Valley Overflow Inhibitor

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following invention relates to the fields of gutters and roof valleys, with or without the utilization of a supplemental gutter guard at or in the vicinity where the roof valley meets an inside corner or miter of a gutter; a device to inhibit the overflow of water within a roof valley through redirection and distribution into an associated gutter or gutter type device.

BACKGROUND ART

Gutters and gutter guard commonly experience areas of overflow and shooting over from water traveling in a downward direction within an inside corner of a roof valley. In relation to the purpose of this document, a roof valley is defined as the part of a roof where two or more adjoining roofs come together in a low point, creating a “V” shape, causing a high volume of water flow and high velocity of water in that particular area which causes overflow issues in the area of gutters and gutter guard. This overflow, or shooting over, occurs when the volume, velocity, or combination of the two are in excess of what would be considered normal handling conditions for associated gutters or gutter guard (normal conditions being defined as the amount or velocity of water flowing into the gutter device via the roof valley does not exceed the limitations of said gutter or gutter guard device), surpassing the limits of the intended design, causing an overflow or shooting over, especially, in the case where installed gutter guard does not filter and/or direct the increased said flow of water into the gutter fast enough to overcome the additional requirements. Also, if the position of the gutter, with or without an associated guard, is positioned low enough in comparison to the lowest shingle on the roof where it is installed, the natural travel of water when velocity is increased will travel over and past the outer most edge of the gutter, causing an overflow or shooting over issue. When the gutter or gutter guard fails, either by its position in relation to the roof, or the handling capacities, the water flows over the furthest edge of the gutter, with little or no water flowing into the gutter as intended, and has the potential to cause sub sequential flooding in the area underneath the problem at hand. This may cause damage to the building exterior and surrounding landscape, as well as eventual damage to the building foundation, leading to interior damage.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,417 issued to Demartini, teaches a system of rain diversion which spreads out the water, coming down a valley, over the roof or gutter guard in a greater area than if the device were not in place. Demartini also teaches that a potential buildup of debris in the area of the diversion system would increase the outward flow of water and act in cooperation to the device itself. What is not taught in this system is that although there is an increased outward diversion of water due to debris, this back of up water may lead to a reverse-type flow in which the direction of water flows against the intended design of the roof shingles, forcing water under the shingles, causing damage to the roof itself. Another concept that is not taught in this system is how simple diversion of water across the surface of a gutter guard is only effective within the normal handling capabilities of the associated gutter or gutter guard. If the amount of water exceeds the intended limits of either of these, failure will occur. In this case, water may have been successfully diverted from the valley only to overwhelm another section of gutter or gutter guard, outside of the direct area of the roof valley.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,805,889 issued to Barnett teaches a device that consists of a filtration system affixed to the roof, spanning the inside most part of the gutter and attaching itself to the outer most part of the inside corner of the gutter itself. Although this system does filter water and drains into the gutter below, it does not address the issue of failure if the product would be overwhelmed with water itself. With the furthest most point of attachment from the house being at the outer edge of the gutter, any water that does not filter fast enough will spill over the end of the device. This happens because this system requires the pitch, or slope, in which the water must travel be decreased. The design itself increases the final height of the water flowing over the gutter, and forces the water to leave the slope of the roof in which the water was originally traveling. This is decreasing the slope, and causes the water to run across a more horizontal plane. The problem with a more horizontal plane is that water will tend to follow the angle of the object it is running over, therefore, with the end of the device being higher than the inside of the gutter, the device is encouraging the water to travel above, and past, the end of the gutter if it does not completely drain into the device itself. Because this design changes the slope of the water past the end of the last shingle, it also changes the optimal angle of water flowing from the roof into the gutter.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,765,743 issued to Guilford teaches a rain gutter screen assembly that filters water from the point it leaves the shingle to a distance past the most outside edge of the gutter. Guilford teaches that this type of design is intended to control the cascading water coming down the inside corner of a roof. Although this design keeps the path of the water closer to the opening of the gutter, this design proceeds past the outer most edge of the gutter, making this another design acting as a response to a water problem where the water is flowing past the most outside edge of a gutter and not removing the this problem from the beginning. Also, this type of design, being secured past the outer most edge of the gutter, can potentially add additional stress on the fasteners, or material receiving the fasteners (i.e. wood fascia board) holding up the gutter and over time may cause failure of either.

U.S. Patent 20040255522 issued to Flood teaches a device which causes turbulence to, and decreases the flow velocity of, the water coming down the valley. What is not taught in this is that decreasing the velocity near the end of the roof valley increases the volume of water within that valley. This happens because the water being reduced in velocity is traveling slower than the water behind it, causing the depth of the water to increase, adding a greater volume of water than before, and increasing the potential for exceeding the limitations of the gutter or gutter guard.

U.S. Patent 200702092 A1 issued to Garcia teaches a device that captures the water flow within a roof valley and diverts it into the gutter below. however, this is another design which includes a significant vertical extension from the roof or gutter which may collect large debris causing a reverse flow of water. This design also extends to the furthest most point of the gutter and therefore requires the use of said gutter for structural support. Again, additional structures attached to the gutter may cause stress on fasteners or the material receiving them, and may fail over time.

I teach that to effectively deal with the problem of water shooting over and overwhelming the inside corner of a gutter and or gutter guard device is to act in a preventative measure, dealing with the problem factors, as much as possible, before the water reaches the gutter or gutter guard. These factors are: volume, slope of water, and handling capabilities of gutter guard.

I teach that it is best to allow the water flowing down the valley, to maintain the slope of the water until it passes the last shingle and enters the gutter opening. This is significant because the angel between the roof valley and the horizontal plane of the gutter opening need to be such that water will naturally flow into, and not over, the furthest most edge of the gutter. Also, maintaining the slope of water will minimize the impedance of water and will reduce the buildup water volume which can cause a gutter guard to fail, allowing for overflow.

I teach that the water needs to be forced into the gutter within a very short distance from the inside most point of the gutter, with an apparatus not reaching to the outer most edge of said gutter as to not change the slope of the water travel. Forcing the water into a gutter is more reliable with increased volumes and velocities of water rather than relying on gravitational forces only. Water volume is greatly overcome due to the filtration being completely on the roof, allowing the water to filter down back onto the roof, and then ultimately travel into the gutter. This means the high volume of water that may overwhelm a device that spans the surface area of the gutter opening will be forced into the gutter as soon as it reaches the end of the shingle. With this design, the problem of reverse flow is eliminated because the natural, downward direction of water is never reversed back against the shingles.

I teach that proper control of the water from the roof valley to the gutter needs to be a device independent from the gutter itself. I teach that independence will optimize the efficiency of the gutter and allow it to serve its purpose and that alone, without inhibiting the gutter with additional weight, punctures, cutting away, or adding additional stress on associated fasteners or fastener receiving material.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The Valley Overflow Inhibitor is a compilation of my teachings stated previously. The design of this device forces the majority, if not all, of the water traveling down the inside corner valley of the roof, directly into the gutter, within a very short distance from the edge of the roof shingle. With this design, most of the water will not reach the gutter guard past the device, decreasing the possibility of gutter guard failure. In the case of even this device being overwhelmed with a high flow or velocity of water, the short design of this invention allows for any run over, without gutter guard, to fall into the gutter, or, when combined with gutter guard, the amount of overflow, or run over, from this device is to be within the expected, normal handling capabilities of the gutter guard and thus still preventing an issue of overflow.

This device is designed with a low profile, having minimum upward extension, to eliminate the common factors for decreased slope which causes shooting over with high-velocity flow, and debris build-up, which can eventually lead to reverse-flow issues. This device allows the water to maintain contact with the roof valley until it passes the last shingle and then the device increases the slope of water by forcing it in a downward direction. This also solves the problem when a gutter is positioned very low in comparison to the last shingle because the water is forced away from its natural flow and directed in a downward and outward direction.

The Valley Overflow Inhibitor does not reach the most outward edge of the gutter, or attach to the gutter, and therefore is completely independent from the gutter. This allows for the device to work cooperatively with gutter guard devices if desired, rather than eliminating them in the area of installation. With this device being independent it does not need contact with the gutter for installation and therefore, again, works well with gutters installed very low in comparison to the shingles above.

The Valley Overflow Inhibitor is affixed to the roof at the first stage of the device, which serves as filtration, and is also affixed at the second stage, serving as redirection and distribution. The filtration section, of mesh, or screen, or combination thereof, is affixed to maintain a similar degree of pitch matching that of the roof in which it is being installed. Mesh or screen is elevated off the roof by a downward extending support running parallel to the valley allowing for unrestricted, continuous flow of water under the filter, while keeping the screen elevated off the roof. The filtration stage of this device is not intended to change water velocity or angle of travel, but to serve only as a filter for debris, keeping debris out of the gutter, preventing clogs. Water flows down the roof, through the filtration stage, and then returns to the roof where it continues to flow towards second stage. Water then flows into the secondary part of the device which is the point of redirection and distribution. Water is directed downward, outward, and away from the inside most corner of the gutter through various angled and curved features which make up a funnel-type shape in the device. Here, water is distributed to either side of the mitered corner of the gutter to help prevent undesired volumes of water within the corner directly under the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

It is necessary to note that the FIGURES and descriptions thereof, including brief and detailed descriptions within this document, are for general reference of illustration and representation only. The representative features, angles, dimensions, materials, etc, are to be viewed as conceptual overview of the device's embodiments and not to be held as exact specifications in reference to the device.

FIG. 1 is a profile view of the device.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the device in relation to the associated roof and gutter.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the device showing function in relation to the associated roof and gutter.

FIG. 5 is a view of the device installed in a roof valley.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the Base Plate of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The Valley Overflow Inhibitor as shown in FIG. 1-FIG. 5 is that which is installed at the inside corner of a roof valley 2 (FIG. 5). The device is made up of a filtering portion A which is attached to a body portion comprised of parts B, C, D, E, F and G. The installation of the device is as follows: Screen A is secured on the roof I (FIG. 4) with the upper most edge of screen A under the associated shingle edge 3 (FIG. 5) where an overlap of the shingle on the filtering portion is created. A standard fastener will be affixed through the uppermost edge of screen A through the shingle 1 (FIG. 5) and into the roof I (FIG. 4). The body of the device is affixed by sliding the base plate B (FIG. 4) between the last shingle 4 (FIG. 5) and the roof I (FIG. 4) until the front diverter plate D (FIG. 5) is touching the last shingle 4 and/or as shown in FIG. 4 the fascia board J wherein the gutter H is attached. The device is affixed so that there is minimal to no gap between the shingle 3 and the front diverter plate D (FIG. 5).

The function of this device is such that water, as shown in FIG. 4 and represented by “⋄” is forcefully redirected and distributed into an associated gutter H. Water that falls on the roof shingles 1 (FIG. 5) runs into and down roof valley 2. The water flows over and through the filtering portion A and then continues to flow on the roof valley 2 until it reaches the exposed base plate B (FIG. 4) just past the furthest most edge of the last shingle 4 (FIG. 5). The water travels over the base plate B (FIG. 4) and downward over the diverter C, which starts the process of bringing the water in a downward direction into the gutter H. Any water that does not immediately travel along the contour of the diverter C will be forced downward by deflector D. The water flowing through opening K (FIG. 6) is deflected to the sides by the secondary deflector E (FIG. 4) and tertiary deflectors F, ultimately helping to move the water to the left and right gutters making up the gutter corner.

PRIOR ART WORKS CITED