AU656444B2 - Guttering or spouting cleaner - Google Patents

Description

i--r i iIi9~7 656444

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

(ORIGINAL)

Regulation 3.2 Name of Applicant: MAARTEN VANDENBERG Actual Inventor(s): MAARTEN VANDENBERG 4* 4% 4 *4 4r 4 (r 4 44 4) 44l 44) ae t Address for Service: Invention Title: SANDERCOCKS PATENT ATTORNEYS, 6/50-54 Robinson Street, Dandenong Vic 3175 ROOF GUTTERING OR SPOUTING CLEANER Details of Associated Provisional Application(s): No(s): Australian Provision Application No. PK 9902/91 Lodged on 9th December 1991.

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 1 Sla TITLE: ROOF GUTTERING OR SPOUTING CLEANER FIELD OF THE INVENTION: This invention relates to a roof guttering or spouting cleaner.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION: Roofs of houses and other buildings are commonly provided with perimetric guttering or spouting for the purposes of catching rainwater and passing that rainwater via downpipes to a convenient location.

In some instances, the downpipes will lead to water tanks for the purposes of storing water for later use or the downpipes may lead to storm water drains, sewers or other water run off troughing for disposal of rainwater.

However, it is common for such guttering or spouting to become blocked with leaves and other debris and this can result in leakage of rainwater into a house or other building, rusting of the gutterir: or spouting or other undesirable effect.

Accordingly, there is a need to clean guttering or spouting but it is difficult to do such cleaning without climbing onto a roof or using a high ladder.

S 30 Accordingly, the present inventor seeks to provide a roof guttering or spouting cleaner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: The present invention provides a roof guttering or spouting cleaner comprising:- 921106,cmsspe.075paartcncap,1 n~LT--r' 2 a scoop member adapted to be moved along a length of guttering or spouting to scoop onto itself leaves or other debris in said length of guttering or spouting, and a capture member and wherein at least one of the scoop members and capture members is adapted to be moved towards the other to capture said leaves or other debris between the scoop member and the capture member whereby to enable said leaves or other debris to be removed from said length of guttering or spouting.

PREFERRED FEATURES OF THE INVENTION: Preferably there is a longitudinally extending handle secured to the scoop member whereby the scoop member may be raised to a substantial height above a user's head.

:An extension member for the handle may be provided so as to enable raising to an even greater height.

Preferably there is an operating means adapted to be operated to remotely move the capture member towards the scoop member.

Its An extension to the operating means, such as a cord, may be attached such as where the extension to the handle is used.

Preferably the capture member is biased to normally locate I away from the scoop member, The capture member may move against the bias towards the scoop member for the purposes as aforesaid of capturing said leaves or other debris and later, when it is desired to release said leaves or other debris, the bias can act to move the capture member away from the scoop member so as to release said leaves or other debris.

921 06,cmsspe,.07Spnntcnxap2 3- Preferably there is a mirror located such that a user at ground level can have a view of the inside of said length of spouting or guttering.

In a particular embodiment the handle is connected to the scoop member by a connection member and the mirror is located on the connection member.

The mirror may be flexibly mounted so as to be adjustable to change the viewpoint.

Preferably there is an extendable and retractable plate adapted in use to be extended or retracted to widen or narrow the width of the scoop member transverse to said length of guttering or spouting.

Alternatively, a user may make several passes in a particular region of the length of spouting or guttering to achieve cleaning over a broad area or alternatively the scoop member may be angled as desired to obtain a broader path of capture.

Preferably there is an abutment at the end of the scoop member which is trailing when the scoop member is moved in a direction along said length of guttering or spouting and adapted to restrict against said leaves or other debris passing of the scoop member at said end.

That abutment may be removable from the cleaner if it is 30 not required for use or may be mounted so as to be swung between an operative and an inoperative position.

For movement to one side and to the other side, there may be an abutment at each end of the scoop member.

Preferably one end of the scoop member has projections adapted to be used to scrape the bottom of said length of 921 OG6,cmsspc.07Smartcn.cap3i -4guttering or spouting whereby to loosen encrusted material.

Both ends of the scoop member may have such projections.

The projections are preferably in the form of teeth or other scraper means for penetrating encrusted material.

If desired, the cleaner may be provided with a water spray head for application of water to loosen said leaves or other debris.

The cleaner may be provided with an attachment in the form of a sweep brush for the purposes of sweeping said length of guttering or spouting.

If desired, the handle may be made telescopic so that its length may be extended or retracted as desired.

The cleaner may be made of any suitable material but non- .f 20 corroding metal such as aluminium or a synthetic plastics material is preferred.

A specific embodiment in accordance with this invention will now be described by way of example thereof with BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a roof guttering or 30 spouting cleaner in accordance with this invention, Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the cleaner of Figure 1 in use, Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a first modification of the cleaner shown in Figure 1, and 921106,cmsspc.07Smnp rten.cap,4 i L~ I n 5 Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a second modification of the cleaner shown in Figure 1.

INTEGER LIST 1. Roof guttering or spouting cleaner 2. Handle 3. Handgrip 4. Lockscrew and knob 6. Tubular member 7. U-shape 8. End 9. Scoop member 11. Vertically extending sheet 12. Horizontally extending plate 21. Teeth 22. Teeth 23. Slots 24. Extension Plate 26. Slots 27. Screws 28. Abutment plate 31. Mounting tube 32. Square rod 33. Screw 34. Mirror 36. Mounting tube 37. Holes 38. Guide Tube 30 39. Guide Tube 41. Rod 42. Hand gripping means 43. Spring 44. End 45. Guide 46. Capture member 47. Pressed out portions 921119ncmsspc.07 maarten.cap,S -6 51. Spouting 52. Leaves and other debris 61. Curved portion 66. Slots 67. Screws 68. Slots DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH RESPECT TO THE DRAWINGS The roof guttering or spouting cleaner 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a tubular handle 2 having a handgrip 3 and a lockscrew and knob 4. In this last respect, the tubular member 6 has a series of holes (not shown) along its length in to which the lockscrew of the lockscrew and knob 4 can be received.

S' Received within the handle 2 is a tubular member 6 which can extend or retract into the handle 2 and which can be locked into a desired position by means of the 1,ockscrew and knob 4.

At the upper end the tubular member 6 is U-shaped as shown at 7 and the end 8 of the tubular member 6 is secured to a scoop member 9 which comprises a vertically extending sheet 11 and a horizontally extending plate 12.

At its ends, the plate 12 has teeth 21 and 22.

The plate 12 has slots 23 and an extension plate 24 which ,g t 30 has slots 26 is secured to the plate 12 by means of screws 27.

By loosening the screws 27, the extension plate 24 may be extended or retracted with respect to the plate 12 to effectively increase or decrease the cross-sectional profile presented.

921119,cmsspc.07Sjnaarten ap,6

I

7 An abutment plate 28 is located at one end of the plate 12 and may be repositioned, if desired, at the other end of the plate 12.

Secured to the sheet 11 is a mounting tube 31 and within the tube 31 there is received a square rod 32 which is held in position by a screw 33.

A mirror 34 is mounted on the rod 32.

A second mounting tube 36 is also provided on the sheet 11 so that the mirror 34 may be repositioned to the other end of the sheet 11 when desired.

Holes 37 are provided in the mounting tube 36 for relocation of the screw 33.

Guide tubes 38 and 39 are secured to the tubular member 6 and guide and support a bent square rod 41.

The rod 41 extends along the length of the tubular member 6 to the handle 2 and hand gripping means 42 having a guide is provided adjacent the handgrip 3 to enable the user to move the rod 41 up and down. The rod 41 is biased towards an up position by a spring 43 which extends between the guide tube 38 and the rod 41.

Mounted on an end 44 of the rod 41 is a capture member 46 which is a length of angle.

By manipulating the rod up and down the capture member 46 can be advanced towards or moved away from the plate 12.

In use of the cleaner 1, the scoop member 9 is raised high overhead by a user who will hold the handle 2 and the scoop member 9 is then lowered into spouting such as 51 as shown in Figure 2.

9211 19,cmspc.075maatcn.cap,7 8 The cleaner 1 can then be moved along the length of the spouting 51 so as to scoop leaves and other debris 52 in the spouting 51 onto the scoop member 9.

The mirror 34 will enable the user to have a view of the interior of the spouting.

To the extent necessary, the teeth 21 or 22 can be used to loosen encrusted debris.

The abutment plate 28 will tend to retain the leaves and other debris 52.

When it is judged that sufficient leaves and other debris have been located on the scoop member 9, the capture member 46 is lowered onto those leaves and other debris by moving 4' 4 the rod 41 in a downwards direction. This will result in 4, the leaves and other debris being captured between the capture member 46 and the plate 12.

'The cleaner 1 can then be lifted out of the spouting 51 whereafter the capture member 46 can be raised so that the leaves and other debris can be released.

*I

The cleaner 51 is then returned to the spouting 51 to collect further leaves and other debris.

Pressed out portions 47 are provided and may be utilized to locate around a strengthening coil at the top of guttering 30 or spouting to enable the plate 12 to more closely approach the internal edges of the guttering or spouting in that by appropriately angling the plate 12 the coil can be made to locate in one of the portions 47 which will allow the plate 12 to more closely approach the guttering or spouting.

The cleaner 1 described above has been found to be effective in cleaning spouting and guttering located at a 921119,cmsspc.07Sinaonrtcn.cap,8 9 substantial height above the position where a user stands.

When constructed of lightweight material, it is not heavy or difficult to handle yet does its job effectively.

In the modification shown in Figure 3, the vertical sheet 11 and the horizontal plate 12 are joined by a curved portion 61. That curved portion 61 may be more suitable for spouting havii g a curved shape such as that shown in 51 in Figure 2.

The modification shown in Figure 4 is similar except in that slots 66 are provided for location of a modified shape abutment plate 28. Further, the capture member 46 is mounted via screws 67 which slide in slots 68 in the sheet 11.

Finally it is to be understood that various alterations, 4 modifications and or additions may be incorporated into the 20 various constructions and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit and ambit of the invention.

The claims and drawings form part of the disclosure of this specification.

Dated this 4th day of December, 1992.

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30 SANDERCOCKS PATENT ATTORNEYS PATENT ATTORNEYS FOR MAARTEN VANDENBERG 921119,cmsspe.075,manrtcn.cap,9

Claims (9)

1. A roof guttering Or spouting cleaner comprising a scoop member adapted to be moved along a length of guttering or spouting to scoop onto itself leaves or other debris in said length of guttering or spouting, and a capture member and wherein at least one of the scoop member and capture member is adapted to be moved towards the other to capture said leaves or other debris between the scoop member and the capture member whereby to enable said leaves or other debris to be removed from said length of guttering or spouting.

2. A roof guttering or spouting cleaner as claimed in t' Claim 1, wherein there is a longitudinally extending handle secured to the scoop member whereby the scoop 20 member may be raised to a substantial height above a user's head.

3. A roof guttering or spouting cleaner as claimed in Claim 2, including operating means adapted to be operated to remotely move the capture member towards .the scoop member.

4. A roof guttering or spouting cleaner as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the capture member is 30 biased to normally locate away from the scoop member.

A roof guttering or spouting cleaner as claimed in any one of Claims 2 4, and including a mirror located such that a user at ground level can have a view of the inside of said length of spouting or guttering.

6. A roof guttering or spouting cleaner as claimed in any 6. A roof guttering or spouting cleaner as claimed in any I, 92106,cmsspe.75naartcnncp,1O 11 preceding claim, and including an extendable and retractable plate adapted in use to be extended or retracted to widen or narrow the width of the scoop member transverse to said length of guttering or spouting,

7. A roof guttering or spouting cleaner as claimed in any preceding claim, and including an abutment at the end of the scoop member which is trailing when the scoop member is moved in a direction along said length of guttering or spouting and adapted to restrict against said leaves or other debris passing of the scoop member at said end.

8. A roof guttering or spouting cleaner as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein one end of the scoop member has projections adapted to be used to scrape the S. bottom of said length of guttering or spouting whereby to loosen encrusted material.

9. A roof guttering or spouting cleaner as claimed substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings. o 25 10-. The at..ures..J GOMPs tid-CUlt referred to or indicated in the s on and/or claims of this a ion, individually or collecti any and all combinations or any two 92 1 1 06 cmsspe.075mnarten.ap,1 12 ABSTRACT A roof guttering or spouting cleaner comprising a scoop member adapted to be moved along a length of guttering or spouting to scoop onto itself leaves or other debris in said Length of guttering or spouting, and a capture member and wherein at least one of the scoop member and capture member is adapted to be moved towards the other to capture said leaves or other debris between the scoop member and the capture member whereby to enable said leaves or other debris to be removed from said length of guttering or spouting. 2t?2 I t It t C 1( I II I I 921106,cmssp.075,mairten.cap,12