Patent Application
20110232766
This invention relates generally to an apparatus cooperable with a downspout to collect rainwater for subsequent use thereof and, more particularly, to a device positioned at an intermediate location on the downspout to extract rainwater therefrom for diversion to a location remote from the downspout.
Gutters and downspouts are mounted on most residential and commercial structures along the lower edge of the roof of the structure to receive water draining off of the roof, such as during a rainstorm. Gutters come in many different styles, including K gutter, half round gutter, or commercial box gutter, but all are generally formed with an open top through which water is received into a trough or channel that delivers the water by gravity to a downspout for discharge away from the building structure. Gutters are often mounted on a plurality of hangers that are spaced along the length of the gutter and fastened to fascia boards by nails or screws such that the gutter is suspended from the hangers. The downspout is connected to an outlet of the gutter to provide a conduit to drain the collected rainwater from the gutter for discharge along the surface of the ground and direct the rainwater away from the building structure.
The collection of rainwater has been a practice in use for many years. Most often, the collected rainwater is used for non-potable activities, such as irrigation, washing clothes, washing hair, etc. Typically, the rainwater is collected from the downspout and stored in a collection container, such as a barrel, and utilized at a subsequent date as desired. The use of collected rainwater has an inherent cost advantage over the use of public water as the rainwater is collected without any significant expense. Also, the utilization of collected rainwater provides a conservation function and allows for a better management of the less cost-effective water supplies. The harvesting of rainwater is an international practice and is a primary lifeline in many third world countries. The scarcity of water and rain in many regions of the world is a worldwide problem and the ability to capture water being discarded from the rooftops is becoming popular.
Collection systems for harvesting rainwater have been developed for many years and are generally defined as a device for intercepting the downward flow of rainwater within a downspout and diverting the rainwater to a location remote from the downspout. One such rainwater collector can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,376, granted to Bernt Nilsson on Jan. 8, 1980, wherein a dispensing device is formed to be inserted into an intermediate portion of a downspout and defines a collection pocket by a circumferential wall portion that drains into a discharge spout. The Nilsson device does not include any filtration of the descending rainwater, but does provide an overflow from the collection pocket over the edge thereof into the lower downspout portion. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,484, granted on Jun. 7, 1983, to Joost van Berne, et al, the collection device incorporates a reception cavity into which rainwater is deflected until the cavity is filled, whereupon an opening at the upper part of the cavity allows overflow back into the lower downspout portion. The reception cavity is formed with a discharge spout to drain rainwater from the cavity to a location remote from the device.
Another deflector apparatus is found in the collection device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,394, issued on Jan. 31, 1984, to Jack Wright, et al, in which rainwater is deflected from the downspout into a discharge spout for diversion of the rainwater into a remote collection vessel. The Wright deflection apparatus is operably connected to a float associated with the collection vessel so that when the collection vessel is filled with diverted rainwater, the deflector apparatus is shifted to allow the rainwater to continue uninterrupted down the downspout. The collection apparatus in U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,151, issued to Benedetto Vitale on Feb. 23, 1988, is connected directly to the gutter discharge and collects rainwater in a reservoir having an outlet projecting upwardly therein to define a weir over which the collected rainwater will flow into the attached downspout. The reservoir is formed with a discharge spout to allow the diversion of the collected rainwater to a remote location.
A similar collection apparatus is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,594, issued on May 19, 1992, to Linda Rosebrock, et al, in which the vertically oriented reservoir is positioned at an intermediate portion of the downspout and includes a bypass opening through which rainwater can overflow into the lower downspout portion and a discharge spout through which water can be diverted. The collection apparatus in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,151, issued on Jan. 26, 1999, to Dan Chapotelle, is substantially identical to the apparatus disclosed in the Rosebrock patent, wherein a reservoir collects rainwater from an intermediate portion of a downspout with an overflow spout that allows excess water to transfer to the lower downspout portion and a discharge spout to divert collected rainwater to a remote location.
It would be desirable to provide a collection apparatus for harvesting rainwater from a downspout by intercepting the rainwater flowing along the sides of the downspout through surface adhesion so that the rainwater will pass through an internal filter that deflects debris carried by the rainwater into the lower downspout portion, while the collected rainwater is diverted to a remote location. It would also be desirable to provide a rainwater collection apparatus that is easily connectable to the downspout so as to be positionable at an intermediate portion thereof.
It is an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a rainwater collection apparatus that harvests rainwater through the principle of surface adhesion.
It is another object of this invention to provide a rainwater collection apparatus that filters debris carried by the rainwater moving downwardly through the downspout.
It is a feature of this invention that the rainwater collection apparatus is formed with an inner colander that deflects rainwater flowing along the insides of the upper portion of the downspout into the inner colander for movement through apertures in the colander into a catch basin between the colander and the outer sleeve.
It is another feature of this invention that the colander is formed with a belt area that is devoid of apertures and helps define the catch basin.
It is an advantage of this invention that the catch basin occupies a small cross-sectional area of the collection apparatus to allow for a maximum interior opening to allow the passage of debris from the colander into the lower downspout portion.
It is another advantage of this invention that the colander filters debris from the rainwater for passage through an interior opening into the lower downspout portion.
It is still another feature of this invention that the colander is flared at the upper portion thereof to deflect rainwater flowing along the inside walls of the upper downspout portion, and has a flange along the lower portion thereof to seat on a retainer ledge formed in the outer sleeve to define the catch basin.
It is still another feature of this invention that the outer sleeve is formed with a first horizontal ridge to stop the insertion of the upper downspout portion into the outer sleeve.
It is yet a further feature of this invention that the outer sleeve is also formed with a base ledge that seats the flange of the colander, the base ledge being located below the horizontal ridge.
It is still another advantage of this invention that the catch basin includes a discharge spout for diverting the collected rainwater from the catch basin to a remote location for storage thereof.
It is yet another feature of this invention that the colander incorporates an overflow protection at the lowest set of apertures such that the reception of an abundance of rainwater at a rate faster than can flow through the discharge spout will flow into the interior opening and be removed through the lower downspout portion.
It is yet another advantage of this invention that the outer sleeve incorporates a downwardly extending portion that fits internally of the lower downspout portion for connection thereto.
It is another advantage of this invention that the downwardly extending portion assures that rainwater will not leak past the collection apparatus and flow outside of the downspout.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a rainwater collection apparatus that is operable to harvest rainwater flowing downwardly through a downspout utilizing an outer sleeve that is substantially the same cross-sectional shape and size of the downspout.
It is yet another advantage of this invention that the collected rainwater will overflow back into the downspout through the apertures in the colander member if the storage tank for the collected rainwater is full, or if the cap has been placed on the discharge spout to prevent the passage of water from the catch basin.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a rainwater collection apparatus that will collect and filter rainwater from a downspout, which is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use.
These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a rainwater collection apparatus including with an outer sleeve member that is adapted to connect with upper and lower downspout portions, and with an internal colander that is operable to collect and filter the rainwater flowing through the upper downspout portion. The colander has an upper flanged edge that removes water flowing along the inside surface of the downspout, a filter area including a plurality of apertures for the passage of rainwater into a catch basin, and a support flange that rests on a base ledge formed on the outer sleeve to define the catch basin. A discharge spout drains the collected rainwater from the catch basin to a remote storage container. An internal opening in the colander allows the passage of debris and the overflow of rainwater from the catch basin through apertures in the colander for discharge through the lower downspout portion.
The advantages of this invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Referring now to Fig, 1, a representative building structure 10 is depicted in which an upright wall 11 supports a pitched roof 12 having mounted along the lower edge thereof a gutter 13 to collect rainwater flowing over the roof by gravity and heading toward the ground G. The gutter 13 is sloped slightly to induce a flow of the collected rainwater toward a discharge opening to which is attached a downspout 14. The rainwater flows downwardly through the downspout and is conventionally discharged to the ground G. According to the principles of the instant invention, however, a rainwater collection apparatus 15 that is mounted at an intermediate location on the downspout 14 between the upper and lower portions thereof to harvest the rainwater from the downspout 14. The harvested rainwater is then conveyed by a conduit 17, such as a water hose, to a remote storage container 19, such as a sealed barrel or plastic drum or the like. Preferably, the conduit 17 is connected to the storage container 19 at a location below the top of the container 19, preferably approximately eight inches below the top, so that the principle of water displacement will push the rainwater back through the conduit 17 and overflow into the downspout 14, as will be described in greater detail below.
The rainwater collection apparatus 15 incorporating the principles of the instant invention can best be seen in
As best seen in
The outer sleeve 20 is also formed with a horizontal, circumferentially extending base ledge 25 located on top of the trough receptacle 27 and extending inwardly from the outer shell 21 further than the horizontal ridge 22. The base ledge 25 supports the colander member 30, as will be described in greater detail below, and helps define a circumferential catch basin 39 to receive the harvested rainwater. The outer shell 21 also includes a discharge spout 24 located on one side thereof immediately above the base ledge 25 so that the harvested rainwater collected in the catch basin 39 will drain out of the catch basin 39 and into the conduit 17 detachably connected to the threaded discharge spout 24. Preferably, the threads on the discharge spout 24 are formed to mate with the standard coupling on a garden hose. A detachable cap 40 can be mounted on the threaded discharge spout 24 to seal the discharge spout 24 from the passage of rainwater when mounted thereon.
Referring now to
When placed into the operative position within the outer sleeve member 20, the colander 30 is spaced inwardly from the outer shell 21 to define a circumferential gap between the main body portion 31 of the colander 30 and the outer shell 21. This circumferential gap creates a catch basin 39 defined by the inside wall of the outer shell 21, the belt area 34 of the main body portion 31 and the flange 36 resting on the base ledge 25. The height of the belt area 34, and thus the height of the catch basin 39, is preferably greater than the diameter of the discharge spout 24. In the event excess rainwater is collected in the catch basin 39 and cannot be discharged through the discharge spout 24, the collected rainwater will overflow through the lowermost row of apertures 33 and pass through the opening 38 into the lower downspout portion 14b.
For a three inch by four inch rectangular downspout, the catch basin 39 would preferably have a horizontal dimension measured at the flange 36 of approximately ⅜ extending around the perimeter of the colander 30 and a height measured from the flange 36 to the lowermost row of apertures 33 of approximately 1 and ¼ inches. Accordingly, the catch basis occupies approximately 10-20% of the overall cross-sectional area of the downspout 14, allowing a large opening 38 through the center of the colander 30 for the passage of debris shed off of the filter area, as will be described in greater detail below. The overall height of the outer sleeve member 20 extends for approximately two and one-quarter inches above the base ledge 25, while the colander has a height greater than that of the outer sleeve member 31. The filter area 32 may be manufactured from synthetic or natural materials that have properties to prevent bacterial contamination of the harvested rainwater and/or contamination or breeding of insects and pests. A secondary filter (not shown) can be inserted to exclude finer particulates from passing through the filter area 33.
The general purpose of the rainwater collection apparatus 15 is to harvest filtered rainwater from the downspout 14 by capturing the rainwater in the catch basin 39 when the collected rainwater can be diverted to a remote storage container 19. The colander member 30 will capture a portion of the rainwater flowing along the interior walls of the downspout 14 through the process of surface adhesion. As the rainwater travels inside the downspout, a great proportion of this rainwater will be flowing along the interior walls, as opposed to being in a “free fall” within the central portion of the downspout 14. Debris can be carried with the rainwater and can be flowing with the rainwater along the interior walls of the downspout or, depending on the size of the debris and the manner of entry into the downspout 14, may be in a “free fall” state within the central portion of the downspout 14.
The colander 30 maximizes water-capturing ability while also filtering debris from the captured rainwater. The uppermost flared edge 35 of the colander 30 is designed to touch or lie immediately adjacent to the interior wall of the upper downspout portion 14a above the outer sleeve member 20. The flared shaped of the upper edge portion 35 presents an angled surface extending downwardly and inwardly from the interior wall of the upper downspout portion 14a, as can be seen in
The rainwater accumulating within the catch basin 39 will then flow through the discharge spout 24 and move through the conduit 17 to the remote storage container 19. If a large quantity of rainwater is collected through the filter area 32 into the catch basin 39, if the remote storage container is filled and rainwater backs up through the conduit 17, or if the cap 40 is applied to the discharge spout 24, the collected rainwater within the catch basin 39 will fill the catch basin 39 and overflow through the lowermost row of apertures 33 and fall through the opening 38 into the lower downspout portion 14b. Since the lowermost row of apertures 33 is located lower than the top of the outer sleeve member 20, the back-up of rainwater will not result in a leak in the rainwater collection apparatus 15, but simply pass through into the lower downspout portion 14b.
To install into an existing downspout 14, the downspout 14 would have to be cut at the appropriate height to create the upper and lower downspout portions 14a, 14b. The lower downspout portion 14b can then be inserted into the trough receptacle 27 and secured to the outer sleeve member 20 by fasteners or other means. With the alternative embodiment shown in
Once installed, operation of the rainwater collection apparatus 15 is dependent on the application of the cap 40 on the discharge spout 24. So long as a conduit 17 is connected to the discharge spout 24 and so long as the remote storage container 19 is not filled, the colander 30 will harvest filtered rainwater from the upper downspout portion 14a for receipt within the catch basin 39 and flow to the remote storage container 19. If the cap 40 is screwed onto the discharge spout 24, harvested rainwater will collect into the catch basin 39 until the catch basin 39 is filled, whereupon the overflow will pass inwardly through the lowermost row of apertures 33 and be discharged through the lower downspout portion 14b. The support of the flange 36 on the base ledge 25 is not sealed. Therefore, the collected rainwater within the catch basin 39 when the cap 40 is placed on the discharge spout 24 will ultimately leak between the flange 36 and the base ledge 25 and flow along the inside wall of the inner leg 28 and be discharged into the lower downspout portion 14b without leaking from the assembled rainwater collection apparatus 15.
It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.
