Patent Publication Number: US-2006000153-A1

Title: Valley scuppers for building roofs

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in apparatus for draining water from the roof of a building and, more particularly, to a scupper which is used on the roof for collecting water in valley portions of the roof and causing delivery of same to a downspout or like water collecting member.  
      2. Brief Description of Related Art  
      In commercially available roof constructions there are frequently used apparatus which allow for water to be delivered from the roof of a building to an exterior portion thereof which allows for that water, such as rain water, to be drained from the building, through a downspout, or other means. This type of device is highly effective where there may be a parapet wall which extends upwardly around the periphery of the roof construction and where it is thereupon necessary to remove rain water from collecting on the roof. The roof is frequently provided with areas which extend through the peripheral wall and allow for drainage of water. The normal construction is to insert an apparatus known as a scupper into the opening formed in the wall with an extension thereon allowing for connection to a downspout. In almost all cases, the bottom wall of the scupper is flat so as to conform to the flat shape of the normal roof construction.  
      In many modern buildings, there is a tendency to provide numerous sections which form a so-called “cathedral” ceiling on the interior thereof. Moreover, there are also portions in which an addition to an exisiting structure may be of a higher elevation than the existing structure. In these cases, there is caused a groove. In modern housing construction, so-called cathedral ceilings are very popular and there will be numerous areas in which one portion of a roof is connected to another portion of a different angular relationship and potentially different elevation.  
      In all of the aforesaid constructions in which there is anything other than a flat wall, there is a need to remove the rainwater or melted snow water from the existing roof. Otherwise, water which is pooled on the roof will eventually cause leaks in the roof. In these cases, since the only available scupper is that of a flat bottomed scupper, many roofing construction personnel have attempted to use these flat scuppers by building up around an opening in the wall so as to accommodate the flat bottom of the scupper. This type of build-up to remove water is not very effective and also adds much additional labor cost to the formation of a desirable opening in the roof. Thus, if there is a V-shaped section formed between two roof areas, the roof construction personnel will attempt to form a hole in the parapet wall or use a flat scupper at the point of connection of the two roof sections and attempt to build up by adding additional framing and stucco to literally accommodate the scupper. As indicated, this is costly, time-consuming and also not very effective.  
      It would therefore be desirable to provide a scupper which is adapted to cooperate with valley sections of a roof construction and which allows for the removal of water from the roof to a downspout or like member.  
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
      It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention to provide a scupper for use with valley portions of a roof construction.  
      It is another object of the present invention to provide a scupper which has a bottom wall construction sized and shaped so as to accommodate a valley area of a roof construction and which thereby avoids the need to build up an opening in a wall surrounding the roof to accommodate the scupper.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide a valley scupper of the type stated which comprises a portion adapted to fit within a valley in a roof construction and a second portion which is sized to accommodate a downspout.  
      It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a valley scupper of the type stated which can be made at a relatively low unit cost and which is highly efficient in operation.  
      It is another salient object of the present invention to provide a method of directing water in a valley portion of a roof construction to a downspout or similar member for evacuating the water from the roof construction without the need to specially build up an area to receive a flat bottomed scupper.  
      It is still a further salient object of the present invention to provide a method of directing water away from a roof construction which has one or more valleys formed therein in a highly efficient manner.  
      It is also an object of the present invention to provide a scupper of the type stated which is effective for use with valley roofs or flat roofs or shed roofs and which is adapted to fit each of said roofs in an efficient manner and which easily allows for connection to a downspout forming part of the water removal system for the building.  
      With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts and components presently described and pointed out in the claims.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates in general terms to a scupper which is adapted to cooperate with valley portions of a roof for removal of rainwater therefrom. In particular, the scupper of the invention includes a tray portion which is somewhat V-shaped in configuration and has a pair of plates adapted to fit within the valley portion of the roof. An upstanding end wall is connected to repair of plates which are of a generally V-shaped arrangement.  
      Extending rearwardly from the upstanding wall is an outwardly extending generally rectangularly shaped tube which is in communication with the plates to receive the water from the plates and direct same to a downspout. The rectangularly shaped tube adopts that configuration inasmuch as the downspout is typically rectangular and has an end portion to receive the scupper which is also rectangularly shaped. However, the V-shaped configuration of the plates allows these plates of the tray to fit within a V-shaped arrangement of a portion of a roof construction.  
      For purposes of the present application, the term “valley” is that term normally applied to portions of a roof which have two relatively flat surfaces thereof meeting at an acute angle which is generally, although not necessarily, in excess of 90 degrees as, for example, about 110 degrees to about 160 degrees. As a result, the tray itself preferably has the two plates thereof at an angle ranging between 110 to 160 degrees. Although the tube is generally rectangularly shaped, it would normally adopt a shape in order to conform to the entrance to the downspout.  
      The vertically arranged abutment plate which fits against the fire wall or so-called “firewall” is located between the tray and the tube. Moreover, the various components forming part of the scupper are welded or otherwise rigidly secured together.  
      The term “firewall” is that term which refers to a wall entirely surrounding or otherwise surrounding a portion of a generally flat roof so that the roof itself is not readily seen from a street level.  
      The term “scupper” refers to that apparatus commonly used with flat roofs for directing water through a firewall or parapet wall to a downspout.  
      This invention possesses many other advantages and has other purposes which may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of the forms in which it may be embodied. These forms are shown in the drawings forming a part of and accompanying the present specification. They will now be described in detail for purposes of illustrating the general principles of the invention. However, it is to be understood that the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings are not to be taken in a limiting sense.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a rear portion of a valley scupper in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the valley scupper of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of the scupper of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a rear elevational view of the valley scupper of the invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the valley scupper; and  
       FIG. 6  is a fragmentary side elevational view, partially in section, and showing the use of the scupper of the invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings,  10  designates a scupper identified herein as a valley scupper used for the draining of water from a roof having angularly arranged roof sections forming a valley therein. The scupper of the invention generally comprises a tray  12  having a pair of flat walls  14  and  16  which are connected at a connecting region  18 . The walls  14  and  16  are angulated relative to one another at an angle within the range of 110 to 160 degrees. The most preferred angle is approximately 130 degrees.  
      The tray is connected to a vertically arranged upstanding abutment wall  20 . The abutment wall  20  has an opening  22  which is generally rectangularly shaped in the manner as best shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  of the drawings. Extending forwardly from the opening  22  and beyond the abutment plate  20  is a tubular drain connecting member  24 . By further reference to  FIGS. 1-4  of the drawings, it can be seen that the tubular drain connecting member or tube  24  is rectangularly shaped in cross-section. In this way, the tubular drain connecting member  24  is adapted for connecting disposition to a receiving end of a downspout, as hereinafter described in more detail.  
      Each of the aforesaid components are preferably formed of a sheet metal material, such as steel, aluminum or the like. Moreover, they are permanently secured together in the manner as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , typically by welding or any other metal securement technique. It should also be understood that the entire assembly could be molded from a suitable plastic material.  
       FIG. 6  shows the use of the valley scupper of the invention in connection with a conventional building construction with the latter having a roof  40  and with a valley  42  formed therein. Moreover, the building is provided with an outer wall  44  and a parapet wall or so-called “firewall”  46 . In order to drain water from the roof  40 , an opening  48  is formed in the parapet wall and the scupper  10  of the invention is inserted therein. In this case, the scupper has the tube  24  extending through the opening  48  and with the plates  12  and  14  extending along the valley portion of the roof. The tube  24  thereupon allows for connection of a downspout  50 .  
      In accordance with the above arrangement, it can be observed that water from the roof  40  will drain into the valley  42 . This water will be carried through the firewall  46  and directly to a downspout  50 . Moreover, the scupper of the invention effectively fits within the valley or groove formed in the roof without any special construction therefor.  
      Thus, there has been illustrated and described a unique and novel valley scupper for building roofs and which thereby fulfills all of the objects and advantages which have been sought. It should be understood that many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which will become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. Therefore, any and all such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention.