Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Wall – ceiling – floor – or roof designed for ventilation or...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-05
2001-10-30
Stephan, Beth A. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Wall, ceiling, floor, or roof designed for ventilation or...
C052S011000, C052S127500, C052S462000, C052S478000, C405S118000, C405S119000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308479
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 beneath.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Exterior deck 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 surface dry.
A deck water collection assembly is disclosed in a pending application titled “Rain Water Diverter System for Deck Structures”, Ser. No. 09/365,794, filed Aug. 3, 1999, by Richard A. Davis and LeRoy A. Prohofsky. A commercial embodiment of this pending application is marketed by the Underdeck Company of Minneapolis, Minn. The pending application discloses a system of convex collectors sheets alternating with concave gutters in an overlapping arrangement such that water dripping from the side edges of the collector drains into the gutters. This combination provides substantial advantages over other prior art in economy, attractiveness and ease of assembly/disassembly. These advantages are derived from a concept where the individual elements snap together to form an impermeable array. However, the coupling of collectors to gutters has inherent disadvantages. Particularly, the coupling of the pending application must be free to slip for easy disassembly and it must be discontinuous to allow water to drain from the collector to the gutter. If the gaps in the coupling are small, the system is susceptible to clogging at these gaps. If the gaps are large, the system is additionally susceptible to buckling. However it is configured, the coupling between collector and gutter is weak and contributes little to the rigidity of the system. This weakness must be overcome by measures which increase the cost of the system, e.g., thickening the collector to make it more rigid.
It is an object of the present invention 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.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a rain water diverter system for deck structures using water collectors that do not require connection to gutters.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rain water diverter system for deck structures that is easy to assemble.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a rain water diverter system for deck structures that is relatively simple to manufacture and efficient in operation.
Other objects of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The instant invention improves upon the pending application by employing, in a preferred embodiment, a foldable and coilable element which is shaped such that it combines the functions of the prior collector and gutter. This new folded element can be joined into an array which is inherently more rigid and economical while presenting a seamless appearance. As will be described herein, substantial advantages accrue when the rain water is not required to flow from element to element and the elements are fixed together such that the resulting array gains structural properties and impermeability comparable to a single corrugated sheet of the same material.
In accordance with the present invention, a rain water collection apparatus, adapted to be affixed to an underside of an elevated, water pervious deck structure is provided. The collection apparatus comprises a plurality of water collectors for collecting rain water passing through the deck structure and for diverting the rain water to at least one end of the water collectors. A plurality of coupling elements are interposed between the side edges of adjacent pairs of the plurality of water collectors for joining the plurality of water collectors, to form an impervious water diverting array spanning the area of the deck structure. Mounting elements are provided for affixing the plurality of coupling elements to the underside of the deck structure.
In a preferred embodiment, the water collectors comprise a left generally vertical side region, a center convex region, and a right generally vertical side region. The coupling elements include a first cavity for receiving the left generally vertical side region of one of the pair of adjacent water collectors, and a second cavity for receiving a right generally vertical side region of the second pair of the adjacent water collectors. The coupling elements also include locking strips for securing the pair of adjacent water collectors to the coupling elements.
In an illustrative embodiment, the exposed surfaces of the coupling elements provide a decorative trim. The exposed surfaces of the coupling elements comprise a plurality of abutting segments extending continuously along a line spanning the deck structure.
In a preferred embodiment, each of the water collectors is foldable and coilable.
A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in the following description and claims, and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
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patent: 5765328 (1998-06-01), Moore
patent: 6164019 (2000-12-01), Salley
patent: 6226956 (2001-05-01), Davis et al.
UnderdeckBrochure, (2 pgs.) 1999.
UnderdeckBrochure, (6 pgs) 1999.
Dorsey Dennis L.
Gerstman George H.
Shaw Seyfarth
Stephan Beth A.
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