FORSSTRÖM, Christer (Vanha Nurmijärventie 24 C 14, Vantaa, FI-01670, FI)
| CLAIMS
1. A garret window arrangement for a farm production building, which building consists at least of a roof (1) , made up at least of roof trusses (2) , acting as supports, and roof covering materials (3, 4, 5) placed on top of the roof trusses, which roof (1) has opening garret windows (10), characterised in that the garret windows (10) are designed to go above the roof at an angle that is essentially more acute than the roof angle, and in that the arrangement includes at least an operation equipment (12) with which the garret windows (10) are arranged to be opened and closed at their top edge, which operation equipment (12) consists of at least actuators (16) connected to the garret windows (10) , which actuators are designed to push the garret windows' (10) top edges away from the closed position.
2. A garret window arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that the garret windows (10) are placed in a slant- ing position in pairs of opposing windows, and in that the actuators (16) connected to the garret windows (10) are arranged to push the top edges of the opposing windows (10) away from each other.
3. A garret window arrangement according to claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the operation equipment (12) includes a power supply (12a) and a power transmission element (12b) connected to the power supply (12a) , as well as actuators
(16) , and in that the power supply (12a) is arranged to open and close the garret windows (10) using the power transmission element (12b) and the actuators (16).
4. A garret window arrangement according to claims 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that the power transmission element (12b) includes at least a shaft (13), transmission elements (14, 15) and connectors (17), and in that the shaft (13) is connected to the power supply (12a) using the transmission elements (14, 15) and to the actuators (16) using the connectors (17), and in that the power supply (12a) is designed to pull the actuators (16) towards the shaft (13) by rotating the shaft (13) in one direction, and to release the actuators (16) away from the shaft (13) by rotating the shaft (13) in the other direction.
5. A garret window arrangement according to any of the claims above, characterised in that attached to the roof trusses (2) there is a fastening support (6), to which the garret windows (10) are attached by their lower edges using a gasket (11) equipped with an air slot (22) , which gasket (11) is arranged also to act as the windows' hinge.
6. A garret window arrangement according to any of the claims above, characterised in that the actuators (16) are torsion springs .
7. A garret window arrangement according to any of the claims above, characterised in that the top edges of the opposing garret windows (10) in each pair are a specific horizontal distance apart when the garret windows (10) are in closed position.
8. A garret window arrangement according to any of the claims above, characterised in that the arrangement includes a heat- activated operation equipment, which is designed to open the garret windows (10) stepwise from their top edge when the temperature goes above a certain limit, and to close them stepwise to their normal position from their top edge when the temperature goes below a certain limit.
9. A garret window arrangement according to any of the claims above, characterised in that, when they are closed, the garret windows (10) are essentially at an angle of approx. 30-75°, favourably approx. 40-60° from the horizontal.
10. A garret window arrangement according to any of the claims above, characterised in that, when they are closed, the garret windows (10) are essentially at an angle of approx. 45° from the horizontal.
11. A garret window arrangement according to any of the claims above, characterised in that the garret windows (10) are arranged to lean on support elements (7) when pushed by wind.
12. A garret window arrangement according to any of the claims above, characterised in that the actuators (16) connected to the garret windows (10) are arranged to push the top edges of the garret windows (10) on the opposite sides of the roof (1) ridge away from each other. |
GARRET WINDOW ARRANGEMENT FOR A FARM PRODUCTION BUILDING
This invention relates to the garret window arrangement de- scribed in the preamble of claim 1.
Farm production buildings, such as cow houses and loose housings, generally have garret windows that let in light and are used as a part of the building' s ventilation system. Most such buildings have a ridge roof with garret windows in the direction of the roof, placed close to the ridge along nearly the entire length of the roof. Depending on the solution, the garret windows are arranged to be opened and closed for example at the top or at the bottom. In hot summer weather, for example, the garret windows are kept open, whereas in winter they may be closed. This kind of garret window solution is problematic, however, in that when the windows are open, the wind can get in between them and shake or swing them, which might break them. Another problem is that ridge roofs are generally not very steep, so the snow can build up on top of the garret windows in winter, preventing the light from coming in and weighing down the windows, which may break them. Therefore, another problem is that the window structures have to be very strong in order to withstand the stress caused by wind, snow and ice. This leads to solutions being so expensive as to be financially unviable. Another difficulty is making the windows tight enough to prevent leakage. Further, the above- mentioned snow and ice often break the windows' seals. Often, ventilation is also inefficient with such windows, meaning that a lot of mechanical power is needed, particularly in autumn and winter, to achieve sufficient air circulation. This also is often very expensive, especially in large cow houses, and therefore uneconomical.
Figure 1 presents a farm production building with a garret window arrangement according to prior art. The walls 31 of the production building 30 have windows 32, which let in light and which are used as a part of the building' s ventilation system. The building 30 also has garret windows 34 on the roof 33,
which also let in light and are used as a part of the building's ventilation system. However, this solution involves the abovementioned problems with wind and snow.
The aim of the present invention is to remove the abovementioned drawbacks and to achieve a practical, affordable and simply structured garret window arrangement for farm production buildings, so that wind and snow do not cause problems. The arrangement according to the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in the characterization part of claim 1. Other embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the other claims.
Hereinafter, the farm production building is also referred to as "the cow house", which also refers collectively to loose housings, as well as other similar farm buildings.
The advantage of the arrangement according to the invention is that the wind cannot shake the cow house's garret windows, which keeps the windows from breaking even in high winds. Another advantage is that the snow does not pile onto the garret windows, which means that the windows do not break from the weight of the snow and the snow does not block the light from entering the building, allowing there to be natural lighting also in the winter. Thanks to the abovementioned advantages, an additional advantage is that the garret window structures can be essentially lightweight, which makes them affordable. A further benefit is that air can exit the building efficiently, directly upwards, rather than indirectly as it does in many prior solutions. This means that the solution according to the invention achieves sufficient natural ventilation, thus less mechanical fan power is needed than in similar solutions according to prior art. Another benefit is that light is refracted directly downwards from the garret windows, increasing the lighting in the building. A further benefit is that the arrangement as a whole is simple and affordable to implement .
In the following, the invention will be described in more detail by the aid of an embodiment example with reference to the attached drawings, wherein
Figure 1 presents a farm production building using a garret window arrangement according to prior art, in simplified form and viewed from above,
Figure 2 presents the arrangement according to the invention, viewed from the side and in diagrammatic form, with the garret windows closed,
Figure 3 presents the arrangement according to the invention, viewed from the side and in diagrammatic form, with the garret windows open, Figure 4 presents the arrangement according to the invention, viewed from the side and in diagrammatic form, at a point when the wind has pushed the garret windows on one side of the building closed and the garret windows on the other side open, Figure 5 presents the point of attachment of the garret windows and the gasket that acts as a hinge, when the garret windows are closed, viewed from the side, cross-sectioned, enlarged and in simplified and diagrammatic form, Figure 6 presents the point of attachment of the garret windows and the gasket that acts as a hinge, when the garret windows are open, viewed from the side, cross-sectioned, enlarged and in simplified and diagrammatic form, and Figure 7 presents the garret windows' operation equipment, viewed from the side, enlarged and in simplified and diagrammatic form.
Figure 2 presents a farm production building' s garret window arrangement according to the invention, viewed from the side and in diagrammatic form. The support structure for the roof 1 of the building consists of roof trusses 2, placed, in this
embodiment example, at intervals of e.g. six metres from each other. On top of the roof trusses 2 there is the roof coverings, whose first layer is a well load-bearing corrugated sheet 3, which can bear well the weight for example of snow in the winter. On top of the corrugated sheet layer there is an insulating layer 4, which prevents heat from being lost from the building through the roof. On top of the insulating layer 4 there is an external protective layer 5, which protects the roof from the weather derived strains and air pollution. These three roof layers 3, 4 and 5 do not go all the way to the roof ridge, but a small opening is left in the roof on each side of the ridge. This opening contains the garret windows, whose structure and arrangement is described farther below. On top of the roof trusses 2, on both sides of the roof ridge, at the highest point where the three roof layers reach, there is a fastening support 6, placed lengthwise along the roof, i.e. perpendicular to the roof trusses 2. These fastening supports 6 are made for instance of ordinary wooden planks, nailed into the roof trusses along the whole roof's length. The corrugated sheet layer 3 and insulating layer 4 are arranged to end at the fastening support 6, such that the top edge of the insulating layer 4 is on the same level with the top edge of the fastening support 6 in relation to the angle of the roof. The outer protective layer 5 of the roof is pulled over the fas- tening support 6, such that the protective layer 5 goes around and underneath the fastening support 6, which means that the protective layer 5 also protects the fastening support 6 from the weather and other possible damaging effects.
Attached at suitable intervals to the fastening elements, i.e. to the fastening supports 6, are support elements 7. The support elements 7 are A-shaped frames made for example of wood, consisting of two fastening sections 8 attached to each other right-angled at one end, and a support section 9, attached horizontally to the fastening sections 8 such that the whole support element 7 is shaped like the letter A when viewed from the side. At the other ends of their fastening sections 8, the
support elements 7 are attached to the top of the fastening supports 6, for example with nails. In this embodiment example, support elements 7 are placed on the roof at intervals of 1.2 metres, which means that for each interval between roof trusses 2, there are five support elements 7. On top of the support elements 7 there are opposing garret windows 10, placed such that when the windows 10 are closed, they lean against the outer edges of the fastening sections 8 of the support elements 7. In this embodiment example, the garret windows are 1.5 metres tall and 6 metres wide, which means that in an interval between roof trusses 2, there is one pair of opposing garret windows 10. At the joint between the top edge of the lower end of the fastening sections 8 of the support elements 7 and the fastening support 6, there are gaskets 11 on both sides of the ridge, to which gaskets the garret windows 10 are attached by their first edges, i.e. lower edges. The gasket 11 is a rubber profile, essentially at least as long as the window, inside which profile there is an air gap 22 presented in Figures 5 and 6, thanks to which the rub- ber profile can be squeezed together so that it can act as a hinge. Hereinafter, the gasket 11 is also referred to as "the hinge" 11.
The other edges, i.e. the top edges of the garret windows 10, reach slightly past the top edges of the support elements 7. In addition, there is a small gap between the top edges of the garret windows 10 on opposite edges of the ridge. This gap is e.g. approx. 100 mm when the garret windows 10 are closed, and the air can exit the cow house through it, which means that it acts as a part of the cow house' s ventilation system. In addition, on top of the support elements 7, there is a protective element 18, which is essentially as long as the whole roof, which can be for example an ordinary wooden plank. The protective element 18 is arranged such that its lower edge is lower than the top edges of the garret windows 10 when the windows are closed. Thus the protective element 18 is arranged to protect the top edges of the garret windows 10 from the wind,
so that the windows 10 do not begin to shake when they are closed, even in hard wind. Respectively, the height of the protective element 18 is arranged such that the top edges of the garret windows 10 are below the top edge of the protective element 18, in all window positions. This keeps the garret windows 10 from shaking even in hard winds even when they are open.
On top of the protective element 18 there is a ridge plate that acts as a rain shield 19, which also goes essentially along the whole length of the roof. The edges of the ridge plate 19 are bent slightly downwards and they reach horizontally over the top edges of the garret windows 10, even when the windows are in the normal open position in the summer, which stops the rainwater from coming in through the gaps between the garret windows 10. The fastening sections 8 of the support element 7, and therefore also the garret windows 10 when closed, are essentially at a steeper angle than the roof angle, i.e. at approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal in this example, which keeps the weight of the snow from straining the garret windows in winter. The angle between the opposing garret windows is more acute than the angle of the ridge of the roof 1, which means that the top edges of the garret windows 10 are higher than the roof ridge formed by the roof trusses 2. When the wind blows against the garret windows 10, the air flow is directed upwards thanks to the angle of the windows. The upward air flow causes suction and improves the removal of air through the gap between the garret windows 10.
The garret windows 10 are arranged to be opened and closed using an operation equipment 12. The operation equipment 12 and its parts are explained in more detail in the explanation for Figure 7. The operation equipment 12 includes a power supply 12a, which is attached to a suitable place at the top of the roof, for instance to one of the roof trusses. The power supply 12a can be, for example, an ordinary electric motor. Further, the operation equipment 12 includes a power
transmission element 12b, which is connected to the power supply 12a and to spring elements 16 that act as actuators in the operation equipment 12. The power transmission element 12b includes a shaft 13 that has essentially the same length as the roof, which shaft is placed above the support sections 9 of the support elements 7 and which is pivoted such that it can be rotated around its lengthwise axis. The pivoting system of the shaft 13 is not presented in the Figures, but at the simplest it can consist of a suitably large hole in the sup- port sections 9.
The shaft 13 is connected to the power supply 12a using the power transmission element 12b, which in this embodiment example consists of a belt pulley 14 and a belt 15 attached to the shaft 13. The shaft 13 is arranged to be rotated using the power supply 12a, via the belt 15 and the belt pulley 14. Each garret window 10 has connected to it at least one spring element 16, such that one end of the spring element 16 is connected to one window and the other end is connected to the opposite window on the other side of the roof ridge. Each spring element 16 is also connected to the shaft 13 using connectors 17, so that one end of the connector 17 is attached to the middle of the spring element 16, and the other end to the shaft 13. The connector 17 is advantageously e.g. a steel cable, a belt or a similar element.
The spring element 16 can for example be an ordinary torsion spring, which at each end has an essentially straight shank 16a, whose outer end is connected to the garret window frame for instance through a hinge. The spring element 16 is arranged to push the garret windows 10 away from each other, i.e. to open the garret windows 10. The garret windows 10 can be closed by rotating the shaft 13 using the power supply 12a, by making the connectors 17, that are connected to the shaft 13 and to the spring elements 16, wrap around the shaft 13 so that, as the connectors shorten, they pull the centre of the spring elements 16 towards the shaft 13, i.e. downwards in
this solution. This makes the outer ends of the shanks 16a of each spring element retract closer to each other and the springs 16 pull the garret windows 10 towards the support elements 7. Thus the outer ends of the spring elements 16 are forced closer to each other against the spring force, making the spring elements' reach shorter, i.e. the spring elements contract. The garret windows' 10 operation equipment 12 thus consists of a power supply 12a, spring elements 16 and a power transmission element 12b, which includes a shaft 13 with a belt pulley 14, a belt 15 and connectors 17.
Figure 3 presents the same garret window arrangement as Figure 2, viewed from the side and in diagrammatic form. In Figure 2, the garret windows 10 are closed, whereas in Figure 3 they are open. The garret windows 10 are arranged to be opened by rotating the shaft 13 using the power supply 12a to make the connectors 17 unwind from around the shaft 13, which stops them from pulling the spring elements 16 downwards. Thus the spring elements 16 push each pair of opposing garret windows 10 away from each other and the windows open at their top edge. When the garret windows 10 are in a fully open position, the gap between the top edges of the opposing windows is for example 500 mm. Usually, the garret windows 10 are kept closed in winter and open in summer, because in summer, efficient ventilation is needed to remove warm air from the cow house. The gap between the opposing garret windows can be adjusted according e.g. to temperature, and the windows do not need to be either completely open or completely closed. Instead, the gap can be adjusted to be any desired size between the extreme positions.
Also Figure 4 presents a garret window arrangement according to the invention, viewed from the side and in diagrammatic form. In this figure, the wind is blowing from the left, which presses the left-side garret windows 10 against the support elements 7, and the right-side windows 10 are forced to be open to the extreme position by the spring elements 16. Thanks
to the arrangement according to the invention, the air slot between the opposing garret windows remains essentially constant regardless of the wind, and the garret windows on the windy side are designed to rest against the support elements 7, which keeps the windows from swinging even in hard wind. Thus even lighter structures can withstand the force of winds.
Figure 5 presents the attachment point of the lower edge of the garret windows 10, viewed from the side and enlarged. At the top corner of the fastening support β attached to the roof trusses in parallel with the roof's long side, is attached one edge of the gasket 11 that acts as the hinge for the garret windows 10, which gasket is made e.g. of rubber or of a similar flexible, durable and waterproof material. Inside the gasket 11, there is an air gap 22, which allows the gasket to be squeezed together and act also as a hinge. Attached to the other edge of the gasket 11, there is the window's 10 lower frame 20, which can be for example a U-shaped aluminium profile. The garret window 10 itself is placed within the U- profile of the frame 20. Respectively, a similar U-shaped top frame is placed at the top edge of the garret window 10. The gaps between the gasket 22 and the fastening support 6 and the window's lower frame 20 are additionally sealed for example with silicone 21 or similar water- and weatherproof material. In this Figure, the garret windows 10 are closed and lean against the support elements' fastening sections 8.
Figure 6, like Figure 5, presents the attachment point of the lower edge of the garret windows. In this figure, the garret windows 10 are open. The garret windows 10 have turned open at the top edges, causing the gasket 11 to bend and squeeze together, acting as the hinge of the garret windows 10.
The arrangement according to the invention may also comprise at least control and regulating elements and suitably placed equipment, such as sensors for measuring air temperature and passing on the temperature data to the control and regulating
elements. The operation equipment 12 of the garret windows 10 is connected to the control and regulating elements for control, for instance such that in their normal position the windows 10 are closed, and whenever the temperature rises by a specific number of degrees, the windows open stepwise. Similarly, when the temperature falls, the windows close stepwise. Stepless regulation can be arranged in a similar manner.
Similarly the arrangement may include a rain detector that is designed to close the windows 10 in heavy rain and let them open when it is not raining or when the rain is light enough not to enter through the windows' top gap.
Thus the opening and closure of the windows 10 can be imple- mented automatically as described above or alternatively such that the windows are opened and closed using the operation equipment 12 whenever necessary.
Those skilled in the art will see that the invention is not limited to the embodiment example given above, but can be varied within the scope of the patent claims given below. Thus, the structure of the roof of the production building, for example, can be different from that described above. The intervals between roof trusses, for example, do not have to be six metres but can be another suitable distance. Similarly, the distance between support elements can be different from 1.2 metres. The roof covering and its layers can also differ from the above description.
Further, those skilled in the art will see that the garret windows do not have to be at an angle of exactly 45 degrees to the horizontal, but they can be at another suitable angle, as long as they are not burdened by the weight of snow in winter. The invention is essentially characterised by the fact that, seen from the end of the building, the angle of the garret windows is more acute than that of the roof. The angle at which the garret windows are placed from the hori-
zontal can be for example approx. 30-75°, favourably in the range 40-60°.
Those skilled in the art will also see that instead of spring elements the garret windows can be opened and closed with other kinds of actuators . The actuator can be for instance a compression spring, a lever or a similar element.
Further, those skilled in the art will see that there can be more than one operation equipment and that there can be several shafts rather than one that extends along the whole building's length. If there is more than one shaft, the windows do not all open and close at the same time or to the same extent; instead, some can be opened at different times and by different amounts than others.
Further, those skilled in the art will see that the roof does not have to be a ridge roof, nor do the garret windows have to be in the middle of the ridge. The roof can be for in- stance curved when seen from the end, or sloping in one direction. In the latter case, the garret windows can be placed at one edge or close to one edge, favourably the top edge. The garret windows can also be placed just on one side, in which case there would only be one row of garret windows, with an oblique row of windows placed for example against a vertical row of windows or a wall when the roof is asymmetrical. In addition, the garret windows can form pyramids or other multilateral formations that narrow upwards, where all the windows open outwards from the midpoint. The opening and closure mechanisms and rain shield mechanisms can still be essentially like those described above.