Abstract:
An expandable gutter bracket having a gutter support arm is connected to a centrally disposed onto mounting portion, or web, with two spaced apart flanges extending substantially perpendicularly from opposing edges of the mounting portion, in the direction opposite the gutter support arm. The distance between the flanges is selectively provided by the mounting portion to be approximately equal to the thickness of a rafter extension and may be substantially parallel or slightly angled in order to provide a frictional fit on a rafter extension. Various configurations of the mounting portion are provided to select the appropriate thickness, including a plurality of attachments that pass through the gutter support arm and connect to each end of the flanges or two respective halves of a two-piece web.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to a gutter bracket for holding a water-retaining gutter of the type conventionally found along the roof of a building, and is particularly directed to an adjustable gutter bracket which may be secured to a rafter extension rather than a soffit panel or a fascia panel of a building.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Different buildings are designed and constructed with various roofing structures. Gutter assemblies are generally attached to the exterior surfaces of the roofing structures such that rainwater flowing from the roof is directed into the gutter. While some buildings are constructed with fascia panels or soffit panels covering the rafters, many architectural building types are constructed with exposed rafters and rafter extensions. Gutter brackets designed for attaching to fascia or soffit panel roofing structures are unsuitable for use with exposed rafters due to their shape, design, and mounting assemblies. Existing brackets that are mounted on rafter extensions must be affixed either to the end of the rafter extension or to one side of the rafter extension. Obviously, end attachments and single-side attachments to a rafter extension are not as secure as attachments that are secured to both sides of a rafter extension. The brackets that are attached to the end of the rafter extension are generally screwed or nailed into the end grain of the wood, at the end of the rafter extension. Those attachments are temporary and undesirable because nails and screws pointed in the direction of the wood grain tend to fall out due to the lack of wood grain resistance. Similarly, the brackets that attach to only one side of the rafter may detach due to inadequate fastening. Moreover, the single-side fastening brackets are generally designed with the gutter support arm too close to the side of the rafter extension, fostering rotting and decay by the rainwater of the rafter extension and attached building. Other gutter brackets require attachment to the roof sheathing and therefore cannot be attached once the roof shingles are in place without having to remove the roof shingles. Analogously, the complex nature of the installation required for existing brackets pose problems when gutter systems or brackets are maintained, removed, or replaced.  
           [0003]    In many applications, it is desirable to mount a gutter bracket on an exposed area that is in full open view. In those applications, it is imperative that the brackets have aesthetic value in order to be useful. However, many brackets that attach to a rafter extension have no aesthetic value and are designed to be concealed by other fixtures.  
           [0004]    I solved these problems with a one-piece gutter bracket described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,936. In particular, my gutter bracket is intended for installation on roofs having rafter extensions for roofing structures without soffit or fascia panels. The simple, one-piece gutter bracket is capable of being mounted upon both sides of a rafter extension without soffit panels or fascia panels, providing an aesthetically pleasing method for installing gutters.  
           [0005]    Although my one-piece gutter bracket provided numerous advantages over existing gutter brackets, I have noted in most instances that rafter extensions vary in thickness, orientation and clearance to other building structures. In addition, in some instances, it is desirable that the gutter bracket arm be displaced from a central mounting position from the end of the rafter extension.  
           [0006]    Consequently, a significant and imperative need exists for an improved gutter bracket that can adjustably accommodate various types and sizes of rafter extensions.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention addresses these and other shortcoming in the prior art by providing a gutter bracket that adjustably expandably mounts to a rafter extension to accommodate rafter extensions of varying thicknesses. In addition, various configurations of the gutter bracket transformably accommodate various alignments and orientations of the rafter extension, including obstacles that may impede installation of a gutter bracket. Thereby, an improved gutter bracket system may be used on a wider variety of buildings.  
           [0008]    In one aspect of the invention, a gutter bracket includes a gutter support arm for holding a conventional water-retaining, water-deflecting gutter. An expandable mounting portion of the bracket connects two flanges to one another and attaches to the gutter support arm. The flanges are configured for being affixed to each side of the rafter extension with the expandable mounting portion passing by a distal end of the rafter extension. The expandable mounting portion allows the flanges to be spaced to accommodate rafter extensions of various thicknesses.  
           [0009]    In another aspect of the invention, a gutter bracket system is presented for mounting onto a building having rafter extensions that are not aligned or that are partially inaccessible due to structure. The gutter bracket system includes half brackets, each including a flange affix to one side of the rafter extension with a half web panel that orients a gutter support arm out of the plane of the affixed flange, such as a lateral offset or an angled (rather than parallel) arrangement. Thereby, the half brackets may be used in combination or singularly as required to install a gutter system onto the entire building, to include hip rafters, rafters with an obstacle aligned with the end of the rafter, and rafters up against a wall on one side.  
           [0010]    In yet another aspect of the invention, a gutter bracket includes a cleated attachment between the flanges that are attached to the rafter extension and to the gutter support arm that supports the gutter. Thereby, the gutter support arm is readily attachable and detachable to the building. This allows additional flexibility when access is required to the rafter extension. Moreover, gutter systems may choose to mount a plurality of gutter bracket arms to a length of gutter, utilizing the cleated attachment as a means of installing or uninstalling the length of gutter as a unit. With this added flexibility, a user may choose to partially detach a cleated attachment to allow the length of gutter to droop, enhancing access for cleaning.  
           [0011]    Additional objects, advantages and other novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned with the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and the description thereof. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0012]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and, together with the general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a side view of a first version of a gutter bracket, showing the device as expandably used on a rafter extension of a nonstandard thickness.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is an upper perspective view of the gutter bracket of FIG. 1, showing an expandably assembled web, with the gutter support arm centrally attached thereon.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a partially exploded upper perspective of the gutter bracket of FIG. 2, showing lateral tabs for expandable insertion into slots of the flange.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a side view of a second version of a gutter bracket, showing two half brackets as expandably used on the rafter extension of a nonstandard thickness.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is an exploded upper perspective view of the gutter bracket of FIG. 4.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a lower perspective of a section of gutter pipe transformably supported in two instances by half brackets of FIGS.  4 - 5  to avoid obstacles.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is an upper perspective view a third version of a gutter bracket, depicting two instances of angled, half-brackets used at a hip ridge rafter extension.  
         [0020]    FIGS.  8 - 10  are upper perspectives of a fourth version of a gutter bracket, illustrating various configurations of a pinned web.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 11 is a side view of a gutter bracket with an angled gutter support arm for installation on a sloped distal end of a rafter extension. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0022]    Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals indicate the same elements throughout the views, FIGS.  1 - 3  depict a first version of a gutter bracket  10  consistent with the present invention for expandably mounting a rafter extension and for enhanced positioning of a gutter. The gutter bracket  10  is depicted as mounted to a rafter extensions  12  that supports roofing  14  of a building  16 . The gutter bracket  10  includes an expandable web, depicted as a tabbed panel  18 , that accommodates variations in thickness of the rafter extension  12 . In particular, lateral tabs  20  project through tab slots  22  in respective left and right flanges  24 ,  26  of the bracket  10 . Thereby, each flange  24 ,  26  may be attached (e.g., fastened, adhered, etc.) to opposing sides of the rafter extension  12 . The range in spacing accommodated by the bracket  10  may be selected by the lateral length of the lateral tabs  20 . With particular reference to FIG. 2, locking members, depicted as a ratcheting wedges  28 , are selected with an appropriate length and slope to lock in the outwardly exposed portion of wedge slots  30 , which are horizontally disposed in each respective lateral tab  20 .  
         [0023]    A gutter support arm  32  is shaped to support a portion of a semi-circular water retaining, water deflecting gutter, although it will be appreciated that the arm  32  and the gutter may be of various cross sectional shapes (e.g., rectangular). A proximal end  34  of the support arm  32  is secured by a plurality of connections to the tabbed panel  18 . Two arm grasping flanges  36  distally project from the tabbed panel  18  to embrace each side of the proximal end  34  (i.e., back end) of the support arm  32 , secured by fasteners  38 . It will be appreciated that the support arm  32  may be attached in other manners, such as by forming or welding the arm  32  and tabbed panel  18  into a single piece, or by a single connection with sufficient contact between arm  32  and panel  18  to prevent downward pivoting.  
         [0024]    It will be appreciated that the illustrative embodiment depicted includes symmetrical lateral tabs  20 , increasing the overall expandability. However, it should be appreciated that the tabbed panel  18  may be fabricated as attached on one lateral side to one of the flanges with lateral tabs expandably engaging the other, detached flanges. In addition, any number of lateral tabs may be selected, such as one or three on each lateral side. In addition, other shaped wedge slots and ratcheting wedges may be used. For instance, for a given building, all of the rafter extensions may be of a predetermined size with in a range of thickness for which the gutter bracket may be expanded. The wedges may then be a frictional member of the desired cross sectional size that is only sized for the predetermined size.  
         [0025]    FIGS.  4 - 5  depict a second version of the gutter bracket  10 , which includes an alternative approach to expandability for various thicknesses of rafter extensions  12 . Two opposing half brackets  40 ,  42  are each comprised of perpendicularly disposed pair of a flange  44 ,  46  and half web panel  48 ,  50 , respectively. With the bracket  10  divided into two opposing half brackets  40 ,  42 , may advantageously grip a support arm  32  of varying thickness between respective arm grasping flanges  52 ,  53 . Additional lateral expansion is provided by selecting fasteners, depicted as hex-head bolts  54  and nuts  55 , of appropriate length with an appropriate number of spacers, depicted as washers  56 . Placement of an unbalanced number of washers  56  on each side of the bracket arm  32  may be used to compensate when the rafter extension  12  is twisted from the vertical, to thereby achieve a vertical support arm  32 .  
         [0026]    Additional support between the two half brackets  40 ,  42  is provided by top and bottom strengthening bands  58 ,  60 , which wrap from the left flange  44  of the left half bracket  40 , across both half web panels  48 ,  50 , and onto right flange  46 . Each strengthening band  58 ,  60  is fastened to the rafter extension  12  along with the flanges  44 ,  46 . The lower strengthening band contacts a band recess  62  in a lower portion of the proximal end  34  of the support arm  32 , thereby reacting pivoting loads to support the fasteners  52 .  
         [0027]    A support arm  64  with a continuously adjustable vertical slot  66  in the proximal end  34  is depicted as an alternate to the support arm  32 . The vertical adjustment provided by the slot  66  provides additional flexibility after installing the half brackets  40 ,  42 . For instance, a uniform height for all half brackets  40 ,  42  may be desirable for aesthetics, for achieving secure attachment to the rafter extension, or to simplify installation. Thereafter, the desired slope of the supported gutter may be achieved by selecting the appropriate position of the vertical slot  66 . Proper slope assists in diverting water and debris to a gutter down spout.  
         [0028]    The half brackets  40 ,  42  advantageously become part of a transformable gutter bracket system  68 , as illustrated on FIG. 6. Full brackets  10 , such as in FIG. 4, are used where a rafter extension  12  is unimpeded and aligned with the desired placement of the gutter bracket arm  32 . However, in instances such as rafter  12 ′, use of a half bracket  40  on its usual side is warranted since the other side of the rafter  12 ′ is impeded by structure, depicted as an adjoining wall  70 . The half web panel  48  of half bracket  40  advantageously contacts a distal end  72  (i.e., front end) of the rafter  12 ′ to assist in reacting the pivoting load from the corresponding support arm  32 ′.  
         [0029]    A rafter  12 ″ illustrates another impediment, depicted as a gutter down spout  74  (shown in phantom), which blocks installation of gutter support arm  32 ″ in line with the rafter  12 ″. However, by using a half bracket  42  on side opposite its typical placement, an offset is achieved. The half bracket  42  reacts the load from the support arm  32 ′ solely through its side attachment to the rafter  12 ″, and its half web panel  50  does not contact the distal end  72  for additional support. However, this is often preferable to having no gutter bracket support from the rafter  12 ″.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 7 depicts further transformable capability of half brackets  40 ′,  42 ′ achieved by flaring the half bracket  40 ,  42  of FIG. 6 from a parallel (flange to arm gripping flange) shape to an obtuse angle such as 135 degrees for a third version of the gutter bracket  10 . Thereby, a convex corner of the roof, or hip, may include two brackets  40 ′,  42 ′ from each side of a diagonal hip rafter  12 ′″, with one bracket  40 ′,  42 ′ on each side of a 90 degree turn in the gutter. Similar approaches may be used for changes in the roofline other than perpendicular corners. Thus, the gutter bracket system  68  is given additional applications.  
         [0031]    FIGS.  8 - 10  depicts a fourth version of the gutter bracket  10  wherein a plurality of elongate members, depicted as bolt attachments  75  in FIG. 8, form the expandable web by passing through the support arm  32  and a pair of opposing flanges  76 ,  78 . Another alternate support arm  80  is depicted with a vertical series of holes  82  in its proximal end  84  for providing vertical adjustment. The gutter brackets  10  of FIGS.  8 - 10  further illustrate additional flexibility in the installation of a gutter bracket system  68 . For instance, the gutter support arm  32  is off center between flanges  76 ,  78  in FIG. 8, as may be appropriate when only a small amount of offset is desirable. The bolt attachments  74  of FIG. 8 also assembly before or after the flanges  76 ,  78  are attached to the rafter.  
         [0032]    Similarly, FIG. 9, depicts the elongate members between flanges  76 ,  78  as a pinned attachment  86 , which could include ends that are crimped after insertion through the arm  32  and flanges  76 ,  78  to prevent coming apart. The pinned attachment  86  may advantageously be installed without the support arm  32 , and instead use support arm that are hooks onto the pinned attachment  86 . For instance, a first cleated support arm  88  has opposing cleats  90 ,  92 , with the top cleat  90  on the inward edge  94  of the arm  88  and the bottom cleat  92  on the outward edge  96  of the arm  88 . The pivoting load at the cleats  90 ,  92  is thus in the direction opposite of installation, providing a very strong attachment, although necessitating clearance between the pinned attachment  86  and the distal end  72  of the rafter  12 . The second cleated support arm  98  has top and bottom cleats  100 ,  102  that are both on the outward edge  96  of the support arm  98 , simplifying installation with pinned attachment  86  close to the rafter  12 . The cleated support arms  88 ,  98  simplify removal of the bracket arms. In addition, should the bracket arms  88 ,  98  be incorporated or affixed to a length of gutter, a length of gutter may be installed or lowered for cleaning without having to individually attend to each bracket  10 . FIG. 10 depicts inclusion of top and bottom pairs of cleats  104 ,  106  in flanges  108 ,  110 , thus simplifying installation and removal of the pinned attachment  86  and the bracket arm  32 .  
         [0033]    In use, the gutter bracket system  68  may be used in a variety of applications of buildings  16  that have rafter extensions proximate to the desired placement of gutters. The right and left flanges  40 ,  42  of the bracket  10  are expandably spaced to attachment to rafter extensions  12  of varying thicknesses. The expandable web that connects the flanges  24 ,  26  to one another and the gutter support arm  32 ,  64 ,  88 ,  98  may advantageously be chosen for various features. A tabbed panel  18  provides strong contact between the pivoting loads of the arm  32  and the flanges  24 ,  26  and distal end  72  of the rafter  12 . Alternatively, half brackets  40 ,  42  may be used together or individually. As yet a further alternative, a pinned attachment  86  between flanges  108 ,  110  expandably attaches to the rafter extensions  12  as well as giving various options for attachment of cleated support arms  88 ,  98 .  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 11 depicts a gutter bracket  10  mounted on a downward facing distal end  112  of a rafter extension  114 . A gutter support arm  116 , shown both assembled and removed, includes an angled proximal end  118  that compensates for the downward slope of the distal end  112  of the rafter extension  114 . Thereby, a gutter may be installed that transversely level. It will be appreciated the angle of the proximal end  118  may be fabricated or adjusted for a range of angles to accommodate various installations of rafter extensions  114 .  
         [0035]    By virtue of the foregoing, a bracket  10  for mounting gutters to rafter extensions  12  is provided that is expandable to various dimensions of rafter extensions  12 , is adjustable to rafter extensions  12  twisted from the vertical, and obstructed rafter extensions  12 ′,  12 ″.  
         [0036]    While the present invention has been illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications may readily appear to those skilled in the art. For instance, the various components in the illustrative embodiments are generally formed by abrasive water jet cutting or die stamping from sheet metal (e.g., copper, aluminum, stainless steel) and thereafter bending to the desired angles. However, gutter brackets may be formed from other alloys as well as nonmetallic materials. Moreover, these components may be assembled, cast, molded or otherwise formed to achieve the desired shapes. As another example, the various components may be fastenened/affixed/attached to one another and to the rafter extension in various manners, which include but are not limited to through bolts, bent-over tabs, chemically cured adhesives, thermoplastics, pins, rivets, brazed attachment, welded attachment, etc.