Abstract:
A gutter cover inside miter to be used with both open valley and closed valley roof miters, where the gutter cover inside miter is formed by coupling two primary member having a stem, legs, a tapered trough, a diverter and a plurality of draining and guide vents oriented to accommodate a variety of water flows. The gutter cover inside miter is also used with an underlying gutter cover as a system to improve the functionality of the gutter cover.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to provisional patent application No. 60/917,039, filed May 9, 2007, entitled “Low-Profile Miter Apparatus and System.” 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The Field of the Invention 
       [0002]    Inventions in the gutter cover art attempt to prevent debris such as leaves and other materials which may fall on a roof from entering, obstructing clogging or generally preventing water from flowing off the roof and into the underlying gutter system. Numerous gutter covers have been developed to cover the straight sections of a gutter, however most covers that operate via surface tension or capillary action are inadequate to properly channel water flow from an inside valley of a building&#39;s roofing structure. This is particularly problematic where a gutter cover is fixed to the building, or removal of the gutter cover might damage the building because water overflowing the gutter cover in an inside corner exposes the building foundation and walls to undesirable moisture. Alternatively, many current solutions are variations of a splash guard, which traps debris in the inside valley or corner and requires intervention to remove the debris. A properly constructed miter can be used in inside corners formed in roof lines to prevent water from passing over the gutter cover in a stream and debris from becoming trapped at the corner or in the roofing inside valley. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    An exemplary embodiment of the invention is a gutter cover inside miter having a plurality of drains to direct and drain water and shed debris. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  is a top view of an exemplary embodiment of a gutter cover inside miter. 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is a profile view of an exemplary embodiment of a gutter cover inside miter. 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an installed gutter cover inside miter. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0007]    This specification describes exemplary embodiments and applications of the invention. The invention, however, is not limited to these exemplary embodiments and applications or to the manner in which the exemplary embodiments and applications operate or are described herein. Moreover, the Figures may show simplified or partial views, and the dimensions of elements in the Figures may be exaggerated or otherwise not in proportion for clarity. In addition, as the terms “on” and “attached to” are used herein, one object (e.g., a material, a layer, a substrate, etc.) can be “on” or “attached to” another object regardless of whether the one object is directly on or attached to the other object or there are one or more intervening objects between the one object and the other object. Also, directions (e.g., above, below, top, bottom, side, “x,” “y,” “z,” etc.), if provided, are relative and provided solely by way of example and for ease of illustration and discussion and not by way of limitation. 
         [0008]    An open valley is defined as the roof miter joint where the joint formed thereby is not shingled, but flashing may be placed. 
         [0009]    A closed valley is defined as the roof miter joint where the joint formed thereby is shingled and no flashing shows. 
         [0010]    Flex point is defined as a bend or slot formed to allow a gutter cover inside miter to be bent to match different roof slope angles. 
         [0011]    An exemplary embodiment of a gutter cover inside miter  1  comprises a primary panel member  5  having a trough  7 , a diverter  9 , a leg  10  section and a stem  15  section. The primary panel member  5  is preferably formed of 0.024 inch aluminum with a baked enamel painted finish. An exemplary embodiment may be approximately thirteen inches long and eight inches wide, sufficient to cover a gutter miter joint. The gutter miter  1  comprises two chiral panel members  5 , or may comprise one contiguous unit and may be used in a system when the two straight panel members are mounted over a gutter cover  65  known in the art to prevent debris from entering a gutter system and obstructing water flow,  FIG. 3 . 
         [0012]    The trough  7  of the exemplary embodiment comprises a lower section wherein water flows and drains into an underlying gutter or onto a surface of an underlying gutter cover  65 . The trough  7  is wider at the center of the primary panel than at the outer edge, thus forming a taper along the AB axis as shown. The trough&#39;s edge  33  is preformed to allow the stem  15  and leg  10  to be bent to match the pitch of an adjacent roof. 
         [0013]    The stem  15  is an extension of the primary panel  5 , with a boundary forming a cutout  30  to accommodate roofing structures commonly found below shingles  50 . The stem  15  is placed into a roof valley formed where two roof angles meet. The stem  15  comprises a open slot or flex slot  35  to accommodate roofs of different pitches, open valleys and closed valleys. The slot  35  allows the gutter cover inside miter  1  to accommodate a variety of roofing configurations. 
         [0014]    The gutter cover inside miter  1  has a plurality of drain vents which direct water flow and allow water to pass through to an underlying gutter or onto the surface of an underlying gutter cover  65 . Drain vents  20  located in the trough  7 , are oval-shaped to allow maximum water to pass through to the underlying gutter  70  or gutter cover  65  while preventing debris from passing through. Also, a plurality of guide vents  25  are formed in the stem  15  portion to both manipulate the flow direction and speed of the water flow. 
         [0015]    In practice, rain water flows directly down the roof&#39;s fall line and the flow direction does not change until it is obstructed. The guide vents  25  are positioned to be orthogonal to the flow direction of water flowing down a valley and obstruct the flow to redirect the water&#39;s flow direction onto the under lying flashing  55  or gutter cover  65  and cause the water to slow as it flows over the guide vents  25 . In the exemplary embodiment the drain vents  20  are off-set by forty-five degrees from the guide vents  25  to accommodate the natural flow directions from the roof. It is expected that water will flow directly down the roof or even pass through the guide vents  25  and into the trough  7  where the oval-shaped drain vents  20  will allow the water to flow into the underlying gutter  70  or onto the surface of an underlying gutter cover  65 . Trough  7  directs water away from the highest water flow coming from the roof&#39;s valley. 
         [0016]    The gutter cover inside miter  1  can accommodate large amounts of water with its diverter  9 , which is preformed into the primary panel member  5 . In an exemplary embodiment, the diverter  9  is a low profile dam with a plurality of diverter guide vents  40  which allow large amounts of water to pass through in large storms. The low-profile is also aesthetically pleasing and allows debris to pass over the miter and out of the roof valley without significant obstruction such as is found with taller and more perpendicular diverter solutions. The vents  40  are formed with a slant to manipulate and guide water flowing there through. 
         [0017]    In addition, the diverter  9  is angled to direct water flowing into the diverter at a slight backward angle towards the roofline. This redirection again slows the water flow and causes it to sheet onto the surface of an underlying gutter cover  65 . Diverter  9  prevents high water flow conditions from overflowing the system and flowing over the nose of a gutter cover  65  and beyond the gutter all together. The backside of the diverter  9  is solid with no vents formed therein to prevent water from flowing past the diverter and to allow for an additional diverter system to be placed thereon if water flow conditions warrant. 
         [0018]    Pilot holes  45  are formed in the primary member  15  along the interior edge where the panels are selectively coupled. In addition the pilot holes aid attaching the devices together in a consistent manner for all applications. The pilot holes are not present in a version that is manufactured as one contiguous unit 
         [0019]    Although specific embodiments and applications of the invention have been described in this specification, there is no intention that the invention be limited to these exemplary embodiments and applications or to the manner in which the exemplary embodiments and applications operate or are described herein.