Improvements in or relating to the Glazing or Covering of Horticultural Houses and other Surfaces.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Mar., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 9th Dec., 1305-Accepted, 27th Feb., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Glazing or Covering of
Horticultural Houses and other Surfaces.
1, HENRY CHARLES BOARD, of 43, Kingsdown Parade, Bristol, Horticultural
Builder and Hot Water Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to new or improved appliances for covering the roofs or
sides of conservatories and other surfaces with glass or other sheet material, and
has for its object to provide roofing and covering which can be rapidly and
cheaply constructed and erected, and will be of a lighter texture than those now
in use.
My invention consists in making the rafters of iron, wood, or any suitable
material having sufficient strength and rigidity, and arranging them from the roof
ridge to the wall plate at suitable distances apart, according to the length of the
sheets of glass to be used thereon; a number of holes, at a distance apart, to
correspond with the width of the glass, are punched or bored in the rafters, as
near as possible to the top, and in these holes a number of short rods or spurs,.
formed into bolts, conveniently with heads at one end and screw threaded at the
other, are inserted, on these bolts two spring clips are placed, one to be on each
side of the rafter, and when in position a nut is screwed on the threaded' end of the
bolt to hold them steady; these clips are an improvement on those shown and
illustrated in my Specification for Letters Patent, A.D. 1894, No. 10,274, the
improvement consisting in making them with an additional fold or lap, which keeps
the clip and glass inserted therein well up out of the way of the rafter, and forms
a cushion or elastic bed on which the sheets of glass rest. A purlin or purlins of
Tiron or wood fixed below the rafters, regulates the distance of the latter from
each other, and keeps the whole roof steady. Ordinary double clips are provided
to fit over the lower edge of the top sheet and the upper edge of the lower sheet
of glass to retain the sheets in position, if necessary, when adjacent angles ineet
between the rafters.
The various parts being provided as described, according to my invention, roofs
may be constructed as follows:-The rafters being fixed in position on the wall
plate and ridge, and the purlins fixed to keep the whole steady, the bolts are inserted
through the holes in the rafters, with one clip on each side, and tightened in their
proper place by the nuts on the ends of the bolts, the lower row of panes of glass
is then laid on the rafters, with the middle of each sheet resting in position in the
spring clips, their ends abutting each other, and their lower edges near the corner
held in position by ordinary clips on the wall plate; over the top corner edges of
cach sheet, the double clips are fastened, in which the middle of the lower edges
of the next upper sheets rest, the second row is laid (to break joint) with the ends
resting in the spring clips, and the middle of the lower edge resting on the double
clips in the row beneath, the upper edges of the sheet have also double clips
placed on them near the middle, and then the third row of glass is laid in the same
manner as the first, and so on, until the whole surface is covered.
Dated this 9th day of March 1896.
J. G. WESTLAKE,
2 John Street, Bristol, Applicant's Agent.

page_text: Improvements in or relating to the Glazing or Covering of
Horticultural Houses and other Surfaces.
I, HENRY CHARLES BOARD, of 43, Kingsdown Parade, Bristol, Horticultural
Builder, and Hot Water Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to new or improved appliances for use in covering the
roofs and sides of conservatories and other surfaces with glass or other sheet
material, and has for its object to provide roofing and covering which will be
inexpensive in construction, effective in operation, and that can be rapidly erected
and removed when required.
My invention consists in making the roof of iron rafters or other material
possessing sufficient strength and rigidity, these are conveniently arched to afford
increased strength, they are placed at suitable distances apart, extending from the
roof ridge to the sill or wall plate, the distance apart is regulated by the size of
the sheets of glass to be used, screw threaded bolts made of rods or wires are
inserted in holes in the rafters, or attached to them in any durable manner, and
these rod bolts carry clips on them which hold the sheets of glass firmly in
position.
This invention, and a suitable method of carrying it into effect, will be more
fully described in connection with the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation, Fig. 2 a plan, and Fig. 3 a section and end view
of a piece of a rafter, with clips laid in position on the bolt rod inserted in the
rafter;
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a method by which the bolt rod is held in position
on the rafter by binding wire inserted in a small hole and carried over the rod and
nut or nuts of the bolt, this allows a clip with one fold less to be used;
Fig. 5 shows a nut placed on each side of the stalk of the angle iron, with the
clips outside the nuts, instead of inside as shown in Fig. 3; and instead of the bolt
being cut short, it is extended from one rafter to another, thereby allowing the
purlins described in the Provisional Specification to be dispensed with if desired;
Fig. 6 shows another way of attaching the rod bolts to the rafters, where the
nut is attached to the outer side only of the stalk of the rafter, as it is found
convenient to allow the clips to slide to and fro on the rod or bolt, for the easier
adjustment of the glass in the clips:
Fig. 7 shows an auxiliary clip for connecting adjoining surfaces together where
there is no rod or wire to carry the clips; these auxiliary clips are placed over the
lower sheet as shown, and support the upper sheet;
Fig. 8 is a plan of part of the roof of a conservatory, with the rafters, bolt rods,
and clips laid in position ready to receive the glass; the clips may be of either of
the shapes shown in Figs. 1 and 4;
Fig. 9 is a plan of the same part of the roof, with sheets of glass laid thereon,
auxiliary clips being employed where necessary.
A is part of a rafter made of angle iron, with holes made in the stalk to receive
the bolts B of rod or wire, these are screw threaded to receive nuts for securing
the clips; C is a lengthened bolt extending from one rafter to another, and
tightened against the outer side of each, these are inserted alternately, as shown
in Fig. 8, to afford increased rigidity to the roof: D is a piece of binding wire
inserted in a small hole in the rafter, which permits the rod to be laid on the
rafter, instead of placed through it; E is a clip attached to the rod when the
latter is inserted in the rafter, and F is another clip, with a fold less, suitable for

page_text: use when the rod is laid and fastened on the top of the rafter; G is an auxiliary
clip for holding two lapping edges of glass together, as shewn in Fig. 7.
In constructing and glazing the roof of a conservatory, the rafters are first made
slightly convex, and holes drilled in them to receive the rods or the binding wires,
the rafters are then laid on the ridge and plate at the proper distances, and then
the bolts are inserted in the holes, as in Fig. 1, or attached and connected by wire as
in Fig. 4; short bolts may be used, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, or long bolts
extending from one rafter to another, as in Figs. 5, 6, and 8, the required number
of clips being first placed on the rods; the sheets of glass are then laid edge to
edge and inserted in the clips, commencing with the bottom row, and when the
edge of the sheet is over the rod, the clips on them will support the edges of the
upper and lower rows of glass; where the lapping edges do not lie over a rod,.
auxiliary clips G are used, as indicated in Fig. 9; the whole of the roof being
covered as described, each sheet is held firmly in position, and a perfectly water-
tight roof is provided.
As already mentioned, the bolts may be made either of rods or wires, and may
be short, to hold two clips only, or may be long enough to extend from one rafter
to another, and these being inserted alternately, will make the roof rigid, any
number of clips may be placed on the long rods to hold the sheets of glass, and
the rods may pass through or rest on the rafters.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The construction of roofs and sides for conservatories and the like, in which
clips with folds to grip each of the lapping edges of sheets of glass are secured to
rafters or bars by bolts of rods or wires, either singly, as in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or
united by long bolts, alternately inserted from rafter to rafter as shown in Fig. 8,
with auxiliary clips to hold the lapping edges where necessary, all combining to
hold the rafters and glass firmly in position, substantially as and for the purposes
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 9th day of December 1896.
J. G. WESTLAKE,
2, John Street, Bristol, Applicant's Agent.