Patent Publication Number: US-7895793-B1

Title: Downspout assembly

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure relates to downspouts for gutters. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a downspout assembly which removes debris from water collected from a gutter. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Downspouts are conduits which divert rainwater from a gutter on a building to the ground. However, due to their narrow design, many conventional downspouts may not be suitable for draining large volumes of rainwater from a gutter in heavy rain conditions. Moreover, conventional downspouts may have a tendency to become clogged with debris. 
     Therefore, a downspout assembly is needed which is capable of draining large volumes of rainwater from a gutter and removing debris from the rainwater. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure is generally directed to a downspout assembly. An illustrative embodiment of the downspout assembly includes a downspout, a downspout extension disposed in fluid communication with the downspout and a strainer basket seated in the downspout extension. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure will now be made, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view, partially in section, of an illustrative embodiment of the downspout assembly; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of an illustrative embodiment of the downspout assembly; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of an illustrative embodiment of the downspout assembly, more particularly illustrating an exemplary technique for removing a strainer basket from the assembly; and 
         FIG. 4  is a longitudinal sectional view of an illustrative embodiment of the downspout assembly. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. 
     Referring to the drawings, an illustrative embodiment of the downspout assembly is generally indicated by reference numeral  1 . The downspout assembly  1  includes a downspout  18  having a downspout funnel  19 . The downspout funnel  19  has an inlet end  19   a  and an outlet end  19   b  which is spaced-apart from the inlet end  19   a . In some embodiments, the inlet end  19   a  may be wider than the outlet end  19   b  of the downspout funnel  19  and the sides of the downspout funnel  19  may taper from the inlet end  19   a  to the outlet end  19   b . Downspout attachment flanges  21  may be provided on the inlet end  19   a  of the downspout funnel  19  to facilitate attachment of the downspout funnel  19  to a gutter  24  ( FIGS. 2-4 ) in fluid communication with a gutter opening  25  ( FIG. 4 ) in the gutter  24 . A generally elongated downspout conduit  20  may extend from the outlet end  19   b  of the downspout funnel  19 . A downspout lid  8  may be provided on the downspout conduit  20  for purposes which will be hereinafter described. The downspout lid  8  may include a lid flange  9  which extends outwardly from the downspout conduit  20  and a lid sleeve  10  which extends from the lid flange  9  in surrounding relationship with respect to the downspout conduit  20 . The downspout lid  8  may be capable of sliding vertically on the downspout conduit  20  of the downspout  18 , as indicated by the dashed arrow in  FIG. 3 , for purposes which will be hereinafter described. 
     A downspout extension  2  may be disposed in fluid communication with the downspout conduit  20  of the downspout  18 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , in some embodiments the downspout extension  2  may be capable of pivoting into and out of the plane of the downspout conduit  20 . A strainer basket  3  may be seated in the downspout extension  2 . The strainer basket  3  may include a strainer basket flange  4  and a strainer mesh  5  which extends from the strainer basket flange  4 . In some embodiments, multiple springs  6  may be selectively connected between the strainer basket flange  4  of the strainer basket  3  and the lid flange  9  of the downspout lid  8  to secure the downspout extension  2  within the plane of and in fluid communication with the downspout conduit  20 . Other mechanisms known by those skilled in the art may be used to secure the downspout extension  2  within the plane of and in fluid communication with the downspout conduit  20 . As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , an indicator gauge  15  may be coupled to the strainer basket  3 , such as via an indicator gauge mount bracket  14 , to indicate when the strainer basket  3  is full of debris in operation of the downspout assembly  1 , which will be hereinafter described. 
     In typical use of the downspout assembly  1 , the downspout funnel  19  of the downspout  18  is attached to a gutter  24  on a building  28  ( FIG. 3 ) which may be a home or business, for example and without limitation. The downspout attachment flanges  21  ( FIG. 1 ) provided on the inlet end  19   a  of the downspout funnel  19  may be used to attach the downspout funnel  19  to the gutter  24 , with the inlet end  19   a  of the downspout funnel  19  disposed in fluid communication with a gutter opening  25  ( FIG. 4 ) in the gutter  24 . The strainer basket  3  is seated in the downspout extension  2  by pivoting the downspout extension  2  out of the plane of the downspout conduit  20 , as shown in  FIG. 3 ; seating the strainer basket  3  in the upper end of the downspout extension  2 ; and pivoting the downspout extension  2  back into the plane of the downspout conduit  20 , respectively, such that the downspout extension  2  is disposed in fluid communication with the downspout conduit as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 . The springs  6  may be attached between the strainer basket flange  4  of the strainer basket  3  and the lid flange  9  of the downspout lid  8 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , to secure the downspout extension  2  in fluid communication with the downspout conduit  20 . 
     During rainfall, rainwater (not shown) is collected in the gutter  24  and falls through the gutter opening  25  ( FIG. 4 ) and into the downspout assembly  1 . The rainwater flows first through the downspout funnel  19  and then through the downspout conduit  20  of the downspout  18 , after which it flows through the strainer mesh  5  of the strainer  3  and is eventually discharged typically from the bottom of the downspout extension  2  onto the ground (not shown). Under heavy rain conditions, the wide inlet end  19   a  of the downspout funnel  19  facilitates flow of large volumes of water from the gutter  24  into the downspout assembly  1 , preventing overflow of the gutter  24 . 
     As the rainwater flows through the strainer basket  3 , the strainer mesh  5  removes debris (not shown) such as sticks, leaves, pine straw and the like from the rainwater before the rainwater is discharged from the downspout extension  2  to prevent clogging of the downspout assembly  1  and overflow of the gutter  24 . The indicator gauge  15  may indicate when the strainer basket  3  requires emptying or replacement. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the strainer basket  3  may be selectively removed from the downspout extension  2  for emptying or replacement purposes by detaching the springs  6  from the lid flange  9  of the downspout lid  8 ; sliding the downspout lid  8  upwardly on the funnel conduit  20 , as indicated by the straight dashed arrow in  FIG. 3 ; pivoting the downspout extension  2  out of the plane of the downspout conduit  20 ; removing the strainer basket  3  from the downspout extension  2 ; cleaning the strainer basket  3  or obtaining a replacement strainer basket  3 ; placing the cleaned or replacement strainer basket  3  in the downspout extension  2 ; pivoting the downspout extension  2  back into the plane of the downspout conduit  20 ; sliding the downspout lid  8  downwardly on the funnel conduit  20 ; and re-attaching the springs  6  to the lid flange  9  of the downspout lid  8 . 
     While the embodiments of the disclosure have been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications can be made and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications which may fall within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.