Leaf Trap for a Water Drainage DownpipeThis invention relates to a leaf trap for a water drainage downpipe.
When water drains from the roof of a building into the gutters, there to flow towards and into a downpipe, it frequently gathers leaves and like material which are carried along towards the downpipe with said water. In order to prevent this material entering the downpipe, which would otherwise be liable to become blocked, it is common practice to fit a leaf trap, sometimes called a balloon, at the junction between the guttering and the downpipe. However, this balloon rapidly becomes clogged, preventing the free flow óf water into the downpipe, thus causing a build-up of material in the gutters and causing the gutters to overflow.
Frequent clearing of the balloon is necessary to minimise this problem, but clearing the balloon is often in itself an arduous task, as it is usually reachable only from a ladder or like means of gaining access to the roof of the building.
According to the invention, there is provided a leaf trap for fitting in place of a cut out section of the downpipe of the roof water drainage system of a building, at a height accessible from the ground, comprising a base member for fitting fixedly around the upper end of the downpipe beneath the cut out section, a leaf-collecting, watertransmitting basket which seats removably into the base member on the said upper end of the downpipe beneath the cut out section, and a cap which fits around the lower end region of the downpipe above the cut out section and is slidable up and down said region to provide access to the removable basket, said cap having a lowered position covering the basket and in which it fits sealingly to the base member.
The basket may have a flat base and seat in the base member immediately above the upper end of the downpipe beneath the cut out section, but preferably the basket is tapered or conical and seats with its narrower end depending into the upper end region of the downpipe beneath the cut out section.
Preferably, the leaf trap fits eccentrically in place of the cut out section of the drain pipe, so as to enable its fitting to a downpipe which lies close to the wall of the building.
The upper surface of the base member, adjacent its periphery, may conveniently have a circumferential recess in which is received the rim of the lower end of the cap. A sealing element is preferably disposed in the bottom of the recess, with which the rim of the lower end of the cap engages.
The invention is exemplified in the following description making reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:Figure 1 shows the leaf trap in perspective view, when open;andFigure 2 shows the leaf trap in off-axis cross-section,again when open.
Referring to the drawings, in order to fit the leaf trap of the invention in position, a section is cut out from the downpipe of the roof water drainage system of a building, at a height accessible from the ground. The reference 10 denotes the downpipe section above the cut out section and reference 12 denotes the downpipe section below the cut out section.
The trap comprises an annular base member 14 which fits fixedly and tightly to the upper end of downpipe section 12, an annular cap 16 which fits slidingly around the lower end region of the downpipe section 10, and a leaf-collecting, water-transmitting basket 18 which is accommodated between the base member and the cap.
In assembly of the leaf trap to the downpipe, the cap 16 is fitted first and pushed upwardly to allow the base member 14 to be fixed in position. As can be seen from Figure 1, the trap fits eccentrically in position relative to the downpipe, to enable its fitting even when the downpipe lies close to the wall of the building, as is usually the case.
References to the annular shape of the base member and the cap should be interpreted accordingly.
The base member 14 is a relatively shallow member the interior aperture of which fits closely around the downpipe section 12. The said aperture has at the top an internal lip 20 which engages against the upper cut edge of said downpipe section 12. The upper surface of the base member 14, adjacent its periphery, has a circumferential recess 22 formed between two upstands. A sealing element 24 is fitted in the bottom of said recess.
The cap 16 includes a relatively deep cylindrical portion 26 with a shaped rim 28 at its lower end. This shaped rim includes a portion which, when the cap is slid downwardly on the downpipe section 10, engages into the recess 22 in the base member 14 to seat against the sealing element 24.
The leaf-collecting basket 18 is of conical shape as shown, and seats removably into the rimmed aperture in the base member 14 to depend into the downpipe section 12. It can thus be removed to clear away trapped leaves and like material simply by lifting the cap 16, i.e. sliding it up the downpipe section 10, for a distance sufficient to create a gap between the base member 14 and the cap 16 through which said basket 18 can be withdrawn. When the basket has been cleared of debris, it can equally readily be replaced.
It will be appreciated from the drawing that the basket is of a stranded construction which normally readily permits the passage of water descending through the downpipe.
However, when the basket does become blocked, the task of clearing the leaf trap is simple, and in particular is facilitated by the fact that it is accessible from the ground, and access to the roof of the building is unnecessary. In practice, the leaf trap may be fitted anywhere in the range from a few centimetres to about a metre above the ground.
Various modifications of the above-described and illustrated arrangement are possible within the scope of the invention.