WO2006119639A1

WO2006119639A1 - Rainwater collector

Info

Publication number: WO2006119639A1
Application number: PCT/CA2006/000773
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yves Dussault; Mario Lessard
Original assignee: Yves Dussault; Mario Lessard
Priority date: 2005-05-13
Filing date: 2006-05-15
Publication date: 2006-11-16
Also published as: WO2006119639B1

Abstract

A gutter descent assembly (20) designed to collect rainwater falling down a house roof surface (22), the assembly comprising an upper part (26) joining at a gutter exit (23), a lower part having a faucet (30), and a descent exit (38), the three of them made in usual sheet metal. The collection of water is obtained by means of internal components forming an internal channel: a funnel (48) directs the gutter water towards an internal pipe (37), then towards the faucet (30). The water is conveyed from the faucet by a hose (34) to a tank (36). When the tank is full, or if the water runs too fast to be drained by the internal channel, apertures (50) made at the funnel (48) base allow the draining by an annular duct situated between the internal pipe (37) and the sheet metal, for directing towards the descent exit (38). The funnel (48) may be provided with a captor head (80) to fix to the gutter exit (23). A male end of funnel(90) is provided with hose threads.

Description

SPECIFICATION

TITLE : Rainwater collector

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention i s related to the field of rainwater collector systems; more specifically to systems adapted to house gutters.

PRIOR ART

Today, people are more aware about protection and preservation of the environment. The rational use of water is a capital step towards an integrated sustainable d evelopment strategy: drinkable water resources are few, and even if North America has plenty, a majority of human beings on Earth does not have daily access to drinking water. Even here in Quebec, several municipalities are touched by dryness every year. The first alarm signal given by town councils during dryness is generally a warning to the citizens asking to reduce the use of drinking water for lawn watering. Many people like to look at their nice green lawn for the attractive aspect given to the homes and consequently, to the neighbourhood . A need is obviously felt to permit to watering of lawns but while preserving drinking water.

The present invention proposes practical means, low in cost and easy to install and permitting to keep rainwater in anticipation of further utilization during dryness, as well as avoiding street flooding during heavy rainfalls.

Our research among patents revealed some systems proposing devices trying to find solutions to these problems. CA 2129020, of PCT/FR93/00102 publ ished under number WO93/15281 , and also deposited in the United States under number 5,490,538: proposes a device anchored to an existing gutter descent wherein a hole is punched, the d evice comprising a deflector so called scoop channelling a part of the water runni ng in the gutter descent towards the exterior an d towards a utilization site.

US 5,220,755, presents an external pi pe at the d escent of the gutter endowed with a faucet, this external pipe allowing to create a water column meant to direct -water towards a utilization site as well . US 5,730,179, Taylor proposes a reservoir mounted directly to a house gutter network. A tank can accumulate some amount of water to di scharge whenever needed; there is no excess except as limited by the tank capacity. The positio n of the tank is l imited to the proximity of the descent post. Furthermore, the tank by its prominent position changes the structure and the look of the house on which it is attached. US 5,863.151 , presents a rainwater collector system constituted of a coll ector provided with two exits 10, 18 and joi ned to a portion of a gutter descent. A tube 14 directs the water at the bottom of the collector towards the top of a reservoir 16, a second tube directs the water at the top of the coll ector towards a drain consisting of a secondary gutter descent when the reservoir is full. There is no volume of water in the gutter to fill a barrel . There i s no water column to act as hydrostatic pressure. The reservoir 16 is claimed with an aperture at the top. Several elements are obvious and visible in regard of the house, for example the juxtaposed tiles 12, 18.

US 5,533,303, proposes a rainwater channel system oriented directly towards plants. Channel reservoirs are joined to the gutter descent and direct the water towards a secondary channel whic h sends the water to plants hidden under a patio, while rain is fal ling and watering other places. A cut off valve is positioned at the bottom.

Jl US 5,931 ,118, presents a bird bath fi lling automatically by a channel system directing the water from a gutter descent.

Certain patents appearing less related to the invention have also caught our attention: US 5,842,308, US 5,735,304, US 5,1 14,594, and US 4,386,484 from classes searched : US 52/16, 1 3 7/357. OBJECTIVES AND ADVANTAGES

The main objective of the invention is to provide homes with a system for Storing rainwater in view of utilizing it at a later date for purposes other than drinking water: watering plants, for washing cars etc. The objective for a city i s to reduce rainwater in heavy rainfal ls which surges in large amounts into street sewage and permitting the citizens the storing of water from rainy periods to further use during dry periods when the use of drinking water is under control. A secondary objective is to provide a system which is not co stly, practical, easy to install against a gutter attached to the roof of a house and necessitating a minimum of parts and consequently a minimum of cost. To provide an aesthetic system, which does not remove any of the agreeable features of a house, that it be safe to utilize while facil itating em ergency draini ng without flooding the gutters. It i s proposed to use a canalization system inside a standard gutter descent pipe provided with a faucet or valve for discharging. The canalization system is topped by a funnel lo cated at the very top of the descent, canalizing water inside an i nternal pipe to form a water column, the column providing hydrostatic pressure to convey the water towards the point of utilizatio n or storage. DRAWINGS

Relative to drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1 i s a perspective of the device instal led alongside a house roof. FIG.2 is a cut according to line 2-2 of FIG. ! . FIGS .3 A, 3B et 3C are cuts according to line 3 -3 of FIG.2. FIG. 4 A and 4B are cuts of an alternative to the descent of FIG.2. FIGS 5 A and 5 B are perspectives of a part 48 and cut thereof. FIG.6 is an assemb ly providing a recuperation column. FIG.7A is a cut view of area 70 of FlG 4A expanded. FIG.7B is a cut vi ew of an alternative to area. 86 of FIG 7A. DETAILED DES CRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS. In the description which follows and in the accompanying drawings si milar numbers refer t o similar parts in the figures.

FIG. l il lu strates a descent assembly 20 of a gutter collector. Jo ined to a horizontal gutter 21 of a house roof surface 22, at the extremity there is a gutter exit 23 finished by a male reduced end 24. The descent assembly 20 comprises three parts, an upper part 26, a lower part 28 and a descent exit 38, the three of them made in usual sheet metal . The lower part 28 has a faucet 30 assorted of a faucet valve 40 and a b leed cap 32. Th e water coming from the house roof surface 22 to the horizontal gutter 21 i s canalized to the gutter exit 23, as seen in FIG.2; the water exits through the faucet 30 when the valve 40 is open and is transported to a tank 36 b y a hose 34. The tank 36 is an open barrel filled by its base but could be of different types depending on the application.

FIG.2 illustrates a cut vi ew of the descent assembly 20 that provides an inside vi ew of the descent assembly 20. We see at the top of FIG.2 a si de view of the horizontal gutter 21 , and a gutter exit 23 finished by a reduced end 24 that goes in a female top 27 of the upper part 26. A funnel 48 located at the top in the center reducing in a straight , tubi ng 49 in which at l east one aperture 50 is made. The straight tubing 49 has a

SI <©lJi?»i«««B* diameter of typical ly I ¹A inch. A funnel top 31 has been heated from a round pipe into a typically rectangular descent assembly and its upper part 26. At a bottom part Sl of the straight tubing 49 is adapted a male end pipe 44 with a smaller diameter, for example an ABS grooved plastic pipe with a diameter of I V* inch to be able to penetrate inside the Wz inch pipe. The pipe could be assembled in its ensemble. The lower part of the gutter comprises an internal pipe 37 with a diameter that could be adapted easily to the male end pipe 44 inwardly or outwardly. In the lower part 28 as in the upper part 26, the internal pipe 37 is kept in position by means of an inferior screw 58 for the lower part 23 and by a superior screw 56 for the upper part 26 or from a suitable attach system going through the external sheet metal of the descent assembly material. The joint between the upper part 26 and the lower part 28 of the descent assembly 20 is done by two points: first, the male end pipe 44 goes into the female end pipe 46 at the interior of the l ower part 28, and the male end gutter 42 of the bottom of the sheet metal of the upper part 26 of the d escent assembly 20 goes in the top sheet metal of the lower part 28, the latter pl aying a female role. The junctions of the male end pipe 44 with the lower part of the straight tubing 51 and with the female end pipe 46 are waterproof to keep the strength to the water column. The internal pipe 37 extend s to evacuation components of the descent such as the faucet 30 and the bleed cap 32. These two components are attached to the internal pipe 37 going along the lower part 28 of the descent assembly 20. The lower part 28 i s connected to the upper part 26 with an internal joint and an external joint . The external j oint is made of the male end gutter 42 penetrating i nto a femal e end gutter 43 of the l ower part 28. The internal joint is made of the male end pipe 44 penetrating i nto the female end pipe 46. The bottom

if part 51 comprises one or several apertures 50; in the illustration, one can see one in the front. One sees the funnel 48, which takes up at its top al l the width of the upper part 26 of the descent assemb ly 20 , If the water i s not held back, it will go towards the bottom through the pipe and wil l exit either by the faucet 30 or by the bleed cap 32. However, if the water cannot be evacuated toward the bottom, it will fill the pipe to the aperture 50. All the additional water will be drained by the aperture SO and will be conveyed outside the pipe but inside the descent gutter to the descent exit 38. Thus, the pipe forms an internal canalization that could b e used as internal tank, while the room between the pipe and the sheet metal of the gutter forms an external canalization to the pipe serving as a drain. Finally, to maintain the pipes of the inner columns straight with the form s of the gutters, there i s a superior screw 56 and an inferior screw 58. There is also an inner enlargement 60 to fit the lower part 28 to the descent exit 38. An elbow 62 stocks sand or debris until they will be drained by the bleed cap 32 that could be replaced by an upright purge device controlled by a valve driven by a handle situated where the bleed cap 32 is in FIG.2. When the system is in use, a hose will be connected to a hose connector 64 located on the faucet 30 on the faucet valve 40. Other configurations are possible, but this particular one provid es a lot of advantages: the components are cheap, the external appearance of the house i s not changed and the installation is quick and easy. In fact, during the installation, only the lower part 28 needs to be cut at its upper extremity to be adju sted at the height of the gutter of the hou se. With the illustrated configuration, the cutting could be done with a saw cutting simultaneously the sheet metal and the pipe, the superior part comprising the adaptation means necessary to the junction. FIG.3 is composed of three el ements: 3 A, 3B and 3 C .

FIG.3 A, on the left side, illustrates the installation of the lower part 28 to the upper part 26 of the descent assembly 20. We notice that the male end pipe 44 will be the first to be joined to the lower part 28 by inserting it into the female end pipe 46 formed by the internal pip e 37 b ecause this pipe exceeds the sheet metal of the upper part 26 of the descent assembly 20. Once this pipe is inserted, the male end gutter 42 of the superior sheet metal is i nserted in the inferior sheet metal . With this configuration, the m al e end pipe 44 of the higher pipe could easily be inserted firstly in the female end pipe 46 from the lower pipe, and be pushed in until the male end gutter 42 penetrates in the female end pipe 46 of the lower part of the descent exit 2S to form the configuration illustrated in FIG.3B . The system could be held together with a screw, but it is often solidified by a girdle around the descent, holding the descent to the wall of the house. The enlargement on the right side of FIG.3 C shown how the apertures 50 could be drilled in the pipe material at an angle, this forms a lower bevels 52 and an upper bevels 54 (shown with dash lines), that keep the water from coming out the apertures 50 when it slides on the internal sides of the pi pe. Because the apertures 50 are drilled at an angle, the holes seem oval in a front view perspective as in FIG.2.

FIG.4 shows two sections, FIG. 4A on the left, and FIG. 4B on the right; FIG. 4B is an en largement of the circled part of FIG. 4A. FIG. 4A shows an alternative of the descent of the gutter in the event where the height availabl e between the exit of the gutter and the ground wou ld be greater than the length obtained by the descent when the lower section is not cut at all . An intermediary part 29 will have to be added between the upper part 26 and the lower part 28. The lower part 28 is then cut so as to be

1 adj usted to the resulting height, whereas the intermediate section can be installed in its full length. The resulting assembly presents a first junction 68 between the higher part and the intermediary part 29, and a second junction 70 between the intermediary part 29 and the lower part 28.

FTG. 4B shows an enlargement of the lower part 28 of the descent gutter where we can see two possible modifications regarding the configuration of FIG.2. In that case, there is no faucet, but only a direct hose connector 72 for a hose. Also, the purge does not consist of an elbow 62 and a cap but of a valve handle 74 (of which the components are not shown in the figure) installed in a straight area of the pipe towards the vertical blow off 78. The valve is activated by a valve handle 76 located outside of the gutter which permits the interior mechanism of the val ve.

FIG. 5A shows a fit cap SO as a captor head to be fitted by nuts Sl to the male reduced end 24 of the gutter exit 23. In the present embodiment the fit cap covers the starting area of a vertical descent 82. The funnel part

4S has an enlarged section 86 having a rectangular fit 84. Apertures 50 may b e of ovaJ type or in the form of elongated slits 8S . At the end of a male end of funnel 90, the internal pipe 37, as i ndicated on an outside surface thereof, has an internal surface 137. Hose threads 134 may b e provided at this level. The wall thi ckness 126 of the internal pipe i s preferably of 3 to 6 mm. Apertures 50 may be round, square, or other

FIG. 5B shows in cut view the apertures 50 and the internal pipe 37.

FIG.6 shows the funnel part 48, the elongated slits 88 provi ded with a slope 89 which may vary from 10 to 45 degrees. One sees the internal pipe 37 whi ch takes the form of a circular body 95. A low end of pipe 92

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is provided with a strap 94 as tightening means. A doub le male adaptor 96 is followed by a female/male adaptor 98 into a tee 100 provided with a perpendicular tee exit 102 has for purpose to deliver water from the co lumn to a storage area. An enlarged area 104 contains a wing valve 106 which is normally closed when the water is at a storage state. The valve i s open when draining or in freezing times when the system is off. An extra exit 112 may also be provided; that exit may be threaded. A short bottom shell 110, covers the tee and hides the valves. This i s shown dotted to show the interior of the shell . That sh ell contain s fixing holes 114.

FIG 7A shows the funnel .part 48 and the elongated slits 88 that are angularly oriented along the siope 89. A rainwater collector 25 is of a short span and it ends as a female end pipe entering the internal pipe 37. An existing vertical gutter shell compri ses a female end gutter 43, and a male end gutter 42 finishing as a male end pipe.

FIG 7B is for an installation where the shell is rather wide with respect to the rain water collector. The vertical descent 82 is of the broad type. The funnel part 4S and the slope 89 in the elongated slits are shown. An annul ar spacer 116 i s shown as made of rubber or other suitabl e material. It has a bottom support 118 and a number of tension screws 120 in addition to an upper support 122 to prevent raising of the collector. A ribbon seal 124 is provided to stop infiltration of water below the male reduced end 24. The funnel part 48 may be an interchangeable head 47.

DISCUS SION on preferred applications of the invention When it rains, rainwater slides on the roof of a house, goes down towards the gutters which convey the water in the descent gutter. When the gutter

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descent collector as disclosed hereby is installed, the water is canalized in the funnel 48, and d irected towards the lower pipe. If the faucet valve is open, water will slide down towards it . The object of the invention being collecting rainwater in a tank, the tank is advantageously connected to this faucet with a hose 34. If the tank i s empty, the hose will fill up with water, and then the water will rise up towards the top of the tank (while still rising up to the same level i n the descent). When the entrance of the tank is lower then the aperture 50, the tank will fill up until a maximal level associated to the height of the aperture 50. If that level is higher than the top of the tank, the water in the tank will overfl ow. Thus, is constituted a rainwater tank which can be used in dry periods.

UTILIZATION DOMAINS

In the case of great thunderstorms, the water flow will intensify greatly. It is then that the water column will be useful, when the water does not flow rapidly enough into the tank through the hose, the water wil l rise in the internal pipe 37, which will generate an increase of pressure in the hose. The water wil l then flow more rapidly toward the tank. It i s only when the water flows excessively or when the level of water in the tank is above that of the aperture 50 that the water exits i nto the space between the fu nnel 48 and the upper part 26. One could drill an upper hole in the gutter thereby allowing m assive evacuation of the water and preventing overflowing in the event that the upper apertures would not allow a proper evacuation of the water. The water inl et of the tank can b e located either at the top or the bottom. In the case where the inlet i s located at the top, the water in the tank wi ll not return into the hose until the water l evel i s up to the inl et l evel . Whereas in the case where

(0 the inlet is located at the bottom, the pressure of the water wi ll intensify in the hose. The resulting advantage of positioning the hose at the bottom is that the hose can be unscrewed from the faucet and be used for watering immediately. A valve may b e positioned between the inlet and the faucet. However, when the inlet is located at the top, the hose couid be unscrewed or the bleed valve opened, and the water in the tank will not go below the water inlet.

The water is collected and stored in the perspective of being u sed, and to do so, a certain pressure is generally necessary at the end of the hose. One can use a pump to generate water pressure, for example for watering plants. However, there are ways to obtain pressure without the use of a pump. Firstly, it is possible that the tank (or in genera! the water reserve) be more elevated than the point of utilization. Hence, the difference in elevation will accentuate the water pressure . However, the inlet of the tank must not be above (at a superior level) the evacuation aperture of the canalization tank because if thi s is the case, the water will exit by this opening instead of filling up the tank.

Secondly, it would be possible to use a tank comprising only one opening. In this case, the water will take up more and more space in the tank which will fi ll up leaving less and less room availabl e for air. The air will then compress, hence resulting in an increase in internal pressure. The water wi ll go out through the evacuation exit of the reserve canalization when the pressure exerted by the water column in that canalization multiplied by the differenc e in elevation in relation with the water level in the tank will be equal to the internal pressure of the air in the closed tank.

SUMMARY:

/ / A device to install on a horizontal gutter 21 to collect and store rainwater, comprising:

- a vertical gutter, call ed descent i nstalled at one end of the horizontal gutter, comprising at least one upper section intended to collect water from the horizontal gutter 21 and a lower section intended to provide a water column, the upper section comprising a funnel 48 to collect water comprising means to collect the water from the gutter, the funnel 48 comprising at least one evacuation aperture 50,

- means to keep the funnel 48 and the lower section connected and generating the necessary pressure to feed a reserve tank until the rainwater overflows into the evacuation apertures and then flows along the gutter descent. The sum of the aperture areas is preferably equal to the cross sectional area of the captor head.

The horizontal gutter 21 is installed on the side of a house roof 22, comprising a gutter exit 23 provided with a male reduced end 24 and the means to collect the water comprise a waterproof attachment for the reduced end. The waterproof attachment comprises an upper part 26 comprising a female top 27.

The upper part 26 shows an inferior screw 56 for the funnel 48, and the lower part 28 comprises an internal pipe 37, and female end pipe 46 to the funnel 48. The upper part 26 comprises a male gutter end 42 and the lower part 28 is attached to the upper part 26 with the male connector, the re-attachment of the male connector to the internal pipe 37 sealing the water column inside the pipes 37, 44 and the re-attachment of the mal e end gutter 42 and the lower part 28 defin ing an annular gutter channel. The evacuation aperture is made at an angle, defining an upper

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SSfE 8Wg* Sf ^j£l bevel 54 and a lower bevel 52. There may be several straight evacuatio n apertures each of a small diameter, possibly in a large number.

It is well understood that the embodiments of the invention described above, i n reference to the annexed drawings are indicative and by no means l imitative, and that modifications and adaptations can be made without moving away from the bounds of the present invention.

Il LEGEND

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Claims

CLAIMS: We claim:

1. A device for installation on a horizontal gutter (21) to collect and store rainwater into a reserve (36), said device comprising: - a vertical descent mounted on said gutter and comprising an upper part (26) adapted to collect water from said gutter and a lower part (28) intended to supply a water column, said upper part comprising a collecting funnel (4S) said funnel comprising at least one evacuation aperture (50), - piping niea"iτs--for"coiϊπe"eti"jrg-'said""fαinid"^~LO geιre"i'ate"'sruffic\reπl""p're^"55ure" to feed completely said reserve up to a level of said evacuation aperture until said rainwater discharges by said evacuation aperture and flows into said lower part.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said horizontal gutter (21) is installed on the side of a house roof (22), said device comprising a descent exit

(23) provided with a male reduced end (24), said upper part (26) comprising a female top (27) attached to said male reduced end, said upper part (26) further comprising an attachment circumferential (56) to said funnel and said lower part (28) comprising a lower internal pipe (37) and vertical means of attachment (46) to said funnel.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said upper part (26) comprises a male end gutter (42) and said lower part (28) is attached to said upper part by said male end gutter,

- the attachment of a male end pipe (44) to said lower pipe (37) sealing said water column inside said pipes (37, 44), and the attachment of said

/5- s^g" l??M male end gutter (42) and the lower part (28) defining an annu lar gutter channel .

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said evacu ation aperture (50) is made at an angular slope (89) defining an upper bevel (54) and a lower bevel (52), the value of said slope being between 90 and 5 degrees upwardly .

5. A gutter descent comprising an outer shell, an upper extremity and a lower extremity, said gutter descent comprising an internal canalization within said shell and disposed al ong sai d descent, said internal canalization comprising a funnel at its upper extremity and an exit at its lower extremity, the space between sai d internal canalization and said external, shell forming an external canalization, said internal canalization serving to convey rainwater coming from a gutter toward said exit, said external canalization servi ng for the evacuation of the surplus water.

6. The gutter descent of claim 5 wherein said exit comprises a faucet located inside said shel l and connected to said internal canalization by means of a pipe conπector( l O2) going through said shell,

- said outer shell being made of a solid material from a group comprisi ng sheet metal, plastic, fibrous, composite and construction materials, said internal canalization being of plastic pipe or suitabl e watertight material, said funnel (48) being mol ded to a shape.

7. The gutter descent of claim 5 comprising a tertiary canalization compri sing a pipe connected at the bottom of said internal canalization and going through said shell and closed by bleed (32, 106) means removable to facilitate the cleaning of sai d internal canal ization.

8. The gutter descent of claim 7 wherein said tertiary canalization compri s es a pipe oriented downwardly, said p ipe comprising a valve

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IET permitting the purge of said internal canalization, said valve being activated by a handle located outside said descent.

9. The gutter descent of claim 5 comprising an upper section comprising sai d funnel, and a lower section compri sing said exit., said upper and lower sections being connected by two jo ints: an external shell j oint and an internal canalization joint, any intermedi ary section likewi s e;

- a joint between an upper section and a lower section of said gutter descent compri sing an external shell and an internal canal ization, said joint comprising an interna! joint (44, 46) and an external joint (42, 43 ), said external joint compri sing a slightly closed tip at the bottom of said shell of said upper section and being inserted at the top of said external shell, defining a female end gutter (43) of said lower part, said internal joint compri sing a male internal component (44) exceeding said closed male end gutter (42) tip and being of a size permitting the insertion at th e top of said internal canalization of a female end pi pe (46), said top of said internal canalization coincidi ng with said top of said outside shell, so that when installi ng, said male tip i s first inserted in said internal canali zation of sai d lower part followed by the insertion of said tip (42) at said top (43) of said outside shell .

10. An internal canalization for installation inside a rainwater gutter descent, said internal canalization compri sing an upper part in the shape of a funnel, followed by an elongated canal ization located below sai d funnel toward the bottom, and connection means (72) for adapting to a del ivery pipe positioned at a lower end thereof, thereby providing hydrostatic pressure for utilization or accumulation of rain water into a reserve, said i nternal canalization comprising overflow apertures (50) to

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Sl discard water when a hydrostatic column fill s itself to the top faster than it drains.

1 1 . A gutter descent iatended to allow the canalization of rain water toward a reservoir for subsequent use, said gutter descent comprising an outside shell (26,28), an upper part (26) thereof being installed at a gutter exit (23), a descent exit (38) being at a lower extremity thereof, said gutter descent comprising an internal canal ization comprising a funnel (48) set inside and at the top of sai d shell, an internal pipe (37) with two extremit ies set along said descent, a first extremity thereof set to collect said water from said funnel , an aperture made i n said funnel, a lower part (28) of said outside shell joining said upper part (26) and a valve (40) located on said lower part to control the water flow outside said int ernal pipe, when it rains, the water being conveyed from a roof by said gutter exit, toward said descent, sli ding down said funnel, through sai d straight pipe, then through said internal pipe, an exit thereof evacuating water when said valve is open, wherein water i s fill ing said internal pipe when said valve i s closed, until overflowing said aperture (50), to flow between said internal pipe and said outside shell, then being evacuated from said descent toward the bottom.

12. The descent gutter of claim H wherein said straight pi pe i s equipped with a faucet (30) playing the role of said valve (40), and wherein a hose (64) is installed on said faucet, said hose conveying the water from sai d faucet to a place of utilization,

- wherein said place of utilization is a reservoir intended to collect rainwater, and wherein said reservoir fills up thanks to the water pressure generated by the filli ng of said hose of said lower pipe, or from

a the water column constituted subsequently by the filling of said straight pipe,

- the gutter descent comprising in addition a bleed cap (32) located at the bottom of a drain pipe (62) and which allows the draining of said internal canalization of debris such as sand, leaves or branches.

13. The internal canalization of claim 10 wherein said gutter descent comprises two sections connected by a joint: an upper part and a lower part, an interior joint joining the upper part to said lower part, and an exterior joint joining the upper part of an outside shell to the lower part of said shell,

- said internal joint comprising an ^"upper component of a smaller diameter than a lower component so as to create a male-female junction, said upper component inserting in said lower component,

- said external joint comprising a closed connector at the bottom of said outside shell of said upper part, so as to be inserted at the top of said outside shell of said lower part,

- an upper extremity of said lower component coinciding with an upper extremity of said lower shell, to allow the adjusting of the length of the lower part to be done with a cut line cutting simultaneously shell and pipe, and wherein the installation consists of aligning the exceeding extremity of said component with the lower pipe, to then insert said closed connector in the lower shell.

14. A method for modifying a gutter descent attached to a gutter exit, to collect rainwater, said method comprising the following steps: - removing the higher end of said gutter descent and connect a funnel captor to said gutter exit,

11 - connecting a conduit to said funnel captor, to a height defining a hydrostatic column

- connecting the bottom part of said conduit to a pipe transporting said water to a reserve, - filling said reserve to a level of said captor,

- providing said captor with overflow apertures to overflow said water when said hydrostatic column fills itself to the top faster that it drains to said reserve at the bottom,

- providing a shell to cover said gutter descent to a su itabl e appearance.

1 5. The gutter descent of cl aim 9 wherein coupling means between sai d internal joints (44,46) is reversible, internal component male end pip e (44) being surrounding female end pipe (46).

16. The gutter descent of clai m 1 1 wherein said funnel (48) has an interchange head (47) of a shape among a group comprising square, rectangular, oval, round .

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