Dual flow gutter assembly

Abstract

A gutter cover assembly for use with conventional gutters to separate debris from rainwater that enters the gutter. The assembly includes a fascia board shield with a diverter, a cover support bracket which supports the cover from beneath the cover in a position spaced apart from the fascia shield and gutter, said bracket not contacting the gutter front wall whereby rainwater may enter the gutter through the space between the gutter and cover and through the space between the fascia board and cover.

1 . A dual flow gutter assembly comprising: 
 a) a fascia board shield attached to and covering the outer surface of a fascia board, said shield having an upper end from which a diverter flange extends outwardly;    b) a gutter having front, bottom and rear walls defining a gutter trough, said rear wall being mounted with the fascia board shield positioned between the gutter rear wall and the fascia board;    c) a gutter cover positioned over said trough, and below said diverter flange, said cover being spaced apart from said shield and gutter, to permit rainwater to flow therebetween, said gutter having a smooth central body, a front edge folded under a portion of the main body and terminating in a dip from which water can flow into said trough, and a rear edge bent under a portion of the main body; and    d) a support bracket mounted on the fascia board shield above the rear wall of the gutter, said bracket supportingly engaging the underside of said cover at the front fold and at the rear bend whereby said bracket does not contact the front wall of said gutter and maintains said cover in its spaced apart position spaced apart from the gutter and fascia shield.    
   
   
       2 . The gutter assembly of  claim 1  wherein the gutter cover and fascia board are formed from materials selected from the group consisting of aluminum and polymeric materials.  
   
   
       3 . The gutter assembly of  claim 1  wherein the support bracket is of one piece construction.  
   
   
       4 . The gutter assembly of  claim 1  wherein the fascia shield and gutter cover are elongated and the cover is carried by a multiplicity of support brackets positioned at spaced apart intervals along said fascia board shield.  
   
   
       5 . The gutter assembly of  claim 1  wherein said support bracket is formed by bending an aluminum strip.  
   
   
       6 . In a dual flow gutter cover assembly for separating debris from rainwater wherein a cover is positioned over the gutter trough, an improved cover support bracket for supporting an elongated gutter cover without supporting or stabilizing contact with the gutter, said cover having downwardly folded front edge and a downwardly bent rear edge said bracket comprising: 
 a) a supporting flange member adapted to be mounted on fascia board or fascia board shield above the rear wall of a gutter;    b) a lower positioning arm member having distal and proximal ends, said member being attached to said support flange at its said arm member's proximal end, said member extending outwardly from the support flange substantially across the gutter trough;    c) a connecting member attached to the distal end of said lower positioning member, said connecting member having upper and lower ends extending generally vertically away from said trough, the height of said member being selected to secure the front of said cover in the fold underneath the cover;    d) an upper positioning arm member having proximal and distal ends attached to the upper end of said connecting member at its proximal end and extending across the gutter trough, said upper positioning arm member being shorter in length than said lower arm member, said length being selected so that the distal end of said upper arm member will supportingly engage the lower side of the rear bend of said cover whereby, when mounted said bracket securely positions said cover over said trough.    
   
   
       7 . The support bracket of  claim 6  wherein said bracket is formed from one continuous piece of material.  
   
   
       8 . The support bracket of  claim 7  wherein said bracket is formed from metal.  
   
   
       9 . The support bracket of  claim 8  wherein the metal from which said bracket is formed is aluminum.  
   
   
       10 . The support bracket of  claim 7  wherein said material is a polymeric material.  
   
   
       11 . In a dual flow gutter assembly having a cover over the gutter trough for separating rainwater from debris as rainwater enters a gutter the improvement comprising: 
 a) a fascia board shield having an outwardly extending diverter flange, said shield being adapted to be attached to fascia board so that the diverter flange will be positioned above the gutter cover;    b) a gutter cover having a downwardly bent rear edge defining a locking flange and having a downwardly folded front edge defining a mounting notch accessible from beneath said cover; and    c) a support bracket having a positioning arm supporting said cover at the locking flange and at the mounting notch without being in supporting contact with gutter, said arm positioning the cover so that the rear edge of the cover is spaced apart from the gutter, fascia board, and shield to define a rear water inlet therebetween, said rear inlet being covered by and being spaced apart from the diverter flange whereby a portion of the rainwater flowing from the diverter flange can flow into the gutter from the upper side of the cover through said rear inlet, said arm further positioning the front folded edge of the cover so that said folded edge extends above the front of the gutter spaced apart from the lip of the front gutter wall to define a front rainwater inlet whereby rainwater will flow into the gutter over the folded edge and down the drip lip, said inlet being sufficiently small so as to prevent debris from entering therethrough.    
   
   
       12 . The gutter assembly of  claim 11  wherein said support bracket is adapted to be positioned on the fascia shield above the rear wall of the gutter.  
   
   
       13 . The gutter assembly of  claim 12  wherein the arm of said support bracket comprises upper and lower positioning members connected at one end by an end member, said end member adapted to secure the front folded edge of the cover and the upper positioning member adapted to secure the rear bent edge of the cover.  
   
   
       14 . The gutter assembly of  claim 11  wherein said support bracket is formed of one piece of material.  
   
   
       15 . In a dual flow gutter assembly for separating debris from rainwater, said assembly having a gutter with rear, bottom, and front walls defining a trough, the gutter being attached through its rear wall to a fascia board below the edge of a roof, said trough being covered by a gutter cover, the improvement comprising: 
 a) a fascia shield attached to and covering a substantial portion of the fascia board adjacent the gutter, said shield having a diverter flange positioned above said cover to divert debris and rainwater away from the fascia and onto the cover;    b) said gutter cover having central, planar body with a folded under front edge defining a mounting notch beneath said body, said front edge terminating in a drip edge, the rear edge of said body being bent downwardly at greater than a right angle to form a locking flange; and,    c) a support bracket secured to the fascia board, said bracket having no supporting nor securing contact with the gutter and having positioning arm members for supporting said cover at the mounting notch and at said locking flange, said arm members positioning said cover so that the rear edge of the cover is spaced apart from the fascia shield with said space being covered by the diverter flange, the front edge of said cover extending outwardly above out of contact with the gutter being spaced apart from the front edge of the lip of the gutter whereby rainwater will cling to the cover and flow into in the gutter while the entry of debris will be prevented.    
   
   
       16 . The gutter assembly of  claim 15  wherein the fascia board shield covers the surface of the fascia board and includes a flange covering the bottom of the fascia board.  
   
   
       17 . In a dual flow gutter assembly having front, rear, and bottom walls defining an open gutter trough, the front wall having an upper outer lip, and the rear wall being attached to a fascia board adjacent a roof, the improvement for separating rainwater from debris comprising: 
 a) a fascia board shield positioned between said fascia board and said rear wall and the edge of the roof, said shield having an outwardly and slightly downwardly extending diverter flange; and in    b) a mounting bracket attached to the fascia board above said rear wall and adjacent said shield, said bracket having upper and lower arm members connected at one end by a substantially vertical connecting member;    c) an elongated gutter cover having a main body that is slightly bowed and tilted to the front, gutter wall, a locking flange extending downwardly along the rear edge of said main body at an angle greater than a right angle to the plane of the main body defining a locking flange, and an under folded front edge extending along said main body, the fold of said front edge continuing under said main body in a predetermined radius of curvature, to form a mounting notch therewith, said edge further continuing under said main body and reversing its curvature to form and terminate in a rainwater drip lip from which rainwater may flow into the trough, the upper and lower positioning arm and connecting members of said bracket co-operatively acting to secure said cover at said mounting notch.    
   
   
       18 . A dual flow gutter assembly for separating debris from rainwater when mounted on fascia board adjacent a roof, said assembly comprising: 
 a) a gutter having elongated front, rear, and bottom walls and an open top defining a gutter trough, said rear wall being attached to said fascia board;    b) an elongated fascia shield mounted on said fascia board between the rear wall of the gutter and said fascia board, said fascia shield having a diverter flange extending horizontally outwardly away from the fascia board and sloping downwardly;    c) a gutter cover having an elongated substantially planar central body with an upper surface over which water can flow, said cover having a downwardly curved front edge that folds under said surface to define a mounting notch therewith, said cover having a rear edge that bends downwardly from the central body at an angle greater than a right angle to form a locking flange;    d) a plurality of support brackets spaced apart along the fascia shield for positioning and supporting said cover above gutter trough, each bracket being adapted to support said cover from the underside of the cover, each bracket having a generally rectangular profile defining upper and lower positioning members, said end member, said lower member being longer than the upper member and terminating in a support flange, said flange forming a mounting surface secured to the fascia board through said shield, the upper member terminating an edge which securely engages the bottom of the locking flange for securing the cover in a position spaced apart from the gutter rear wall below said diverter and from the fascia shield so that rainwater flowing from said diverter can flow between the cover and fascia shield into the gutter trough, the other end of said upper member together with the lower member and being wedged into said mounting notch of said cover to secure same in a position spaced from the lip of the front wall of the gutter thereby forming a narrow separation space so that rainwater may flow from the cover into the gutter without carrying debris with it.