AU2006200872B1

AU2006200872B1 - Demountable gutter assembly for a roof

Info

Publication number: AU2006200872B1
Application number: AU2006200872A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Andrew Duncan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-03-01
Filing date: 2006-03-01
Publication date: 2007-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-01

Description

Regulation 3.2 Revised 2/98

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act, 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION TO BE COMPLETED BY THE APPLICANT NAME OF APPLICANT: ACTUAL INVENTOR: ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: INVENTION TITLE: DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED APPLICATION NO(S) Andrew Duncan Andrew Duncan Peter Maxwell and Associates Level 6 Pitt Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 DEMOUNTABLE GUTTER ASSEMBLY FOR A ROOF Nil The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:m:\docs\20061013\095216.doc The present invention relates to roof guttering and, in particular, to a demountable gutter assembly for a roof that can be quickly removed, say, upon the threat of a fire.

c Bush fires are a common occurrence in many rural or bush land areas oo 5 and pose a significant threat to homes. Various approaches can be taken to N protect homes against damage or destruction by approaching bushfires. The Smost common approaches involve clearing large tracts of bush land around the Shome and/or directing water through hoses onto the rooves of the homes so that exterior surfaces, which are vulnerable to catching or harbouring fire from burning air borne debris or smouldering embers, are kept moist.

Hosing the roof of a home may also have the effect of flooding the roof gutters and causing water to overflow onto the eaves which, if it were not for the water, would be particularly vulnerable to burning, or to allowing smouldering embers to enter the roof cavity were a small spot fire to start in the gutter.

However, the clearing of bush land around homes and the hosing of rooves, whilst helpful, consumes much time and energy. Furthermore, a person hosing the roof of a home during a nearby fire places themselves under some risk of being caught in the fire, and also places a strain on the supply of water, especially in drought affected rural areas.

It has been found by the present inventor that a safer, less time and energy consuming, and water saving approach to the protection of a home against the threat of a bushfire can be taken by providing a demountable roof gutter assembly that can be quickly removed by a person with the aid of only a broomstick or other rod-like device able to reach the underside of the gutter assembly. By quickly removing the gutter in times of fire, any burning air borne 28/02/06 debris will have no place to harbour or accumulate alongside the eaves, and so a vulnerable area of the home is eliminated from the risk of catching fire.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome, or at Cleast substantially ameliorate, the disadvantages and shortcomings of the aforementioned prior art.

NAccording to the invention, there is provided a demountable gutter assembly for a roof, comprising:a gutter member including opposed upright anterior and posterior walls interconnected by a floor, the posterior wall including an upper rim defining structure, and a mounting member adapted to be secured to a fascia board of the eaves of a home, and having a lower base portion which, in use of the demountable gutter assembly, supports thereon a portion of the floor of the gutter member adjacent the posterior wall, and (ii) an upper catch portion which, in use of the demountable gutter assembly, engages therein the upper rim defining structure of the posterior wall of the gutter member, the lower base portion and the upper catch portion cooperating, in use, to provide the only means of mounting the gutter member to the fascia board, the gutter member being removable from the mounting member by the application of upward force against the floor of the gutter member that causes the gutter member to pivot upwardly relative to the mounting member about the catch portion, whereby the floor of the gutter member is no longer supported by the base portion of the mounting member and the upper rim defining structure of the gutter member can disengage the catch portion.

24/01/07 Preferably, the upper catch portion includes a downwardly depending catch part foldably connected to a vertical catch part.

The downwardly depending catch part may be singly folded or doubly folded to the vertical catch part.

24/01/07 Where the downwardly depending catch part is singly folded, the upper rim defining structure of the posterior wall of the gutter member is preferably a vertical rim section.

c Where the downwardly depending catch part is doubly folded, the upper oo 5 rim defining structure of the posterior wall of the gutter member is preferably a Shorizontal rim section.

IND

0Preferably, the lower base portion includes a horizontal base part Sfoldably connected to a vertical base part.

It is preferred that the vertical catch part of the upper catch portion and the vertical base part of the lower base portion are integrally interconnected by a vertical back wall of the mounting member.

In a preferred form, the mounting member is secured to the fascia board by screws passing through the vertical back wall.

In another preferred form, the gutter member of the demountable roof gutter assembly further includes at least one opening through its floor for egress of rainwater therethrough, the or each opening having a downwardly depending collar that engages a mouth of a downpipe so as to facilitate the flow of rainwater from the opening to the downpipe, the arrangement being such that the collar disengages the mouth of the downpipe as the gutter member pivots upwardly relative to the mounting member about the catch portion.

In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig 1 is a perspective view of a demountable roof gutter assembly according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention 28/02/06 showing the gutter member disengaged from the mounting Smember, Fig 2 is an end view of the demountable roof gutter assembly of Fig 1 c showing the gutter member engaged to the mounting member, oo 5 and showing the mounting member secured to a fascia board of c the eaves of a home, Fig 3 is an end view of the demountable roof gutter assembly shown in SFig 2 at an early stage of removing the gutter member from the mounting member, Fig 4 is an end view of the demountable roof gutter assembly shown in Fig 3 at a later stage of removing the gutter member from the mounting member, Fig 5 is an end view of a demountable roof gutter assembly according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention showing the gutter member engaged to the mounting member, Fig 6 is an end view of the demountable roof gutter assembly shown in Fig 5 at an early stage of removing the gutter member from the mounting member, Fig 7 is an end view of the demountable roof gutter assembly shown in Fig 6 at a later stage of removing the gutter member from the mounting member, Fig 8 is an end view of a demountable roof gutter assembly according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention showing the gutter member engaged to the mounting member, and showing the mounting member secured to a fascia board of the eaves of a home, 28/02/06 U Fig 9 is an end view of the demountable roof gutter assembly shown in Fig 8 at an early stage of removing the gutter member from the mounting member, c Fig 10 is an end view of the demountable roof gutter assembly shown in oo 5 Fig 9 at a later stage of removing the gutter member from the c mounting member, Fig 11 is an end view of the gutter member of the demountable roof c gutter assembly shown in Fig 8, and Fig 12 is an anterior side view of the gutter member shown in Fig 11.

The demountable roof gutter assembly 10 shown in Figs 1 to 4 has a gutter member 12 and a mounting member or bracket 14. The mounting member 14 is, in use, secured to a fascia board 16 of the eaves of a home, either directly or (as shown) indirectly via a plurality of spaced apart spacer blocks 18, which protects the eaves against ingress of any water overflowing the gutter member 12. The securing is achieved, in this instance, by screws (only screw 20 shown) passing through a vertical back wall 22 of the mounting member 14.

The gutter member 12 and the mounting member 14 may be formed by extrusion or roll forming, and may be of a plastic or metal material.

The gutter member 12 has oppositely disposed, upright, anterior and posterior walls 24, 26 integrally interconnected by a floor 28, each of which are contoured to a profile that enhances their longitudinal strength. The posterior wall 26 has an upper rim defining structure in the form of a vertical rim section 30. The mounting member 14 has a lower base portion 32 and an upper catch portion 34. The upper catch portion 34 has a downwardly depending catch part 36 that is foldably connected by a single fold to a vertical catch part 38.

28/02/06 SThe lower base portion 32 has a horizontal base part 40 foldably connected by a single fold to a vertical base part 42.

In use, the lower base portion 32 supports thereon a portion of the floor C 28 of the gutter member 12 adjacent the posterior wall 26, and the upper catch oo 5 portion 34 engages therein the vertical rim section 30 of the posterior wall 26 of Sthe gutter member 12 (see Fig 2).

INO

When it is desired to remove the gutter member 12 from the mounting c member 14, an upward force is applied against the floor 28 of the gutter member 12, say, by the prod of a broomstick held upright by a person standing underneath the gutter assembly, having a sufficient magnitude to cause the gutter member 12 to pivot or rotate upwardly relative to the mounting member 14 about the catch portion 34 (see Fig During this rotation, the floor 28 of the gutter member 12 slides away from its supported position on the base portion 32 of the mounting member 14 (see Fig and the vertical rim section 30 then disengages the catch portion 34 as the gutter member 12 falls away from the mounting member 14 under its own weight.

The gutter member 12 includes an opening through its floor 28 for egress of rainwater therethrough. Arranged along the lip of the opening is a downwardly depending collar 44 or spout that releasably engages a mouth of a downpipe 46 so as to facilitate the flow of rainwater from the opening to the downpipe 46. The collar 44 comprises opposed front and rear collar walls 48,50 and opposed side collar walls 52,54. The front collar wall 48 is in the form of a flap projecting perpendicularly down from the front part of the lip of the opening, and has inwardly converging left and right sides terminating in a bottom side (see Figs 11 and 12). The rear collar wall 50 and the opposed side collar walls 52, 54 are integrally interconnected, with the rear collar wall projecting perpendicularly down from the rear part of the lip of the opening, and 28/02/06 Sthe opposed side collar walls 52,54 each having an inwardly inclined front side _which meets a downwardly inclined bottom side thereof. The structural arrangement of the collar 44 is such that it will readily disengage the mouth of c the downpipe 46 as the gutter member 12 pivots upwardly relative to the 00oo 5 mounting member 14 about the catch portion 34. In particular, the front and c bottom sides of the opposed side collar walls 52, 54 and the flap 48 are so cIN dimensionally cut that they may not collide with the downpipe during the Sremoval of the gutter member 12 from the mounting member 14 or, should they collide, they only do so in a manner that does not interfere with the removal process, such as in a sliding or flexing manner where the top of the downpipe is deflected outwardly by up to about 20 mm.

When the collar 44 disengages the mouth of the downpipe 46, the floor 28 of the gutter member 12 will have already slid away from its supported position on the base portion 32 of the mounting member 14, and so the gutter member 12 will then be able to fall away from the mounting member 14 under its own weight. This may occur with the assistance of some outward flexing of the downwardly depending catch part 36 about its single fold to the vertical catch part 38 as the vertical rim section 30 disengages from the upper catch portion 34.

The demountable roof gutter assembly 50 shown in Figs 5 to 7 is similar to the assembly 10 shown in Figs 1 to 4, and so like features are identified by like numerals.

However, the gutter member 52 of the assembly 50 differs from the gutter member 12 of the assembly 10 in that:both the upright anterior and posterior walls 56,58 of the gutter member 52 are lower in height, and the floor 60 of the gutter 28/02/06 member 52 is of less width (and so the gutter member 52 has _less water carrying capacity than the gutter member 12), the walls 56,58 and the floor 60 are not contoured to a profile for c strength similar to that of the gutter member 12, the curl 68 at the top of the anterior wall 56 has a side facing C opening whereas the curl 70 of the gutter member 12 has a down Sfacing opening.

SThe mounting member 54 of the assembly 50 differs from the mounting member 14 of the assembly 10 in that:the height of the vertical back wall 72 is greater, and the width (or outward extent) of the lower base portion 74 is greater (to support thereon a greater area of the floor than is the case with the assembly 10, given the greater likelihood that the gutter member 52 will bend or otherwise distort under a heavy weight of water).

The removal of the gutter member 52 from the mounting member 54 (as shown in Figs 5 and 7) can occur in the same manner as described above with reference to the assembly The demountable roof gutter assembly 80 shown in Figs 8 to 10 is similar to that of the assembly 10 shown in Figs 1 to 4, and so like features are identified by like numerals.

However, the gutter member 82 of the assembly 80 differs from the gutter member 12 of the assembly 10 in that the upright posterior wall 84 has an upper rim defining structure in the form of a horizontal rim section 86.

The mounting member 88 of the assembly 80 differs from the mounting member 14 of the assembly 10 in that the upper catch portion 90 has a 28/02/06 Sdownwardly directed catch part 92 that is foldably connected by a double fold to a vertical catch part 94.

There is a first fold 96 between the vertical catch part 94 and a first C inclined length 98 of the downwardly directed catch part 92, and there is a oo 5 second fold 100 between the first inclined length 98 and a second inclined length 102 at the free end of the downwardly directed catch part 92. The cIN horizontal rim section 86 is temporarily trapped within the confines of the c-i vertical catch part 94 and the first and second inclined lengths 98,102 of the downwardly directed catch part 92, until such time as the gutter member 82 is removed from the mounting member 88 (as shown in Figs 8 to 10), which can occur in the same manner as described above with reference to the assembly The collar 44 shown in Figs 8 to 10 identical to the collar shown in Figs 11 and 12 which are part of the gutter member 12 as described above.

It will be readily apparent from the above that a significant advantage of the demountable gutter assembly of the present invention is that it allows quick and easy removal of the gutter member from the mounting member, as well as quick and easy reinstallation of the gutter member. No complex tools are required for the removal (or reinstallation), as all that is required is a rod-like device that, when held by a person underneath the gutter assembly, can reach and apply upward force against the underside of the gutter member sufficient to cause its removal from the mounting member. This is particularly desirable at times of an approaching bush fire when the home needs to be protected against, amongst other things, small spot fires occurring in the gutter member which originate from burning debris being blown through the air. These small spot fires may burn the eaves or send burning debris through the eaves into the roof cavity of the home where a much larger fire may be ignited.

28/02/06 SIt is another advantage of the present invention that, by avoiding the use of internal gutter mounts, the gutter member can be cleaned in situ quickly and easily, and in one operation from one end to the other, say, by running the Ci mouth of a blower tube continuously along the gutter member.

oO 5 It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in details of design and construction of the demountable gutter Sassembly for a roof without departing from the scope or ambit of the present invention.

28/02/06

Claims

1. A demountable gutter assembly for a roof, comprising:- a gutter member including opposed upright anterior and posterior 00 0 walls interconnected by a floor, the posterior wall including an N upper rim defining structure, and \O a mounting member adapted to be secured to a fascia board of the eaves of a home, and having a lower base portion which, in use of the demountable gutter assembly, supports thereon a portion of the floor of the gutter member adjacent the posterior wall, and (ii) an upper catch portion which, in use of the demountable gutter assembly, engages therein the upper rim defining structure of the posterior wall of the gutter member, the lower base portion and the upper catch portion cooperating, in use, to provide the only means of mounting the gutter member to the fascia board, the gutter member being removable from the mounting member by the application of upward force against the floor of the gutter member that causes the gutter member to pivot upwardly relative to the mounting member about the catch portion, whereby the floor of the gutter member is no longer supported by the base portion of the mounting member and the upper rim defining structure of the gutter member can disengage the catch portion.

2. The demountable gutter assembly of claim 1 wherein the upper catch portion includes a downwardly depending catch part foldably connected to a vertical catch part. 24/01/07

3. The demountable gutter assembly of claim 2 wherein the downwardly depending catch part is singly folded or doubly folded to the vertical catch part.

4. The demountable gutter assembly of claim 3 wherein the downwardly 00 depending catch part is singly folded, and the upper rim defining structure of c the posterior wall of the gutter member is a vertical rim section. (N The demountable gutter assembly of claim 3 wherein the downwardly depending catch part is doubly folded, and the upper rim defining structure of the posterior wall of the gutter member is a horizontal rim section.

6. The demountable gutter assembly of claim 2 wherein the lower base portion includes a horizontal base part foldably connected to a vertical base part.

7. The demountable gutter assembly of claim 6 wherein the vertical catch part of the upper catch portion and the vertical base part of the lower base portion are integrally interconnected by a vertical back wall of the mounting member.

8. The demountable gutter assembly of claim 7 wherein the mounting member is secured to the fascia board by screws passing through the vertical back wall.

9. The demountable gutter assembly of any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the gutter member further includes at least one opening through its floor for egress of rainwater therethrough, the or each opening having a downwardly 24/01/07 depending collar that engages a mouth of a downpipe so as to facilitate the flow of rainwater from the opening to the downpipe, the arrangement being such that the collar disengages the mouth of the downpipe as the gutter N member pivots upwardly relative to the mounting member about the catch oo 0 portion. INO A demountable roof gutter assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 24 day of January 2007 Andrew Duncan Patent Attorneys for the Applicant PETER MAXWELL AND ASSOCIATES 24/01/07