Covered rain gutter

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a rain gutter assembly is provided for collecting surface water runoff from a building roof without clogging of the gutter by leaves and other debris.
The rain gutter is in the form of a substantially U-shaped, elongated gutter for placement along and adjacent to a sloping roof of a building for collecting rain water runoff from the roof.
The gutter includes a rear wall that is adapted to abut a substantially vertical building surface adjacent to an edge of the roof.
A bottom wall extends substantially perpendicularly from the rear wall, and a front wall extends upwardly from a front edge of the bottom wall, so that the rear wall, the bottom wall, and the front wall together define a U-shaped channel having an upwardly-facing opening.
The front wall of the gutter has a vertical height that is less than that of the rear wall and includes at its uppermost edge an inwardly-extending lip.
At least two support brackets are positioned within the gutter and spaced from each other along the gutter channel.
Each bracket includes at least one passageway for receiving a connector for connecting the gutter to the building surface.
The brackets extend across the gutter channel between each of the gutter rear wall and the gutter front wall.
A cover overlies the gutter opening and supported by the at least two brackets.
The cover includes a plate-like cover body that overlies and is spaced above the gutter opening.
A rear wall of the cover extends along a rear edge of the cover body and defines a contact surface for contacting the gutter rear wall.
An inturned front wall of the cover defines a curved front surface of the cover body and terminates at a front edge of the cover body that lies between the gutter front wall and the gutter rear wall.
The front edge of the cover body is secured to the at least two brackets, and the cover body rear wall and gutter rear wall are adapted to be jointly secured to the building surface