Abstract:
A gutter cleaning system comprises an adapter coupling, a straight extension, and a gooseneck extension. The straight extension has an intake end for attachment to the adapter coupling, and an output end for attachment to the gooseneck extension. The gooseneck extension has an intake end for attachment to the straight extension, and a nozzle end. Air from an air output orifice on a power blower is directed in sequence through the adapter coupling, the straight extension, and the gooseneck extension to blow leaves and debris from gutters.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates generally to power blowers for lawn and garden use, and more particularly to gutter cleaning attachments for power blowers.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Roof gutters have been used to control rainwater for decades. They are simple and effective and relatively inexpensive. However, their design makes them effective at catching more than just rainwater. Gutters catch virtually anything that is up on the roof. This includes debris from trees, including leaves, needles, and seeds. This debris can be very damaging.  
           [0005]    Leaves will clog a gutter when the accumulation is great enough. The mass of leaves compacts and rots in the standing rainwater and, if the gutter is not securely mounted to the roof, may pull the gutter down, or cause other damage. Even if the mass of leaves is insufficient to damage the gutter, the blockage may force the rainwater over the edge of the gutter, instead of directing the water toward the downspout. This uncontrolled water defeats the purpose of the gutters. Many methods have been developed to counter the accumulation of debris in gutters.  
           [0006]    The primary method of debris removal is to simply stand on a ladder and scoop it out. This procedure is messy and can be dangerous. However, sometimes the roof is too high for a household ladder. The solution here is to use the ladder to gain access to the roof and to remove the debris while standing on the roof. This may be even more dangerous than the first method.  
           [0007]    Various styles of gutters or gutter covers have been developed to prevent debris from accumulating in the gutters. However, these can be expensive, and may not always work properly. If these new gutters or covers do not work properly, they just act to conceal the debris. Thus, the homeowner does not know there is a problem until there is a catastrophic failure of the gutter system. A more practical solution is to use a tool that is already found in many homes, the power leaf blower. Thus, what is needed is a set of attachments that can be fitted to virtually any power leaf blower to convert the power blower into a gutter cleaning machine.  
           [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,320, issued to Alexander Feiner on Oct. 24, 1978, discloses an air controlled gutter cleaner. However, it does not include a flexible extension.  
           [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,106, issued to Charles A. Mattson on Sep. 6, 1983, discloses a blower attachment for cleaning rain gutters. However, it does not include a flexible extension.  
           [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,187, issued to Wayne A. Higgins on Oct. 15, 1991, discloses an eave trough cleaning apparatus. However, it does not include a flexible extension and does require a mirror.  
           [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,209, issued to Richard L. Watkins on Mar. 23, 1993, discloses a gutter cleaning system. However, it requires an optical viewing system.  
           [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,942, issued to Carroll E. Dietle on Feb. 7, 1995, discloses a roof gutter and downspout cleaner. However, it requires a flow control valve for a water supply.  
           [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,360, issued to Everett G. Diederiks, Jr. et al. on Dec. 24, 1996, discloses an attachment for pneumatic cleaning device. However, it requires a rigid cover for maintaining the shape of the flexible tube.  
           [0014]    None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a blower-mounted gutter cleaning system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0015]    The device is a gutter cleaner, more specifically a gutter cleaning system for attachment to a power lawn and garden blower. The device includes an adapter that fits a wide variety of power blowers and a plurality of extension tubes. The extension tubes are made in a variety of styles, including flexible, rigid, straight, and curved, and are available in several different lengths. The extension tubes may be linked together to reach virtually any rain gutter to blow the accumulated debris out of a roof gutter.  
           [0016]    Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to disclose a device that attaches to a user&#39;s power blower to remove debris from rain gutters.  
           [0017]    It is another object of the invention to teach a device to remove debris from rain gutters that may be attached to a wide variety of power lawn and garden blowers simply by changing an adapter.  
           [0018]    It is a further object of the invention to disclose a gutter cleaning attachment for a power blower that may be assembled to reach a wide variety of rain gutters.  
           [0019]    Still another object of the invention is to teach a gutter cleaning attachment for a power blower that permits the assembled blower to be comfortably worn.  
           [0020]    It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.  
           [0021]    These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0022]    [0022]FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a gutter cleaning system attached to a power blower according to the present invention.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a 90 degree adapter for a power blower.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a straight adapter for attachment to a power blower.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a flexible extension tube for attachment to a power blower.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a straight extension tube for attachment to a power blower.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a gooseneck nozzle for attachment to a power blower.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a shoulder harness for attachment to a power blower.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a pistol grip attachment for a gutter cleaning system.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 9A is a perspective view of an assembled gutter cleaning system with a straight adapter coupling.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 9B is a perspective view of an assembled gutter cleaning system with an angled adapter coupling. 
     
    
       [0032]    Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0033]    The present invention is a rain gutter cleaning system for attachment to a power lawn and garden blower. The gutter cleaning system includes an adapter coupling, a flexible extension, a straight extension, and a gooseneck tube. Additional embodiments include a shoulder strap and a pistol grip attachment.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 1 shows a gutter cleaning system used to clear a roof gutter A. The gutter cleaning system is built around a power blower B. The gutter cleaning system channels the high-speed air from the power blower B through a series of extension tubes to direct the high-speed air to a roof gutter A that is clogged with debris.  
         [0035]    An adapter coupling  10  is the anchor point for the gutter cleaning system. The adapter coupling  10  is manufactured to fit available power blowers. The variety of available extension tubes can all attach to the adapter coupling  10 . A flexible extension  12  is shown attached to the adapter coupling  10 . The flexible extension  12  permits high-speed air from the power blower B to be directed vertically. A straight extension  14  is connected to the flexible extension to reach the roof gutter A. A gooseneck extension  16  is connected to the straight extension  14  to direct the highspeed air into the roof gutter A.  
         [0036]    In one embodiment, a plurality of straight extensions  14  are attached together to increase the vertical reach of the gutter cleaning system. In another embodiment, a shoulder harness  18  is attached to the power blower B and permits the user to easily carry the gutter cleaning system. In another embodiment, a grip assembly  20  attaches to one of the extension tubes to permit the user to more easily handle and manipulate the gutter cleaning system.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIGS. 2 and 3 show two styles of adapter coupling  10 . FIG. 2 shows an angled adapter coupling  11 . The angled adapter coupling  11  has a bend of between about 30 to 90 degrees. It permits the user to eliminate the use of the flexible extension  12 . All variations of the adapter coupling  10  are designed to attach to a power blower B. However, there are a wide variety of makes and models of power blowers requiring a large number of variations in the design of adapter couplings  10 . In this particular embodiment, the angled adapter coupling  11  has a ribbed adapter fitting  24 . The ribbed adapter fitting is made of a plurality of individual ribs  26  to effectively grip a power blower B with a regular, corrugated surface. Numerous other variations are possible.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 3 shows a straight adapter coupling  13 . The straight adapter coupling  13  requires the use of the flexible extension  12  unless the air outlet on the power blower B is substantially vertical. In one embodiment, the straight adapter coupling  13  includes a snap-on adapter fitting  28 . The snap-on adapter fitting includes engagement snaps  30  that conform to the power blower B. Numerous other variations are possible. Each adapter coupling  10  may be made to fit a particular make and model of power blower B. In the alternative, each adapter coupling  10  may be designed to fit a number of makes and models of power blowers, for greater economy.  
         [0039]    Both the angled adapter coupling  11  and the straight adapter coupling  13  are shown with a female-threaded accessory fitting  22 . The threaded nature of the accessory fitting  22  makes assembly of the gutter cleaning system quick, strong and reliable. However, a male-threaded accessory fitting  32  (not shown) could be used. All subsequent threaded fittings would need appropriately threaded fittings to properly link together.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 4 shows a flexible extension  12  for use with the gutter cleaning system. The flexible extension  12  has a female-threaded accessory fitting  22  and a male-threaded accessory fitting  32 . The threaded fittings permit the flexible extension  12  to be used with any combination of adapter coupling  10 , straight extension  14  or gooseneck extension  16 . The flexible extension  12  permits the user of the gutter cleaning system to radically change the direction of the high-speed air from the power blower B. This is necessary where the high-speed air output from the adapter coupling  10  is substantially horizontal, but where access to the roof gutter A requires a vertical reach. The flexible extension  12  also permits the user of the gutter cleaning system to manipulate the gutter cleaning system without moving the power blower B.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 5 shows a straight extension  14  for use with the gutter cleaning system. The straight extension  14  has a female-threaded accessory fitting  22  and a male-threaded accessory fitting  32 . The threaded fittings permit the straight extension  14  to be used with any combination of adapter coupling  10 , flexible extension  12  or gooseneck extension  16 . The straight extension  14  gives the user of the gutter cleaning system the ability to reach roof gutters that are too high to reach without a ladder. In one embodiment, the straight extension  14  may be manufactured in different lengths. In another embodiment, a plurality of straight extensions  14  may be connected together in series to reach gutters at the second story level or higher.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 6 shows a gooseneck extension  16  for use with the gutter cleaning system. The gooseneck extension  16  is a substantially U-shaped tubular member that has a male-threaded accessory fitting  32 . The male-threaded fitting  32  permits the gooseneck extension  16  to be used with any combination of adapter coupling  10 , flexible extension  12  or straight extension  14 . The gooseneck extension  16  gives the gutter cleaning system the ability to reach into a clogged roof gutter and direct the high-velocity air at the source of the clog. The gooseneck extension  16  includes a nozzle  34 . The nozzle  34  has an outside diameter that is smaller than the inside measurement of the roof gutter, allowing it to be placed inside the roof gutter for maximum effect. In one embodiment, the inside diameter of the nozzle  34  is smaller than the inside diameter of the male-threaded fitting  32 , increasing the velocity of the high-velocity air and improving the performance of the gutter cleaning system.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 7 shows a shoulder harness assembly  18  for use with a gutter cleaning system. In one embodiment, the shoulder harness assembly  18  includes a cuff  36 , hook and loop material  38 , a strap  40 . The cuff  36  wraps around a handle on a power blower B (not shown). The cuff is secured in place by hook and loop material  38 . A strap  40  is attached to the cuff  36  to permit the user of the gutter cleaning system to wear it over his shoulder.  
         [0044]    In another embodiment, the shoulder harness assembly  18  includes a pad  42 . The shoulder harness assembly may include an adjustable buckle  44  within the strap  40  to permit the gutter cleaning system to be worn by a variety of users.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 8 shows a grip assembly  20  for use with a gutter cleaning system. The grip assembly  20  includes a grip handle  46  and a pair of clamps  48  to secure the grip assembly around an extension tube. In the preferred embodiment, the grip assembly  20  is attached to a straight extension  14  so that the user of the gutter cleaning system may easily manipulate the extension tubes when cleaning roof gutters.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIGS. 9A and 9B show two embodiments of fully assembled gutter cleaning systems. FIG. 9A shows a straight adapter coupling  13  while FIG. 9B shows an angled adapter coupling  11 . The straight adapter coupling  13  and the angled adapter coupling  11  attach directly to the power blower B. A flexible extension  12  is attached to the adapter couplings  11 ,  13 . The flexible extension  12  is required in FIG. 9A where the high-speed air from the power blower B is directed substantially horizontally, but where the roof gutter A (not shown) requires a vertical reach. The flexible extension  12  redirects the high-speed air from horizontal to vertical. Where an angled adapter coupling  11  is used, see FIG. 9B, the use of a flexible extension  12  is optional.  
         [0047]    A plurality of straight extensions  14  are shown linked together to give the gutter cleaning system greater vertical reach. The straight extension  14  may be the same length or different lengths to achieve the desired height. A gooseneck extension  16  is attached to the last straight extension to direct the high-speed air into the roof gutter A (not shown).  
         [0048]    In one embodiment, a grip assembly  20  is clamped around a straight extension  14  to give the user greater control over the fully assembled gutter cleaning system. In another embodiment, a shoulder harness  18  is attached to the power blower B to make the gutter cleaning system easier to carry.  
         [0049]    It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.