IMPROVED GUTTERINGS OR WATER- PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION WATERCOURSES FOR BUILDINGS, AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THERE- WITH
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Lambert, of Sunk Island, Hull, in the
County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVED GUTTERINGS OR WATER-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Lambert
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th August 1874.
I, CHARLES LAMBERT, of Sunk Island, Hull, in the County of York,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED
GUTTERINGS OR WATERCOURSES FOR BUILDINGS, AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THERE-
WITH," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improved gutterings or watercourses for
buildings, and appliances connected therewith, and more particularly
to those gutters known as caves gutters for catching the rain water from
the roofs of houses and other buildings, the object being to prevent
birds building nests therein, or in the joints, bends, or other portions,
and also to prevent dead leaves, straws, mortar, or other debris falling or
being washed into them whereby they would become choked.

page_text: The eaves gutter according to my Invention is of trough shape, and
with ledges upon the inner sides for a perforated screen to rest upon,
the screen being also troughed but in the reverse direction to that
of the gutter, so that debris falling upon it may roll to the sides and
not interfere with the passage of water through the perforations.
The ledges within the gutter may be cast, stamped, or rolled, or ribs
may be soldered upon the inner sides as desired.
The terminals and connections of my eaves gutters have caps to them
which can be removed for junctions (verticals or others) to be attached,
so that water from different levels can be led into one down pipe, the
cap serving also when removed for facilitating the cleansing of the down
pipe and the bends should any debris be settled in them.
The screens in some cases have the edges turned up so that the water
trickling down the inner sides runs into edge troughs instead of into the
"meetings."
Where the rain water is to be used for drinking, domestic, and other
purposes, I fit a filter in connection with the caves gutter or with the
pipes to ensure the removal of impurities, the water being then free
to flow into tanks or receivers to be used without necessitating loss of
time for "settling."
I fit my eaves gutters to the building by brackets of special make.
The gutters rest upon crutches, the under part having stems with screw
threads, which stems pass through arms or shoulders of the brackets,
and are there secured at any elevation by nuts above and below the
arms. Thus, if any fall or depression takes place any one or more of
the crutches can be raised, and the proper angle for the flow of the
water ensured. Again, the brackets having adjustable crutches to them
enables the brackets to be fitted in line so as not to interfere with the
uniformity of the roof or of the house front.
The faces or sides of my terminals, junction pieces, or connections
have gratings or perforations in or to them, and I prefer that the convex
screen be arranged to pass just under the gratings so that the whole is,
so to speak, boxed in.
The crutches in some cases have a bar and also loose prongs upon
them to bear upon the screen to hold it in position, which prongs can

page_text: be slipped to one side to release the screen when it has to be removed.
from any cause.
The terminals or junctions are in some cases double ended for con-
necting the eaves gutters of, say, two adjoining houses or buildings, or
the two or more sides of the same building.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Lambert in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th February 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
LAMBERT, of Sunk Island, Hull, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles Lambert, Her
special licence that I, the said Charles Lambert, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles
Lambert, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for
IMPROVED GUTTERINGS OR WATERCOURSES FOR BUILDINGS, AND APPLIANCES
CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Charles Lambert, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
66

page_text: to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to improved gutterings or watercourses for
buildings, and appliances connected therewith, and more particularly
to those gutters known as eaves gutters for catching the rain water from
the roofs of houses and other buildings, the object being to prevent
birds building nests therein, or in the joints, bends, or other portions,
and also to prevent dead leaves, straws, mortar, or other debris falling or
being washed into them, whereby they would become choked.
The eaves gutter according to my Invention is of trough shape, and 1
with longitudinal ledges upon the inner sides for a screen to rest upon,
the screen being also troughed but in the reverse direction to that
of the gutter, so that the debris falling upon it may roll to the sides and
not interfere with the passage of water through the perforations.
The ledges within the gutter may be cast, stamped, or rolled, or ribs 1
may be soldered upon the inner sides as desired.
The terminals and connections of my caves gutters have caps to them
which can be removed for junctions (verticals or others) to be attached
so that water from different levels can be led into one down pipe.
Cleansing of the down pipe and of the bends can be accomplished by 2
removing a screen should any debris becomes settled.
The screens in some cases have the edges turned up so that the water
trickling down the inner sides runs into edge troughs instead of into the
meetings.
Where the rain water is to be used for drinking, domestic, and other 2
purposes I fit a filter in connection with the eaves gutter or with the
pipes to ensure the removal of impurities, the water being then free
to flow into tanks or reservoirs to be used without necessitating loss of
time for "settling."
I fit my eaves gutters to the building by brackets of special make. 3
The gutters rest upon crutches, the under part having stems with screw
threads, which stems pass through arms or shoulders of the brackets,
and are there secured at any elevation by nuts above and below the
arms. Thus, if any fall or depression takes place any one or more of

page_text: the crutches can be raised and the proper angle for the flow of the
water ensured. Again, the brackets having adjustable crutches to them
enables the brackets to be fitted in line so as not to interfere with tho
uniformity of the roof or of the house front.
The faces or sides of my terminals, junction picces, or connections
have gratings or perforations in or to them, and I prefer that the convex
screen be arranged to pass just under the gratings, so that the whole is,
so to speak, boxed in.
The crutches in some cases have a bar and also loose prongs upon
them to bear upon the screen to hold it in position, which prongs can
be slipped to one side to release the screen when it has to be removed
from any cause.
The terminals or junctions are in some cases double ended for con-
necting the eaves gutters of, say two adjoining houses or buildings, or
the two or more sides of the same building.
The Invention will be clearly understood by reference to the annexed
Sheet of Drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a
portion of an caves gutter a with longitudinal ledges 6, 6, formed on
the inner face for the reception of a screen c, the ledges being near the
top part of the gutter channel so as to be clear of the watercourse.
The screen c is of perforated metal preferably, and to enable the water
to pass into the channel frecly without an admixture of mortar, sand,
grit, dead leaves, or other impurities, I make the central line of the
screen of a greater height, so that such solid impurities may run down
the inclines and find a lodgment against the raised lips d, d, of the
gutter, where they become retained. The accumulation of solid im-
purities interferes very little with the passage of water through the
perforations, because some of the holes would always be open, and
especially those near to and at the top of the screen.
The ledges b, b, may be formed of strips of metal soldered or rivetted
on to the gutter proper, or they can be shaped by rolling an indent
near each side of the gutter length, as in Figure 2, before it is bent
into the half round or other shape, the two ledges being at the requisite
height above the watercourse to maintain the position of the screen.
The ledges may however be formed of pins or pegs put through the
gutter at distances apart; or instead thereof lip hooks may be hung

page_text: upon the gutter edges, and other hooked or right angled ends be formed
for supporting the screen in the desired position.
Any number of my ledged or other screen supporters and gutters
can be arranged under the eaves of a building by overlap connections
as in ordinary eaves gutterings; but instead of leaving the junction and a
terminals open I close them in as in Figures 1 and 3, the latter of which
shows a junction f, that is, a connection of two gutters, the inclines of
which approach each other so that the water from both may flow into
the same down pipe ƒ.
In some cases I attach a flanged or other connection 7 on the top of
the terminal, and also on the top of the junction, as in Figures 1 and 3,
either of which can have an extension pipe i, Figure 3, fitted, or a cap y,
Figure 1, fitted on to close the down passage, the cap being of solid or
of perforated metal to prevent the entry of birds.
The end plates k, k, of the terminals and junctions are perforated
or formed grating shaped for the passage of water above the level of the
screen c to permit of storm water getting clear should the rush be too
great down the upper down pipe, say i, for the ordinary water channel
of the gutter to take it away.
The method is mostly intended where no bottom down pipe g is a
fitted, but it serves to ventilate terminals or the junction, as the case
may be.
My eaves gutters with their screens and attachments are supported
in crutches m, as in Figure 4, the two arms n, n, having a bolt or light
bar p put across to hold the gutter down upon the crutch after it is in a
position. The bottom of each crutch has a tang g to fit loosely in a
hole in the top curved bar of a bracket s, the tang terminating in
a rounded stem, and screw threaded so that nuts t, t, can determine the
height or angle at which the gutter shall be set, the turning of the
nuts at necessary times permitting of the gutter being raised or lowered
to suit.
The bracket is preferably of cast metal, and can be nailed or bolted
to a wall or other support by its flanges u, u, or they may be embedded
in a wall at the time of building, the angle adjustment of the gutters
. being governed by the adjustable crutches, as before explained.
The screens can be held down to the gutter ledges by any suitable
appliance, but as they are the most likely to be moved from any

page_text: stoppage or other cause, I fit drop-over lip pieces v, v, as in Figure 4
and Figure 5, to bear upon the screen when down, but which can
be easily turned up to permit of one or more screens being lifted or
slid out.
The screen edges can be turned up slightly to bear against the inner
side walls of the gutter to cause any water that may "beat" in to flow
over the edges on to the screen itself, and then to pass through into
the channel; when this is done I purpose fitting the inner portions
of the gutter with side channels, and to arrange a filtering body in the
channels so that the water in its passage may be clarified and rendered
more clean and pure, and thereby available for cooking, drinking, and
other domestic purposes. The screen edges may however be turned up
inside as in Figure 5 to. form the filtering medium channels, these
having openings at the sides and at the bottom for the free passage of
the water to the gutter channel. It will be observed in this Figure
that by simply bending or curving the sides of the guttering as shown
at w ledges are formed upon which the screens can rest.
Figure 6 shows a transverse section of a ledged gutter as I prefer to
make it, and with a head pipe attached to the screen c, c, so that
water flowing down the pipe i passes through the perforations into
the gutter a.
I do not confine myself to the special arrangement of appliances
shown in the Drawings for the purposes set forth, since they can be
varied to suit the position, the build, or other contingency; but what I
do consider novel in the Invention is,-
The general combination of parts forming an eaves guttering with the
means of adjusting the height or the angle for the flow of water, as set
forth and shown.
I specially claim a lodgment of eaves gutter screens upon side supports
within caves gutters, substantially as described and shown.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Lambert, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this 18th day of February One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-five.
CHA. LAMBERT. (L.S.)