Patent Publication Number: US-2005115190-A1

Title: Bracket for covered rain gutters

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a mounting bracket for mounting a rain gutter to a building. More particularly, the present invention relates to a rain gutter mounting bracket for mounting to a building a rain gutter having a trough and an overlying cover that serves as a deflector of leaves and debris.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Rain gutters are generally open troughs that are arranged along the roof line of a building and in a position to catch surface water runoff from a pitched roof. A gutter is usually connected with a fascia board on the building and includes one or more downspouts to carry away the roof water runoff and direct it in a desired direction away from the building.  
      The usual way of attaching a rain gutter to a fascia board is by the use of long nails. The nails extend through openings in the gutter front wall and openings in the gutter rear wall. The gutter rear wall openings are either pre-formed or are formed by driving the nails through the rear wall and into the fascia board. Tubular sleeves or ferrules are commonly provided between the gutter front and rear walls to surround the nails and to maintain a desired front-to-back spacing of the walls to insure an adequately-sized and uniform gutter top opening along the length of the gutter.  
      Gutter mounting brackets of various configurations have also been utilized. Some such mounting brackets are of formed metal and others are of molded plastic. Generally the brackets engage and extend between the gutter front and rear walls and they are secured to the fascia board either by nails or by screws.  
      Because conventional U-shaped gutters have an open top, they are susceptible to clogging by leaves and other debris that may be blown onto the roof. The leaves and debris can clog the gutter itself, or they can collect at a downspout opening provided in the gutter for connection with a downspout and clog that opening. When the gutter or the downspout opening becomes clogged, the material causing the clog must be physically removed so the gutter does not overflow and defeat the purpose for installing it in the first place. Removal of such collected material is most often accomplished by manually removing it, which usually requires mounting a ladder to access the gutter and downspout opening to enable the clogging materials to be removed.  
      In an effort to solve the gutter cleaning problem by preventing gutter clogging covered gutters have been developed. Various covered gutter configurations and supporting elements have been developed over the years in which a cover is supported above the gutter trough opening to act as a deflector of leaves and debris, so that they do not enter the gutter to accumulate and clog either the gutter or the downspout opening. Additionally, various gutter cover supporting arrangements have been proposed. However, many such supporting arrangements are flimsy brackets or are brackets that are shaped in such ways that render them inconvenient to install quickly and securely.  
      There is thus a need for a support bracket for a covered gutter that is easier to install, that is capable of being securely connected with the building fascia board, that is rigid, and that maintains a desired orientation of the gutter and its cover in order effectively to prevent entry of leaves and debris into the gutter.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a support bracket is provided for positioning within a rain gutter that includes an overlying gutter cover. The bracket includes a substantially L-shaped body having a first leg adapted to be oriented substantially vertically when the bracket is installed in a gutter, and a second leg that is adapted to be oriented substantially horizontally when the bracket is installed in a gutter. The first leg includes a mounting surface that is adapted to contact a rear wall of a gutter.  
      At least one first bore extends through the first leg toward the mounting surface. The first bore extends in a direction substantially parallel to the second leg and serves for receiving a bracket fastener for securing the bracket to a substantially vertical building surface adjacent to a roof edge. At least one second bore extends into the second leg for receiving a cover fastener for securing a front edge of the gutter cover to the bracket. The second leg carries engagement means for engaging and supporting a front wall portion of a gutter. The first leg carries support means for engaging a rear portion of the gutter cover.  
      In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention the second bore is a blind bore.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The structure, operation, and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent upon consideration of the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of an embodiment of a gutter support bracket for use with a gutter including an overlying cover or deflector.  
       FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the gutter support bracket shown in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a rear view of the gutter support bracket shown in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 .  
       FIG. 5  is a side perspective view of the gutter support bracket shown in  FIG. 1  when installed within a gutter having a gutter cover.  
       FIG. 6  is a top perspective view of the gutter support bracket shown in  FIG. 1  when installed within a gutter adjacent to a gutter end cap and with the gutter cover omitted. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Referring to the drawings, and particularly to  FIGS. 1 through 4  thereof, there is shown an embodiment of a gutter support bracket  10  for supporting against a building surface a rain gutter trough and associated rain gutter cover (not shown). Bracket  10  is generally L-shaped and includes a first leg  12  and a second leg  14 . Legs  12  and  14  are positioned relative to each other at substantially a right angle.  
      First leg  12  is adapted to be oriented in a generally vertical direction relative to a vertically-extending building surface. Leg  12  includes a generally flat mounting surface  16  that defines a rear surface of bracket  10  and that is parallel to a fascia board or similar building element when the bracket is in its operative position within a gutter. Mounting surface  16  can include a recess  18  to accommodate a similarly-shaped ridge that can be provided in a gutter rear wall (not shown) for stiffening purposes. Leg  12  can be defined by a flat central panel  13  with laterally-extending peripheral flanges  20 ,  22 , and it also can include a plurality of interiorly-positioned ribs  24 ,  26 , and  28  that extend between and interconnect respective peripheral flanges  20 ,  22 . Flanges  20 ,  22  and ribs  24 ,  26 ,  28  serve to stiffen and to provide greater structural rigidity to leg  12 .  
      Extending inwardly from front surface  30  of leg  12  to mounting surface  16 , and best seen in  FIG. 4 , are a pair of throughbores  32 ,  34  that are adapted to receive fasteners for fastening the gutter assembly to a building wall or fascia board. Suitable fasteners are nails and screws. As is apparent from  FIG. 4 , the axes of throughbores  32 ,  34  are inclined relative to mounting surface  16 , for ease of access to the fasteners when applying fasteners for attaching the bracket and gutter to the building surface. Throughbores  32 ,  34  extend within and along flat central panel  13  and can be parallel to each other as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
      Also included on bracket  10 , at the upper end of first leg  12 , is a generally upwardly-facing support surface  29  for limiting downward movement of a cover that is positioned above a gutter for preventing the entry into the gutter of leaves and other gutter-clogging debris. Support surface  29  is preferably flat and can be defined by a laterally-extending flange  31  that extends between and interconnects flanges  20  and  22 .  
      Second leg  14  is adapted to be oriented in a generally horizontal direction relative to the vertically-extending building surface. Leg  14  can be defined by a flat central panel  15  with laterally-extending peripheral flanges  36 ,  38 ,  40 ,  42 , and it also can include a plurality of interiorly-positioned ribs  44 ,  46  that extend between and interconnect respective peripheral stiffening flanges  36 ,  40 . Ribs  44 ,  46  can be oriented to be substantially perpendicular to ribs  26 ,  28  of first leg  12 . As was the case with the flanges and ribs provided on first leg  12 , flanges  36 ,  40  and ribs  44 ,  46  serve to stiffen and to provide greater structural rigidity to leg  14 .  
      Extending inwardly from surface  48  of leg  14 , and best seen in  FIG. 4 , is a blind bore  50  that is adapted to receive a fastener for fastening to bracket  10  a front edge panel of a gutter cover (not shown). Suitable fasteners are, again, nails and screws. As is apparent from  FIG. 4 , the axis of blind bore  50  can be oriented to be parallel to the axes of throughbores  32 ,  34 . The angular orientation of blind bore  50  facilitates access to the fasteners when applying fasteners for attaching the gutter cover to bracket  10 .  
      Arranged below the opening to blind bore  50  in surface  48  is a projection that extends outwardly from surface  48  to define a positioning stop  52  that includes a stop surface  54 . Stop surface  54  of stop  52  serves as a stop against which an edge of a gutter cover front panel can be positioned to orient the gutter cover front panel relative to bracket  10 .  
      Provided at the outermost lateral end  56  of second leg  14  is a hook-shaped end member  58  that has an inner opening  60  that opens to face surface  48 . End member  58  is configured to engage with a front recess formed in a gutter front wall to provide a front support for the gutter. Opening  60  is adapted to receive an inturned lip (not shown) at the free end of the gutter front wall as additional security against a gutter slipping down from bracket  10 .  
      Each of first leg  12  and second leg  14  can include one or more laterally-outwardly-extending connection members  62 ,  64 , such as bosses extending from central panels  13 ,  15 , respectively. Connection member  62 ,  64  can have a tubular form as shown and can include respective openings  63 ,  65  for receiving a connection member, such as a connecting screw, for connecting a gutter end cap adjacent a gutter end, as is explained below.  
      Bracket  10  is shown in its installed position within a gutter in  FIGS. 5 and 6 .  FIG. 5  is an end perspective view of a gutter  66  having an overlying cover  68  that is attached to a fascia board  70  positioned below a sloping roof  72  of a building  74 . Bracket  10  is secured to fascia board  70  by two screws  76 ,  78  that are received in throughbores  32 ,  34 , respectively, within bracket  10 . Screws  76 ,  78  pass through a gutter rear wall  80  that lies between bracket mounting surface  16  and the surface of fascia board  70 . The upper front edge  82  of gutter  66  is supported by hook-shaped end member  58  of bracket  10  (see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ), which receives an inturned lip  84  of front edge  82  of gutter  66 . In actual use, several brackets  10  are spaced along gutter  66 , at a suitable spacing, which can be approximately 24 inches. Consequently, gutter  66  is fully and securely supported on fascia board  70  by a series of spaced brackets  10 .  
      Gutter  66  includes overlying cover  68 , which is a substantially flat panel that extends from gutter rear wall  80  to a cover forward end  86  and then curves inwardly into gutter  66 . End panel  88  of cover  68  is a flat panel that is secured to respective brackets  10  by screws  90 . End panel  88  includes an end edge  92  that is received on respective stop surfaces  54  of brackets  10 . Stop surfaces  54  accurately position the front edge of cover  68  so that cover forward end  86  is uniformly spaced from gutter upper front edge  82  along the entire length of the assembled gutter. The end of cover  68  adjacent to building  74  has an upturned lip  94  that is secured to fascia board  70  by a series of spaced screws  96 . Additionally, that end of cover  68  is also supported on its inwardly-facing surface in a vertical direction by support surfaces  29  of respective spaced brackets  10 .  
       FIG. 6  is a top perspective view of an assembled and installed gutter  66  in which one bracket  10  is shown adjacent an end of the gutter, but without the gutter cover shown in  FIG. 5 . Gutter  66  includes an end cap  98  that serves to close off the open end of the gutter so that water collected within gutter  66  flows to one or more downspout openings (not shown) provided in gutter  66 . Additionally, end cap  98  can be secured in position at the gutter end by screws (not shown) that extend through the end cap and are received within one or more of openings  63 ,  65  in respective connection members  62 ,  64  of a bracket  10  that is the endmost bracket within the gutter.  
      Bracket  10  can advantageously be formed from a rigid plastic material by injection molding. Suitable materials include ABS, polypropylene, and the like.  
      Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended to encompass within the appended claims all such changes and modifications that fall with the scope of the present invention.