GB2217748A

GB2217748A - Plastics rainwater guttering systems

Info

Publication number: GB2217748A
Application number: GB8909294A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Bartingale; Robert William Parker
Original assignee: Caradon Terrain Ltd
Current assignee: Polypipe Terrain Ltd
Priority date: 1988-04-28
Filing date: 1989-04-24
Publication date: 1989-11-01
Anticipated expiration: 2009-04-24
Also published as: GB8810036D0; GB2217748B; GB8909294D0

Abstract

A rainwater gutter support bracket (12) comprises a cradle (16) for locating and supporting a gutter length (10) and at least one pair of clips carried by the cradle and located at opposite edges of the cradle. Each clip is arranged to overlie the adjacent top edge of a gutter length (10) to the gutter length in the cradle (16). One of the clips (50) is movable relatively to the cradle (16) from a "disengaged" to an "engaged" position during which movement it engages over the adjacent top edge (62) of the gutter length to trap the gutter length (10) in the cradle (16). The clips may be pivotal, fig 8, or removable clips 101 which engage the cradle with a snap action. <IMAGE>

Description

Plastics Rainwater Guttering Systems This invention relates to plastics rainwater guttering systems and in particular to gutter supporting brackets for supporting channel-sectioned gutter lengths.

Such a bracket may be merely a supporting bracket or it may also be a jointing bracket for connecting one gutter length end to end with another, or a gutter length to another fitting of the guttering system such as a downpipe.

In plastics guttering systems the brackets commonly have integral, resilient clips in the form of lugs on the front and rear edges of the brackets and which overlie the front and rear top edges of the gutter lengths to trap the gutter lengths in the brackets. Assembly of the gutter length with the bracket is usually effected by locating the rear edge of the gutter length under the clip(s) on the rear edge of the bracket and then springing the front edge of the gutter length under the clip(s) on the front edae of the bracket so that it snaps into position beneath the clip.

Difficulties can be encountered with this method of assembly and it is the object of this invention to facilitate the assembly.

According to the invention, a rainwater gutter support bracket comprising a cradle for locating and supporting a gutter length and at least one pair of clips carried by the cradle and located at opposite edges of the cradle, each clip being arranged to overlie the adjacent top edge of a gutter length to trap said gutter length in the cradle, is characterised in that at least one of the clips is movable relatively to the cradle from a "disengaged" to an "engaged" position during which movement it engages over the adjacent top edge of the gutter length.

Said one clip may make an interference fit with the gutter length and/or cradle in the "engaged" position to retain the clip in the "engaged" position. Preferably the interference fit is achieved by a snap fit.

Advantageously also, said clips of the pair are identical in construction and when in the "engaged" position both make an interference fit with the cradle. Preferably the clip on the rear edge of the bracket then makes a stronger interference fit than that on the front edge so that in its "engaged" position it is effectively in a fixed position relatively to the bracket.

Preferably said one clip or both clips of the pair are rotatably mounted on the cradle so that they can be rotated between their "disengaged" and "engaged" positions.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a jointing bracket according to one embodiment of the invention, shown joining two lengths of rainwater gutter; Figure 2 is a cross-section on the line II-II in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged scrap elevation showing a front clip of the jointing bracket, in the direction III in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a cross-section on the line IV-IV in Figure 3; Figure 5 is an enlarged scrap elevation showing a rear clip of the jointing bracket, in the direction V in -Figure 2; Figure 6 is a cross-section on the line VI-VI in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a partial front elevation of a modified form of bracket to that shown in Figures 1-6.

Figure 8 is a section on the line VIII-VIII of Figure 7.

Figures 9 and 10 are scrap views of a second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 11 is a scrap view of a third embodiment of the invention, and Figures 12 and 13 are scrap views of a fourth embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings, two moulded plastics half-round gutter lengths 10 are shown supported and connected end to end by jointing bracket 12, also of moulded plastics; the ends of the lengths 10 are indicated at 14 in Figure 1. The bracket 12 comprises a half-round cradle 16 into the opposite ends of which the lengths 10 extend. The cradle 16 has two transversely extending grooves 18 (Figure 2), each accommodating a resilient sealing strip 20 which stands proud of the groove 18 for sealing with the outer curved surface of a respective one of the gutter lengths 10. Each groove 18 is of rectangular cross-section and by the moulding operation causes a complementary transversely extending rib-like projection to be formed on the outer surface of the cradle.

The rib has a pair of side walls 19 and an outer wall 22.

Each groove 18 and hence each rib extends from the rear top edge 26 to the front top edge 28 (Figure 2) of the cradle 16.

Adjacent the rear and front top edges 26 and 28 of the cradle 12 a gutter clip locating formation 30 projects from each side wall 19 and has a downwardly facing curved recess 32 (see Figures 4 and 6) at its lower end. There are thus four pairs of formations 30 each pair locating a plastics gutter clip 34 or 35 trunnion fashion. Each clip 34 or 35 comprises a head 36 with a pair of integral, parallel arms 38 extending from it and carrying opposed trunnions 40 which engage in the recesses 32. The clips 34 and 35 are all identical in construction, clips 34 being at tne front edge of the bracket 12 and clips 35 at the rear edge.

Each clip head 36 has at its free end a hooked nose 42 which when the clips 34 and 35 are in an "engaged" position hook over and engage with the top edge of the gutter length 10. The nose 42 has a gently-sloping ramp surface 44 and a shoulder 46 for engaging with the inner surface of the gutter lengths 10. Each clip head 36 also has a second hooked nose 48 of the same shape as the nose 42, for engaging the inner surface of the bracket wall 22, (Figures 4 and 6).

The clips 34 and 35 are rotatable on the trunnions 40 from a disengaged position shown in chain dotted line for one of the clips 34 in Figures 2 and 4 to the engaged position shown in full line. In the "engaged" position the noses 42 and 48 engage the gutter length 10 and the bracket 12 respectively with an interference fit in the sense that the clips 34 and 35 cannot be rotated betwen the "engaged" and "disengaged" positions without some resilient stressing of the interengaging parts. The rear clips 35 are intended to be supplied to site already fitted to the brackets 10 and in the engaged position. To ensure that they are not readily displaced from the engaged position they have a stronger interference fit with the bracket 10. To achieve this, the bracket wall 22 has an upper edge 26 on the rear side of the bracket 10 that extends higher from the trunnion mountings than upper edge 28 of the wall 22 on the front side of the bracket 10 as can be seen from a comparison of Figures 4 and 6. Hence the rotational force required to force the nose 48 past the edge 26 is greater than that required to force it past edge 28.

As previously stated the brackets 12 are supplied to site with the clips 35 fitted and in the engaged position. This is achieved by rotating them at the factory so that the noses 48 snap past the edges 26. Now to assemble a gutter length 10 in the bracket 12 which has of course already been fitted for example to an eaves board on a building in conventional manner, the rear edge of the gutter length is located beneath the clips 35. The clips 34 are then fitted and rotated from the disengaged position shown in chain dotted line until both noses 42 and 48 snap into position as shown in full line in Figure 4, the ramp surfaces 44 causing steadily increasing stress until the shoulders 44 snap into place.

The clips 34 and 35 now hold the bracket 12 tight against the installed gutter lengths 10, with the sealing strip 20 tightly compressed to give a good seal.

Referring to Figures 7 and 8 a length of guttering 10 extends into and is supported by jointing bracket 12 comprising half-round cradle 16 similarly to the assembly shown in Figures 1 to 6. The cradle 16 has transverse internal grooves and complementary ribs each comprising side walls 19 and end wall 22, only one rib being visible in Figures 7 and 8. The grooves accommodate sealing strips.

Figures 7 and 8 show the front of the cradle 16 with gutter clip 50 in position on it. DIfferently from the assembly of Figures 1 to 6, trunnion locating recesses 51 are provided by webs 52 which are formed integrally with and extend from the cradle wall 22. The webs 52 extend one on either side of the rib and are spaced fro the side walls 19 of the rib. Each clip 50 has a head 5t with a pair of integral parallel arms 55 extending from it and carrying opposed trunnions 56 which engage in the recesses 51.

Each clip head 54 has a nose 58 which engages over the gutter length 10 in its "engaged" position. The underside of the nose 58 provides a ramp 59 which as the clip 50 is rotated from its "disengaged" position to its "engaged" position engages the upper edge corner of the gutter length 10 and presses the gutter length 10 against the sealing strip to compress the latter. In the "engaged" position of the clip 50 a flat undersurface 61 of the clip 50 rests on the upper edge 62 of the gutter length 10 as shown in Figure 8 and the upper edge corner of the gutter length 10 engages in the angle between the ramp 59 and flat undersurface 61. To facilitate rotation of the clip 50 on the trunnions 56 it is provided with a small integrally formed handle 63.The stressing the sealing strip provides a restoring force which causes the top edge 62 of the gutter 10 to be jammed beneath the clip 50 in an interference fit.

However, rotation of the clip 50 against this force can be readily achieved to move the clip 50 to its "disengaged" position.

As an alternative to he clips 34 and 36 being rotatable between engaged and disengaged positions they could be moved linearly along guides, such movement also incorporating a snap-action. Arrangements of this kind are shown in Figures 9 to 13.

Referring to Figures 9 and 10 the gutter clip 101 has a head 102 for engaging the gutter length. It also has two legs 103 and 104 which due to the resilience of the plastics material from which they are formed can be sprung together so that feet 105 and 106 at the bottom of the legs 103 and 104 can be fitted into and slid down guide channel 107 in the gutter supporting bracket 108 until they snap into slots 109 and 110 in the bracket 108. The brackets 108 and clips 101 can be supplied to site with the clips 101 tabbed to the bracket 108 as shown in Figure 10. When required for use the clips 101 can be simply torn away from the bracket 108.

An alternative arrangement is shown in Figure 11 in which the clip 201 is slid over central wall 202 on the bracket 203 until leg 204 of the clip 201 snaps into slot 205 of the bracket 203.

In a further alternative arrangement shown in Figures 12 and 13 the bracket 301 is provided on its rear edge with an integrally formed fixed gutter clip 302 and on its front edge with a snap-in gutter clip 303. The snap-in gutter clip 303 is moulded with the bracket 301 and held by a thin flash or gate on either side. The snap-in gutter clip 303 is moved to its engaged position by pushing it through the guide slot 304 formed in the bracket 301 until it snaps over the front edge of the gutter length 305.

Claims

1. A rainwater gutter support bracket comprising a cradle for locating and supporting a gutter length and at least one pair of clips carried by the cradle and located at opposite edges of the cradle, each clip being arranged to overlie the adjacent top edge of a gutter length to trap said gutter length in the cradle, characterised in that at least one of the clips is movable relatively to the cradle from a "disengaged" to an "engaged" position during which movement it engages over the adjacent top edge of the gutter length to trap the gutter length in the cradle.

2. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to claim 1, characterised in that said one clip in its "engaged" position makes an interference fit with the gutter length.

3. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said one clip makes a snap fit with the gutter length as it is moved from said "disengaged" to said "engaged" position.

4. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to claim 1, 2 or 3 characterised in that said one clip in its "engaged" position makes an interence fit with the cradle.

5. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to any prceding claim, characterised in that said one clip makes a snap fit with the cradle as it is moved from said "disengaged" to said "engaged" position.

6. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to any preceding claim characterised in that the other of said clips is identical in form to that of said one clip.

7. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to claims 4 and 6, characterised in that said other clip makes a stronger interference fit with a cradle than said one clip.

8. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to any preceding claim, characterised in that at least said one clip is rotatably mounted on said cradle for movement between its "disengaged" and "engaged" positions.

9. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to claim 8, characterised in that said mounting of the clip is by trunnions on the clip engaging in recesses on the cradle.

10. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to claim 9, characterised in that at least said one clip has a handle for facilitating rotation of the clip.

11. A rainwater gutter support bracket substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 7 and 8 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that at least said one clip is arranged to be moved linearly along guides on the cradle between its "disengaged" and "engaged" positions.

12. A rainwater gutter support bracket substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 6 or Figures 9 and 10 or Figure 11 or Figues 12 and 13 of the accompanying drawings.

13. A rainwater gutter support bracket substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 7 and 8 of the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A rainwater gutter support bracket comprising a cradle for locating and supporting a gutter length and at least one pair of clips carried by the cradle and located at opposite edges of the cradle, each clip being arranged to overlie the adjacent top edge of a gutter length to trap said gutter length in the cradle, characterised in that at least one of the clips is rotatably mounted for movement relatively to the cradle from a "disengaged" to an "engaged" position during which movement it engages over the adjacent top edge of the gutter length to trap the gutter length in the cradle.

4. . A rainwater gutter support bracket according to claim 1, 2 or 3 characterised in that said one clip in its "engaged" position makes an interference fit with the cradle.

7. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to claims 4 and 6, characterised in that said other clip makes a stronger interference fit with the cradle than said one clip.

8. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to any preceeding claim, characterised in that said rotatable mounting of the clip is by trunnions on the clip engaging in recesses on the cradle.

9. A rainwater gutter support bracket according to claim 8, characterised in that at least said one clip has a handle for facilitating rotation of the clip.

10. A rainwater gutter support bracket substantialry as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.