Patent Application
20240093498
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The disclosure relates to gutter devices and more particularly pertains to a new gutter device for inhibiting debris from clogging in a gutter and a downspout. The device includes a chute that has a pair of entries that each receives a respective one of a pair of gutters on a building for receiving rain and debris from the gutters. The device includes an exit that is attached to a downspout and a plurality of vanes in the exit. The chute is structured to increase the velocity of the rain and debris between the entries and the exit to inhibit the debris from clogging in the chute. Furthermore, the vanes impart a rotation into the rain and the debris to inhibit the rain and the debris from clogging in the downspout.
The prior art relates to gutter devices including a gutter liner that comprises a sheet of rigid material that fits independently in a gutter. The prior art discloses a gutter shield that includes a foraminous plate. The prior art discloses a rain catching device that includes a plurality of gutter screens that are positionable over a rain gutter. The prior art discloses a gutter system for reducing debris clutter that includes a series of curved tubes.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a chute that has a pair of entries that is each attachable to a respective pair of gutters on a building to receive rain and debris from the gutters. The chute has an exit that is positioned between the entries. The exit is attachable to a downspout on the building to direct the rain and debris into the downspout. The chute curves downwardly between each of the entries and the exit thereby facilitating the chute to increase the velocity of the rain and debris when the rain and debris moves toward the exit. In this way the chute inhibits the debris from clogging in the chute. The chute has a plurality of vanes each is disposed in the chute and each of the vanes is oriented to surround the exit. Each of the vanes is curved thereby urging the rain and debris to flow in a circular direction to inhibit the debris from clogging in the downspout.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The chute 12 curves downwardly between each of the entries 14 and the exit 24 thereby facilitating the chute 12 to increase the velocity of the rain 20 and debris 22 when the rain 20 and debris 22 moves toward the exit 24 to inhibit the debris 22 from clogging in the chute 12. The chute 12 has a plurality of vanes 28 that is each disposed in the chute 12 and each of the vanes 28 is oriented to surround the exit 24. Each of the vanes 28 is curved thereby urging the rain 20 and debris 22 to flow in a circular direction to inhibit the debris 22 from clogging in the downspout 26.
The chute 12 has a first wall 30 and a second wall 32 and the first wall 30 has a top edge 34 and a rear edge 36. The first wall 30 curves outwardly between the top edge 34 and the rear edge 36 such that the first wall 30 defines a semi-spherical shape. The second wall 32 is planar and the second wall 32 has a front surface 38 and a rear surface 40. The rear edge 36 is attached to the front surface 38 of the second wall 32 such that the rear edge 36 defines a lower threshold 42 of the second wall 32.
Each of the entries 14 has a basal wall 44 extending between a front wall 46 and a rear wall 48. The rear wall 48 of each of the entries 14 is integrated into a respective one of a first lateral edge 50 and a second lateral edge 52 of the first wall 30 and the rear wall 48 of each of the entries 14 is offset from the second wall 32 toward the first wall 30. The basal wall 44 of each of the entries 14 is integrated into a respective one of a first lateral edge 54 and a second lateral edge 56 of the second wall 32. The front wall 46 of each of the entries 14 is integrated into a respective one of the first lateral edge 50 and the second lateral edge 52 of the first wall 30. Additionally, the front wall 46 may be structured with contours that conform to the structure of the gutters 16 and the front wall 46 may be manufactured in a variety of shapes to conform to a variety of gutter designs. The first wall 30 has an opening 58 extending through the first wall 30 to pass the rain 20 and debris 22 through the opening 58. The opening 58 is positioned adjacent to the second wall 32 and the opening 58 is aligned with an apex 60 of the first wall 30.
The second wall 32 has a plurality of holes 62 each extending through the front surface 38 and the rear surface 40 of the second wall 32 thereby facilitating each of the holes 62 to accommodate a fastener to fasten the second wall 32 to facia 64 of the building 18. The holes 62 are arranged into a plurality of columns 66 that are spaced apart from each other and are distributed between the first lateral edge 54 and the second lateral edge 56 of the second wall 32. The rear surface 40 of the second wall 32 rests against the facia 64 and the offset of the rear wall 48 of each of the entries 14 ensures that the entries 14 will be aligned with the respective gutter 16 when the chute 12 is mounted to the facia 64.
The exit 24 has a plurality of intersecting walls 68 such that the exit 24 has a rectangular shape. Each of the intersecting walls 68 has an upper edge 70 and a lower edge 72, and the upper edge 70 of each of the intersecting walls 68 is integrated into an outer surface 74 of the first wall 30. The exit 24 is aligned with the opening 58 in the first wall 30 and the opening 58 in the first wall 30 conforms to the upper edge 70 of each of the intersecting walls 68 of the exit 24. The lower edge 72 of each of the intersecting walls 68 defines an opening 76 into the exit 24 for insertably receiving the downspout 26.
Each of the vanes 28 is integrated into an inner surface 78 of the first wall 30 and the vanes 28 are spaced apart from each other and are distributed around the opening 58 in the first wall 30. Furthermore, each of the vanes 28 is curved such that each of the vanes 28 follows curvature of the opening 58 and each of the vanes 28 is oriented to slope downwardly into the opening 58. The chute 12 is manufactured in a Northern Hemisphere arrangement having the vanes 28 being oriented to urge the rain 20 and debris 22 to rotate in a clockwise direction when the chute 12 is employed in the Northern Hemisphere. The chute 12 is additionally manufactured in a Southern Hemisphere arrangement having the vanes 28 being oriented to urge the rain 20 and debris 22 to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction when the chute 12 is employed in the Southern Hemisphere.
In use, the chute 12 is mounted to the facia 64 at a location where the downspout 26 intersects the pair of gutters 16. Each of the gutters 16 is attached to a respective one of the entries 14 and the downspout 26 is attached to the exit 24. In this way rain 20 and debris 22 from the gutters 16 are routed through the chute 12 before entering the downspout 26. The chute 12 increases the velocity of the rain 20 and debris 22 as the rain and debris 22 flows through the chute 12 to inhibit the debris 22 from producing a clog in the gutters 16. Furthermore, the vanes 28 impart a rotation into the rain 20 and the debris 22 as the rain 20 and debris 22 passes through the exit 24 and into the downspout 26. In this way the chute 12 inhibits the debris 22 from becoming clogged in the downspout 26. Thus, the gutters 16 and the downspout 26 are facilitated to efficiently drain the rain 20 the debris 22 without becoming clogged as commonly occurs with the current design of gutters and downspouts.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
