Rounded eaves trough with a gutter shield

[0001] The present invention relates to an eaves trough or gutter assembly and more particularly, relates to improvements to such structures.

[0002] The use of shields or gutters or eaves troughs 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 eaves trough while protecting the same from extraneous foreign matter such as leaves and the like.

[0003] 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 eaves trough for cleaning purposes.

[0004] It has also been proposed in the art to provide relatively complex structures wherein eaves troughs are mounted for rotatable movement such that they may be emptied at desired intervals.

[0005] There have also been proposals in the art for gutters and eaves troughs 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 eaves trough. 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.

[0006] It is also known in the art from Applicant's own prior patents and applications to provide a gutter guard which may be used with gutters or eaves troughs having a profile wherein there is provided a relatively flat bottom as well as upwardly extending side walls. However, to-date, very few gutter guards have been designed for gutters or eaves troughs which have a rounded or convex profile.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel gutter guard which is adapted to be used with existing gutters which have a convex profile.

[0008] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel gutter guard for eaves troughs of a convex profile and which eliminates the needs for separate attachment members.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for protecting an eaves trough wherein the eaves trough has an arcuate generally U-shaped cross sectional profile, the eaves trough having a bottom wall, a rear upper wall merging therewith, and a front upper wall merging with the bottom wall, the front upper wall terminating in a rolled section, the device comprising a guard member having an elongated configuration with a generally planar central portion, first and second longitudinally extending opposed sides located on either side of the generally planar central portion, a plurality of apertures extending through the generally planar central portion, the first side of the guard member having a concave section designed to abut a portion of the rolled section of the eaves trough, and the second side of the guard member having an upwardly extending wall segment designed to abut the rear upper wall of the eaves trough.

[0010] According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for protecting a gutter and eaves trough when the eaves trough has an arcuate generally U-shaped cross sectional profile, the eaves trough having a bottom wall, a rear upper wall merging therewith, and a front upper wall merging with the bottom wall, the front upper wall terminating in a rolled section, the device comprising a guard member having an elongated configuration with a generally planar central portion, first and second longitudinally extending opposed sides located on either side of the generally planar central portion, a plurality of apertures extending through the generally planar central portion, the first side of the guard member having a guard member rolled section designed to fit within the rolled section of the eaves trough, and the second side of the guard member terminating in an upwardly extending wall.

[0011] According to a still further aspect of the invention, there is provided, in a building having an eaves trough for collecting water, the improvement wherein the gutter has an arcuate generally U-shaped cross sectional profile, the eaves trough having a bottom wall, a rear upper wall merging therewith, and a front upper wall merging with the bottom wall, the front upper wall terminating in a rolled section, a guard member having an elongated generally planar circular portion, first and second longitudinally extending opposed sides located on either side of the generally planar central portion, a plurality of apertures extending through the generally planar central portion, the first side of the guard member having a concave section designed to abut a portion of the rolled section of the eaves trough, the second side of the guard member having an inverted U-shaped portion designed to fit over an upper marginal edge of the rear upper wall of the eaves trough, and the eaves trough being attached by a fastening means extending through the inverted U-shaped portion and the rear wall of the gutter to the building structure.

[0012] The device of the present invention may be formed of any suitable material and would conveniently be formed of a metallic or plastic material. Both materials are known for use in gutters or eaves troughs and one may use either a similar or dissimilar material.

[0013] The device of the present invention provides a guard for the eaves trough to prevent foreign matter from entering into the eaves trough. It is important that appropriate sizing of the apertures formed in the planar protection is provided. Thus, the aperture size and their placement permit adequate drainage of the water through the apertures into the eaves trough while substantially excluding any foreign matter which remains on the top and would normally be removed by the wind or the like. The specific sizing of the apertures can also prevent clogging of the device.

[0014] The apertures preferably extend in diagonal rows at an angle of 45 with respect to the gutter length. In the preferred embodiments, the apertures have an aperture size of between 2.5 and 10 mm and even more preferably between about 3.0 and 4.0 mm. As the apertures are arranged in diagonal rows, they are also preferably arranged in longitudinally extending rows. In a longitudinally extending row, the apertures are spaced apart by a distance between 10 and 15 mm while in a diagonal row, they are spaced apart by a distance of between 5 and 10 mm.

[0015] As will be appreciated, during a period of heavy rain or the like, the drainage may not be instantaneous and accordingly, there is provided a vertically extending segment adjacent a front side of the gutter to prevent overflow of water therefrom.

[0016] A gutter or eaves trough guard having similar characteristics is disclosed in co-pending applications (U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 09/853,555 issued as patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,388 B1, Ser. Nos. 10/017,330 and 10/261,043), the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

[0017] Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof, in which:

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially in cut away, of a eaves trough incorporating a gutter guard according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the eaves trough with the gutter guard being illustrated in dotted lines as it would be utilized with the eaves trough;

[0020] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the gutter guard;

[0021] FIG. 4 is a perspective view, partially in cut away, of a further embodiment of the gutter guard according to the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the eaves trough of FIG. 4 with a gutter guard being shown in dotted lines; and

[0023] FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the gutter guard.

[0024] Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference characters thereto, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a gutter guard according to one embodiment of the present invention and which gutter guard is generally designated by reference numeral 10. Gutter guard 10 is used in conjunction with an eaves trough 12 which lies adjacent the facia of a roof 16.

[0025] Eaves trough or gutter 12 is of a type which is known in the art and which is of a generally U-shaped configuration in cross sectional view. It will be understood that the term U-shaped will include profiles which are generally of such a configuration including semi-circular, oval, elliptical, parabolic, etc.

[0026] In a greater detail, eaves trough 12 has a bottom wall section generally designated by reference numeral 18 and a rear upper wall segment generally designated by reference numeral 20. Rear upper wall segment 20 terminates in a substantially vertical portion in order to prevent overflow during heavy periods of rain.

[0027] Eaves trough 12 also has a front upper wall generally designated by reference numeral 22 and which terminates in an inwardly rolled section 24. Thus, as may be seen in FIG. 2, rolled section 24 is of a generally circular configuration although, as will be well appreciated, it may vary from circular to oval, to elliptical or the like.

[0028] Gutter guard 10 is of a generally elongated configuration having a first side generally designated by reference numeral 28 and a second side generally designated by reference numeral 30. At first side 28, which is designed to lie adjacent upper rear wall 20 of eaves trough 12, there is provided a vertical segment 32 which is designed to retain water from running exteriorly of the gutter guard. Vertical segment 32 merges with a horizontal segment 34 which in turn merges with a concave segment 36. Concave segment 36 is of a generally semi-circular configuration and is designed to abut rolled section 24 as may be seen in FIG. 2.

[0029] At second side 30, there is provided an inverted U-shaped portion generally designated by reference numeral 40 and which comprises an upwardly extending wall segment 42 which reverses through 180 to join a downwardly extending wall segment 44. As may be seen in FIG. 2, U-shaped portion 40 is designed to fit over the upper portion of rear upper wall 20.

[0030] Intermediate first side 20 and second side 30 there is provided a generally planar portion 48 which has a plurality of apertures 50 formed therein. Apertures 50 are preferably arranged in diagonal rows as previously discussed herein.

[0031] In a second embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, similar reference numerals in the 100's are employed for similar components.

[0032] In this embodiment, there is again provided an eaves trough or gutter 112 which is known in the art and has a generally U-shaped configuration in cross sectional view. Eaves trough 112 has a bottom wall section generally designated by reference numeral 118 and a rear upper wall segment generally designated by reference numeral 120. Rear upper wall segment 120 terminates in a substantially vertical portion.

[0033] Eaves trough 112 also has a front upper wall generally designated by reference numeral 122 and which terminates in an inwardly rolled section 124. As in the previous embodiments, this is of a generally circular configuration.

[0034] Gutter guard 110 has a generally elongated configuration with a first side generally designated by reference numeral 128 and a second side generally designated by reference 130. At first side 128 which lies adjacent upper rear wall 120 of eaves trough 112, there is provided a vertical segment 132 which converts and merges with a downwardly extending segment 154 to thereby form a U-shaped configuration. Downwardly extending portion 154 in turn merges with a semi-circular outline 156 which is sized and shaped to fit within rolled section 124 as may be seen in FIG. 5.

[0035] At the other side, gutter guard 110 is provided with a vertically extending wall 158 which in turn merges with an outwardly extending flange portion 160 which is designed to seal against the adjacent structure of the building as shown in FIG. 4. Flange portion 160 is flexible enough to seal against different arrangements of a building.

[0036] As will be seen from the above description, the guarded device of the present invention can have different forms. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3, the second side (adjacent the building) of the guard is shown having an inverted U-shaped configuration. Naturally, if so desired, only the upwardly extending wall segment could be provided. Similarly, in the embodiment of FIGS. 4 to 6, the outwardly extending flange is shown as an integral part of the guard. If so desired, a separate component could be utilized and this embodiment could also incorporate the inverted U-shaped configuration of the first embodiment.

[0037] The guard may be formed of different materials and/or combinations thereof such as plastics and metallic materials.

[0038] It will be understood that the above described embodiments are for purposes of illustration only and that changes or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.