JPH0128181Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an antifreeze type gutter, such as a rain gutter, that prevents water from melting snow and the like from freezing in winter.

<Conventional technology> In general, rain gutters drain snowmelt water well during the day in winter, especially in early spring, but during the night and early morning when the temperature drops sharply.
As is well known, water from melting snow freezes hard and does not thaw easily even when the temperature rises during the day, and may remain.
As this process continues, the inside of the gutter eventually becomes completely clogged with frozen ice. If this happens, the melted snow will overflow outside the gutter, grow as large icicles, and become quite heavy objects that can fall or damage the gutter itself.

For this reason, conventionally, electric heating wires such as nichrome wires are provided in the length direction of rain gutters to melt and remove frozen ice.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> However, when electric heaters such as nichrome wire were used, there were the following drawbacks.

(1) In an electric heater, the current conducting part and the heat generating part are the same, so when installing it in a rain gutter, both ends of the heater must be connected as a conductive path. Therefore, it is necessary to connect the external power cord and other heater wires at both ends of the heater, which is a laborious process.

(2) In addition, when installing an electric heater to a long rain gutter, there are naturally two wiring systems, one for the outgoing route and one for the return route, which not only increases the amount of wiring work but also In some cases, the amount of heat generated is wasted.

(3) Furthermore, with electric heaters, the length of the ready-made product is specified to a certain extent due to the relationship between the applied current and the amount of heat generated, so it may not be possible to cut the product at any arbitrary position. That is, it may not be possible to accommodate various shapes and lengths of rain gutters.

(4) Also, electric heaters require a temperature controller such as a thermostat to control the temperature.
If the installation of rain gutters is complicated, not only one temperature controller but a large number of temperature controllers may be required. This not only increases costs but also reduces safety.

(5) Furthermore, in electric heaters, the conductor serves as both the conductive part and the heat generating part as mentioned above, so it needs to be quite thick, rigid, and not very strong in terms of material. Therefore, the wire may easily break due to bending during installation.

<Means for solving the problems> The present invention was developed in view of the drawbacks of the conventional rain gutter antifreeze method using electric heaters as described above, and its characteristic configuration (means) is as follows. Basically, when molding gutters such as rain gutters (including semicircular and circular ones) with resin, a self-temperature-controlled heating wire is buried integrally in the length direction of the gutter. At the point.

<Function> The above-mentioned self-temperature-controlled heating wire is made by mixing conductive powder (carbon powder, metal powder) into a resin material to make a conductive composition, forming this composition into a band shape, and forming the conductive composition into a band shape. 2 spaced appropriately in the length direction
A book conductor is embedded in parallel, and the current conducting part (conductor) and the heat generating part (conductive composition) are constructed separately, and the power supply voltage is simply applied between these two conductors. When applied, the conductive composition generates heat,
The heat warms the gutter resin material, allowing frozen ice to thaw smoothly.

<Example> Fig. 1 shows an example in which the antifreeze type gutter of the present invention is used as rain gutters 1 and 2 in a general house. Here, the rain gutter 1 is a gutter with a semicircular cross section installed horizontally under the eaves of a house, and the rain gutter 2 is a gutter with a circular cross section that hangs down along the wall of the house.

Each of the rain gutters 1 and 2 is made of, for example, extrusion molded synthetic resin, and at that time, a belt-shaped self-temperature-controlled heating wire 3 is provided in the resin in the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIGS. 2A and B, for example. Bury two of each in one piece. In addition, heating wire 3
There is no particular limitation on the number of buried holes.

Although the structure of the self-temperature-controlled heating wire 3 is not particularly limited, it may be constructed as shown in FIG. 3, for example. The heating wire 3 is made of a conductive composition 4 made of a resin material mixed with conductive powder as described above, and has a band-shaped heating portion that has a self-temperature control function, and conducts current in the length direction of the band. Two conductors 5, 5 forming a part are embedded, and an insulating coating 6 and a shield braid 7 are further applied on the conductive composition 4 from the inside.

And antifreeze type rain gutters 1 and 2 with such structure
is installed in a general house as described above. For example, taking a horizontal rain gutter 1 as an example, it may be installed as shown in FIG. 4.

First, at the joint between the rain gutters 1 and 1, the conductors 5 of the heating wires 3 and 3 are taken out and connected with the connection terminals 8 and 8, and then a silicone-based sealant is used as a sealant.
Polyurethane type, acrylic type, SBR, butyl type,
After hardening with a filler 9 such as epoxy, a relay gutter 10 is attached to the outside and joined together with adhesive or the like. In addition, the connection part 1 of the gutter 1 with the external power cord 11
2, for example, the conductor 11a of the power cord 11,
11a and the conductors 5, 5 of the heating wire 3 are connected to the terminal 1
3 and 13, and after hardening with a filler 14 such as silicone or urethane sealant, a heat-shrinkable tube 15 is covered, heated and heat-shrinked, and then a shield braid (not shown) of the heating wire 3 is formed. Earth wire 16
After connecting with a connecting terminal (not shown) and aligning this ground wire 16 with the power cord 11, solidify it with a filler 17 such as a silicone sealant as described above, and then cover it with a heat-shrinkable tube 18. Heat it, heat shrink it, and perform the connection process. In addition to this, this treatment may be performed using a molding treatment, an insulating cap, or the like. Furthermore, the free end 1 of the gutter 1
9, an insulating cap 20 is fitted to the end of the heating wire 3, and a filler 21 such as silicone sealant is applied.
After hardening, attach the end cap 22 to the free end 19 of the gutter.
Insert and join together with adhesive, etc. This terminal treatment may also be performed by molding or using a heat-shrinkable tube.

An end cap 23 is fitted into the end of the rain gutter on the power cord 11 side, or a relay box (not shown) which is shared with the vertical rain gutter 2 is attached.

Also, even in the case of the vertical rain gutter 2, the heating wire 3,
Connection of the three comrades, terminal processing, connection with the electronic key cord 11, etc. may be performed in the same manner as described above.

<Effects of the invention> As is clear from the above explanation, the present invention is a resin antifreeze gutter (including semicircular and circular types) in which a self-temperature-controlled heating wire is embedded. Therefore, when this is used as a rain gutter, it is possible to obtain unprecedented effects as described below.

(1) Since the self-temperature-controlled heating wire is embedded in the gutter, most of the work is done once the installation of the rain gutter is completed, and wiring can be done simply by taking out the heating wire from the cut surface of the gutter. All you need to do is connect and process the terminal. Therefore, compared to the case of conventional electric heaters, the amount of work can be significantly reduced. Moreover, since this connection work is simple, it is possible for the consumer to install it by himself/herself.

(2) In addition, with self-temperature-controlled heating wires, the conduction path is completed with two conductors, so when buried in a long rain gutter, there is no need for outgoing and returning wiring.
It is sufficient to simply embed one heating wire, and the structure can be configured without waste in terms of design, heat generation amount, etc.

(3) Furthermore, in the self-temperature-controlled heating wire, since the conduction path is complete as described above, the gutter can be cut to any desired length. In other words, it is possible to freely accommodate various shapes and lengths of rain gutters.

(4) In addition, in self-temperature-controlled heating wires, the spacing between the conductive powder inside the resin changes as the resin expands and contracts due to temperature rises and falls, so the temperature is automatically controlled, making it possible to Temperature controller (thermostat, etc.) for temperature control
is not necessary. Therefore, not only cost reduction but also extremely reliable safety can be achieved.

(5) Furthermore, in self-temperature-controlled heating wires, since the conductor serves only the conductive part, flexible thin wires may be used, and if necessary, shield braiding can be applied, and the wires will not break if bent slightly. You can also get something that is extremely durable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the antifreeze type gutter of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an example in which the above antifreeze type gutter is applied to the rain gutter of a general house, and Fig. 2 A and B show the rain gutter. Fig. 3 is an end perspective view showing an example of the structure of the heating wire, and Fig. 4 shows the installed state of the rain gutter and the connection state of the heating wire. FIG. In the figure, 1, 2... anti-freezing gutter, 3... self-temperature-controlled heating wire, 4... conductive composition, 5, 5...
…conductor.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An antifreeze gutter consisting of a semicircular or circular resin gutter and a self-temperature-controlled heating wire embedded integrally inside the resin in the longitudinal direction of the gutter.