GB2181813A

GB2181813A - Downpipe wall support

Info

Publication number: GB2181813A
Application number: GB08625113A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Chapman; John William Sparling; Edward Frederick George Light; Paul Arthur Kelly; Colin Trevor Shales
Original assignee: Alifabs Ltd
Current assignee: Alifabs Ltd
Priority date: 1985-10-18
Filing date: 1986-10-20
Publication date: 1987-04-29
Also published as: GB8625113D0; GB2181813B

Abstract

A downpipe 10 has formed on its rear wall 13 two lengthwise extending lips 15, the ends 17 of which extend towards each other to define two spaced parallel grooves 18. A planar portion 19 of a connecting member 12 is adapted to be inserted between the lips 15 and rotated through 90 DEG about an axis perpendicular to the rear wall 13 so that parts of said planar portion 19 frictionally engage the grooves 18 thereby securing the connecting member T2 to the pipe 10. The connecting member is then bolted to a bracket (11, Fig. 2 not shown) mounted on a wall. When viewed from the front it is not possible to see the connecting member 12 or the bracket (11). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements relating to pipe arrangements This invention relates to pipe arrangements and more particularly but not exclusively to downpipes for drainpipe arrangements.

According to the present invention there is provided a drainpipe arrangement comprising a drainpipe having a lengthwise extending formation adapted to have secured thereto one or more connecting members, and respective securing means by which said one or more connecting members are secured to a wall or other supporting structure, the arrangement being such that when the pipe is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the general plane of the supporting structure said one or more connecting members and the respective securing means are not visible.

Preferably, the or each connecting member is secured with respect to said formation by a friction fit.

In a preferred embodiment, the lengthwise formation comprises a pair of parallel, spaced grooves which extend lengthwise of the drainpipe and which face each other and the or each connecting member has an engaging portion adapted to be inserted between the grooves so that rotation of the engaging portion through a predetermined angle about an axis perpendicular to the general plane containing the grooves causes said engaging portion to engage frictionally in the grooves.

In a further preferred embodiment said grooves are constituted by two lengthwise extending lips which project from the rear surface of the pipe and the ends of which lips extend in a single plane towards each other.

Preferably, wherein said engaging portion is planar, said rear surface of the pipe is planar and said predetermined angle is 90 .

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a downpipe according to a first aspect of the invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of a wall bracket according to a first aspect of the invention, Figure 3 is a front view of the wall bracket of Fig. 2, Figure 4 is a plan view of a connecting member according to a first aspect of the invention, Figure 5 is a front view of the connecting member of Fig. 4, and Figure 6 is a side view of the connecting member of Fig. 4.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 6 there are shown components of an arrangement comprising a downpipe 10, a wall bracket 11 and a connecting member or bridge 12. The downpipe shown is of generally rectangular cross-section and has on a rear wall 13 a formation 14 comprising two spaced lengthwise lips 15 extending at 16 perpendicularly from the rear wall 13 and having their ends 17 extending towards each other parallel to the plane of the rear wall 13 to define two spaced parallel lengthwise grooves 18. The distance between the free ends of the lips is shown by a dimension A.

The bridge 12 is of generally T section having a planar portion 19 and a first flange 20 extending perpendicularly therefrom. The planar portion 19 is of generally rectangular shape having two short edges 21 and two long edges 22 the distance between which being shown by a dimension B. The two short edges 21 are angled towards each other and at the inner ends of the edges 21 the corners are radiussed at 23. The flange 20 is formed with a first through slot 24, the long dimension of which extends in a direction away from the planar portion 19.

The bridge 12 and the formation 14 on the downpipe are dimensioned so that dimension B is less than dimension A thus enabling the bridge to be inserted into the formation 14 between the ends of the two lips 15, the general planes of the planar portion 19 and the rear wall 13 being parallel. The short edges 21 and the radiussed corners 23 are formed so that, upon anti-clockwise rotation of the bridge 12 through an angle of 90 about an axis extending through the centre of the bridge perpendicular to the planar portion 19, the short edges engage the two length wise gooves 18 simultaneously and form a friction fit with the two lips thereby securing the bridge to the downpipe, the flange 20 being disposed substantially vertically.

The bracket 11 is also of T section and has a cross-piece 25 the width of C of which is narrower than the width D of the rear wall B, and a second flange 26 extending perpendicularly from the centre thereof. A through hole 27 is provided in the cross-piece 25 on each side of the flange to enable the bracket 11 to be bolted to a wall or other supporting structure (not shown) adjacent which the downpipe 10 is to extend, the flange 26 being disposed substantially vertically. The flange is formed with a second through slot 28 the long dimension of which extends in a direction away from the cross-piece 25 of the bracket.

The bridge 12 can then be secured to the bracket 11 by means of a bolt extending through the two slots 24, 28 and fastened with a nut.

It will be appreciated that the slots 24, 28 are able to accommodate small inaccuracies in the uniformity of the surface of the wall. However, it is clear that one of the two slots could be disposed at right angles to the other slot thereby enabling the arrangements to accommodate also small inaccuracies in the positioning of the bridge with respect to the downpipe and/or the bracket with respect to the wall.

For a standard downpipe a number of bridges will be secured at predetermined locations along the length of downpipe and a corresponding number of brackets secured to the wall at complementary locations. The downpipe can thus be secured with respct to the wall at a number of locations along its length.

The means by which the downpipe is secured to the wall is thus conveniently hidden behind the rear wall 13 of the downpipe so that the means is invisible when viewing the downpipe arrangement from a position perpendicular to the rear wall 13.

Furthermore it will be clear that a downpipe of any cross-section can be used if its rear face is adapted to receive the bridges and that the pipe need not necessarily be a downpipe.

Also, the shape of the planar portion 19 of the bridge is shown merely as an example and it is clear that many alternative shapes exist which could form a friction fit in the groove 18.

Claims

1. A drainpipe arrangement comprising a drainpipe having a lengthwise extending formation adapted to have secured thereto one or more connecting members, and respective securing means by which said one or more connecting members are secured to a wall or other supporting structure, the arrangement being such that when the pipe is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the general plane of the supporting structure said one or more connecting members and the respective securing means are not visible.

2. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the or each connecting member is secured with respect to said formation by a friction fit.

3. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lengthwise formation comprises a pair of parallel, spaced grooves which extend lengthwise of the drainpipe and which face each other and wherein the or each connecting member has an engaging portion adapted to be inserted between the grooves so that rotation of the engaging portion through a predetermined angle about an axis perpendicular to the general plane containing the grooves causes said engaging portion to engage frictionally in the grooves.

4. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in claim 3, wherein said grooves are constituted by two lengthwise extending lips which project from the rear surface of the pipe and the ends of which lips extend in a single plane towards each other.

5. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in claim 4, wherein said engaging portion is planar.

6. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in claim 5, wherein said rear surface of the pipe is planar,

7. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein said predetermined angle is 90 .

8. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein means are provided to accommodate minor errors in the uniformity of the general plane of the supporting structure and/or small inaccuracies in he location of the connecting members with respect to the pipe and/or the location of the securing means with respect to the supporting structure.

9. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in claim 8, wherein said means comprises an aperture extending through a flange projecting from the engaging portion of the connecting member and an aperture formed in a second flange projecting from the securing means, said apertures co-operating to receive a bolt therethrough and one of said apertures being elongate in a direction perpendicular to the general plane of the supporting structure.

10. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein said engaging portion of the connecting member is of generally rectangular shape having two short sides angled inwardly and generally parallel to each other, the two diagonally opposed corners which are nearest each other being radiussed.

11. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein said drainpipe is generally rectangular in cross-section.

12. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said formation is continuous along the length of the drainpipe.

13. A drainpipe arrangement as claimed in claim 12, wherein said drainpipe is an extrusion.

14. A drainpipe arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.