimited on the longitudinal sides by the weft threads.

5. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the textile sheet material comprises a two-layered fabric structure of warp threads which form a warp-thread layer, and of weft threads which form a weft-thread layer lying on one side of the warp-thread layer, the warp threads and the weft threads being stretched in a substantially rectilineal manner.

6. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the warp threads and the weft threads are connected to one another by binder threads in a leno weave, the binder threads wrapping around the outer sides, which face away from one another, of the warp and weft threads.

7. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the textile sheet material is formed of filament yarns.

8. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the textile sheet material comprises a polymer thread material of PET, PTFE, PVDF or polyacrylic.

9. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thread thickness of the warp threads and weft threads is between 0.08 mm and 0.3 mm.

10. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the binder threads have a thread thickness of 0.05 to 0.1 mm.

11. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the textile sheet material comprises a dark colored thread material which is provided with additives for UV stabilization and/or for radiation absorption.

12. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the textile sheet material comprises a coating which acts as UV filter and/or IR reflector, the grid openings being kept free.

13. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the textile sheet material is stretched out on an umbrella, parasol or tensioning device.

14. The weather protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the textile sheet-like material is finished with a water-proofing agent.

15. The weather protection device of claim 1, wherein the textile sheet material is finished with a hydrophobic fluorocarbon or fluoropolymer.

16. A method of providing a screen against the effects of weather, comprising: providing warp threads and weft threads connected to one another in a latticework to form a textile fabric, the latticework defining elongate-rectangular openings whose length is at least 10 times their width and the width of the openings is between 0.1 to 0.001 mm; finishing the threads with a waterproofing agent to render the textile fabric hydrophobic; and placing the textile fabric in an outside environment.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising stretching out the textile material to form an umbrella or parasol, wherein the textile material is permeable to air and substantially impermeable to water.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising locating the textile fabric in open air or outside a building to provide sun protection and/or rain protection, wherein the textile material is permeable to air and substantially impermeable to water.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising coating the textile fabric with a UV filter and/or IR reflector material while maintaining the grid openings free.

20. A weather protection device for shielding against weather influences, comprising a textile sheet material having warp threads and weft threads connected to one another in a grid, the warp threads and weft threads delimiting elongate rectangular grid openings, the opening length of the grid openings being at least ten times the opening width of the grid openings, the opening width being between 0.1 mm and 0.01 mm, the textile sheet material being hydrophobic and air permeable, wherein the textile sheet material comprises a two-layered fabric structure of warp threads which form a warp-thread layer, and of weft threads which form a weft-thread layer lying on one side of the warp-thread layer, the warp threads and the weft threads being stretched in a substantially rectilineal manner.

21. The weather protection device of claim 20, wherein the textile sheet material is finished with a hydrophobic fluorocarbon or fluoropolymer.

22. A weather protection device for shielding against weather influences, comprising a textile sheet material having warp threads and weft threads connected to one another in a grid, the warp threads and weft threads delimiting elongate rectangular grid openings, the opening length of the grid openings being at least ten times the opening width of the grid openings, the opening width being between 0.1 mm and 0.01 mm, and the textile sheet-like material being hydrophobic, wherein the textile sheet material provides sun protection and/or rain protection while simultaneously allowing air and visible light to pass through.

23. The weather protection device of claim 22, wherein the textile sheet material is finished with a hydrophobic fluorocarbon or fluoropolymer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The above-mentioned aspects of exemplary embodiments will become more apparent and will be better understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a weather protection device in the form of a textile sheet-like material, which is stretched out on a building, in a diagrammatic illustration;

(3) FIG. 2 shows the layer-wise arrangement of the warp and weft threads of the textile sheet-like material in a plan view of a warp-side detail; and

(4) FIG. 3 shows a detail of the textile sheet-like material including binder threads in a plan view of the warp side.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) The embodiments described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may appreciate and understand the principles and practices of the present invention.

(6) The weather protection device 10 comprises a textile sheet-like material 12 which is stretched out on the outside of a building 14 as shielding against solar radiation or rain. To this end, the textile sheet-like material 12 is extendable in the form of a web from a winding device 16 and can be fixed at its free end on supports 18. Here, a shielded region 20 under the textile sheet-like material 12 is protected against direct solar radiation and against rain.

(7) As indicated in FIG. 1 in a manner which is not to scale, the textile sheet-like material has warp threads 22 and weft threads 24 which are connected to one another in the manner of a grid. The warp threads 22 run in the longitudinal direction of the fabric web with a relatively large mutual distance between threads, while the weft threads 24 rectangularly cross the warp threads 22, maintaining a relatively narrow mutual distance between threads. In this way, elongate-rectangular grid openings 26, which enable a certain transparency and air permeability, are kept free in the grid-like sheet-like material 12, whereas penetration by rain is largely prevented by the narrow slots.

(8) As is illustrated in FIG. 2, the textile sheet-like material has a two-layered fabric structure in which the warp threads 22 and weft threads 24 are rectilineally stretched and in each case form a separate planar thread layer. Consequently, the warp thread layer 28 lies with one side on the weft thread layer 30, the warp thread layer 28 forming the underside of the fabric facing the shielded region 20 and the weft thread layer 30 forming the fabric upper side facing upward.

(9) When viewed in the direction of the surface normal of the textile sheet-like material 12, clear grid openings 26 thus result which are delimited on the longitudinal sides by the weft threads 24 and across the width by the warp threads 22. The opening length of the grid openings 26, that is to say the clear distance between the warp thread edges facing one another, is in this case at least ten times the opening width between the weft thread edges facing one another, the opening width being smaller than 0.07 mm and preferably amounting to 0.06 mm on account of the high weft thread density. The warp thread density is significantly lower than the weft thread density, the distance from thread center to thread center here lying between 0.5 mm and 5 mm. The distances here are subject to slight tolerances which result from deviations in the thread diameter and in the weaving accuracy.

(10) As shown in FIG. 3, the warp threads 22 and weft threads 24 are fixed in their reciprocal positions by thin binder threads 32 in the manner of a leno weave. The binder threads 32 in this case traverse the two thread layers of the warp threads and weft threads and wrap around the outer sides thereof which face away from one another.

(11) The warp threads, weft threads and binder threads are expediently composed of a monofilament polymeric thread material, for example of PET. Additives for UV stabilization and for radiation absorption are added to the threads. The thread material has a dark, e.g., black, color. The thread thicknesses of the warp threads 22 and weft threads 24 lie in the range of between 0.08 and 0.3 mm, the thinner binder threads having a thickness of 0.05 to 0.1 mm.

(12) On account of the stated thread densities, a dense sheet-like material 12 having unidimensionally large grid openings 26 is created. The weft threads 24 provide the dense surface, while the slot-like intermediate spaces 26 between the weft threads 24 remain free on account of the low warp density. The opening size and opening shape enable an adequate passage of air, whereas the passage of water is not possible because of the small distance between weft threads. In a supporting manner, the textile sheet-like material 12 is finished so as to be hydrophobic, such that even drops of water which impact with force cannot pass through.

(13) The shading or solar protection function is achieved via the reflection on the thread surfaces. In order to avoid the situation where radiation which is reflected between the threads 22, 24 passes through the sheet-like material 12, radiation-absorbing additives are added to the thread material and the actual surface is coated without closing the grid openings 26. The coating 34 contains UV filters or also IR reflectors. The protection rating of the textile sheet-like material 12 as a whole can be set via the weft thread density and thus the distances between threads, and via the thread diameters. In principle, a zone-wise variation of the thread densities and thread thicknesses is possible in order to accordingly modify the protection functions.

(14) A wide variety of application possibilities exist for the weather protection functions mentioned, for example including as an umbrella or parasol. The textile material can be folded in a space-saving manner or rolled up by means of a tensioning device or winding device. In principle, permanent deployment in a stretched-out manner, in particular as a façade cladding on a building, is also conceivable.

(15) While exemplary embodiments have been disclosed hereinabove, the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Instead, this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.