AU2015200965B2

AU2015200965B2 - A Downpipe Jig

Info

Publication number: AU2015200965B2
Application number: AU2015200965A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Lee Kenneth Middleton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-02-25
Filing date: 2015-02-25
Publication date: 2021-07-15
Anticipated expiration: 2035-02-25
Also published as: AU2015200965A1

Abstract

A jig for forming offset bends in a length of downpipe comprises an elongate housing for receiving the length of downpipe. The housing comprises a front wall, back wall and a pair of 5 side walls. The housing further comprises an upper offset forming opening located toward an upper end of the housing and defined by opposing transverse edges in the front wall which extend along each side wall converging at a crease line on the back wall. A lower offset forming opening is located toward a lower end of the housing and is defined by opposing transverse edges in the back wall which extend along each side wall converging at a crease line 10 on the front wall. In use, sections corresponding to the upper and lower offset forming openings are marked and subsequently cut out of the length of downpipe thereby allowing the downpipe to be folded along the corresponding crease lines for forming upper and lower offset bends therein. 15 (FIGURE 1) 12 1/17 N CDme NcA LgD Vill Il IIYI s;,zz ss ¶fsgr; al227tW gg-D IW/

Description

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AUSTRALIA

PatentsAct 1990 (Cth)

SPECIFICATION APPLICANT LEE KENNETH MIDDLETON TITLE A DOWNPIPE JIG

The invention is described in the following statement:

DONWPIPE JIG TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to ajig and corresponding method of use for forming offset bends in a downpipe and more particularly, but not exclusively, for forming offset elbow bends that allow a length of downpipe to extend outwardly and upwardly away from a mounting surface to a gutter outlet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In many countries, including Australia, the relevant building codes require that downpipes are installed as part of any residential roof drainage system. Typically a downpipe will connect to an eaves gutter outlet (often referred to as a "spout") and extend downwardly to a drainage outlet at the ground.

Houses with eaves require an upper and lower downpipe offset for returning the downpipe to the mounting surface for subsequent anchoring. The downpipe offset can be achieved in one of two ways. The first is to purchase pre-made elbow or "slip" joints that can be connected to straight cut sections of downpipe so as to achieve the desired offsets. However, there is not always a pre-made elbow to suite every installation. Furthermore, the pre-made elbows add to the cost of the installation.

The other way of forming the offsets is to manually measure and make suitable cuts in the downpipe. However, there is a reasonable level of understanding and skill that is required to make the correct measurements for forming the offsets and the process can be particularly time consuming for inexperienced installers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided ajig for forming offset bends in a length of downpipe, comprising: an elongate housing for receiving the length of downpipe and comprising a front wall, back wall and a pair of side walls, the housing further comprising: an upper offset forming opening located toward an upper end of the housing and defined by opposing transverse edges in the front wall which extend along each side wall converging at a crease line on the back wall; and a lower offset forming opening located toward a lower end of the housing and defined by opposing transverse edges in the back wall which extend along each side wall converging at a crease line on the front wall; and wherein, in use, sections corresponding to the upper and lower offset forming openings are marked on the length of received downpipe and subsequently cut out thereby allowing the downpipe to be folded along the corresponding crease lines for forming upper and lower offset bends therein.

In an embodiment the edges along each side wall initially extend toward the corresponding crease line at a first incident angle before extending at a sharper incident angle toward the crease line.

In an embodiment the housing is formed of a transparent plastic material.

In an embodiment the housing can be laid flat when not in use.

In an embodiment the housing further comprises markings and/or holes located adjacent one or more of the side wall edges for indicating/marking drill hole locations for receiving fasteners.

In an embodiment the housing has a 4 x 3 length to width ratio.

In accordance with a second aspect there is provided a method for using a Jig as described in accordance with the first aspect for forming bends in a length of downpipe so as to allow an upper end of the downpipe to extend away from a mounting surface and upwardly toward a gutter opening in an eve extending away from the mounting surface, the method comprising: a) inserting the length of downpipe into the elongate housing; b) marking corresponding upper and lower offset sections on the downpipe at desired locations therealong; c) cutting along the markings to form corresponding first and second openings in the downpipe; and d) folding the downpipe along the corresponding crease lines so as to form upper and lower offsets in the downpipe.

In an embodiment the downpipe is inserted in step (a) such that the wall of the downpipe which is to face the mounting surface is aligned with the front wall of the housing.

In an embodiment, in step (b), the upper end of the downpipe is aligned with the upper end of the housing when marking the upper offset section.

In an embodiment once the upper offset section marking has been made in step (b), the method further comprises making a second marking at a distance x from the upper offset crease line toward the lower end of the downpipe, the distance x corresponding to a distance between the mounting surface and a plane extending downwardly from an outer wall of the gutter opening.

In an embodiment the method further comprises sliding the downpipe within the housing such that the second marking is in alignment with the lower offset crease line on the housing and marking the lower offset at that location.

In an embodiment the method further comprises removing the length of downpipe from the jig before cutting out the sections.

In an embodiment bending the downpipe for the upper offset comprises folding the section of downpipe closest to the upper end toward the adjacent middle section of downpipe such that an edge portion adjacent each side wall edge of the first section is received inside corresponding edge portions on the adjacent section.

In an embodiment bending the downpipe for the lower offset comprises folding the middle section of downpipe toward the adjacent lower section of downpipe such that an edge portion adjacent each side wall edge of the middle section is received inside corresponding edge portions on the lower section.

In an embodiment the method further comprises drilling a hole through the overlaying edge portions on each side wall and securing with a pop rivet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments thereof, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of ajig, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows various elevation views of the jig;

Figure 3 is a view of thejig in a folded configuration;

Figures 4 to 16 show various "in use" views of the jig shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 17 shows downpipes of varying dimension having offset bends formed using jigs in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

With reference to Figures I to 3 there is shown ajig 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Thejig 10 comprises an elongate housing 12 formed of a suitable sheet material. According to the illustrated embodiment, the housing 12 is formed of a transparent plastic material. It will be understood, however, that other sheet material may be utilised depending only on the desired implementation.

The housing has a front wall 14, back wall 16 and a pair of side walls 18, 20. The housing 12 is made up of three sections, namely an upper section 22, middle section 24 and lower section 26. The jig 10 may be configured for use with any square or rectangular downpipe (e.g. 100x100mm, 100x75mm, 100x50mm, etc.). According to the illustrated embodiment, the jig 10 is adapted to slidingly receive the downpipe and accordingly the inner dimensions of the housing 12 are made slightly larger than the outer dimensions of the downpipe. In an alternative embodiment, the housing may be adapted to fold over the downpipe (e.g. the housing may be open along one of the transverse edges).

The relevant dimensions of the jig 10 embodiment of Figure 1 are shown in Figures 2 and 3. In this case the jig 10 is configured for use with a 100 x 75 mm downpipe. The non limiting angle dimensions shown in Figure 2 are: 0 = 145; 0= 155; a = 550; a = 42°.

As shown in the figures, the housing 12 comprises an upper offset forming opening 28 which is located between the upper section 22 and middle section 24 and is defined by opposing transverse edges 30, 32 in the front wall 14 which extend along each side wall 18, 20 converging at a crease line 34 extending transversely along the back wall 16. A lower offset forming opening 36 is located between the middle section 24 and lower section 26 and is defined by opposing transverse edges 38, 40 in the back wall 16 which extend along each side wall 18, 20 converging at a transverse back crease line 42 extending along the front wall 14.

As particularly shown in the side elevation views of Figure 2, the edges 30, 32, 38, 40 which extend along each side wall 16, 18 initially extend toward the corresponding crease line 34, 42 at a first incident angle before extending at a sharper incident angle closer toward the respective crease line 34, 42.

As shown in Figure 3, when the housing 12 is folded along the respective crease lines 34, 42 edge portions or "laps" 33, 41 adjacent side wall edges 32, 40 are received inside corresponding edge portions 31, 39 on adjacent housing sections. Thus, when markings (and subsequent corresponding cuts) are made on a length of downpipe using the jig 10, the downpipe can be folded in the same manner, thereby achieving the desired upper and lower offset bends.

A method of forming bends in a length of downpipe using the jig 10 will now be described with reference to Figures 4 to 16. In this example, the bends are formed so as to allow an upper end of the downpipe to extend away from a mounting surface and upwardly toward a gutter opening in an eve extending away from the mounting surface.

In a first step, the length of downpipe is inserted into the elongate housing 12. The downpipe is inserted such that the wall of the downpipe which is to face the mounting surface is aligned with the front wall 14 of the housing 12. The downpipe is inserted such that an upper "big" end of the downpipe is aligned with the upper end of the housing 12.

In a second step, a suitable marking tool (e.g. felt tip pen) is used to trace around the upper offset forming opening 28, as shown in Figures 4 & 5.

In a third step the marking tool is used to make a marking on the downpipe at a distance x from the upper offset crease line toward the lower "small" end of the downpipe. The distance x corresponds to the distance between the mounting surface and a plane extending downwardly from an outer wall of the gutter opening. Figure 6 shows an operator making the measurement, while Figures 7 and 8 show the operator making a square line marking at the measured distance on the downpipe.

In a fourth step, the downpipe is re-inserted into thejig 10 and positioned therein such that the square line marking is in alignment with the lower offset crease line 42 on the housing 12 (see Figure 9).

In a fifth step, the marking tool is used to trace around the lower offset forming opening 36, as shown in Figure 10. Figure 11 shows the downpipe with both the upper and lower offset forming openings marked thereon.

In a sixth step, a suitable cutting tool (e.g. tin snips) is used to cut along the upper and lower offset markings made on the downpipe (i.e. so as to make corresponding upper and lower offset openings in the downpipe). The downpipe may optionally be removed from the jig before making the cuts.

In a seventh step, silicone is run along the newly cut edges of the downpipe (see Figure 12) and optionally a hammer and bolster may be used to form definite crease lines on the respective front and back faces of the downpipe, as shown in Figure 13.

In an eighth step the downpipe is bent so as to form the upper and lower offsets. More particularly, for the upper offset, the section of downpipe closest to the upper end is folded toward the adjacent middle section such that edge portions adjacent each side wall edge of the upper downpipe section are received inside corresponding edge portions on the adjacent middle section (see Figure 14). Similarly, for the lower offset, the middle section of downpipe is folded toward the adjacent lower section such that an edge portion adjacent each side wall edge of the middle section is received inside corresponding edge portions on the lower section.

In a ninth step, after forming each of the upper and lower offsets, a hole is drilled through the overlaying edge portions on each side wall and a rivet is placed therein for securing the adjacent sections of downpipe in a folded relationship (see Figures 15 & 16).

As previously mentioned, the jig 10 may be configured for use with any square or rectangular shaped downpipe, simply by adjusting the relevant housing dimensions. Figure 17 shows downpipes of varying dimensions having offset bends that have been formed using correspondingly dimensioned jigs in accordance with the invention.

It can be seen that the jig as described herein has at least one or more of the following advantages:

- Allows offset bends to be readily formed without any prior experience or

understanding of offset cuttings; - Allows offset bends to be formed quickly and inexpensively;

- Does not require special pre-made bends or adaptors in order to achieve multiple offsets in a length of downpipe; - Plastic housing is durable and wear resistant; - Plastic housing allows jig to be laid flat when not in use; - Transparent housing allows installer to see markings on downpipe for ready positioning of offset forming locations;

In the foregoing description of certain embodiments, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes other technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose. Terms such as "upper" and "lower", "above" and "below" and the like are used as words of convenience to provide reference points and are not to be construed as limiting terms.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

It is acknowledged that the term 'comprise'may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term 'comprise' shall have an inclusive meaning - i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non- specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term 'comprised'or 'comprising' is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A jig for forming offset bends in a length of downpipe having either a square or rectangular cross-sectional profile, comprising: an elongate housing comprising a front wall, back wall and a pair of side walls, the walls defining an internal space configured to slidingly receive the length of downpipe and further comprising: an upper offset forming opening located toward an upper end of the housing and defined by opposing transverse edges in the front wall which extend along each side wall converging at a crease line on the back wall; and a lower offset forming opening located toward a lower end of the housing and defined by opposing transverse edges in the back wall which extend along each side wall converging at a crease line on the front wall; and wherein the jig is configurable in the following three distinct states: i. a use state, whereby the elongate housing is slid over the length of downpipe to a desired location such that the upper offset forming location partially exposes a first wall of the length of downpipe and the lower offset forming opening partially exposes an opposite wall of the length of downpipe and wherein sections corresponding to the upper and lower offset forming openings are marked on the length of received downpipe and subsequently cut out thereby allowing the downpipe to be folded along the corresponding crease lines for forming upper and lower offset bends therein; ii. a stored state, whereby the housing is laid flat so such that the front and back walls bear upon one another; and iii. a training state, whereby the housing is folded along its crease lines to mirror a downpipe having an offset formed using the jig.

2. A jig in accordance with claim 1, wherein the edges along each side wall initially extend toward the corresponding crease line at a first incident angle before extending at a sharper incident angle toward the crease line.

3. A jig in accordance with claim 2, wherein the housing is formed of a transparent plastic material.

4. A jig in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, further comprising markings and/or holes located adjacent one or more of the side wall edges for indicating/marking drill hole locations for receiving fasteners.

5. A jig in accordance with claim 1, wherein the housing has a 4 x 3 length to width ratio.

6. A method for using a jig as claimed in accordance with any one of the preceding claims to form bends in a length of downpipe so as to allow an upper end of the downpipe to extend away from a mounting surface and upwardly toward a gutter opening in an eve extending away from the mounting surface, the method comprising: a) inserting the length of downpipe into the elongate housing; b) marking corresponding upper and lower offset sections on the downpipe at desired locations therealong; c) cutting along the markings to form corresponding first and second openings in the downpipe; and d) folding the downpipe along the corresponding crease lines so as to form upper and lower offsets in the downpipe.

7. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein the downpipe is inserted in step (a) such that the first wall of the downpipe which is to face the mounting surface is aligned with the front wall of the housing.

8. A method in accordance with claim 6 or 7, wherein in step (b) the upper end of the downpipe is aligned with the upper end of the housing when marking the upper offset section.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein once the upper offset section marking has been made in step (b), the method further comprises making a second marking at a distance x from the upper offset crease line toward the lower end of the downpipe, the distance x

corresponding to a distance between the mounting surface and a plane extending downwardly from an outer wall of the gutter opening.

10. A method in accordance with claim 9, further comprising sliding the downpipe within the housing such that the second marking is in alignment with the lower offset crease line on the housing and marking the lower offset at that location.

11. A method in accordance with claim 9 or 10, further comprising removing the length of downpipe from the jig before cutting out the sections.

12. A method in accordance with any one of claims 6 to 11, wherein bending the downpipe for the upper offset comprises folding the section of downpipe closest to the upper end toward the adjacent middle section of downpipe such that an edge portion adjacent each side wall edge of the first section is received inside corresponding edge portions on the adjacent section thereby creating upper overlaying edge portions on each side wall.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein bending the downpipe for the lower offset comprises folding the middle section of downpipe toward the adjacent lower section of downpipe such that an edge portion adjacent each side wall edge of the middle section is received inside corresponding edge portions on the lower section thereby creating lower overlaying edge portions on each side wall.

14. A method in accordance with claim 12 or 13, further comprising drilling a hole through the respective upper and lower overlaying edge portions on each side wall and securing with a pop rivet.