Abstract:
Most commercial &amp; residential buildings have rainwater collection systems that consist of leaders and gutters that collect water coming off the roof. These leaders and gutters are connected to drain pipes that channel the water away from the structure, usually into a dry well or storm drain. A substantial add-on to the leader and gutter system is a debris trap with an overflow port. The debris trap/overflow port may be attached to the leader at waist height (for easy access) to collect leaves, tree droppings, windblown litter and other materials. This debris can be easily discarded by opening an access panel to empty a built-in strainer. When a dry well or storm drain becomes saturated, water will back up through the leader causing seepage and overflow into the building and create erosion that can damage the foundation. The function of the overflow port is to divert water from the drain pipe away from the foundation. The debris trap/overflow port system not only channels water away from the building but also prevents overflow of organic materials that can accumulate along the foundation.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to debris traps for leaders, and in particular; to traps having an overflow port 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Many building structures include rainwater collection systems comprised of gutters that drain into leaders. It is important to collect rainwater and divert it from a building to avoid seepage back into the building or erosion that can weaken the building&#39;s foundation. 
     In some cases the leaders may feed the rainwater through an underground irrigation-type pipe or through a regular drainage pipe into a dry well or storm drain. However, leaves, tree droppings, windblown litter, material carried by insects and small animals and other debris, whether carried by the rainwater or not, can land and a gutter and eventually enter the drainage system. Such debris can clog drainage pipes, dry wells and storm drains, causing backups, and possible damage to the drainage system and to the protected structures. 
     To avoid clogging, the gutters must be cleaned out frequently. Traditionally, this is an inconvenient and dangerous task which involves having someone climb up a ladder to the roof, or even onto the roof. However, even when the gutters are cleaned regularly, clogging may still occur because all debris may not be removed before it has the opportunity to enter the leader. 
     See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 174,701; 289,473; 527,400; 543,922; 1,044,601; 1,076,075; 1,653,473; 2,887,073; 3,628,668; 4,798,028; 5,985,158; and 6,705,049 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided a debris trap for a leader from a gutter on a building. The trap has a hollow body with an access opening and a cover for covering the access opening. The body has a lower compartment and an upper chamber. The upper chamber communicates from above with an upper leader inlet adapted to couple to the leader. The lower compartment has a lower outlet and an overflow port above the lower outlet. The trap also has a strainer sized to be mounted inside the upper chamber above the lower compartment. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the invention a method is provided for trapping debris flowing through a leader from a gutter on a building. The method employs a strainer and a hollow body having a normally covered access opening, an upper leader inlet, a lower outlet and an overflow port above the lower outlet. The method includes the step of connecting the leader to the upper leader inlet and the lower outlet to a drainage pipe. Another step is mounting the strainer above the overflow port to trap the debris from the leader, as well as covering the access opening. The method includes the step of permitting water to overflow through the overflow port when water in the drain pipe backs up. 
     In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention a debris trap is provided for a leader from a gutter on a building. The trap has a hollow body with a pear shaped access opening and a cover with a pear-shaped periphery for covering the access opening. The access opening has a peripheral shelf for receiving the cover. The body has a lower compartment and an upper chamber. The upper chamber has an overall width exceeding that of the lower compartment. The outside of the upper chamber is at least partially pear shaped. The upper chamber communicates from above with an upper leader inlet adapted to couple to the leader. The leader inlet has a tapered female fitting. The lower compartment has a downwardly directed lower outlet and an overflow port above the lower outlet. The overflow port has a front conduit oriented to discharge in front of the trap at an acute angle from the compartment. The lower outlet includes a cylindrical female fitting. The hollow body has an upper pair of mounting flanges and a lower pair of mounting flanges. The upper and lower pairs are separately mounted at either end of the upper chamber. The trap also has a strainer sized to be mounted inside the upper chamber above the lower compartment and still be removable through the access opening. The strainer has a back and a front. The back has an overall height exceeding the central height in the front of the strainer. The access opening extends without descending below the front of the strainer. The strainer includes a lower grate subjacently encircled by a converging guide fence. 
     By employing apparatus or methods of the foregoing type an improved technique is achieved for trapping debris traveling through a leader or the like. In a disclosed embodiment a relatively large upper chamber has an upper inlet. This upper inlet is tapered so that a leader can be sealingly pressed into the inlet. The bottom of this upper chamber has a receptacle for holding a removable strainer. 
     The disclosed strainer is made of a mesh arranged with a flat back wall integral with a bowl-shaped front section. The floor of the strainer has an opening bordered by dependent walls forming a funnel-like guide fence. A number of louver rods forming a grating are mounted at the top of the fence. Thus, this grating and the mesh of the strainer will capture debris falling down through the upper chamber. 
     This converging fence fits into a tapered mouth that leads to a lower compartment. This lower compartment branches into a vertical outlet pipe and into an overflow spout angled downwardly at an acute angle to the vertical pipe. This vertical outlet pipe can feed an irrigation pipe, a dry well, or the like 
     With this arrangement debris carried by rainwater through a leader to the upper chamber will be captured in the strainer. By removing a cover on the upper chamber the captured debris can be periodically removed either directly by hand or by removing the strainer and cleaning it. 
     In some cases water that should flow through the vertical outlet pipe will back up. In that case the backed up water will tend to flow through the lower compartment and out the overflow spout. Because the spout is below the strainer, the trap has an overflow port that tends to prevent water from backing up into the strainer. 
     Avoiding a backflow into the strainer prevents reverse movement of debris upstream through the upper chamber or back through its leader. Such reverse upstream flow might cause clogging at locations that are not readily accessible. Also, backflow can cause agitation that might break the debris into smaller particles that are more difficult to clear or that may then bypass the strainer. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above brief description as well as other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments in accordance with the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a debris trap without a strainer and with its cover removed, in accordance with principles of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a strainer adapted for mounting in the trap of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of the debris trap of  FIG. 1 , sectioned vertically; 
         FIG. 4  is a front elevational view of the debris trap of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of the debris trap of  FIG. 4 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the trap of  FIG. 1  installed on a building and connected through a drainage pipe to a dry well. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS.  1  and  3 - 5 , a debris trap  10  is shown having an upper leader inlet  30 , upper chamber  20 , and lower compartment  52 . Upper chamber  20  has an overall width that exceeds that of lower compartment  52 . The leader trap  10  is made from a rust resistant material such as aluminum, copper, galvanized steel or vinyl. In one embodiment debris trap  10  is an integral unit, injection molded from thermoplastic. 
     A leader  11  from a gutter on a building is placed inside the upper leader inlet  30  of the debris trap  10 . The inlet  30  is a tapered female fitting which is comprised of two sections. The upper section  32  of the inlet is a rectangular tube sized to receive leader  11  and has front and side walls that overhang lower section  34 . As an option for some embodiments, some or all of the walls of section  32  will thicken in a downward direction to provide internal tapering. 
     The internal passage of section  34  is tapered and smaller than that of section  32 . This tapering is accomplished with a back wall (and optionally side walls) that thickens in a downward direction, and a front wall with a uniform thickness but tilted to accomplished the downward tapering. The outside surfaces of the back and side walls of lower section  34  are joined at right angles and are parallel to the axis of upper section  32 . Leader  11  passes through upper section  32  and is then compressed as it is jammed into tapered lower section  34 , to provide a substantially leak-free seal. 
     The upper chamber  20  of the trap  10  has a flat back and is otherwise a partially pear-shaped, hollow body. The internal volume of upper chamber  20  is relatively large, providing a substantial capacity for collecting debris. The top of chamber  20  communicates with section  34  except for flat ledge  56 , which extends outwardly a from the lower front edge of section  34 . The top of chamber  20  has the same width as section  34  but a greater depth (front to back dimension). 
     On the front of upper chamber  20  is an access opening  21  with a pear-shaped periphery. Projecting inwardly from the rim of opening  21  is a peripheral shelf  22 , which can receive a cover  25  to close the access opening  21 . Cover  25  will be slightly domed to blend smoothly with the pear shape of upper chamber  20 . Shelf  22  leads into an upper rectangular alcove  23  located at the center of the top straight portion of shelf  22 . Directly below alcove  23  at the nadir of opening  21 , shelf  22  leads into a lower rectangular alcove  24 . Alcoves  23  and  24  are both shown with a screw hole. 
     Cover  25  is shaped to fit closely into access opening  21  and rest on shelf  22 . The thickness of cover  25  matches the distance from the peripheral shelf  22  to the outer surface of upper chamber  20 . An upper wing  26  and a lower wing  27  with central screw holes are integrally formed in the cover to fit into alcoves  23  and  24 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , screws  28  may be threaded through the screw holes in wings  26  and  27  and into the screw holes in alcoves  23  and  24  to secure cover  25  to the upper chamber  20 . 
     The bottom of chamber  20  distends inwardly at the front and sides to form an internal receptacle  58  encompassed by walls that are curved except for a flat wall in back. Receptacle  58  descends partially into rectangular base  35  before reaching a smaller tapered mouth  60  funneling into rectangular outlet  62  in base  35 . 
     Below base  35  is previously mentioned lower compartment  52  of debris trap  10 . The lower compartment  52  has a hollow, branched section  64  with a flat back and saddle-shaped front  66 . The distal portions of the sides of section  64  are rounded somewhat into a pair of slightly protruding cheeks. The distal portion of front  66  is formed into a downwardly sloped spout  54  providing a front conduit  53  having a D-shaped cross section (D rotated clockwise 90°). Spout  54  serves as an overflow port when water backs up into trap  10 . 
     The front wall of the upper half of section  64  distends inwardly to form a substantially rectangular passage  68  communicating with rectangular outlet  62 . Passage  68  is larger than outlet  62  and extends transversely past the borders of outlet  62  except in front where passages  62  and  68  have coplanar walls. The distention ends at forked region  70  which communicates with oblique conduit  53  and rectangular vertical passage  74  in section  64 . 
     Passage  74  communicates with integral pipe  76 , which has walls of uniform thickness with a D-shaped cross section (the flat side facing backwardly). Pipe  76  communicates with a relatively larger fitting  50  whose external outline provides a D-shaped cross section (flat facing back) encompassing a cylindrical passage  78 . Accordingly, fitting  50  operates as a lower outlet offering a cylindrical female fitting. The lower outlet  50  is downwardly directed and connects to a drainage pipe  80 . Conduit  54  discharges at an acute angle relative to outlet  50 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the upper chamber includes an upper pair  31 ,  33  and a lower pair  36 ,  37  of mounting flanges with fastener holes, each coplanar with the back of trap  10 . The upper pair  31 , a  33  is mounted on each side of the upper inlet  30  just below the upper section  32 . The lower pair  36 , and  37  is mounted on each side of the upper chamber  20  just below the base  35 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , strainer  40  is formed with a common screening material made of aluminum, fiberglass, nylon, polyester, or the like. Strainer  40  is bowl-shaped except for a flat back portion  41 , which is bordered by vertical side edges, a convex bottom edge, and a top edge with an inverted V shape. Bowl-shaped portion  42  in front of flat back  41  has a rim that slopes downwardly from flat back  41  to a nadir centered in front. Thus, the overall height of the back portion  41  exceeds the central height at this nadir of the front portion  42  of the strainer  40  (height being used in the sense of elevation of the rim). 
     Strainer  40  also includes a handle  44  at the peak of its back portion  41  to assist the user in removing and replacing the strainer  40  in the upper chamber  20 . The handle  44  is metal band encompassing a triangular finger opening. 
     The floor of bowl-shaped portion  42  has a rectangular opening coinciding with the upper edges of the four walls of four-sided fence  43 , each wall being a trapezoidal panel joined to form a funnel-like, converging guide fence. In this embodiment fence  43  is die-formed from aluminum with flanges that are secured to the bottom of bowl-shaped portion  42  by tack welding, glue, crimping, or any other durable method. Louver bars  49  are attached to the fence  43  across its upper, rectangular opening, creating a lower grate. Alternatively, grate  49  may be configured as a stand-alone unit and constructed so that it can be dropped into the bottom opening in bowl-shaped portion  42 . 
     The strainer  40  is sized so that it can be removed for cleaning, and then replaced inside the leader trap  10  through the access opening  21 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , when the strainer  40  is in position inside the upper chamber  20 , the converging fence  43  extending downward through mouth  60  into base  35 . 
     To facilitate an understanding of the principles associated with the foregoing apparatus, its operation will be briefly described in connection with  FIGS. 1-6 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , galvanized screws  38  may be used to mount the leader trap  10  to a building  12  through the mounting flanges  31 ,  33 ,  36 , and  37 .  FIG. 6  shows the leader trap  10  connected to a leader  11  approximately 3 feet above the ground. 
     Rainwater  5  flows through the gutters (not shown) of building  12  into a leader  11 . The leader  11  is connected to the upper inlet  30 . As the leader  11  is force fit into lower section  34  of inlet  30 , the flow of the rainwater  5  enters trap  10  without leaking. 
     Rainwater  5  then flows from leader  11  through leader inlet  30  into upper chamber  20 . As rainwater  5  flows through the strainer  40 , any debris  6  (leaves, pebbles, etc.) that may be flowing with rainwater  5  is trapped in the strainer. Therefore, the debris  6  remains in the upper chamber  20  and is not permitted to enter lower compartment  52 . 
     The strained rainwater  5  continues to flow into the lower compartment  52  and through lower outlet  50 . There the rainwater  5  flows into outlet pipe  80 , which connects underground to drainage pipe  13 . Pipe  13  is pitched downwardly and drains into underground dry well  14 . 
     If pipe  13  and dry well  14  cannot accommodate the water flowing into trap  10 , water will back up into the lower compartment  52 . This backup may occur either because pipe  13  and dry well  14  have insufficient capacity or are clogged or broken. In this case, overflow port  54  is provided to allow the rainwater  5  to discharge at an acute angle directly onto the ground (in some cases onto an optional splash block (not shown)) away from the building  12 . 
     It will be noted that because overflow conduit  54  is below strainer  40 , water will not tend to backup into the strainer but will instead be quickly discharged through conduit  54 . Avoiding a backflow into the strainer  40  prevents movement of debris  6  upstream into inlet  30  or leader  11 , which might cause clogging at locations that are not readily accessible. Also, backflow can cause agitation that might break the debris into smaller particles that are more difficult to clear or that may bypass the strainer. 
     Since all debris  6  is trapped by strainer  40 , its is necessary for a user to occasionally clear out upper chamber  20 . To do so, the user removes screws  28  that are holding the cover  25  on access opening  21 . Once cover  25  is removed, the user can manually remove any debris  6  inside the upper chamber  20 . In addition, the user can grasp handle  44  of strainer  40  and remove it through access opening  21 . After discarding any remaining debris  6 , the clean strainer  40  can be replaced inside the upper chamber  20  with fence  43  inside mouth  60  ( FIG. 3 ). Then, cover  25  can be put in place on shelf  22  of access opening  21  with wings  26  and  27  in alcoves  23  and  24  before reinstalling screws  28 . 
     It is appreciated that various modifications may be implemented with respect to the above described embodiments. For example, the leader trap  10  may be constructed as a single unit or may be molded in multiple sections that would later be fastened together. Instead of having a pear-shaped upper chamber, the trap can have a shape that overall is rectangular, spherical, cylindrical, polyhedral, etc. While an acutely angled spout is shown as a overflow port, some embodiments may have a simple fitting to which a pipe or flexible hose can be connected to carry overflowing water away from the building. In some embodiments the overflow spout will swivel to allow the user to adjust the elevational and azimuthal angle of discharge. The disclosed strainer can have a variety of shapes including simple shapes such as a cylindrical or rectangular basket. In some embodiments the access opening can be on the side, and can have any one of a variety of outlines such as rectangular, circular, oval, polygonal, etc. Also, in some embodiments, the strainer may be built in (non-removable) so the user will simply remove trapped debris manually. The cover for the access opening can be hinged, can snap into place, can slide into position on channels, or can be held in place with any one of a variety of fasteners. Also, the size and capacity of the debris trap can vary depending upon the expected volume of water flow and the anticipated amount of debris. 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.