AU2004202548A1

AU2004202548A1 - Gutter Guard

Info

Publication number: AU2004202548A1
Application number: AU2004202548A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Charles Pearce
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-06-13
Filing date: 2004-06-10
Publication date: 2005-01-06

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 Charles Pearce COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Invention Title.

Gutter Guard The invention is described in the following statement: Gutter Guard Field of the Invention This invention relates to a gutter guard and relates particularly to a guard for rain water guttering on buildings, such as domestic dwellings, commercial premises, factories and the like.

Background of the Invention It is well known that normal guttering, such as that formed of galvanised sheet steel, copper, plastic or the like collects debris, such as leaves, sticks and other plant and animal material, which reduces the effectiveness of the guttering system and.often leads to blockages occurring with attendant flooding.

Many forms of gutter guards have been proposed. One form commonly available is a mesh material made of synthetic plastic which is adapted to be placed in a rain water gutter to reduce the amount of debris which lodges in the gutter. The guard is intended to deflect debris out of the gutter itself whilst permitting water to enter the gutter channel. However, such gutter guard material is relatively ineffective over time.

Another proposal is the roof gutter structure disclosed in Australian Patent Application No 39081/95 in which the gutter is a substantially closed channel with an upper surface having a plurality of apertures. Such a gutter structure, however, is likely to be relatively expensive to manufacture and install.

Other proposals involve gutters which are able to be rotated to empty any debris which may have collected therein. Such gutter structures are also likely to be relatively expensive.

Summary of the Invention It is therefore desirable to provide an improved gutter guard which is relatively cheap and simple to manufacture, is easy to install, and which minimises debris collecting within the guttering channel.

It is also desirable to provide a gutter guard which is effective over a long term.

It is also desirable to provide a gutter guard which may be installed in association with any existing form of rain water guttering.

It is also desirable to provide an improved gutter guard which prevents the build up of debris, such as leaves, thereby reducing potential fire risks.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a gutter guard comprising a relatively shallow, elongated tray section adapted to extend along and span an open top of a gutter, a lip along an outer edge portion of the tray section, the lip adapted to engage an upper, outer gutter edge, a roof flange extending along the other edge portion of the tray section, the roof flange being adapted to engage roofing material adjacent the gutter, and apertures in the tray section to enable rain water to pass into the gutter but restrict movement of debris thereinto.

In one form of the invention, the roof flange is adapted to engage on top of roofing material adjacent the gutter. In a particular form of the invention adapted for use with corrugated iron roofing material, an outer edge portion of the roof flange is formed of a wave form shape and successive edge portions are bent so as to closely engage within the corrugations of the roofing material.

In another form of the invention, the outer, free edge portion of the roof flange is slit or cut to form a plurality of fingers of flange material extending away from the tray section. These fingers are able to be bent or formed to the corresponding shape of the roofing material. Thus, in the case of corrugated roofing, the row of fingers are able to be bent to follow the shape of the corrugations across the length of the roof.

This arrangement avoids the need to pre-form a number of roof flanges to fit different sized corrugation in roofing material..

The holes in the tray section maybe of any suitable size, and may be fitted with strainers or the like to restrict the egress of debris such as leaves, twigs and other vegetable or animal material, including feathers.

A gutter guard in accordance with the present invention has been found to be particularly effective in maintaining rain water gutters clean thereby enabling clean drinking water to be obtained from the gutter system without leaves or other rubbish entering the rain water system.

The guard of the invention, in use, allows water resulting from heavy rain to flow down the roofing material, over the top of the roof flange into the tray section and into the gutter through the apertures. Lighter rain can flow along the roof corrugations and pass through the small gaps or openings between turned down folded edge portions and the roofing material, to flow directly into the gutter. The turned down edges, however, provide only relatively small gaps or spaces through which the water may pass and prevents debris being washed into the gutter.

When used with roofing material of a different profile, the outer edge.portion of the roof flange is shaped accordingly so as to closely follow the roof profile whilst still providing relatively small openings or gaps through which rain water may pass into the gutter.

Description of the Drawings In order that the invention will be more readily understood, embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gutter guard in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view from a different angle of the gutter guard of Figure 1; Figure 3A is an end elevational view of the gutter guard of Figure 1; Figure 3B is a view similar to Figure 3A showing a modified gutter guard structure in accordance with the invention; Figure 3C is a view similar to Figure 3A showing another modification of gutter guard in accordance with the invention, Figure 4 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of gutter guard in accordance with the invention, and Figure 5 is a perspective view similar to that of Figure 1 but showing a still further embodiment of the invention.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to Figures 1 to 3, a gutter guard 12 is illustrated. In Figure 1, the guard 12 is shown in use on a roofing structure having a corrugated iron roofing material 14 which normally directs rain water into a metal gutter 16. A down pipe 17 conveys water from the gutter 16 to a storage system or to storm water outlets or drains.

The gutter guard 12 comprises a relatively shallow, elongated tray section 18 which extends across the top of and along the gutter 16, thereby covering the normally open top of the gutter 16.

An outer edge of the tray section 18 is formed with a lip 19 which is down turned to engage over an outer upper edge 21 of the gutter 16. If desired, the lip 19 may be shaped so as to clip over the edge 21 of the gutter thereby holding the gutter guard 12 in position on the gutter 16. Alternatively, the lip 19 may be crimped or otherwise bent continuously or at spaced intervals along its length so that the tray section 18 is held in place on the gutter 16.

The opposite side edge portion of the tray section 18 is formed as a roof flange 22. In the embodiment illustrated, the roof flange 22 is adapted to extend over the top of the corrugated roofing material 14. In other embodiments, however, the roof flange may extend beneath the roofing material 14.

As particularly shown in Figure 2, where the gutter guard is to be used with corrugated roofing material, the outer edge of the roof flange 22 is formed in a shape corresponding to the roofing material corrugations, and the so shaped edges 23 are bent downwardly so as to engage within the roof corrugations to thereby close the space which would normally exist between the roofing material 14 and the roof flange 22.

The bent outer edges 23 thereby define with the roofing corrugations relatively small gaps or spaces through which water can pass but which are sufficiently small to prevent leaves, twigs or other debris from passing through and down the roofing material 14 directly into the gutter 16.

The shape of the bent edges 23 facilitates water resulting from, for example, heavy rain running down the roof corrugations and passing over the top of the roof flange 22 and into the tray section 18.

In an alternative arrangement, instead of integral, bent outer edges being shaped to fit the shape of the corrugations, separate, shaped or flexible material may be attached to the flange 22. In one arrangement, plastic material may be cut to shape and secured to the flange 22 such as by adhesive. Plastic strips may also be used which are adhered to the flange 22 and engage within the corrugations to keep out leaves and other debris whilst permitting a restricted water flow under the flange 22.

A plurality of apertures 24 are formed at intervals along the tray section 18 to enable water in that section to pass into the gutter 16. If desired or necessary, strainers 26 may be engaged within the apertures 24 to strain debris from water passing therethrough.

In use, any leaves which are carried down the roof material 14 and over the roof flange 22 to lodge in the tray section 18 are subsequently blown away due to the shallow depth of the tray section 18. Water, however, can pass freely into the gutter 16 in a relatively clean condition.

In a modified form of the guard 12 shown in Figure 3B, the inner edge portion of the tray section 18 is reversely bent on itself to provide a portion to fit beneath and lock onto the underneath edge of the roofing material 14 to thereby assist in retaining the guard 12 in its installed position. Other forms of retaining the guard 12 in engagement with the upper open top of the gutter 16 may be used, including adhesive or the like on the under surface of the roof flange 22 where it engages corrugations of the roofing material 14.

In a further modification as shown in Fig 3C, the guard 12 is connected to the flange 22 by a hinge 28. The hinge 28 may be formed into the material of the guard 12 or may be attached thereto, such as by adhesive. Thus, if the guard 12 and the flange 22 are both formed of metal, a continuous hinge 28 formed of a plastics material may be used to join the flange 22 to the guard 12. The outer edge of the guard 12 may be fastened to the gutter 16 by a screw 29 which secures the guard inposition, but permits the guard to be folded upwardly, after removal of the screw 29, if fitted, so that the gutter 16 is able to be cleaned.

Referring to Figure 4, a modified form of gutter guard 32 is shown which is adapted to engage with a circular gutter 36, such as one formed out of PVC pipe or the like.

With this embodiment, the guard 32 has a tray section 38 which engages:over the gutter 36 and has a plurality of holes 44 which correspond with. slots or holes (not shown) in the gutter pipe 36. Alternatively, the tray section 38 may fit over an open top of a part-circular gutter such as one formed bycutting away part of a tube or pipe.

Side edge portions 39 and 42 extend from each edge of the tray section 38,and engage the outer surface of the gutter pipe 36 to support the guard 32 in position.

The guard may also be formed with a roof flange portion in the manner of the embodiments of Figures 1I to 3 Referring to Figure 5, a further modification is shown in which the roof flange 22 has a plurality of slits or cuts 42 extending from an outer edge towards the tray section 18 to form fingers 43. The so formed fingers 43 are able to be bent out of the plane of the roof flange 22 to engage corrugations or other roof material shapes. The fingers 43 thus enable the gutter guard to be used with any roof material including tiles, ribbed or corrugated metal, fibreglass or plastics material or the like. The fingers 43 may also be formed of a different material to the roof flange 22, such as plastics material, eg., extruded PVC, the fingers 43 being secured to the flange 22 or to the tray section 18 by adhesive or mechanical crimping or other fastening.

Claims

2. A gutter guard according to claim 1 wherein the roof flange is adapted to engage on top of roofing material adjacent the gutter
3. A gutter guard according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the outer •edge portion of the roof flange is shaped so as to closely follow the roof profile whilst providing relatively small openings or gaps between the edges of theroof flange and the roofing material through which water may pass:into the gutter.
4. A gutter guard according to any one of the preceding claims wherein an outer edge portion of the roof flange is formed of a wave form shape and successive edge portions are bent so as to closely engage within corrugations of corrugated roofing material A gutter guard according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the apertures in the tray section are fitted with strainers to restrict the passage of debris from the tray section into the gutter.
6. A gutter guard according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the outer, free edge portion of the roof flange is slit or cut to form a plurality of fingers of flange material extending away from the tray section.
7. A gutter guard according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to wherein at leastan outer, edge portion of the roof flange is formed of aplastics material attached to either the tray section or the body of the roof flange and having a plurality of fingers extending away from the tray section..
8. A gutter guard according to claim 6 or claim 7 wherein said fingers are adapted to be bent or formed to a position where outer edge portions thereof engage the surface of the roofing material.
9. A gutter guard according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said lip on the outer edge portion of the tray section releasably clips to the gutter edge. A gutter guard according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said lip on the outer edge portion of the tray section is releasably fastened to thie gutter edge by screws or fasteners.
11. A gutter guard according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the roof flange is connected to the tray section by hinge means that permits the tray section to be lifted relative to the roof flange for gutter cleaning.
12. A gutter guard according to claim 11 wherein said hinge means comprises a plurality of small corrugations extending lengthwise of the tray section.
13. A gutter guard according to claim 11 wherein said hinge means comprises a hinge formed of plastics material adhered to the tray section and the roof flange along adjoining edges thereof.
14. A gutter guard according to any one of the preceding claims wherein an edge of the tray section has a reversely turned portion to engage beneath roofing material. A gutter guard according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said gutter is formed of a part-tubular pipe of plastics material.
16. A gutter guard substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this tenth day of June 2004 Wahl Clipper Corporation Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: F B RICE CO