US3482858A - Expansion seal for downspouts - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 9, 1969 J. SIVADON EXPANSION SEAL FOR DOWNSPOUTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 4, 1968 JHN SIVADON ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1968 INVENTOR JOHN SIVADON United States Patent O 3,482,858 EXPANSION SEAL FOR DOWNSPOUTS John Sivadon, 704 N. Robinson Drive, Waco, Tex. 76706 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 671,422,

Sept. 28, 1967. This application Apr. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 718,838

Int. Cl. F16] 17/00, 27/00, 39/60, 49/00 U.S. Cl. 285302 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An expansion seal which is connected to a fixed gutter which will permit the pipe sections forming the downspout to expand and contract due to temperature changes and which will likewise accommodate any lateral displacement of the pipe sections due to the sway of a build ing structure with which these components are associated.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my earlier application-Ser. No. 671,422 filed Sept. 28, 1967, entitled, Expansion Seal for Downspouts, now abandoned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Building structures, of necessity, are provided with a fixed gutter and downspout or a plurality of such gutters and downspouts, located at strategic positions so as to enable the same to lead rain water and the like from the roof thereof and to conduct the same to a position outwardly of the building foundation. Downspouts usually comprise a plurality of sections of pipe or conduits which are connected to one another as by brazing, welding, etc. However, by reason of contraction and expansion of the pipe sections caused by temperature changes as well as the lateral displacement thereof due to the sway of the building during high winds, the connection of the pipe sections are placed under a heavy strain and as a result thereof some means must be provided for the relief of such stresses and strains so as to permit for some expansion and/or contraction of the pipe sections as well as to allow for some lateral movement of the pipe sections particularly at the juncture of the pipe sections with a fixed gutter. The structure provided herein permits for the expansion and/or contraction of the pipe sections as well as for the lateral displacement thereof without causing a break or disconnection of the pipe sections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is an enlarged central vertical sectional view of the device of the present invention, partly in elevation;

FIGURE 2 is a section taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 3 is a section taken on line 33 of FIGURE 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view disclosing a drainpipe positioned between the wall structure of a building;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view, shown partly in section of a roof installed drainpipe extending downwardly between the wall structure of a building; and

FIGURE 6 is a section taken on line 66, FIGURE 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown in FIGURE 1 thereof an eaves trough or gutter 10 of conventional design which is adapted to be secured in any suitable manner to an exterior wall of a building and is adapted to collect the water draining from the roof of 3,482,858 Patented Dec. 9, 1969 the building and to lead the same to drain pipes which are strategically located along the sides of the building. Such drain pipes are usually secured in some manner, as by a bracket, to the building walls and lead to a point adjacent the ground, and direct the water away from the building.

In present day practice, it is common for the drainpipe to be fixedly secured to a permanently installed gutter as by Welding, brazing and the like. This type of a connection between the gutter and drainpipe is one which is not efficient, inasmuch as due to expansion and contraction of the drainpipe due to temperature changes and also due to the sway of the building, as during heavy winds, etc., the line of connection between the gutter and the drainpipe is subjected to stresses and strains which eventually will cause the aforesaid line of connection to separate with eventual leakage of the drain water down along the sides of the building and not through the drainpipe as is normally expected. The occurrence of the break of the line of connection between the gutter and drainpipe becomes increasingly important with the increase in height of the building, what with greater expansion and contraction of the drainpipe as well as with the sway of the building due to winds, etc.

As can be appreciated, in installations where the downspouts are placed between the walls or partitions of a building, any break in the connections between the pipe sections due to any of the aforementioned causes will bring about a ruination of the interior of the building as the drain water will now be caused to flow exteriorly of the drainpipe sections and to flow within the interior of the building itself. Thus, it will be seen that the expansion seal of the present structure becomes most important in installations where the drainpipe sections are between the walls and/or partitions of a building structure.

The present invention provides for an expansion seal shown generally at 11 in FIGURE 1 of the drawings and comprises an outer casing 12 made of any suitable material which is secured in any manner as by a line of weld 13 to the bottom wall of a gutter 10 which is suitably anchored to a wall or roof structure of a building. The casing 12 extends downwardly from the gutter 10 and terminates a short distance therebelow as clearly shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings.

Mounted within outer casing 12 and the drainpipe 14 is an insert 15 of a cohesive material, such as, mastic, rubber, powder, liquid, or other material of a cohesive nature. The cohesive material is in contact with the outer peripheral walls of the drainpipe 14 but will permit for the drainpipe to expand and contract due to temperature changes without permitting the flow of drain water outwardly of the drainpipe. A retainer seal 16, one at each end of the area confining the insert of cohesive material 15 is mounted interiorly of the outer casing 12 as clearly shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings. The retainer seals 16 may be made of lead, babbitt, rubber, nylon, mastic or other flexible and/or conforming materials. Thus the cohesive material 15 is housed within the confines of the area defined by the outer casing 12, the drainpipe 14 and the retainer seals 16.

Retaining elements 17 and 18 in the nature of split washers are mounted within the interior of the outer casing 12 as clearly shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings and encircle the drainpipe 14 although they do not contact the exterior surface thereof, there being a slight tolerance between these parts as shown in the drawings, particularly FIGURE 3 thereof. Thus it will be seen that with the arrangement of parts such as previously described, the drainpipe is free to elongate or shorten, by reason of temperature changes and to still maintain an effective seal between it and the gutter 10.

It is contemplated that the structure of the present invention may well be adapted to an anti-clogging device for downspouts shown and described in my previous patent granted under date of Sept. 12, 1967, under No. 3,341,020.

As can be appreciated, the tolerance between washers 17 and 18 will permit for some lateral movement of the drainpipe in the event of sway of the building due to high winds, etc.

If desired, a plurality of drain openings (not shown), can be provided in the wall of the drainpipe which extends above the washer 17 so as to insure the complete drainage of water from within the space defined between the washer 17 and the lower wall of the gutter.

Referring now to the modification shown in FIGURES 4, 5, and 6, there is shown therein a gutter which is shown as being embedded in a fiat roof structure 19'. Oh-

viously, gutter 10 could readily be incorporated in a slanted roof. Drainpipe 14' is shown as extending between the walls of conventional hollow cinder or concrete blocks 20'. If desired, suitable centering means 21' may be provided along the length of the drainpipe 14' so as to maintain the same in proper position within the hollow wall structure. As can be appreciated, drainpipe 14' can be formed of any known material such as metal, plastic, etc. Drainpipe 14' may comprise a plurality of pipe sections suitably joined to one another, or, a pipe of one continuous length may be employed if such is more economical to employ.

As seen in FIGURE 4 of the drawings, the upper end of drainpipe 14 is secured to an expansion seal shown generally at 11'. The expansion seal 11 is constructed in the same manner as previously described with respect to the structure shown in FIGURES 1 to 3 of the drawings. Also, expansion seal 11' connects with gutter 10' in the same manner as described with respect to FIGURES 1 to 3 of the drawings.

The installation shown in FIGURES 4, 5, and 6 is adapted particularly for building structures which rise to considerable heights whereby, the building is caused to sway under the forces of high winds. Obviously, if no provision is made for the lateral movement of the drainpipe which is placed between the walls or partitions of a building, the connection between the drainpipe and the gutter will become loosened with the eventual leakage of drain water within the building proper and cause damage thereto.

While I have shown the drainpipe 1 4' as being located within the confines of a hollow cinder or concrete building block, it is obvious that the drain-pipe may be disposed between other building elements commonly employed in the fabrication of walls or partitions of a building structure.

In summary, the expansion seal described hereabove provides for connection between the gutter and drainpipe which will not be caused to be loosened and eventually separated therefrom such as is occasioned with the connection between these parts when the drainpipe is immovably secured to the gutter as in conventional practice.

Having thus described the invention, 1 am aware that numerous and extensive departures may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An expansion seal for connecting an eaves trough to a drainpipe comprising an outer casing member fixedly secured to said eaves trough, said drainpipe extending within said casing, spaced apart retaining elements mounted within said casing, spaced apart retainer seals mounted within said casing, adjacent said retaining elements, said spaced apart retainer seals defining an area therebetween, a cohesive material confined within said area, said cohesive material surrounding and engaging said drainpipe and resiliently retaining said drainpipe in said outer casing, the said retaining elements engaging said casing and encircle the said drainpipe but are spaced apart from the outside diameter of said drainpipe.

2. A resilient connection for an eaves trough, to a drainpipe comprising a pair of conduit members having an expansion seal formed therebetween, one of said conduits secured to said eaves trough and the other said conduit forming a drainpipe, spaced apart retainer elements engaging with one of said pair of conduits but spaced from the other conduit spaced apart retainer seals mounted between said spaced apart retainer elements to define an area therebetween, a cohesive material confined within said area, said cohesive material surrounding and engaging said conduits and resiliently retaining the same in assembled relationship with one another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,322,189 11/1919 Holt 52-16 X 2,572,713 10/1951 Flynt 285-187 3,076,669 2/1963 Schlein 285423 X 3,117,810 1/ 1964 Hutton 287- X FOREIGN PATENTS 798,430 5/ 1936 France. 1,119,740 4/ 1956 France. 1,321,532 2/ 1963 France.

841,166 7/1960 Great Britain.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner DAVE W. AROLA, Assistant Examiner

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