Supports – Eaves trough
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-24
2004-06-15
Ramirez, Ramon O. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Eaves trough
Reexamination Certificate
active
06749156
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a holding device for holding long approximately horizontal objects, especially roof drainage gutters, to a building, that includes at least two strip-shaped gutter holders at a fixed separation from each other and formed about the arc-shaped contour of the gutter profile, each of which is provided with a headpiece that is positioned on the end of the gutter bracket toward the building and that may be inserted into, and hung from, a securing rail parallel to the roof drainage gutters.
A holding device of the type mentioned above is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,434,754. The holding device includes a gutter bracket with headpiece that is mounted on the end of the arc-shaped piece so that it may swivel about an axis. The gutter bracket accordingly consists of three separate parts that must be assembled, and therefore is very material-and effort-intensive. A stable angle for the gutter bracket is first achieved after insertion of the gutter stiffening the overall holding device. Moreover, the gutter bracket does not comply with modern safety standards because the entire holding device has inadequate strength.
GB-A-2335673 shows a multi-chamber profile secured to the eave into whose C-shaped profile a one-piece gutter bracket may be inserted.
GB-A-2231897 describes a complicated gutter bracket with a headpiece that is provided with an adjustment screw to adapt the gutter bracket to the contour of a particular gutter.
From EP-A-691442, an approximately H-speed gutter bracket for a rectangular gutter is known from which a piece of sheet metal covering the entire holding device is hung. A headpiece of the gutter bracket may be inserted into an opening on the central spar of a securing rail.
Further, W97/18366 shows a holding device with a perforated, trough-shaped longitudinal support to which each gutter bracket is to be secured using a boom and adapter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The principal object of the invention is therefore to create a simplified holding device for which the bracket is attached to the securing rail in a safe and stable manner without involving a complicated design of the headpiece and/or of the securing rail.
This object, as well as other objects which will become apparent in the discussion that follows, are achieved, according to the present invention, by providing a bracket for holding long objects, especially roof drainage gutters, for which the headpiece is a sheet-metal or shaped piece formed to the interior of the securing rail, whose thickness is equal to, or slightly smaller than, the depth of the securing rail, and whose width measured in installed condition along the securing rail is less than the distance between the two C- or U-shaped profile arms, so that the headpiece may be inserted into the interior of the C- or U-shaped profile and may be tensioned by rotation through 90°.
The securing rail may consist of a C-, U-, h-, T-, S-, or Z-shaped piece. Other combined profiles into which the headpiece may be inserted or from which it may be hung and simultaneously tensioned or clamped are suitable.
The gutter bracket headpiece undergoes a transition into a known arc-shaped piece, also with rectangular, semi-circle, half-circle, etc. shape, from which the roof drainage gutter may be supported.
The gutter bracket headpiece may be formed in various ways, such as, for example, by suitable bending of the end of the arc-shaped piece, so that is compatible with the interior of the profile. The end of the arc-shaped piece may be bent by approximately 180°, for example, so that the headpiece may be inserted into the interior of the shaped profile and be clamped there.
A U-shaped headpiece may possess a springing shackle extending in non-tensioned state that is compressed upon insertion into a perforation of the securing rail, and that relaxes after it passes the perforation. Such a shackle may be one piece with arc-shaped part of the gutter bracket or as a special profiled piece that is connected by friction fit with the gutter bracket.
Particularly low-cost manufacture of the gutter bracket may be achieved by a simple pressing of two projecting tongues out of the arc-shaped part material that may also be inserted into the interior of the C-shaped or U-shaped profile. Such projecting tongues may also be formed by welding a matching shaped piece to the arc-shaped part. In this case, the shaped piece may consist of flat iron from which two projecting tongues are formed by bending.
The bracket may consist of a securing rail provided with rows of perforations, and of gutter brackets whose headpiece is a stud or spar connected with the arc-shaped piece by means of a spacer, and whose thickness is smaller than the distance between the C- or U-shaped arms of the C- or U-shaped pieces, and whose length exceeds the clear width of the C- or U- shaped pieces so that the gutter bracket may be hung by the insertion of its headpiece into the interior of the C- or U-shaped pieces and rotation by 90°.
The elements of the bracket may be made of metal or plastic.
The holding device based on the invention is suitable for various gutter bracket shapes such as trapezoid, quadrilateral, triangular, quarter-circle, or part of an ellipse. The bracket is equipped either with two springs or with catch and spring to attach the roof drainage gutters.
It is also possible to use the bracket based on the invention to secure balcony flower boxes.
A fraction-fit is produced by rotation or insertion of the gutter bracket that takes advantage of leverage during installation in a simple manner. Loads such as water or snow, wind suction or pressure are presented with reduced leverage by a relatively low profile of the securing rail because of the relatively small thickness of the headpiece and spacer piece. Thus, bending moments arise only because of the positioning of the gutter bracket under load.
The distances between the gutter bracket and the required dimensions of the gutter bracket previously were taken from the building sub-structure, the assignment to corresponding stress groups defined in DIN Norm EN 612, and from experience. The holding device based on the invention represents a new securing system for which the varying thickness and width of the required gutter bracket are no longer determined, but rather for which the number of gutter brackets per established spacing unit for a defined stress group. The gutter bracket is defined only in one advance dimension for the various sizes of the roof gutters. The separation between individual gutter brackets results from the assignment to a stress group. Here, the distance between individual gutter brackets are contained in a table.
First, a clear simplification of installation and eventual servicing, and second, a reduction in work costs are achieved with the bracket based on the invention, since the bracket may be installed by a single person.
For a full understanding of the present invention, reference should now be made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2434754 (1948-01-01), Bassett
patent: 3630473 (1971-12-01), Landis
patent: 4094415 (1978-06-01), Larson
patent: 4622785 (1986-11-01), Miller
patent: 4901954 (1990-02-01), Fairgrieve et al.
patent: 5921402 (1999-07-01), Magenheimer
patent: 5960591 (1999-10-01), Schluter
patent: 0691442 (1996-01-01), None
patent: 2231897 (1990-11-01), None
patent: 2335673 (1999-09-01), None
patent: WO 97/18366 (1997-05-01), None
Buehlmeyer Thomas
Christensen Stephan
Milde & Hoffberg LLP
Ramirez Ramon O.
Rheinzink GmbH & Co. KG
Sterling Amy J.
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