Snow guard

Abstract

A snow guard including a resilient body with a slot for receiving a portion of a standing seam of a metal roof. The resilient body has a pair of apertures on opposite sides of the slot into which can be inserted the jaws of a tool for manipulating the resilient body to selectively widen the slot to facilitate the installation of the snow guard upon the standing seam of a metal roof. The resilient body also has a number of teeth projecting into the slot adjacent each of the apertures for gripping the standing seam of a metal roof positioned within the slot. A pair of wings extends outwardly from the resilient body for impeding the downward movement of snow and ice on a roof.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to static structures and, more particularly, to covers with projecting restrainers, e.g., snow stops. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Snow and ice have a tendency to slide from sloping roofs. While it is desirable for a roof to shed frozen precipitation, a sheet of falling ice can pull a gutter from its moorings and cause bodily injury to passersby. In an effort to resolve these problems, snow guards have been developed to prevent large blocks of snow and ice from sliding rapidly from roofs and putting excessive weight upon gutters and downspouts. [0003] Snow guards employed with metal roofs have traditionally employed set screws driven against the roofs' standing seams to anchor them in place. While effective, these snow guards are relatively costly to manufacture and time-consuming to install. Further, set screws have tendency to damage the roofs that they engage and may, in some cases, lead to roof leaks. SU...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005] It is another object of the invention to provide a snow guard of the type described that can be securely fastened to the standing seam of a metal roof in a matter of seconds. If placement is not made perfectly the first time, the snow guard can be easily repositioned.

[0006] It is a further object of the invention to provide a snow guard that is intuitive to use and that can be installed by unskilled laborers after only a few minutes of instruction.

[0007] It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a snow guard for the purposes described that is lightweight in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and dependable in use.

Problems solved by technology

Snow and ice have a tendency to slide from sloping roofs.

While it is desirable for a roof to shed frozen precipitation, a sheet of falling ice can pull a gutter from its moorings and cause bodily injury to passersby.

While effective, these snow guards are relatively costly to manufacture and time-consuming to install.

Further, set screws have tendency to damage the roofs that they engage and may, in some cases, lead to roof leaks.

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