US2982054A - Skylight - Google Patents

Description

y 1 R. H. ANDERSON 2,982,054

SKYLIGHT Filed Oct. 17, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Robert H. Anderson BY R. H. ANDERSON SKYLIGHT May 2, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 17, 1955 INVENTOR. Robert H. Anderson May 2, 1961 R. H. ANDERSON SKYLIGHT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 17, 1955 INVENTOR. g- 9 Robert H. Anderson 593g E/fiEC/ESZ ATTORNEYS rate SKYLIGHT Robert H. Anderson, 240 th Ave. W., Seattle, Wash.

Filed Oct. 17, 1955, Ser. No. 540,825

2 Claims. (Cl. 50-53) tun'ng facilities is necessitated for such manufacture.

. An additional object of this invention is to provide, if the circumstances so dictate, a skylight which can be readily manufactured at the site of use.

Another and important object is the provision of a skylight which is easily and quickly installed thereby resulting in a minimum of labor and time for such installation.

A still further object is to provide a skylight which is both strong and shock-resistant and yet is light in weight.

An additional object is the provision 'of a skylight which is resistant to action of the elements and thereby having a long life.

A further and important object is to provide an inexpensive-skylight which is attractive in appearance.

With yet additional objects and advantages in view which, with the foregoing, will appear and be understood in the course of the following description and claims, the invention consists in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view looking down on a skylight constructed in accordance with the preferred teachings of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view of another preferred embodiment of the skylight.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view drawn on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 illustrating the details of construction, and is on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary lateral cross-sectional view of a bracing strip on the skylight, and is on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary lateral cross-sectional view drawn on line 5-5 ofFig. 1, and illustrates the bond at the edges of two faces.

Fig. 6, drawn on a reduced scale, is a longitudinal vertical cross-sectional view of another preferred skylight illustrated in working position on a building.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary lateral cross-sectional View of one method for attaching a skylight to a building, and is drawn on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 8 is atop plan view of another skylight constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention.

Fig. 9, drawn to a reduced scale, is a perspective view looking down on a skylight having a lap method of construotion; and, Figure 10 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the skylight of Figure 9. 7

Referring to the drawings it is ,seen that the invention 2,982,054 Patented May 2, 1961 is a skylight composed of a number of individual members whose edges are bonded into a unitary structure. These individual members are a synthetic resin panel whichrmay or may not be reinforced by a skeleton such as a fiberglass mat or cloth. This panel preparatory to use is cut, for example, by a saw, to a predetermined size and configuration. Illustrative of the size and shape of these members are the main component parts of a pyramidal skylight 10 having equal sides 11 in the configuration of an isosceles triangle. r12 denotes a skylight which is longer than it is wide and comprises a side 13 having erence numeral 17 is for a skylight whose contiguous edges are cut on a curve so that the skylight presents a Gothic appearance. Another skylight is referred to by 27 and which skylight is composed of a number of triangular panels 28 and a number of trapezoidal panels 30.

Although the method for making a fiberglass panel is not a part of this invention, one suitable process will be briefly outlined. A sheet of cellophane having a width of approximately fifty-four inches and an indefinite length is spread smoothly on a'flat surface and a glass fiber mat having a width of about four feet and of suitable length is centered on the cellophane sheet. This mat may be a one and one-half, two, or three ounce weight or may be a custom-made mat of an appropriate weight. A resin having a viscosity of 25 poises at 25 C., is added to the mat in the ratio of approximately, by weight, parts of resin to 25 parts of mat. Then, a second cellophane sheet similar to the first sheet is positioned over both the mat containing the resin and the first cellophane sheet thereby forming a sheet-mat-sheet sandwich. The air bubbles entrapped in the mat and the resin are worked to the edge and out of the mat by means of a rubber squeegee. The sandwich is then cured to a hard, flexible panel by placing the same between two flat platens and heating to a temperature of approximately F. for about two and one-half hours. In order to shorten the curing time I catalyze the resin with a suitable catalyst such as benzoil peroxide or cumene hydroperoxide. After curing, the fiberglass panels are then cut to a suitable size and shape for use in the skylight.

In making the skylight, see skylight 10 for example, from the pre-cut panels, the panels are positioned in a jig with the side edge of one triangle juxtapositioned next to the side edge of an adjacent triangle. This positioning of the panels with the side edges of the adjacent panels next to each other is carried out for the entire skylight. The next step is to place a comparatively wide reinforcing strip 15, about three inches in width, over the adjacent edges and also in an overlapping relation with the same sides of the panels. Similarly, another reinforcing strip is placed on the opposite sides of the panels-in relation to the first reinforcing strip. These reinforcing strips are preferably of fiberglass cloth as the cloth is much stronger than the mat and retains its form to a better degree than the mat. As is well known, fiberglass cloth is very pliable and can be packaged into rolls for ease in handling. To the cloth is added resin having both a catalyst such as benzoil peroxide or cumene hydroperoxide and another catalyst like cobalt naphthenate, and then the resin is cured. The curing of the resin may be carried Y cess is sand-blasting. The roughening of the surface of the panels permits the liquid resin added to the reinforcing strip to bond with the fiberglass panel and, in

effect, the fiberglass cloth is continuously bonded to the panel making a non-porous joint. From a structural viewpoint the joint of the skylight isstronger than the main part of the panel, and is much more diflicult to flex than the fiberglass panel. In this regard the panel, even though hard and shock-resistant, is flexible and the central part of each individual member tends to sag spaced. These bracing strips comprises fiberglass rovings, strands of fiberglass threads twisted together, and which are also impregnated with the resin having the catalyst cobalt naphthenate and another catalyst such as benzoil peroxide or cumene hydroperoxide. As in the case of the application of the reinforcing strips to the panels, the surface of the panels is first roughened before applying the rovings and the resin thereto. Again, the rovings are continuously bonded to the panel, see Fig. 4. Fig. 3 depicts the slight sagging of the fiberglass panel between the bracings 16 on the individual panel 14.

Another preferred skylight, Gothic in appearance, is denoted by reference numeral 17, and comprises preformed sections 18 which are so cut that the profile of the skylight is a graceful curve. Naturally, these individual members are joined into a unitary structure by fiberglass cloth and resin in the manner previously described for the manufacture of skylights and 12.

The skylight 17, whose sides are of equal length, mounted by constructing a square frame 20 on a building. This frame comprises studs 21 which abut the rafters 22 and braces 26 between the studs and the rafters for bolding the former upright. The upper part 23 of the studs slopes downwardly and outwardly at such an angle as to accommodate the outer sides of the skylight. Between the outer sides of the skylight and the upper part 23 of the studs I interpose a porous bulky material 24 to allow moisture, which will condense and collect on the under part of the skylight, to run off and to the outside of, the building. This porous material may be a wire screen such as a screen having /2" mesh openings and, which when folded back upon itself two or three times, has a high bulk factor. In addition to allowing condensed moisture to escape the material 24 silences or deadens the noise of rain drops falling on the panel. To attach the skylight to the frame, I employ an aluminum twist nail 25 and a neoprene gasket 19 with the latter interposed between the head of the nail and the panel. With this arrangement it is impossible to pull the nail out of the stud 21 as the head breaks off before the nail can be pulled. This is especially so if the stud 21 is of Douglas fir.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a skylight composed of triangular panel sides 32 bonded together by braces 33. These braces are of stiff preformed angles having two legs, approximately three inches wide, and whose ends have been cut at about 45 to the longitudinal axis so as to make pointed ends. These ends form attractive miter joints at the apex of the skylight and are flush with the ends of the adjacent panels. The braces are normally of the same composition as the panels, i.e., a fiberglass panel comprising a fiberglass base and a cured synthetic resin. These braces are applied to both the upper and the under surfaces of the panels, and overlap the adjacent edges of the panels by an inch or one and onehalf inches. The braces and the panels are bondedtogether by, amodified epoxy resin, an extender and a catalyst. Tomore rapidly. bond .the braces to thepanels I placeihesememberszin;arjig whichhasa heating element running from the corner edges to the apex. Theheat from this element quickly cures the epoxy resin to form a unitary skylight. The construction of this skylight possesses the desirable feature of handling rigid, preformed members, e.g., the panels and the braces, with only a minimum of liquid epoxy resin, and another desireable feature being that the surface of the panel need not be roughened or scored in order for the epoxy resin to form a bond between the braces and the panels.

The skylight 27 having the lapped panels is similar in its construction features to the skylight 31 as the panels 28, 30 and the angle braces 34 and 35 are of preformed cured synthetic resins. Generally speaking, these members comprise a resin impregnated fiberglass mat. In the constructing of this skylight the triangular panels 28 are united at their adjacent side edges by angular braces 34 into a pyramidal shaped skylight. The ends of these braces are so cut that they form attractive miter joints at the apex and are flush with the bottom edges of the panels. However, in the instance of the trapezoidal panels 30 bracing strips 35 do not run from the lower edge to the upper edge of the panels but instead extend from the lower edge to within about two inches of the upper edge. These strips 35 are so cut that the lower end comes to a point and the upper end, in conjunction with the panels, defines a cup for receiving the lower ends of the next higher panels. In this manner the under side of the lower edge 36 of the higher panel fits flush against the upper side 37 of the upper edge of the next lower panel so as to not leave an opening for water and air to enter. Again, the panels and the braces are formed into a unitary structure with the modified epoxy resin described in relation with skylight 31. As is readily appreciated, this manner of constructing with lapped panels makes it possible to fabricate skylights of any reasonable size.

It is to be understood that numerous resins can effectively be employed because the invention does not reside in the particular resin employed but in the skylight itself and the process for making said skylight. However, some of the resins which may just as effectively be used are both the thermoplastic and the thermosetting classes of resins, typical of which are allyl-alkyd resins, polyester resins, styrene reacted resins, modified phenolic resins, resin-forming compounds having in the molecule a single polymerizable unsaturated carbon-to-carbon linkage, examples of compounds of this kind are esters of saturated monohydric alcohols with aliphatic-unsaturated monobasic acids such as the methyl, ethyl, etc. esters of acrylic, methacrylic, chloroacrylic, etc. acids; esters of aliphaticunsaturated monohydric alcohols with saturated monobasic acids such as the vinyl, allyl, methallyl chloroallyl, etc. esters of acetic, chloroacetic, glycolic, propionic, lactic, benzoic, chlorobenzoic, etc. acids; ethers of the abovementioned and other unsaturated monohydric alcohols with the above-mentioned and other saturated monohydric alcohols; acetals of aliphatic-unsaturated monohydric alcohols; unsaturated hydrocarbons and substituted hydrocarbons such as styrene, alphamethylstyrene, dischlorostyrene, etc. Other suitable resins include those produced by the polymerization of organic compounds containing in the molecule two or more polymerizable unsaturated carbon-to-carbon linkages not conjugated with respect to carbon and examples of these are: polyesters of aliphatic unsaturated polybasic acids with saturated monohydric alcohols such as the methyl, ethyl, propyl, etc. polyesters of maleic, fumaric, dichloro maleic, itaconic, citraconic, etc. acids, polyesters of unsaturated polyhydric alcohols with saturated monobasic acids; polyesters of unsaturated monohydric alcohols with saturated polybasic acids such as vinyl, allyl, methallyl, etc. esters of oxalic, maleic, succinic, adipic, phthalic, iso-phthalic, terephthalic, acids; polyesters ofsaturated polyhydric alcohols with unsaturated monobasic acids such as acrylic, methacrylic, chloroacrylic, et'c.-,..esters.' of; glycol, diethylene glycol,.- glycerol,

polyglycerols, pentaerythritol, polyvinyl alcohol, polyallyl alcohol, etc.; polyesters of saturated polyhydric alcohols with unsaturated polybasic acids; polyesters of unsaturated polybasic alcohols with saturated polybasic acids. For quicker results these resins should be used in admixture with a polymerization catalyst such as benzoyl peroxide, acetyl peroxide, benzoyl acetyl peroxide, lauroyl peroxide, dibutyryl peroxide, succinyl peroxide, sodium peroxide, barium peroxide, tertiary alkyl hydroperoxides such as tertiary butyl hydroperoxide (often called simply tertiary butyl peroxide), di (tertiary alkyl) peroxides such asdi (tertiary butyl) peroxide, peracetic acid, perborates, persulfates, etc., and in the ratios based on weight of about 0.01% to 5.0% of catalyst to resin. However, in certain instances it may be desirable to vary the ratio of catalyst to resin to suit individual circumstances.

Although I have restricted my exposition of the skylight to similar skylights incorporating many of the same features it is to be understood that there may be variations from these features and still be within the scope of my invention. For example, in certain instances it may be desirable to produce a panel of quite heavy and rigid construction so as to both lessen the sagging of the panel and the elimination of the bracing strips 16. Such a panel may be made from a heavy custom-made fiberglass mat, or a mat and cloth combination or a mat-cloth-mat sandwich. Such a strong and rigid panel is of value in a long skylight, say of forty feet in length, or even longer. However, in certain installations it may be desirable to use a lightweight panel and also to replace the strips 16 with mechanical supports to lessen the sagging of the panels.

A desirable innovation in the manufacture of skylights having the fiberglass cloth overlapping the adjacent edges of the panels is the addition of a thickening agent to the synthetic resin before the resin is applied to the cloth. A few of the many appropriate thickening agents are chopped fiberglass, diatomaceous earth, and air-borne mica. These agents make a thixotropic mixture out of the resin whereby the same does not run down between the adjacent edges of the panels and drip onto the floor or onto the jig holding the panels.

Another feature which is beneficial to the panels is a crinkle finish on one or both surfaces. Such a finish acts as both a reinforcing agent and also as a diffuser of light. Furthermore, a crinkled exterior surface helps to disperse rain falling on the skylight.

In attaching the skylight to a prepared mounting on a building the wire screen between the panel and the stud may be replaced by a thick fiberglass mat like that employed as a sound deadener in an automobile, a saran simulated chicken wire screen, cork, and felt. All of these function as sound deadeners or sound insulators.

In certain instances it is desirable to employ a skylight having small panels. Such panels may comprise a cured resin free of a reinforcing member such as a fiberglass cloth or mat, e.g., the panel comprises essentially a sheet of cured resin. Naturally in the making of the skylight the edges of the adjacent panels are continuously bonded by a resin to form a unitary structure. As previously taught in the fore part of this application, these panels are tough, can be flexed without breaking, and can resist an impact force such as a thrown stone without shattering.

With reference to the skylight 31 and the manufacture of the same from preformed sheets and strips of polymerized resins it is to be realized that resins other than expoxy and modified expoxy resins can be utilized for bonding together the sheets and strips. Exemplary of these other resins are polyester and acrylic resins.

Turning now to another modification of the skylight the same can be so constructed that flashing between the skylight and the roof is integral with the body-of the skylight. To be more explicit the flashing can be bonded by a synthetic resin to the underside of the skylight so that said flashing sets flush against the studs. In this manner the flashing can be nailed to the studs and then mopped over with synthetic resin or hot tar to make a waterproof seal. This flashing can be of preformed synthetic resin sheets, fiberglass panels, or other suitable material. In certain instances it may be desirable not to bond the flashing to the skylight with a resin but instead to nail both the flashing and the sklylight to the studs and then to seal the flashing to the skylight.

The advantages of the invention, it is thought, will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed de- 7 scription of the illustrated preferred embodiments. Minor changes will suggest themselves and may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, Wherefore it is my intention that the hereto annexed claims be given a scope fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation to which the employed language admits.

What I claim is:

1. A pyramidal skylight comprising a multiplicity of preformed synthetic resin panels joined together side edge to side edge into the pyramidal form by reinforcing strips, each such strip extending lengthwise over a pair of adjacent panel sideedges and laterally overlapping onto the panels joined thereby in conformity with the surface ofeach panel, whereby the panels are joined and strengthened by said strips, each face of the pyramidal skylight being formed from a multiplicity of panels disposed in shingle-like relation, wherein the bottom edge of one panel overlaps the top' edge of the next lower panel, the overlapping panel portions being bonded together.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the reinforcing strips joining the side edges of all but the uppermost panels longitudinally extend only from the bottom side edges of the panels to the point of overlap of the next higher panels, whereby the top of each reinforcing strip forms a seat for the next higher panels.

.References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 311,245 Henn Jan. 27, 1885 697,220 Staples Apr. 8, 1902 752.869 Smith Feb. 23, 1904 878,211 Leppla Feb. 4, 1908 995,594 Hageman June 20, 1911 2,230,393 Thomson Feb. 4, 1941 2,354,485 Slaughter July 25, 1944 2,388,297 Slaughter Nov. 6, 1945 2,478,121 Morner Aug. 2, 1949 2,546,430 Cook Mar. 27, 1951 2,557,660 Jacobs June 19, 1951 2,688,580 Fingerhut Sept. 7, 1954 2,693,156 Wasserman Nov. 2, 1954 2,710,335 Wong June 7, 1955 2,726,222 Palmquist et a1. Dec. 6, 1955 2,746,891 Doane May 22, 1956 2,794,293 Milrod et al. June 4, 1957 2,842,073 Huston et a1. July 8, 1958 2,870,793 Bailey Jan. 27, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES Architectural Forum, October 1947, pp. 121-124.

Bulletin No. 59 Plexiglas Design and Fabrication

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