Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Wall – ceiling – floor – or roof designed for ventilation or... – With the vent or drain entirely along at least one...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-21
2001-07-17
Redman, Jerry (Department: 3634)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Wall, ceiling, floor, or roof designed for ventilation or...
With the vent or drain entirely along at least one...
C052S222000, C052S650300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260316
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to elevated decks for residential buildings, and more particularly to a rain water collection system for the underside of such decks to maintain a dry space there beneath.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
Exterior structures, such as decks, gratings and walkways, are typically designed to allow water to fall through the spacing between adjacent decking boards or other apertures. It may be desirable to otherwise collect this water to thereby make the space under such surfaces dry. The object of the present invention is to provide an impermeable assembly which may be easily mounted to the underside of existing decks, gratings or walkways, which collects and routes rain water to a discharge point while maintaining the area under the deck free of dripping water.
The closest prior art of which we are aware is the Moore U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,351. The patent describes a water collection and drainage system that is adapted to be attached to the underside of a residential deck and comprises flexible sheets that are affixed to deck joists so that they present concaved upper surfaces and convexed lower surfaces. While this structure may be suitable for use in climates that are not subject to freezing, the underdeck water collection system described in the Moore patent is unsuitable for use in freezing climes. In freezing climes, water from melting snow on the deck will fall between adjacent deck boards onto the concave collector structure suspended therebeneath. When out of the rays of the sun, the temperature beneath the deck very often is below freezing temperature, resulting in a build-up of ice thereon. Over a period of several days of thawing and freezing temperatures, the weight of the ice can cause the suspension structure to fail.
Another drawback of the apparatus described in the Moore '351 patent is that the flexible connectors extend below the bottom of the deck joists, thereby limiting the head room under the deck.
It is a further object of the invention that the impermeable assembly be comprised of a versatile system of components which may be easily assembled on site by a single person to form an aesthetically pleasing surface beneath the deck which drains all water to the perimeter of a deck, grating or walkway and which can be used in climates where frequent freezing and thawing occurs.
It is a further object of the invention to minimize the encroachment of the headroom space beneath the deck by the impermeable assembly.
It is a further object of the invention that at least some of the elements of the impermeable assembly be removable for maintenance and repair.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The invention will be taught with respect to residential decks which are typical of other exterior structures which could benefit from the invention.
FIG. 1
shows a typical residential deck comprised of joists
10
, end plates
12
and deck boards
14
. Actual decks have a wide variety of sizes and shapes, however, between centers, the joist-to-joist spacing is typically 16″, and if not that then typically 24″. The description of various embodiments will be with orienting reference to a typical deck structure. As used herein longitudinal refers to the orientation along a line parallel to the deck joist while transverse refers to the orientation along a horizontal line perpendicular to the deck joist. With reference to the boundary edges of the deck the side edges are longitudinal while the front and back edges are transverse.
FIG.
2
(
a
) shows, conceptually, the surface contour of an impermeable water collection assembly constructed according to certain aspects of the disclosed embodiments. FIG.
2
(
b
) shows the end view of the surface of FIG.
1
(
a
). The surface is comprised of periodic peaks and valleys. Water flows transversely into the gutter and then longitudinally to the perimeter of the deck. By controlling the slope or pitch of the assembly, water may be directed to flow to a single edge where it may undergo further collection by means which are not part of this invention. The realization of an impermeable assembly suspended to the underside of an existing structure presents problems not found in art which might otherwise be considered related. For example, prior art impermeable roofing systems which are applied to the top side of an underlying supporting structure are not adaptable to a suspended system. Further, the prior art structure and methods used to realize a permeable suspended ceiling are not amenable to modification which would render them impermeable. The subject invention realizes the impermeable surface of FIG.
2
(
a
) in a novel way which results in an attractive, yet inexpensive system which is exceptionally easy to install and to maintain beneath decks and walkways. In certain of the embodiments disclosed herein, the impermeable assembly is sectioned according to FIG.
2
(
c
). Collectors
20
are convexed on their upper surface to define peak regions which direct water transversely to their side edges and, thus, into inclined gutters
22
which comprise the valley regions directing water longitudinally to the edge of the deck. Gutters
22
are disposed directly beneath deck joists
10
and are attached thereto by various means. Collectors
20
are attached, or otherwise constrained so that their side edges are vertically overlapping with respect to gutters
22
to prevent leakage and to thus render the resulting assembly water impermeable for a typical rain shower. “Impermeability”, as used herein, does not require a water-tight seal which would withstand gale force winds even though this capability is present in certain embodiments. Collector
20
may have an inverted V or a more crowned convex shape which provides useful stiffness, allowing relatively thin and inexpensive materials to withstand the stress of wind when so shaped. The crowned shape is achieved without loss of headroom in that the crown resides in the cavity between adjacent joists.
Thus, in a general sense, the present invention comprises rain water collection apparatus that is adapted to be affixed to an underside of an elevated, waterpervious, deck structure of the type where a plurality of parallel, regularly-spaced, longitudinally extending joists project from a building structure and with a plurality of deck boards secured to an upper edge surface of the joists and which extend generally transversely to the joists. The collection apparatus comprises resilient, water-impervious, rectangular collector sheets having a predetermined length dimension and a width dimension between opposed side edges that is greater than the regular spacing between adjacent ones of the joists. Means are provided for mounting the collector sheets between adjacent ones of said joists for supporting the sheets in a space between adjacent joists with an upper surface of the sheets convex and a lower surface of the sheets concave. A plurality of gutter members are attachable to the joists and span the bottom edge of the joists to vertically overlap side edges of the collector sheets, such that water seeping between adjacent deck boards falls on the upper convex surface of the collector sheets and then flows laterally into the gutter members disposed beneath the side edges of the collector sheets. The gutter members are at a pitch such that the water therein flows to the outer perimeter of the deck structure.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1562346 (1925-11-01), Leidich
patent: 3583115 (1971-06-01), Colmenares
patent: 4065883 (1978-01-01), Thibodeau
patent: 4083153 (1978-04-01), Sumpter
patent: 4129967 (1978-12-01), Barlow
patent: 4663894 (1987-05-01), LaRoche et al.
patent: 4789116 (1988-12-01), Eftestol
patent: 4858399 (1989-08-01), Salato, Jr.
patent: 4860502 (1989-08-01), Mickelsen
patent: 5005330 (1991-04-01), Todisco
patent: 5511351 (1996-04-01), Moore
Davis Richard A.
Prohofsky Leroy A.
Nikolai Mersereau & Dietz, P.A.
Redman Jerry
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