US3297285A

US3297285A - Gutter screen attachment

Info

Publication number: US3297285A
Application number: US439287A
Authority: US
Inventors: Roy P Simmons
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-03-12
Filing date: 1965-03-12
Publication date: 1967-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 1984-01-10

Description

United States Patent O This invention relates to gutter screens, and more particularly to improvements in clip devices for attaching gutter screens to the margins of gutters.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved gutter screen clip for attaching a protective screen to a gutter, the clip being simple in construction, being easy to install, and providing reliable securement of a screen to the associated gutter.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved gutter screen clip which is inexpensive to manufacture, which is durable in construction, which is easy to install, and which will not readily shake loose under vibration effects produced by wind and similar atmospheric disturbances.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved gutter screen clip which can be installed with ease and without requiring special tools and which is deformable by a simple manual operation into a position wherein it lockingly engages the margin of an associated section of gutter screen and retains said section in its required position in overlying relationship to a gutter.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE l is a fragmentary perspective view showing an eave portion of a roof provided with a gutter on which is installed a gutter screen which is held in place by an improved screen clip constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the gutter screen clip employed in FIGURE 1, shown prior to installation.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged transverse lvertical cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG- URE l.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary transverse cross sectional view, similar to FIGURE 3, showing a modified form of gutter screen clip according to the present invention.

FIGURE 5 is a front elevational view of the portion of gutter and associated screen and clip elements illustrated in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the gutter screen clip employed in FIGURES 4 and 5, shown prior .to bending into its locking position.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGURES 1 to 3,` 11 designates a length of gutter attached to the eave portion 12 of an adjacent roof, the gutter 11 being of conventional construction and including a vertical rear wall 13 and an upwardly and outwardly inclined front wall 14 .provided at its top end with a rectangular bead 15 terminating in an inwardly projecting horizontal flange 16. As shown in FIGURE 3, the top flange 16 has a reversely bent inner edge 17.

Disposed on the gutter 11 is a conventional protective screen or guard section designated generally at 18 and provided with a wire mesh main body 19 having the inner sheet metal margin member 20 and the outer sheet metal margin member 21. The member 20 comprises a main U-shaped body receiving and clamped to the inner longitudinal margin of the wire -mesh section 19, being integrally formed with an outwardly projecting, relatively wide bendable flange 22 adapted to be engaged beneath the lowermost shingles 23 of the adjacent portion of the roof, whereby said shingles provide downward holding force on the ange 22, whereby to retain the inner 3,297,285 Patented Jan. 10, 1967 ICC marginal portion of the associated screen section 18 in position subjacent the lowermost shingles 23, as shown in FIGURE l. The outer sheet metal margin element 21 of the screen section 18 is likewise generally U-shaped in form to receive and be clampingly locked.to the outer longitudinal margin of the section of screen 19, the member 21 being integrally formed with a relatively short downwardly and inwardly inclined flange 25 engageable with the reversely bent inner margin of the gutter ange 16.

In accordance with the present invention, clips, shown at 26 are employed at spaced locations on the outer longitudinal gutter portion 15 to retain the adjacent outer marginal portion 21 of a gutter screen section 18 in overlying relation to the gutter. The clip 26 comprises a sheet metal main body 27 which is generally U-shaped and which is adapted to closely receive the top flange 16 of the gutter, said main body 27 having a top arm 28 which is integrally formed with an outwardly projecting bendable tab 29 adapted to be bent downwardly toward a substantially right angled depending relationship with respect to the remainder of the main body 27, as shown in FIGURE 3, and to assume a position closely adjacent to the front wall of the rectangular outer bead ofthe gutter 11. The top arm 28 of the main body 27 is likewise formed with a pair of bendable upstanding arms 3l), 30 disposed symmetrically at opposite sides of the tab member 29, each arm terminating in a pointed hook portion 31 projecting substantially at right angles to the associated arm 30, the hook portion 31 being generally inwardly concave in shape. The

bendable hook portions

31, 31 are adapted to be lockingly engaged with the wire mesh 19 of the associated screen section 18 when the ar-

ms

30, 30 are bent horizontally inwardly to the positions thereof shown in FIGURE 3, namely, to positions closely overlying the top surface of the outer marginal member 21 of the screen section. The

hook elements

31, 31 lockingly engage with the longitudinally extending elements of the wire mesh body 19 in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 3 whereby to firmly secure the body 27 to the gutter screen element 21, so that the outer marginal portion of the screen section 18 is thereby firmly secured to the top flange 16 of the gutter. Thus, in installing the gutter screen sections, the clip members 26 are first engaged on the inwardly projecting ange element 16 of the gutter, the

arms

30, 30 being in upstanding positions, as shown in FIGURE 2, and the tab elements 29 being bent down to vertical positions so as to closely engage the front wall element 15 of the gutter. By bending the tab elements 29 downwardly the clip elements are secured on the flange 16.

Thereafter the screen sections are placed over the gutter with the flange portions 22 thereof disposed beneath the lowermost eave 23, as above described, and with their outerlongitudinal margin elements 21 disposed on the top arms 28 of the clips substantially in abutment with the

upstanding arms

30, 30 of each clip. The

arms

30, 30 are then bent inwardly to horizontal positions overlying the gutter screen margin members 21 and with the pronged

hook elements

31, 31 of each clip lockingly engaged with the wire mesh portion of the associated gutter screen section, as shown in FIGURE 3.

Referring now to FIGURES 4, 5 and 6, the gutter, shown at 11', is of conventional construction, but somewhat different in design from the conventional gutter 11 illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3. The gutter 11 is provided with the generally cylindrical outer rolled bead 40, and the gutter screen clip required, according to the present invention, is correspondingly shaped to receive the top portion of the generally cylindrical bead element 40 of the gutter. Therefore, a typical screen clip, according to the present invention, modified to be inmesh portion 19 of a gutter section 18 in the manner illustrated-in FIGURE 4 when the body element 42 of the clip is bent to a horizontal position, as illustrated. The arcuately curved depending rolled portion 43 of each clip yis formed with a central aperture 45 adapted to receive a sheet metal screw 46 engageable in the upper inner portion of the adjacent gutter bead element 40 in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 4, whereby to anchor -clip portionl 43 to bead 40. Thus, in installing lthe gutter screens, the clip members 41 are rst secured on the gutter bead members 40 by means of sheet vmetal screws y46 at spaced locations therealong with the at body portions 42 of the clips in upstanding, substantially vertical positions. The screen sections 18 are then placed over the gutter with the outer marginal portions 21 thereafter which the at body portions 42 of the clips are bent inwardly toward substantially horizontal positions and the

prongs

44, 44 are lockingly engaged with the wire mesh portions 19 of the gutter screens, las illustratedinFIGURE 4. 1

While certain specific embodiments of improved gutter screen clips `have been disclosed in the foregoingdescription, it will be understood that various -modica- -tions within the spirit of the invention may occur to those -of received on the accurately curved portions 43 of the Vclips adjacentthe intermediate bend lines-47 of the clips,

skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as dened by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A gutter screen clip for use on a gutter having an inwardly-directed lhorizontal top flange, comprising a U- shaped outwardly-facing sheet metal main body shaped to closely receive the gutter horizontal top flange, a downwardly-bendable outwardly-projecting tab member on the top arm of said U-shaped main body to secure said main body to the ange of the'gutter in a position to receive the longitudinal edge of a gutter screen on said top arm, at least one bendable arm projecting from .the top arm of said main body deformable to extend over the said gutter screen longitudinal edge, and a hook-like prong projecting from the outer end portion of said bendable arm and being lockingly-engageable with the gutter screen.

2. The screen clip of claim 1, and wherein there are two such bendable arms, each located at an end of said top arm.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,867,636 7/1932 Tinklepaugh et al. 24--81 2,127,234 8/1938 Reiter 24-81 2,739,022 3/.1956 Hinz 24-81 X 2,753,141 7/1956 Weber v. 248-27 2,810,173 10/1957 Bearden 24-81 3,028,137 4/1962 Houplain 248-343 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

JOHN PETO, Examiner.

Claims

1. A GUTTER SCREEN CLIP FOR USE ON A GUTTER HAVING AN INWARDLY-DIRECTED HORIZONTAL TOP FLANGE, COMPRISING A USHAPED OUTWARDLY-FACING SHEET METAL MAIN BODY SHAPED TO CLOSELY RECEIVE THE GUTTER HORIZONTAL TOP FLANGE, A DOWNWARDLY-BENDABLE OUTWARDLY-PROJECTING TAB MEMBER ON THE TOP ARM OF SAID U-SHAPED MAIN BODY TO SECURE SAID MAIN BODY TO THE FLANGE OF THE GUTTER IN A POSITION TO RECEIVE THE LONGITUDINAL EDGE OF A GUTTER IN A POSITION TO TOP ARM, AT LEAST ONE BENDABLE ARM PROJECTING FROM THE TOP ARM OF SAID MAIN BODY DEFORMABLE TO EXTEND OVER THE SAID GUTTER SCREEN LONGITUDINAL EDGE, AND A HOOK-LIKE PRONG PROJECTING FROM THE OUTER END PORTION OF SAID BENDABLE ARM AND BEING LOCKINGLY-ENGAGEABLE WITH THE GUTTER SCREEN.