Discriminator rain gutter system

• US 5,588,261 A
• Filed: 06/24/1994
• Issued: 12/31/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ian O. Macconochie
• Original Assignee: Ian O. Macconochie
• Inventors: MacConochie, Ian O.
• Primary Examiner(s): KENT, CHRISTOPHER T
• Application Number:
  US08/265,127
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: 52/11, 52/12, 52/16
• US Class Current: 52/11
• CPC Class Codes: E04D 13/064 Gutters drainage channels on the roof surface E04D13/0445; gutters for greenhouses A01G9/1476
• CPC Class Codes: E04D 13/076 Devices or arrangements for removing snow, ice or debris from gutters or for preventing accumulation thereof

Abstract

A non-clogging gutter system comprised of two components: A half cylinder with flanges whose principal axis is orientated parallel to the edge of an inclined roof and is fastened to the vertical plane of the eaves and a gutter located just below the half cylinder, also mounted on the vertical plane of the eaves, but whose outer edge is recessed compared to the half cylinder. In operation, rainwater hydraulically flows down the inclined roof and onto the half cylinder where large debris, relatively unimpeded, is discharged to the ground, while the rainwater and macroscopic particles, by virtue of their higher molecular attraction compared to mass, adhere to the half cylinder finally discharging into the gutter because of the more normal orientation of the gravity vector compared to the half cylinder'"'"'s surface. The gutter is shaped so that its cross sectional area increases exponentially from bottom-to-top so that, even in light rains, the flow velocity will be relatively high, reducing dwell-time of rainwater in the gutter and thence reducing the amount of settling of macroscopic particles such as shingle grits, seeds, and pollen.

Claims

1. A gutter assembly adapted to be attached to a fascia board located below a building roof, said gutter assembly comprising:

a half-cylinder including an upper flange and a lower flange, each of said flanges extending radially outward from said half-cylinder and generally defining a single plane, said flanges adapted to be attached to said fascia board;

a gutter defining a fluid receiving trough having a modified channel shape and being adapted to be mounted immediately below and adjacent to said half-cylinder on said fascia board such that fluid flowing off said building roof is directed over and around the half-cylinder and into said gutter.

2. A gutter assembly according to claim 1 wherein said gutter modified channel shape has a bottom width, a top width and a height defining a cross-sectional area wherein the cross-sectional area increases exponentially from said bottom width to said top width, wherein the ratio of the bottom width to the top width is approximately 1 to 4, and the ratio of the bottom width to the height is approximately 1 to 7.

3. The gutter assembly of claim 1 wherein said upper flange and said lower flange include apertures for receiving fasteners, said gutter including an upper back flange which has apertures adapted to align with the apertures of the lower flange of said half-cylinder such that upon installation of said gutter assembly on said fascia board, fasteners are passed through the apertures of the upper flange of the half-cylinder, and fasteners are passed through the apertures of the lower flange of the half-cylinder which are placed in alignment with the apertures of the upper back flange of the gutter.

4. The gutter assembly of claim 1 wherein said gutter is provided with a removable strip which comprises an inclined lip for rejection of debris and for decorative enhancement of the gutter assembly.

5. The gutter assembly of claim 1 further including fasteners for attaching said half-cylinder and said gutter to said fascia board, said fasteners being selected from the group comprising wood fasteners and sheet metal fasteners.