Roof Gutter

Abstract

A gutter system (10) for channelling rainwater flowing into a downpipe comprising a trough (24) extending the length of the gutter system (10), the trough (24) being adapted to be mounted to a building below and generally parallel to the roofline (14) of the building. The trough (24) is adapted to be connected to at least one downpipe so that water collecting in the trough (24) can flow into and down the downpipe. A debris exclusion panel (20) is provided which extends the length of and overlies the trough (24) the debris exclusion panel (20) having a first longitudinal edge adapted to be positioned underneath the roofline (14) of the building, and a second longitudinal edge opposite the first longitudinal edge and which is adjacent to, or extends beyond an edge of the trough remote from the building. The debris exclusion panel (20) is inclined to the horizontal such that the first longitudinal edge is higher than the second longitudinal edge. A transition section (22) is provided which is integrally formed with the second longitudinal edge and underlies the debris exclusion panel (20), the transition section (22) being configured so as to lead water flowing down the debris exclusion panel (20) and around the second longitudinal edge and down towards the base of the trough adjacent the side of the trough adjacent the building such that at least a substantial portion of water flowing off the roof surface of the building in use will pass into the trough (24) without dripping off the debris exclusion panel (20) or the transition section (22).

Description

INTRODUCTION

This invention relates to roof gutters of the type which extend around roofs of buildings such as residential dwellings and commercial buildings. More particularly, the invention is concerned with gutters which limit the ingress of leaves and other debris into the gutter channel.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

In many areas, particularly those areas where there is a significant amount of vegetation and foliage, leaves, twigs, and other vegetable matter, debris will tend to clog the gutters of buildings. Typically leaves and the like will fall from trees onto the roof of a building, and this vegetable matter will either be blown into the gutters or will wash into the gutters during a rain storm. Once the vegetable matter is in the gutter it will relatively rapidly clog either the downpipe or the gutters themselves.

Clogged gutters are problematic for many reasons. They tend to become fire hazards, collected vegetable matter tends to rot and then corrode the gutter, the gutters overflow causing rain water to spill into inappropriate areas, and also on occasions flood the buildings they are designed to protect. Also, gutters which contain stagnant pools of water serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects. Gutters can be dangerous to clean, and it is not unknown for persons cleaning gutters to fall from the roof or ladder causing injury or death. Cleaning of gutters is also a tiresome and time consuming task which most people would prefer to avoid.

Various prior art solutions to the problem have been proposed. The most obvious solution is to cover the gap between the roof and the gutter with some form of mesh or filter material which will allow water to pass through, but which will keep out larger matter such as leaves and twigs. The twigs and leaves will hopefully be blown from the roof in due course. The trouble with this system is that the mesh or filter material itself tends to become clogged with fine leaves and other vegetable matter, and then the water simply passes over the gutter causing many of the aforementioned problems. Cleaning the mesh material becomes a tedious and time consuming task.

More recently solutions have been proposed which employ the surface tension of water as it travels over certain surfaces. Examples of these solutions are described in various prior art patents and patent applications including U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,755, U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,527, US Patent Application 2002/0073631 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,791. However, these solutions themselves have problems, including requiring the gutters to be moved to accommodate the protection system, and water dripping from the protection system into the trough of the gutter which can be annoying.

Any discussion of documents, publications, acts, devices, substances, articles, materials or the like which is included in the present specification has been done so for the sole purpose so as to provide a contextual basis for the present invention. Any such discussions are not to be understood as admission of subject matter which forms the prior art base, or any part of the common general knowledge of the relevant technical field in relation to the technical field of the present invention to which it extended at the priority date or dates of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a gutter system for channelling rainwater flowing into a downpipe, the gutter system comprising:

a trough extending the length of the gutter system, said trough being adapted to be mounted to a building below and generally parallel to the roofline of the building, the trough being adapted to be connected to at least one downpipe so that water collecting in the trough can flow into and down the downpipe;

a debris exclusion panel which extends the length of and overlies said trough, said debris exclusion panel having a first longitudinal edge adapted to be positioned underneath the roofline of the building, and a second longitudinal edge opposite the first longitudinal edge and which is adjacent to, or extends beyond an edge of the trough remote from the building, the debris exclusion panel being inclined to the horizontal such that the first longitudinal edge is higher than the second longitudinal edge; and

a transition section integrally formed with the second longitudinal edge and underlying the debris exclusion panel, the transition section being configured so as to lead water flowing down the debris exclusion panel and around the second longitudinal edge and down towards the base of said trough adjacent the side of the trough adjacent the building such that at least a substantial portion of water flowing off the roof surface of the building in use will pass into the trough without dripping off the debris exclusion panel or the transition section.

Preferably the trough, the debris exclusion panel and the transition section will be integrally formed. The trough may be of arcuate or rectangular shape in cross section. The gutter system is preferably adapted to be supported on brackets which in turn are mounted to the rafters or facia board of the building. Optionally the gutter system may clip into said brackets.

The first edge of the debris exclusion panel may be upturned to provide a generally vertical lip for preventing water being blown up the panel behind the gutter. The lip may be adapted to be engaged by a support bracket for holding the gutter system in position. The lip may have a down turned or folded over section defining a vertically extending rib, said rib having upper and lower edges with which a bracket may engage to operatively hold the upper portion of the gutter system in position. The second edge of the debris exclusion panel may be in the form of a rounded nib, leading to said transition section. The nib preferably extends beyond the outer edge of the trough to thereby ensure debris which falls off the edge of the debris exclusion panel does not drop into the trough. The nib is preferably of arcuate shape in cross section, having a radius of between about 1 mm and 10 mm. The preferred radius of the nib is between about 3 mm and 5 mm.

The transition section is preferably inclined to the horizontal, leading downwardly from the nib to the trough. The transition section may be of generally arcuate or curved configuration such that adjacent the nib it is less steeply inclined horizontal, and adjacent the trough it is more steeply inclined, possibly, substantially vertical. The transition section preferably does not significantly restrict the flow capacity of the trough.

Since the system relies on the surface tension of the water to keep the water in contact with the gutter system as it travels from the debris exclusion panel into the trough, the gutter system is preferably formed from a material which enhances the surface tension between the water and the system. The material should be oil free.

These and further features of the invention will be made apparent from the description of various embodiments thereof, given below by way of examples. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, but the specific features shown in the drawings should not be construed as limiting on the invention.

Throughout the specification the term “comprise” and variations on this term including “comprising” and “comprises” are to be understood to imply the inclusion of a feature, integer, step or element, and not exclude other features, integers, steps or elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side sectional view through a wall and roof section of a building, showing a gutter system according to the present invention fitted to the roofline of the building;

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of a first embodiment of a gutter system according to the invention fitted to a facia board of a building;

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged detailed perspective view of the bracket for the gutter system shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a similar embodiment of that to FIG. 2 however with a second embodiment of a bracket;

FIG. 5 shows an enlarged detailed perspective view of the bracket shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a detailed view of the manner in which the bracket shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 grips the gutter system;

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional side view of a third embodiment of a bracket;

FIG. 8 shows a similar view to that of FIG. 7 depicting the manner in which the gutter system is clipped into position;

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a bracket similar to that as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8;

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of an internal corner arrangement for the gutter system according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of an outside corner arrangement for the gutter system according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of an alternative gutter system in which the nib of the gutter is of a corrugated configuration;

FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional side view of an alternative embodiment of a gutter system according to the invention formed in two parts;

FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional side view of an alternative gutter system wherein the trough is of arcuate configuration; and

FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional side view of a gutter system with an alternative nib arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The following description refers to preferred embodiments of the gutter system of the present invention. To facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference is made in the description to the accompanying drawings whereby the gutter system is illustrated in preferred embodiments. Similar components between the drawings are identified by the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a gutter system 10 according to the present invention is shown for channelling water flowing off a roof 12 of a building to a downpipe (not shown) is fitted just below the roofline 14 of the roof. The gutter system 10 is shown mounted to a facia board 16 by means of a bracket 18. The gutter system itself comprises three components namely a debris exclusion panel 20, a transition section 22 channel or trough section 24.

As will be clear from FIG. 1 of the drawings, leaves and other vegetable matter and debris passing down the roof 12 will be prevented from passing into the trough 24 via the debris exclusion panel 20, the debris rather flowing over the panel 20 and falling harmlessly down the side of the building.

Turning to FIG. 2 of the drawings, the gutter system 10 is shown in more detail. As shown, the debris exclusion panel 20 is inclined downwardly in a direction away from the roof 12, the debris exclusion panel 20 extending between a first edge 26 which is adjacent the facia board 16, and a second edge 28 which extends beyond the outer edge 30 of the trough section 24.

It will be noted that the debris exclusion panel 20 and the transition section 22 merge at a rounded nib 32 which forms a smooth flow surface between the debris exclusion panel 20 and the transition section 22. The shape of the nib 32 is defined so that water will flow down the debris exclusion panel 20, around the nib 32 and, due to surface tension between the gutter system 10 and the water, continue to adhere to the transition section 22 such that the water is carried down into the trough section 24 without dripping. Thus, the transition section 22 and the nib 32 will be shaped and configured to ensure the water flowing into the trough section 24 will remain in contact, enabling a relatively soundless passage of water into the trough section 24. Prior art arrangements in which water drips into the trough section 24 have been found to be unacceptable, particularly in conditions of light precipitation, since the continuous dripping sound has been found to be annoying, particularly by persons attempting to sleep.

A bracket 18, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is used to support the gutter system 10 in position, the bracket comprising a generally vertical section 34 which in use will be mounted to a rafter, facia board or the like, a generally horizontal section 36 which provides support for the trough section 24 of the gutter system 10, and a vertically extending lip 38 which holds the gutter system 10 in position. In addition, at the top of the vertical section 34, there is a retaining lip 40 which engages the upper edge 26 of the debris exclusion panel 20 and retains the gutter system 10 in position. As shown, the gutter system 10 is preferably formed of a resiliently flexible material and in its rest condition, indicated by dotted lines 42, the height of the gutter system 10 will be greater than the distance between the horizontal section 36 and the retaining lip 40 of the bracket 18. To lock the gutter system 10 into the previously mounted bracket 18, the debris exclusion panel 20 will be pushed downwardly, in the direction of arrow 44 until such time as the edge 26 clips underneath the retaining lip 40 whereafter the gutter system 10 will be securely held or clipped in position.

It is envisaged that for most applications the aforementioned simple clip arrangement provided by the bracket 18 will be sufficient to hold the gutter system 10 in position and the residual resilience of the material from which the gutter system is made will ensure that the gutter system 10 does not inadvertently become dislodged in conditions of high wind or other dislodging forces. However, for more secure arrangements, a positive locking system can be employed, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 8 of the drawings.

It should be noted that the gutter system 10 preferably has a downwardly extending lip or strip 46 integrally formed along the edge 26 of the panel 20, the lip 46 serving not only to strengthen the gutter system at the edge 26, but also to serve as an attachment point for the brackets shown in FIGS. 4 to 8. The lip 46 has a lower edge 48 with which the bracket can be engaged to positively lock the gutter system 10 to the bracket, as described below.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the bracket 18′ has a pair of upwardly extending fingers 50 which engage with the lip 46 to prevent further downward movement of the lip 46. The bracket 18′ has a tab 52 on the upper end thereof which is connected to the remainder of the bracket 18′ along a line of weakness 54 about which the tab 52 can be folded over when the gutter system 10 is in position as indicated clearly in FIG. 6 of the drawings, to hold the edge 26 and lip 46 captively in conjunction with the fingers 50. Thus, to disengage the gutter system 10 from the bracket 18′ the tab 52 will need to be bent upwardly out of engagement with the edge 26 to allow the panel 20 to be lifted upwardly and thereby allow the lower edge 48 to clear the fingers 50. It will be appreciated that with the edge 26 captively held in this way, it will not be possible to easily disengage the gutter system 10 from the bracket 18′.

The arrangement shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 is somewhat similar to that shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 except that no bending of bracket 18″ is required to captively hold the gutter system 10 to the bracket 18″. As shown, the bracket 18″ is provided with a ledge 60 against which the edge 48 will abut when a gutter system 10 is properly located in position. The bracket 18″ is provided with a retaining lip 40, similar to that shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings, and by pressing the nib 32 of the gutter system 10 in the direction shown by arrow 62 in FIG. 8 the lip 46 can be pressed into the gap between the ledge 60 and the retaining lip 40 to thereby lock the gutter system 10 in position with the bracket 18″, as shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings. To disengage the lip 46 to allow for removal of the gutter system 10 from the bracket 18″ it would be necessary to lever the lower edge of the lip 46 away from the ledge 60 using a suitable leverage tool.

FIG. 10 of the drawings shows the manner in which an internal corner channel section may be fabricated using the gutter system 10 of the invention. It will be noted that an internal triangular web 64 of material will need to be fitted between two longitudinally extending gutter sections 66 and 68 and the components 64, 66 and 68 joined together, using known welding or similar connection techniques, in order to fabricate the corner piece. It is envisaged that a corner piece of a type shown in FIG. 9 will be fabricated off site and will be supplied separately as a standard component.

As shown in FIG. 11, an outside corner gutter arrangement is shown for the gutter system 10 of the present invention. An outside corner is relatively easy to fabricate and two gutter sections, 70 and 72, will simply meet at a point of intersection 74, and joined together using standard welding or like techniques well known in the art. The join along line 74 can easily be done on site by those skilled in the art, although is more likely to be fabricated off-site.

The gutter system shown in FIG. 12 of the drawings has a slight modification to the nib region 76. As shown, the nib region 76 has been corrugated to break up the smooth surface of the debris extrusion panel 78. The corrugations 80 will be aligned parallel with the direction of water flow down the panel 78 so that water flowing down the debris extrusion panel 78 will follow the line of the corrugations 80 adhering to the surface as it passes around the nib 78, and thereafter travel into the trough section 24. However, small leaves, particularly leaves which soften as they become water logged, and which might otherwise be transported around the nib 76 and into the trough section 24, will, because of the corrugated configuration of the nib 76 not be carried around the nib 76 and will tend to fall off the gutter system 10 as they reach the nib 76.

Thus, the corrugated nib 76 arrangement might be used in situations where particularly soft leaves, flowers or blossoms, or the like, might fall onto roofs. The corrugations 80 will, as envisaged, cause the leaves or other vegetable matter to lift free of the surface of the gutter system 10 in the nib 76 region whereas the water travelling around the nib 76 will adhere to the surface and be carried into the trough 24.

FIG. 13 of the drawings shows an embodiment of a gutter system 10′ according to the present invention, whereby the system is a two part gutter system. In this embodiment, the gutter system 10′ comprises a trough section 84 which is formed as a unitary construction and a second section 86 which comprises the debris exclusion panel 88 and the transition section 90. The panel 88 and transition section 90 form the nib 92, and the transition section 90 leads to the base 94 of the trough section 84, as shown, so as to carry water flowing around the nib 92 all the way to the base of the trough section 84 without causing dripping. The section 86 comprising the debris exclusion panel 88 and the transition section 90 might be fitted to existing gutters. It will be noted that the bracket 96 in this embodiment is arranged to hold both the first section 84 and the second section 86, and accordingly includes a further retaining clip 98 for holding the upper edge 100 of the trough section 84.

The embodiment of a gutter system 10″ shown in FIG. 14 of the drawings is similar to that shown in previous embodiments except that the trough section 104 is of rounded or arcuate shape in cross-section and the bracket 106 has a correspondingly shaped arcuate base 108 for holding and supporting the rounded trough section 104. In other respects the bracket 106 is the same as that shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings.

FIG. 15 shows a side view of an alternative arrangement of gutter system 110-. It will be noted that the gutter is provided with a nib 111 which instead of being rounded is defined by a series of straight sections 112 joined together at small radius bends 114, bent to obtuse angles as shown. This step-wise form of the overall bend will, it is envisaged, facilitate the dislodgement of solids from the flow of water around the nib, thereby ensuring less particulate material passes into the trough of the gutter.

It is envisaged that the gutter system of the invention might conveniently be formed on site using conventional folding machines which will fold the gutter section into its S or Z configuration from a long length of sheet metal. The sheet metal will be rolled into the S or Z configuration in made to measure lengths, as required for the particular building to which the gutter system is to be fitted. An alternative is to form the gutter system from a plastic material, typically using an extrusion process.

Many variations to the above described embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. The surface of the debris exclusion panel might, for example, be dimpled, rippled or otherwise textured to further encourage solid particles carried by rain water off the roof not to be carried around the nib of the system. The texturing of the surface might only be done at or adjacent the nib. Also, other forms of bracket arrangements which allow for either more permanent mounting arrangements, or more easily engaging arrangements might be possible. This invention extends to a combination of gutter system and mounting bracket as shown in the various embodiments described herein.

It is also to be understood that the various components may have slightly different configurations to those described herein. The angles of inclination of the debris containment panel, and the transition section, might vary from that described herein. Also, the radius of curvature of the nib might vary and could well vary where the angles of the components change to facilitate either a steeper or a flatter roof of a building. The extent to which the nib projects beyond the outer edge of the trough section might also vary from that described or shown herein.

It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.

The foregoing describes embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art can be made thereto, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A gutter system for channelling rainwater flowing into a downpipe, the gutter system comprising:

a trough extending the length of the gutter system, said trough being adapted to be mounted to a building below and generally parallel to the roofline of the building, the trough being adapted to be connected to at least one downpipe so that water collecting in the trough can flow into and down the downpipe;

a debris exclusion panel which extends the length of and overlies said trough, said debris exclusion panel having a first longitudinal edge adapted to be positioned underneath the roofline of the building, and a second longitudinal edge opposite the first longitudinal edge and which is adjacent to, or extends beyond an edge of the trough remote from the building, the debris exclusion panel being inclined to the horizontal such that the first longitudinal edge is higher than the second longitudinal edge; and

a transition section integrally formed with the second longitudinal edge and underlying the debris exclusion panel, the transition section being configured so as to lead water flowing down the debris exclusion panel and around the second longitudinal edge and down towards the base of said trough adjacent the side of the trough adjacent the building such that at least a substantial portion of water flowing off the roof surface of the building in use will pass into the trough without dripping off the debris exclusion panel or the transition section.

2. A gutter system according to claim 1, wherein the second edge of the debris exclusion panel is in the form of a rounded nib, leading to said transition section.

3. A gutter system according to claim 2, wherein the nib extends beyond the outer edge of the trough to thereby ensure debris which falls off the edge of the debris exclusion panel does not drop into the trough.

4. A gutter system according to claim 3, wherein the nib is of arcuate shape in cross section, having a radius of between about 1 mm and 10 mm.

5. A gutter system according to claim 2, wherein the radius of the nib is between about 3 mm and 5 mm.

6. A gutter system according to claim 2, wherein the transition section is inclined to the horizontal, leading downwardly from the nib to the trough.

7. A gutter system according to claim 2, wherein the transition section is of generally arcuate or curved configuration such that the transition section is less steeply inclined adjacent the nib and is more steeply inclined adjacent the trough.

8. A gutter system according to claim 7, wherein the transition section is, substantially vertical adjacent the trough.

9. A gutter system according to claim 1, wherein the transition section is arranged so as to not significantly restrict the flow capacity of the trough.

10. A gutter system according to claim 1, wherein the trough, the debris exclusion panel and the transition section are integrally formed.

11. A gutter system according to claim 1, wherein the system is adapted to be supported on brackets which in turn are mounted to the building.

12. A gutter system according to claim 11, wherein the brackets are mounted to the rafters or facia board of the building.

13. A gutter system according to claim 11, wherein the first edge of the debris exclusion panel is upturned to provide a generally vertical lip for preventing water being blown up the debris exclusion panel and behind the gutter.

14. A gutter system according to claim 13, wherein the lip is adapted to be engaged by a support bracket for holding the gutter system in position.

15. A gutter system according to claim 13, wherein the lip has a down turned or folded over section defining a vertically extending rib, said rib having upper and lower edges with which a bracket may engage to operatively hold the upper portion of the gutter system in position.

16. A gutter system according to claim 11, wherein the system clips into said brackets.

17. A gutter system according to claim 1, wherein the trough is of arcuate cross section.

18. A gutter system according to claim 1, wherein the trough is rectangular shape in cross section.

19. A gutter system according to claim 1, wherein the system is formed from a material that enhances the surface tension between the water and the system such so as to keep the water in contact with the gutter system as it travels from the debris exclusion panel to the transition section and into the trough.

20. A gutter system according to claim 19, wherein the material from which the system is formed is oil free.

21. (canceled)