Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIO~
This invention relates to a gutter and hanger assembly
and~ more particularly, relates to a gutter and hanger assembly
and to a downspout assembly made of plastics which are adapted
to be quickly and readily assembled.
Conventional gutters made of sheet metal or plastics
are secured to a building fascia by spike and ferrule
connectors, Detachment of the spikes over time causes sagging
of the gutter~ It is desirable to provide a gutter hanger
which can be easily attached to a fascia for ease and
reliability of installation.
Gutter hangers are well known, as shown in U.S.
patents Nos. 2843063; 3022029; 3295803; 3253415; 3426987;
3752428; 3874131 and 4195452. Patent No. 3,752,428, for
example, discloses a gutter hanger assembly having separable
hanger elements adapted to be secured together for length
adjustment and for engagement of a gutter flange. Ancillary
nuts and bolts are required for installation of the assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The assembly of the present invention provides a novel
gutter and hanger in which the gutter is secured to a plurality
of equispaced hangers affixed to a building fascia. More
particularly~ the gutter and hanger assembly of the present
invention comprises the combination of an elongated gutter
having rear, bottom and front walls forming a trough
therebetweenr said rear wall having an upper edge portion with
an inwardly and downwardly inclined resilient flange and the
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outer wall having an upper edge portion with an inwardly
inclined flange termina~ing in a downwardly inclined reverse
flange, a hanger having a rear member for abutting attachment
to a building fascia, an arm extending forwardly from said rear
rnember having a downwardly and rearwardly extending flange in
proximity to but spaced from the rear member forming a channel
adapted to receive the gutter rear wall flange by resilient
compression of the said flange whereby the flange makes a tight
frictional fit diagonally within the channel, said arm having
an outer terminus with an upperwardly and rearwardly extending
flange adapted to receive the outer wall reverse flange,
whereby the gutter and hanger are assembled by insertion of the
arm terminus flange within the front wall reverse flange
enabling the gutter to be pivoted about the hanger arm terminus
for interconnection of the gutter rear wall flange within the
channel.
The hanger arm preferably has an outwardly tapering
T-section with transverse reinforcing gussets in alignment with
the downwardly e~tending rear flange which defines the
channel. Alternatively, the hanger arm may have an outwardly
tapering H-section.
The downspout assembly of the invention includes a
gutter outlet having a hopper bottom terminating in a
rectangular spout spigot, said spout spigot being inwardly
stepped intermediate its length the thickness of the spout
material. An elbow having a rectangular inlet or bell of a
size adapted to receive the enlarged portion of the spout
formed at one end and a rectangular outlet or spigot of a size
equal to the inwardly- stepped spout spigot formed at the other
end may be secured to the spout. An elongated pipe having a
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rectangular cross-section with an inner size equal to the size
of the inwardly-stepped spout spigot and an outer size equal to
the enlarged portion of the spout spigot may be secured to the
downspout or to the elbow. ~ combination of elbows, preferably
75 elbows, and pipes can be readily assembled by simply
cutting the pipe to desired lengths to achiev~ a desired
downpipe configuration.
It is a principal object of the present invention to
provide an aesthetic and durable gutter and hanger assembly
which can be detachably secured in a facile manner to a
building fasciaO
Another object of the invention is the provision of a
gutter and hanger assembly which provides tight fitting
engagement of the gutter with the hangers and which provides
interconnecting downspout components for egress of liquid
therefrom.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects of the invention and the
manner in which they can be attained will become apparent from
the following detailed description of the drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view, partially exploded,
of the gutter and hanger assembly of the
present invention showing interconnecting
downspout and downpipe components;
Figure 2 is a transverse section through line 2 - 2
of Figure 1 showing a preferred embodiment
of hanger having a gutter secured thereto;
Figure 3 is a .section corresponding to the section
taken along line 2 - 2 of Figure 1 showing
the gutter in the process of assembl~ with
the hanger;
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Figure 4 is a section corresponding to Figure 3 in
which the resilien~ flange formed on the
rear wall of the gutter is compressed while
inserted into the hanger;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the embodiment of
hanger shown in Figures 1 - 4;
Figure 6 is a perspectiv~ view of another embodiment
of hanger;
Figure 7 is a side elevation of a gutter downspout
with elbow and downpipe connections; and
Figure 8 is a side elevation of a downpipe directly
connected to the gutter downspout.
DESC~IPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to Figure 1, the gutter and hanger
assembly of the present invention comprises a gutter 10 secured
to the fascia 12 of a building by a plurality of hangers 1~,
one of which is shown. Longitudinally aligned sections of
gutt r 10 and intervening downspout 16 are secured together by
resilient connectors 17. Downspout 16 is adapted to have
straight downpipe section 18 or elbow and downpipe assembly
depi~ted hy numeral 20 secured thereto, as will be described in
detaii hereinbelow.
With particular reference now to Figures 2 - 5, gutter
10 comprises a planar rear wall 22, curved outer wall 24, and
interconnecting web or bottom wall 26 to define a trough 28
therebetween. The upper edge portion 30 of rear wall 22 has an
inwardly and downward1y inclined resilient flange 32 adapted,
as srown n Figure 2, to be seated diagonally within channel 34
formed in hanger 14.
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Outer wall 24 is curved in an aesthetic manner, such
as an ogee curve, and is formed with a substantially vertical
upper portion 36 with inwardly inclined flange 38 terminating
in a downwardly inclined reverse flange 40.
Hanger 14 has a rear planar member 40 adapted to abut
the fascia board 12 of a building for securement thereto by
connecting means such as wood screws, not shown, adapted to
pass through openings 42, shown more clearly in Figure 5.
Forwardly extending arm 44, shown in the embodiment of Figure 5
to have a t-section with horizontal side ribs 46 and upper and
lower vertical ribs 48, 50 is tapered from rear member 40 to
outer terminus 52. Terminus 52 has an upwardly and rearwardly
extending flange 54 adapted to receive flange 50 of gutter 10
when in the position shown in Figure 3 such that the gutter can
be pivoted counter-clockwise as shown in Figure 3 to the
position shown in Figure 4.
The rear end of arm 44 has a channel 56 defined by
downwardly and rearwardly extending flange 58 in proximity to
but spaced from rear member 40 with bottom slot 60 adapted to
receive inwardly and downwardly inclined resilient flange 32
formed in the upper edge 30 of rear wall 22. Flange 32 is
compressed within slot 60 to e~pand by its resiliance into the
diagonal position within channel 34 as shown most clearly in
Figure 2 to provide a tight friction fit therein. The length
of flange 32 relative to the substantially rectangular
dimensions of channel 34 is such that free end 62 of flange 32
abuts the bight at the inner corner of flange 58 and the
juncture 64 of flange 32 and rear wall 32 abuts and engages the
rounded portion 66 at the juncture of member 40 and side ribs
46.
Figure 6 illustrates another embodiment of hanger in
which planar rear member 40 has integrally formed therewith a
forwardly extending arm 70 having a H-cross section with
vertical side walls 72 tapered frorn member 42 to outer terminus
74 and an intermediate lateral connecting member 76 extending
the length thereof. A rearwardly extending flange 78 in
proximity to but spaced from member 40 defines a slot 80
therebetween for entry of resilient flange 32 of rear wall 22
into channel 82 in the manner described above. Outer flange 84
formed in outer terminus 86 is adapted to receive the outer
wall reverse flange 40 of gutter 10.
With reference now to Figures 7 and 8, downspout 16
comprises a short length of gutter having inner wall 90, outer
wall 92 and web or lower wall 94 matching the components of
gutters 10, defining a trough therebetween with a hopper bottom
96 terminating in a rectangular spout spigot 98. Upper clip
extensions 91 formed at each end of outer wall 92 and clip
extensions 93 formed at each end of inner wall 90 are adapted
to receive and frictionally engage the upper portions of
abutting ends of gutter walls 22,24 whlch are inserted into the
downspout.
Spout spigot 98 is inwardly stepped about its
periphery intermediate the length of the spigot substantially
the thickness of the spout wall, shown most clearly in Figure
7, to define a peripheral shoulder 100 and reduced
cross-section terminus portion 110 adjacent the enlarged spigot
portion 106. In the embodiment shown in Figure 7, a 75
elbow 102 having an upset upper inner portion or bell 104 is
adapted to receive the enlarged portion 106 of the spigot. The
opposite end of the elbow 102 has a tapered outlet terminus or
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spigot 10~ of reduced sectional area, defining a peripheral
shoulder 110, adapted to receive pipe 112.
In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 8, downpipe of
rectangular cross section 112 may be joined to spout portion
101 of reduced cross-section.
The downspout components thus permit incorporation of
a downspout at any desired location in a gutter assembly. The
stepped down spot spigot permits connection of a downpipe or an
elbow assembly, or combinations thereof, with the use of simple
pipe extrusions.
The present invention provides a number of important
advantages. The gutter and downpipe can be formed from
plastics material such as polyvinyl chloride by well known
extruding techniques and the gutter components joined together
by solvent welding. The hanger embodiments, downspout and
elbows can be formed by injection molding from a similar
plastics material and joined together by frictional
engagement. The simplicity of the hangers and connections for
the downspout sections of the assemblies minimizes the number
of components necessary and tools required for installation by
a tradesman. The gutter can be readily adjusted longitudinally
on the hangers to facilitate installation on a fascia.
It will be understood that modifications can be made
in the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described
herein without departing from the scope and purview of the
invention as defined by the appended claims.
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