Residential awning canopy assembly

Abstract

An awning is disclosed. The awning comprises a case assembly comprising a housing, configured to be mounted to a dwelling, and a lead rail, a roller assembly mounted in the case assembly and including a roll tube rotatable relative to the case assembly, a lead rail assembly coupled to the lead rail, the lead rail assembly movable relative to the housing between an extended position and a retracted position, a canopy having a leading edge and a trailing edge, the leading edge being connected to the lead rail assembly and the trailing edge being connected to the roll tube, and a spring arm assembly connecting the housing of the case assembly to the lead rail, the spring arms including a first arm and a second arm pivotable relative to one another, the spring arm assembly allowing the lead rail assembly to move between the extended position and the retracted position.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An awning comprising:
 a case assembly comprising a housing and a lead rail, the housing configured to be mounted to a dwelling;   a roller assembly mounted in the case assembly and including a roll tube rotatable relative to the case assembly;   a lead rail assembly coupled to the lead rail, the lead rail assembly movable relative to the housing of the case assembly between an extended position and a retracted position;   a canopy having a leading edge and a trailing edge, the leading edge being connected to the lead rail assembly and the trailing edge being connected to the roll tube; and   a spring arm assembly connecting the housing of the case assembly to the lead rail, the spring arms including a first arm and a second arm pivotable relative to one another, the spring arm assembly allowing the lead rail assembly to move between the extended position and the retracted position.   
     
     
         2 . The awning of  claim 1 , wherein the lead rail and the housing cooperate to form an enclosure when in the retracted position. 
     
     
         3 . The awning of  claim 1 , wherein the case assembly houses a power source. 
     
     
         4 . The awning of  claim 3 , wherein the power source comprises at least one of a solar powered battery and a solar panel. 
     
     
         5 . The awning of  claim 1 , wherein the lead rail of the case assembly comprises a portion of a front face of the case assembly when in the retracted position. 
     
     
         6 . The awning of  claim 1 , wherein the roll tube is housed in the housing of the case assembly. 
     
     
         7 . The awning of  claim 1 , wherein the spring arms are housed within an enclosure formed by the housing and the lead rail when in the retracted position. 
     
     
         8 . The awning of  claim 1 , wherein the spring arms are coupled to gas springs that bias the lead rail toward the expended position. 
     
     
         9 . The awning of  claim 1 , wherein the roll tube is coupled to a motor that is housed within the housing. 
     
     
         10 . The awning of  claim 9 , wherein the motor is coupled to a power source and a status monitoring system. 
     
     
         11 . The awning of  claim 1 , wherein the case assembly comprises a substantially cuboid shape when in the retracted position. 
     
     
         12 . The awning of  claim 1 , wherein a front face of the lead rail comprises an outer surface of the case assembly when in the retracted position. 
     
     
         13 . The awning of  claim 1 , wherein the second arm of the spring arm assembly is adjacent an inner wall of the lead rail when in the retracted position. 
     
     
         14 . A method of providing an awning, the method comprising:
 providing a case assembly comprising a housing and a lead rail, the housing configured to be mounted to a dwelling;   providing a roller assembly mounted in the case assembly and including a roll tube rotatable relative to the case assembly;   providing a lead rail assembly coupled to the lead rail, the lead rail assembly movable relative to the housing of the case assembly between an extended position and a retracted position;   providing a canopy having a leading edge and a trailing edge, the leading edge being connected to the lead rail assembly and the trailing edge being connected to the roll tube; and   providing a spring arm assembly connecting the housing of the case assembly to the lead rail, the spring arms including a first arm and a second arm pivotable relative to one another, the spring arm assembly allowing the lead rail assembly to move between the extended position and the retracted position.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the lead rail and the housing are provided to cooperate to form an enclosure when in the retracted position. 
     
     
         16 . An awning system comprising:
 a roll bar coupled to a motor and a torsion spring, said motor comprising a one-way drive mechanism;   a canopy comprising a first end and a second end, the first end coupled to the roll bar and the second end coupled to a lead rail;   first and second spring arms movably coupling the roll bar to the lead rail, wherein the first and second spring arms support the lead rail between an extended position and a retracted position; and   first and second gas springs coupled to the first and second spring arms, respectively, the first and second gas spring bias the lead rail toward the extended position by applying a first force to the lead rail via the spring arm assembly, wherein the torsion spring biases the lead rail toward the retracted position by applying a second force to the lead rail via the canopy, the first force greater than the second force,   wherein, the motor, absent actuation of said motor in an unwinding direction, prevents the roll bar from unwinding and the awning from extending via the one-way drive mechanism,   wherein responsive to being actuated in a winding direction, opposite the unwinding direction, the motor applies a roll bar force to the roll bar in the winding direction via the one-way drive mechanism that extends the canopy, wherein the roll bar force in conjunction with the second force is greater than the first force,   responsive to being actuated in the unwinding direction, the motor regulates a rate of extension of the canopy via the one-way drive mechanism while the first force of the first and second gas springs extends the canopy.   
     
     
         17 . The awning system of  claim 16 , wherein the one-way drive mechanism comprises an inner hub coupled to an outer hub by a retaining ring, and wherein at least one dowel pin is located between the inner and outer hubs, and wherein the inner hub is rotationally coupled to the motor and the outer hub is rotationally coupled to the roll tube. 
     
     
         18 . The awning system of  claim 17 , wherein responsive to the motor being stationary, the interaction of the at least one dowel pin with the inner hub and the outer hub prevents rotation of the outer hub in the unwinding direction, preventing the awning from additionally extending toward the extended position. 
     
     
         19 . The awning system of  claim 17 , wherein:
 responsive to the motor being actuated in the unwinding direction the interaction of the at least one dowel pin with the inner hub and the outer hub regulates a rate rotation of the outer hub in the unwinding direction; and   responsive to the motor being stationary, the interaction of the at least one dowel pin with the inner hub and the outer hub allows rotation of the outer hub in the winding direction when a force greater than the force difference between the first and second forces is exerted on at least one of the lead rail and canopy in the winding direction.   
     
     
         20 . The awning system of  claim 16 , wherein responsive to an outside force, comprising a force greater than the force difference between the first and second forces, being exerted on the lead rail in the retracted position, the awning will move toward the retracted position until the outside force stops being exerted or the awning is fully retracted.