Abstract:
An ice buildup inhibitor is disclosed useful for preventing ice damming, in particular in conjunction with the use of a closed gutter. Heat escape through a roof made warm snow pack, causing it to melt and flow down toward the gutter. After moving away from the heated roof, the water may re-freeze and form an ice dam. In the ice buildup inhibitor may be configured to warm in the closed gutter, thereby preventing the formation of an ice dam. They ice buildup inhibitor may be configured to be easily installed onto an existing closed gutter, enabling responsive installation on only those homes experiencing ice damming.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/250,202, filed Oct. 9, 2009 and entitled “ICE GUARD TO A PRACTICAL AND ECONOMICAL SOLUTION TO ALLEVIATE ICE BUILDUP ON CLOSED GUTTER SYSTEMS.” The foregoing is incorporated herein by reference. The application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/391,523, filed Oct. 8, 2010, entitled “ICE GUARD,” which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This specification to the field of weather response systems, and more particularly to a device and system for preventing the “ice damming” and dangerous icicles on structures such as homes and offices. 
     Structures located in regions that experience cold weather, including ice and snow, may have problems with “ice damming.” Ice damming occurs when snow or ice pack is partially melted by heat escape through a roof. The melted ice may flow down the relatively warm roof, and then re-accumulate as ice along unheated eaves. The accumulated ice forms a dam that can trap melted water and cause icicles. Another issue related to ice damming is its unpredictability. It may be difficult to tell between the two nearly identical homes which will experience ice damming and which will not. 
     One prior art solution to ice damming is the use of conductive heating cables. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an ice buildup inhibitor. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an ice buildup inhibitor in situ with a closed gutter. 
         FIG. 3  is a cutaway view of the ice buildup inhibitor and closed gutter of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a cutaway view of a structure experiencing ice damming. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an ice buildup inhibitor and closed gutter installed on a structure. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the installation of  FIG. 5  with an automated control module. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an ice buildup inhibitor with a continuous automated control module. 
         FIG. 8  is a second exemplary embodiment of a closed gutter further including a corrosion resistant bracket. 
     
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect, an ice buildup inhibitor is disclosed useful for preventing ice damming, in particular in conjunction with the use of a closed gutter. Heat escape through a roof made warm snow pack, causing it to melt and flow down toward the gutter. After moving away from the heated roof, the water may re-freeze and form an ice dam. In the ice buildup inhibitor may be configured to warm in the closed gutter, thereby preventing the formation of an ice dam. They ice buildup inhibitor may be configured to be easily installed onto an existing closed gutter, enabling responsive installation on only those homes experiencing ice damming. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     An ice buildup inhibitor is provided to prevent ice damming, for example as may occur in connection with the use of closed gutter systems. 
     An ice buildup inhibitor will now be described with more particular reference to the attached drawings. Hereafter, details are set forth by way of example to facilitate discussion of the disclosed subject matter. It should be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the field, however, that the disclosed embodiments are exemplary and not exhaustive of all possible embodiments. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an ice buildup inhibitor  100 . In this exemplary embodiment, ice buildup inhibitor  100  includes a support substrate  130 , which provides a structural foundation. Molded onto support substrate  130  is a mounting hook  120 . Mounting hook  120  is a continuous hooked lip configured to engage a forward guard  220  ( FIG. 2 ) of a closed gutter  200  ( FIG. 2 ). Also molded into support substrate  130  is a heat strip holder  140 , which is configured to receive and at least partially enclose a heat strip  110 . Heat strip  110  may be, for example, a self-regulated heating cable, such as those provided by Raychem. The heat strip may comprise two parallel conductors embedded in a heating core, typically made of conductive polymer. The core is radiation cross linked to ensure long-term reliability. As the temperature drops, the number of electrical paths through the core increases and more heat is produced. Conversely, as the temperature rises the core has fewer electrical paths and less heat is produced. Power is supplied to heat strip  110  by a power cord  130 . 
     Furthermore, although a purely electrical heat strip is disclosed herein, those having skill in the art will recognize that other species of heat strips may be substituted, such as a chemically-activated heat strip, or an electromechanical heat strip. 
     An exemplary method of manufacturing a support substrate  130  includes cutting a strip of sheets of aluminum approximately 2 inches wide and 10 feet long. The aluminum may be, for example, 0.032-inch thickness 3105 H24 aluminum alloy. The aluminum strip can then be bent to form mounting hook  120  and heat strip holder  140 . A second exemplary method of forming support substrate  130  includes extruding the aluminum in the proper shape up to a length of approximately 10 feet. A 2-inch width and 10 foot length are disclosed as exemplary dimensions, but those having skill in the art will appreciate that alternative dimensions can be easily substituted. Those having skill in the art will also easily appreciate that the gauge of sheet aluminum can be widely varied. Once support substrate is properly formed, it may be painted to match known colors of closed gutters  200  ( FIG. 2 ) for added attractiveness. The following table provides exemplary equipment configurations: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Operation 
                 Machine Type 
                 Tooling 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 Cut to length/bend 
                 CNC miter saw 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 Paint 
                 Paint booth 
                 Paint sprayer 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an exemplary ice buildup inhibitor  100  installed in situ on an exemplary closed gutter  200 . In an exemplary embodiment, closed gutter  200  is constructed of heat conductive aluminum. Alternatively, closed gutter may be constructed of other metals, vinyl, or other rigid or semirigid materials. Note however that if closed gutter  200  is constructed of a non-heat conductive material, the effectiveness of ice buildup inhibitor  100  may be reduced. An exemplary commercially available closed  200  is the Englert LeafGuard gutter, which is a seamless and continuous gutter, made of roll formed 0.032-inch 3105-H24 aluminum alloy, and installed with plastic brackets ever 2 feet. The curved surface of the leaf card gutter sheds leaves and debris, and draws water into the conduit  210 . The narrow opening between forward guard  220  and top guard  320  helps to keep out birds and squirrels. 
     Closed gutter  200  includes a waterflow conduit  210 , which is configured to permit free flow of water under normal conditions. A forward guard  220  helps to define the shape of waterflow conduit  210  and to prevent leaves and other debris from entering from the front side. A top guard  230  is also provided, and is configured to help prevent leaves and other debris from entering from the top. Ice buildup inhibitor  100  is installed lengthwise along the forward guard  220 . 
       FIG. 8  discloses a second exemplary embodiment of a close gutter  200 , representing an older design of a Leaf Guard gutter. This exemplary embodiment includes a corrosion resistant bracket  810 , which helps to support top guard  230 . 
     Alternatively, ice inhibitor  100  may be installed in other locations. For example, ice inhibitor  100  may be installed along waterflow conduit  210 . In some cases, installation along forward guard  220  may be preferable to installation along waterflow conduit  210 , as installation along waterflow conduit  210  may inhibit the free flow of water in the closed gutter. Also alternatively, other types of heat strips  110  may be used. For example, a self adhesive aluminum heat strip is known in the art. The durability of a self adhesive solution may be reduced, as accumulation of moisture may reduce the integrity of the self adhesion property. 
     An exemplary method of installing an ice buildup inhibitor  100  on a closed gutter  200  comprises the following steps:
         Ensuring that closed gutter  200  is clean and dry.   Attaching ice buildup inhibitor  100  to forward guard  220  via mounting hook  120 , for example by hooking mounting hook  120  over the lip of forward guard  220 , or slidingly engaging in mounting hook  120  to forward guard  220 .   Plugging power cord  130  into a suitable outdoor GFCI power outlet.   Optionally, attaching an automated control system.       

     The ease of the installation method disclosed above means that an ice buildup inhibitor  100  can be responsively installed on homes that experience ice damming. This can be advantageous, as it may be unclear which homes will experience heat escape and thereby develop ice damming problems. 
       FIG. 3  is a cutaway view of the installation of  FIG. 2 . This cutaway view more particularly discloses the shape of closed gutter  200 , including top guard  230 , waterflow conduit  210 , and forward guard  220 . This cutaway view also more particularly discloses how ice buildup inhibitor  100  is configured it to engage forward guard  220 , and to receive heat strip  110 . 
       FIG. 4  is a cutaway view of an exemplary restructure suffering from ice damming. In this exemplary restructure, a heat duct  440  and other sources of heat leak onto roof  470 . Snow for 30 has fallen on roof  470  and the heating of roof  470  causes some of the snow for 30 to melt. As they pulled water flows down onto an unheated eave  480 , the water refreeze and forms an ice dam  410 . Ice dam  410  traps dammed water  420  on the roof. This can cause various problems, including icicles  460 , wet insulation  450 , and damage to roof  470 . Furthermore, in some cases, icicles  460  can grow extremely large and may prevent a safety hazard. 
       FIG. 5  is an exemplary embodiment of an installation of a closed gutter  200  and ice inhibitor  100  on a roof  470 . In this exemplary embodiment, closed gutter  200  and ice buildup inhibitor  100  may be installed to prevent ice damming such as that shown in  FIG. 4 . In the exemplary embodiment, support substrate  130  and closed gutter  200  are constructed of aluminum. Aluminum is known in the art to be a conductor of heat. As heat strip  110  heats up, ice buildup inhibitor  100  and closed gutter  200  also heat up. Because closed gutter  200  is maintained above the freezing point of water, melted water does not refreeze upon making contact with closed gutter  200 . Instead, the water stays in liquid form and drops harmlessly off the roof. 
     This In some cases, ice buildup inhibitor is  100  may not be installed along the entire length of closed gutter  200 . Rather, 10 foot segments of ice buildup inhibitor is  100  may be installed over critical areas, such as over walkways or other high-traffic areas. 
     In this exemplary embodiment, ice buildup inhibitor  100  is controlled manually. When there is snowpack on the roof, or when ice damming has started, a user may plug power cord  130  inch power outlet  510 , thus turning on ice buildup inhibitor  100 . Those having skill in the art will also appreciate that other manual control methods can be substituted, for example a simple button, switch, or remote control can be used to control the power supply from power outlet  510  to heat strip  110 . To minimize power wastage, it is preferable for the user to turn on the ice buildup inhibitor  100  only when it is snowing, or there is danger of ice damming. At other times, is preferable to turn ice buildup inhibitor  100  off. 
       FIG. 6  discloses a second exemplary installation of an ice buildup inhibitor  100 . In this exemplary embodiment, an automated control module  610  is provided. 
     There are several options to consider for automated control module  610 . For example, and ambient sensing controller has high performance, but in some embodiments may be expensive. Alternatively, automatic snow controllers also provide high-performance, but may be more economical than ambient sensing controllers. As a third exemplary embodiment, a self-regulating controller may be provided as a simple control method that varies its output as a surrounding temperature changes. The Raychem self-regulating heat strip discussed with respect to heat strip  110  is an example of a self-regulating controller. Note that automated control module  610  is a conceptual configuration in this drawing, and it may be represented either by a physical box as shown here, or maybe represented by a more integrated arrangement such as a self-regulating heat strip. 
     Exemplary sensors that may be used for control of ice buildup inhibitor  100  include the DSS-8 rain/snow controller and the CDP-2 snow sensor control/display panel. 
       FIG. 7  discloses another alternative insulation embodiments where in a continuous automated control module  710  is used. An exemplary continuous automated control module  710  is the Easy Heat RS-2 Roof Sentry De-Icer Control, which is specifically designed specifically for controlling roof de-icing cables. The Roof Sentry can be installed under the roof eaves, and requires no further manual operation. 
     As an alternative to powering an ice buildup inhibitor  100  from a residential power supply, a solar power arrangement may be used. For example, a solar array may be connected to a rechargeable battery, which may then be connected to a power inverter to provide the appropriate power to ice buildup inhibitor  100 . As an exemplary embodiment, a 90 amp-our battery may be used. An exemplary 80 W heating cable draws only 0.727 amps, which means that the ice buildup inhibitor  100  could be run for a total of 123.76 hours before the battery is completely drained and needs recharging. 
     Other exemplary methods of increasing the efficiency of an ice buildup inhibitor  100  are the use of a thermostat, ambient sensor, or insulation. 
     While the subject of this specification has been described in connection with one or more exemplary embodiments, it is not intended to limit the claims to the particular forms set forth. On the contrary, the appended claims are intended to cover such alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within their spirit and scope.