GB2612802A

GB2612802A - Downpipe filter

Info

Publication number: GB2612802A
Application number: GB2116233.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jeremy Langrick David
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2021-11-11
Filing date: 2021-11-11
Publication date: 2023-05-17
Also published as: GB202116233D0

Abstract

An openable filter system, 100, for a drainage downpipe, comprising, first, 10, and second, 20, housing members, removably locatable within a gap of a downpipe, defining upper, 200, and lower, 210, sections. The first housing is engaged with the lower section,15, and a portion of the second housing overlaps, 16, the upper section, at least one of the housing members comprises a ledge, 13, to engage with the other member such that a conduit is formed between the downpipe sections. A removable filter is locatable within the first and/or second housing members to prevent debris from passing through the filter system. The filter may comprise a cleanable basket, 40, for debris capture.

Description

Downpipe filter The present invention relates to a filter system for a drainage downpipe.

Introduction

Downpipes provide channels for rainwater collected in guttering to be drained. They generally consist of a vertical tubular pipe that is fixed to the exterior of a building and extends between an elevated gutter and a ground-based drain. As rainwater is collected in the gutter, it flows into the downpipe and is channelled down into a drain and/or sewer system.

An issue with downpipes is that they can be difficult to maintain, as the interior is only accessible via the open-ends of the channel. As debris such as leaves or moss pass through the downpipe, it may become blocked and prevent any further debris passing through. This can result in flooding or damage to the guttering. Furthermore, debris may also get blocked further downstream (e.g. in the drain or sewer), potentially resulting in flooding and damage to the property.

It can be difficult to assess where the actual blockage is located in conventional systems. Without knowing the precise location of the blockage, it can be difficult to remove the blockage. Furthermore, blockages can occur in hard-to-reach places, requiring specialist tools/equipment to remove it.

A prior art filter system for a downpipe is disclosed in 0B2391 182 which attempts to address some of the issues mentioned above. A section of a downpipe is cut away and the filter system is installed using straps 8 to affix to the wall. The filter system comprises a filter housing comprised of three separable sections 1, 2, 3 where one of the sections is integrally formed with a basket 10. Debris passing through the downpipe is collected in the basket. To remove the debris, one of the housing sections is moved telescopically allowing the user to access the basket. In order for the system to be telescopic (as well as account for the differences in diameter between the filter housing and downpipe) the system requires yet more additional components in the form of upper and lower reduction sections 6. As such, the system has a high degree of complexity and is expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, the installation of the system is awkward and requires drilling and fixing of straps to secure the system in place. This can deter many end users from adoption.

It is the aim of the present invention to mitigate or overcome one or more of the problems presented above.

Summary of invention

According to a first aspect of the invention there is a selectively-openable fitting for a downpipe, comprising, first and second housing members configured to be removably locatable within a gap of a downpipe, defining upper and lower-downpipes sections, where in use, the first housing member is engaged with the lower-downpipe section and at least a portion of the second housing member overlaps with a portion of the upper-downpipe section, wherein at least one of the first or second housing members comprises a ledge configured to engage with a portion of the other housing member such that in use, a closed flow channel is formed between the upper and lower-downpipe sections.

The ledge may comprise a collar formation within which the other housing member is received. The other housing member may be selectively engageable/retractable with the ledge to close/open the fitting.

The ledge may abut the end of the downpipe section such that the housing member with the collar is seated on the downpipe section.

In use, the first and second housing members form an enclosed channel between the upper and lower downpipe sections. Both housing members are moveable and repositionable within the gap of the downpipe such as to allow for additional downpipe accessories/fittings to be installed and removed whilst maintaining an enclosed channel between the upper and lower downpipe sections. For example, a branch downpipe fitting may be installed between the first housing member and lower downpipe section. The first and second members are therefore moved upwardly with respect to the downpipe sections maintaining the enclosed channel.

If the user later desires to remove/replace the branch pipe fitting, the first and second housing members can be repositioned accordingly. No additional wall mounts, brackets or braces are needed for installing/removing the additional downpipe accessories. Alternatively, a filter accessory can be located within the channel to catch debris passing through the fitting.

According to another aspect of the invention there is a filter system for a downpipe, comprising, first and second housing members configured to be removably locatable within a gap of a downpipe, defining upper and lower-downpipes sections, where in use, the first housing member is engaged with the lower-downpipe section and at least a portion of the second housing member overlaps with a portion of the upper-downpipe section, wherein at least one of the first or second housing members comprises a ledge configured to engage with a portion of the other housing member such that in use, a channel is formed between the upper and lower-downpipe sections, a removable filter being locatable within the first and/or second housing members and configured to prevent debris from passing through the filter system.

The filter system is removably locatable within a gap formed by cutting out a section of a downpipe such as to define upper and lower-downpipe sections.

The first housing member may be engageable with the lower-downpipe section, whereas at least a portion of the second housing member overlaps with the upper-downpipe. In use, the first and second housing members define a closed flow channel between the upper and lower-downpipes such as to provide a water path for rainwater to travel through.

The first housing member may abut the lower downpipe section end, whereas the second housing member may be slidingly received on the upper downpipe section. The second (upper) housing portion may be biased to the closed condition under gravity.

The design of the filter system is such that only two components are required (i.e. the first and second housing members) to define the channel, reducing the complexity and cost of both design and manufacture.

The first and second housing members are engageable such that the interior of the filter system is substantially inaccessible in use. The engagement is provided by a ledge located preferably on the first housing member.

The ledge may increase the width of the housing member in a lateral/radial direction relative to a longitudinal axis of the downpipe and/or housing. The ledge may comprise a step formation.

The ledge may extend at least partially around a longitudinal axis of the first housing member, preferably around the entirety of the first housing member. The ledge may be a peripheral/circumferentially-extending ledge.

Alternatively there may be a plurality of ledges that extend around a longitudinal axis of the first housing member. The ledge is configured to engage with a portion of the second housing member, preferably an edge/end thereof. Where the second housing member may comprise or be defined as a sleeve, the open edge of the sleeve may be engageable with the ledge, e.g. in abutment therewith. Alternatively, the ledge may be located on the second housing member, or both the first and second housing members may comprise engageable ledges or a plurality of engageable ledges.

The second housing member may comprise a tubular portion, or be substantially tubular in shape. The second housing member may be defined as a sleeve which may locate around at least an exterior portion of the upper-downpipe. The sleeve may locate concentrically with the upper-downpipe. Alternatively, the second housing member may locate concentrically within the upper-downpipe.

The removeable filter is locatable within the first and/or second housing members.

The filter may engage with the ledge such as to maintain its position within the housing members. The filter may comprise a basket and in use, act such as to collect any debris such as leaves or moss from passing through the filter system.

The user may (in use) access the interior of the filter system by moving the second housing member (e.g. the sleeve thereof) relative to the first housing member such as to access the filter (e.g. the basket thereof) within. The user can then remove the filter, clearing any debris caught within. The filter can then be placed back inside the housing members. Alternatively, the debris may be cleared whilst the filter is maintained in position within the first housing member. Alternatively, the filter may be integrally formed with the first housing member. Alternatively, the filter may be releasably attachable to the second housing member such that to clear the filter, the user releases the filter from the second housing member after it has been moved out of engagement with the first housing member.

The filter may be mounted/seated in the first housing member, e.g. upon the ledge. The filter may otherwise be defined as a screen.

The first housing member may comprise a first tubular section, and optionally a second tubular section. The tubular sections may be differently sized such that one of the sections has a greater width/diameter than the other. The first tubular section may have a larger width/diameter than the second tubular section. The ledge may be intermediate to the first and second tubular sections.

The second tubular section may be greater in width/diameter than the down-pipe.

The width/diameter of the second tubular portion may be greater than that of the down-pipe by at least the wall thickness of the second housing portion.

The tubular sections may extend in opposite directions away from the ledge such as to give a step-shape appearance. In use, both the second housing member (e.g. the sleeve thereof) and the lower-downpipe are engaged with the first housing member via the first and second tubular sections respectively. For example, the second tubular section may locate concentrically within the lower-downpipe section. The first tubular section may locate concentrically around the exterior surface of the second housing member (e.g. the sleeve thereof). In this arrangement, one surface of the ledge is abutting the edge of the lower-downpipe, whereas the opposite surface is abutting an edge of the second housing member.

The collar of the ledge may extend longitudinally and may be greater in length than the overlapping portion between the second housing member and the upper-downpipe section in use. In order to fit both the second housing member (e.g. the sleeve thereof) into the gap between the upper and lower-downpipe sections, the length of the collar is greater than the length of the overlapping portion between the second housing member and upper-downpipe. Otherwise the second housing member will be bigger than the gap and would require one of the downpipes sections to be temporarily removed from the wall in order to install the filter system.

The filter system improves upon the prior art as it only requires two components to form a channel between the downpipe sections. Both the first and second housing members may be substantially tubular and are designed such that there is no need for the straps or reduction members shown in GB2391182 in order for the filter housing to be compatible with the downpipe sections or be able to move telescopically thereon.

The simplicity of the design also means that the filter system is inexpensive to produce when compared to the prior art and can be largely manufactured by common extrusion or injection moulding methods that will be known to the skilled person.

Another advantage of the filter system is that as the tube sections of the first housing member are suitable for locating in or around conventional sized downpipes, the system is therefore also suitable for fitting to other conventional downpipe elements such as branch pipes.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is a method of using a filter system comprising the steps of, moving a second housing member over a upper-downpipe section such as to create an opening whereby a filter is substantially accessible, removing the debris from the filter, and then move the second housing member to close the opening and make the filter substantially inaccessible.

The second housing member may be moved out of engagement from a first housing member when creating the opening. The filter may be removed from the opening or the debris may be cleared by the user whilst keeping the filter in position. The filter may be located within the first housing member and the user may move both the filter and first housing member.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is a method of installing a filter system comprising first and second housing members wherein the first housing member comprises a ledge, wherein a gap is cut into a downpipe such as to define upper and lower-downpipe sections, wherein the gap is greater in length than the length of the second housing member, and wherein the gap is shorter in length than the combined length of the second housing member and the longitudinal length of the ledge.

Any of the optional or essential features defined in relation to any one aspect of the invention above may be applied to any further aspect, wherever practicable. Those optional feature combinations have not been explicitly repeated only for conciseness.

Workable embodiments of the invention are described in further detail below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows a filter system.

Figure 2 shows a cross-section of the filter system.

Figure 3 shows a cross-section of the filter system wherein the basket has been removed.

Figure 4 shows a cross-section of a branch-pipe and filter system.

Detailed description of the figures

The first preferred embodiment of the filter system 100 is shown in figure 1 and comprises first 10 and second 20 housing members that are to be installed in the downpipe of a guttering system.

The downpipe is pre-fitted, typically to the exterior of a building and is used to direct rainwater from a gutter pipe to ground level or a drain. The filter system 100 is located into a gap formed by the user cutting a section from the downpipe, such as to define upper 200 and lower 210 downpipe sections.

The first 10 and second 20 housing members are engageable with one another such that in use, a channel is defined by the housing members between the gap of the downpipe sections, preventing rainwater leaking through the gap.

A cross-sectional view of the downpipe and filter system 100 is shown in figure 2. The first housing member 10 is shown to comprise two tubular sections having different diameters that extend in opposite directions from a ledge 13. The second tube section 12 extends into the interior of the lower-downpipe section 210 and ensures that the rainwater flows into the lower-downpipe 210 without leaking, as well as maintaining the first housing member 10 in engagement with the lower-downpipe 210. The first tube section 11 extends in the opposite direction such that in use, it surrounds the exterior of the second housing member 200. The ledge 13 extends longitudinally between the first 11 and second 12 tube sections and comprises first 14 and second 15 surfaces for engagement with an edge of the second housing member and lower-downpipe respectively.

The first surface 14 of the ledge 13 is also configured to accommodate a basket 40 and maintain its position within the housing. In other examples, the filter basket need not sit on the ledge 13 but could be supported in a different manner within the system. For example the filter could be a taper, friction and/or interference fit in the lower housing. The filter could be releasably fastened in place, if desired.

The second housing member 20 is substantially tube shaped. In use, a portion of the second housing member concentrically surrounds the exterior of the upper-downpipe such that there is an overlapping portion 16.

Any combination or all of the components described above may be formed of plastics material, e.g. the same or similar materials to guttering downpipes.

Installation To install the filter system 100 a section of an existing downpipe attached to a building is cut out such as to define the gap. In order for the interior to be easily accessible, the gap is located at a height where the user can operate the filter system 100 safely without assistance (e.g. using a ladder).

In order to be able to locate both the first 10 and second 20 housing members within the gap without temporarily removing at least one of the upper 200 or lower 210 downpipes, the gap should be greater in length than either of the first 10 or second 20 housing members. Similarly, the length of the gap should not be greater than the longitudinal length of the second housing member 20 plus the longitudinal length of the ledge 13, otherwise there will not be an overlapping portion between the second housing member and upper-downpipes and the filter system wont define an enclosed channel.

Operation Figure 2 shows the filter system 100 in use. Rainwater containing debris such as leaves and moss flows from the guttering, through the upper-downpipe 200, into the filter system 100 and then through the lower-downpipe 210 into a drain. Debris is caught by the basket 40 as it passes through the filter system 100. The user can remove the debris by sliding the second housing member 20 upwardly and concentrically around the upper-downpipe section 200 such as to create an opening 17 in which the basket 40 is accessible (as shown in figure 3). Once the basket 40 has been cleared, it is placed back into the first housing member 10 and the second housing member 20 is slid back down such that the gap is substantially closed again.

Figure 4 shows the design of the filter system 100 is also compatible with off-the-shelve downpipe accessories such as branch pipes 300 or waterways. This compatibility means that such features are not required to be integrally formed into the filter system as shown in the prior art, therefore reducing the complexity and cost of manufacture.

The filter system mitigates blockages in the downpipe. Furthermore, where blockages do occur upstream of the filter system, they are more easily cleared as the gap provides an access point at a suitable height to reach the blockage.

The filter system therefore represents a vast improvement over the prior art, only requiring two components to define a channel between the upper and lower downpipe sections and can be produced relatively easily by using extrusion moulding. There is no need to anchor the system to a wall via straps and is compatible with conventional downpipe accessories.

Claims

Claims 1. A selectively openable filter system for a downpipe, comprising, first and second housing members configured to be removably locatable within a gap of a downpipe, defining upper and lower-downpipes sections, where in use, the first housing member is engaged with the lower-downpipe section and at least a portion of the second housing member overlaps with a portion of the upper-downpipe section, wherein at least one of the first or second housing members comprises a ledge configured to engage with a portion of the other housing member such that in use, a conduit is formed between the upper and lower-downpipe sections, a removable filter being locatable within the first and/or second housing members and configured to prevent debris from passing through the filter system.
2. A filter system according to claim 1, wherein the ledge is located on the first housing member.
3. A filter system according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the ledge extends longitudinally with respect to the upper and lower-downpipe sections.
4. A filter system according to claims 2 or 3, wherein the ledge comprises a first surface, configured for engagement with the second housing member in use.
5. A filter system according to claim 4, wherein the first surface is configured for engagement with the removable filter in use.
6. A filter system according to claims 4-5, wherein a first tube section extends from the first surface and concentrically surrounds a portion of the second housing member when engaged with the ledge in use.
7. A filter system according to any of claims 4-6, where in the ledge comprises a second surface that opposes the first surface and is configured for engagement with the lower-downpipe section in use.
8. A filter system according to claims 7, wherein a second tube section extends from the second surface and locates concentrically within a portion of the lower-downpipe section when engaged with the ledge in use.
9. A filter system according to claims 6 and 8, wherein the first tube section has a larger diameter than the second tube section.
10. A filter system according to any of the previous claims, wherein the second housing is substantially tubular in shape.
11. A filter system according to claim 10, wherein the second housing member has a greater diameter than the upper-downpipe section, such that in use, the second housing member concentrically surrounds the upper-downpipe section.
12. A filter system according to any of the previous claims, wherein the filter comprises a basket, configured to capture debris passing through the filter system.
13. A method of clearing debris from a filter system comprising, a filter system according to any of the previous claims, wherein the second housing member is moved out of engagement with the first housing member such as to create an opening wherein the filter is accessible, removing the debris from the filter, and moving the second housing member back into engagement with the first housing member such as to close the opening.
14. A method of installing a filter system, comprising, A filter system according to any of claims 1-12, Wherein a gap is cut into a downpipe such as to define upper and lower-downpipe sections, Wherein the gap length is greater than the length of the second housing member, Wherein the gap length is shorter than the combined length of the second housing member and longitudinal length of the ledge.
15. A method of installing a filter system according to claim 14, locating the second housing member within the gap and moving it upwardly such that it concentrically surrounds the upper-downpipe section.
16. A method of installing a filter system according to claim 15, locating the first housing member in the gap such that a surface of the ledge comes into engagement with the lower-downpipe section.
17. A method of installing a filter system according to claim 16, locating the filter at least partially inside the first housing member such that its position is maintained by the ledge.
18. A method of installing a filter system according to claim 17, moving the second housing member downwardly such that the second housing member comes into engagement with the ledge.