Gutter guard with rear profile for accommodating gutter hanger

Abstract

A gutter guard for installation on a gutter system supported by gutter hangers has a rear profile to engage the gutter system to support the gutter guard so that at least the rear section of the screen portion is spaced apart above a central section of the gutter hanger. The rear profile includes an up leg extending upward and a down leg extending downward in relation to the rear section of the screen portion. The rear leg has a bottom edge configured for engaging the gutter hangers such that the down leg supports the rear profile on the gutter hangers. The rear profile can further include a vertical bracing lip above the rear section of the screen portion for face-to-face contact with the fascia. The rear profile can define a substantially enclosed pocket along the fascia board for containing back flanges and hanger screw heads of the gutter hangers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A gutter guard configured for installation on a gutter system comprising a gutter and a plurality of gutter hangers hanging the gutter from a fascia board of a roof, the gutter guard comprising:
 a front profile configured to couple to a front edge of a gutter;   a screen portion rearward of the front profile for covering a top portion of the gutter, the screen portion having openings configured to permit infiltration of water through the screen portion into the gutter and inhibit infiltration of debris; and   a rear profile rearward the screen portion, the rear profile configured to engage the gutter system to support the gutter guard on the gutter system so that at least the rear section of the screen portion is spaced apart above a central section of the gutter hanger, the rear profile comprising an up leg extending upward in relation to the rear section of the screen portion and wherein the rear profile comprises a down leg extending downward in relation to the rear section of the screen portion to a bottom edge configured for engaging the gutter hangers such that the down leg supports the rear profile on the gutter hangers.   
     
     
         2 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom edge is configured for engaging back corners of the gutter hangers. 
     
     
         3 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the down leg extends downward at an oblique angle in relation to a top plane of the gutter. 
     
     
         4 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom edge is spaced apart below the screen portion by a height in an inclusive range of from 1/16″ to 1″. 
     
     
         5 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom edge is configured to be spaced apart below a top plane of the gutter by a height in an inclusive range of from 1/16″ to 1″. 
     
     
         6 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein the up leg comprises a top edge and the top edge is spaced apart rearward of the bottom edge by an offset distance. 
     
     
         7 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein up leg comprises a screw flange extending upward from the upturned bend. 
     
     
         8 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein rear profile comprises a crease between the down leg and the up leg. 
     
     
         9 . The gutter guard of  claim 8 , wherein the rear profile comprises a rear facing section extending from the crease, one of the up leg and the down leg having a back side and the rear facing section having a front side facing toward the back side. 
     
     
         10 . The gutter guard of  claim 9 , wherein the front side of the rear facing section is in face-to-face contact with the back side. 
     
     
         11 . The gutter guard of  claim 9 , wherein the gutter guard comprises a crimp-on strip forming the rear profile and a screen member forming at least part of screen portion, the crimp-on strip being crimped onto the main screen member such that a portion of the main screen member is crimped between the front side and the back side. 
     
     
         12 . The gutter guard of  claim 9 , wherein rear profile further comprises a kickback bend between the rear facing section and the other of the up leg and the down leg. 
     
     
         13 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein the up leg comprises a flange, an upper kicker, and a backward kicker bend connecting the upper kicker to the flange. 
     
     
         14 . The gutter guard of  claim 13 , wherein the up leg further comprises one of an upturned lip and a hem connected to the upper kicker. 
     
     
         15 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein the down leg comprises a main portion, a lower backward kicker, and a lower backward kicker bend between the upper portion and the lower backward kicker. 
     
     
         16 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein the rear profile is crimped onto the screen portion. 
     
     
         17 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein the rear profile and the screen portion are integrally formed from a single piece of monolithic sheet metal. 
     
     
         18 . The gutter guard of  claim 1 , wherein the up leg and the down leg are configured to define a substantially enclosed pocket along the fascia board for containing back flanges and hanger screw heads of the gutter hangers. 
     
     
         19 . A gutter guard configured for installation on a gutter system comprising a gutter and a plurality of gutter hangers hanging the gutter from a fascia board of a roof, the gutter guard comprising:
 a front profile configured to couple to a front edge of a gutter;   a screen portion rearward of the front profile for covering a top portion of the gutter, the screen portion having openings configured to permit infiltration of water through the screen portion into the gutter and inhibit infiltration of debris; and   a rear profile rearward the screen portion, the rear profile configured to engage the gutter system to support the gutter guard on the gutter system so that at least the rear section of the screen portion is spaced apart above a central section of the gutter hanger, the rear profile comprising a vertical bracing lip spaced apart above the rear section of the screen portion, the vertical bracing lip configured to extend generally in a vertical plane and having a back side configured to engage the fascia board in face-to-face contact.   
     
     
         20 . A gutter guard configured for installation on a gutter system comprising a gutter and a plurality of gutter hangers hanging the gutter from a fascia board of a roof, the gutter guard comprising:
 a front profile configured to couple to a front edge of a gutter;   a screen portion rearward of the front profile for covering a top portion of the gutter, the screen portion having openings configured to permit infiltration of water through the screen portion into the gutter and inhibit infiltration of debris; and   a rear profile rearward the screen portion, the rear profile configured to engage the gutter system to support the gutter guard on the gutter system, the rear profile configured to engage the gutter system at an upper contact point with the fascia board above back flanges of the hangers and a lower contact point with the hangers, the rear profile configured to define a substantially enclosed pocket along the fascia board for containing back flanges and hanger screw heads of the gutter hangers.