Patent ID: 7624541

Claim:
A gutter assembly, comprising: a half-round gutter including: a first gutter lip with an exterior surface; a second gutter lip including a bead with a curved exterior surface; and a trough; wherein the first gutter lip and the second gutter lip define an opening to the trough and further define a gutter width; a gutter protector adapted to reduce introduction of debris into the trough of the gutter, the gutter protector including a first edge portion and a second edge portion; and a plurality of gutter-protector supports, each gutter protector including: a first support member including: a retainer engaged with and at least partially circumscribing the exterior surface of the first gutter lip; and a first stay extending adjacent the retainer and engaged with and retaining the first edge portion of the gutter protector; a second support member including: a retention curve engaged with and at least partially circumscribing the curved exterior surface of the bead of the second gutter lip; and a second stay extending adjacent the retention curve and engaged with and retaining the second edge portion of the gutter protector; and an adjustable interconnection portion adapted to permit sliding of the first support member relative to the second support member to adjust an overall length of the gutter-protector support to correspond to the gutter width, the adjustable interconnection portion including means for selectively fixing the first support member relative to the second support member; wherein each of the plurality of gutter-protector supports are retained and positioned on the gutter to span the opening of the trough of the gutter; and wherein the gutter protector is secured in a compressed convex state over the trough between the first and second stays of the plurality of gutter-protector supports, restricts debris from entering the trough of the gutter, and allows precipitation to flow into the trough of the gutter.