Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
GUT ____________________ FER GUARD WITH EMBOSSMENTS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to eavestroughs or gutters and more
particularly, relates
to an eavestrough cover.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The use of shields or gutters or eavestroughs is well known in the prior art
and there
have been many proposals for different types of shields. The purpose of the
shield is
essentially to permit passage of rainwater from the roof to the eavestrough
while protecting
the same from extraneous foreign matter such as leaves and the like.
To-date, there have been several different approaches taken. A first approach
is
utilizing a shield or a guard which is apertured and permits the passage of
rainwater while
extensively barring the passage of extraneous material. Moreover, many of
these guards do
not function as desired and access must still be had to the eavestrough for
cleaning purposes.
It has also been proposed in the art to provide relatively complex structures
wherein
eavestroughs are mounted for rotatable movement such that they may be emptied
at desired
intervals.
There have also been proposals in the art fOr gutters and eavestroughs which
have a
design wherein a cover has an outer edge which curls downwardly and the water
flow
follows a curved portion due to surface tension and thereafter cascades into
the eavestrough.
However, this concept suffers that when the volume of water becomes
sufficiently large, the
surface tension is insufficient to cause all the water to flow into the
gutter.
A known gutter guard is disclosed in United States Patent 6,786,008, the
teachings of
which are hereby incorporated by reference. This gutter guard has a relatively
flat planar
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portion with a plurality of apertures therein to permit drainage of water
therethrough into the
gutter or eavestrough.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a gutter guard similar to
that shown
in United States Patent 6,786,008 and which gutter guard can be made of a
relatively thin
piece of material while having robust physical properties.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gutter
guard for
an eavestrough comprising a guard central portion having a plurality of
apertures formed
therein, the guard central portion having first and second sides, a guard
front wall extending
upwardly from the first side of the guard central portion to thereby form a
longitudinally
extending front wall corner, a guard rear wall extending upwardly from the
second side of
the guard central portion to thereby form a longitudinally extending rear wall
corner, and a
plurality of embossments formed in at least one of the front wall corner and
the rear wall
corner, at least one of said embossments having a first portion formed in one
of said guard
front wall or said guard rear wall and a second portion formed in said guard
central portion,
said first portion and said second portion being contiguous.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided in
combination, an eavestrough having an eavestrough rear wall, an eavestrough
front wall and
an eavestrough bottom wall, the walls defining an eavestrough having an opened
top
therebetween, the eavestrough also having a top wall portion extending
inwardly from an
upper marginal edge of the front wall and a downwardly extending flange from a
distal end
of the top wall, the front wall, the top wall and the flange defining a recess
therebetween,
and a gutter guard, the gutter guard comprising a guard central portion having
a plurality of
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apertures formed therein, the guard central portion having first and second
sides, a guard
front wall extending upwardly from the first side of the central guard to
thereby form a
longitudinally extending front wall corner, a guard rear wall extending
upwardly from the
second side of the guard central portion to thereby form a longitudinally
extending rear wall
corner, a plurality of enibossments formed in at least one of the front wall
corner and the
rear wall corner, the front wall engaging within the recess in the
eavestrough.
As used herein, the term "eavestrough" and "gutter" are synonymous and may be
used interchangeably. The term refers to a device which is generally typically
placed along
the eave of a roof and which is designed to collect water flowing from the
roof and direct
the water to a desired location.
As previously stated, the use of gutter guards is known in the art. Typically,
such
gutter guards are formed of a material such as aluminum although plastic may
equally well
be utilized. Typically, the aluminum gutter guards will have a thickness in
the range of
between 0.012" and 0.032". The present invention provides a gutter guard which
has a
guard central portion with a plurality of apertures formed therein. The
apertures permit the
water to drain through into the eavestrough. Typically, the apertures will
have a size
between 2.5 and 10 mm although other sizes could be utilized.
The gutter guard has a front wall which extends upwardly from a first side of
the
central portion. The front wall is that portion which is adjacent the front
wall of the
eavestrough. The front wall preferably has a configuration which is sized to
mate with a
recess formed in the top front of the gutter to retain the gutter guard in
position.
The guard rear wall extends upwardly from a second side of the central portion
and
forms a barrier when excess water is present on the gutter guard. Preferably,
the gutter
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guard slopes rearwardly and excess water will flow back against the guard rear
wall.
The guard rear wall is also designed to engage with the eavestrough rear wall
to lock
in position.
Utilizing the structure of the gutter guard of the present invention, it has
been found
that a thickness of aluminum in the range of between 0.010" and 0.023" may be
utilized
while still providing the same structural rigidity as previous.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the
accompanying drawings illustrating embodiments of the invention, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an eavestrough and gutter guard in an
assembled
condition;
Figure 2 is a further perspective view thereof;
Figure 3 is an exploded view of the eavestrough and gutter guard;
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the assembled eavestrough and
gutter
guard;
Figure 5 is an exploded view thereof;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of an assembled eavestrough and gutter guard
according to a further embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 7 is a further perspective view of an assembled eavestrough and gutter
guard;
and
Figure 8 is a detailed view showing the embossments on the gutter guard.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference characters
thereto, there
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is illustrated an eavestrough which is of a conventional configuration and
which is generally
designated by reference numeral 10. Associated with eavestrough 10 is a gutter
guard 12
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Eavestrough 10 has an eavestrough bottom wall 16 and an eavestrough rear wall
18.
As may be seen in Figure 3, a slight recess or indentation 20 is formed in the
rear or back
surface of eavestrough rear wall 18.
Eavestrough 10 also includes an eavestrough front wall 22 which is of an
arcuate
configuration as is well known in K-type gutters. Eavestrough 10 further
includes an
eavestrough top side wall 24 and an eavestrough top wall 26. Eavestrough top
wall 26
terminates in an eavestrough angled wall 28. Together, walls 24, 26 and 28
define a
recess 30.
Gutter guard 12 includes a guard central portion 32 which has a plurality of
apertures 33 formed therein. Apertures 33 permit the drainage of water
therethrough and are
preferably sized between 2.5 and 10 mm and more preferably between 3.0 and 4.0
mm.
At one side of guard central portion 32, there is provided a guard rear wall
34. As
will be noted, guard rear wall 34 has a downwardly extending portion 35 which
terminates
in a short segment 37 which is designed to engage with recess 20 formed in
eavestrough rear
wall 18.
A guard front wall is designated by reference numeral 36. Guard front wall 36
includes a first segment 38 which extends diagonally upwardly and outwardly.
Connected
to first segment 38 is a second segment 40 which extends diagonally upwardly
and inwardly
to form a V-shape with first segment 38. In turn, second segment 40 connects
with a third
segment 42 which extends downwardly and outwardly. In turn, a fourth segment
44 is
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directed downwardly and inwardly and terminates in a fifth segment 46 which is
of a
relatively short length.
The gutter guard includes a front wall corner 50 which is formed at the point
of
joinder of central portion 32 and front wall 36. Similarly, a rear wall corner
52 is formed at
the point of joinder of rear wall 34 and central portion 32.
As may be seen, there are provided a plurality of embossments generally
designated
by reference numeral 56. In the illustrated embodiment, embossments 56 extend
along front
wall corner 50 and rear wall corner 52. The embossments are formed
individually and are
spaced from each other. The number of embossments and spacing thereof can be
determined depending upon the particular material being used and the
determination thereof
is well within the scope of one knowledgeable in the art.
Each embossment 56 consists of an arcuate dome 58 which is formed in both of
the
central portion 32 and rear wall 34 and front wall 36. The embossments are
shown as
extending upwardly from the bottom or lower surface of the central portion 32,
although it
will be understood that a reverse configuration could be employed.
The embossments are not limited to the front wall corner 50 and rear wall
corner 52.
As shown in Figure 6, one or more central embossments 62 may be formed in
central
portion 32. Although the central embossment 62 is shown extending across the
central
portion 32, other arrangements could be utilized.
In use, gutter guard 12 may be easily assembled with eavestrough 10. To this
end,
the front wall of gutter guard 12 is inserted into recess 30. It may then be
tilted downwardly
such that rear wall 34 and wall 35 will engage over eavestrough rear wall 18
and segment 37
will engage in recess 20.
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It will be noted that guard central portion 32 slopes downwardly with respect
to the
eavestrough to prevent overflow over the front wall.
It will be understood that the above described embodiments are for purposes of
illustration only and that changes and modifications may be made thereto
without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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