Housing for enclosing the juncture between a roof and a conduit extending through the roof

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6543187
  • Patent Number
    6,543,187
  • Date Filed
    Friday, October 26, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 8, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Friedman; Carl D.
    • McDermott; Kevin
    Agents
    • Turlock; Lance A.
Abstract
A conduit housing for enclosing the juncture between a roof and an elongated conduit such as flexible cable or a pipe extending upwardly through the roof is disclosed. The housing may be installed while the conduit remains in situ and without disconnecting the conduit from an external utility to which it is connected. The housing includes first and second base sections, a hood, and a conduit opening extending through a side wall of the housing. The base sections are slidably engageable with each other around the conduit on the roof to form a base assembly. The base assembly has an open top and extends peripherally around an interior region containing a lower portion of the conduit. The hood is engageable with the base assembly to cover at least the open top of the base assembly. The conduit opening is sized to provide a passage for the conduit from within the interior region to an external region outside the housing, and it may extend through a side wall of the base assembly or a side wall of the hood.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to housings for placement on roofs and, in particular, to conduit housings for enclosing the juncture between a roof and a conduit (for example, a pipe or a cable) extending upwardly through the roof.




When a building is constructed, one or more conduits, each having a particular purpose, may extend upwardly through the roof. Once past the juncture between the roof and the conduit, any given conduit may extend for a relatively short distance (e.g. a vent pipe), an intermediate distance (e.g. a pipe leading to an air conditioner or other external utility placed elsewhere on the roof), or a relatively long distance (e.g. a cable carrying electrical wires to power lines, telephone lines or other external utility distant from the roof). In all cases, it is of course important to ensure that the juncture between the roof and the conduit is adequately sealed to prevent leakage through the roof. Typically, required sealing is accomplished with the aid of housings or flashings that are integrated with the structure of the roof.




After a building is constructed (typically and hopefully years after), it may become necessary to re-surface the roof of the building. When this necessity arises, those conduits that extend through the roof and which are connected to external utilities such as those mentioned above frequently present a problem. Existing conduit housings often must be removed and replaced. However, their structure typically does not admit to replacement without first disconnecting the conduits from the utilities to which they are connected, then installing the replacement housing, then reconnecting the conduits to their respective utilities. The cost of breaking and remaking such connections can add significantly to the cost of re-surfacing a roof.




BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




A primary object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved conduit housing for enclosing the juncture between a roof and a conduit extending through the roof, and which can be quickly and easily installed while the conduit is connected to an external utility.




Another object of the present invention is to provide a conduit housing of the foregoing type that can be manufactured in minimal parts off site and subsequently assembled and installed on site with minimal labor.




In one aspect of the present invention, a further object is to provide a conduit housing of the foregoing type which is particularly well adapted for cases where the conduit is a flexible cable.




In another aspect of the present invention, a further object is to provide a conduit housing of the foregoing type which is particularly well adapted for cases where the conduit is a rigid pipe extending upwardly through a roof then horizontally above and across the roof.




In a broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a conduit housing for enclosing the juncture between a roof and an elongated conduit while the conduit is in situ. The conduit comprises a first portion extending upwardly through the roof and a second portion extending horizontally above the roof. The housing comprises first and second base sections, a hood, and a conduit opening extending through a side wall of the housing. In one embodiment, the side wall is a side wall of one of the base sections. In another embodiment, the side wall is a side wall of the hood.




The base sections are horizontally slidably engageable on the roof with each other around the conduit to form a base assembly. The base assembly has an open top and extends peripherally around an interior region containing at least a lower portion of the first portion of conduit. The hood is engageable with the base assembly to cover at least the open top of the base assembly. The conduit opening is sized to provide a passage for the second portion of the conduit from within the interior region to an external region outside the housing.




In preferred embodiments, the base assembly comprises four sides adjoined to define the interior region, each of the sides comprising an outwardly extending base flange securable to the roof, an intermediate side wall extending on a cant upwardly and inwardly from the base flange; and, an upper side wall extending substantially vertically from the intermediate side wall to the open top. Three of the four sides are preferably associated with one of the two base sections while the remaining fourth side is associated with the other of the two base sections. When engaged to form the base assembly, the separate identity of the two base sections is lost for all practical purposes. However, the resulting assembly is one which easily can be integrated with the structure of a roof using conventional roofing practices.




In an embodiment preferred for cases where the conduit is a flexible cable, the conduit opening extends down from the top of one of the upper side walls of the base assembly. Further, a conduit channel preferably extends outwardly from the conduit opening, the channel being sized to provide a passage for the conduit/cable for a distance outwardly from the opening. The hood is sized to cover both the open top of the base assembly and said channel.




In an embodiment preferred for cases where the conduit is a rigid pipe, the hood comprises a top wall and side walls extending downwardly from the top wall to an open bottom. Upper side walls of the base assembly extend upwardly wholly within the side walls of the hood, and the conduit opening is located in a front one of the side walls of the hood. In cases where it is desired to have a structure that easily can be easily adapted to pipes extending horizontally above roofs at differing elevations, the front one of the side walls advantageously includes an elongated slot extending upwardly from the open bottom of the hood, and the conduit opening is an opening between a longitudinally abutting pair of panels extending across the slot while slidably engaged with the front one of the side walls.




The foregoing and other features of the present invention, and resulting advantages, will now be described with reference to the drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a housing in accordance with the present invention used to enclose the juncture between a roof and an elongated flexible cable extending upwardly through the roof. For the purpose of illustration, integration of the housing with the roof is not shown.





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of the housing shown in

FIG. 1

with its hood removed.





FIG. 3

is section elevation view taken in a plane containing section line


3





3


in

FIG. 1

, and illustrates the integration of the housing shown in

FIG. 1

with a roof.





FIG. 4

is a section elevation view taken along section line


4





4


in

FIG. 3

, and also shows the integration of the housing shown in

FIG. 1

with a roof.





FIG. 5

is an exploded perspective view of the housing shown in FIG.


1


.





FIG. 6

is a section view illustrating engagement between walls forming part of the housing shown in FIG.


1


.





FIG. 7

is a top view illustrating the relationship between selected base flanges forming part of the housing shown in FIG.


1


.





FIG. 8

is a perspective view of a housing in accordance with the present invention used to enclose the juncture between a roof and a pipe extending upwardly through the roof. For the purpose of illustration, integration of the housing with the roof is not shown.





FIG. 9

is a perspective view of the base assembly forming part of the housing shown in FIG.


8


.





FIG. 10

is an exploded perspective view of the base assembly shown in

FIG. 9







FIG. 11

is section elevation view taken in a plane containing section line


11





11


in

FIG. 8

, and illustrates the integration of the housing shown in

FIG. 8

with a roof.





FIG. 12

is a section elevation view taken along section line


12





12


in FIG.


11


.





FIG. 13

is an exploded perspective view of the hood forming part of the housing shown in FIG.


8


.





FIG. 14

is a perspective view of the hood shown in

FIG. 13

when assembled.





FIG. 15

is a bottom plan view of the hood shown in FIG.


14


.





FIG. 16

is a rear elevation view of the slide panels forming part of the hood shown in FIG.


14


.





FIG. 17

is an exploded perspective view showing final steps in the assembly of the hood shown in

FIG. 13

with the base assembly shown in

FIG. 9

to provide the housing shown in FIG.


8


.





FIG. 18

is a perspective view of a housing substantially the same as the housing shown in

FIG. 8

, the one difference being that the lengths of the slide panels in the hood have been altered to accommodate a pipe which is higher than the pipe shown in FIG.


8


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




Three conduit housings in accordance with the present invention are shown in the drawings. The first as shown in

FIGS. 1-7

is a housing generally designated


100


used to enclose a juncture


510


between a roof


500


and an elongated flexible cable


600


extending upwardly through the roof. The second as shown in

FIGS. 8-17

is a housing generally designated


200


used to enclose a juncture


511


between roof


500


and a pipe


700


. The third as shown in

FIG. 18

is a housing,generally designated


300


used to enclose a juncture (not shown) between roof


500


and a pipe


800


.




Embodiment Shown in FIGS.


1


-


7






Housing


100


includes first and second base sections generally designated


110


,


170


(see

FIG. 5

) slidably engageable with each other to form a four-sided base assembly generally designated


101


(see FIG.


2


); and a hood


190


. A conduit opening


166


extends through side wall


160


of the base assembly, and a U-shaped conduit channel


195


extends outwardly from the opening. Channel


195


is sized to provide a passage for cable


600


for a distance outwardly from opening


166


and is preferably capped by lid


196


which slidingly fits over the sides of the channel. Hood


190


is engageable with base assembly


101


to cover both the open top defined by perimeter


105


and channel


195


. Apart from fasteners or welds (not shown) that may be used to join various parts, the entire housing is preferably fabricated from thin sheet metal such as aluminum.




Base section


110


has a generally three-sided construction, two of the three sides being opposed to each other and extending in parallel; the third side transversely interconnecting the opposed sides. The opposed sides have a mirror image construction.




One of the opposed sides includes an outwardly extending base flange


112


, an intermediate side wall


116


merging with and extending on a cant (preferably about 45 degrees) upwardly and inwardly from flange


112


; and an upper side wall


120


merging with and extending vertically from wall


116


to perimeter


105


. An inverted L-shaped flange


125


extends outwardly from the top of wall


120


to provide a counter-flashing. Similarly, the other of the opposed sides includes an outwardly extending base flange


132


, an intermediate side wall


136


merging with and extending on a cant (again about 45 degrees) upwardly and inwardly from flange


132


; and an upper side wall


140


merging with and extending vertically from wall


136


to perimeter


105


. An inverted L-shaped flange


145


extends outwardly from the top of wall


140


to provide a counter-flashing.




The transverse interconnecting side of base section


110


includes an outwardly extending base flange


152


transversely interconnecting base flanges


112


,


132


; an intermediate side wall


156


transversely interconnecting intermediate side walls


116


,


136


; and an upper side wall


160


transversely interconnecting upper side walls


120


,


140


. Inverted L-shaped upper flanges


165




a,




165




b


extend outwardly from the top of wall


160


to provide a counter-flashing.




Base section


170


forms the remaining side of base assembly


101


. As best seen in

FIG. 5

, it includes an outwardly extending base flange


172


; an intermediate side wall


176


extending on a cant upwardly and inwardly from flange


172


; and an upper side wall


180


extending substantially vertically from wall


176


to perimeter


105


. Wall


176


includes a pair of flanges


177


,


178


bent inwardly at angles of 90 degrees from opposed ends of wall


156


. Likewise, wall


180


includes a pair of flanges


181


,


182


bent inwardly at angles of 90 degrees from opposed ends of wall


180


. An inverted L-shaped upper flange


185


extends outwardly from the top of wall


180


to provide a counter-flashing.




To facilitate sliding engagement between base sections


110


and


170


, and as best seen in

FIGS. 3 and 6

, wall


120


includes a folded end


121


bent to form an elongated channel


122


, and wall


140


includes a folded end


141


bent to form an elongated channel


142


. Similarly, wall


136


includes a folded end


137


(shown in

FIG. 3

only) bent to form an elongated channel


138


, and wall


116


includes a corresponding mirror image folded end (not shown). When base sections


110


,


170


are brought together from the exploded positions shown in

FIG. 5

, channel


122


of wall


120


slidingly receives flange


181


of wall


180


, and channel


142


of wall


140


slidingly receives flange


182


of wall


180


. Concurrently, channel


138


of wall


136


slidingly receives flange


178


of wall


176


, and the corresponding channel (not shown) of wall


116


slidingly receives flange


177


of wall


176


. As an aside, it readily will be apparent that

FIG. 6

is representative not only of the engagement of wall


180


with walls


120


,


140


but also of the engagement of wall


176


with walls


116


,


136


.




With reference to

FIG. 7

, it will be noted that an extended end


173


of flange


172


underlies flange


112


. Although not shown, a corresponding extension at the other end of flange


172


likewise underlies flange


132


. The purpose is to provide added stability to base assembly


101


when base sections


110


,


170


are first engaged. When the sections are brought together, section


110


is toleranced such that the extended ends of flange


172


will frictionally slide under flanges


132


,


172


thereby better holding the sections in place until further work is done. Extended end


173


is also indicated in FIG.


5


.




Installation and Use




In use, the first step is to fabricate the discrete components of housing


100


as shown in

FIG. 5

(viz. base sections


110


,


170


, hood


190


and lid


196


). To minimize the amount of work required at a building site, and to take advantage of production scale efficiencies, this work is preferably done in a metal fabrication plant. The discrete components are then shipped to the building site.




Once at the building site, and with flexible cable


600


already extending in situ through roof


500


at juncture


510


, the next step is to position base section


110


on roof


500


in the position shown in

FIG. 3

, thereby peripherally enclosing three sides of interior region


108


. (Interior region


108


is that portion of the base assembly interior which lies below the bottom of opening


166


. Cable


600


, which extends from juncture


510


upwardly within region


108


, is directed from region


108


through conduit opening


166


and channel


195


.)




Next, base section


170


is slidingly engaged with base section


110


, and lid


196


is slidingly engaged with channel


195


, the resulting assembly being like that shown in FIG.


2


. At this point, interior region


108


if fully enclosed around its periphery. Flanges


112


,


132


,


152


,


172


are then secured to roof


500


by means of suitable fasteners


102


(see FIG.


1


). Further, lid


196


is preferably secured to channel


195


by means of suitable fasteners (not shown).




When lid


196


is in place, cable


600


is preferably sealed within channel


195


. A suitable seal can be achieved using a commercially available expandable foam sealant which will expand around the cable and be bounded by channel


195


and lid


196


.




Next, hood


190


is positioned atop the base assembly and secured with suitable fasteners


103


(see FIG.


1


). Juncture


510


between roof


500


and cable


600


is now fully enclosed.




Finally, and as shown in

FIGS. 3-4

, housing


100


is fully integrated with roof


500


when roof


500


is itself completed by the addition of a roofing surface


501


. Roofing surface


501


extends across roof


500


, over flanges


112


,


132


,


152


,


172


, and is then formed upwardly and over intermediate walls


116


,


136


,


156


,


176


and upper side walls


120


,


140


,


160


,


180


. Such surfacing techniques and the materials used are well known in the art and will not be described here in further detail.




Considering, for example, that cable


600


may be a cable carrying power lines, telephone lines, or the like, it will be apparent that it may remain fully in situ during the installation of housing


100


and that there will be no need to disconnect the cable from utilities (not shown) in the region external to the housing. Further, it will be apparent that minimal work is required on site to assemble the housing and to integrate it with roof


500


.




Embodiments Shown in

FIGS. 8-17

and in

FIG. 18






Housing


200


includes first and second base sections generally designated


210


,


220


(see

FIG. 10

) slidably engageable with each other to form a four-sided base assembly generally designated


201


(see FIG.


9


); and a hood generally designated


250


. As in the case of housing


100


, housing


200


is preferably fabricated from thin sheet metal such as aluminum.




Except for the following differences, base assembly


201


has substantially the same construction as base assembly


101


:




Base assembly


201


does not include flanges like inverted L-shaped flanges


125


,


145


,


165




a,




165




b,




185


. Instead, base assembly


201


includes flanges


230


,


231


,


232


,


233


extending for a short distance inwardly from the upper side walls of the assembly to bound an open top defined by perimeter


205


(see

FIG. 10

) along the inner edges of flanges


230


,


231


,


232


,


233


.




Base assembly


201


does not include a wall opening like upper wall opening


166


, or a U-shaped conduit channel like channel


195


. Necessarily, it does not include a lid like lid


196


. Pipe


700


which passes through base assembly


201


exits the assembly through the open top defined by perimeter


205


rather than through a side wall of the assembly.




Base assembly


201


extends peripherally around a defined interior region


208


(see

FIGS. 11

,


12


). However, unlike interior region


108


of base assembly


101


(which by definition is that portion of the interior below opening


166


(see FIG.


3


)), interior region


208


of base assembly


201


is the entire interior region of the base assembly.




Since base assembly


201


is otherwise substantially the same as base assembly


101


, including flanges and channels to facilitate sliding engagement of base sections


210


,


270


, the construction of base assembly


201


and its parts will not be discussed in further detail.




Hood


250


is engageable with base assembly


201


to cover the entire upper wall structure of base assembly


201


including the open top defined by perimeter


205


. Hood


250


includes a top wall


251


, parallel opposed side walls


252


,


253


, a rear side wall


254


extending transversely between side walls


252


,


253


, and a front side wall


255


also extending transversely between side walls


252


,


253


. All side walls extend downwardly from top wall


250


to an open bottom


256


(see FIG.


11


).




Front side wall


255


includes a centrally disposed elongated slot


260


extending upwardly from open bottom


260


for a substantial part of the wall height and, when assembled as shown in

FIGS. 11-12

, well above the top of base assembly


201


. As best seen in

FIGS. 13

,


15


, guide rails


261


,


262


formed integrally with wall


255


extend lengthwise on opposed sides of slot


260


.




Guide rails


261


,


262


are sized and positioned to carry a pair of panels


270


,


275


each of which extend across slot


260


. Panels


270


,


275


include opposed flanges


271


,


272


and


276


,


277


, respectively, for slidingly engaging the rails and thus wall


255


. As indicated in

FIG. 13

, the panels are received longitudinally by rails


261


,


262


. When fully received, and as best seen in

FIGS. 8

,


14


the two panels are in longitudinal abutment; the bottom of panel


270


abutting the top of panel


275


. This position of abutment is also illustrated in FIG.


16


.




The bottom of panel


270


includes a downwardly facing semicircular recess


273


. The top of panel


275


includes an upwardly facing semicircular recess


278


. Both recesses have the same radius and are positioned to form a circular conduit opening


280


when panels


270


,


275


are brought into longitudinal abutment. As best indicated in

FIGS. 8

,


11


and


12


, opening


280


is sized to provide a passage for pipe


700


.




Installation and Use




In use, the first step is to fabricate the discrete components of housing


200


as shown in

FIGS. 10 and 15

(viz. base sections


210


,


220


and hood


250


including panels


270


,


275


). As in the case of housing


100


, this work is preferably done in a metal fabrication plant and not at the building site.




However, if the height of pipe


700


is not precisely known at the time of fabrication, then it may be considered desirable to initially fabricate the length of at least one of panels


270


,


275


to a length approaching the length of slot


260


. Then, at the building site, the height of pipe


700


can be measured, and the lengths of the panels can be easily trimmed on site to accommodate the circumstances. Such circumstances are highlighted by the example of

FIG. 18

where pipe


800


extends horizontally at an elevation significantly higher than the elevation of pipe


700


in FIG.


8


. The embodiment shown in

FIG. 18

, includes a base assembly


201


as in the case of

FIG. 8

, and a hood


250




a


having panels


270




a,




275




a


slidingly engaged with front wall


255


. The only difference between hood


250




a


and hood


250


is that the length of panel


270




a


is significantly shorter than the length of panel


270


and the length of panel


275




a


is significantly longer than the length of panel


275


. Consequently, conduit opening


280




a


for pipe


800


is significantly higher than conduit opening


280


for pipe


700


. Otherwise, housing


300


is substantially the same as housing


200


.




Continuing with the description of the embodiment as shown in

FIGS. 8-17

, the first step at a building site is to assemble base sections


210


,


220


as shown in

FIG. 10

to form base assembly


201


around pipe


700


as shown in the lower part of FIG.


17


. As shown in

FIGS. 11-12

and


17


, pipe


700


then extends upwardly from juncture


511


through interior region


208


of base assembly


201


to elbow


701


of the pipe. From elbow


701


, pipe


700


extends horizontally above the top of base assembly


201


and above roof


500


.




Next, the base flanges of base assembly


201


are secured to roof


500


by means of suitable fasteners. Then, before the addition of hood


250


, base assembly


201


is integrated with roof


500


when the roof is completed with roofing surface


502


. As indicated in

FIGS. 11-12

, roofing surface


502


extends across roof


500


and over the base flanges of base assembly


201


, and is then formed upwardly and over the intermediate and upper side walls of base assembly


201


.




Then, housing


200


is completed with the addition of hood


250


. Assuming that panels


270


,


275


have already been cut to length, the first completion step is to engage panel


270


with front wall


255


of the hood. Then, with panel


270


engaged and panel


275


manually held below pipe


700


as shown in

FIG. 17

, the next step is to lower the hood (except panel


275


) down over base assembly


201


with pipe


700


extending through slot


260


. Concurrently, panel


275


is maneuvered into sliding engagement with rails


261


,


262


during the lowering process. The lowering continues until the bottoms of side walls


252


,


253


come to rest on roofing surface


502


atop base assembly


201


. If necessary, final adjustments are made to the positions of panels


270


,


275


so that they are in longitudinal abutment. Note: If it is found that panel


270


was cut a bit too short, then it may be lowered on rails


261


,


262


to a limited degree without undesirably exposing the top of slot


260


.




From

FIG. 12

, it will be noted that the width of hood


250


between side walls


252


,


253


is sufficient to accommodate not only the upper width of base assembly


201


, but also the thickness of roofing surface


502


as it extends over the upper side walls of base assembly


201


. To prevent excessive left to right movement of the hood relative to base assembly


201


as shown in

FIG. 12

, the combined horizontal distance between side walls


252


,


253


and the vertically extending parts of roofing surface


502


preferably is small.




From

FIG. 13

, it will be noted that the width of hood


250


between rear side wall


254


and front side wall


255


is significantly greater than the upper width of base assembly


201


. Relative to base assembly


101


, hood


250


is positioned maximally to the right in FIG.


13


. This is a preferred position because three of the four side walls of hood


250


(front side wall


255


being the exception) are then resting on roofing surface


502


atop base assembly


201


. Further, front side wall


255


preferably is positioned a distance away from roofing surface


502


when hood


250


is positioned maximally to the right as in FIG.


13


. This distance creates working room to adjust the position of panel


275


. Further, if it is found that panel


275


was cut a bit too short, then the room will permit the panel to extend to a limited degree below the bottom of front side wall


255


.




When hood


250


is finally positioned, it may be considered loosely engaged with the base assembly. The entire upper side wall structure of base assembly


201


, including the open top defined by perimeter


205


, is now covered. As well, juncture


511


between roof


500


and pipe


700


is now fully enclosed. The final position is preferably secured by fastening hood


250


to the base assembly. This may be done quickly and simply with a pair of screws, one through side wall


252


and into base assembly


201


(viz. screw


204


depicted in FIG.


8


); the other (not shown) through opposed side wall


253


and into base assembly


201


.




Finally, it normally will be considered desirable to seal opening


280


around pipe


700


. Various commercially available sealants can serve this purpose, for example, silicone sealants. The use of such sealants also can compensate for situations where panels


270


,


275


are not brought into longitudinal abutment to actually touch one another. If a small gap is present, then the sealant may be used to fill both opening


280


and the gap, thereby bringing the panels into abutment via the sealant.




Considering, for example, that pipe


700


may be a pipe connecting to an air conditioner or some other utility (not shown) in a region external to housing


200


, it will be apparent that it may remain fully in situ during the installation of housing


200


and that there will be no need to disconnect the pipe from the utility. Further, it will be apparent that minimal work is required on site to assemble the housing and to integrate it with roof


500


.




VARIATIONS




In principle, it will be evident that a housing having the same general construction as housing


100


could be used for a rigid pipe conduit rather than a flexible cable conduit such as cable


600


, or that a housing having the same general construction as housing


200


could be used for a flexible cable conduit rather than rigid pipe conduit such as pipe


700


.




Further, is to be understood that various modifications and changes can be made to the form, details, arrangement and proportion of the various parts described with reference to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the present invention. The invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular embodiments that have been described and should be understood as encompassing those embodiments which are within the spirit and scope of the claims that follow.



Claims
  • 1. A conduit housing for enclosing the juncture between a roof and an elongated conduit while said conduit is in situ, said conduit comprising a first portion extending upwardly through said roof and a second portion extending horizontally above said roof, said housing comprising:(a) first and second base sections horizontally slidably engageable on said roof with each other around said conduit to form a base assembly comprising four sides adjoined to define an interior region containing at least a lower portion of said first portion of said conduit, said base assembly having an open top and extending peripherally around said interior region, each of said sides comprising (i) an outwardly extending base flange securable to said roof; (ii) an intermediate side wall extending on a cant upwardly and inwardly from said base flange; and, (iii) an upper side wall extending substantially vertically from said intermediate side wall to said open top; (b) a hood engageable with said base assembly to cover said open top; (c) a conduit opening extending through and down from the top of one of said upper side walls, said opening being sized to provide a passage for said second portion of said conduit from within said interior region to an external region outside said housing; and, (d) a conduit channel extending outwardly from said conduit opening, said channel being sized to provide a passage for said conduit for a distance outwardly from said conduit opening; said hood being sized to cover both said open top and said channel.
  • 2. A conduit housing for enclosing the juncture between a roof and an elongated conduit while said conduit is in situ, said conduit comprising a first portion extending upwardly through said roof and a second portion extending horizontally above said roof, said housing comprising:(a) first and second base sections horizontally slidably engageable on said roof with each other around said conduit to form a base assembly comprising four sides adjoined to define an interior region containing at least a lower portion of said first portion of said conduit, said base assembly having an open top and extending peripherally around said interior region, each of said sides comprising (i) an outwardly extending base flange securable to said roof; (ii) an intermediate side wall extending on a cant upwardly and inwardly from said base flange; and, (iii) an upper side wall extending substantially vertically from said intermediate side wall to said open top; (b) a hood engageable with said base assembly to cover said open top, said hood comprising a top wall and side walls extending downwardly from said top wall to an open bottom; said upper side walls of said base assembly extending upwardly wholly within said side walls of said hood; and, (c) a conduit opening located in and extending through a front one of said sides walls of said hood, said opening being sized to provide a passage for said second portion of said conduit from within said interior region to an external region outside said housing, wherein said front one of said side walls includes an elongated slot extending upwardly from said open bottom, and wherein said conduit opening is an opening between a longitudinally abutting pair of panels extending across said slot while slidably engaged with said front one of said side walls.
  • 3. A conduit housing as defined in claim 1, wherein said first base section is a unit comprising three of said four sides, namely, a pair of parallel extending opposed sides and a third side transversely interconnecting said opposed sides; and wherein said second base section is a unit comprising one of said four sides, said one of said four sides being slidably engageable with said opposed sides to form said base assembly.
  • 4. A conduit housing as defined in claim 3, wherein said conduit opening extends through and down from the top of the upper side wall of said third side.
  • 5. A conduit housing as defined in claim 2, wherein said first base section is a unit comprising three of said four sides, namely, a pair of parallel extending opposed sides and a third side transversely interconnecting said opposed sides; and wherein said second base section is a unit comprising one of said four sides, said one of said four sides being slidably engageable with said opposed sides to form said base assembly.
  • 6. A conduit housing as defined in claim 5, wherein said front one of said side walls includes an elongated slot extending upwardly from said open bottom, and wherein said conduit opening is an opening between a longitudinally abutting pair of panels extending across said slot while slidably engaged with said front one of said side walls.
US Referenced Citations (20)
Number Name Date Kind
2706395 McCrea Apr 1955 A
2800850 McKann Jul 1957 A
2856837 Thulman Oct 1958 A
2956495 Sublette Oct 1960 A
3089521 Paiement May 1963 A
3742659 Drew Jul 1973 A
3757812 Duncan Sep 1973 A
3802131 Resech Apr 1974 A
3838544 Hindall Oct 1974 A
4102090 Anguish Jul 1978 A
4158276 Stoneman Jun 1979 A
4366652 Mueller Jan 1983 A
4480534 Sloan Nov 1984 A
4635409 Vandemore Jan 1987 A
4890546 Venge Jan 1990 A
4937991 Orth Jul 1990 A
4970837 Fogelstrom Nov 1990 A
5148647 Rutledge Sep 1992 A
5349790 Beetles et al. Sep 1994 A
5946863 Bullard Sep 1999 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number Date Country
612978 Jan 1961 CA
2080437 Apr 1994 CA
2 144 452 Mar 1973 DE