| 主权项 |
1. A rain gutter assembly for collecting surface roof runoff from a building roof without clogging of the gutter by leaves and other debris, said rain gutter assembly comprising:
a) a substantially U-shaped, elongated gutter trough for placement along and adjacent to a sloping roof of a building for collecting rain roof runoff from the roof, the gutter trough including a rear wall that is adapted to abut a substantially vertical building surface adjacent to an edge of the roof, a bottom wall extending substantially perpendicularly from the rear wall, and a front wall extending upwardly from a front edge of the bottom wall, wherein the rear wall, the bottom wall, and the front wall together define a U-shaped channel having an upwardly-facing opening, the front wall including an inwardly-extending lip at an uppermost edge; b) at least two support brackets positioned within the gutter trough and spaced from each other along the gutter channel, each support bracket including at least one passageway for receiving a connector for connecting the bracket and gutter trough rear wall to the building surface, the brackets each extending across the gutter channel and between and engaging each of the gutter trough rear wall and the gutter trough front wall and including:
1) a bracket body having a hooked outer end adapted to engage the inwardly-extending lip of the gutter trough, and having an inner end including a mounting surface adapted to contact an inner surface of the gutter trough rear wall;2) at least one first passageway within the bracket body and extending toward the mounting surface and angularly arranged relative to the mounting surface for receiving a connector for connecting the support bracket and gutter trough to a substantially vertical building surface adjacent to a roof edge; and3) at least one second passageway extending into the bracket body for receiving a cover fastener for securing a gutter trough cover to the support brackets; c) a gutter trough cover overlying the upwardly-facing gutter trough opening, wherein the cover includes a plate-like cover body that angularly overlies and is spaced above the upwardly-facing opening of the gutter trough, the cover including an inturned, outwardly-facing front wall that defines a curved front surface of the cover body and that terminates at a front edge of the cover body, wherein the front edge of the cover body is secured to the brackets by fasteners that extend through the cover body front edge and into the second passageway of the brackets; wherein the cover front wall overlies and is spaced vertically from the inwardly-extending lip of the gutter trough to define a longitudinally-extending gap therebetween for receiving roof runoff flow from an upper surface of the cover, to and around the curved front surface of the cover, and into the gutter trough; the gutter cover including a plurality of longitudinally-extending, parallel rows of spaced gutter cover openings for receiving at least part of a roof runoff flow; wherein the openings of adjacent rows are longitudinally offset from each other and the openings of adjacent rows have respective transverse ends in overlapping relationship in a longitudinal direction of the cover to capture roof runoff flow; and d) support means for supporting a rear, inner end of the cover body relative to the building surface, the support means including a support channel for supporting the gutter trough cover in overlying relationship with the gutter trough, wherein the support channel is an elongated member having a substantially L-shaped cross section and includes a longitudinally-extending planar rear panel for attachment to the vertical building surface, and a longitudinally-extending planar top panel connected with and extending from the rear panel for attachment to the trough cover. |
