ROOF RAIN CHANNEL

DALOT PROTEGE-TOIT

English Abstract

According to the invention there is provided a rain channel for protecting a
roof from
water flowing out of a downspout. The rain channel comprises a base formed by
an
elongated sheet of flat, water impervious material, and a pair of upstanding,
spaced apart barrier tabs extending a length of the base.

Claims

I CLAIM:
1 A rain channel for protecting a roof from water flowing out of a downspout,
comprising
(a) a base formed by an elongated sheet of flat, water impervious material;
and
(b) a pair of upstanding, spaced-apart barrier tabs extending a length of said
base
2. The rain channel of claim 1, wherein said barrier tabs are spaced apart at
least a
width of said downspout wherein all of the water emanating from an open end of
said
downspout flows down said rain channel.
3. The rain channel of claim 1, wherein said base and tabs are formed from a
single
sheet of said flat material.
4. The rain channel of claim 1, wherein said material is metal.
5. The rain channel of claim 1, wherein a height of said tabs is between a
half-inch
and an inch
6. The rain channel of claim 1, wherein said tabs are formed by folding one
section
of material back on itself so that the resulting elongated tabs are
perpendicular to said
base and said rain channel is made of a single unitary piece of material
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7. The rain channel of claim 1, including a rain diverter couplable to a
discharge end
of said rain channel and operative to change a direction of flow of water
flowing along
said rain channel.
8. The rain channel of claim 7, wherein said rain diverter has a first roof
portion and
a second roof portion inclined at an acute angle with respect to said first
roof portion.
9. The rain channel of claim 8, wherein said first and second roof portions
are flat
and said walls of said second roof portion snugly, slidably engage said
barrier tabs.
10. A method of making a rain channel for positioning between a lower open end
of a
downspout and a gutter of a roof, comprising selecting a length of rigid
foldable sheet
material so that it spans a roof from an upstanding wall down a slope of said
roof to an
elongated gutter, and folding said material to form two spaced apart,
upstanding,
elongated barrier tabs along said length of said material,
11. The method of claim 10, wherein said barrier tabs are spaced apart by at
least a
width of said downspout.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein said rain channel is sheet material.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said sheet material is a flexible metal.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein an adhesive is applied to an underside of
said
base and said base is pressed against said shingles.
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15. The method of claim 12, including a rain diverter couplable to a discharge
end of
said rain channel and operative to change a direction of flow of water flowing
along said
rain channel.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein said rain diverter has a first roof
portion and a
second roof portion inclined at an acute angle with respect to said first roof
portion.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein said walls of said second roof portion
snugly,
slidably engage said barrier tabs at an end of said rain channel and said
first roof
portion is inclined downwardly towards a trough of a gutter.
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Description

CA 02639123 2008-08-26
ROOF RAIN CHANNEL
FIELD:
The present invention relates to a channel or guide for preventing water which
flows down a downspout from an upper roof from contacting a lower roof level
as it
drains to a gutter along a bottom edge of the roof.
BACKGROUND:
One major cause of deterioration of roofs covered by asphalt shingles is a
hardy
type of algae called Gloeocapsa Magma. This algae feeds on the crushed
limestone
that is used in asphalt shingles. Rain spreads the algae down the roof causing
the
black streaks which prevent the shingles from reflecting heat properly and
causing them
to fail prematurely. Even if one were to eliminate the algae, flowing water
damages
asphalt shingles in any event. When rain water hitting an upper roof level is
collected
by a gutter running along a lower edge of that roof and subsequently
transported down
to a lower level of an asphalt roof by a downspout, the water that flows out
of the
downspout to the gutter, results in algae spreading and build-up which damages
the
area of the asphalt roof over which the water flows and ultimately causes
leaks.
Elimination of the downspout is not possible as the manufacturer will not
warranty the
shingles unless there is a downspout. One solution has been to use the
downspout
tube along the roof by attaching one end of it to a lower end of the downspout
and
positioning the other end over the gutter. However, having a relatively large
tube
running along one's roof is somewhat unsightly.

CA 02639123 2008-08-26
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a rain channel for protecting a
roof
from water flowing out of a downspout. The rain channel comprises a base
formed by
an elongated sheet of flat, water impervious material, and a pair of
upstanding, spaced-
apart barrier tabs extending a length of the base.
Preferably, the barrier tabs are spaced apart at least a width of the
downspout
wherein all of the water emanating from an open end of the downspout flows
down the
rain channel.
Advantageously, the base and tabs are formed from a single sheet of the flat
material.
A height of the tabs is between a half-inch and an inch.
The tabs are formed by folding one section of material back on itself so that
the
resulting elongated tabs are perpendicular to the base and the rain channel is
made of a
single unitary piece of material.
A rain diverter is couplable to a discharge end of the rain channel and is
operative to change a direction of flow of water flowing along the rain
channel.
The rain diverter has a first roof portion and a second roof portion inclined
at an
acute angle with respect to the first roof portion.
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CA 02639123 2008-08-26
The first and second roof portions are preferably flat and the walls of the
second
roof portion snugly, slidably engage the barrier tabs.
In another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of making a rain
channel for positioning between a lower open end of a downspout and a gutter
of a roof,
comprising selecting a length of rigid foldable sheet material so that it
spans a roof from
an upstanding wall down a slope of said roof to an elongated gutter, and
folding said
material to form two spaced apart, upstanding, elongated barrier tabs along
the length
of the material.
The barrier tabs are spaced apart by at least a width of said downspout.
The sheet material may be a metal such as aluminum.
A rain diverter is couplable to a discharge end of the rain channel and is
operative to change a direction of flow of water flowing along the rain
channel.
The rain diverter has a first roof portion and a second roof portion inclined
at an
acute angle with respect to said first roof portion.
The walls of the second roof portion snugly, slidably engage the barrier tabs
at
an end of the rain channel and the first roof portion is inclined downwardly
towards a
trough of a gutter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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CA 02639123 2008-08-26
Further features and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed
description, given by way of example, of a preferred embodiment taken in
conjunction
with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the rain channel;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the multi-level asphaltic roof
with the
rain channel in place;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a rain channel installation with a rain
diverter; and
Fig. 4 is a rain diverter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS
Referring to Fig. 1 the rain channel 10 is an elongated base 12 of flat sheet
material formed with two upstanding, spaced-apart barrier tabs 14 along
respective side
flanges 16. The rain channel 10 is made from a single sheet of material that
is folded
over onto itself to make the two upstanding barrier tabs 14 in order avoid the
greater
risk of leaks if the rain guard were made of two or more pieces welded
together.
Ordinarily the rain channel 10 is made of the same material from which the
gutters are
made, namely, tin, aluminum or plastic. Roof shingles made of asphalt or wood
are
vulnerable to water damage by streams of water flowing over top of them into a
gutter
positioned around a lower perimeter of a roof.
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CA 02639123 2008-08-26
As seen in Fig. 2, the rain channel 10 is employed by placing one end beneath
an open bottom end 24 of a downspout 18. The downspout 18 is held against a
vertical
wall 22 of a residential building by straps 20. The other end is positioned
over an open
trough 28 of a gutter 26. Water flowing down the downspout 18 enters the
channel
between the two barriers 14 and flows down the channel into the gutter 26. The
water
does not come into contact with the asphalt shingles of the roof 30 and so
cannot
damage the asphalt shingles. The rain channel 10 may be fastened to the roof
shingles
by applying a bead of silicone along an underside of the flat surface of the
elongated
base 12.
Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, in order to prevent water which flows down the
rain
channel 10 from splashing over the gutter 26 or flowirig out of the other side
of the
gutter 26, a rain diverter 16 is used to change the direction of flow of the
water so that it
is re-directed down into the trough 28 of the gutter 26. Rain diverter 16 has
two
outstanding spaced apart elongated walls 25 of a spacing slightly less than
the spacing
of barriers 14. The walls 25 of the rain diverter 16 enclose a flat first roof
portion 30 and
walls 27 encloses a second flat roof portion 32 inclined approximately 45
degrees to the
first roof portion 25.
As seen in Figure 3, the walls 27 of the second roof portion 27 form a tight
slidable friction fit between barriers 14 at the lower end of the rain channel
10 leaving an
open passageway (not seen) from roof portion 32 to roof portion 30.
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CA 02639123 2008-08-26
Accordingly, while this invention has been described with reference to
illustrative
embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting
sense.
Various modifications of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other
embodiments of
the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference
to this
description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover
any such
modifications or embodiments as fall within the true scope of the invention.
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Representative Drawing