Dumpable rain gutter system

Claim 2

A dumpable rain gutter support for normally supporting a rain gutter of the type having a vertical rear wall, a horizontal bottom wall and a front wall in an upright position and allowing the rain gutter to turn downward to be cleaned, comprising: a mounting bracket adapted to be secured to the facia or trim board of a building; a gutter bracket adapted to be secured to the gutter, said gutter bracket including a vertical portion located behind and secured to the rear wall of the gutter and a horizontal ledge disposed beneath the gutter to support the bottom wall thereof; a first pair of spaced vertical flanges on said mounting bracket, each flange being provided with an opening in horizontal alignment with the opening in the other flange; a second pair of spaced vertical flanges extending downward from said horizontal ledge of said gutter bracket, each flange being provided with an opening in horizontal alignment with the opening in the other flange; a pivot rod received in the openings of said first and second flanges for pivotally connecting said mounting bracket and said gutter bracket together; and resilient bias means for normally maintaining said gutter bracket upright and allowing said gutter bracket to pivot downward to permit the gutter to be cleaned.

Claim 3

The dumpable rain gutter support of claim 1, wherein: said second pair of flanges of said gutter bracket is spaced apart to span said first pair of flanges of said mounting bracket.

Claim 4

A dumpable rain gutter support for supporting a rain gutter in the form of a trough having a vertical rear wall, a horizontal bottom wall and a front wall to normally maintain the gutter upright and to allow the gutter to turn downward to be cleaned, said support comprising: a mounting bracket adapted to be mounted on the facia or trim board of a building, said mounting bracket comprising a flat plate to be secured to the facia or trim board and provided with a first pair of spaced vertical flanges extending perpendicularly forward from said plate, each flange being provided with a circular opening in horizontal alignment with the circular opening in the other flange; a gutter bracket adapted to be secured to the gutter, said gutter bracket comprising a flat, L-shaped strip including a vertical portion for engaging the rear wall of the gutter and a horizontal ledge for supporting the bottom wall of the gutter, said horizontal ledge having a second pair of spaced vertical flanges extending perpendicularly downward therefrom, each of said flanges being provided with a circular opening in horizontal alignment with the circular opening in the other flange; means for securing the rear wall of the gutter to said vertical portion of said L-shaped strip; a pivot rod received in the circular openings of said first and second flanges for pivotally connecting said mounting bracket and said gutter bracket together; and a recoil spring mounted on said pivot rod and provided with spring arms at opposite ends thereof for biasing said gutter bracket toward said mounting bracket to normally maintain the gutter upright and to allow the gutter to pivot downward to be cleaned.

Claim 5

A dumpable rain gutter support for supporting a rain gutter in the form of a trough having a vertical rear wall, a horizontal bottom wall and a front wall to normally maintain the gutter upright and to allow the gutter to turn downward to be cleaned, said support comprising: a mounting bracket adapted to be mounted on the facia or trim board of a building, said mounting bracket comprising a flat plate to be secured to the facia or trim board and provided with a first pair of spaced vertical flanges extending perpendicularly forward from said plate, each flange being provided with a circular opening in horizontal alignment with the circular opening in the other flange; a gutter bracket adapted to be secured to the gutter, said gutter bracket comprising a flat, L-shaped strip including a vertical portion for engaging the rear wall of the gutter and a horizontal ledge for supporting the bottom wall of the gutter, said horizontal ledge having a second pair of spaced vertical flanges extending perpendicularly downward therefrom, each of said flanges being provided with a circular opening in horizontal alignment with the circular opening in the other flange; means for securing the rear wall of the gutter to said vertical portion of said L-shaped strip; a pivot rod received in the circular openings of said first and second flanges for pivotally connecting said mounting bracket and said gutter bracket together; and a recoil spring mounted on said pivot rod and provided with spring arms at opposite ends thereof for biasing said gutter bracket toward said mounting bracket to normally maintain the gutter upright and to allow the gutter to pivot downward to be cleaned.

Claim 6

The dumpable rain gutter support of claim 3, wherein said securing means comprises: a spreader pin received in openings provided in the front and rear walls of the gutter and secured to said vertical portion of said strip and a sleeve fitted over said spreader pin and located between the front and rear walls of the gutter to add rigidity to the gutter.

Claim 7

A dumpable rain gutter support for normally supporting a rain gutter of the type having a vertical rear wall, a horizontal bottom wall and a front wall in an upright position and allowing the rain gutter to turn downward to be cleaned, comprising: a mounting bracket adapted to be secured to the facia or trim board of a building; a gutter bracket adapted to be secured to the gutter, said gutter bracket including a vertical portion located behind and secured to the rear wall of the gutter and a horizontal ledge disposed beneath the gutter to support the bottom wall thereof; said mounting bracket including at least one vertical flange and said gutter bracket including at least one vertical flange extending downward from said horizontal ledge, each flange being provided with an opening in horizontal alignment with the opening in the other flange; a pivot rod received in the openings of said first and second flanges for pivotally connecting said mounting bracket and said gutter bracket together; and a recoil spring mounted on said pivot rod and having spring arms at opposite ends thereof for biasing said gutter bracket toward said mounting bracket to normally maintain the gutter upright.

Claim 8

A dumpable rain gutter support for normally supporting a rain gutter of the type having a vertical rear wall, a horizontal bottom wall and a front wall in an upright position and allowing the rain gutter to turn downward to be cleaned, comprising: a mounting bracket adapted to be secured to the facia or trim board of a building; a gutter bracket adapted to be secured to the gutter, said gutter bracket including a vertical portion located behind and secured to the rear wall of the gutter and a horizontal ledge disposed beneath the gutter to support the bottom wall thereof; said mounting bracket including at least one vertical flange and said gutter bracket including at least one vertical flange extending downward from said horizontal ledge, each flange being provided with an opening in horizontal alignment with the opening in the other flange; a pivot rod received in the openings of said first and second flanges for pivotally connecting said mounting bracket and said gutter bracket together; and a recoil spring mounted on said pivot rod and having spring arms at opposite ends thereof for biasing said gutter bracket toward said mounting bracket to normally maintain the gutter upright.

Claim 9

A dumpable rain gutter system for normally supporting a rain gutter of the type having a vertical rear wall, a horizontal bottom wall and a front wall in an upright position and allowing the rain gutter to turn downward to be cleaned, comprising: a plurality of spaced gutter supports adapted to be secured to the facia or trim board of a building and to receive the rain gutter, each support including a mounting bracket adapted to be secured to the facia or trim board and a gutter bracket comprising a vertical portion located behind and secured to the rear wall of the gutter and horizontal ledge disposal beneath the gutter to support the bottom wall thereof; each mounting bracket including a first pair of spaced vertical flanges extending perpendicularly forward from said mounting bracket, each flange having a circular opening in horizontal alignment with the circular opening in the other flange; each gutter bracket including a second pair of spaced vertical flanges extending perpendicularly downward from said horizontal ledge, each flange having a circular opening in horizontal alignment with the circular opening in the other flange; an elongated pivot rod extending longitudinally along the gutter and received in said circular openings in said flanges of each mounting bracket and each gutter bracket to pivotally connect said mounting brackets and gutter brackets together; and resilient bias means for normally maintaining said gutter bracket and rain gutter in an upright position and allowing said gutter bracket to pivot downward from its upright position to permit the rain gutter to be cleaned.

Claim 10

A dumpable rain gutter system for normally supporting a rain gutter of the type having a vertical rear wall, a horizontal bottom wall and a front wall in an upright position and allowing the rain gutter to turn downward to be cleaned, comprising: a plurality of spaced gutter supports adapted to be secured to the facia or trim board of a building and to receive the rain gutter, each support including a mounting bracket adapted to be secured to the facia or trim board and a gutter bracket comprising a vertical portion located behind and secured to the rear wall of the gutter and horizontal ledge disposal beneath the gutter to support the bottom wall thereof; each mounting bracket including a first pair of spaced vertical flanges extending perpendicularly forward from said mounting bracket, each flange having a circular opening in horizontal alignment with the circular opening in the other flange; each gutter bracket including a second pair of spaced vertical flanges extending perpendicularly downward from said horizontal ledge, each flange having a circular opening in horizontal alignment with the circular opening in the other flange; an elongated pivot rod extending longitudinally along the gutter and received in said circular openings in said flanges of each mounting bracket and each gutter bracket to pivotally connect said mounting brackets and gutter brackets together; and resilient bias means for normally maintaining said gutter bracket and rain gutter in an upright position and allowing said gutter bracket to pivot downward from its upright position to permit the rain gutter to be cleaned.

Claim 11

The dumpable rain gutter system of claim 6, wherein: each gutter bracket is non-rotatably secured to said elongated pivot rod.

Claim 12

The dumpable rain gutter system of claim 7, which includes: at least one trip arm coupled to said pivot rod to allow the gutter brackets and gutter to be turned downward upon actuation of said trip arm.

Claim 13

The dumpable rain gutter system of claim 6, wherein: said elongated pivot rod includes a keyway; and each gutter bracket includes a key to be received in said keyway to non-rotatably secure each gutter bracket to said pivot rod.

Claim 14

The dumpable rain gutter system of claim 9, wherein: said pivot rod comprises a plurality of rod sections each including a keyway and a plurality of coupling collars provided with keys to be received in said keyways to non-rotatably couple said rod sections together.

Claim 15

The dumpable rain gutter system of claim 9, which includes: at least one trip arm provided with a circular opening to receive said pivot rod and a key to be received in said keyway of said pivot rod.

Claim 16

The dumpable rain gutter system of claim 6, wherein said resilient bias means comprises: a recoil spring at each gutter support mounted on said pivot rod and having spring arms at opposite ends thereof for biasing said gutter bracket toward said mounting bracket to normally bias the gutter into its upright position.