WO2004104319A1

WO2004104319A1 - A gutter mounting device

Info

Publication number: WO2004104319A1
Application number: PCT/SE2004/000819
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter LÖVELIUS; Georg LÖVELIUS
Original assignee: Loevelius Peter; Loevelius Georg
Priority date: 2003-05-26
Filing date: 2004-05-26
Publication date: 2004-12-02
Also published as: SE0301540D0; SE0301540L; SE529491C2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a gutter mounting device. The device includes a fastening part and a supporting part which are interconnected via an intermediate part. The fastening part is in intended to be fastened to a roof and the supporting part is intended to support guttering. The intermediate part is intended to be coupled to the fastening part at a variable angle and to the supporting part at a variable height via a height adjustment means.

Description

A gutter mounting device.

Technical field

The present invention relates to a gutter mounting device.

Field of the invention

One problem encountered when fitting gutters, especially to old buildings, is that the edge of the roof rarely follows a straight line. Moreover, the slope of the roof edge can vary along its length. This can make it difficult to obtain the correct angle of inclination with which the guttering will drain off rain water effectively when mounted with the aid of fixed hooked elements. Various solutions involving the use of adjustable fasteners for hooked gutter mountings have been proposed with the intention of solving this problem. An example of one such adjustable fastening is found in GB 1 128 270. This known solution comprises a hook-shaped element that has an adjustable fastening. However, this construction has a num- ber of drawbacks. The angle of the fastening in relation to the roof rafters is adjusted with the aid of a pivotal part that is positioned at a selected angle and then secured with the aid of a nut and bolt. The construction is designed so that any forces emanating from mechanical strains on the structural components will be taken up by the bolt. Among other things this can result in damage to the bolt thread, therewith causing the bolt to skew. The bolt must also be dimensioned to take up the forces to which the structural parts of the device may be subjected.

The height position of the hook-shaped element is adjusted with the aid of another bolt, which is also locked with a nut. In the case of the known construction, the vertically acting force is taken up by the threads of the bolt. When a gutter is in place, this force may be considerable, particularly in the case of Nordic winter weather conditions during which the gutter can become laden with snow and ice. A solution with which loading forces are taken up by bolts and nuts is particularly unsuitable for this application, in which a gutter supporting hook-shaped element is expected to remain in place for years whilst subjected to weather and wind, par- ticularly in the case of the Nordic climate. It is possible that a nut will loosen, therewith causing the hook and the gutter to move out of position. This can cause the gutter to slope wrongly so that rainwater will remain in the gutter and therewith cause it to corrode. In the worst case, the gutter can fall down. Furthermore, it may be desired to be able to adjust the position of a gutter when necessary, in particular in the case of older buildings, for instance when the roof has moved slightly. In the worst scenario, when a construction comprises nuts and bolts that have been subjected to load and that have been exposed to weather and wind for several years, the nuts may have become so rusty as to make it difficult/impossible to loosen/adjust the construction.

Furthermore, in the case of this construction in which adjustment is achieved solely with the aid of two bolts, which must therefore be dimensioned to withstand anticipated loads, it is necessary to displace the vertical part of the fastening in relation to that part which is fastened to the roof rafter to a significant extent, in order to provide room for the nut and bolt . The entire construction is therefore much more complicated and also much more robust and heavier than a tradi- tional gutter hook since angling of the intermediate part of the fastener means that the actual fastener will constitute a lever arm that increases the material load.

Summary of the invention

The present invention is intended to provide a gutter mounting device that solves the above problems.

According to the instant application, when mounting a gutter the gutter can be adjusted quickly and simply both with regard to its height and its angle relative to the roof and thereafter mechanically locked readily and reliably.

The gutter mounting device includes a fastening part and a supporting part. These parts are interconnected by an intermediate part. The fastening part is intended to be fastened to a roof, either separately with or without parts?

The supporting part is intended to support one or more pieces of guttering, the angle of which can be readily adjusted afterwards. The intermediate part is adapted for connection to the fastening part at a variable angle and with the supporting part at a variable height through the medium of a height adjustment ele- ment. The variable angle affords greater flexibility. The height adjustment means includes a plurality of raised projections and \depressions on said intermediate part, and at least one raised projection and \depression of corresponding profile on the supporting part, said raised projections and depressions being adapted to co- act mutually in a manner to fasten the supporting part to the intermediate part. The height of the parts can be readily adjusted afterwards.

In a preferred embodiment, the thickness of the fastener part decreases in the longitudinal direction of said part. Because the fastener part is thus wedge shaped it can be fitted relatively easily to a roof in which there is not much space beneath the roof tiles. This enables guttering to be mounted readily to a supple- mentary roof (undertak) structure?

In another preferred embodiment, raised projections and/or depressions are provided on both sides of the intermediate part, with the intention of supporting two gutter-supportive parts. This embodiment is particularly suitable for mounting guttering on industrial buildings.

First and second pieces of guttering may be disposed on opposite sides of the intermediate part In one preferred embodiment, respective raised projections and/or depressions on the intermediate part and/or on the supporting part may have the configuration of a saw-tooth profile. The advantage afforded by this construction is that the load will be distributed over a profile and not over the locking device, which may be a nut and bolt arrangement for instance.

According to another preferred embodiment, the raised projections and/or the depressions have an insertion depth of at least 0.10mm

In still another preferred embodiment, the fastening part, the intermediate part and the supporting part are comprised off a plastic material. This is particu- larly suitable when placing said parts in a corrosive environment.

Another preferred embodiment includes height adjustment means provided with locking means.

In one preferred embodiment, the locking means has the form of a bolt (screw) which co-acts with a nut. According to another preferred embodiment, the locking means is comprised of plastic material .

A brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the embodiment shown in figure 1 ;

Figure 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment for mounting two pieces of guttering;

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the embodiment shown in figure 3; and

Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of the first part 1.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of a device according to the present invention. The device includes a fastening part 1 which is intended to be mounted on and fastened to a roof, for instance by screwing said part to the roof beneath a roof tile. The fastening part 1 is coupled to an intermediate part 2. The angle between the fastening part 1 and the intermediate part 2 can be adjusted selectively in relation to a horizontal plane and then locked with the aid of a carriage bolt 5 and a nut (not shown), preferably a wing nut for ease of fitting and removal of the nut. Locking can be achieved in some other way, for instance with the aid of a clamping shoulder 4. Alternatively, the intermediate part 2 may be spring loaded. This simple construction enables said angle to be adjusted quickly and easily when mounting the guttering. In this embodiment, the fastener part 1 is provided with an aperture so as to obtain the lightest possible construction.

The intermediate part is coupled to a gutter supporting part 3 via a sawtooth profile. The construction enables the height to be adjusted quickly and reliably. After adjusting the height, the supporting part 3 is locked to the intermediate part 2 by means of a carriage bolt 6. The bolt 6 also fixates a clamping shoulder 4 intended for fixing the gutter in the supporting part 3. The saw-tooth profile has the advantage of causing the mechanical load to lie generally on the profile and not on the carriage bolt, which thus has solely a locking function.

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the embodiment shown in figure 1. The fastening part 1 includes a hole 7 for receiving the bolt 5 when coupling said part 1 to the intermediate part 2. The centre of the hole 7 may be offset in relation to the centre of the fastening part 1 , wherewith a first rough adjustment relative to the roof is achieved by choosing which side of the part 1 is to lie against the roof. The angle is then finally adjusted and locked with the carriage bolt 5. The fastening part 1 may have a wedge shape so as to facilitate mounting, particularly when the space between the supplementary roof and the outer roof is confined. The intermediate part 2 includes a profile surface which is intended for abutment with a corresponding profile surface on the supporting part 3. In the illustrated case, this profile has a saw-tooth configuration, although it will be understood that other configu- rations are conceivable.

The profile enables the fastening part to be adjusted vertically in a simple manner and also enables loading forces to be distributed and taken up.

Figure 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment intended for mounting two pieces of guttering. In this embodiment the intermediate part 2 has a saw-tooth profile on both sides thereof. A first and a second supporting part 3, 8 is fastened on each side of the intermediate part 2, whereafter a first and a second piece of guttering can be hung on respective sides.

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the embodiment shown in figure 3.

Figure 5 is a detailed illustration of the fastened part 1 and the intermedi- ate part 2. That surface of the fastening part 1 lying against the intermediate part 2 includes raised portions 9 which correspond to depressions in the contacting surface of the intermediate part 2. The fastening part 1 is conical and the intermediate part 2 has a corresponding profile such as to obtain the best fit therebetween. When the fastening is subjected to load, the forces are taken up partly by virtue of the action of the conical part and the intermediate part, and partly by virtue of the forces being taken up in the profiled contact surface. The profiled contact surface thus locks the angle. This embodiment lessens the risks of the components being moved out of position and therewith result in a wrong angle. The device can be made of a number of materials, such as plastic material, aluminium, steel or other equivalent materials.

It will be understood that the invention is not restricted to the exemplifying embodiments described above, since modifications can be made within the scope of the inventive concept described in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A gutter mounting device comprising a fastening part (1 ) and a supporting part (3) which are interconnected via an intermediate part (2), wherein said fas- tening part is intended to be fastened to a roof, wherein said supporting part is intended to support at least one piece of guttering, and wherein said intermediate part (2) is adapted for connection to the fastening part (1) at a variable angle, and to the supporting part with a variable height through the medium of height adjustment means, characterized in that the height adjustment means include a plural- ity of raised projections and/or depressions disposed on either the intermediate part or on the supporting part; and in that at least one raised projection and/or depression of corresponding profile is disposed on the other of said intermediate part or supporting part, wherein said raised projections and/or depressions are intended for mutual engagement such that fastening of the supporting part to the in- termediate part can take place in different positions of engagement.

2. A gutter mounting device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the thickness of the fastening part decreases in its longitudinal direction.

3. A gutter mounting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the intermediate part (2) has raised projections/depressions on two sides for the purpose of supporting two gutter supporting parts.

4. A gutter mounting device according to claim 3 characterized in that said first and said second pieces of guttering are disposed on opposite sides of the intermediate part (4).

5. A gutter mounting device according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that said raised projection and/or depressions on the intermedi- ate part and on the supporting part respectively have a saw-tooth configuration.

6. A gutter mounting device according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that said raised projections and/or depressions permit an engagement depth of at least 0.10mm.

7. A gutter mounting device according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening part (1), the intermediate part (2) and the supporting part (3) are comprised of a plastic material.

8. A gutter mounting device according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that said height adjustment means include a locking means.

9 A gutter mounting device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said locking means includes a screw and a nut co-acting therewith.

10. A gutter mounting device according to one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that said locking means is comprised of plastic material.