Technical Field

The present invention relates to an awning or sunscreen which can be fitted to any suitable support, (e.g. the exterior wall of a building or a freestanding frame or support posts) and which can be extended to provide shade or retracted for storage.

Background Art

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification is not an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.

A building or other structure can be provided with rigid permanent or semi-permanent awnings; these effectively are a small partial roof over the area to be screened, and although they are robust have the obvious disadvantage that they cannot be removed when screening is not required.

For an awning to be removable, either it must be designed to be completely removable when not required (which in general is inconvenient and labour intensive) or all or part of the awning must be designed to retract or to fold up when not required.

A common design of retractable awning includes a supporting frame which is secured along one end to a supporting structure, (e.g. the wall of a building) so that it extends outwards from the building, and which supports a screen of flexible material which can be extended over part or all of the length of the frame to screen the required area, or retracted back towards the end of the screen secured to the supporting structure when not in use.

One of the simplest designs of this type is essentially a modified roller blind:- flexible material forming the screen is wound on a spring-loaded roller mounted adjacent said one edge of the frame, and when the screen is required, the flexible material is unwound from the roller, kept taut by the spring loading of the roller, and is secured to the edge of the frame opposite said one edge. This design is simple and cheap to manufacture, and has the advantage that the flexible material is only minimally exposed to the weather when it is wound on the roller, but it has the major disadvantage that the flexible material is not well supported when it is extended to the screening position, and is highly vulnerable to wind damage. Also, the lack of support for the flexible material means this design is suitable only for small awnings.

The above described drawbacks can be overcome; for example, as described in NZ patent 336577 which discloses an awning design where the flexible material is supported by ribs extending across the width of the frame at spaced intervals along the length of the flexible material. The ends of these ribs engage tracks along the side edges of the frame, so that the awning is well supported in the extended position and is much less vulnerable to wind damage. Also, the support given to the flexible material by the ribs means that the design can be used for large awnings. However, this design has the drawback that when the awning is retracted, the flexible material hangs as loops between the ribs, adjacent the supporting edge of the frame. The loops of flexible material tend to collect rainwater and windblown dirt, and the flexible material itself is exposed to the weather.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an awning which is suitable for screening relatively large areas, but which is comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and which overcomes the above described drawbacks.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides an awning which includes a frame defining the length and width of the awning and including two elongated parallel opposed sides; and a length of flexible material arranged to be extended along the length of the frame to provide a screen, and retracted towards one end of the frame for storage;

wherein the awning further includes:

- a windup roller mounted at or adjacent one end of the frame; one end of the flexible material is secured to said windup roller;

- said windup roller being driveable to wind at least a major portion of said flexible material around said windup roller;

- an end rail to which is secured the other end of the flexible material;

- one or more intermediate rails each consisting of a split rail, one portion of which lies above the flexible material, and the other portion of which lies below the flexible material, neither portion of the split rail being secured to the flexible material;

- the windup roller, end rail and the or each intermediate rail, all being arranged to extend across the width of the frame with their longitudinal axes substantially parallel; - each end of the end rail of the or each intermediate rail being engaged with the frame so as to restrict movement of said each end in directions perpendicular to the plane of the frame, but so as to permit movement of said end rail and of the or each intermediate rails along the length of the frame;

- the end rail and the or each intermediate rail being interconnected by connection means such that movement of said end rail towards the extended position of the awning moves the or each intermediate rail relative to the frame.

Preferably, the awning further includes moving means for moving the end rail towards the extended position of the awning.

The windup roller may be manually driveable, e.g. by winding handle, but preferably is driven by a motor, most preferably an electric motor mounted within the roller.

Preferably, both of said sides are formed as channel members with the open end of said channels along the inner sides of the frame, and each end of the or each intermediate rail, and each end of the end rail, is engaged with the adjacent channel so as to restrict movement of said each end in directions perpendicular to the plane of the frame, but so as to permit movement of said each end along the length of the frame.

Preferably, said each end of the end rail and of the or each intermediate rail either is provided with a roller and arranged to roll along the channel, or is provided with a slider and is arranged to slide along the channel.

The connection means may be rigid or flexible.

For a majority of applications, the plane of the frame would be horizontal or at a small angle to the horizontal and a moving means for moving the end rail towards the extended position of the awning is needed, but the awning of the present invention can function in a wide variety of orientations, including 90° to horizontal. If the awning is used with the plane of the frame at or near vertical, it is possible to dispense with the moving means for moving the end rail towards the extended position of the awning, because gravity will pull the awning to the extended position. In the embodiments of the invention in which the connection means are rigid, if the awning includes only one intermediate rail, preferably said connection means includes a first rod which extends perpendicular to, and is secured between, the end rail and the adjacent intermediate rail. If the awning includes a plurality of intermediate rails, preferably said connection means includes a first rod which extends perpendicular to, and is secured between, the end rail and the adjacent intermediate rail, and one or more further rods the or each of which is secured between adjacent intermediate rails; each rod being secured between a pair of blocks secured to said rails, each rod being arranged to slide through the block of the pair of blocks which is furthest from the windup roller, and being rigidly secured to the other block of the pair.

In the preferred embodiments of the invention wherein the connection means are flexible, if the awning includes only one intermediate rail, in one preferred embodiment said connection means consisted a pair of cords arranged to connect the end rail to the intermediate rail, the length of the pair of cords being equal to the desired spacing between the corresponding rails when the awning is in the extended position.

If the awning includes a plurality of intermediate rails, in another preferred embodiment, said connection means consists of a first pair of cords arranged to connect the end rail to the adjacent intermediate rail, and further pairs of cords, each of which is arranged to connect each intermediate rail to the adjacent intermediate rail; the length of each pair of cords is equal to the desired spacing between the corresponding rails when the awning is in the extended position.

The connection means may be secured to the corresponding rails at any point along the length of the rails, but preferably are connected to the ends of the rails.

In a further embodiment in which the connection means are flexible, where the awning includes only one intermediate rail, said connection means consists of a pair of cords, each having an elastic portion connected to an inelastic portion; wherein each cord is arranged to extend from an anchor point on said intermediate rail, through an aperture on a stop provided on the same rail, and then to an anchor point on the end rail; wherein the length and elasticity of said elastic portion of each cord are such that in the extended position of the awning the intermediate rail and the end rail have a predetermined spacing therebetween, and in the retracted position of the awning, said elastic portion takes up substantially all of the slack in the cord. If the awning includes a plurality of intermediate rails, in a further preferred embodiment said connection means consists of a plurality of pairs of cords, each having an elastic portion connected to an inelastic portion; wherein each cord of each pair of cords is arranged to extend from an anchor point on one of said intermediate rails, through an aperture on a stop provided on the same rail, and then to an anchor point on either an adjacent intermediate rail or on the adjacent end rail, as the case may be; wherein the length and elasticity of said elastic portion are such that in the extended position of the awning the or each intermediate rail and the end rail have a predetermined spacing therebetween, and in the retracted position of the awning, said elastic portion takes up substantially all of the slag in the cord.

Preferably, the elastic portion of each cord is that portion of the cord which extends between said anchor point and said stop, and said cord is provided with a block which contacts said stop to limit the elastic extension of said elastic portion.

In one preferred embodiment, said moving means comprises a pair of elastic cords, each of which is secured between one end of the end rail and the end of the frame furthest from said windup roller, so as to bias said end rail towards that end of the frame.

In a further preferred embodiment, said moving means comprises a pair of cords, one end of each cord being secured to one end of the end rail and the other end of each cord being secured around one of a pair of wheels; and one said wheel is secured to one end of the windup roller and the other said wheel is secured to the other end of the windup roller, both wheels being coaxial with, the windup roller, for rotation therewith; such that rotation of the wind up roller to move the awning towards the extended position pulls said cords and said end rail towards the extended position, and rotation of the windup roller to move the awning towards the retracted position pulls said cords and said end rail towards the retracted position.

Brief Description of Drawings

By way of example only, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :- Figure 1 is a plan view of an awning in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, in the extended or screening position; Figure 2 is a plan view of the awning of Figure 1 partway towards the retracted or storage position;

Figure 2 a is a view of part of Figure 2, on a larger scale;

Figure 3 is a cross-section through part of the awning;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section through one side of the awning frame;

Figure 5 is a plan view of an awning in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, in the extended or screening position;

Figure 6 is a plan view of the awning of Figure 5 partway towards the retracted or storage position;

Figure 7a is a plan view of part of the awning of Figure 5, depicted as the awning moves towards its extended position;

Figure 7b is a plan view of part of the awning of Figure 5, depicted as the awning moves towards it retracted position;

Figure 8 is an isometric view of a detail of Figure 5, on a larger scale;

Figure 9 is an isometric view of part of an awning in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, with the awning fully extended; and Figure 10 is a sectional side view showing a variant of the moving means for moving the awning towards the extended position, which may be used in combination with any of the three embodiments.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Referring to Figures 1 -4 of the drawings, an awning 10 in accordance with the present invention includes a rigid frame 1 1 which is rectangular in plan, having a first end 12 which is adapted to be secured to a support (such as the wall of a building or freestanding posts), an opposite end 13 which in use would extend outwards from the support, and two parallel opposed sides 14,15 connecting the ends 12,13. The frame may be made of any strong, impact resistant, ultraviolet resistant material, e.g. powder coated steel or an aluminium alloy.

The sides 14,15 may be supported only across their ends and/or at intervals along their length, depending upon the length of the sides. If the sides 14,15 are supported along their length by cross-pieces, one or both of the ends 12,13 could be dispensed with.

The ends of the frame 12,13 are simple support bars; the sides 14,15 are formed as channel sections, with the channels opening towards the interior of the frame. For a majority of applications, the frame 1 1 would be arranged to extend from the support with the plane of the frame in a substantially horizontal plane, but the awning of the present invention will operate satisfactorily with the frame in any orientation, even with the plane of the frame in a vertical plane.

The size of the frame 1 1 is slightly larger than the area required to be shaded by the awning; its size and proportions may be adjusted to suit requirements. The frame is designed to remain permanently or semi-permanently in place.

The extendable/retractable portion of the awning 10 includes a rectangular length of flexible material 16 slightly narrower than the internal width of the frame and slightly longer than the length of the frame. One end 17 of the flexible material 16 is secured to and wound around a windup roller 18 which is located adjacent, and parallel to, the end 12 of the frame. The ends 19 of the roller 18 are mounted in bearings (not visible) secured to the sides 14,15 of the frame adjacent the end 12. The windup roller 18 is arranged to be driven in the direction of arrow A (Figure 3 only) either manually or by any of a range of known driving means (not shown). Preferably, the windup roller 18 is powered by a small electric motor mounted inside the roller.

The flexible material 16 may be permanently or semi-permanently mounted to the roller 18 but preferably is attached to the roller 18 by removable means, (e.g. a hook and loop connection) so that the flexible material 16 can be replaced if it becomes worn or damaged. The flexible material 16 may be any suitable tough, ultra-violet resistant material, e.g. canvas, sheet plastics material, plastic-coated fabrics.

The flexible material 16 in the extended position shown in Figure 1 , extends from the windup roller 18 to the end rail 20, to which the outer end 21 of the flexible material is secured, either permanently or by a removable hook-and-loop connection. To allow the flexible material 16 to unwind from the windup roller 18 and move to the extended position, the windup roller 18 can be disengaged from its driving means to allow free rotation of the windup roller in the direction opposite to arrow A.

In the extended position shown in Figure 1 , the flexible material is supported not only by the windup roller 18 and the end rail 20, but also by intermediate rails 22, three of which are shown. It will be appreciated that the number of intermediate rails may be increased or decreased depending upon the overall length of the awning and the anticipated wind loadings on the awning. Only a single intermediate rail 22 may be needed for a short awning.

The purpose of the end rail 20 and the intermediate rails 22 is to support the flexible material against wind pressure:- updraughts and downdraughts cause the flexible material 16 to flap and can quickly do significant damage. The end rails 20 and the intermediate rails 22 all are split rails, as shown in Figures 3 and 4:- each rail 20,22 is actually a pair of rails parallel to each other and connected together only at their ends. Each pair of rails of each split pair is connected at each end by an arm 23a,23b, respectively, which is also secured to a connecting plate 23 which provides a strong and rigid coupling between the rails in the pair and also supports a freely rotatable roller 24 which sits in the channel 27,27a provided in the adjacent side 14,15 and can roll along the channel in either direction as the awning is extended or retracted. Alternatively, the rollers 24 can be formed as slides which slide along the channels 27,27a.

The split rails 20,22 are depicted as being circular in cross-section, but need not be. Also, the split rails are shown as having rails of equal diameter in the upper and lower rails of each pair, but this may be varied:- for windy locations, it may be desirable to have a larger rail as the upper rail for each pair, to strengthen the awning against updraughts.

The flexible material 16 is not secured to the intermediate rails 22, and can slide between the two parts of each rail as hereinafter described.

The end rail 20 and the intermediate rails 22 are connected together by connection means in the form of two cords 25,26 which extend between the rails, adjacent each longitudinal edge of the flexible material. Each cord 25,26 may be a single continuous cord (as depicted) or may be separate sections of cord connected between adjacent rails 20/22, 22/22,22/22. The cord or cords 25,26 are connected to the corresponding arm 23a, and hence to the rollers 24 on each side of each of the rails 20/22. Each end of the rail 22 nearest the windup roller 18 is connected to an anchorage 28,29 adjacent the windup roller by a section of the cord 25,26. The connection means preferably are connected between the ends of the rails, as shown in the drawings, but could be connected elsewhere on the rails. Each end of the end rail 20 is connected to an anchorage 30,31 on or adjacent the end 13 of the frame by a moving means in the form of a double run of heavy elastic cord 32,33, such as a bungee cord (shown in Figures 2 and 4 only) the length of which is such that in the retracted position of the awning, the elastic cords are tensioned.

The above described awning operates as follows:- the frame 1 1 of the awning is secured to a suitable support by the end 12, such that the awning extends outwards over the area to be shaded by the awning. When the awning is in the retracted position the flexible material 16 is almost completely wound onto the take-up roller 18; Figure 2 shows the awning close to the fully retracted position, but, for the purposes of illustration, not completely retracted:- in the fully retracted position the split rails 22/20 all lie adjacent the roller 18. In the fully retracted position, the elastic cords 32,33 are fully tensioned, and the awning is held in the retracted position either by a mechanical lock (if the awning is powered mechanically) or by a lock on the drive motor of the windup roller 18. It will be appreciated that, in the fully retracted position, the flexible material 16 has a minimum exposure to dust, rain and sunlight, and there are no loops of flexible material which will collect water or insects. Further, the fully retracted awning is tidy and unobtrusive in appearance.

To extend the awning, the lock on the windup roller is released, so that the windup roller can rotate freely; this allows the elastic cords 32,33 to retract, pulling the end rail 20 towards the end 13, and drawing the end of the flexible material with it. This movement unwinds the flexible material 16 from the wind-up roller 18 and the flexible material 16 extends either over the full length of the frame 1 1 or to a selected position along the length of the frame 1 1 . The awning may be partially extended simply by locking the wind-up roller 18 when the flexible material 16 has reached the desired degree of extension.

The rail 20 is connected to the rails 22 by the cords 25,26, so that as the rail 20 travels towards the end 13 as described above, the cords, 25,26 tow the rails 22 after it until the rails 22 are spaced along the length of the frame 1 1 at positions determined by the lengths of the portions of the cords 25,26 between adjacent rails 20/22,22/22,22/22. The fully extended position of the awning is as shown in Figure 1 :- the rails 22 are more or less equidistantly spaced along the length of the frame 1 1 , and offer support to the flexible material 16 both against updraughts and downdraughts.

To retract the awning again, windup roller 18 is rotated to wind the flexible material 16 around the roller 18. This draws the end rail 20 back towards the end 12 of the frame 1 1 and the flexible material 16 slides between the pairs of rails forming the intermediate rails 22 until the end rail 20 contacts the adjacent rail 22 and pushes that rail towards the end 12. As the flexible material 16 is progressively wound onto the wind-up roller 18, each of the intermediate rails 22 in turn is pushed towards the retracted position until the rails 20,22 all lie adjacent each other, close to the wind-up roller 18. This movement tensions the elastic cords 32,33.

In the retracted position, the cords 25,26 hang in loops between adjacent rails, but since the cords are thin they do not collect water or insects to any appreciable degree, nor are they unsightly. The awning is locked in the retracted position as described above.

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 5 - 8. The principal feature of this embodiment is that the connection means between the end rail and the intermediate rails does not hang down below the awning when the awning is in the retracted/stored position, but instead lies unobtrusively on the upper surface of the awning.

The awning frame 1 1 and windup roller 18 are the same as described with reference to Figures 1 - 4, and the same reference numerals are used on the drawings. The end rail 40 and intermediate rails 41 are formed as split rails, as described with reference to Figures 1 - 4, but are of rectangular cross-section (see Figure 8) and engage the channels 27,27a in the sides 14,15 of the frame by means of sliders rather than rollers; the sliders are arranged to slide on a low friction polyester webbing surface (not shown).

As with the previous embodiment, the flexible material 16 is not secured to the intermediate rails 41 , but is free to slide between the two parts of the rails. The connection means 42 is in the form of a lightweight cord, which incorporates elastic sections. Referring in particular to Figures 7 and 8, each of the intermediate rails 41 and the end rail 40 are fitted with two spaced anchor points 43, one adjacent each end of the rail. Each intermediate rail 41 also is fitted with two spaced apertured stops 44. Each anchor point 43 and each stop 44 is simply a peg which extends from the upper surface of the upper part of the corresponding rail, with the longitudinal axis of the peg substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rail.

Referring to Figures 7a and 7b, each connection means 42 consists of a first elastic portion 42a which has a loop 45 at one end and a block 46 at the other; in use, the loop 45 is engaged with one of the anchors 43. In Figures 7a and b, one connection means is shown as a broken line, for clarity.

The second part of 42b of each connection means 42 is an inelastic cord which is joined to the elastic portion 42a at the block 46, passes through the aperture in the adjacent stop 44 and is anchored to one of the anchor points 43 on the adjacent rail.

On each of the intermediate rails 41 , the first elastic portion 42a of each connection means 42, extends from one of the anchor points 43 along the upper surface of the rail to the stop 44 furthest from the anchor point 43 to which it is secured, and then the second portion 42b extends above the upper surface of the fabric 16 to the anchor point 43 on the adjacent rail 41 , which is diagonally opposed to the anchor point 43 to which the portion 42a is secured, so that each connection means 42 zigzags across the upper surface of the awning.

Referring specifically to Figure 5, the awning shown in this Figure has three intermediate rails 41 a,41 b,41 c, and the connection means 42c which is secured to the anchor point 43a on the left-hand side of the first rail 41 a, extends along that rail to the stop 44a furthest from the anchor point 43a and then extends down to the anchor point 43b diagonally opposed to the anchor point 43a, on the next rail 41 b. The rail 41 a also has a second connection means 42d which extends from the second anchor point 43c on the rail 41 a, along to the stop 44b and then down to the anchor point 43d which is diagonally opposite the anchor point 43c.

On the second rail 41 b, the anchor points 43b and 43d are engaged with two further connection means 42f,42e which are connected in the same manner to the anchor points 43e and 43f on the third rail 41 c. The awning illustrated in Figure 5 is relatively short, and has only three intermediate rails; the third intermediate rail 41 c therefore has its connection means 42g,42h connected to the anchor points 43g,43h on the end rail 40.

The above described arrangement operates as follows:- to extend the awning, the lock on the windup roller 18 is released, allowing the elastic cords 32,33, to retract and pull the end rail 40 towards the end 13 of the frame, as for the first described embodiment.

The end rail 40 is connected to the adjacent intermediate rail 41 c by the connection means 42g and 42h. As the end rail 40 travels down the length of the frame, the elastic portions of the connection means stretch to allow the end rail 40 to move away from the adjacent intermediate rail 41 c, until the point at which the blocks 46 on the connection means come into contact with the corresponding stops 44 and prevent further extension of the connection means. This then pulls on the set of connection means extending between the intermediate rail 41 b and the intermediate rail 41 c, moving the intermediate rail 41 b to the position shown in Figure 1 , at which point the corresponding blocks 46 contact the associated stops 44, so as to pull on the connection means associated with the intermediate rail 41 a.

The first intermediate rail 41 a is prevented from moving beyond a pre-selected position by L-shaped limiting arms 50 which are secured one to each side of the awning frame at the desired end position of the intermediate rail 41 a. Each limiting arm 50, is spaced above the upper surface of the intermediate rails 41 , such that the anchor points 43 on the end rail and on all of the intermediate rails except the first intermediate rail 41 a, can pass underneath the limiting arms. The anchor points 43a,43c on the first intermediate arm 41 a are higher than the other anchor points, and thus contact the limiting arms 50, as shown in Figure 8.

The awning fabric 16 is of course secured only to the windup roller 18 and to the end rail 40, and simply slides between the two parts of the intermediate rails as the awning is extended.

To retract the awning to the storage position, the windup roller 18 is rotated to wind the flexible material 16 around the roller 18. This draws the end rail 40 back towards the end 12 of the frame, and the flexible material 16 slides between the parts of the intermediate rails 41 until the end rail 40 contacts the adjacent rail 41 c and pushes that rail towards the end 12. As the flexible material 16 is progressively wound onto the windup roller 18, each of the intermediate rails 41 c,41 b,41 a, in turn is pushed towards the retracted position, until all of the intermediate rails lie close to each other, adjacent the windup roller 18. As the intermediate rails are pushed together, the elastic portions of each of the connection means 42 contract, pulling the elastic portions of the connection means back to the position shown in Figure 6. In this position, the contraction of the elastic portions takes up any slack in each of the connection means, so that the connection means do not hang down between the rails, giving a very tidy appearance to the retracted awning.

Figure 9 shows a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the end rail 50 and intermediate rails 51 a,51 b are interconnected by rigid connection means. Figure 9 shows one side of the awning; the opposite side is a mirror image of the first. Usually, the connection means would be arranged with a set of connection means adjacent each end of the rails, as described below. However, for a narrow awning, a single set of connection means at or near the mid-line of the awning could be used.

As shown in Figure 9, adjacent rails 51 a/51 b, 51 b/50 are connected by rigid rods 52,53, which are supported by blocks 54,55,56,57 secured to the upper surfaces of the rails. The rod 52 is secured between blocks 54 and 55, and the rod 53 between blocks 56 and 57. Each rod 52,53 is fixed to one of the blocks 54,56, respectively but is able to slide through the other block, 55, 57, respectively.

When the retracted awning is being extended to the position shown in Figure 9, ( by means of moving means as described with reference to embodiments 1 and 2 or as described with reference to Figure 10), the end rail 50 moves in the direction of arrow A and the rod 53 slides through the block 57 until the end stop 58 on the rod 53 contacts the adjacent side of the block 57, whereupon further movement in the direction of arrow A pulls the intermediate rail 51 b, in the same direction. When the end stop 59 on the rod 52 contacts the adjacent surface of the corresponding block 55, the rod 52 in turn pulls the intermediate rail 51 a in the direction of arrow A, and this continues until the awning is fully extended. The pair of blocks 54 closest to the windup roller 18 extend higher from the surface of the intermediate rail than the other blocks, so that they contact a stop 54a and ensure that the intermediate rail 51 a is correctly positioned. The remaining blocks are small enough to pass beneath the stop 54a.

When the awning is retracted, as with the other two embodiments, the fabric of the awning 16 is wound around the roller 18, pulling the end rail 50 towards the roller 18. As with the other embodiment, the fabric 16 slides between the parts of the intermediate rails. As the end rail 50 moves towards the adjacent intermediate rail 51 b, the rod 53 slides through the block 57 until the end rail 50 contacts the intermediate rail 51 b, and starts to push that rail towards the roller 18. The rod 52 then slides through the block 55 until the intermediate rail 51 b contacts the intermediate rail 51 a.

The mechanism of the third embodiment provides a very strong, positive connection between the rails, but has the drawback that it is a relatively heavy construction and also is less pleasant in appearance when the awning is retracted, because the rods 52,53 are clearly visible on top of the awning, even in the retracted position.

All three of the embodiments described above, use the moving means described with reference to Figures 1 ^1., (i.e. elastic cords 32,33).

An alternative preferred moving means is shown in Figure 10:- This moving means may be used with any of the three embodiments described above.

In this variant, the windup roller 18 is provided with a cord wheel 60 at each end, rigidly secured to, and coaxial with, the windup roller 18. Figure 10 shows only one of the wheels 60; the wheel 60 at the opposite end of the roller 18 is the mirror-image of the wheel shown.

At each end of the roller 18, slightly resilient cord 61 (having for example 1 % or 2% stretch) is wound around the cord wheel 60 in the opposite direction to the direction in which the fabric 16 is wound around the windup roller 18. The cord 61 is secured at one end to the cord wheel 60, extends down the channel 27 in the frame member 15, and passes around a freely rotatable guide wheel 62 positioned adjacent the end of the frame opposite to the windup roller 18. The other end of the cord 61 is secured to a hook 63 attached to the end rail 20.

A tensioning roller 64 may be located adjacent each cord roller 60; the tensioning roller 64 is arranged to exert pressure on the cord 61 to regulate the tension of the cord. The position of the tensioning roller 64 relative to the cord 61 can be adjusted in known manner (not shown).

When the awning is to be extended, the windup roller 18 is driven to rotate both the windup roller and the cord roller in the direction of Arrow R:- this winds the fabric 16 off the windup roller and winds the cord 61 onto the cord wheel 60, pulling the end rail 20 and intermediate rail 22 in the direction of Arrow W. The end rail 20 and intermediate rail 22 are linked together by any of the connection means described in the preceding embodiments.

When the awning is to be retracted, the windup roller 18 is driven to rotate both the windup roller and the cord roller in the direction opposite to the direction of Arrow R, winding the fabric 16 back onto the windup roller 18, and unwinding the cord 61 from the cord wheel 60, to allow the end rail 20 and intermediate rails 22 to move back towards the windup roller 18.

As with the above described embodiments, the windup roller 18 may be driven manually or by a motor, but preferably is driven by an electric motor mounted inside the windup roller.

In all of the above described embodiments, the moving means for moving the end rail towards the extended position of the awning may be omitted completely, if the awning is to be mounted with the plane of the frame at or near vertical, so that gravity acts in place of the moving means.

In all of the above described embodiments, the connection means between the end rail and the intermediate rails is described and depicted as being on the upper surface of the awning. This would normally be the case, because this means that the awning (which normally would be viewed from below), presents as tidy an appearance as possible. However, if the awning is to be used in some other orientation, or if the appearance of the awning is unimportant, the connection means of any of the embodiments except the first could be located on the lower surface of the awning.

It will be appreciated that the above described awning is comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, and the component parts of the awning are readily accessible for servicing or replacement of worn parts.