Patent Application
20140318030
The present invention relates to a covered rain gutter having a hood that covers the gutter trough and prevents leaves and other debris from entering the gutter trough and thereby prevents gutter clogging. The present invention particularly relates to a covered rain gutter utilizing bi-directional vertical plates to which the gutter and hood are secured.
Rain gutters are provided on virtually every structure to catch rain runoff from the structure's roof. Generally, gutters are open troughs provided along the edge of the roof of the structure such that they catch the surface water runoff from the roof. Gutters are generally connected to a fascia board under the edge of the roof with downspouts connected to low points of the gutter to collect and carry away the roof water runoff and direct it away from the structure.
Rain gutters are generally U-shaped with a rear vertical wall, a bottom horizontal base, and a front substantially vertical wall. A common problem with gutters so formed that are left open is that, in addition to the rainwater runoff that they are intended to collect, they will collect undesirable wind-blown and runoff debris, including leaves and bits of broken shingles coming from the roof. This collection of leaves and other debris within a gutter quickly leads to gutter and downspout clogging, causing water collected in the trough to overflow. Removal of the debris and leaves is necessary to stop the overflowing, and has become a regular maintenance chore for many property owners.
A number of prior art arrangements have been developed to eliminate the necessity of cleaning gutters to prevent blockage by leaves and debris. A number of prior art devices and methods used a screen or mesh material installed on top of the gutter trough. The nature of the screen or mesh is that it is porous to allow water to pass through into the gutter trough while still preventing leaves and other debris from entering the gutter.
Another approach that has been developed to block the entry into gutters of leaves and debris is a cover that overlies the gutter top opening. The cover is intended to serve as a deflector of leaves and other debris so that they either are blown off the cover by the wind, or they fall over the front edge of the gutter while allowing the rain water to flow over the outer edge of the cover and into the gutter for collection and disposal. Although several approaches to configuring and supporting a gutter cover have been disclosed, those approaches are cumbersome and time consuming from an installation standpoint, are costly in terms of amount of attachment materials needed, and are not particularly rigid in terms of the rigidity of the overall gutter structure or the rigidity of its attachment to a building surface.
Some of the prior art solutions to prevent gutter clogging by leaves and debris provide a solid cover that overlies the gutter top opening. In those arrangements, the gutter cover acts as a hood preventing leaves and other debris from entering the gutter. A number of gutter trough and hood arrangements have been successful, although not without problems and disadvantages. In general, the prior art covered gutter arrangements were complicated and labor intensive to install, because support members or brackets were required to secure and support the end caps, the end caps being provided at the ends of the trough to prevent any water from escaping out the end of the trough. In prior art devices, the end caps have been attached to the trough through various methods. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,117,642 and 7,117,643, for example, an arrangement is provided wherein a covered gutter trough is provided with an end plate that screws into a bracket that is positioned within the trough to maintain separation between the trough and cover. These patented arrangements are disadvantageous because they require brackets near the end plates, a separate right or left end plate is required for the two ends of the trough, and there is no welded or mechanical connections between the end plates and the gutter. The connection to an adjacent bracket is only good and reliable as the bracket being mounted in the trough, and the screw connection to the bracket reflected in the '642 and '643 patents itself creates a number of problems. Mechanically, the screws and sleeves are frequently stripped, leaving the connections loose and difficult to maintain. In addition, the provision of separate right and left end plates is a problem because frequently parts and products are shipped with the wrong number or mix of right and left end caps, or if one failed there we was no way to use the other end cap. The end caps provided in the prior art patented arrangements were strictly right or left end caps and connected to brackets mounted in the trough. Overtightening or misalignment of the screws holding the end cap to the bracket results in weakened or failed end caps, leading to leakage out of the end of the trough, water flowing out through a damaged end plate instead of into a downspout as desired. In addition, even in those instances in which the end plate is successfully attached to the bracket with screws, it is connected at only two points, and the edge of the gutter trough is butted up against the end cap and there is no mechanical connection between the end caps and the brackets.
There is thus identified a need for a covered gutter system and, in particular for a vertical plate used with a covered gutter system that solves the problems associated with the prior art. It is desirable to provide a vertical plate that does not require screwing to a bracket, that is mechanically connected to the gutter trough, and that has the provisions that it is bi-directional so that a single style can be used as either the left end plate or the right end plate.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a covered gutter system having a single style of bi-directional vertical plates that may be used as a right end plate or left end plate or as a splice plate.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a covered gutter system wherein the end plates are mechanically secured to the gutter trough.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a covered gutter assembly wherein the vertical plates are provided with finished exterior faces in both directions so they can be used as right or left end caps.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bi-directional vertical plate for a covered gutter system fabricated from a single piece of homogeneous material.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a bi-directional vertical plate for a covered gutter system having provisions for locking a trough and hood into place on the vertical plate.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a bi-directional vertical plate for a covered gutter system with provisions to be used as a splice plate facilitating unions of terminating ends of covered gutters.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a bi-directional vertical plate for a covered gutter system having a mechanical connection around substantially the full perimeter where the trough engages the bi-directional vertical plate.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a covered gutter system wherein bi-directional vertical plates receive trough corner sections in a face opposite that in which it receives a length of gutter trough.
The present invention comprises a covered gutter assembly having a gutter trough and a hood covering the gutter trough. A bi-directional vertical plate is provided with means for securing the gutter trough to either a left face or a right face of the bi-directional vertical plate. In the most preferred embodiment, the means for securing comprises a trough channel on a left face of the bi-directional vertical plate and a trough channel on a right face of the bi-directional vertical plate.
The bi-directional vertical plate of the present invention is constructed from a single piece of material, either molded or machined, and has finished exterior surfaces on both sides. That is, either during or subsequent to the mold forming or machining of the vertical plate, the right face and left face are both finished with attractive texturing or embossed with verbiage or indicia visible regardless of which face, the right or left, is visible after installation.
In addition to the attachment of the gutter trough to the bi-directional vertical plate, also provided are means for securing the hood to either a right face or a left face of the bi-directional vertical plate.
For all aspects of the present invention it is critical that the left face trough channel and the right face trough channel are mirror images of each other separated by a solid center section. The trough channels on both the right face and left face of the bi-directional vertical plate extend substantially the entire length of the rear vertical plate, the base and the front vertical wall.
As a preliminary matter, it will readily be understood by one having ordinary skill in the relevant art (“Ordinary Artisan”) that the present invention has broad utility and application. Furthermore, any embodiment discussed and identified as being “preferred” is considered to be part of a best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention. Other embodiments also may be discussed for additional illustrative purposes in providing a full and enabling disclosure of the present invention. Moreover, many embodiments, such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the present invention.
Accordingly, while the present invention is described herein in detail in relation to one or more embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for the purpose of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the present protection. The detailed disclosure herein of one or more embodiments is not intended, nor is to be constructed, to limit the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention, which scope is to be defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof. It is not intended that the scope of the patent protection afforded the present invention be defined by reading into any claim a limitation found herein that does not explicitly appear in the claim itself.
Thus, for example, any sequence(s) and/or temporal order of steps of various processes or methods that are described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, it should be understood that, although steps of various processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or order, absent an indication otherwise. Indeed, the steps in such process or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and orders while still falling within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the patent protection afforded the present invention is to be defined by the appended claims rather than the description set forth herein.
Additionally, it is important to note that, as used herein, “a” and “an” each generally denotes “at least one,” but does not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use dictates otherwise. Thus, reference to “a picnic basket having an apple” describes “a picnic basket having at least one apple” as well as “a picnic basket having apples.” In contrast, reference to a “picnic basket having a single apple” describes “a picnic basket having only one apple.”
Furthermore, it is important to note that, as used herein, “a” and “an” each generally denotes “at least one,” but does not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use dictates otherwise. Thus, reference to “a picnic basket having an apple” describes “a picnic basket having at least one apple” as well as “a picnic basket having apples.” in contrast, reference to “a picnic basket having a single apple” describes “a picnic basket having only one apple.”
When used herein to join a list of items, “or” denotes “at least one of the items,” but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list. Thus, reference to “a picnic basket having cheese and crackers” describes “a picnic basket having cheese without crackers”, “a picnic basket having crackers without cheese”, and “a picnic basket having both cheese and crackers.” Finally, when used herein to join a list of items, “and” denotes “all of the items of the list.” Thus, reference to “a picnic basket having cheese and crackers” describes “a picnic basket having cheese, wherein the picnic basket further has crackers,” as well as describes “a picnic basket having crackers, wherein the picnic basket further has cheese.”
The present invention, as shown in the drawings utilizing reference numbers, addresses the limitations and disadvantages of the prior art. A covered gutter system 2 shown generally in
Means for securing a gutter trough 4 to the bi-directional vertical plates 10 are provided on both the right face 12 and left face 14 of the vertical plates 10, the right face 12 and left face 14 being mirror images of each other and separated by a solid center section 13 (see
The bi-directional vertical plates 10 are designed to receive on either side a gutter trough 16 having a terminal edge comprising a substantially U shaped member having a rear vertical wall 18, a bottom horizontal base 20, a front vertical wall 22 and a horizontal lip 24. As shown in
As shown in
By providing a single design for the bi-directional vertical plate 10, accommodating use as a left end cap or right end cap with mirror image faces 12, 14, installation and repair are improved because the situation is removed wherein right end caps or left end caps are missing or shipped in the wrong quantity, or damaged or defective, delaying installation until such time as the correct parts can be shipped. The use of the bi-directional vertical plate 10 at opposed ends of the covered gutter assembly necessitates that both the right face 12 and left face 14 be provided with finished, aesthetically pleasing surfaces, free of mold marks and machine marks.
In addition to the right face gutter channel 30 and left face gutter channel 50, the bi-directional plates 25, 27 may be formed with bi-directional means for receiving the gutter cover hood on both sides as well comprising a hood channel 60 on the right face 12 and a hood channel 80 on the left face 14 (see
Thus a bi-directional vertical plate 25 of the style of vertical plate 10 receives a gutter trough 16 and hood 100, shown in an exploded view at
Similarly, the edge 110 of the hood 100 is positioned within the hood channel 60 during assembly of the covered gutter assembly. Also similar to the installation of the trough 16, prior to positioning the hood edge 110 into the hood channel 50, a bead of bonding caulk 115 is installed in the hood channel 50. Following the attachment of the trough 16 and hood 100 to the right face of the vertical plate 25, the process is repeated to connect the opposite end of the trough 16 and hood 100 to a left face 14 of a vertical plate 27 (
An additional innovation to the affixation of the trough 16 and hood 100 to a vertical plate 10X is provided as shown at FIGS. 6A-6B-6C. In this embodiment, a modified gutter channel 30X is provided wherein the inner channel wall 42X is tapered, as shown in
The use of the bi-directional vertical plate 10, because it is provided with mirror attachment provisions on both the left face and right face, is also used as a splice plate 200, as shown in
In addition to its use as a spice repair device, the use of the bi-directional vertical plate 10 is also used as a corner connector, wherein a pre-fabricated corner 300 having two terminal ends 302, 304 are secured at the corner of a roof (
The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto
