Skylight.

Application filed February 3, 1912. Serial No. 675,859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Allen II. Jeter, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, State of New 5 York, have invented a new and useful Ιών, provement in Skylights, of which the ,following is a specification.

My invention relates to roof constructions υ!' glass and particularly to sky-light con10 structions.

It has for its object to produce a construction that will protect the glass plates from breaking and which will at the same time prevent any leakage of the roof construc15 tion and the sky-light.

In an embodiment of the invention a means is provided for securing and yet allowing the expansion and contraction of the supporting beams, a means is also pro20 vided for the protection of the glass plates and for tightly closing the roof and skylight, a means is also provided for collecting all the water that may be condensed on the under surface of the glass and also col25 lect all water that may leak through or be forced or driven between the joints of or cracks of the construction.

One form of construction containing the ^x invention is provided with a means, which 30 will not only cushion the glass but will also prevent leakage and will collect all the , water condensed or forced into the construction and direct it into an open and unobstructed trough.

The invention may be contained in a number of constructions.. One of such constructions is shown in the drawings. The same is described hereinafter to show’ how a construction embodying the invention may 40 be made and to show that the invention when so embodied is operative.

In the figures of the drawings, I igure 1 shows the supporting construction for the sky-light. Fig. 2 illustrates a cross section 45 of an astragal used for supporting the glass panels. Figs. 3 and 4 show the means for supporting the ends of the astragal, b ig· 5 is a longitudinal section through the supporting housing shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is 50 _a modification of the invention..

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 is the astragal supported on the curb 2 of the roof of the liuibliiii’.· and the ridge 3. 4 and 5 are the infuns for securing the astragal in posi65 tion and vet allowing free movement of the parts of the sky-light caused by the shaking of the building and the expansion and contraction of the astragal and such other parts to which it may be connected or by which it may be supported, due to heat. 60

The astragal consists of a trough the interior of which is practically unobstructed in order that the collection of water may be facilitated and which can be painted easily for the prevention of rust. The trough 6 65 has a flat bottom 7 so that it can be, if desired, laid on another beam that may be contained in the structure in which the skylight is built or located. It also permits the free flow of the water collected. If desired 70 it may be provided with flaring walls 8. It is found preferable to make the walls flaring in order to receive the water delivered from the cross troughs 10 located at the ends of the plates of the glass which collect the 75 water drained from the bottom of the plates or that may be forced into the interior of the building at the joints or cracks between the adjoining ends of the plates.

Brackets 11 are secured at intervals along 80 the trough. The legs of the brackets are secured to the walls 8 by means of rivets or screws 12. The brackets are angled inward as at 13 which not only makes them strong , supporting structures but also they permit 85 the cross trough to be placed at any points or the brackets may be placed at any points without respect to the location of the ends of the plates where the cross troughs are located. 90

A T-beam 14 is supported on the brackets, the cross web being secured to the brackets by means of rivets or screws 1». The edges of the glass plates 16 of adjoining panels extend over the cross-web of the T-beam and 95 side portions of the glass plates of considerable width are located above the cross-web and are supported on the cross-web giving large bearing surfaces for the plates.

Lead cushioning aprons 17 formed of 100 strips of considerable width are located between the edges of the glass plates and the two webs of the beam. The aprons extend from a point slightly above the upper surfaces of the glass downward along the cen- 105' tral web of the beam and then over the upper surface of the cross-web on both sides of the central web and then down to a point 'slightly below the lower surface of the cross-web. The upper edges of the aprons no on the plate sides by reason of the nature of the metal of which they are constructed,

1,119,8.39 soon extends or hangs over the upper corners of the edges of the plates. The aprons are thus so constructed that they will very perfectly cushion the glass plates. The corg ners of the glass plates are separated from the iron, contact with which would cause their fracture upon the slightest jar or vibration of the building. The aprons extend vertically downward between the lateral ₁₀ edges of the plates and the beam and then over the upper surface of the portion of the beam on which the plates rest forming a wide cushion extending the full length of the panels on which the plates are sup₁₅ ported. The plates thus safely withstand any pressure or vibration of the structure.

The aprons extend below the lower corners of the cross-web of the beam and thus deliver any moisture that may be collected 20 from the under side of the glass plates directly into the trough and prevent any of it from running back of or up into the crack formed between the aprons and the surface of the beam by capillary attraction. The 25 wide contact surface between the plates and the aprons and between the aprons and the beam prevents leakage of any kind and as they extend the full length of the astragal, they seal the roof making it practically air 30 tight. Screw bolts 18 are located on the top of the central web of the beam 14 and at intervals along the beam. A sheet metal cap 9 is located above the beam and is placed over the bolts which pass through' holes 35 formed in the elastic cap 9. The. edges of the cap 9 rest upon the glass plates. The cap is compressed by means of the nuts 20 which are screwed onto the bolts 18 thus pressing the edges of the cap against the 40 surfaces of the glass plates. The caps 19 shelter the beam and assist in holding the plates against the cushion aprons 17. The ends of the astragal are supported in housings 4 and 5 located on the curb or on the 45 ridge or other part of the roof. The upper end of the astragal is supported in the housing 5 which is secured in this case to the ridge 3 of the roof of the building. This is shown in section in Fig. 3. The 50 trough 6 is placed on the bottoms of the housings 4 and 5. The upper end of the trough is provided with elongated indentations or recesses 22. Round-pointed screws extend through the walls of the housing 5 55 and into the elongated recesses 22. The screws hold the trough in the 'housing sufficiently tight to prevent any looseness of the beamand yet allow for the expansion and contraction of the astragal due to heat and 60 vibration of the building with respect to the astragal supporting the glass plates and thus prevent communication of the vibrations and jarring of the plates. The astragal rests and abuts on and in the hous65 ing 4 located on the curb 2 of the roof. The housing 4 is secured to the curb 2 by means of the screws 25. An apron 26 covers the curb and the sheet metal covering 27 closes . the space formed between the curb and the plates of the sky-light. The sheets are held 70 securely in place by the screws 25. The plate 27 is secured to the sides of the housing by means of the screws 28 which pass through the side wings- 34 of the housing. In order to collect the moisture that may be 75 condensed on the under surface of the lowest plates of the glass panels the sheet metal piece 27 may be provided with openings 34 ₍which will allow the water to drain down., on to the apron 26. 80

The housing 4 extends well up under the' trough 6 and over the curb. It is made up -, of the bottom 29, the side walls 30 and the⁴end plate 31. The ends of the beam 14 and the trough 6 rests against the end plate 31. 85 The end plate also closes the end of the cap 19. The plate 31 is provided with a tongue 32. The tongue 32 has a rounded substantially cylindrical under surface which forms the under .surface, of the base portion which 90 is of considerable dimensions while the upper surface is pyramidal, the apex of the pyramid being on the inside surface of the plate. This produces a tongue of considerable strength. The tongue is constructed 95 not only so it will have considerable strength, but also permits the astragal to be inserted first in the housing 4 at an angle to the bottom of the housing and the upper end of the astragal may be brought down to and 100 dropped into the housing 5 and secured in position by means of the screws 23 sufficiently to prevent looseness of the astragal and yet permit the vibration of the supporting structure and expansion and contraction 105 of the astragal and of the supporting structure.

The plate 31 is also provided with holes 35 which are located at the bottom of the housing 4, the lower side of the holes being no located in the plane of the upper surface of the bottom of the housing 4. The holes 35 permit the water to drain out of the trough 6 and are so located relative to the trough 6 as to drain any water that may collect 115 between the end of the trough and the plate 31 of the housing 4.

In Fig. 6, is shown a modification of the invention wherein the trough. 6, unobstructed by anything, is provided with brackets 37 120 located in intervals along the trough. The channel iron 39 is located on the brackets 37. The edges of the side walls of the channel iron are provided with lead cushioning devices 40. The channel iron is secured by 125 means of bolts 43 which extend upward from the brackets 37. A lead ferrule 41 is placed over the bolt 43. The plates 42 rest upon the lead cushioning devices 40 and are located upon opposite sides of the bolt 43, 130

1,110,820 the ferrule 41. being placed between the plates prevents breaking of the plates, by striking or pressing against the bolts. A cap 45 is placed over the bolts 43, the bolts passing through holes formed in the cap. The edges of the cap are pressed against the upper surface of tlie plates, and the cap is held in position by means of the nuts 46. The trough 6 collects the moisture from the 10 plates in. the manner well known in the art and delivers it through the holes 35 located in the housing 4. The astragal, a section of which is shown in Fig. 6 is secured in the structure in substantially the same way

-15 that the astragal shown in Fig. 1 is secured.

A great many structures may be made by t those skilled iii the art which may differ greatly from the structure that I have illus20 trated and described and yet such structures though different may still contain my invention. The features of such constructions are described generically in the claims and the equivalents of such features are 2B contemplated as being within the scope of the claims.