Expandable Trough Assembly for Rain Gutter Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Single installers face challenges in mounting long rain gutters without assistance, as the ends tend to twist out of position, requiring a second installer to maintain the gutter straight, which is labor and cost intensive.
Innovation Solution
A rain gutter installation device with a trough assembly that expands from 6 to 20 feet in length, allowing a single installer to support and mount gutters up to 60 feet without additional help, featuring telescopic troughs and ribs for structural rigidity and minimizing twisting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single installer uses their arms to support a long rain gutter, then the installer can lift the gutter into position, but the ends of the gutter twist out of position making mounting difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a support device as an intermediary tool between the installer and the gutter. This device includes a support member with a channel that receives the gutter, and extending members that span across the gutter to prevent twisting. The intermediary device enables a single installer to maintain proper gutter alignment without requiring additional personnel.
Solution Approach 2:
The support device is segmented into multiple functional components: a support member with a channel for receiving the gutter, extending members that can be adjusted to different lengths to span across the gutter, and mounting members for attachment to the building. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function in preventing gutter twisting.
2Manufacturing precision
If two installers are used to support the gutter, then the gutter can be maintained substantially straight for mounting, but labor and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support device is designed to be self-supporting, with the extending members spanning across the gutter to maintain its straight alignment without requiring a second installer. The device performs the alignment function that would otherwise require human intervention, enabling a single installer to complete the task independently while maintaining proper gutter alignment.
3Ease of operation
If a single installer supports only the centermost six feet of a gutter, then the installer can lift the gutter, but the opposite ends twist out of position
Solution Approach 1:
The support device extends the support capability from the single dimension of vertical lifting to multiple dimensions by adding horizontal spanning members that extend across the gutter. The extending members can be adjusted in length to match the gutter span, providing stability along the entire length of the gutter rather than just at the center point.
Data Source
AI summary
A rain gutter installation device including an expandable rain gutter support and hoist member. The device is constructed to have a transverse cross-sectional area sufficiently large enough to accommodate the sizes and shapes of conventional gutters. The device can include at least one first trough and at least one second trough movable relative to the first trough. The device may expand from about 6 to about 20 feet in length, whereby a considerable length of gutter may be supported in the desired mounting orientation and the likelihood of excessive twisting of the ends of the gutter during hoisting is minimized. As a result, a single installer can install gutter lengths of up to about 60 feet without the assistance of one or more additional installers.