EVESTROUGH HANGER BRACKET

FERRURE SUPPORT DE GOUTTIERE

English Abstract

An evestrough hanger bracket has a main bracket member and a separately made secondary bracket member. The main bracket member has front and rear end evestrough clips with the front end clip having a fastener member fitting opening. The secondary bracket member which slideably locks into engagement with the main bracket member has a tubular guide to receive the fastener member in the form of a mounting screw or nail. The guide of the secondary fastener member presents an elongated bore which aligns with and terminates at the opening through the front clip of the main bracket member.

French Abstract

Ferrure de support de gouttière munie d'un support principal et d'un support secondaire fabriqué séparément. Le support principal comporte des agrafes d'extrémité de gouttière, celle de l'avant muni d'une ouverture de réception de fixation. Le support secondaire qui se solidarise par coulissement avec le support principal comporte un guide tubulaire pour recevoir la fixation, soit une vis ou un clou. Le guide de la fixation secondaire présente un alésage de forme allongée qui aboutit à une ouverture traversant l'agrafe avant du support principal et s'aligne avec ladite ouverture.

Claims

9
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege
is claimed are defined as follows:
1. An evestrough hanger bracket comprising: a main bracket member having
a front end trough engagement clip and a rear end trough engagement clip,
said front end clip opening downwardly and said rear end clip opening
forwardly toward said front end clip, said front end clip having a fastener
member fitting opening therethrough, said bracket further comprising a
secondary bracket member which slides into locking engagement with said
main bracket member, said secondary bracket member having a tubular
bracket member guide which abuts with, and extends rearwardly from said
front clip when said secondary bracket member is interlocked with said
fastener member fitting opening of said main bracket member, said guide of
said secondary bracket member presenting an elongated bore which aligns
with and terminates at said opening through said front end clip of said main
bracket member.
2. An evestrough hanger bracket as claimed in claim 1 wherein said main
bracket member includes an elongated slot extending axially thereof, said
secondary bracket member including a tail part which fits into said slot, said
tail part having opposite side surfaces which are provided with lugs
projecting radially of said tail part, said lugs fitting downwardly through
said
slot and then moving to a position to lock from beneath on said main bracket
member as said tail part of said secondary bracket member is fitted into said
slot of said main bracket member.
3. An evestrough hanger bracket as claimed in claim 2 wherein said slot has a
widened front slot region and tapers inwardly rearwardly to a narrower rear
slot region towards said rear end clip of said main bracket member, said lugs
of said tail part of said secondary bracket member fitting downwardly
through said main bracket member at said widened front slot region with said
second bracket member being forced by said front end clip of said main
bracket member to slide rearwardly as said tail part of said secondary bracket
member fits into said slot of said main bracket member causing said lugs to
move towards said narrower rear slot region and lock from beneath against
said main bracket member.

10
4. An evestrough hanger bracket as claimed in claim 2 wherein said
secondary bracket member has a one piece construction comprising
symmetrical opposite side regions of said secondary bracket member, said
side regions being separated by a center region which is folded to form said
tubular bracket member guide, the tail part of said secondary bracket member
being formed by said opposite side regions which are side by side and slightly
spaced from one another when said secondary bracket member is removed
from said main bracket member and which are pressed towards one another
as said tail part is fitted into said slot of said main bracket member.

Description

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EVESTROUGH HANGER BRACKET
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an evestrough
hanger bracket of the type which is made of two separate
pieces that interlock with one another when the bracket
is assembled.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are many different designs for evestrough
hanger brackets. A number of these designs comprise a
single piece construction.
Evestrough hanger brackets have a host of
different functioning parts. They must have a front part
to engage one side of the evestrough, a rear part to
engage the other side of the evestrough and a further
nail or screw receiving part. Accordingly, an evestrough
hanger bracket is relatively complicated in its
construction making it very difficult to produce the
bracket from a single piece of blank material. As a
result, there has been a trend towards multiple piece
hanger brackets. When working with multiple pieces some
of the functioning parts of the bracket can be provided
on one piece and other working parts of the bracket can
be provided on a totally separate piece. The pieces are
then put together with one another to provide the overall
hanger bracket.
When working with a multiple piece bracket it is
important that the individual pieces be easily and
reliably secured to one another. As an added benefit
they should also be readily broken apart from one another
should any of the pieces become damaged with use of the

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bracket. If they can be readily disassembled then only
the damaged part needs to be replaced.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention provides an evestrough
hanger bracket which has a two piece construction so that
it does not face problems associated with a single
complicated construction bracket. Furthermore, according
to the present invention the two pieces of the hanger
bracket are easily both assembled and broken apart from
one another adding further to the benefits of the
bracket.
More particularly, the evestrough hanger bracket
of the present invention comprises a main bracket member
and a secondary bracket member. The main bracket member
has front and rear end evestrough engagement clips. The
front end clip opens downwardly and the rear end clip
opens forwardly towards the front end clip. These two
clips provide a simple and efficient engagement with the
evestrough.
The front end clip of the main bracket member has
an opening to fit a fastener member e.g., a screw or a
nail through the front end clip. The secondary bracket
member slides into locking engagement with the main
bracket member and has a tubular fastener member guide.
This guide abuts with and extends rearwardly from the
front end clip of the main bracket member when the two
bracket members interlock with one another.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above as well as other advantages and features
of the present invention will be described in greater

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detail according to the preferred embodiments of the
present invention in which;
Figure 1 is a perspective view looking down on an
evestrough hanger bracket according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side view of an evestrough when
mounted to a building using the evestrough hanger bracket
of Figure 1; and
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the
evestrough hanger bracket of Figure 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION ACCORDING TO THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION IN WHICH:
Figure 1 shows an evestrough hanger bracket
generally indicated at 1. This bracket comprises a main
bracket member generally indicated at 3 and a secondary
bracket member generally indicated at 5.
As best seen in Figure 3 of the drawings these two
bracket members are made separately from one another and
then interlocked to form the overall bracket.
Figure 2 of the drawings shows an evestrough
generally indicated at 21 when mounted to a building by
bracket 1. As will be seen in Figure 2 the main bracket
member 3 comprises an elongated body portion 7 having a
downwardly opening clip 9 at one end e.g., the front or
interior end of the bracket, and a forwardly opening clip
11 at the other end e.g., the back or outside end of the
bracket.
The front end clip 9 has a U shape which slides

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downwardly over the interior edge 22 of the evestrough.
The rear end clip 11 slides forwardly into a small U
shaped return 25 at the outer edge 23 of the evestrough.
Figure 3 shows the front end clip 9 includes an
opening 13 through the two walls of the clip. Opening 13
allows a mounting screw S or a mounting nail N as shown
in Figure 3 to pass through the clip. The mounting screw
or nail penetrates the edge 22 of the trough to trap the
edge of the trough within the clip 9. The mounting member
then pierces the mounting surface of a building to which
the evestrough is secured as shown in Figure 2 of the
drawings.
Both the main and secondary members of the bracket
preferably have a metal construction. The metal in this
construction is weather resistant be it through the
actual material or the treatment of the material in the
bracket.
The secondary bracket member 5 as best shown in
Figure 3 of the drawings is formed from a blank of
material having side regions 7a and 7b which are
symmetrical to opposite sides of the secondary bracket
member. The secondary bracket member is then bent about
the center area of the bracket member to form a hollow
tubular guide 19.
Located rearwardly of the hollow tubular guide is
a tail region of bracket member 5. This tail region is
formed by tail parts 9a and lla to one side of the
bracket member and tail parts 9b and llb to the other
side of the bracket member. The tail parts 9a and 9b are
separated from the tail parts lla and lib by a slot or
groove generally indicated at 13 in the tail parts.

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Tail part 9a includes a small radially projecting
lug 15a. An identical lug is also provided on tail part
9b although it cannot be seen in the drawings.
5 Lug 15a slopes downwardly inwardly on tail part
7a and has a flat top surface 16a. This provides firstly
a cammed fitting and then a locking surface of the lug
relative to the main bracket member as will be described
later in detail.
Provided forwardly of tail parts 9a and lla is a
wing like projection 17a. An identical wing is provided
on the other side of the secondary bracket member.
It is to be noted in Figure 3 when the secondary
bracket member is away from the primary bracket member
the two tail parts of the secondary bracket member do not
close completely against one another. They are
maintained, slightly separated until the secondary
bracket member is interlocked with the primary bracket
member as is also described later in detail.
In order to provide a slide interlock between the
two bracket members the body 7 of the main bracket member
3 is provided with an elongated blind ended slot
generally indicated at 15. This slot has a wider front
slot region 17 and narrower rear slot region 19'.
For purposes of fitting the two bracket members
together, bracket member 5 is first tipped upwardly from
the Figure 3 position to a position in which the two tail
parts lla and lib face downwardly over the wider slot
region 17 of the slot 15 in the main bracket member. The
secondary bracket member is then moved downwardly to fit
the two tail parts lla and llb through slot 15. At the
same time the secondary bracket member is pivoted or

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rotated back to the Figure 3 position forcing the lugs on
the tail parts of the secondary bracket member to cam
down through the wide slot region 17 of the slot 15 in
the primary bracket member. As this is occurring the
front edge of the guide 19 engages the front end clip 9
of the primary bracket member causing the secondary
bracket member to slide rearwardly of the primary bracket
member. This produces a plurality of interlocks between
the two bracket members.
Firstly, the secondary bracket member continues to
be pushed rearwardly of the primary bracket member such
that the blind end 19a of the narrow slot region slides
into the slot or groove 13 of the tail region of the
secondary bracket member. In this position the tail
parts 9a and 9b are trapped on the upper surface while
the tail parts lla and 11b are trapped against the lower
surface of the body 7 of the primary bracket member as
clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawings. Furthermore,
the two lugs on each side of the secondary bracket member
have also been pushed rearwardly to a position where they
are beneath the narrower part of slot 15. The flat upper
surfaces of these two lugs seat against the undersurface
of the body 7 of the main bracket member. They will not
pull back upwardly through the slot until the secondary
bracket member is slid in the opposite direction
forwardly of the main bracket member. The engagement of
the front edge of the guide 19 with the front clip 9
prevents this from happening without deliberately lifting
the secondary bracket member.
As earlier described the two tail parts of the
secondary bracket member are sprung slightly apart from
one another for assembly of the bracket. However, when
the two bracket members are fully interlocked with one
another it will be seen in Figure 1 that the tail parts

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to opposite sides of guide 19 are completely pressed or
pinched against one another. This occurs once again as a
result of the narrowing or tapering of slot 15 in the
primary bracket member. The natural resiliency of the
steel material used to make the secondary bracket member
produces a biasing pressure attempting to force the tail
parts 7a and 7b apart from one another. This produces a
frictional interlock helping to further secure the tail
region of the secondary bracket member with the primary
bracket member. Further added to this is the fact that
the front tip of the tubular guide 19 presses against the
front end clip 9 on the primary bracket member preventing
the secondary bracket member from sliding forwardly away
from its interlocked position with the secondary bracket
member as earlier noted. Therefore the only way to
release the two bracket members from one another is by
first tipping the front edge or nose of the tubular guide
19 upwardly away from clip 9 of the primary bracket
member. This allows the secondary bracket member to then
be slid forwardly away from its interlocked position in
the tapered slot 15 of the primary bracket member.
When the two bracket members are properly
interlocked with one another as shown in Figures 1 and 2
the bore through guide 19 aligns directly with the
opening 13 in the front clip. The wings on the secondary
bracket member seat atop and slightly wrap around the
body part 7 of the primary bracket member to further
stabilize the interfitting of the two bracket members.
The nail or screw is then inserted into the assembly
along guide 19 and through the front end clip of the
bracket. This traps the interior edge of the evestrough.
The mounting member then embeds within the mounting
surface to ensure that the secondary bracket member
cannot lift upwardly off of the primary bracket member.

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It is to be appreciated that if either one of the
bracket members does become damaged they are easily
released from one another. This is done by first
releasing the nail or screw and then reversing the slide
in mounting of the secondary bracket member relative to
the primary bracket member.
When the bracket is positioned ready to mount to
the support surface it will be seen that the screw or
nail (as shown in Figure 1) sits at an upward outward
angle relative to the bracket. In this position the
outer end of the screw or nail is readily exposed to and
easily accessed by a mounting tool such as a wrench or
hammer. The rest of the bracket does not interfere with
the downward inward mounting of the screw or nail into
the mounting surface.
A feature which is further included in the bracket
to ease mounting comprises a small indent 20 in the
fastening member guide 19. Through the provision of this
indent the fastening member can be pushed manually into
the guide to the Figure position where the pressure of
the indent on the fastening member holds it with the
bracket. The installer can then carry the bracket as the
assembled unit of Figure 1 up to the evestrough without
worrying about the nail or screw falling out of the
bracket.
Although various preferred embodiments of the
present invention have been described in detail, it will
be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
variations may be made without departing from the spirit
of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Representative Drawing