Patent Application
20090139180
1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to water channeling systems, and more particularly to gutters, gutter covers and attachment clips.
2. Description of Related Art
Residential and commercial structures often include gutters that channel rain water from the roof to several downspouts that direct the water away from the foundation of the structure. These gutters are often clogged by debris, such as leaves and the like, thereby causing the captured water to spill over the lip of the gutter.
One solution to this problem is to attach a cover over the gutter to deflect debris away from the gutter. Typically, the cover includes a portion that is tucked under the first or second course of roof shingles. The opposite end of the cover typically has a bull nose shape and attaches proximate the front lip of the gutter. When water runs over the cover, surface tension draws the water along the bull nose and into the gutter, while leaves and other debris are deflected away from the gutter. The cover may be attached to the gutter using a plurality of brackets or clips spaced at regular intervals along the length of the gutter.
Installation of a gutter cover can be expensive and time consuming. Some conventional gutter brackets require elaborate installation procedures to properly position the brackets on the gutter. Other known bracket designs require the removal of the entire gutter cover from the structure to access the gutter channel in the event cleaning is necessary. Further known designs attach to an exterior surface of the gutter, which can prevent water at that location from being captured by the gutter. Accordingly, an improved gutter cover and bracket design would be desirable.
The above and other needs are met by the present invention, which in one embodiment provides a water channeling system for use with a structure having a roof. The water channeling system includes a gutter defining an upwardly directed channel, wherein the gutter includes a front edge defining a lip extending at least partially back towards the upwardly directed channel; a gutter cover having a front edge, a skirt portion and an arcuate portion intermediate the front edge and the skirt portion, wherein the gutter cover is positioned above the channel with the arcuate portion proximate the front lip of the gutter and the skirt portion is configured to be secured to the roof or the structure; and a clip configured to be positioned substantially within the channel and supported by an inner surface of the lip and the upwardly directed channel, and wherein the clip defines an upwardly directed groove configured to be capable of receiving the front edge of the gutter cover after the skirt portion has been secured to the roof or the structure.
In another embodiment, a clip for facilitating attachment of a gutter cover having a front edge to a gutter having a front wall defining a front lip is provided. The clip includes a gutter interface portion configured to be positioned within the channel and to engage at least a portion of each of (1) an interior surface of the front lip and (2) the front wall; and a cover interface portion defining a groove sized to accept the front edge of the gutter cover wherein the groove is configured to be upwardly directed when the gutter interface portion engages the front lip and the front wall such that the front edge of the cover can be inserted into the groove after the gutter cover is secured to a structure.
In a further embodiment, a method for installing a gutter cover to a gutter is provided. The gutter includes a back wall, a bottom wall and a front wall cooperating to form a channel and extending from the front wall is a lip. The method includes the steps of: securing a clip to an interior portion of the gutter wherein the clip is configured to engage at least a portion of the front wall and the gutter lip and includes an upwardly directed groove; providing a gutter cover that includes a substantially planar skirt portion, an arcuate portion and an interface portion; securing the skirt portion of the gutter cover to a structure; and inserting the interface portion of the gutter cover into the groove after securing the skirt portion to the structure wherein the interface portion is above the channel such that water flowing over the arcuate section will be directed into the channel.
In another embodiment, a clip for facilitating attachment of a gutter cover relative to a K-Style gutter having a front wall and an inwardly directed lip is provided. The clip includes a gutter interface portion having a profile including a concave section terminating in a first planar section, which in turn terminates in a second planar section, wherein the first planar section is substantially perpendicular to the second planar section and wherein the profile is sized to engage a portion of the front wall and the inwardly directed lip; and a cover interface portion including two substantially parallel walls defining a groove, wherein the groove is substantially parallel with the first planar section.
In a further embodiment, a method of cleaning a gutter channel is provided. The gutter channel is covered by a gutter cover thereabove, and the method includes the steps of: rotating an interface portion of a gutter cover out of a groove defined by a gutter clip secured to the front of a gutter while the gutter cover remains secured to a structure; accessing the gutter channel to remove debris; and rotating the interface portion of the gutter cover into the groove defined by the gutter.
Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
The gutter 20 illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiment, the front wall 24 of the gutter 20 includes a first vertical section 26 attached to the bottom wall 23 and extending upwardly in a substantially perpendicular orientation in relation to the bottom wall 23. This section 26 extends to a convex section 27, which blends with a concave section 28 to form a reversed “S” shape. The concave section 28 terminates into a second vertical section 29.
Referring also to
A benefit of positioning the clip 40 within the gutter channel 25 is that water flowing over the cover and contacting the clip falls into the gutter channel. In many prior art designs, the clip is not positioned within the gutter channel, and as a result, some of the water contacting the prior art clip is blocked from entering the channel.
As illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiments, the gutter interface portion 42 has a continuous profile defined by the concave portion 43, the front planar section 44 and the inwardly directed leg 45. However, in other embodiments, the profile may comprise multiple individual segments.
Referring to
Returning to
In one embodiment, a rib 54 is formed on wall 52B. This rib 54 is oriented substantially parallel to the opening of the groove 53. Although the illustrated embodiment includes a single rib 54 on wall 52B, other embodiments may not include ribs or may include any number of ribs on one or both of the parallel walls 52A,B. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the cover 60 may include a complementary groove positioned substantially parallel with the gutter cover's front edge that engages the rib 54 when installed.
In one embodiment, one or both of the parallel walls 52A,B define a hole 56A,B, which is illustrated in
The gutter clip 40 has a periphery portion 58 and a web portion 57. The periphery portion 58 has a thickness “t” as shown in
In one embodiment, the gutter clip 40 is made from any suitable plastic material such as polyamide, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene. Those skilled in the art will recognize that gutter clip embodiments described herein may be produced using any known or developed plastic forming processes such as molding or extruding.
The skirt section 62 is substantially flat and extends from the back edge 61 of the gutter cover 60 to the arcuate section 64. The skirt section 62 may include one or more protrusions 63 that are substantially parallel with the back edge 61. The skirt section may also include a hinge 68 that is substantially parallel with the back edge 61 and facilitates the bending of the skirt section 62 such that at least a portion of the skirt section 62 conforms to the pitch of the roof. This hinge 68 may also provide a pivoting axis for facilitating insertion and removal of the interface section 70 into and out of the groove 53 formed in the clip 40.
In an alternative embodiment of the cover, the skirt section may be designed to be fastened directly to the structure 12 at a position below the lower edge of the roof 14 instead of being slid under the roof covering. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the portion of the structure in which the skirt section would be fastened to is often referred to as the “fascia.” In this embodiment, the back edge of the cover would include a substantially planar section that is designed to abut the structure 12 and would be fastened to the structure 12 using screws or other fastening mechanisms. In this embodiment, the back edge is positioned such that the cover, as seen in cross-section, is angled away from the structure when the front of the cover is secured proximate the front lip 30 of the gutter 20 such that water flows away from the structure 12.
The arcuate or “bull nose” section 64 has a radius “R”, which is sized such that water “adheres” to profile of the cover 60 and is directed into the gutter channel 25 when installed. The arcuate section 64 leads to a substantially planar transition section 66, which extends to an interface section 70.
The interface section 70 is sized and oriented to engage the groove 53 in the clip 40 as shown in
The method for installing a water channeling system according to an embodiment of the present invention begins with the attachment of a plurality of gutter clips 40 to a gutter 20. The clips 40 are generally installed at regular intervals along the length of the gutter 20. Individual clips may be installed by positioning the gutter clip 40 inside the gutter channel 25 such that the cantilevered end of the inwardly directed leg 45 of the clip 40 is positioned proximate the pocket 38 formed by the horizontal member 34 and the flange 36 of the gutter 20. The clip 40 is then rotated substantially about the cantilevered end of the inwardly directed leg 45 such that the clip 40 engages the gutter 20. When installed, the inwardly directed leg 45 of the gutter clip 40 is retained within the pocket 38 formed by the horizontal member 34 and the flange 36 as shown in
Next, the skirt section 62 is secured to the structure. In one embodiment, this includes sliding the back edge 61 of the cover 60 under the roof covering such as the first or second course of shingles. The skirt section 62 may be further secured to the roof using fasteners such as nails or screws. In another embodiment, the skirt section is attached directly to the fascia of the structure.
After the cover is secured, the front portion of the gutter cover is pivoted about the hinge 68 such that the interface portion is inserted into the groove. In a non-hinge embodiment, the gutter cover may be creased or bent proximate the edge of the roof to position the interface section 70 into the groove 53. As discussed above, the gutter cover 60 and gutter clip 40 may have complementary ribs/grooves that engage to retain the cover 60 in the groove 53 of the clip 40, making a further fastener unnecessary. However, for higher wind-load ratings, the cover 60 may be further secured to the clip 40 by a fastener driven into the cover interface portion 50 of the clip 40 and a portion of the planar interface section 70 of the cover 60 in the groove 53. In one embodiment, the fastener is a self-tapping screw and the interface portion defines a recess or hole to aid in positioning the screw at an appropriate location.
A benefit of the upwardly directed groove in the gutter clip embodiments discussed herein is that a user may access the gutter channel without removing the fasteners securing the gutter cover to the structure. Periodically, a user may desire to access the gutter channel to troubleshoot drainage issues or to remove debris from the channel. In many prior art designs, the gutter cover had to be unfastened from the structure to gain access to the gutter channel. With the upwardly directed groove design described herein, a user can access the gutter channel by pivoting the interface section 70 of the gutter cover 60 out of the upwardly directed groove 53 and away from the gutter channel 25 without having to unfasten the gutter cover from the structure. In one embodiment, the interface section 70 pivots about the hinge 68 in the skirt section of the gutter cover. After the desired access is complete, the interface section 70 can be pivoted back into the groove 53. Of course, if the gutter cover is secured to the gutter clips 40 with fasteners, these fasteners would be removed to allow the gutter cover to pivot away from the gutter and replaced after the desired access is complete.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
