The present invention relates to a gutter bracket for supporting a gutter or the like and, more specifically, a gutter bracket of the type shown in Swedish Design Registration No. 56,826, in accordance with the preamble to appended claim 1. The invention also relates to a method of making and mounting a gutter bracket.

Gutter brackets of this type are well-known to those skilled in the art. Examples of so-called fixed gutter brackets consisting of flat bar iron having a thickness of a few millimetres are shown in a product catalogue published by Lindab AB in 1994 and called "Tak-väggkatalogen" (Roof-wall catalogue), pp. 16 and 17. A fixed gutter bracket comprises a C-shaped holding member for receiving the gutter and a fastening element to be attached to a surface of attachment in connection with the eaves. The fastening element can either be adapted to be attached to a usually vertical front board, or be "bendable" for adaptation to the slope of the roof. In the latter case, the fastening element is usually screwed directly to the roof boarding. Special equipment is necessary to bend such gutter brackets before mounting.

It is the practice to have the gutter brackets so designed and mounted that the gutter will be inclined slightly outwards from the building. The reason for this is that during a cloudburst, or if the gutter is blocked up, rain water should be able to flow over the outer longitudinal edge of the gutter and not towards the building. The outwards inclination of the gutter should usually be a few degrees.

However, it is relatively common to have the surface of attachment where the gutter should be mounted inclined relative to the vertical line, in which case adjustable gutter brackets are desirable. Examples of adjustable gutter brackets are shown in the two Swedish Design Registrations Nos 56,826 and 56,882. These prior art brackets consist of two interconnected parts, viz. a C-shaped holding member and an L-shaped fastening element to be attached to a surface of attachment. The two parts are hingedly connected to each other by means of a hinge pin, about which the holding member can be pivoted relative to the fastening element. The holding member is supported by a strip, whose one end is fixed to the underside of the holding member and whose other end is connected to an angular portion of the fastening element. A clamping mechanism arranged on the strip permits fixing of the holding member in different angular positions relative to the fastening element.

Since this adjustable gutter bracket comprises a plurality of parts, it is relatively complicated and, thus, expensive to manufacture. The hinge is particularly sensitive between the holding member and the fastening element, where the ends of the hinge pin must be upset to prevent it from falling off. A further drawback is that the fastening element is relatively space-requiring, since the holes of attachment must be arranged in an upwardly projecting portion of the fastening element.

Thus, an adjustable gutter bracket of a simpler and more practical design is needed.

A further example of prior art is the gutter bracket disclosed in US-A-1,020,951, comprising a separate fastening element and, connected thereto, an arcuate holding member consisting of a thin metal sheet bent to U-section. The holding member has hook-shaped tongues formed directly from the sheet material and serving to hold the gutter in place. This gutter bracket consisting of two parts is certainly adjustable vertically, but cannot be angularly set for a desired inclination of the gutter.

US-A-2,654,555 discloses a gutter bracket made in one piece and consisting of thin metal sheet, the arcuate holding member being bent to U-section. Also this known bracket, however, is not angularly adjustable.

A similar bracket is disclosed in FR-A-2,425,515, in which foldable tongues and hook-shaped portions are used to keep the gutter in place, however with no possibility of angular adjustment.

Also the gutter brackets according to the patent specifications GB-A-25,692 and US-A-2,536,704 belong to prior art technique.

Therefore, the object of the invention is to obviate the above-mentioned drawbacks and provide an adjustable gutter bracket which despite its simple design permits adjustment of the holding member of the bracket in the desired angular positions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rational method of making and mounting the new gutter bracket.

These and other objects, which will be evident from the following description, are now achieved by means of a gutter bracket having the features defined in appended claim 1. The objects are also achieved by the methods according to appended claims 12 and 14.

The inventive gutter bracket made in one piece can be manufactured from a planar blank of thin metal sheet, which by ordinary cutting, punching and bending operations is formed to a suitable design of the gutter bracket. The desired angular adjustability is obtained in a brilliant manner thanks to the indication of bending or weakened portion in the transition between the holding member and the leg of attachment. A further advantage is that no separate device for fixing the set angular position is necessary. To this end, use is instead made of engaging means formed directly on the holding member and the fastening element.

A special advantage is that the new gutter bracket is very easy to mount. If the gutter bracket is supplied in its open state, i.e. the arcuate holding member directed away from the L-shaped element, the fitter will have plenty of space for screwing the leg of attachment of the L-shaped element to the surface of attachment. Subsequently, the holding member is folded down and engaged with the supporting leg of the L-shaped element in the desired angular position.

The invention and its many advantages will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, which for the purpose of exemplification illustrate an embodiment which is preferred at present.

Figs 1-3 are different perspective views of the new gutter bracket in its closed position of use.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the gutter bracket in its open position.

Figs 5-6 are side views showing how the gutter bracket is attached to a surface of attachment and brought into its position of use.

Fig. 7 illustrates a planar blank of thin metal sheet for making the gutter bracket.

Figs 1-3 illustrate a gutter bracket designed according to the invention, in its closed position. The gutter bracket is made in one piece from a planar blank of thin metal sheet, as will be described below, and comprises an arcuate holding member (here C-shaped) generally designated 1 and adapted to receive a gutter (see Fig. 6) and a substantially L-shaped supporting element generally designated 2. The holding member 1 is provided, in per se known manner, with hook-shaped means 3, 4 for engaging and holding the gutter. The L-shaped element 2 consists of a first leg 5 provided with holes of attachment 6, and a second leg 7 adapted to support the holding member 1.

The edge portions of the holding member 1 and the L-shaped element 2 are bent so as to make them U-shaped in cross-section. The leg of attachment 5 has U flanges 8 directed towards the holding member 1, whereas the supporting leg 7 has U flanges 9 directed away from the holding member.

The rigidity of the gutter bracket will be excellent since its major part consists of portions of U-shaped cross-section. Preferably, the mutual distance between the U flanges 10 of the holding member is greater than the width of the L-shaped element, such that the U flanges 10 will partly be positioned outside the U flanges 8, 9 of the L-shaped element. This promotes the rigidity still more.

In the transition between the holding member 1 and the leg of attachment 5 of the L-shaped element 2 there is a transverse indication of bending or weakened portion 11, along which the holding member 1 can be folded or swung relative to the L-shaped element 2. Thus, the gutter bracket can take the position of use shown in Figs 1-3 or the position of mounting shown in Fig. 4 which will be further described below. Thanks to the indication 11, the holding member 1 can be angularly adjusted relative to the L-shaped element 2 in a very simple and reliable manner. The set angular position is fixed by a tongue 12 projecting from the holding member 1 being engaged with one of a number of slots 13 in the supporting leg 7 of the L-shaped element. To make the appropriate angular adjustment possible, it is advantageous to arrange an additional transverse weakened portion or indication 14 in the transition between the leg of attachment 5 and the supporting leg 7 of the L-shaped element 2.

In the embodiment illustrated, the indication 11 comprises a number of holes that are punched through the blank, but it will be appreciated that the desired indication or weakened portion can be provided in some other manner, for instance by reducing the thickness of the material along a transverse line in the position where foldability is desired or by two opposing cuts being made in alignment with the two large central cuts of the blank (see Fig. 7). Of course, the same applies to the indication 14.

It will also be appreciated that the set angular position can be fixed by other engaging means than the tongue 12, shown for exemplification, and matching slots 13.

The gutter bracket is advantageously delivered in its open state, as shown in Fig. 4. When mounting, the leg of attachment 5 of the L-shaped element 2 is made to abut against a surface of attachment 15, for instance a vertical front board, and is fastened by means of screws 16 in known manner (see Fig. 5). Since the holding member 1 in this position is moved away from the L-shaped element 2, there is plenty of space for the fitter who tightens the screws 16. After this fastening operation, the fitter folds down the holding member 1 to the position of use shown in Fig. 6, the above-described tongue 12 being engaged with a suitable slot 13 according to the desired angular position of the holding member 1 and, thus, of the gutter that is to be received therein. The slightly sloping gutter is indicated by a dash-dotted line in Fig. 6. Readjustment can readily be made by moving the tongue 12 step-by-step to another slot 13, if necessary.

The new gutter bracket thus permits a very rational mounting operation. A special advantage is achieved since no portion of the leg of attachment 5 projects upwards, whereby the gutter bracket requires less space than, for instance, the adjustable gutter brackets shown in the design registrations mentioned by way of introduction. The height of the new gutter bracket will be smaller.

Fig. 7 shows a blank of thin metal sheet designated 17, for making a gutter bracket according to the invention. The blank or metal strip 17 preferably has a thickness of about 1 mm.

When an inventive gutter bracket is to be made, the metal strip is cut into suitable lengths; according to a practical example, a 50-mm-wide strip is cut into lengths of about 440 mm. In the cut blank, pairs of opposite notches are cut in the longitudinal edge portions of the blank for the purpose of making indications of bending and weakened portions. The notches 18 contribute to the forming of the indication 11 in the transition between the holding member 1 and the L-shaped element 2, while the notches 19 contribute to the forming of the indication 14 between the two legs 5, 7 of the L-shaped element (see Figs 1-3). Correspondingly, the notches 20 contribute to an indication 21 in connection with the hook-shaped means 4. While the notches 18-20 are being cut, or in a separate operation, the tongues 3 and 12 as well as the holes of attachment 6 and the slots 13 are punched. Subsequently, the longitudinal edge portions or longitudinal edges of the blank 17 are bent, thereby giving the portions that should constitute the holding member 1 and the L-shaped element 2 a U-shaped cross-section. Finally, the blank 17 is transversely bent along said indications, thereby giving the gutter bracket its final shape, either the shape shown in Fig. 4, or the shape shown in Figs 1-3.

In tests, the above-mentioned method has proved to be very efficient and rational for making the new gutter bracket described herein.

Finally, it may be stressed that the inventive concept is in no way restricted to the embodiments described for the purpose of exemplification, and several modifications are conceivable within the scope of the appended claims. As mentioned above, it is within the scope of the invention to use alternative means for providing the necessary indications, and moreover, other alternatives can be chosen in respect of the engaging means required for fixing the holding member in different angular positions. It should also be emphasised that the gutter bracket can, of course, be used to support objects other than gutters. Mention can here be made of flower-boxes, feeding troughs etc.