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Title:
FOLDABLE CANOPY
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2024/043856
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The invention relates to a canopy (1), comprising a shaft (10), multiple scissor systems (30) comprising at least four sequentially connected scissor units (31), the first of which is not identical to the second and is geometrically identical to the third, and the second of which is identical to the fourth, and having at least a primary scissor part (311) and a secondary scissor part (312), a shaft-scissor system connection (20) comprising a primary carrier (21) movably connected to said shaft (10) in an axial direction, with which one of said primary scissor part (311) and secondary scissor part (312) is connected, and a secondary carrier (22) fixedly connected to said shaft (10), with which the other one of said primary scissor part (311) and secondary scissor part (312) is connected, at least one panel (40) comprising at least two outer panel parts (41) rotatably connected from one edge to the scissor unit (31) and at least two inner panel parts (42) rotatably connected from edge to an outer panel part (41), rotatably connected to other from other edge to other inner panel part (42) and is between the outer panel parts (41).

Inventors:
AKGUN YENAL (TR)
GUNDUZALP MUSTAFA (TR)
KILIT OZGUR (TR)
MADEN FERAY (TR)
ATLAMAZ BENSU (TR)
HILAL SARISAYIN NAZLI (TR)
BAKAY UGUR (TR)
KAVUNCUOGLU CANBERK (TR)
Application Number:
PCT/TR2023/050827
Publication Date:
February 29, 2024
Filing Date:
August 17, 2023
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
YASAR UNIV (TR)
International Classes:
A45B19/00
Foreign References:
CN211048583U2020-07-21
CN213247290U2021-05-25
CN108813853A2018-11-16
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
YALCINER, Ugur G. (YALCINER PATENT & CONSULTING LTD.) (TR)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS 1. A canopy (1), characterized in that it comprises the following: a shaft (10), multiple scissor systems (30) comprising at least four sequentially connected scissor units (31), the first of which is not identical to the second and is geometrically identical to the third, and the second of which is identical to the fourth, and having at least a primary scissor part (311) and a secondary scissor part (312), a shaft-scissor system connection (20) comprising a primary carrier (21) movably connected to said shaft (10) in an axial direction, with which one of said primary scissor part (311) and secondary scissor part (312) is connected, and a secondary carrier (22) fixedly connected to said shaft (10), with which the other one of said primary scissor part (311) and secondary scissor part (312) is connected, at least one panel (40) comprising at least two outer panel parts (41) rotatably connected from one edge to the scissor unit (31) and at least two inner panel parts (42) rotatably connected from edge to an outer panel part (41), rotatably connected to other from other edge to other inner panel part (42) and is between the outer panel parts (41). 2. A canopy (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a secondary scissor part (312) comprising a primary outer opening (311a) at the ends of said primary scissor part (311) and a primary intermediate opening (311b) between the primary external openings (311a) and a secondary outer opening (312a) at the ends of said second scissor part (312), which allows it to be pivotably connected to the primary outer openings (311a) of another scissor unit (31) and a secondary intermediate opening (312b) between the primary intermediate opening (311b) and the secondary outer openings (312a), allowing it to be rotatably connected to it. 3. A canopy (1) according to Claim 2, characterized in that said scissor units (31) comprise two primary scissor parts (311) and the said secondary scissor part (312) is positioned between the primary scissor parts (311).

4. A canopy (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in a scissor unit (31), it comprises two linear ends of the first scissor part (311) having an angle α between them and two linear ends of the second scissor part (312) having an angle β between them. 5. A canopy (1) according to Claim 4, characterized in that said angle β is greater than said angle α. 6. A canopy (1) according to Claim 4, characterized in that one of the angles α and β is not equal in the non-identical scissor units (31). 7. A canopy (1) according to Claim 4, characterized in that in non-identical scissors units (31), one of the angles α and β is not equal. 8. A canopy (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that said outer panel part (41) and/or inner panel part (42) comprises a longitudinal cylindrical connection element (43) and/or a cylindrical connection slot (44) in which said connection element (43) is to be inserted. 9. A canopy (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a drive element (M) to drive said primary carrier (21). 10. A canopy (1) according to Claim 9, characterized in that said drive element (M) is an engine that rotates the shaft (10) around its axis. 11. A canopy (1) according to Claim 10, characterized in that it comprises screw threads on the surface of said shaft (10) and on the inner diameter of the primary carrier (21). 12. A canopy (1) according to any one of Claims 9-11, characterized in that it comprises at least one light sensor (L) and a processing unit (P) comprising communication units for receiving data from said light sensor (L) and controlling the drive element (M) according to the data received from said light sensor (L).

13. A canopy (1) according to any one of Claims 9-11, characterized in that it comprises a controller with communication units to control the said drive element (M). 13  

Description:
DESCRIPTION FOLDABLE CANOPY Technical Field The invention relates to a canopy with foldable and retractable rigid panels. State of the Art Throughout history, various types of retractable and foldable awnings have been produced to protect from the sun. These awnings are generally formed by connecting various textile products to various mechanisms or cable systems. As there are many examples in the literature in this regard, many products are still on the market commercially. Awnings and tent type canopies especially for large openings, are less common. The sunshade umbrella/awning system designed by Bodo Rasch is the most well-known example in the literature 1 . In this example, where a total area of 150.000 m2 is covered with 250 foldable umbrella systems, each umbrella consists of a semi-transparent membrane coating attached to the mechanism consisting of rigid rods. In addition to this known example, umbrella and awning systems consisting of scissor mechanisms produced by Mira et al. 2 and Atlamaz et al. 3 are also known. The scissor mechanisms produced by combining rigid elements with revolute joints and repeating the units created are widely used in many areas from architecture to civil engineering, from space technologies to product design due to their geometric properties and ease of production. There are two basic design methods for scissor mechanisms in the literature. The first method is called the “unit-based design method”. In this method, the desired mechanism is produced by reproducing a certain size of scissor unit side by side through the joints at the endpoints. That is, it goes from a single unit to a whole mechanism. The other method is the “loop-assembly”. In this method, each scissor unit is obtained separately by placing the quadrilaterals of various geometries side by side on the desired whole mechanism form. “Loop-assembly” was invented and patented by Chuck Hoberman 4 . In his patent, Hoberman derived scissor mechanisms using only rhombus-shaped quadrilaterals; however, there are many other closed quadrilaterals besides a geometric 1   rhombus. Maden et al. 5 and Kiper et al. 6 developed Hoberman's study and presented alternatives for not only rhombus but all of the quadrilaterals. “Unit assembly-based design method” and “loop assembly method” are explained in detail in the study of Maden et al. 5 In all of the abovementioned studies, the entire mechanism was manufactured using the same rectangular unit only. For example, if the selected quadrilateral unit is square, the entire mechanism is derived using repeating squares. This situation creates a restriction in terms of the forms that the umbrella or awning can take. Another issue is related to the coating materials of large span umbrella/awning systems. In the umbrella systems with large openings in the literature, membrane has always been used as the coating material. Although the membrane brings advantages such as being light in weight and easily folded, it has disadvantages due to being easily deformed in open air conditions and being open to vandalism. In addition, the use of membranes does not allow the installation of systems such as PV panels on umbrella/awning systems and the installation of water collecting systems. This is another disadvantage of existing systems. The document with publication number US5398710A has scissor arms connected on a shaft and drives a sunshade with rigid parts sliding gradually. Here the movement of the arms is provided by a motor. An umbrella is described in the document with publication number FR2977457A1 and said umbrella contains multiple rigid wing parts. The aforementioned wing parts are connected with the scissor mechanisms connected to the main column. With the movement of the scissor mechanism mentioned herein, each of said rigid wings can move independently. As a result, all the above-mentioned problems have made it necessary to innovate in the relevant field. Objects of the Invention The main object of the present invention is to provide a foldable canopy structure that provides sun protection with not easily deformable rigid panels with scissors obtained by the hybrid loop-assembly method. Accordingly, the present invention comprises a shaft, multiple scissor systems comprising at least four sequentially connected scissor units, the first of which 2   is not identical to the second and is geometrically identical to the third, and the second of which is identical to the fourth, and having at least a primary scissor part and a secondary scissor part, a shaft-scissor system connection comprising a primary carrier movably connected to said shaft in an axial direction, with which one of said primary scissor part and secondary scissor part is connected, and a secondary carrier fixedly connected to said shaft, with which the other of said primary scissor part and secondary scissor part is connected, at least one panel comprising at least two outer panel parts rotatably connected from one edge to the scissor unit and at least two inner panel parts rotatably connected from edge to an outer panel part , rotatably connected to other from other edge to other inner panel part and is between the outer panel parts. Another object of the invention is to ensure automatic movement according to the direction and/or amount of sunlight. Brief Description of the Invention In the present invention, the panels to block the sun are positioned among the scissor systems consisting of many scissor units in such a way that they can be folded together with these systems. Here, the scissor units forming the scissor system are arranged in a hybrid chain. The hybrid loop-assemblyis a method of forming a scissor mechanism in which successive quadrilateral chains are not identical but are only geometrically identical with each other of the first and third quadrilateral, and with each other of the second and fourth quadrilateral. Here, the quadrilateral forming the loop can be selected from among geometries such as rhombus, parallelogram, kite, dart or anti-parallelogram. With this method, in a group of four scissor units, the first and third scissor units are geometrically identical to each other, and the second and fourth scissor units are geometrically identical to each other. One of the parts constituting the scissor units is connected to the fixed part of the shaft-scissor system connection consisting of two parts and the other to the moving part. When the distance between the primary carrier and the secondary carrier changes, the scissor movement begins. The panel is arranged in a multi-part manner so that the rigid panels move without proper breakage during the folding/assembly action of this hybrid loop-assembly. The panel contains two outer parts and two inner parts, the outer parts are rotatably connected to one of the scissor system and inner panels, while the inner panels, outer panels and each other are rotatably connected. 3   A motor can be used to provide said movement and the amount of movement that this motor will provide to drive the primary carrier part is determined as a result of processing the data from a light sensor by a processing unit and accordingly, the opening amount of the canopy is determined. Definitions of Figures Describing the Invention The figures and related descriptions used to better explain the device developed by this invention are as follows. Figure 1. Isometric image of the open canopy of the invention Figure 1a. Isometric image of the closed canopy of the invention Figure 2.Detailed exploded view of the panel and scissor system of the canopy of the invention Figure 2a. Detailed isometric view of the scissor system Figure 2b. Isometric view of scissor units Figure 3.Isometric view of the panel parts and scissor unit Figure 3.Separated isometric view of panel parts and scissor unit Figure 3b. Exploded view of Figure 3 Figure 4. Detail image showing panel connection Figure 5. Detail view of the carrier, scissor unit connection Figure 6. Schematic view of control system Definitions of Components/Pieces/Parts of the Invention In order to better explain the device developed by this invention, the parts and pieces in the figures are numbered and the corresponding number is given below. 1. Canopy 10. Shaft 11. Base 20. Shaft-scissor system connection 21. Primary carrier 211. Primary arms 211a. Primary slots 4   22. Secondary carrier 221. Secondary arms 221a. Secondary slots 30. Scissor system 31. Scissor unit 311. Primary scissor part 311a. Primary outer opening 311b. Primary intermediate opening 312. Secondary scissor part 312a. Secondary outer opening 312b. Secondary intermediate opening 40. Panel 41. Outer panel part 42. Inner panel part 43. Connection element 44. Connection slot 45. Recess L. Light sensor P. Processing unit M. Drive element Detailed Description of the Invention The subject matter of the invention relates to a canopy which can be folded open and closed and has rigid panels. Referring to Figures 1 and 1a, the canopy (1) of the present invention comprises a longitudinal shaft (10) disposed on a base (11). The canopy (1) is arranged in the form of an umbrella. Here, a shaft-scissor system connection (20) is placed on the shaft (10). The invention comprises multiple scissor systems (30) that extend in the radial direction with respect to the axis of the shaft (10) in connection with the shaft-scissor system connection (20). Here, the multiple scissor systems (30) are arranged at angularly uniform intervals. In a preferred embodiment, the six scissor systems (30) are distributed around the shaft (10) at 60° 5   intervals. The scissor system (30) includes multiple scissor units (31) to be collected and opened, and with the opening of the scissor units (31), it comes to the open position in Figure 1, and with the closing of the scissor units (31), it comes to the closed position in Figure 1a. The panels (40) are positioned between the scissor systems (30). One end of the panels (40) is connected to a scissor system (30) and the other end is connected to the next scissor system (30). The panel (40) consists of multiple parts and these parts rotate appropriately with the closing and opening movement of the scissor system (30). Referring to Figures 2, 2a and 2b, said scissor systems (30) include multiple scissor units (31). The scissor units (31) provided herein comprise two primary scissor parts (311) and a secondary scissor part (312) between said primary scissor parts (311). The primary scissor part (311) and the secondary scissor part (312) comprise linear portions providing the angles α and β, respectively. Here, the angles α and β do not have to be equal to each other. Referring to Figure 3a, there is a primary outer opening (311a) at each end of said primary scissor part (311) and a primary intermediate opening (311b) between said two openings, in particular in the part where the α-angle is formed. In turn, there is a secondary outer opening (312a) at each end of the secondary scissor part (312) and a primary intermediate opening (312b) between these two openings, in particular in the part where the β-angle is formed. Here, the primary intermediate openings (311b) and the secondary intermediate opening (312b) are positioned on the same axis and are rotatably connected to each other by a joint passing through said axis, and the scissor unit (31) is formed. In order to connect this scissor unit to another scissor unit (31), the secondary outer opening (312a) of the secondary scissor part (312) is positioned on the same axis between the primary outer openings (311a) of the other scissor unit (31) and is rotatably connected to each other by a joint passing through said axis. In addition, the secondary scissor part (311) of this secondary scissor unit (31) is likewise rotatably connected to the primary scissor parts of the primary scissor unit (31). The scissor unit (31) mentioned herein may also be configured differently than in Figures 3 and 3a. For example, a scissor unit (31) obtained by connecting only two linear pieces to each 6   other at their centers may also be used herein. In addition, said scissor unit (31) can be arranged in rhombus, parallelogram, kite, darts or anti parallelogram geometry. The scissor system (30) comprises at least four scissor units (31) sequentially connected to each other. The hybrid loop-assembly approach is used in the design of the scissor system (30). The hybrid loop-assembly is a method of forming a scissor mechanism in which the successive quadrilateral loops in the loop-assembly method are not identical, but only the first, third, fifth, etc. quadrilaterals are geometrically identical to each other, and the second, fourth, sixth, etc. quadrilaterals are geometrically identical to each other. Here, the quadrilateral forming the loop can be selected from among geometries such as rhombus, parallelogram, kite, dart or anti-parallelogram. With the hybrid loop-assembly method, it occurs that the first and third row scissor units (31) are geometrically identical to each other, the second and fourth row scissor units (31) are geometrically identical to each other, and the successive scissor units (31) are not identical to each other. The expression of not being geometrically identical here refers to the fact that the angles α and β described above are different from each other, such as sizing, the geometric form formed, or the angles α and β described above. If even one of them is not the same, the two scissor units (31) are not identical. Referring to Figures 3, 3a and 3b, rigid panels (40) are placed between said scissor systems. The panels (40) are arranged in a multi-part manner so that the umbrella type canopy (1) can be folded and shrunk during the opening and assembly process. The panel (40) basically includes two outer panel parts (41) and two inner panel parts (42). The outer panel part (41) and the inner panel part (42) are preferably provided in planar plates, in particular in polygonal and triangular form, respectively. However, these forms may vary according to the design differences and the number of scissor systems (30). The outer panel parts (41) are connected to the scissor units (31), in particular to the primary scissor part (311). The other side of the outer panel part (41) is connected to the inner panel part (41). The other edges of the two inner panel parts (42) are rotatably connected to each other. Referring to Figures 3a and 4, it has already been noted that said outer panel parts (41) and inner panel parts (42) are rotatably connected to each other and to the scissor units (31). A 7   longitudinally cylindrical shaft-shaped connection element (43) and a cylindrical shell-shaped connection element slot (44) are used to provide this rotational movement. Preferably, the outer panel parts (41) and the inner panel parts (42) comprise a connection element (43) on one side and a connection element slot (44) on the other side. However, the sufficient requirement here is that there is a connection element (43) on one of the edges to be connected to each other and a connection slot (44) on the other. Preferably, the connection element (43) is provided on a recess (45) located at the respective connection edge, as the connection slot (44) will be seated on it. Referring to Figure 5, the primary scissor parts (311) and the secondary scissor parts (312) of said scissor unit (31) are pivotally connected to the primary carrier (21) and the secondary carrier (22), respectively. The primary carrier (21) and the secondary carrier (22) are independent of each other and together provide the carrier structure. The primary carrier (21) and the secondary carrier (22) comprise an annular body and said body is placed on the shaft (10). The primary carrier (21) is movable in the axial direction on said shaft, while the secondary carrier is stationarily positioned. Here, when the primary carrier (21) moves and the distance between the secondary carrier (22) changes, the primary scissor parts (311) and the secondary scissor parts (312) move and initiate the opening or assembly movement. In order to link the primary scissor parts (311) and the secondary scissor parts (312), the primary carrier (21) includes the primary arms (211) extending in the radial direction and the secondary arms (212) extending in the radial direction, respectively. The primary slots (211a) and the secondary slots (212a) provided in the form of recesses on the primary arms (211) and the secondary arms (212) are located and the pivotal movements of the primary scissor parts (311) and the secondary scissor parts (312) are possible with a joint provided on the arms after these scissor parts are passed through these slots. Screw threads are located on the surface of said shaft (10) and on the inner diameter of the primary carrier (21) in a preferred embodiment. Said screw threads enable the primary carrier (21) to move down or up in the axial direction according to the direction of rotation when the 8   shaft (10) is rotated. A rotational drive element (M) is used for this rotation, especially a motor. The canopy (1) comprises at least one processing unit (P) and the light sensor (L) providing data to said processing unit (P), referring to Figure 6. The light sensor (L) is configured to detect the light intensity and has communication elements to transmit the data obtained therefrom to the processing unit (P). In turn, the processing unit (P) also has suitable communication elements. The processing unit (P) further activates the scissor system (30) by moving the primary carrier (21) by operating the drive element (M) by processing the data received from the light sensor (L) and creating a response. According to the amount of incoming light, the processing unit (P) is configured to control how much the panels (40) are opened or closed, i.e. in which direction the drive element (M) is driven and how much the primary carrier (21) is driven. Alternatively, a control comprising communication units for controlling the drive element (M) can also be used to control the movement of said primary carrier. 9   REFERENCES 1. SL Rasch GmbH (n.d.) https://www.sl-rasch.com/en/projects/u-26-piazza. 2. Alegria Mira, L., Thrall, A. ve De Temmerman, N. (2014). Deployable scissor arch for transitional shelters, Automation in Construction.43, p.123-131. 3. Atlamaz, B., Akgün, Y., Maden, F., Kavuncuoğlu, C., Kilit, Ö. (2022) Geometric variety of scissor linkages according to loop geometry: A case study of a canopy design, 5th International Conference on Structures and Architecture, 6-8 July 2022, Aalborg, Danimarka. 4. Hoberman, C. (1990). Reversibly Expandable Doubly-Curved Scissor Structure, U.S. Patent 4,942,700, July 24. 5. Maden, F.; Akgün, Y.; Kiper, G.; Gür, Yar, M.; Korkmaz, K. (2019). A Critical Review on Classification and Terminology of Scissor Structures. Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, Special Issue Transformables: Deployable Structures and Rapidly Assembled Structures (ed. N. De Temmerman), 60(1), pp.47-64. 6. Kiper, K.; Korkmaz, K.; Gür, Uncu, M.; Maden, F. Akgün, Y. Karagöz, C. (2022). Loop Based Classification of Planar Scissor Linkages. Sādhanā Journal of the Indian Academy of Science, 47(12) 10  



 
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