GB2204105A - Gutter clearers - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is concerned with a gutter clearer in the form of an elongate handle (35, 159 (Figure 3 - not shown)) which is attached by flexible or resilient means (29, 129 (Figure 3)) to a curved body (16, 116) in which is seated a blade (25, 125 (Figure 3)) upwardly inclined from the leading edge thereof. Upon insertion into and movement along a gutter by means of the handle, the translational movement of the blade results in deposited matter in the gutter moving up the inclined blade and being discharged over the edge of the gutter. Thus gutters can be cleared of foreign material by an operator located remotely from the gutter, typically standing on the ground. <IMAGE>

Description

GUTTER CLEARERS SPECIFICATION The invention relates to devices for clearing gutters, such as are incorporated at the edges of roofs of buildings.

At present, it is common practice to clear gutters by hand, using a small trowel or scraper, for instance.

It is necessary for the person carrying out the operation to make use of a pair of steps or a ladder, in order to reach the gutter requiring clearing. One disadvantage of this is that only a short length of gutter can be cleared, with the steps or ladder in one position. The steps or ladder then have to be moved to the next length of gutter. The trowel or scraper is used to gather up silt, moss and other deposits in the gutter and this material is either dropped on to the ground or is put into a bucket or similar container.

The container can either be held by the operator or supported on the steps or ladder. This practice can be dangerous however, as the container soon becomes very heavy and can make the steps or ladder unstable. It is an object of this invention to be able to clear gutters efficiently, effectively and safely.

According to the present invention, a gutter clearer is provided, which comprises a handle and a blade, which is upwardly inclined from its leading edge so that, upon insertion into and movement along a gutter by means of the handle, the translational movement of the blade results in matter in the gutter moving up the inclined blade and being discharged over a rim of the gutter.

This gutter clearer allows the foreign material which collects in gutters to be removed therefrom by an operator located remotely from the gutter.

Preferred features of the invention are given in the dependent claims. In particular: The handle may be connected to the blade by means which can move between the roof edge and a rim of the gutter. Preferably, means are provided for guiding the discharged matter from the inclined blade to ground level, for instance to a collecting vessel located there. In use the leading edge of the blade is advantageously contacted with the inside of the gutter.

The gutter clearer of the invention is preferably mounted at the end of a longitudinal support, made from one rod or conveniently from a set of interconnected rods which may be connected in a line, for example drain rods or chimney rods, serving as the handle. The number of rods needed to be attached is that which will provide the height to the gutter clearer to allow it to be raised by the operator and dropped over the outer rim of the gutter, depending on the rod length. Typically and preferably the operator will be standing on the ground. The device is then dragged along the gutter until the desired clearance has been effected.

Preferably, the connection means between the blade and the handle comprises a curved body member which is symmetrical about its longitudinal axis. Also preferably the leading edge of the blade is disposed centrally at or near one end of the curved body member, with the blade inclined upwardly towards the other end of the curved body member.

Further preferably the handle is disposed at or near one end of the curved body member and to one side of the longitudinal axis thereof. The body member may be tubular or part tubular.

A highly satisfactory form of blade comprises a rigid member at least a portion of which has some resilience at least towards and/or at the rear part, which in use discharges matter removed from the gutter over its rim.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, preferred embodiments of it are described below, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a unit comprising the body member, inclined blade and handle attachment, in perspective view; Fig. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of a frame associated with the unit of Fig. 1 and serving as one form of the means for guiding the discharged matter to ground level; Fig. 3 shows a perspective view, similar to Fig. 1 of the main unit of a second embodiment of the gutter clearer of the present invention; and Fig. 4 shows the gutter clearer of Fig. 3 in position adjacent the edge of a roof and the associated gutter, when the gutter clearer is about to be inserted into the gutter in order to be used.

In Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, parts similar to those shown and described in Figures 1 and 2 generally have the same reference numbers increased by 100.

Referring to Fig. 1, the main unit of a gutter clearer according to the invention is shown generally at 16. This consists of a tubular body member 20, which can consist of a section of metal tube having a diameter for instance of 3 inches (7.5 cm). The rear end 21 of the body member 20 is open, while the front end includes a long inclined and generally spatulate portion 22, which is intended to run generally upon the inner'lower surface of a gutter. The spatulate portion 22 has a rounded front rim 24 which can have a radius for instance of 2 inches (5.0 cm). The device is therefore laterally symmetrical about the axis of the tubular body member 20.At the front end 22, a generally T-shaped inclined blade 25 of flat sheet metal is welded or otherwise attached to the body member 20 so that its lowest rounded portion 26 is positioned adjacent the front rim 24, while its widest uppermost portion 27 forms left-hand and right-hand wings 28 which extend beyond the inclined spatulate portion 22.

The uppermost portion 27 preferably has an overall width between the wings 28 so that it can fit snugly into a standard gutter, which typically has a 4 inch (10 cm) diameter. At spaced locations on one side of the body member 20, the main unit 16 is proved with upstanding posts 15, each of which incorporates a leaf spring 17 and an inturned top end portion 18. A similar spaced pair of posts 19 is provided on the opposite side of the body member 20. The posts are designed so as to extend above the rim of the gutter being cleared and allow the attachment to the body member 20 of means for allowing the collected material to be discharged to ground level.

To the rear of the body member 20, the unit 16 is provided with a welded but flexible attachment member 29. This preferably takes the form of a number of metal tubes 30 joined together by stout wire links 31, the lowermost tube 30 being welded to the upper part of the body member 20 approximately between the rear posts 15, 19. The attachment member 29 can flex where the wire links 31 are inserted into the tubes 30 so that it has a considerable degree of flexibility about directions parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body member but cannot essentially flex in other directions.The uppermost wire links 31 are attached to a spigot 32 forming part of a internally-threaded connecting member 34 which can have attached to it, as a handle, a number of rods having correspondingly screw-threaded ferrules at the end, such as are used as drain rods or chimney rods and are illustrated at 35.

It can be readily seen from Fig. 1 that by means of the handle consisting of the rods 35, the unit 16 can be raised to the level of the gutter to be cleared and can then be inserted between the outer rim of the gutter and the lower edge of the roof so that the body member 20 rests in the gutter with the front rim 24 and the rounded portion 26 of the blade 25 located at the bottom of the gutter and with the wings 28 extending past the rims of the gutter.

Referring to Fig. 2, in order to enable material cleared from the gutter as the device is used to be guided to ground level, for instance to be collected in a container such as a bin or bucket, wheelbarrow or simply to be discharged on to the ground, the main unit 16 of Fig. 1 is associated with a frame shown generally at 10. This consists of strip metal or plastics material in the form of a rectangular frame portion 10 having an auxiliary frame member 36 which can be fitted over the outside of the frame member 10. A paper-thin plastics tube 11 of suitable diameter can be attached to the frame member 10 by having its upper end turned over the frame member 10 and clipped in place by being located between the latter and the auxiliary frame 36.

At one side, where it is attached to the main unit 16, the frame 10 includes two upstanding lugs 12 which are attached at 37 to the inside of the frame member 10. At their upper ends, the lugs 12 are attached to outwardly-directed extensions 38 which carry at their outer ends box sections 14 which are spaced from one another and shaped so as to fit over the pair of posts 15 or, if the device is being used in the opposite direction, the pair of posts 19, attached to the main unit 16. In this way, the frame 10 and therefore the plastics tube 11 secured to it by means of the auxiliary frame 36 can be attached to the main unit 16 so that the outer one of the wings 28 of the inclined blade 25 is located between the pair of lugs 12.In use, the outer rim of the gutter being cleared runs adjacent the lugs 12 and between them the wing 28 rises above the rim of the gutter and therefore material which is moving up the blade 25 as the clearer is moved along the gutter falls over into the top end of the plastics tube 11 and is therefore conveyed to ground level without its weight adversely affecting operation of the device.

In order to be able to guide the clearer past brackets and other means supporting the gutter, without the frame snagging on gutter supports or other components, the top extensions 38 of the frame lugs 12 include an opposed pair of leaf-springs 39 each of which is in an upwardly, concave shape. In addition, a straight guide member 40 is attached to the lugs 12 on the opposite side from the attachment points 37 and the frame 10 and terminates in forwardly-directed inclined ends 41. In use, the guide member 40 contacts the outer part of the gutter and one or other of the inclined ends 41 enable it to move past projections, such as the outermost parts of gutter brackets.

In use, the weight of the rods 35 forming the handle and the general action of pulling the unit 16 with the frame 10 and the plastics tube 11 along the gutter make the unit tilt towards the user, i.e.

towards the side of the frame 10. The spring extensions constituted by the leaf-springs 39 on the top of the frame 10 prevent it from tilting too far and also ensure that a wing part 28 of the inclined blade 25 always protrudes above the exposed rim of the gutter. As the unit is pulled along, silt, moss and other material deposited in the gutter slides up the blade 25 and then on to the outermost wing 28, because of the tendency of the device to tilt outwards as explained, so that this material is then naturally guided into the upper end of the plastics tube 11. The outer edges of the wings 28 also ensure that the unit does not scrape along the outside of the gutter as it is used and this keeps the unit generally at the centre of the gutter.

It will be appreciated that the device is wholly symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of the tubular body member. This is desirable to enable the frame 10 and the plastics tube 11, together with the handle 35, to be selectively attached on one side or the other of the main unit 16, so that the device can be used so as to move either from right to left or from left to right. One advantage of this is that it is always desirable, in clearing a gutter, not to push the material which is being removed from the gutter towards one of the downspouts or rainwater pipes.Thus the device can in use be readily changed from a righthand to a left-hand configuration so that the entire run of gutters attached to a house or other building can be easily cleared by operating from ground level and by moving the device away from rather than towards the rainwater pipes or other downward connections, so that the deposited material is prevented from falling into them.

The main unit of the second embodiment of the gutter clearer of the invention is shown in the drawings at 116. It consists of a part-tubular body member 120, which is therefore less deep than the tubular member 20 of the preceding embodiment. The part-tubular body member 120 consists of an essentially U-shaped member having a rear end 120 and an inclined spatulate portion 122 at the front end, terminating in a rounded front rim 124 which is designed to move along in contact with or closely adjacent the lowest part of the inside of a gutter, shown at 150 in Fig. 4, when in use.

An inclined blade 125 is fitted inside the body member 120 and consists of a resilient plate, for instance of spring steel, which has a curved front end or rounded portion 126, by which it is attached to the inside of the body member 120, for instance by means of three spaced rivets, indicated at 151. The blade 125 is inclined upwardly and rearwardly and its rearmost part is divided by longitudinal slots 152 into a plurality of flexible or semi-flexible fingers 154.

Near its rear part, shown at 153, the blade 125 is inclined downwardly so that each of the fingers 154 is slightly inclined in relation to the main forward part.

The blade 125 comprising the fingers 154 has been found to conform very well to the shape of any obstruction which might be disposed in the gutter and the separate fingers 154 follow the shape of the interior of the gutter, even if they become fully deflected into contact with it.

In order to attach the main unit 116 to the handle for use, a solid metal strap 129 is used as an attachment member and is curved, so that one of its ends can be attached to a mounting member 155 fixed inside the body 120 adjacent the rear end 121 and the other end of the strap 129 can be fixed to a connecting member 156 attached to a spigot 132, which in turn is connected to a main connecting member 134 to which the handle can be attached.The mounting member 155 consists in effect of one part of a hinge having its axis located fore and aft of the unit 116 and the hinge pin consists of a removable screw 157, which can attach the strap 129 to the mounting member 155 either as shown in Fig. 3 or in the mirror-image position on the other side of the main unit, depending upon whether the gutter clearer is to be used from right to left, as with the mode shown in the drawings, or from left to right. The connecting member 156 also. consists in effect of a hinge having a removable pin member in the form of a screw 158 and the spigot 132 contains a hole for reception of the screw 158.

The main unit 116 is attached to a handle 159 (seen in Fig.4) by means of the connecting member 134 which carries the spigot 132 and the handle preferably consists of one or more light steel tubes, which have been found to have adequate strength without making the clearer excessively heavy.

In use, as indicated in Fig. 4, the unit 116 attached to the handle 159 is arranged in the desired direction and, when the handle 159 is lifted to a vertical position, the body member 120 hangs in the position shown at the lower end of the strap 129. The unit 116 can then be inserted in the gutter, indicated at 150, between the latter and the edge 161 of the roof 162. The body member 120 then moves into an approximately horizontal position, such as is shown in Fig. 3,(although it will probably tilt slightly towards the user as with the first embodiment) as it contacts the inside of the gutter 150, when it can be moved along from right to left and, if required, moved backwards, to effect the desired clearing operation.

The downturned rear parts of the fingers 154 indicated at 153 assist in allowing the unit 116 to be moved backwards, i.e. to the right as shown in Fig. 3.

It may be pointed out that any of the blade, the handle, and the body member described in relation to the second embodiment could be employed instead of the corresponding one described in relation to the first embodiment and vice versa, although it is preferred that the blade of the second embodiment is mounted on a part-tubular body member. Also the collection device of the first embodiment or a similar collection device to that of the first embodiment may be employed in the second embodiment.

Claims (18)

1. A gutter clearer comprising a handle and a blade, which is upwardly inclined from the leading edge of the blade so that, upon insertion into and movement along a gutter by means of the handle, the translational movement of the blade results in matter in the gutter moving up the inclined blade and being discharged over a rim of the gutter.

2. A gutter clearer according to claim 1., wherein the handle comprises a longitudinal support comprising one or more interconnected rods.

3. A gutter clearer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the handle is connected to the blade by means which can move between the roof edge and the gutter rim.

4. A gutter clearer according to claim 3, wherein the connection means comprises a curved body member which is symmetrical about its longitudinal axis.

5. A gutter clearer according to claim 4, wherein the leading edge of the blade is disposed centrally at or near one end of the curved body member with the blade inclined upwardly towards the other end of the curved body member.

6. A gutter clearer according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the handle is disposed at or near one- end of the curved body member and to one side of the longitudinal axis thereof.

7. A gutter clearer according to any of claims 4 to 6, wherein the handle is attached to the curved body member via a flexible or resilient means.

8. A gutter clearer according to claim 7, wherein the attachment means comprises a flexible series of tubular members interconnected by wire links.

9. A gutter clearer according to claim 7, wherein the attachment means comprises a resilient strap hinged at each of its ends to the respective one of the curved body member and the handle.

10. A gutter clearer according to any preceding claim, wherein the blade comprises a rigid member at least a portion of which has some resilience.

11. A gutter clearer according to claim 10, wherein the blade comprises a forward flat portion and a rearward portion comprising a plurality of longitudinal, flexible or semi-flexible fingers.

12. A gutter clearer according to claim 11, wherein the fingers are downwardly-inclined at the trailing edge of the blade.

13. A gutter clearer according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the blade comprises a forward flat portion and a rearward portion comprising a pair of laterallyextending wings.

14. A gutter clearer according to any preceding claim, having attachment means on each side for the handle so that it can be selectively attached to one side or the other.

15. A gutter clearer according to any preceding claim having attachment means on each side so that collection means can be selectively attached to one side or the other.

16. A gutter clearer according to claim 15, further comprising a collection means including at its upper end, upwardly concave leaf-spring means which rest in use on the gutter.

17. A gutter clearer according to claim 15, comprising a collection means including elongate guide means having at its ends portions inclined away from the sides of the collection means.

18. A gutter clearer constructed and arranged substantially as herein described, with reference to the figures of the drawings.