SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a rain gutter comprising a trough, a hinge mounted on the trough for hingedly securing the trough to the side of a building, a deployment member operatively connected to the trough for positioning the trough on the hinge either downwardly in relation to a building to discharge the contents of the trough and further to position the trough upwardly in a rain collecting position. The deployment member can be hingedly secured to the trough and is positionable to secure the trough downwardly and upwardly. In one embodiment the deployment member comprises a rod hingedly secured to the trough.

The rain gutter may be secured to the eaves of a building on a hinge that extends downwardly for a distance sufficient to swing the gutter down and underneath the eave of a building so that the gutter may be stored in this position to avoid the accumulation of snow and ice during winter months. When the gutter is changed from a rain collecting position to a storage position, it may also be cleaned of any accumulation of debris.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a side elevation illustrating the rain gutter in an upward fully deployed position according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation illustrating the rain gutter in a downwardly deployed position and the storage position underneath the eave of a building according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation in section illustrating the rain gutter and hinge for securing the gutter to the side of a building or an eave according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order for rain gutters to function properly, debris such as leaves must be removed regularly and precautions must be taken during the winter months to prevent icing and excessive snow accumulation in them. If rain gutters are clogged either with debris such as leaves, ice or snow, water runs from the roof of a building into the eave structure around the gutter or in the immediate vicinity of the gutter and causes rotting. Additionally ice formed in the gutter or excessive snow accumulation tends to weaken the gutter especially where it is attached to a building and in some instances is the cause of gutters falling from buildings.

Devices are known in the prior art for emptying gutters such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,630,473 Landis and 3,091,055 Hegedusich. The former reference does not disclose apparatus adequate for completely emptying a rain gutter whereas the latter automatically empties by an intricate mechanism responsive to the weight of debris ice or snow in the gutter. The apparatus of the latter reference also is exposed to the elements and in wet freezing weather would become inoperative due to the accumulation of ice in the moving parts. Neither reference discloses apparatus for the maintenance of the gutters or the operation thereof in a manner that does not rely upon the use of a stepladder to reach the gutters. Furthermore none of the aforementioned references is suitable for storage underneath the eaves of a house during the winter months.

The prior art also discloses other gutter devices which are adjustable in relation to the roof and eaves of a building. However, all require the use of a ladder for changing their adjustment when the gutters are mounted a substantial distance above ground level. Examples of these references comprise U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,057,117 Singer; 2,625,353 Henry; 514,758 Lewis; 288,307 Campbell and 149,651 Gould.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome these and other difficulties encountered in the prior art.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel rain gutter mountable on the side of a building or specifically in the area of the eaves of a house a substantial distance above ground level and which can be deployed upwardly in a rain collecting position or downwardly in a discharge position or storage position without the need of having to make these adjustments from a stepladder.

These and other objects have been achieved according to the present invention and will become apparent by reference to the disclosure and claims that follow as well as the appended drawing.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3 of the appended drawing, a rain gutter 10 is illustrated which comprises a trough having a hinge 12 extending beneath the trough 10, hinge 12 being secured to the side of a building 24, preferably in the area of the eave 18. A rod 16 is hingedly secured to the top front of the trough 10 through hinge 14 rod 16 being braced against the side of the building at or close to ground level so that rod 16 can be employed to hold trough 10 in an upright position to collect rain when the trough 10 is used during the summer months, rod 16 is also positionable to hold gutter or trough 10 by bracing rod 16 at or near ground level against the side of a building as illustrated in FIG. 2 to hold gutter 10 in a downward position for either discharging debris such as accumulated leaves in trough 10 from the trough or for holding the trough in a storage position underneath the eaves 18 of a building for storage during the winter months so that ice and snow do not accumulate in the gutter which would lead to rotting or other deterioration of the facia trim board 22 and similar damage to the building in the area of eave 18 and the side of the building 24.

In use, water such as rainfall runs from the roof 20 into trough 10 and either down a downspout or away from the side of the building 24 sufficiently to protect the base of the building from excessive accumulations of water. During the winter months and at the end of the summer season, the trough 10 is deployed as illustrated in FIG. 2 to discharge any accumulated debris from the trough by pointing the trough in a downward direction and then bracing trough 10 in a storage position underneath the eave 18 of the building by holding or bracing rod 16 against the side of the building 24.

Although the invention has been described by reference to some embodiments, it is not intended that the novel rain gutter be limited thereby but that modifications thereof are intended to be included as falling within the broad spirit and scope of the foregoing disclosure, the following claims and the appended drawing.