Gutter cleaning system

A new gutter cleaning system for eliminating a need to manually clean gutters. The inventive device includes a motor disposed within a gutter at an end thereof opposite a downspout opening thereof. The motor is disposed within a waterproof housing. The motor has a rotating coupling rod extending outwardly thereof and extending outwardly of a side wall of the housing. The motor has a power cord extending outwardly thereof and extending outwardly of a top wall of the housing. A spindle shaft couples with the rotating coupling rod of the variable speed motor. The shaft extends essentially a length of the gutter. A plurality of fan blades are coupled with the spindle shaft in a spaced relationship.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to self-cleaning gutters and more 
particularly pertains to a new gutter cleaning system for eliminating a 
need to manually clean gutters. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The use of self-cleaning gutters is known in the prior art. More 
specifically, self-cleaning gutters heretofore devised and utilized are 
known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural 
configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the 
crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of 
countless objectives and requirements. 
Known prior art self-cleaning gutters include U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,312 to 
Sterzel; U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,516 to Gleaves; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 353,189 to 
Crowley; U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,613 to Moomaw; U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,106 to 
Mattson; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,320 to Feiner. 
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and 
requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new gutter 
cleaning system. The inventive device includes a motor disposed within a 
gutter at an end thereof opposite a downspout opening thereof. The motor 
is disposed within a waterproof housing. The motor has a rotating coupling 
rod extending outwardly thereof and extending outwardly of a side wall of 
the housing. The motor has a power cord extending outwardly thereof and 
extending outwardly of a top wall of the housing. A spindle shaft couples 
with the rotating coupling rod of the variable speed motor. The shaft 
extends essentially a length of the gutter. A plurality of fan blades are 
coupled with the spindle shaft in a spaced relationship. 
In these respects, the gutter cleaning system according to the present 
invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs 
of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily 
developed for the purpose of eliminating a need to manually clean gutters. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of 
self-cleaning gutters now present in the prior art, the present invention 
provides a new gutter cleaning system construction wherein the same can be 
utilized for eliminating a need to manually clean gutters. 
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described 
subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new gutter cleaning system 
apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the self-cleaning 
gutters mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new 
gutter cleaning system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, 
suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art self-cleaning gutters, 
either alone or in any combination thereof. 
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a gutter having a 
predetermined length. The gutter has an open top, a closed bottom, opposed 
long side portions and opposed short end portions. The closed bottom has a 
downspout opening adjacent one of the short end portions. The gutter is 
positionable on a house. A variable speed motor is disposed within the 
gutter at an end thereof opposite the downspout opening. The motor is 
disposed within a waterproof housing. The motor has a rotating coupling 
rod extending outwardly thereof and extending outwardly of a side wall of 
the housing. The motor has a power cord extending outwardly thereof and 
extending outwardly of a top wall of the housing. A spindle shaft couples 
with the rotating coupling rod of the variable speed motor. The shaft 
extends essentially the length of the gutter. A plurality of supports are 
secured to the closed bottom of the gutter in a spaced relationship. Upper 
ends of the supports couple with the spindle shaft. The upper ends have 
bushings disposed therein so as not to preclude rotation of the spindle 
shaft. A plurality of fan blades are coupled with the spindle shaft in a 
spaced relationship. Each of the fan blades comprises a central circular 
coupling portion coupled to the spindle shaft and four radially extending 
blades. 
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features 
of the invention 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 invention that will be described hereinafter and which 
will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention 
in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its 
application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the 
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the 
drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being 
practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood 
that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose 
of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon 
which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the 
designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the 
several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, 
that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions 
insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present 
invention. 
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the 
scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar 
with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a 
cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of 
the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention 
of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to 
be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new gutter 
cleaning system apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of 
the self-cleaning gutters mentioned heretofore and many novel features 
that result in a new gutter cleaning system which is not anticipated, 
rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art 
self-cleaning gutters, either alone or in any combination thereof. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new gutter 
cleaning system which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and 
marketed. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new gutter 
cleaning system which is of a durable and reliable construction. 
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new gutter 
cleaning system which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with 
regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then 
susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making 
such gutter cleaning system economically available to the buying public. 
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new 
gutter cleaning system which provides in the apparatuses and methods of 
the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously 
overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new gutter 
cleaning system for eliminating a need to manually clean gutters. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new gutter 
cleaning system which includes a motor disposed within a gutter at an end 
thereof opposite a downspout opening thereof. The motor is disposed within 
a waterproof housing. The motor has a rotating coupling rod extending 
outwardly thereof and extending outwardly of a side wall of the housing. 
The motor has a power cord extending outwardly thereof and extending 
outwardly of a top wall of the housing. A spindle shaft couples with the 
rotating coupling rod of the variable speed motor. The shaft extends 
essentially a length of the gutter. A plurality of fan blades are coupled 
with the spindle shaft in a spaced relationship. 
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new 
gutter cleaning system that makes it easy to clean gutters without having 
to leave the ground 
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new 
gutter cleaning system that eliminates the need of climbing up and down a 
ladder. 
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various 
features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with 
particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this 
disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating 
advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should 
be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there 
are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 4 
thereof, a new gutter cleaning system embodying the principles and 
concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the 
reference numeral 10 will be described. 
As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4, the gutter cleaning system 10 
comprises a gutter 12 having a predetermined length. The gutter 12 has an 
open top 14, a closed bottom 16, opposed long side portions 18 and opposed 
short end portions 20. The closed bottom 16 has a downspout opening (not 
illustrated) adjacent one of the short end portions 20. The gutter 12 is 
positionable on a house. 
A variable speed motor 22 is disposed within the gutter 12 at an end 
thereof opposite the downspout opening. The motor 22 is disposed within a 
waterproof housing 24. The motor 22 has a rotating coupling rod 26 
extending outwardly thereof and extends outwardly of a side wall of the 
housing 24. The motor 22 has a power cord 28 extending outwardly thereof 
and extends outwardly of a top wall of the housing 24. The power cord 28 
will couple with a standard electrical outlet or the like. A power switch 
can be incorporated into the power cord to selectively activate the motor 
22. The power switch will have controls to vary the speed of the motor 22. 
A spindle shaft 30 couples with the rotating coupling rod 26 of the 
variable speed motor 22. The shaft 30 extends essentially the length of 
the gutter 12. 
A plurality of supports 34 are secured to the closed bottom 16 of the 
gutter 12 in a spaced relationship. Upper ends 36 of the supports 34 
couple with the spindle shaft 30. The upper ends 36 have bushings 38 
disposed therein so as not to preclude rotation of the spindle shaft 30. 
A plurality of fan blades 40 are coupled with the spindle shaft 30 in a 
spaced relationship. Each of the fan blades 40 comprises a central 
circular coupling portion 42 coupled to the spindle shaft 30 and four 
radially extending blades 44. 
In use, the device 10 could be used to clean gutters without the user 
having to leave the ground. The user would simply flip the power switch 
and allow the motor 22 to operate at the desired speed (high, medium, or 
low) for a few minutes. The fan blades 40 would lift any debris, twigs, 
leaves, sludge, or even standing water out of the gutter 12 and drop it 
onto the ground below. Once material stopped falling out of the gutter 12, 
the user would simply turn off the motor 22 and use a rake or shovel to 
clean up the gutter debris and dispose of it as usual. 
As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the 
present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. 
Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and 
operation will be provided. 
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the 
optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, 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 the present invention. 
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the 
principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and 
changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired 
to limit the invention 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 invention.