Clip for securing gutter guard to gutter

Abstract

A clip connecting the outer end of a gutter guard to the outer end of a gutter. The clip has an outwardly extending lower panel, a front panel extending upwardly from an inner end of the lower panel, the front panel merging with an intermediate panel that extends outwardly over the lower panel. The lower and intermediate panels are constructed to engage the outer gutter end to connect the clip thereto. The intermediate panel is folded inwardly at its outer end and merges with an upper panel extending inwardly over the intermediate panel. The intermediate and upper panels are constructed to receive and retain therebetween the gutter guard outer end.

Claims

1. A flexible and resilient clip for removably connecting an upwardly and outwardly extending outer lip of a gutter guard to the underlying outer end portion of a gutter having an inwardly and downwardly and outwardly extending end lip, the clip being of generally C-shaped configuration with an open outer end portion and comprising: a lower panel with an inwardly folded or enlarged portion at an outer end thereof, a front panel extending upwardly and outwardly from an inner end of the lower panel, the front panel merging with an intermediate panel that extends downwardly and outwardly over the lower panel beyond the folded or enlarged portion thereof in vertically spaced relation thereto, the intermediate panel being folded inwardly at an outer end thereof and merging with an upper panel extending inwardly over the intermediate panel in vertically spaced relation thereto, the upper panel having a depending tab at an inner end thereof that is positioned above the front panel, the clip being positioned on the outer end portion of the gutter so that it is positioned between the lower panel and the intermediate panel to separate them so that an outer end of the gutter end lip is engaged by an inner end of the folded or enlarged portion of the lower panel to removably retain the clip on the gutter, the upwardly and outwardly extending lip of the gutter guard being positioned between the intermediate panel and the upper panel to separate them so that the depending tab of the upper panel extends over and is in engagement with the upwardly extending portion of the gutter guard lip to removably connect the gutter guard to the clip and to the gutter.

2. The clip of claim 1 being formed of unitary construction.

3. The clip of claim 1 wherein the folded or enlarged portion of the lower panel is on an upper surface thereof.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the clip of the present invention;

(2) FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the clip of FIG. 1;

(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of the clip removably mounted on the outer depending lip of a gutter; and

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of the clip removably mounted on the outer depending lip of a gutter and removably connected to the adjacent lip of the gutter guard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(5) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the clip 10 is formed of a suitable flexible and resilient material, such as aluminum, steel or plastic, and is of a generally C-shaped unitary configuration that is open at the outer end portion thereof.

(6) The clip 10 comprises a lower panel 12 with an upwardly and inwardly extending folded or enlarged portion 14 at the outer end thereof. A front panel 16 extends upwardly and outwardly from the inner end of the lower panel 12 and merges with an intermediate panel 18 that extends downwardly and outwardly beyond the folded or enlarged portion 14 in vertically spaced relation thereto. The intermediate panel 18 is folded inwardly at its outer end and merges with an upper panel 20 extending inwardly over the intermediate panel 18 in vertically spaced relation thereto. The upper panel 20 has a depending tab 22 at the inner end thereof that is positioned above the inclined front panel 16.

(7) Referring to FIG. 3, to removably connect the outer end portion of a gutter guard to the adjacent outer end portion of a gutter G, the clip 10 is first pushed onto the laterally and inwardly extending portion 30 of the gutter G to separate the lower panel 12 and intermediate panel 18 and to engage and deform upwardly the downwardly and outwardly extending end lip 32 of the gutter G until its outer end is engaged by the inner end of the folded or enlarged portion 14 on the lower panel 12 to removably retain the clip on the gutter G.

(8) Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4, the adjacent portion of the upwardly and outwardly extending end lip 40 of the gutter guard GG is inserted and pushed between the intermediate panel 18 and the upper panel 20 to separate them until the depending tab 22 on the upper panel 20 snaps over and engages the upwardly extending portion of the gutter guard lip 40 to removably connect the gutter guard GG to the clip 10 and to the adjacent end portion of the gutter G.

(9) Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the upper panel 20 may be provided with a raised elongated area 21 which can serve to engage the end of a gutter guard having a bump on it rather than the upwardly and outwardly extending lip 40 shown in FIG. 4.

(10) From the foregoing description, it will be readily seen that the new and improved clip 10 of the present invention provides a simple and inexpensive device for removably connecting the outer end portion of a gutter guard to the adjacent outer end portion of a gutter in a quick, reliable and simple operation.

(11) While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.