Abstract:
A downspout extension has a low-profile to direct rainwater away from a building. A transition adapter can be used to transition from a generally circular or square cross-section of a downspout to a low-profile cross-section of a corrugated duct of the extension. The extension can include internal supports to withstand being stepped on and can have a generally rectangular or trapezoidal cross-section with a longer width than height. The corrugated duct can also be comprised of integrated accordion corrugation sections and transverse non-collapsible ribs to give the corrugated duct extension greater flexibility. The extension can be connected to a downspout using a flexible elbow duct, a downspout connector, and a downspout adapter. The transition adapter of the extension can also be connected directly to a downspout.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a non-provisional of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/285,477, filed Dec. 10, 2009, entitled “Low Profile Downspout Extension And Landscape Drainage Assembly”, which is incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to gutter downspouts and landscape drainage as well as landscape maintenance in general. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     For years buildings have been equipped with gutters and downspouts for removing water from roofs and away from foundations. Typically there are a number of downspouts connected to the gutters of the building. At the exit end of these downspouts a fixed angle elbow connector is typically utilized to direct the rain water along the ground in the direction away from the side of the building. This results in the rain water being directed only a short distance away from the building often resulting in leaks and cracks and other types of water damage to the foundation of the building. 
     Another piece of downspout extending on the ground away from the building can be connected to the elbow to exhaust the water further away from the building. However, this conventionally is restricted to a linear direction and creates an obstacle for maintaining the landscape and walking around the perimeter of the building. 
     These gutter systems and downspouts are also installed underneath decks where under deck drainage systems are needed. These areas have presented some of the same problems that roof drainage systems have presented as well as also being in a position that can cause a tripping hazard if installed on walkway areas. 
     Water draining and runoff from the surrounding area must be taken into account when developing new land and constructing buildings and building parking lots. Many times drainage pipes in culverts are installed to move rain water away from these developed areas. Known problems exist when rock is below the surface of the ground. It requires increased labor and cost to dig up rock or dig around the rock in order to install buried drainage pipe. 
     Some conventional gutter systems use solid gutter covers to prevent leaves and debris from clogging the system and preventing the proper flow of water to the downspouts. These solid gutter covers allow the water to pass through and into the gutter while the leaves and debris wash over the top of the surface. However, sometimes on buildings with two tiered roofs with a solid gutter cover system a downspout on the upper roof is set up to direct water onto the lower roof and the lower roof guttering system. During a heavy rain, water from the upper roof directed to the lower roof combined with the rain failing on the lower roof can easily exceed the capacity of the solid gutter cover system on the lower roof downspout causing water to flow over the solid gutter and fall directly adjacent the building. This can cause additional drainage and foundation issues to the building. 
     Attempts have been made in the art to provide a downspout extension that directs water away from a building without simply adding another piece of downspout material. Some examples of these attempts are the bendable corrugated plastic pipe and adapters that are connected to a downspout, splash blocks and downspout pipe extensions. 
     One example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,006 issued to Sweers, which is an open trough extension that cannot be buried. The Sweers patent allows the water to run across the ground in a canal. Because the trough is open it must be clear of debris to allow the water to flow. 
     Another example is the U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,825 issued to Smith and Nobel, which includes a bendable corrugated pipe downspout extension that can be buried in an attempt to hide the downspout extension. This requires digging often around shrubs and trees which can be very labor intensive due to the roots and can often damage and kill the shrubs and trees. The roots of the shrubs and trees can also grow and penetrate through the buried downspout extension walls, which can lead to clogging of the downspout extension, prevent proper drainage of rain water, and produce leaking near the foundation of the house or building. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a flexible low profile downspout extension and landscape drainage apparatus. The draining apparatus includes a transition adapter for connection to a downspout and an exit end with a larger width than height so that the exit end forms an oblong shape. The transition adapter exit end can be connected to a corrugated duct where the connected ends have the same width and height as each other so that they can be closely received within one another. The corrugated duct then has an exit end or an outlet end which allows water to be directed further away from the house or building. 
     Another embodiment includes the draining apparatus with a corrugated duct and a transition adapter to be fit to the end of the downspout as well as a plurality of supports inside the corrugated duct to withstand vertical forces in order to maintain the separation between the duct top portion and bottom portion. The invention allows draining or extending the downspout by attaching a transition adapter to a downspout where the transition adapter has an exit end with a larger width than height then providing a corrugated duct to be attached to the exit end of the transition adapter allowing fluid transfer from the transition adapter to the corrugated duct. The corrugated duct is then laid across a surface and supported internally to withstand vertical forces in order to maintain the shape of the duct. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a flexible low profile downspout extension with enlarged views of the transverse non-collapsible ribs and inward reinforcing supports of an embodiment. The drawing shows an embodiment attached to the downspout of a building. 
         FIG. 1A  is an inlet end of the corrugated duct. 
         FIG. 1B  is an exit end of the transition adapter. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention showing the connection of multiple corrugated ducts end to end. 
         FIG. 2A  is an enlarged detailed view shows an embodiment of the invention allowing the corrugated ducts to connect. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of an embodiment of the invention connected to a downspout which has a fixed elbow attached. 
         FIG. 3A  is an enlarged side view of an embodiment of the invention using a flexible elbow duct to connect to the downspout without the fixed elbow duct attached. 
         FIG. 3B  is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3A  showing movement of the flexible elbow duct. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an embodiment showing accordion corrugation sections separated by transverse non-collapsible ribs. 
         FIG. 4A  is an enlarged view of an accordion corrugation section. 
         FIG. 4B  is a top view of the accordion corrugation section showing the ability to adjust the angle of the corrugated duct. 
         FIG. 4C  is a side view of the accordion corrugation sections showing the ability to adjust the angle of the outlet in a vertical manner. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of a sliding adjustable elbow. 
         FIG. 5A  is a side view of a sliding adjustable elbow inlet end. 
         FIG. 5B  is a side view of a sliding adjustable elbow outlet end. 
         FIG. 6  is the downspout connector and removable downspout adapter of an embodiment of the invention shown connected to the end of a downspout. 
         FIG. 6A  is a side view of the removable downspout adapter. 
         FIG. 6B  is a perspective view of the removable downspout adapter. 
         FIG. 7  shows an embodiment of the invention connected to the downspout of a building covered with landscape material. 
         FIG. 8  shows an embodiment of the invention attached to the downspout underneath a deck. 
         FIG. 8A  shows detail of the embodiment of  FIG. 8  with an example of a pressure load applied. 
         FIG. 9  is an embodiment of the invention attached to the downspout on an upper roof of a building. 
         FIG. 10  is an embodiment of the invention in an assembly view. 
         FIG. 11  is an embodiment of the invention showing the transition adapter ready to directly connect to a fixed elbow end of a downspout. 
         FIG. 12  is a side view of an embodiment of the invention with the transition adapter directly connected to the fixed elbow end of a downspout. 
         FIG. 13  is a side view of an embodiment of the invention with the transition adapter directly connected to the fixed elbow end of a downspout on one end and connected to a corrugated pipe on the other end. 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment in accordance with the current disclosure showing an example of a corrugated duct with a single row of supports. 
         FIG. 15  is a partial perspective view of the corrugated duct shown in  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 15A  is a partial top view of the corrugated duct shown in  FIG. 15 . 
         FIG. 16  is a partial top view showing an example of a corrugated duct with a two rows of supports. 
         FIG. 17  is a side view of an embodiment of corrugated ducts disassembled. 
         FIG. 18  is a partial perspective view of an embodiment of corrugated ducts disassembled showing examples of latching members, locking rib, and collars. 
         FIG. 19  is a partial perspective view showing an embodiment of a transition adapter and a corrugated duct in an unattached position. 
         FIG. 19A  is a partial perspective view of  FIG. 19 . 
         FIG. 19B  is a partial cross-sectional view of the transition adapter and the corrugated duct shown in  FIG. 19  in an attached position. 
         FIG. 20  is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a downspout connector, a transition adapter and a corrugated duct molded as a single piece. 
         FIG. 21  is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a downspout connector, a transition adapter and a corrugated duct molded as at least two separate pieces. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A draining apparatus  1  is shown in  FIG. 1  comprising a transition adapter  2  and a duct  3 , which can be corrugated. An embodiment of the transition adapter  2  has a receiving end  4  for connection to a downspout  23  or to the flexible elbow duct  20  of a downspout connector  25 , and an exit end  5  having a width  6  and a height  7 , shown in  FIG. 1B , where the transition adapter exit end width  6  is larger than the transition adapter exit height  7 . 
     The duct  3  has a first end  8  and a second end  9 . As seen in  FIG. 1A , the first end  8  has a height  10  and a width  11 . The first duct end height  10  and first duct end width  11  each have dimensions to allow one of the transition adapter exit end  5  and the first duct end  8  can be closely received within the other. The second corrugated duct end  9  has an outlet  12 . 
     An embodiment of the duct  3 , which can be a corrugated duct, includes a corrugated duct first end width  11  that is at least three times larger than the corrugated duct first end height  10 . Another embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  includes a corrugated duct  3  that has a length  13 , best shown in  FIG. 2 , perpendicular to the corrugated duct first end width  11  and corrugated duct first end height  10 . The duct width  11  and duct height  10  may be substantially uniform throughout the duct length  13 . An embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  can also include a corrugated duct  3  made of plastic. 
     An embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  includes a corrugated duct  3  with a top portion  14 , bottom portion  15 , two side portions  16  and  17 , and at least one support  18 . The two side portions  16  and  17  separate the top portion  14  and bottom portion  15  to create the duct height  10 . The support  18  can be located inside the corrugated duct  3  to withstand vertical forces in order to maintain the duct height  10 , separating the duct top portion  14  and the duct bottom portion  15 . 
     In an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1 , the support  18  can be integrally formed with the corrugated duct  3 . The support  18  can extend from the corrugated duct bottom portion  15 , or from the corrugated duct top portion  14 . Another embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  can include supports  18  extended from both the corrugated duct top portion  14  and the corrugated duct bottom portion  15  where each support  18  extended from the top portion  14  is complemented by an opposing support  18  extended from the bottom portion  15 . An embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  can include a corrugated duct  3  where the supports  18  are intermittently spaced along the corrugated duct length  13 . These supports  18  can be positioned proximate to the center of the corrugated duct  3 , as best seen in  FIGS. 14 ,  15 ,  15 A, and  18 . Another embodiment can include multiple supports  18  that are positioned in groups of at least two supports  18 , with each group of two supports  18  being transversely aligned with the corrugated duct width  11  and another group of two supports  18  to form multiple rows of supports  18 , as best seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  1   a ,  4 ,  4 A, and  17 . The single or multiple rows of supports  18  can have a single support  18  at each location or have complementary or opposing top and bottom supports  18  at each location. 
     The supports  18  can allow the corrugated duct  3  to withstand a pressure loading of up to about 8.5 PSI on the top portion  14  without substantial plastic deformation in order to maintain the shape of the corrugated duct  3  when an adult weighing between about 150 lbs and 300 lbs steps on the corrugated duct  3  with a shoe footprint area of between about 36 and 65 square inches. Another embodiment of the corrugated duct  3  with supports  18  allows the corrugated duct  3  to withstand a pressure loading on the top portion  14  of at least about 2.3 PSI without substantial plastic deformation. In an embodiment of the corrugated duct  3 , the supports  18  can be separated from one another by an interval length  19  (see enlarged view in  FIG. 1 ) of less than about 5 inches to prevent stepping on the corrugated duct  3  between supports  18 . 
     A cross-section of an embodiment of the corrugated duct  3  is shown in  FIG. 1A  where the corrugated duct top portion  14  has a width  40  and the corrugated bottom portion  15  has a width  41 . The top portion width  40  is less than the bottom portion width  41  so that the side portions  16  and  17  make an acute angle  42  with the bottom portion  15 . This embodiment can further reduce the tripping hazard presented by the corrugated duct  3 . 
     The transition adapter can have multiple shapes to facilitate the connection between the corrugated duct  3  and a downspout  23 . For example, while the transition adapter  2  or  76  can be shaped to convert the cross section size of the exit end of the downspout  23  to the size of the height  10  and width  11  of the first end  8  of the corrugated duct  3 , these transition adapters  2  and  76  vary in the footprint length of this conversion. Both transition adapters  2  or  76  can include latching members  37 A that can be positioned on a collar  106  to pass through the first end  8  of the corrugated duct  3  and engage the locking rib  102  to secure the transition adapter and corrugated duct  3  together. Additionally the transition adapters can include supports  18  used to maintain the open cross-section of the end  4 . 
     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  can further comprise a removable downspout adapter  24 , a downspout connector  25 , and a flexible elbow duct  20  to be used to attach the transition adapter  2  to the end of a downspout  23 .  FIG. 6  shows a close up view of an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  connected to the downspout  23 . The removable downspout adapter  24  has a plurality of flexible attachment members  26 , each attachment member  26  has a first end  27  connected to the removable downspout adapter  24  and a second end  28  having a hole  29  for fastening the downspout adapter  24  to the downspout  23 . The downspout connector  25  has a first end  30  and a second end  31 . The first downspout connector end  30  is configured to mate with the removable downspout adapter  24 . The flexible elbow duct  20  has a first end  21  and a second end  22 . The first flexible elbow duct end  21  is configured to mate with the second downspout connector end  31  and the second flexible elbow duct end  22  is configured to mate with the transition adapter receiving end  4  as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  3  and  3 B. The removable downspout adapter  24 , downspout connector  25 , and flexible elbow duct  20  can also be molded and/or manufactured together as a single unit or separately as individual components. 
       FIG. 3  shows an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1 , using a removable downspout adapter  24 , a downspout connector  25 , and a flexible elbow duct  20  to connect the transition adapter receiving end  4  to the end of a fixed elbow downspout  32  or a downspout  23  directly shown in  FIG. 3A . 
       FIGS. 2 ,  17 , and  18  show embodiments of the draining apparatus  1  where the corrugated duct first end  8  and the corrugated duct second end  9  can be closely received one within the other to allow a plurality of corrugated ducts  3  to be joined together. This allows the corrugated duct  3  to be extended a greater distance. The corrugated ducts  3  can have latching members  37  located on either the corrugated duct first end  8  or the corrugated duct second end  9  to allow the ends of the ducts  8  and  9  to more securely be received within one another. The latching members preferably extend outside the perimeter of the corrugated duct outlet  12 . In an embodiment, the latching members  37  are positioned on a collar  98  on the second end  9  and the first end  8  includes a flared collar  100  that is sized to extend around the second end  9  and the latching members  37 . Behind the flared collar  100  is a locking rib  102  positioned to engage the latching members  37  on the collar  98  to removable secure the sections of the corrugated ducts  3  together. The latching members  37  can be positioned on the top bottom and or sides of the collar  98 . 
       FIG. 4  shows the corrugated duct  3  of an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  including a plurality of accordion corrugation sections  38  and transverse non-collapsible ribs  39 . Each accordion corrugation section  38  can be vertically and/or horizontally flexible to allow the section of the corrugated duct  3  to be adjusted. The transverse non-collapsible ribs  39  can be integral to the corrugated duct  3  to aid in maintaining the shape of the corrugated duct  3  with each transverse non-collapsible rib  39  separating adjacent accordion corrugation sections  38 .  FIG. 4B  shows the accordion corrugation section  38  with the accordion corrugation section  38  adjusted to make a horizontal angle  62  and  FIG. 4C  shows the accordion corrugation section  38  with the accordion corrugation section  38  adjusted to make a vertical angle  63  with the ground. In addition,  FIG. 4  also shows an embodiment of the corrugated duct  3  where the supports  18  are integrally formed with the transverse non-collapsible ribs  39 . This configuration can allow the support  18  to more easily maintain the shape of the corrugated duct  3 . 
       FIG. 5  shows a sliding elbow duct  57  of an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1 . The sliding elbow duct  57  can be made up of two interlocking plastic pieces  72  and  73  that can slide within one another to adjust the sliding elbow duct angle  59 . The sliding elbow duct  57  has a first end  70  shown in  FIG. 5A  with a height  74  and a width  75  to allow the sliding elbow duct  57  to be connected to a corrugated duct second end  9 . The sliding elbow duct  57  also has a second end  71  shown in  FIG. 5B  with height  51  and a width  60  to allow the second end  71  to be connected to a corrugated duct first end  8 . Another embodiment of the sliding elbow duct  57  has a sliding elbow duct first end  70  and sliding elbow duct second end  71  that can connect to either the corrugated duct first end  8  or the corrugated duct second end  9 . An embodiment of the sliding elbow duct  57  can also include latching members  68  to connect the corrugated duct  3  more securely. In addition, an embodiment of the sliding elbow duct  57  can have integrated supports  58  to maintain the shape of the sliding elbow duct  57 . 
       FIG. 7  shows an embodiment of the draining apparatus covered with brush  43  attached to a downspout  23  of a building  44 . The low profile nature of the draining apparatus  1  allows the draining apparatus  1  to be concealed by brush  43  and hidden out of the way. The corrugated duct outlet  12  can then be extended beyond the brush  43  to allow for an unblocked discharge of fluid. 
       FIGS. 8-8A  show an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  attached to an under deck downspout  45  and extended across a walking path  46 . An embodiment of the corrugated duct  3  is shown including integrated transverse non-collapsible ribs  39  and accordion corrugation sections  38 . An embodiment of the corrugated duct  3  can include supports  18  integral to the transverse non-collapsible ribs  39 . 
     An embodiment of the accordion corrugation section  38  can be compressed to reduce the interval length  81  between the supports  18  to less than about 5 inches. The accordion corrugation sections  38  can be compressed when placed in a walkway  46  to prevent stepping on the corrugated duct  3  between the supports  18 . The supports  18  can allow the corrugated duct  3  to withstand a pressure loading of up to about 8.5 pounds per square inch (PSI) on the top portion  14  without substantial plastic deformation in order to maintain the shape of the corrugated duct  3  when an adult weighing between about 150 lbs and 300 lbs steps on the corrugated duct  3  with a shoe footprint area of between about 36 sq. in and 65 sq. in. Another embodiment of the accordion corrugation sections  38  with supports  18  can allow the corrugated duct  3  to withstand a pressure loading of at least about 2.3 PSI on the top portion  14  without substantial plastic deformation. An embodiment of each support  18  can withstand a compression force of up to about 300 lbs applied by an adult when stepping on a transverse group of supports  18  without substantial plastic deformation. Another embodiment of each support  18  can withstand a compression force of at least 75 lbs without substantial plastic deformation. The low profile nature of the corrugated duct  3  can also reduce the tripping hazard presented by the corrugated duct  3  placed in a walking path  46 . It is noted that the transition adapter can have a vertically oriented first end  4  or a horizontally oriented first end  4  depending on the attachment of the transition adapter to the down spout  23  or downspout connector  25 . 
       FIG. 9  shows an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  connected to an upper roof downspout  47  where the corrugated duct  3  can be placed on the surface of the lower roof  48 . The corrugated duct outlet  12  can be placed to direct fluid into the lower roof gutter  49 . The outlet end can also be placed directly in a lower roof gutter  49  that has a solid gutter cover  50  to release the fluid directly into the gutter  49  and bypassing the gutter cover  50 . 
     An embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  is shown in  FIG. 10  in an exploded view including a removable downspout adapter  24 , a downspout connector  25 , a flexible elbow duct  20 , a transition adapter  2  or  76 , and a corrugated duct  77 . In an embodiment of the downspout connector  25 , the downspout connector second end  31  has attachment hooks  51  for securely connecting the downspout connector  25  to the first end of the flexible elbow duct  21 . In an embodiment of the flexible elbow duct  20 , the second end  22  includes attachment hooks  52  to more securely connect to the transition adapter receiving end  4 . Additionally, an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  can have a transition adapter  2  or  76  and a corrugated duct  77 , where the corrugated duct  77  has a first end  54  with a width  64  and a height  65  so the corrugated duct first end  54  can be snugly received within the transition adapter exit end  53 . In a further embodiment of the draining apparatus  1 , the corrugated duct width  64  and corrugated duct height  65  are substantially uniform throughout the corrugated duct length  13 . 
     The corrugated duct can have alternate embodiments. For example, the corrugated duct  3 A can have a substantially rigid configuration that allows little to no lateral movement with respect of the axis of the corrugated duct  3 A. Alternately, the corrugated duct  3 B can include sufficient flexibility to allow lateral movement with respect of the axis of the corrugated duct  3 B. 
       FIGS. 11 and 12  show an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  including a transition adapter  2  or  76  and a corrugated duct  3 . The transition adapter receiving end  4  can be sized to fit directly to the end of the downspout  23  with a fixed elbow end attached  32 . An embodiment of the corrugated duct  3  shown in  FIG. 12  can include accordion corrugation sections  38  and transverse non-collapsible ribs  39  that allow the corrugated duct  3  to more easily move from the transition adapter exit end  5  to a surface  80 . This can further reduce the tripping hazard presented by the corrugated duct  3 . 
       FIG. 13  shows an embodiment of the draining apparatus  1  including a second transition adapter  55  that can be substantially similar to the first transition adapter  76 . The second transition adapter  55  has a receiving end  66  and an output end  67  where the receiving end  66  can be connected to the corrugated duct second end  9 . The second transition adapter output end  67  can be connected to a draining pipe  56  to allow fluid to be moved directly from the draining apparatus  1  into the draining pipe  56 . 
     Thus, although there have been described particular embodiments of the present invention of a new and useful Low Profile Downspout Extension and Landscape Drainage Assembly it is not intended that such references be construed as limitations upon the scope of this invention except as set forth in the following claims.