Cross-reference to related applications

This application claims priority from Australian innovation patent application No. 2012101760, entitled "Bracket Assembly" filed on 4 December 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference.

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a bracket assembly particularly for attaching guttering to a fascia or the like.

Background of the Invention

Brackets for supporting roof gutters are typically generally U-shaped, having an upright section for attachment to a fascia and a gutter support arm for engagement with the roof gutter. When such brackets are mounted on a fascia, the supporting arm of each fascia bracket must be spaced relative to the supporting arm of the other gutter brackets to provide sufficient gutter support. Each support arm must also be positioned such that the gutters are supported in an inclined longitudinal orientation to allow for water to drain under gravity. "Positioning a number of brackets along a fascia to provide support and sufficient drainage inclination can be time consuming. Often gutters are badly installed, the inclination is insufficient, and pooling occurs in the gutters.

A second problem which occurs with gutters is the build up of leaves, twigs, nuts, fruits and other debris from trees in the gutter. In order to address this problem, it is known to cover the open top of the gutter with a mesh or similar covering which has holes of a size which is intended to permit the ingress of water but prevent the ingress of leaves into the gutter. Such systems can be unsightly and are often fiddly and difficult to install.

Australian Patent No. 689012 describes a bracket assembly which addresses some of the above problems by providing an adjustable gutter bracket which includes a mounting member which can be mounted to a fascia and a generally U-shaped support member 14 which is releasably attachable to the mounting member. The attachment is by rotation of the support member relative to the mounting member such that lugs on the support member engage an elongate aperture in the mounting member which defines a series of triangular shaped notches. A cover attachment is provided for attachment to the support member which can be used to mount a concealed covering. While the system is significant improvement over past systems, it has the disadvantage that it is quite a complicated process to install the system, particularly where a cover is used which is partially installed underneath the lowest line of tiles on the roof.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as

"comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

The present invention aims to provide an improved bracket assembly which is easier to install, and in particular, easier to attach a cover thereto.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present there is provided an adjustable gutter bracket assembly comprising:

a mounting member,

a support arm releasably attachable to said mounting member, and

a cover attachment member releasably attached to said support arm,

said mounting member and said support arm having complementary engagement means associated therewith to provide releasable attachment of said support arm to said mounting member in a plurality of height adjustment positions, and

said mounting member providing an upper and a lower male engagement means spaced from the mounting plate for engagement in corresponding female means defined in the cover.

Typically, the mounting member is in the form of a plate and the part of the mounting member to which the support arm releasably attaches is spaced from the rear plate. The distal edges of the plate may be shaped to define the male mounting means in the form of a tab. A button or projection may be defined on the tab.

The top of the mounting plate may define two tab portions which in use abut the top of the fascia to locate the mounting member on the top of the fascia.

The rear mounting plate may define a plurality of holes, typically four, for mounting the plate to the facia. In a preferred embodiment the cover attachment member and support arm have further complementary engagement means associated therewith to provide releasable attachment of the cover attachment means to said support arm. Brief Description of the Drawings

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 shows a partially cut away general assembly of a guttering system embodying aspects of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the guttering system shown in Figure 1 attached to a fascia;

Figure 3a is a side view of the guttering system shown in Figure 2 showing the gutter at its highest point;

Figure 3b is a side view of the guttering system shown in Figure 2 of the gutter at its lowest point;

Figure 4a is a detailed view of the attachment at the top of the cover to the bracket shown at "A" in Figure 3a;

Figure 4b is a detail view of the attachment of the bottom of the cover to the bracket shown at "B" in Figure 3b;

Figure 5 is an isometric view of the bracket assembly and fascia only;

Figure 6 is a side view of the bracket assembly and fascia shown in Figure 5; Figure 7 shows the bracket only attached to the fascia;

Figure 8 shows a bracket only;

Figure 9 shows the guide only;

Figure 10 is a side view of the bracket only attached to fascia;

Figure 11 shows the cover and gutter only, without the bracket;

Figure 12 shows the gutter only; and

Figures 13a to 13e show variants of tabs and clips for mounting the cover to the bracket.

Detailed description of Preferred Embodiments

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 show a general assembly 10 of a gutter 12 mounted on a bracket assembly 14 to a fascia board 16 and enclosed in a cover 18. The bracket assembly 14 is shown in more detail in Figures 7, 8 and 9 and includes a mounting member 20 for mounting to an upright surface such as a fascia. The mounting member includes a rear plate/portion 22 which, as shown in Figure 7, is flush with the surface of the fascia and a central forward portion/plate 24 which is located in a plane which is parallel to, but spaced from, the rear plate 22.

An engagement means in the form of an aperture 26 is formed in the central plate 24. The aperture has a plurality of opposed triangular spaced notches 28 on opposed longitudinal edges 30, 32. The triangular shaped notches 28 comprise opposed lateral edges and inclined regions between adjacent lateral edges. The notches 28 provide height adjustment positions. Apertures 29 are provided for mounting the members 20 to a fascia using screws 29a or like fasteners.

The rear plate 22 is bent at a top edge through 90° to define two opposed tab portions 34, 36 at each lateral edge of the rear plate which extend perpendicular to the plane of the rear plate and locate on top of the fascia 16, assisting in correctly positioning the mounting member on the fascia 16.

In between the tab portions 34, 36, the mounting member 20 defines an L- shaped portion 38 which extends in perpendicular direction away from the fascia 16 then turns upwards through 90° and extends parallel to the rear plate which, in use is in a vertical direction. A similar L-shaped portion 40 is defined at the base of the mounting means. The vertically extending portion 38A, 40A of each L-shaped portion acts as a male member or tab of an engagement means for attaching a cover, as is described in more detail below.

The bracket assembly includes a support arm 42 (refer to Figure 9) which includes an inner end section 44, an intermediate section 46 and an outer end section 48. The inner end section 44 has an upright wall 47 which is in substantial abutment with the mounting plate. The inner end section 14 also has complementary engagement means in the form of two lugs 49, 50 which are identical to lugs 52, 54 at the outer end section 48.

The lugs each have a respective inner web and an outer tab, punched out of the outer end section. The outer tabs are parallel to the outer end section and they each have free ends which are of opposite orientations.

Figure 5, shows a cover mounting plate 56 which can be mounted to the cover

18 for attaching the cover to the outer end section 48 of the support arm. The design of the cover mounting plate is similar to that of the mounting member 20 and in particular defines a similarly shaped central aperture 26a which attaches to the outer end section of the support arm 48 in the same way as mounting member 20 attaches to the inner end section 44 via the aperture 26. In particular, the lugs are aligned such that their collinear axis is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the aperture. The lugs are then inserted into the aperture. Relative rotation of the plate with respect to the outer end section about an axis which is perpendicular to the plate 22, causes releasable attachment thereof. The attachment is such that the webs engage opposed notches and are disposed between a respective ledge and adjacent inclined region. Height adjustment is achieved by relative rotation about the perpendicular axis and movement of the lugs of the support arm between a selected opposed pair of notches, which provides the required height.

The cover 18 for the gutter is shown in more detail in Figures 1 1 and 12. it defines three sides, including a base 60 which locates under the gutter, a side wall 62 and a top wall 64 which is v-shaped and which defines a series of holes covered with perforated pyramidal structures 66 which allow water to pass through the holes but prevent the passage of leaves and the like.

The free ends 68 and 70 of the cover are bent through 180° to define female engagement portions in the form of U or C shaped portions/clips which in use engage over the male portions/tabs 38A and 40A of the mounting member 20. The close up views Figure 4a and 4b also show that the male portions 38 A and 40A define projections/buttons 72, 74, which help to clip and retain the ends of the cover attached to the tabs. The ends 68, 70 of the cover being made of metal are able to deform to fit over the tabs 38 A, 40 A and spring back and grip the tab to help retain the cover 18 in position.

Also as shown in Figure 3a and 4a in particular, the edge of the cover which is closest to the fascia ramps up towards the tab 38A and is higher than the front side of the cover, so that if there is a build up of water in the V-shaped top of the cover it will flow to the front of the gutter as opposed to towards the fascia.

The cover 18 is also held in place by the cover plates 56 which are attached to the ends of the support arms as shown in Figures 3 a and 3 b and to the cover.

In use a plurality of mounting plates 20 are attached to a facia 16 by screws 29a passing through the mounting apertures 29. The tabs 34, 36 on the top of the mounting member engage the top side of the fascia 18 and allow for identical upright positioning of each mounting plate. Each support arm is releasably attached to a mounting plate by relative rotation therebetween as described above. Where required, the height adjustment of each support arm may be adjusted also, as described above.

Guttering is then supported from the support arms and further height adjustment of the support arms may effected, if required. Cover plates 56 are then attached to the support arms and the cover 18 is attached to the cover plate and to the mounting member with the U shaped portions/clips 68, 70 engaging over the male portions/tabs 38A and 40A of the mounting member 20.

In contrast with the prior art, the cover is simpler to remove for maintenance, cleaning the gutters, being relatively easy to unclip.

The components of the bracket assembly are typically made from steel or the like. The gutter will typically be PVC. The cover may be made from coated steel such as "Colorbond" produced by Bluescope Steel.

Figures 13a to 13e show variants of tabs and clips for mounting the cover to the mounting means 20 in which the angle of the tabs 38A and the clips 68 are varied. In the variants, the orientation of the tab differs, and the free end of the cover is formed and shaped accordingly to engage with the tab.

For example, in Figure 13a, the tab 138A is bent through about 160° towards the member 20 and fascia, rather than projecting upwards in use. The free end of the cover 168 passes over and around the tab, in order to hook or clip the cover to the tab 138A, as shown.

In Figure 13b the tab 238A is bent away from the fascia through 180", and the clip 268 clips under it. Figures 13c and d show further variants. Figure 13e shows a variant in which the tab 338A and the clip 368 clips behind it between the bracket and the fascia

It will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art that the various clipping options set out above may be varied, including being reversed, and that the Figures show only some of the potential options.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.