Stepped Gutter Guard

This application claims the benefit of and is a continuation of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/351,459 filed Jul. 12, 20323, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/806,485, titled STEPPED GUTTER GUARD, filed Jun. 11, 2022, which claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/917,868 filed Jun. 30, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,391,047, which claims the benefit and priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/869,053titled “One-Piece Truss Gutter Bridge,” filed on Jul. 1, 2019, wherein the above-identified applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

This invention relates to gutter guards and protecting gutters from having debris entering the gutter but allowing water into the gutter.

Rain gutters are generally attached to buildings or structures that have a pitched roof. The gutters are designed to collect and divert rainwater that runs off the roof. The gutter channels the rainwater (water) to downspouts that are connected to the bottom of the gutter at various locations. The downspouts divert the water to the ground surface or underground drainage system and away from the building.

Gutters have a large opening, which runs parallel to the roofline, to collect water. A drawback of this large opening is that debris, such as leaves, pine needles and the like can readily enter the opening and eventually clog the gutter. Once the rain gutter fills up with debris, rainwater can spill over the top and unto the ground, which can cause water damage to a home and erode surrounding landscapes.

A primary solution to obstruct debris from entering a gutter opening is the use of debris preclusion devices, most commonly known in the public as gutter guards. Gutter guards are also generically referred to as gutter covers, eaves guards, leaf guards or, alternatively via the more technical terms gutter protection systems, debris obstruction device (DOD), debris preclusion devices (DPD) or gutter bridge, etc. Gutter guards/DOD types abound in the marketplace and the industry is constantly innovating to find more efficient configurations that not only keep debris, such as leaves and pine needles out of the gutter, but also even tiny roof sand grit. Concomitant with these innovations are the challenges of systems that are simple (e.g., low cost, easy to fabricate, etc.) as well as systems designed to maintain effectiveness (e.g., durable, easy-to-install, minimal maintenance, etc.) in heavy weather conditions.

In view of the above, various systems and methods are elucidated in the following description, that provide innovative solutions to one or more deficiencies of the art, including designs for stepped gutter guards.

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the claimed subject matter. This summary is not an extensive overview and is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of the claimed subject matter. Its purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In one aspect of the embodiments of this disclosure, a single piece, gutter guard for covering a gutter attached to a building is provided, comprising: a roof attachment section; a gutter lip attachment section; a solid step section composed of a plurality of connected steps having treads and risers, and integrally connected to the roof attachment section; a trough integrally connected to a last step of the solid step section and to the gutter lip attachment section, wherein a floor of the trough has a width that is wider than a tread of the last step; and a plurality of orifices disposed in at least one of treads and risers of the connected steps and in the trough.

In another aspect of the embodiments of this disclosure, the above gutter guard is provided, wherein the trough and the gutter lip attachment section share a common wall; and/or wherein the floor of the trough is disposed below a top plane of the gutter lip attachment section; and/or wherein a height of the risers and a length of the treads are approximately equal; and/or wherein an angle of junctions between treads and risers is approximately 90 degrees; and/or wherein an angle of junctions between treads and risers is less than approximately 90 degrees; and/or wherein a rear of the treads are lower than a front of the treads; and/or wherein the plurality of orifices are disposed in junctions of the treads and risers; and/or wherein the plurality of orifices are disposed proximal to junctions of the treads and risers; and/or wherein the plurality of orifices in the trough are disposed adjacent to the common wall; and/or further comprising orifices disposed in the common wall; and/or wherein the plurality of orifices in the trough are disposed in a junction of the trough and the gutter lip attachment portion; and/or wherein the plurality of orifices are at least one row of orifices; and/or wherein the at least one rows are offset from each other; and/or wherein the orifices of the plurality of orifices are non-circular; and/or wherein an outside corner of the plurality of connected steps partially overhangs an orifice in a lower adjacent step's tread; and/or wherein an outside corner of the plurality of connected steps completely overhangs an orifice in a lower adjacent step's tread; and/or wherein an outside corner angle and inside corner angle the plurality of connected steps is less than 90 degrees; and/or wherein a tread width of the treads is greater than a riser height of the risers; and/or wherein one or more steps of the plurality of connected steps is at least one of a different size and different shape than another one or more other steps of the plurality of connected steps; and/or wherein one or more steps of the plurality of connected steps has at least one of a different inside corner and outside corner angle than another one or more other steps of the plurality of connected steps; and/or wherein the last step is at least one of larger, different in shape and different in angle than a first step of the step section; and/or further comprising a barrier in the trough; and/or wherein the barrier is one or more of at least one of raised, recessed and has an orifice in a bottom thereof; and/or wherein the barrier is at least one of formed from the floor of the trough and shaped as at least one of a circle, plurality of circles, rectangle, arrow head, arc, and starburst.

In yet another aspect of the embodiments of this disclosure, a single piece, gutter guard for covering a gutter attached to a building is provided, comprising: a roof-side attachment portion; a gutter lip attachment portion; a plurality of connected steps having treads and risers, spanning from the roof-side attachment portion to a trough, wherein the trough is connected to the gutter lip attachment section, and a floor of the trough is wider than a tread of a last step; and a plurality of orifices disposed proximal to a back of treads of the connected steps and disposed within the trough.

In yet another aspect of the embodiments of this disclosure, a single piece, gutter guard for covering a gutter attached to a building is provided, comprising: a roof-side means for attachment to at least one of a roof and building; a gutter-side means for attaching to a lip of a gutter; a plurality of stepped means, spanning from the roof-side means to proximal to the gutter-side means, wherein a last of the plurality of the stepped means is connected to a trough, the trough being connected to the gutter-side means, wherein a floor of the trough is wider than a tread of the last of the plurality of the stepped means; and a plurality of orifices disposed in the plurality of stepped means and disposed in the trough.

These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the devices and methods according to this invention.

It should be appreciated that the most commonly used term to describe a debris obstruction (or preclusion) device (DOD) for a rain gutter is gutter guard. However, as stated above, alternate terms are used in the industry (generally from product branding), denoting the same or essentially same purpose of preventing or obstructing the entrance of external debris (e.g., non-water material) into the rain gutter, whereas the gutter can be protected so as to operate effectively. Thus, recognizing the layman may interchangeably use these terms to broadly refer to such devices, any such use of these different terms throughout this disclosure shall not be interpreted as importing a specific limitation from that particular “brand” or “type” of gutter device. Accordingly, while a DOD or gutter bridge may be a more technically accurate term, unless otherwise expressly stated, the use of the term gutter guard, gutter cover, leaf guards, leaf filter, gutter protection systems, gutter device, gutter guard device, and so forth, may be used herein without loss of generality.

Many conventional gutter guard devices are made of a single planar piece of perforated sheet of aluminum and are designed to be installed in a primarily horizontal arrangement relative to the gutter. For example,is an illustration of a commonly used conventional gutter guard device. The horizontal installation over the gutter G generally creates a flat surfaceextending from the building B to the gutter lip(the outer edge of the gutter). This flat surfacetends to encourage debris to accumulate on the gutter guard. This accumulation can and often clogs the holeson the gutter guard, preventing water from penetrating the gutter guardinto the gutter G. Also, these types of conventional, flat, horizontal, gutter guardscan cause rainwater to wick back under roof shingles S once debris has accumulated on the guard. This wicking can cause extensive water damage to the building B. Still further, with the accumulation of debris and rainwater not being able to readily flow through the guardand into the gutter G, the rainwater can flow across the guardto the gutter lip, and then undesirably over the gutter G.

Designs of gutter guard devices are in a constant battle of balancing the size of the holes in the surface of the device so that water can be diverted into the gutter without having the holes be too large to allow debris to enter the gutter. Also, supporting the gutter guard over the gutter is challenging, wherein multiple support structures are also used. As debris entrance is undesired, conventional gutter guard devices tend to have a great number of small diameter holes per square inch. However, this design balance generally ends up reducing the rigidity of the device, often requiring separate supporting structures. Further, small diameter holes are easier to be obstructed with micro-debris and this eventually causes the water to flow over the holes and fall off the end of the gutter guard.

Conventional gutter guard devices have to be manufactured in multiple different sizes to fit generally used gutter sizes; a different sized gutter guard for each gutter size. Further, conventional guards are not readily modifiable to fit various building configurations.

In view of the above challenges for gutter guards, exemplary stepped designs are described herein including one-piece design(s) which are able to fit a 4″, 4.5″, 5″ or 6″ gutter, for example. As a “one-size fits” design is easier to stock on store shelves, retailers and sellers will appreciate the space savings. As the exemplary design is capable of fitting commonly sized gutters, homeowners will not need to climb to the roof to measure their gutter widths. Contractors do not have to be burdened with carrying multiple size guards to the job site. In various embodiments, the exemplary device's back section can be made to be flexible, thus able to be “bent” into a variety of angles to fit different roof/gutter mounting situations.

The below Figs. will have illustrations of various exemplary embodiments, however, it is noted that portions of the illustrations may not be to scale. That is, certain described elements may not be appropriately scaled with respect to other described elements. Or the described orientation or angles may not be as shown or if shown are not the exact value described. For example, certain cross sectional views or cut-away, for ease of viewability, are shown as a gap in the profile, the gap indicating the orifice or break in the structure. Whereas the gap would not be traditionally shown in a true cross sectional view. Further, lengths of certain elements, tread or riser for example, may not be true to scale, as well as the angles that define them.

displays a perspective view of an exemplary gutter guard device.shows a partial cut-away side view of the exemplary device, installed on a gutter G, attached to building B, having a roof R. (It is noted here that's cut-away view illustrates the orifices as breaks in the continuity of the surface, but it is understood that this is done simply for ease of viewing.) The deviceincludes a roof attachment portionconnected to a step portion, connected to a trough portionand connected to a gutter lip attachment portion. The devicecan be made from a single piece of material, if so desired, or of several pieces joined together. For the embodiments described herein, portions,andprincipally define the exemplary device, with optional portionadded for other embodiments of the exemplary device. For ease of explanation, the following discussion will describe the exemplary devicewith all the portions,,and.

The roof attachment portionincludes an attachment portion riserand an attachment tread. The “roof-side” of attachment portion risercan be terminated with an optional attachment section, which can be attached to a side of building B. Whileshow optional attachment section corneras a lip, it is understood that it can be curled, a bead, tapered, U or L-shaped, bent, etc., according to design preference. For example, all or part of attachment section cornerand/or attachment treadmay of the form shown, for example, in FIGS. 30-32, of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/864,089, wherein it can be bent into a desired angle. When the deviceis in use, attachment treadcan simply be slid under a roof's shingles or in some applications it can be bent to conform with and match the building B so that it can be fastened to the building B and/or the gutter G. In various embodiments herein, attachment tread(at for areas neighboring the roof) is designed to be solid, without holes. If attachment treadis sufficiently wide to have a region hanging over the gutter's G opening, holes may be devised in that region to allow drainage into the gutter G.

Attachment portion riserconnects to step portion, which includes a plurality of steps. Each of stepshas a plurality of orificesformed therein. Step portionis integrally connected to and disposed between roof attachment portionand trough portion. The size of stepswithin step portionmay be uniform between stepsor may vary, according to design preference.

Each stepof step portionhas a respective treadand riser. In various embodiments, step orificesare formed in treadof each of steps, and usually (but not necessarily) disposed toward a roof-side end of each tread. It is expressly understood that the orifices shown in this disclosure can be circular, oval, rectangular, slots, ports, etc. and are not restricted to any particular shape. Further, the orifices can be formed in one or more rows or arrangements and formed by punching, machining, molding, and so forth. The orifices can also be of different sizes, types, shapes, etc. for different steps within step portion. In some embodiments, the orifice(s) or row of orifice(s) can be substituted with a segmented slots parallel to the tread.

In the embodiment shown in, a density of the step orificeswas approximately 18 orifices per linear foot. However, it is expressly understood that other densities, shapes, arrangements and locations of the step orificesare possible, without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

Optional trough portionis integrally connected to and disposed between step portionand gutter lip attachment portion. Trough portionis joined to step portionvia riserof step portion's last step. Trough portionincludes a trough treadand a gutter lip side trough riser. Trough treadconnects to trough riserat junction or cornerwhich is below gutter lip attachment portion. Accordingly, trough portionor at least corneris below step portionand/or gutter lip attachment portion. Angle E is formed on the upper surface of trough portionbetween treadand riser. In various embodiments, the angle E can range between 45 degrees to 135 degrees.

Trough portioncan include a plurality of trough orifices, shown here as disposed to one side of trough portion, but it is understood they can be disposed in a different arrangement as well as at other sections or locations within trough portionor gutter lip attachment portion. In the embodiment shown here, the location and arrangement of the trough orificesare such that the trough treadcan flex (in some small degree) so as to act as a spring board to help bounce leaves, pine needles and debris off the trough tread.

Trough riser or wallconnects to gutter lip attachment portionat junction or corner. In some embodiments, the trough risermay be less than ¼ the width the trough tread. In other embodiments, the trough risermay be greater than ¼ the width the trough tread. It will be appreciated that the troughand/or risermay have a curved profile rather than an angular or flat profile. Gutter lip attachment portionincludes at least a lip tread. Lip treadis configured to be fastenable to the gutter when the deviceis in use. It will be appreciated that a variety of conventional fasteners may be utilized to fasten lip treadto the gutter lip, such as but not limited to screws, rivets, double sided tape, etc. As stated above, trough portionmay be optional, being proxied with the last step of the step portion, which may have a last step configuration analogous or similar to the trough thread, but perhaps without a trough riser.

shows a partial side view of the exemplary device, installed on a gutter G. The gutter G is attached to building B, having a roof R. The building B, the roof R and the gutter G are represented in this Fig. without great detail as any conventional elements of those items may be utilized and are only shown here to show application for the exemplary devices. It will be appreciated that the roof R can be any type of conventional roofing material, including asphalt shingles, tile roofing, etc. It will further be appreciated that the gutter G is configured to capture liquid, generally rainwater RW, that flows down the roof R and into the gutter G. The gutter G has a gutter lip GL. The exemplary device, when in use is disposed above the gutter opening GO. The deviceis operably configured to span over the entire gutter opening GO. The deviceextends from the roof R to the gutter lip GL. The device, along with other similar embodiments, will allow rainwater RW to pass from a top surface of the devicethrough the deviceand into the gutter G, while preventing a substantial amount of debris from falling into the gutter G. Additionally, the device, along with other similar embodiments will enable nearly all of the rainwater RW to fall into the gutter G and not run over the gutter lip GL. The deviceis shown in this Fig. is installed to the building B and gutter G with a near horizontal slope.

Mid-section ofshows a body of stepsincluding a first connecting stepjoined to at least one middle step(s)joined to a second connecting step. First connecting stepis disposed adjacent to roof attachment portion. Second connecting stepis disposed adjacent to trough portion. Second stepis closer in proximity to the gutter lip GL than the remaining steps. Second connecting step'sriseris adjacent trough portion. The at least one middle step(s)is shown in this example as having three inner steps. However, the number of inner steps can be varied as desired.

Each step of stepshas a step outside corner. Step outside corneris formed by a top of a riserof one step and an outside portionof the tread of the adjacent step. As shown below, the step outside cornersmay be formed at an acute angle causing one or more the respective treads and risers to be tilted or offset. Each step of stepsfurther includes a step inside corner. The step inside corneris formed by a bottomof a riser of one step and an inside portionof the tread of the adjacent step. Orificesare typically disposed proximal to the step inside corners. The step inside cornersmay be formed at an acute angle causing one or more the respective risers and adjoining treads to be offset or tilted. That is, in some embodiments, step outside cornersmay “extend” over and overhang past a neighboring step inside cornerunder it (to form a Z-like shape, for example). Conversely, in other embodiments, the step corner angle(s) may be obtuse to cause step outside cornersto be slightly retarded or “short” so as to not overhand the neighboring step inside cornerunder it.

is an illustration of an installed exemplary device, with debris flowing over it. When the deviceis in use, the downward arrangement of step portionwill cause rainwater RW to generally roll through the orifices within the steps and into the gutter opening GO. However, the shape and or angling of the step portionwill also generally enable leaves, pine needles and other debris D to simply skip down the steps toward the gutter lip GL. A majority of the rainwater RW from the roof will fall through the orifices in the step portion. Thus, less rainwater RW will arrive at the trough portion. Since rainwater falling off the gutter lip GL is not desirable, it is advantageous to have rainwater RW fall through the deviceand into the gutter closer to the roof side rather than closer to the gutter lip GL.

Also of note is the lack of separate support structures in this design, wherein the deviceis self-supporting due to the stepped nature and judicious placement of the orifices.

is a close-up illustration of a section of the step portion, for one possible embodiment, wherein three (of possibly less or more) stepsare shown. Each stepincludes an angle A formed between riserand tread. The step portionalso includes an angle B between adjacent steps. Angle B is formed between the treadof one step and the riserof the adjacent step. Angle A is the interior angle for the step outside corners. Angle B is the exterior angle for the step inside corners.

As illustrated in, angle A can be an angle 90 degrees or less, even down to 5 degrees, if so desired. In various experimental designs, angles of between 50-80 degrees were evaluated, as well as angles between 60 and 75 degrees. For the embodiment shown in, Angle A is set at approximately 87 degrees in perspective to treadand riser.

Angle B can also be an angle 90 degrees or less, even down to 5 degrees, if so desired. In various experimental designs, angles of between 50-80 degrees were evaluated, as well as angles between 60 and 75 degrees. For the embodiment shown in, Angle B is set at approximately 87 degrees in perspective to treadand riser.

Orificesare shown as formed in the stepsalong the step inside corners. With this arrangement, when the deviceis in use on a gutter, the deviceenables the outside cornerof one step to “protect” the orificesformed in the adjacent lower step from debris falling directly into the lower step's orifice. This is possible because debris, traveling on the top of a tread, will usually have a given momentum from the water it is traveling on. This momentum will launch the debris or the debris will fall “forward” onto the lower next outside corner. See, for example. The width and tilt of the treadwill contribute to the effectiveness of debris transitioning off the device, as well as the height of riserand overall slope of the step portion. For example, from experimental embodiments, it was found designs with tread lengths greater than riser heights tended to perform better with respect to water drainage and debris preclusion. In fact, improved results were found when the tread-to-riser ratio was at least 2:1.

The amount of “protection” afforded to the orificesis based on the A & B angles, but also on a separation distance C between an orifice centerlineand vertical linefrom the neighboring step outside corner. The separation distance C can be a positive value (e.g., orifice centerlineis displaced towards a gutter lip side of the device, further away from the vertical line), or can be a negative value (e.g., the orifice centerlineis displaced towards a roof side of the devicecloser to the vertical line, or even past it). For the latter case, the step outside cornerwill “overhang” the neighboring orifice. For experimental designs, using a devicesized to cover a 5 inch wide gutter, with a run-to-rise ratio of 2, it was found that a value of C approximately 0.166 inches (with 0.25 inch variability) was well suited for debris removal, while providing a high water drainage result.

is an illustration of sample alternative step outside corners. For example, the first image shows a rounded cornerA. The second image shows a micro-stepped cornerB. And the third image shows a rounded-micro-stepped cornerC. These illustrations are provided to show that the outside corner does not need to have a defined edge but can be smooth or blunt or other shaped. For example, the edge can be chamfered or any variation of a shape thereof.

As stated above, the various orifices may be disposed at other locations in the exemplary device. For example,is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment, wherein the tread orificesare disposed closer to a gutter lip side end of the respective tread.

is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment, wherein the tread orificesare arranged as two staggered rows on the step treads.

is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment, wherein the tread orifices are of different diameters or sizes,. It should be appreciated that the respective shapes may be different than shown.

is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment, wherein the tread orifices are shared with the riser (disposed at the riser-tread junction). Additionally, the reduction in number and increase in spacing is seen in riser-tread orifice. Similarly, tread orificesandshow a reduction in number and increase in spacing.

is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment, wherein the tread orifices are of different shapes,.

is a perspective view of an installed exemplary embodiment, wherein the orificesare also disposed in the risers.

is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment, wherein an additional “row” of trough orificesis positioned on an opposite side of the trough from gutter lip side trough orifices.

It should be appreciated that the various exemplary embodiments shown here demonstrate orifices disposed in each tread, wherein the presences of the orifices improve the water drainage factor of the “orificed” treads on the gutter guard. However, it is understood that in some embodiments, one or more treads may not be orificed, or if they are present, the orifices may be limited in amount. Therefore, one or more embodiments are possible where alternating treads, or a sequence of treads, or combination of alternating sequence of treads, for example, may be orificeless, understanding this can be a design choice.

is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment, wherein another “row” of trough orificesis positioned between the trough orificesandshown in.

is a perspective view of an installed exemplary embodiment, showing a set of trough orificesdisposed in the floorof trough portion.

is a perspective view of an installed exemplary embodiment, showing trough orificeslaterally disposed in the gutter lip side riser or wallof the trough portion. This embodiment shows these trough orificesas the only orifices in the trough portion. It should be appreciated that side wall trough orifices, in this and other embodiments, may be disposed at any height, orientation, arrangement, etc. within the side wall of the trough portion. However, locations nearer to the floor of the trough portion are understood to provide earlier and more effective drainage.

is a perspective view of an installed exemplary embodiment, showing laterally disposed trough orificesin side wallof the trough portion, as well as trough orificesin the floorof the trough portion.

is a perspective view of an installed exemplary embodiment, showing trough orificesdisposed in the corner formed by floorand side wallof the trough portion.