The term"roofed structure"is used herein to define any structure having a roof, such as, for instance, a building, house, mobile home, caravan or shed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION During hot months of the year, roofed structures, such as houses, tend to heat up like ovens and in some cases the heat makes life uncomfortable or even unbearable for occupants of a house. One method of countering heat buildup is to wet the roof and walls of the house with water using a garden hose. Disadvantages of the said method, however, include that it is time- consuming and it may not be possible to sufficiently wet the house using the garden hose.

In some parts of the world hot months of the year are accompanied by an increase in bushfires. Bushfires typically destroy many houses in Australia each year. Houses tend to catch alight when flying embers from a bushfire land within a roof gutter of a house and ignite combustible materials (e. g. leaf litter) located within the gutter. Houses also tend to catch alight more readily when their internal temperature is high. One method by which homeowners typically prepare for bushfires is to wet their houses with water using garden hoses.

Disadvantages of this method, however, include that it is time-consuming and it may not be possible to sufficiently wet the house before encountering a fire, and it may not be possible to continue adequately wetting the house if the homeowner chooses to leave the location.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sprinkler system for a roofed structure that minimises or overcomes one or more of the disadvantages referred to above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a sprinkler system for a roofed structure, said sprinkler system having: a fluid distribution manifold mountable to said roofed structure and having a first section extending along at least one gutter of said roofed structure and a second section connectable to a supply of fluid; and sprinkler heads connected to the first section for wetting a roof of the roofed structure and for wetting the inside of the gutter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The first section may extend within or alongside the gutter in any suitable way. If the first section extends within the gutter then it may extend in such a way so as to not impair the normal functioning of the gutter and such that the first section is not visible to persons viewing the gutter from below. The gutter may also shield the first section from fire.

Preferably, the second section of the manifold extends along a downpipe of the roofed structure and has an upper end connected to the first section and a lower end connectable to the supply of fluid. The second section may extend outside of the downpipe or within the downpipe.

More preferably, the second section extends sealingly through a bottom wall of the gutter.

Preferably, the first section of the manifold extends around a periphery of the roofed structure to form a closed circuit. In addition to extending along the gutter, the first section may extend, for instance, along the roof, along other gutters, along fascia boards of the roofed structure, or along the walls of the roofed structure. The first section may also extend across a ridge of the roof.

The manifold may be of any suitable construction. The manifold may include known components of irrigation systems such as, for instance, conduits, valves, risers, in-line debris filters, clamps, and connectors for connecting conduits, sprinkler heads and risers together. The first and second sections of the manifold may each comprise a conduit or two or more conduits connected to one another. The conduits may be branched.

Risers may connect the sprinkler heads to conduits of the first section such that the sprinkler heads extend from within the gutter/s.

The sprinkler system may include a shut-off valve, such as a tap, for regulating the flow of fluid to the sprinkler heads. The shut-off valve may be operatively connected to a conduit of the second section.

The sprinkler system may include a valve for preventing backflow of fluid and for keeping the first section primed with fluid. The valve may be located within a conduit of the second section.

The sprinkler system may have any suitable number of sprinkler heads connected to the manifold. The sprinkler heads may be spaced at any suitable distance along the first section.

Preferably, the distance between adjacent sprinkler heads is about 5 m.

The sprinkler heads may be of any suitable construction. Preferably, each sprinkler head extends from within the gutter at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to the pitch of the roof.

The sprinkler heads may having rotating nozzles (ie. rotary sprinklers) or may have fixed nozzles and may produce, for instance, a jet of fluid, mist or spray. The sprinkler heads may have nozzles rotatable through 360 degrees. Preferably, each sprinkler head produces a fine spray covering an area of about 7 sq m. Preferably, each sprinkler head can wet a section of the roof, a section of the gutter, and an area below the gutter, (e. g. walls of the roofed structure, the ground and vegetation).

The manifold may be connected to any suitable supply of fluid. Preferably, the fluid is water or another type of fluid with fire retardant properties. The fluid supply may be, for instance, a mains supply of town water, a water tank, a swimming pool, a well, or a dam.

Preferably, the sprinkler system includes a hose coupling for connecting the second section to a garden hose.

The sprinkler system may include a pump for pumping water from the tank, pool, well or dam to the sprinkler heads. The pump may be connected to the second section. Such pumps are known in the art and may be, for instance, electrically or solar powered.

The sprinkler system may further include a tank for containing a reservoir of fluid and the tank may be connected to the pump.

The sprinkler system may include at least one sensor for regulating the flow of fluid to the sprinkler heads. The sensor may sense, for instance, heat or smoke. The sensor/s may be operatively connected to a shut-off valve of the sprinkler system. That is, when smoke or a particular temperature is sensed, then the shut-off valve may open and enable fluid to reach the sprinkler heads. Suitable heat and smoke sensors and shut-off valves are known in the art. The sensor/s may be operatively coupled to the shut-off valve in any suitable way. A suitable shut- off valve is, for example, an electric solenoid valve powered by an A. C or D. C. power supply, or by solar power.

The sprinkler system may include a timer operatively connected to a shut-off valve for opening or closing the valve after a predetermined period of time. Such timers are known in the art.

The sprinkler system may include a microprocessor and keypad/display for programming and coordinating the shut-off valve with the sensor/s and timer. Such electronic components are known in the art.

The sprinkler system may include signal transmitting/broadcasting and receiving units for operating the shut-off valve from a distance. For instance, the shut-off valve may be activated from a remote location, say, by way of telephone. Such activation methods are known in the art.

The sprinkler system may be connected to an internal fire fighting system of the roofed structure for coordination therewith. Internal fire fighting systems typically have smoke and/or heat sensors and sprinklers.

The sprinkler system may be mounted to the roofed structure in any suitable way. The sprinkler system may include connectors for connecting the first section to gutter brackets, to the gutter itself, and/or to other regions of the roofed structure (e. g. to the roof, to the ridge of the roof, to fascia boards, or to walls of the roofed structure). The sprinkler system may include connectors for connecting the second section to the downpipe.

Any suitable type of connector, such as a bracket, clip or clamp, may be used.

Preferably, clamps/clips fasten the first section to a front wall of the gutter or to internal gutter brackets.

Alternatively, the front wall of the gutter may have a groove or passage and the first section may be locatable therein. Many gutter profiles are prefabricated with such a groove or passage as they serve to strengthen the gutter.

The sprinkler system may be made of any suitable material or materials, e. g. polyvinylchloride, polyethylene, other plastics material, nylon, rubber, aluminium, copper or brass.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of part of a sprinkler system mounted to a downpipe and gutter of a building, according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the sprinkler system and building shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed view of part of the sprinkler system and building shown in Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is an enlarged view of part of the sprinkler system and building shown in Figure 1 ; according to another embodiment of the invention; Figure 5 is an enlarged view of part of the sprinkler system and building shown in Figure 1, according to another embodiment of the invention; and Figure 6 is an enlarged view of part of the sprinkler system and building shown in Figure 1, according to another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the drawings like reference numerals refer to like parts.

Figures 1 and 2 show a sprinkler system 1 mounted to a building 4. The sprinkler system 1 has a water distribution manifold 5 connectable to a supply of water and sprinkler heads 6 (only some of which have been labelled).

A first section 10 of the manifold 5 extends within a gutter 2 of the building 4 and a second section 20 of the manifold 5 extends from the first section 10 to the supply of water, which in this case is a garden hose (not shown). The sprinkler heads 6 are connected to the first section 10.

As seen in Figure 2, the first section 10 comprises PVC conduits 11 connected end-to-end to form a closed circuit. Elbow connectors 18 connect the conduits 11 together. If necessary, the first section 10 could comprise further conduits extending across a roof 7 of the building 4, such as across a ridge of the roof 7.

As seen in Figure 1, the second section 20 comprises PVC conduits 22 connected end-to- end with elbow connectors 19. Elbow connector 21 facilitates coupling to the garden hose, which in turn is connected to a mains supply of town water. A T-shaped connector 17 interconnects the first 10 and second 20 sections. A tap 15 regulates the flow of water to the sprinkler heads 6.

Risers 8 extend between the sprinkler heads 6 and conduits 11 such that each sprinkler head 6 extends from the gutter 2 approximately perpendicularly relative to the pitch of the roof 7.

Each sprinkler head 6 is a rotary sprinkler and the distance between adjacent sprinkler heads 6 along the first section 10 is about 5 m.

Each sprinkler head 6 has a nozzle rotatable through 360 degrees. Each sprinkler 6 produces a jet of water which, when rotated rapidly through 360 degrees, produces a fine spray.

The sprinkler heads 6 and other components 8,15, 17,19, 21 of the manifold 5 are made of plastics material, copper or brass.

Figures 3,4 and 5 illustrate how the sprinkler system 1 may be mounted to the building 4.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed view of part of the sprinkler system 1 and building 4 shown in Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the invention. A rubber grommet 31 is located within an opening in the gutter 2 and conduit 22 extends sealingly therethrough. U-shaped clamps 32 (only one shown) mount conduits 22 to a downpipe 3 of the building 4.

Figure 4 shows how conduits 11 may be mounted within a gutter 2 having internal gutter brackets 41 (only one of which is shown) spaced at regular intervals along fascia boards 45 of the building 4. A clamp 40 of the system 1 has an end fastened with a fastener 42 to an internal

gutter bracket 41 and conduit 11 is held between an arcuate end 43 of the clamp 40 and a front wall 44 of the gutter 2.

Figure 5 shows how conduits 11 may be mounted within a gutter 2 having external gutter brackets 51 (only one of which is shown) spaced at regular intervals along fascia boards 45 of the building 4. A clamp 50 of the system 1 has an end fastened with a fastener 52 to a front wall 44 of the gutter 2. The conduit 11 is held between an arcuate end 53 of the clamp 50 and the front wall 44.

Many types of gutters are prefabricated with a groove or passage as they serve to strengthen the gutter. Figure 6 (which is similar to Figure 5) shows a gutter 2 having a front wall 44 having an upper end 65 which is rolled over to provide a longitudinally extending passage 61.

Conduits 11 extend within the passage 61. Risers 8 extend through openings 63 in upper end 65 and sprinkler heads 6 are connected to risers 8.

In use, elbow connector 21 (shown in Figure 1) is connected to a garden hose, tap 15 is opened and water sprays from sprinkler heads 6. Each sprinkler head 6 produces a fine spray covering an area of about 7 sq m, wetting a section of the roof 7, a section of the gutter 2, and an area below the gutter 2 (i. e. the ground and vegetation). In the presence of a slight wind, each sprinkler head 6 may also wet a side of the building 4. Conduit 22 contains a valve (not shown) for preventing backflow of water and for keeping the first section 10 primed with water.

The sprinkler system 1 may be used to simply cool a building 4 or to protect the building 4 from fire, such as a bushfire. With regard to cooling the building 4, the sprinkler system 1 may simultaneously and continuously wet the roof 7, all sides of the building 4, as well as the ground and vegetation adjacent the building 4. In this way, the building 4 may be cooled.

With regard to fire protection, in addition to keeping the building 4 cool, the sprinkler heads 6 cool the manifold 5 and may extinguish live embers from a fire that land within the gutter 2. The sprinkler system 1 may also minimise scorching of external walls of the building 4 by the fire. In effect, the sprinkler system 1 may provide a protective shroud of water over and around the entire building 4.

Advantageously, the conduits 11 are shielded by the gutter 2 from fire and the system 1 is aesthetically pleasing as the conduits 11 are not visible to persons viewing the gutter 2 from below. Moreover, the conduits 11 extend within the gutter 2 in such a way so as to not impair the water-channelling function of the gutter 2.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention, many modifications and variations may be made thereto by persons skilled in the art without departing from the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set forth.