Gutter guard

A gutter guard which when affixed to a conventional rain gutter on a roof permits the entry of water for collection and directing the water to down spouts to protect plants and soil around a building during the spring, summer and fall, having a closable element for wintertime operation which prevents the accumulation of ice and snow in the gutter which ultimately builds up creating a dam of snow and ice forcing water under the shingles causing injury to the building and the contents therein.

Rain gutters are put around the perimeter, or edge of the roof of buildings 
to collect water as it rolls off the roof. The idea is to prevent the 
water from having impact on the ground just below the edge of the roof, 
causing it to be dug up and accumulating, such that the individual's house 
will be damaged, around the foundation. Gutters have been used for a 
considerable period of time. 
In the wintertime in northern regions, however, the ground becomes frozen 
and precipitation occurs in the form of snow which does not strike the 
ground with sufficient force to cause any damage. In the wintertime a 
gutter is not needed, in fact, some arrangement preventing snow and ice 
from accumulating in the gutter and permitting it to fall directly to the 
ground is desirable. Moreover, it has been discovered, particularily 
during these past severe winters, that the gutter which receives snow, 
melts from the sun, and turns into ice; eventually, the entire gutter is 
filled with ice and gradually builds up to the first two or three courses 
of shingles. When there is some melting the water encounters an ice dam 
and therefore soaks under the first two or three courses of shingles and 
enters the building causing damage to the rafters, ceilings and the 
buildings' contents. During the wintertime, therefore, electrical heaters 
have been installed along the edge of the gutters, which are turned on 
during the wintertime, in order to melt the ice. The present inventor has 
discovered a much more effective way of eliminating this problem. The 
present invention proposes that the gutter be entirely covered during the 
winter season. When the snow falls on the roof, it merely slides off as if 
there were no gutter there at all. No water therefore enters the gutter 
and it cannot build up, turn into ice and cause the damage currently being 
experienced in homes in the Northern area of the country. 
Today's gutters are largely fabricated from wood or aluminum. The drip edge 
of roofs is usually a strip of aluminum which is nailed to the edge of the 
roof, before the first course of shingles is placed on the roof. On new 
instrallations the present invention obviates the need for the drip edge, 
and will be installed above an aluminum or wooden gutter before the roof 
shingles are put on. It can be installed over any metal or wooden gutter 
currently available. The invention will be sold in selected lengths with 
pieces of aluminum to cover inside corners, outside corners or odd 
lengths. A selected length of this product slides up under the first 
course of shingles and is affixed to the outer edge of the gutter, whether 
it be alum1num or wooden. The invention, therefore, is a very inexpensive 
do-it-yourself product. Drip edges which are currently used on new roofs 
can be eliminated, thereby reducing the cost of an installation of this 
invention on new roofs. 
During the summertime, debris and other material accumulate in gutters. 
Toward fall, the accumulation of leaves becomes very difficult to cope 
with and the gutter downspout quite frequently plugs up and the water 
rushes over the edge of the gutter causing damage to the building, 
staining the exterior and defeating the purpose for which it was 
installed. With the present invention, a perforated cover extends over the 
entire gutter system. Leaves and other debris are unable to enter. 
Accordingly, the problem of stopped-up downspouts is also eliminated. 
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a gutter cover 
which can be closed completely in the wintertime. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gutter cover 
closable in cold weather and openable in warm weather, which prevents the 
accumulation of snow and ice. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gutter cover which 
eliminates the need for drip edges when used on new roof installations.

Referring now to FIG. 1, we see a building 15 with a downspout 13 from a 
gutter 12. The rain runs off roof 11 over the shingles 22 and 21, and to 
the edge of the drip edge 20 into the gutter. During the summertime, the 
water runs down through the downspout without any difficulty. From time to 
time, however, during the winter, the water in the downspout 13 freezes. 
Gradually snow and water in the downspout, when the weather changes, 
freezes solid. Eventually, a dam developes in the gutter 12, such that 
water running off the roof, when the snow melts by virtue of the sun, 
soaks under the shingles 21 and 22, and enters the building causing 
damage. 
Referring now to FIG. 2, we see a sectional view of the roof and gutter 
with gutter guard in place. We first see the gutter 12 and downspout 13. 
The water runs in the valley down the downspout. The water, instead of 
going over the drip edge and into the gutter which is now covered by a 
gutter guard 34, goes through the openings (to be shown later in detail). 
A section 34 slides under the shingle 21 just as the drip edge did. It is 
then fastened by way of screws 33 to the gutter. 
An occasional screw is desirable to make certain that the wind does not 
pick it up and blow it off. The weight of the shingles 22 and 21 keep the 
gutter guard down in place, especially the edge they rest on, without any 
trouble whatsoever; however, it can be nailed down through holes in the 
gutter guard for that purpose. Now, of course, the water running off of 
the roof 11 would merely go over the roof edge until it came to an opening 
in the gutter guard and would then drop into the gutter and down the 
downspout. 
Referring now to FIG. 3, we see a top view of the gutter guard 34 in 
greater detail. The arrow shows the down direction of the gutter guard. 
The gutter guard has holes 36 in its bottom section, and the rain running 
off of the roof would enter these holes and go into the gutter and 
disappear down the downspout. However, a portion of the gutter guard which 
sticks up under the shingles also forms a pocket wherein a solid piece of 
aluminum slides up into it. In the winter, this shutter or piece of 
aluminum closes, covering all of the holes such that the water (now snow 
and ice) runs down and over the edge of the gutter and onto the ground 
below. 
Therefore, during the summertime, the shutter or piece of aluminum is kept 
open and the water runs off of the roof and into the holes and down the 
downspout. This occurs in the springtime; but in late fall when the 
weather starts to get very cold and snow starts to fall, the gutter guard 
has its shutter closed. The homeowner inserts a screw or nail or some 
other device into the hole 51 and pulls the shutter closed. The snow and 
ice therefore will not go into the gutter at all, it will fall onto the 
ground below and when the weather gets warm again, the user would merely 
get a ladder and open the shutter up again so that the water can go 
through the holes and into the gutter below until such time as it reached 
the downspout. 
Referring now to FIG. 5, we see a sheet of aluminum that at the factory 
would have been stamped out. The stamping of a section of aluminum would 
be to accomodate a full section of the gutter guard and they would be in 
various lengths. A piece would have sections 63 and 62 at either end. The 
section 61 would have holes of a fairly large size 66 stamped into it; and 
below it in the main body of the gutter guard, it would have smaller holes 
67 stamped in such that when the section 61 is folded over to form a 
pocket along the dotted line 71, the holes 66 and 67 would be aligned such 
that a nail or screw could be put through the large hole 66 and through 
the sma1ler hole 67. It would then be nailed to the roof or screwed into 
the roof to make it solid and secure when installed. You also see an array 
of holes 36 that have been stamped throughtout the piece. This is to 
permit the water to go down into the gutter and eventually out the 
downspout when the gutter guard is installed in place. You also see and 
array of holes 65 which have been installed in it to permit sheet metal 
screws to be put through the openings and into the gutter to form an 
integral part of the entire system and hold the gutter guard in place 
against wind and other problems. 
Referring now to FIG. 6, we see the top section folded along the dotted 
line 71 and we now see it as ready to receive another section of the 
gutter guard 72 which forms the shutter or closing section. It is folded 
over in such a way that a space exists between the two pieces of aluminum, 
thereby forming a pocket. Folding along line 71 is such that it does not 
permit the two sections to be tightly pressed together, but rather loosely 
pressed together such that a pocket is formed between the two and will 
permit a piece of metal 72 to slide between the two pieces of metal. 
Referring now to FIG. 7, we see a solid piece of aluminum that will 
ultimately form a shutter and that is insertable into the pocket formed 
between the section 61 and the rest of the stamped-out piece shown in 
FIGS. 5 and 6. We note holes 51 which can have tabs affixed to it that 
permit the user to push the shutter up into the pocket or pull it out of 
the pocket. 
Referring now to FIG. 8, we see the two segments of the gutter guard shown 
in FIGS. 6 and 7 assembled together. It is to be noted that the holes of 
36 are partially covered by means of the shutter 72 which has been 
installed in the pocket formed by the folded piece of aluminum. When the 
pocket and shutter 72 are put together, then the tabs 63 and 62 are folded 
over in such a way that they complete the unit and the pocket now is 
totally formed. The shutter 72 is free to move up and down in it; however, 
at the edge 73 which is crimped a little tighter, the shutter is not free 
to slip out after it is assembled and will remain in the gutter guard 
permanently. 
It is seen that FIG. 8 is then placed on the roof, it is slid up under the 
shingles and sheet metal screws can be put through the hole 66 and its 
underneath hole 67 to be screwed to the roof or nailed to the roof as the 
case may need be. These are optional, of course. The holes 65 however, do 
permit sheet metal screws to be placed through the gutter guard and 
affixed to the gutter which is underneath, whether it is aluminum or wood. 
The owner may take the shutter 72 and open it or close it by means of 
pushing on the unit by means of the hole 51, which would receive a screw 
driver or even a nail or other sharp object and it could be pushed or 
pulled as the case need be. 
It is contemplated that these gutter guards will be produced in sections of 
arbitrary lengths of approximately 1 1/2feet. It is quite apparent that 
this type of gutter guard can be made of other metals besides aluminum. 
Aluminum has obvious advantages in expense, weight and characteristics 
which prevent rot. Corner pieces (either inside or outside) could be made 
of an ordinary piece of sheet metal of the same material used in 
fabricating the gutter guard. In FIG. 4, a triangular piece is shown as 
32. It is merely a triangular piece of metal that would fit an outside 
corner or an inside corner to prevent water from flowing into the gutter. 
These could be suitably fastened by sheet metal screws to odd sections of 
gutter when installed. Odd sections of gutter, especially at the ends, 
could also be covered with straight metal sheets to prevent water from 
going into the gutter where not covered by gutter guards. 
Referring now again to FIG. 2, we see that without the gutter guard, the 
water could soak up under shingles 22 and 21 and would arrive at the nails 
56 and 57 and run into the building soaking the rafters 59 and the studs 
27 and 28. It would also affect the plaster board which is usually nailed 
to the rafters and studs. It is also quite apparent that even if the water 
only migrated into the wood of facia board 29, it could cause rotting or 
would refreeze and push out the studs. A point of economy here is the fact 
that drip edge 20 is no longer needed on new construction and the amount 
of money that one would save on drip edges could be applied to the gutter 
guard, thereby saving considerable amounts of money. 
It is to be noted then that the openings 36 are small and will prevent any 
large sticks, leaves or pine needles from entering the gutter. This 
permits leaves to dry on the openings 36 which the wind will then blow 
off, whereby no plugging of the gutter will be experienced. If, in fact, 
some unwanted materials do get into the gutter, they will run to the 
downspout and the removal of the downspout will permit one to remove any 
dirt that might have accumulated. The gutter guard is, of course, 
removable very easily by the removal of a screw and lifting it to clean 
out the gutter, if and when it is ever required. With the gutter guard, it 
is unlikely that anything would get into the gutter which could plug it up 
and it would be years before the need would arise to remove the gutter 
guard. 
Referring now to FIG. 9, we see several pieces of vinyl that have been 
stamped out. 91 is a basic sheet. 92 and 94 are identical pieces which 
will be placed on the bottom sheet 91 as will be discussed in more detail. 
93 is a shutter that slides in and out of a pocket to be formed. It covers 
the holes as described above when the gutter guard is guarding the flow of 
water. When not used, 93 is slid up out of the way so the water will run 
down the holes and into the gutter. The top section 95 has a front 96 cut 
out of it and will be placed on top. The unit, that is when all the pieces 
are assembled together and thermally welded, will form the main component 
of a plastic gutter guard system for covering a gutter as described in the 
other (metal) example. Special welders (vinyl is a thermal setting 
plastic) fuse the plastic pieces together at the factory. 
91 is placed down on a flat surface and 94 and 93 are placed on top of it 
as shown. 93 is laid in place loosely. 92 and 94 are welded to 91 which 
provides a pocket in which 93 is free to move. Sheet 95 is placed on top 
and the edges welded to the strips 92 and 94 to form a complete unit in 
which 93 can move without falling out. 
Looking now at FIG. 10, we see all of the pieces assembled together and we 
note that 92 projects out of the assembled pieces while 94 is recessed. 
This permits the units to be tongue-and-grooved. One unit has its tongue 
fit into the groove of the next unit, and so forth, as the pieces are 
installed on the roof over a gutter. It is seen 93 is free to move in this 
pocket in the opening at 96, thereby opening or closing the holes 
controlling the rain-flow into the gutter. The base 91 forms the basic 
structure on which all of the pieces are assembled and welded to, in order 
to complete the unit. 
Noting that separate units are tongue-and grooved, one needs to make a 
blank to finish off a corner or an end of a gutter when these units were 
were assembled to form a complete system for covering a gutter. A blank is 
formed by welding together three sheets 91 without holes. Offsetting the 
middle sheet will form the needed tongue-and-groove. This blank unit could 
be cut along any side and not fall apart. It could be cut on a 45.degree. 
angle, or at any other angle to fit an inside or an outside corner and the 
tongue-and-groove of each of the units would fit together and form a 
complete unit at the ends. 
Referring now to FIG. 11, we see an end view of a blank piece that we 
mentioned above. Actually, a top view or bottom view would look the same. 
The three layers 101, 102 and 103 are all welded together, but the inner 
layer is offset such that 102 is a tongue and 103 is a groove. A cut 104 
is shown started on the edge of FIG. 11. If we refer to FIG. 12, we see 
that cut forming a 45.degree. angle. Two pieces would fit together to form 
an inside corner. They could also be cut another way and an outside corner 
would be formed. They could be cut straight across at any point 104. The 
gutter guard will end with a single blank piece placed at either end of 
the roof. 
A blank unit can be flipped over and cut at the other end and form the end 
at another place on the roof at the right-hand side or the left-hand side 
of the completely formed gutter guard. It is seen then that this unit can 
be supplied with movable pieces and with a few blank pieces that will be 
used for inside corners, outside corners, or ends in order to complete the 
covering of a gutter. 
The units can come in about 18"lengths. They would be affixed to the roof 
by means of little holes drilled in each unit and nailed to the roof or 
held in place by the shingles placed over it. The weight of the shingles 
holds it firmly in place with a couple of screws along the gutter edge. 
The holes in this case 90 and 89 can be nailed to hold the unit in place 
when forming the gutter guard assembly. It is to be noted that it is 
optional to add the screws at 89 because the pressure or weight of the 
shingles that lays over it at that edge does not need any additional 
support. In the field, however, for a tight system 89 can be used. 
It is also to be noted at 104 where two units are butted together in an 
inside (or even an outside) corner, a little seal, usually silicone, can 
be placed along the seam which will hold the two units tightly together 
just as the tongue-and-grooves do in the other units. Again, this is not 
necessary; however, to really make a tight system such that water cannot 
get into the gutter during the cold weather, the seam should be sealed 
with silicone. If a small quantity of water does seep into the gutter, the 
sun will come out and melt it and it will disappear. Very little water 
will ever seep through these units, especially if they are 
tongue-and-grooved. 
The device is very inexpensive, but it must be closed each winter and 
opened each spring. It is the same in function as its counterpart, 
self-storing storm windows. A do-it-yourselfer, of course, would find this 
device very desirable for it would protect his home. The rash of increases 
in insurance payments to homeowners and the subsequent increase in 
premiums have made this invention extremely important in the northern 
regions of the country where large amounts of snow tend to fall. The 
gutter guard will reduce insurance premiums for homeowner policies. 
Although I have described my invention with reference to specific 
apparatus, I do not wish to be limited thereby, I only wish to be limited 
by the appended claims.