Patent Publication Number: US-2005115160-A1

Title: Gutter corner overflow deflector

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to an eaves trough or gutter, and more particularly, relates to an improvement in such structures.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Gutters or eaves troughs are widely used on many building structures and in particular for residential buildings. The gutters or eaves troughs are designed to catch the rain falling on a sloping roof and transport the water to a down spout where it may be safely discharged away from the house&#39;s foundation.  
      Generally, such systems work as they are designed to. However, occasionally problems are encountered due to a larger volume of water—i.e. the capacity of the gutter is exceeded. This can occur particularly when a so-called gutter shield or guard is utilised. In such an arrangement, the apertures in the guard naturally reduce the rate of transmission of the rain water to the eaves troughs. This problem is further accentuated when the roof or structure has a valley structure which is a frequent occurrence in residential structures. Thus, the volume of water is increased and concentrated at one location. Accordingly, there is an overflow which occurs.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a gutter corner overflow deflector which helps overcome the problem of gutters or eaves troughs overflowing when a valley in the roof occurs.  
      According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a corner deflector suitable for use with a gutter, the corner deflector comprising a generally planar member having an upper edge and a lower edge, the member having first and second segments, the first and second segments being separated by a fold line, the fold line extending from the top edge to the bottom edge and at least one flange extending outwardly from the bottom wall of each of the segments, the flange extending outwardly in a direction substantially perpendicular to the planar portion.  
      According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an eaves trough having a gutter guard associated therewith, the guard comprising a foraminous member covering a top of the gutter and wherein the gutter has two mutually perpendicular sections, the improvement comprising a corner deflector, the corner deflector having a first segment and a second segment, a fold line separating the first and second segments, the first and second segments lying in mutually perpendicular planes, at least one inwardly extending flange and one outwardly extending flange being located along a bottom edge of each of the segments, the inwardly extending flanges being secured to the gutter guards.  
      The corner deflector of the present invention may be formed of any suitable material and would conveniently be manufactured either of a metallic or plastic material. Thus, both materials are known for use in gutters and one may then use either a similar or dissimilar material.  
      The corner deflector of the present invention is particularly suited to use with eaves troughs or gutters having a guard member lying on the top thereof. The guard member is usually a piece of material having a plurality of apertures extending theretrough and is designed to protect the eaves trough or gutter from extraneous material such as leaves and the like. In one particular embodiment, the corner guard of the present invention is particularly suited for use with a structure such as is shown in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/261,043, the teaching of this application being incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portion of a roof and an eaves trough structure having the corner guard of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the corner guard;  
       FIG. 3  is a side elevation view, partially in section, of the gutter corner guard of the present invention placed on an eaves trough; and  
       FIG. 4  is a top plan view of a gutter having the corner guard of the present invention thereon. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Referring to the drawings in a greater detail and by reference characters thereto, there is illustrated in  FIG. 1  an arrangement utilising the deflector of the present invention. Thus, there is provided a roof generally designated by reference numeral  10  and which has a plurality of shingles  12  thereon in a conventional arrangement. Roof  10  is constructed such that a valley  14  is formed between two roof sections.  
      A gutter generally designated by reference numeral  16  is secured to the facia F of the roof. Gutter  16  has a back wall  18 , a bottom wall  20 , and a front wall generally designated by reference numeral  22 . At the upper edge of front wall  22 , there is provided a top wall  24  and which terminates in an inwardly extending flange  26 .  
      Extending over gutter  16  is a gutter guard generally designated by reference numeral  28  and which gutter guard includes a central planar portion  30  having a plurality of apertures  32  formed therein. A side wall  34  extends upwardly from gutter guard  28  and screws  36  are used to attach gutter guard  28  and gutter  16  to the building structure under facia F.  
      The corner deflector of the present invention is generally designated by reference numeral  40 . Corner deflector  40  has a first segment  42  and a second segment  44  which are separated by a fold line  46 . Each segment  42 ,  44  has a top edge  48 ,  50  respectively. As may be seen in the drawings, top edges  48  and  50  are arcuate in nature to provide a pleasant aesthetic appearance.  
      First segment  42  includes an inner flange  52  and an outer flange  54  formed along a bottom edge thereof. Similarly, second segment  44  includes an inner flange  56  and an outer flange  58 . As may be seen in  FIG. 3 , outer flanges  54  and  58  are designed to fit under flange  26  extending from top wall  24  of the gutter  16  and to thereby be secured in place. Inner flanges  52  and  56  are secured to central planer portion  30  by means of screws  60 .  
      As will be appreciated, the above arrangement provides a corner deflector  40  which may be easily assembled and secured to the gutter  16  and associated components. The installer will have little trouble doing so and it provides a method of overcoming the problems at the valleys in the roof.  
      It will be understood that the above described embodiment is for purposes of illustration only and that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.