EAVESTROUGH MOUNTING ASSEMBLY

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to eavestroughs and more particularly, relates to an

eavestrough support structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of eavestrough or gutters is well known and such eavestrough or gutters are

widely utilized. An eavestrough is designed to receive overflow water from the roof of a

building such as a residential house. The eavestroughs are disposed along the lower edge of

the roof and are typically attached to an upper portion or facia board of an exterior walled building. A common attachment means used for many years has been a nail/ferrule and this

attachment has been considered to be one of the strongest supports for eavestroughs.

However, such an attachment generally requires more labour and can be problematic in that

the gutter can become dented.

Other attachment means are also known such as the so-called "hidden" hangers. The

hidden hanger is attached to a facia board by fasteners such as screws. The hidden hanger

minimizes the amount of labour to hang the gutter though it is typically not as strong as the

nail/ferrule type of attachment.

A typical hidden hanger is shown in United States Patent 6,726,155 to Zimmerman wherein there is provided an elongated body portion which spans the top of the gutter between the front and rear walls. The hanger includes a hook shape portion designed to engage the recess typically formed at the top of the front wall of K type gutters and with a U-shaped portion designed to fit over the top of the rear wall of the gutter. The device includes a guided channel for a fastener which is screwed into the facia board. This arrangement provides a relatively simple way for hanging a gutter; however, the strength of

the attachment could be problematic, especially in areas where a weight is applied to the

gutter such as snow in winter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hanger structure for an

eavestrough.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mounting

assembly for mounting an eavestrough wherein the eavestrough has a rear wall, a front wall, and a bottom wall, the front wall having an inwardly extending portion located at a top edge thereof, the inwardly extending portion defining a recess, the mounting assembly comprising

an elongated rear section having an inverted U-shaped configuration designed to fit over the

rear wall of the eavestrough, an elongated front section having a horizontal portion and a

hook portion, the hook portion being designed to engage the eavestrough within the recess, and a plurality of transverse sections interconnecting the rear and front sections.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided in

combination, an eavestrough and a mounting assembly, the eavestrough comprising an

eavestrough rear wall, an eavestrough front wall, and an eavestrough bottom wall, the

eavestrough rear wall, the eavestrough front wall and the eavestrough bottom wall defining an eavestrough having an open top, the eavestrough front wall having an internally

extending section defining a recess at an upper end thereof, the mounting assembly

comprising an elongated rear section having an inverted U-shaped configuration, the inverted U-shaped configuration fitting over a top of the eavestrough rear wall, an elongated front section having a horizontal portion and a hook portion, the hook portion engaging within the recess formed at an upper end of the eavestrough front wall, and a plurality of

transverse sections interconnecting the elongated rear sections and elongated front section.

The mounting assembly of the present invention has, as aforementioned, an elongated rear section which is designed to fit over a gutter rear wall. The elongated rear section has

an inverted U-shaped configuration and preferably, in a front wall thereof, there is provided one or more dimples to indicate where the mounting assembly is to be secured to the facia of

a building. In this regard, the securing can be done by a mechanical fastener such as a nail

or a screw; preferably a screw member is employed.

The front section is adapted to fit within a recess formed at the top of the front wall

of the gutter as is conventional in K type gutters. The exact configuration of the recess can

vary and accordingly, the configuration of the hook portion of the front section can be varied

to fit within the recess and engage and support the gutter. A hook shaped section is shown

in United States Patent No. 6,786,008, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by

reference.

Extending between the front and rear sections are a plurality of transverse sections. The transverse sections may be secured to the front and rear section by any suitable

mechanical means such as rivets or the like.

The entire mounting assembly is formed of a suitable sheet material (e.g. a metallic or

plastic material) and due to the interconnection of the various components, provides a

substantial reinforcing of the gutter structure particularly when a load is applied to the gutter. While any suitable sheet material may be utilized, aluminum is a typical sheet material suitable for the purpose.

The mounting assembly can come in various lengths. Thus, a plurality of mounting assemblies may be utilized for any particular eavestrough.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the

accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gutter and mounting assembly according to an

embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the gutter and mounting assembly; and

Figure 3 is an expanded sectional view of the gutter and mounting assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference characters thereto, there

is illustrated an eavestrough generally designated by reference numeral 10 and a mounting assembly generally designated by reference numeral 12.

Eavestrough 10 is of the K type and includes an eavestrough rear wall 16, an eavestrough front wall 18 and an eavestrough bottom wall 20. Walls 16, 18 and 20 define the cavity into which water from a roof R flows. At the upper extremity of eavestrough

front wall 18, there is provided an inwardly extending top wall 22 and a downwardly extending diagonal flange 24. Together top wall 22, the upper portion of eavestrough front

wall 18 and flange 24 define a recess 26. Naturally, it is understood that other arrangements of a top wall and flange may be utilized to define a suitable recess.

Mounting assembly 12, as may be best seen in Figures 1 and 3, has a rear section generally designated by reference numeral 28. Rear section 28 includes a rear wall 30 and a front wall 32 which are connected by means of bight 34 to define a generally U-shaped configuration. In this respect, rear wall 30 fits between facia F and eavestrough rear wall 16 while front wall 32 fits interiorly of the eavestrough 10. Extending outwardly from the

lower end of front wall 32 is a horizontal wall 36.

Mounting assembly 12 also includes a front section generally designated by reference numeral 40. Front section 40 has a horizontal wall 42, a vertical wall 44 and a flange 46.

Vertical wall 44 and flange 46 define a hook like member which engages within recess 26.

A plurality of transverse members 50 interconnect horizontal wall 42 of first

section 40 and horizontal wall 36 of rear section 28. The connection may conveniently be

made by means of rivets 54.

Front wall 32 of rear section 28 is provided with a horizontal line of dimples 58 to

assist in the starting of fastening members such as screws 60 which secure the assembly and eavestrough rear wall 16 to facia F.