This invention relates to a ventilated ridge of a sloping glazed roof, such as a roof of a conservatory or sunlounge, and in which the ridge may serve as the means of attachment of a "lean to" structure, or as the apex of a two sided roof.

Conservatories and sunlounges made of prefabricated components which are then assembled on site are becoming increasingly popular, and the framing for the glazed panels (which usually form the roof and at least part of the side walls) is usually made of extruded UPVC, aluminium or timber.

The present invention is primarily concerned with framing made of UPVC, which can be readily extruded in profile form which enables the components employed to complete the glazing of panels (usually glass or clear plastics sheets) into the framing to be assembled on site by simple but reliable snap-fit engagement.

However, one problem with conservatories in very warm and sunny weather is how to avoid excessive heating of the air-space enclosed within the conservatory. Therefore, while it is desirable for manufacturers to provide designs of conservatories , for use all year round, and which can be sufficiently warmed by winter sun (perhaps with additional artificial heating), this can result in rooms which become excessively hot in summer.

To overcome this problem, it is know to provide fan- assisted cooling of the air-space, but this merely circulates the air within the room and does not provide ventilation of the air-space in the sense of expelling warm air and drawing- up cooler ambient air.

It is also known to provide sun blinds below the roof in order to shield the room from excessive exposure to sunlight when required, but this requires expensive installation of guide tracks and operating systems, as well as the cost of the material making-up the blinds, and the overall exercise is therefore a very considerable on-cost to

the cost of supplying and installing the conservatory. Furthermore, inevitably the blinds and component parts attract dust, and routine cleaning also is a substantial problem.

The present invention therefore seeks to provide, by simple means, for ventilation of the room space using a novel venting arrangement which is reliable and inexpensive.

According to the invention there is provided a sloping roof structure for a sunlounge or conservatory and which comprises : a roof frame; glazed panels for assembly with the frame to form the roof structure; and, a ridge for mounting along an upper generally horizontal side of the roof frame, said ridge having a mounting slot extending along its length and facing the glazing panels so as to receive and to hold the upper edges of the panels; in which: at least part of the mounting slot includes means to support the underside of the upper edge of at least one glazing panel with a ventilation slot defined with said underside to exhaust warm air in the region adjacent to the glazing panel; a venting chamber is defined within the structure of the ridge to communicate with said ventilation slot; and, an outlet is provided in the wall of the ridge which communicates with said venting chamber and which faces outwardly to discharge warm air from the chamber.

A roof structure according to the invention therefore provides in simple manner for reliable exhaust of warm air via the ridge from a room underlying the roof structure e.g. a sunlounge or conservatory, while still providing satisfactory support for the upper edges of the glazing panels .

Evidently, warm air generated in the room by the action of sunlight will rise and collect in a layer below the

underside of the panels, and by virtue of the slope of the roof structure, this warm air will be directed in a direction towards the ventilation slot. The warm air then passes to the venting chamber and is discharged to atmosphere via the outlet and therefore this sets up a current of warm air movement which promotes ingress of cooler air into the room ^■ as well as discharging the warmer air.

The ridge is preferably hollow and built-up from extruded plastics material sections, or particularly UPVC, and may be of a form suitable for securement to a supporting wall so that a "lean to" structure is provided, or it may form the apex of a roof structure which is of inverted V-shape as seen in end view to form a conservatory, in which case glazing panels on either side of the ridge will have their upper edges supported by the ridge. Either one, or both sides of the ridge may have a mounting slot and ventilation slot as desired.

Preferably, the support means in the mounting slot is arranged to support the upper edge of more than one glazing panel with a ventilation slot defined with the underside of the panel.

The support of the upper edge of each glazing panel in the mounting slot may be provided by means of a side wall which is shaped so as to receive usual glazing bars as a direct fit therewith, with the space between adjacent glazing bars forming the ventilation slots.

The discharge outlet may be formed by a side wall section arranged above the upper face of each panel. Conveniently, the side wall section is L-shaped, and has means on its underside for carrying a seal to engage the upper surface of the respective panel.

Preferably, a closure flap is provided to cover the entrance to the ventilation slot, and which can be remotely operated between open and closed positions as required. Further, it is preferred that a gauze or other mesh panel is provided over the discharge outlet, to prevent access to the venting chamber, from externally of the roof structure, of

insects, leaves etc.

Alternatively, or additionally the sloping roof structure may be provided with a ventilated support at its lower or "eaves" end.

Embodiments of sloping roof structure according to the invention, with the improved ventilation, will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic side view, partly in section, of the ridge of a sloping roof structure according to the invention, which is intended to form part of a lean-to sunlounge or conservatory;

Figure 2 is a view, similar to Figure 1 , of the apex of an inverted V-shaped roof structure of a sunlounge or conservatory;

Figure 3 is a perspective illustration of a lean-to conservatory which may be provided with a roof structure according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective illustration of a so-called "victorian type" conservatory provided with a roof structure according to the invention; and,

Figure 5 is a schematic side view of a ventilated support at the lower or "eaves" end of the sloping roof structure.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, this shows two constructions of ridge structure of a sloping roof structure for a sunlounge or conservatory. Figure 1 shows a ridge structure of a sloping roof forming part of a lean-to sunlounge or conservatory, whereas Figure 2 shows a ridge of an inverted V-shaped roof structure of a so-called Victorian Conservatory.

Figure 3 shows perspective view of the lean-to conservatory to which the arrangement of Figure 1 may be applied, whereas Figure 4 shows a structure of "victorian" conservatory to which the structure of Figure 2 may be applied.

In all embodiments of the invention, there is provided

a sloping roof structure which comprises a rectangular roof frame, glazing panels e.g. single or double glazed glass or rigid plastics panels, for assembly with the roof frame to form the roof structure, and a ridge for mounting along an upper generally horizontal side of the roof frame. As will be described in more detail below, the ridge has a mounting • slot extending along its length and facing the glazing panels so as to receive and hold the upper edge of the panels. Further, the mounting slot includes means to support the underside of the upper edge of at least one of the panels with a ventilation slot defined with such underside to exhaust warm air in the region adjacent the glazing panels, a venting chamber defined within the structure of the ridge to communicate with the ventilation slot, and an outlet provided in the wall of the ridge which communicates with the venting chamber and which faces outwardly to discharge warm air from the chamber to atmosphere.

Referring now to Figure 1 , a glazing sheet 1 has its upper edge mounted within a mounting slot in the side face of a ridge 7 which is built-up from extruded UPVC sections, and the mounting of the upper edge of panel 1 is such that a venting slot 5 is defined between its underside and a supporting wall of the ridge. A lower trim fitting 6 is snap-fitted to the underside of ridge 7.

A venting chamber 2 is defined within the ridge, and which communicates with the ventilation slot 5, and warm air which migrates upwardly to engage the underside of panel 1 is then directed upwardly along the underside of the panel towards the ventilation slot and then enters the venting chamber 2.

As shown by the arrows in Figure 1 , a through-flow path for warm air is provided, which passes through ventilation slot 5 into venting chamber 2, and then discharges to atmosphere via an outlet fitting 3 having an outlet which is covered by a flyscreen or other mesh 4.

The ventilation slot 5 is therefore located at the highest interior region of the conservatory, which ensures

that the airflow is unimpeded.

Ridge 7 in Figure 1 is designed so as to be able to be secured to a supporting wall 20 so that the conservatory is of a lean-to structure, whereas Figure 2 shows a ridge 7a which forms part of a double sided sloping roof structure.

The ridge 7a shown in Figure 2 has ventilation slots 5 provided for each sloping roof structure, and this is a preferred arrangement, although only a single sided arrangement or ventilation slot may be provided if required.

Each ventilation slot 5 is defined between glazing bars 8 (see Figure 3) which are located, at their upper ends, between jaws 9 and 10 (Figure 2) which define both the mounting slot for upper edges of the glazing panels, and also define the ventilation slot 5 with the underside of the panels. Therefore warm air within the conservatory can be exhausted via the ventilation slots defined on the underside of the glazing panels 1 between the glazing bars 8. Each ventilation slot can be permanently open to provide permanent ventilation. Alternatively, openable cover flaps may be provided, which can be remotely operated in order to open or close access to the ventilation slots.

To maintain suitable support for the underside of the panels, preferably intermittent supports (not shown in detail) are provided in the space between the panels and the support of the glazing bars 8. This can prevent any undesirable sagging of the panels at the upper edges.

The discharge slot arranged on the upper side of the upper edge of each glazing panel preferably takes the form of an L-shape section 11 (also fitted in the mounting slot in the side face of the ridge 7), on the underside of which a usual seal 12 is provided to engage the upper surface of the panel 1.

As a preferred addition, or alternative means of ventilating the sloping roof structure, a ventilated support structure may be provided at the lower or eaves end of the sloping roof structure as shown schematically in Figure 5.

Figure 5 shows the upper end of a supporting wall

structure of the lower end of a sloping roof, and this shows the roof glazing 50 simply supported on an upstanding flange 51 of an aluminium ring beam 52 provided at the upper end of conservatory side framework 53. The flange 51 defines a channel in which a ventilated support 54 is received, which supports the load of the roof glazing 50, but also defines one or more ventilation apertures which allows external air to be drawn inwardly and to flow upwardly along the underside of the sloping roof for ventilation purposes. The ventilation may be closed by a sliding or other closure arrangement on the inner face thereof, for operation by an occupant of the room when desired.

Although not shown, any suitable "hold-down" clamping structure may be provided in order to hold down the roof glazing on the flange 51. This may comprise conventional clamping arrangements provided at each end of flange 51 to clamp the roof glazing and hold it down.