Gutter guard with embossments

Abstract

There is provided an eavestrough cover which has central portion with a plurality of apertures formed therein, said central portion having first and second sides, a front wall extending upwardly from the first side of the central portion to thereby define a longitudinally extending front wall corner, a rear wall extending upwardly from a second side of the central portion to thereby define a longitudinally extending rear wall corner, and a plurality of embossments formed adjacent at least one of said front wall corner and said rear wall corner to thereby provide a greater structural rigidity to the eavestrough cover.

Description

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 U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,008, the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This gutter guard has a relatively flat planar 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 U.S. Pat. No. 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.

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 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 embossments 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 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:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an eavestrough and gutter guard in an assembled condition;

FIG. 2 is a further perspective view thereof;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the eavestrough and gutter guard;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the assembled eavestrough and gutter guard;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view thereof;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an assembled eavestrough and gutter guard according to a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a further perspective view of an assembled eavestrough and gutter guard; and

FIG. 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 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 FIG. 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 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 FIG. 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.

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.

Claims

1. A gutter guard for an eavestrough comprising:

a guard central portion having a plurality of apertures formed therein, said guard central portion having first and second sides;

a guard front wall extending upwardly from said first side of said guard central portion to thereby form a longitudinally extending front wall corner;

a guard rear wall extending upwardly from said second side of said guard central portion to thereby form a longitudinally extending rear wall corner; and

a plurality of embossments formed in at least one of said front wall corner and said rear wall corner.

2. The gutter guard of claim 1 wherein said plurality of embossments are formed in said front wall corner.

3. The gutter guard of claim 1 wherein said plurality of embossments are formed in said rear wall corner.

4. The gutter guard of claim 1 wherein said plurality of embossments are formed in both said front wall corner and said rear wall corner.

5. The gutter guard of claim 1 wherein said embossments extend inwardly from a rear face of said eavestrough cover to a top face thereof.

6. The gutter guard of claim 5 wherein said embossments are formed to have an arcuate configuration.

7. The gutter guard of claim 1 including further embossments formed in said guard central portion.

8. The gutter guard of claim 7 wherein said further embossments extend upwardly from a lower surface of said bottom wall towards an upper surface of said bottom wall.

9. The gutter guard of claim 1 wherein said gutter guard is formed of an aluminum material.

10. The gutter guard of claim 9 wherein said gutter guard has a thickness of between 0.010″ and 0.023″.

11. In combination, an eavestrough having an eavestrough rear wall, an eavestrough front wall and an eavestrough bottom wall, said walls defining an eavestrough having an opened top therebetween, said eavestrough also having a top wall portion extending inwardly from an upper marginal edge of said front wall and a downwardly extending flange from a distal end of said top wall, said front wall, said top wall and said flange defining a recess therebetween, and a gutter guard, said gutter guard comprising a guard central portion having a plurality of apertures formed therein, said guard central portion having first and second sides, a guard front wall extending upwardly from said first side of said central guard to thereby form a longitudinally extending front wall corner, a guard rear wall extending upwardly from said second side of said guard central portion to thereby form a longitudinally extending rear wall corner;

a plurality of embossments formed in at least one of said front wall corner and said rear wall corner, said front wall engaging within said recess in said eavestrough.