Abstract:
The gutter debris screen includes a front mounting portion, a central screen portion, and a rear mounting portion. The central screen portion includes a fine mesh top layer coupled to a supporting bottom layer of expanded metal having a coarse gauge mesh. The central screen portion has at least one longitudinally extending reinforcement rib formed by a downward fold of the screen layers. The front mounting member is formed from sheet metal and provides a lip that engages the front or outer wall of the gutter channel. The rear mounting member is also formed from sheet metal, and may be flat to fit between the roof and the roof shingle, or may be formed generally as an angle adapted for fastening to the rear or shingle wall of the gutter when the roof has bent shingles. The front and rear mounting portions are crimped to the central portion.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to gutter covers, and more particularly to a gutter debris screen that prevents debris from collecting in the gutter and subsequently blocking the flow of water through the gutter.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Gutters are open-top channels that collect and direct water away from a building and its foundation. The opening to the gutter channel must remain unobstructed in order for the gutter to function properly. It is common for debris, such as leaves, cones, seeds, pine needles and the like, to collect and block water flow. Obstruction of the gutter channel causes the gutter to overflow and become ineffective. Many people clean their gutters regularly as part of a preventive maintenance program, while others resort to such devices as covers and guards in an attempt to shield the gutter from the accumulation of debris in the channel.  
         [0005]     Many of these guards use a single wire layer to cover the open top of the gutter. Other guards combine a wire layer with a mesh layer to keep debris out. The guard helps prevent large debris, such as cones or seeds, from settling in the gutters. However, smaller particles often slip past such layers. The structure of the guards is generally flat so that the layers lay flat above the opening. Sometimes the integrity of the guard cannot be maintained against heavy debris or debris that has collected and settled on the guard over time.  
         [0006]     Consequently, there is a need for a device that covers the open top of a gutter channel and that prevents both large and small debris from entering and collecting in the gutter with resultant obstruction of the gutter, but freely permits the passage of rain water into the gutter to prevent surface water from collecting on the roof. It is further desirable that such a device be economical and easy to install. Thus, a gutter debris screen solving the aforementioned problems is desired.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The gutter debris,screen provides a shield designed to fit over an open top of a gutter to prevent debris from collecting in the gutter and obstructing the flow of water through the gutter. The screen includes a front mounting portion, a central screen portion, and a rear mounting portion. The central screen portion includes a fine mesh top layer coupled to a supporting bottom layer of expanded metal having a coarse gauge mesh. The central screen portion has at least one longitudinally extending reinforcement rib formed by a downward fold of the screen layers. The front mounting member is formed from sheet metal and provides a lip that engages the front or outer wall of the gutter channel. The rear mounting member is also formed from sheet metal, and may be flat to fit between the roof and the roof shingle, or may be formed generally as an angle adapted for fastening to the rear or shingle wall of the gutter when the roof has bent shingles. The front and rear mounting portions are crimped to the central portion.  
         [0008]     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a gutter debris screen according to the present invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a section view drawn along lines  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the gutter debris screen according to the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is an environmental, perspective view of a second embodiment of a gutter debris screen according to the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a section view drawn along lines  4 - 4  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the gutter debris screen of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
       [0015]     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0016]     The present invention is a gutter debris screen. A first embodiment of the screen is designated as  10  in the drawings and shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . As shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , the screen  10  lies over the open top of a gutter  50 . The gutter  50  has a rear wall  52 , a front wall  54 , a front ledge  58  extending inward from the front wall  54 , and a bottom wall  56  connecting the rear wall  52  with the front wall  54 . The walls  52 ,  54 , and  56  form a generally U-shaped gutter channel  51 . The gutter  50  is attached to fascia  64  adjacent a roof sheath or panel  60  having fiberglass, asphalt, or other lightweight shingles  62 .  
         [0017]     The screen  10  rests under the shingles  62  on the roof panel  60 , and the other end abuts the front ledge  58  of the front wall  52  of the gutter  50 .  
         [0018]     The screen  10  includes a rear mounting portion  12 , a central screen portion  20  and a front mounting portion  40 . The central screen portion  20  includes a fine mesh top layer  22  disposed over a bottom support layer  24  of expanded metal having a coarse gauge mesh. The layer  24  of expanded metal is relatively strong and rigid, the coarse gauge mesh providing an open grate or lattice framework that provides mechanical support for the fine mesh top layer  22 . The central screen portion  20  has a front end  26 , a rear end  28  and a plurality of depending ribs  30 ,  32 , two ribs  30  and  32  being shown in the drawing. The two ribs  30 ,  32  extend the length of the screen  10  and are parallel to the front mounting portion  40  and the rear mounting portion  12 . The number of ribs is not critical, and in other embodiments, the screen  10  may have only one rib or more than two ribs.  
         [0019]     The ribs  30 ,  32  preferably have a depth L 2  of about one-half of an inch. The half-inch length permits the ribs  30 ,  32  to rest comfortably within the channel  51  of the gutter  50  without contacting the bottom wall  56 , or any brackets or spikes that may extend within the channel  51 . The rib  30  is about one and one-quarter inches apart from the outermost edge of the front mounting portion  40 , and rib  32  is about two and one-half inches from the outermost edge of the front mounting  40 .  
         [0020]     The ribs  30 ,  32  are formed by folding the two layers  22  and  24  into rounded dips loosely crimping the layers together. The roundness of the folds permits the expanded metal layer  24  and the fine mesh layer  22  to be held close together without being too tight, which might cause the central portion  20  to be weak. The ribs  30  and  32  strengthen the central screen portion  20  and ensure the structural integrity of the central screen portion  20  against the weight of debris that may collect and settle on the screen  10  and that may otherwise cause the central screen portion  20  to sag in the middle.  
         [0021]     The mesh layer  22  has a mesh screen size  94 , or ninety-four meshes per inch, and is made of stainless steel. The  94  mesh weave grade is of a suitable gauge to allow rainwater to flow freely through the central screen portion  20 , but is fine enough to prevent small particles of debris from passing through to accumulate in channel  51 . The expanded metal layer  24  is a hard metal that is also perforated and flattened, being made of stainless steel  3152  or similar types of material.  
         [0022]     The rear mounting portion  12  is formed from sheet metal has a first end  14  and a second end  18 . The first end  14  is formed into a single accordion pleat defining a slot  16  on the underside of the rear mounting portion  12  for receiving the rear end  28  of the central screen portion  20 . Once the rear end  28  of the central portion  20  is received by the accordion pleat, the first end  14  is crimped together to rigidly retain the rear end  28  of the central portion  20 . The second end  18  is generally flat but may have a hooked end  19 . The second end  18  of the rear mounting portion  12  is designed to rest between the roof panel  60  and the lightweight shingles  62  on a building.  
         [0023]     The front mounting portion  40  is also made from sheet metal and forms a depending lip or flange  44  that is attached to the front end  26  of the central screen portion by a fold  42  that is crimped over the two layers  22  and  24 . The lip  44  may be curved or arcuate, and is dimensioned and configured to bear against the front wall  52  of the gutter  50 , the fold  42  resting on the ledge  58 . The generally U-shaped portion  42  of the front lip  40  is crimped or otherwise joined together to fixedly retain the front end  26  of the central portion  20 , preferably by a double row of crimps, as seen most clearly in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0024]     As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the screen  10  is set in place by disposing the second end  18  of the rear mounting portion  12  between the shingles  62  and the roof panel  60  and abutting the front mounting portion  40  of the gutter  50  against the front wall  52 . The second end  18  is installed over the roof panel  60  by lifting the shingles  62  and sliding the screen  10  in place. The screen  10  may be secured over the gutter  50  by fasteners  53  to secure the front mounting portion  40  to the front ledge  58  of the gutter  50 .  
         [0025]     The screen  10  has width L 1  of about six inches. The width L 1  is sufficient to allow the screen  10  to rest over the gutter  50  without causing the shingles  62  to be raised. The screen  10  may have any desired length, but preferably is manufactured as four-foot panels. Each panel of the screen  10  is placed next to each other end-to-end. To prevent gaps from forming between screens  10  when they are placed end-to-end, the mesh layer  22  of the central portion  20  is extended out a bit past the expanded metal layer  24  to allow some overlap as the panels of the screen  10  lay next to each other.  
         [0026]     Referring now to  FIGS. 4-6 , a second embodiment of the gutter debris screen, designated as  100 , is shown for use on a building having heavy shingles  162 , such as metal or tile shingles, that are heavy and difficult to lift and are frequently non-flat, being bent, arched, or corrugated. The gutter  150  has a rear wall  152 , a front wall  154 , a front ledge  158  extending from the front wall  154  and a bottom wall  156  connecting the rear wall  152  with the front wall  154 . The walls  152 ,  154 , and  156  form a gutter channel  151 . The rear wall  152  of the gutter  150  is attached to a building wall  164  just below the shingles  162 .  
         [0027]     The screen  100 , like screen  10 , has a central screen portion  120  that is flanked by a rear mounting portion  112  and a front mounting portion  140 . Here, however screen  100  has a width L 3  of about four and a half inches. The central screen portion  120  of the screen  100  includes a fine mesh top layer  122  disposed over a bottom support layer  124  of expanded metal. The fine mesh layer  122  extends a slightly beyond the expanded metal layer  122 , as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0028]     The central portion  120  has a front end  126 , a rear end  128  and two depending ribs  130 ,  132  that extend the length of the screen  100  parallel to the front mounting portion  140  and the rear mounting portion  112 . Folding both the mesh layer  122  and the expanded metal layer  124  of the central portion  120  and crimping the layers together forms the ribs  130 ,  132 . The rib  130  is about one and one-quarter inches from the outermost edge of the front mounting portion  140 , and rib  132  is about two and one-half inches from the outermost edge of the front mounting portion  140 . The ribs  130 ,  132  serve the same purpose as ribs  30  and  32 , described above. Like screen  10 , the screen  100  may have only one rib or more than two ribs. Each rib  130 ,  132  has a depth L 4  of about one-half inches.  
         [0029]     The structure of front mounting portion  140  is essentially identical to front mounting portion  40 , similar parts having the same reference number incremented by  100 , so that the description of front mounting portion  140  will not be repeated here.  
         [0030]     The rear mounting portion  112  has a first end  114  that forms a single accordion pleat and a second end  118 , disposed perpendicular to the first end  140 , generally forming an angle shape, but with the vertical flange having a first wall  115  hinged to a second wall  117 . The accordion pleat of the first end  114  forms a slot  116  on the underside of the rear panel  112  to receive the rear end  128  of the central screen portion  120 , which is secured by crimping.  
         [0031]     In this embodiment, the screen  100  is used with buildings having heavy shingles or tiles  162  that are too burdensome to lift to permit a flat panel, such as the rear panel  12  of the screen  10 , to slide between the heavy tiles  162  and a roof panel  160 . The screen  100  has a width L 3  of about four and one-half inches. The width L 3  permits the second en  118  to rest comfortably within a gutter channel  151  and bear against rear wall  152  of the gutter  150 . By hinging the first wall  115  to the second wall  117 , the second end  118  is able to expand or contract to fit against the rear wall  152  of the gutter  150 . Once the screen  100  is set in place, a fastener  165  can be used to secure the second end  118  to the rear wall  158  of the gutter  150 . The second wall  117  may have a curved or hooked end  119 , as shown in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0032]     Both screens  10 ,  100  utilize aluminum  0 . 25  expanded metal - 500  having a standard diamond or lattice pattern for its expanded metal layer  24 ,  124 . The mesh layers  22 ,  122  are made of stainless steel having a mesh screen size of  94 . The mesh layers  22 ,  122  will not allow particles smaller than half the size of a grain of sand to pass through the screen  10 ,  100 . The rear mounting portion  12 ,  112  and the front mounting portion  40 ,  140  are made of sheet metal and can be finished to match the color of the gutter  50 ,  150  the screen  10 ,  100  is used on. The screen  10 ,  100  can have an aluminum finish, a white finish or a finish of another color.  
         [0033]     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.