Container for collecting and storing rainwater

Abstract

A container 201 for collecting and storing rainwater, having a base portion 202 and at least one collector portion 203, 204. The collector portion is stackable on the base in use to form a container having a first height (401, Figure 4), and they fit within one another such that they are combined to have a second height 309, which is smaller than the first height such that the container can be collapsed to a stowed configuration for transport. Each base portion and collector portion may have tapered side walls, may each have a slot and a protrusion for locating the corresponding slot on the base portion, may further have an upper collector portion, and may have a lid attached, where there may be a third diameter larger than the first and second diameters. It may also have O ring seals between the various portions in use, may be configured to be supported by a stand, may have at least one tap, may be made of plastic, may be connected to a drainpipe which may have an attached inlet tube, and may have an overflow tube.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is the first application for a patent directed towards the invention and the subject matter. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a container for collecting and storing rainwater. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Containers for collecting and storing rainwater, commonly referred to as water butts or rainwater tanks or barrels, are used and mounted to the side of residential and commercial buildings in order to collect rainwater for reuse, such as for gardening purposes. Such water butts are typically connected to a drainpipe of the building and receive rainwater which is stored within the water butt thereby allowing rainwater to be saved and used purposely rather than wasted. Conventional water butts tend to be large and bulky given they are usually designed to hold from around one hundred litres to two thousand litres (1001 to 20001) of water depending on user requirements. Consequently, conventional containers of this type can be cumbersome, difficult and expensive to transport efficiently. There remains a need for a water butt that can be easily transported without comprising on the large capacity required for traditional use. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container for collecting and storing rainwater, comprising: a base portion and at least one collector portion; wherein each said collector portion is configured to be stackable on said base portion in use to form a container having a first height; and said base portion and said at least one collector portion are configured to fit within one another such that said base portion and each said collector portion are combined to have a second height, said second height being smaller than said first height. Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The detailed embodiments show the best mode known to the inventor and provide support for the invention as claimed. However, they are only exemplary and should not be used to interpret or limit the scope of the claims. Their purpose is to provide a teaching to those skilled in the art. Components and processes distinguished by ordinal phrases such as “first” and “second” do not necessarily define an order or ranking of any sort. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 shows a residential or commercial building comprising a water drainage system and a container for collecting and storing rainwater; Figure 2 shows a container for collecting and storing rainwater in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional schematic of a container in a configuration suitable for transport or storage; Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional schematic of the container of Figure 3 when in use for collecting and storing rainwater; Figure 5 shows a schematic of a container for collecting and storing rainwater connected to a drainpipe. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 Figure 1 shows a residential or commercial building 101 comprising a water drainage system 102. In this typical scenario, water drainage system 102 comprises a gutter 103 and downward drain pipe 104. In the embodiment, downward drain pipe 104 is connected to a container 105 which is configured to collect and store rainwater which has been collected via the water drainage system. In the embodiment, when it rains water flows into gutter 103, either directly or from roof 106, and consequently into drain pipe 104. Water can then be harvested and collected from drain pipe 104 directly into container 105 in a conventional manner. Figure 2 A container for collecting and storing rainwater in accordance with the present invention will now be described with respect Figure 2. Container 201 comprises a base portion 202, a collector portion 203 and an upper collector portion 204. In the embodiment, collector portion 203 and upper collector portion 204 are stackable on base portion 202 so as to form container 201. In use, container 201 is configured to receive, collect and store rainwater in a substantially similar manner to conventional water butts. In the embodiment, when stacked, base portion 202, collector portion 203 and upper collector portion 204 combine to produce a container 201 having a first height 205 In the embodiment, base portion 202, collector portion 203 and upper collector portion 204 each comprise a cylindrical cross-section 206 and tapered side walls 207, 208 and 209. In addition, in the embodiment, base portion 202 comprises a cylindrical cross-section having a first diameter, collector portion 203 comprises a cylindrical cross-section having a second diameter, and upper collector portion 204 comprises a cylindrical cross-section having a third diameter. As shown, the third diameter is larger than both the first diameter and the second diameter, while the second diameter is smaller than the third diameter but larger than the first diameter. Consequently, in this way, the entire structure of container 201 presents a combined tapered side wall. This arrangement assists in distributing the collection of water therein. In the embodiment, container 201 is further provided with a plurality of O-rings which are configured to seal the different sections together and prevent leaking from the container in use. This ensures that each section within the container is watertight. Specifically, in the embodiment, a first O-ring 210 is provided between base portion 202 and collector portion 203 at intersection 210. Similarly, a further O-ring is provided at intersection 211 between collector portion 203 and upper collector portion 204. In the embodiment, each O-ring comprises a silicone material which provides a waterproof seal. It is appreciated that alternative materials may be utilised that also provide suitable sealing properties. In the embodiment, each of the sections 202, 203 and 204 comprise a plastics material and, in a specific embodiment, the plastics material comprises a recycled plastic. Figure 3 Container 201 can be provided in a reduced height configuration which is suitable for transport or storage, such as, for example, in a warehouse prior to shipping. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, each of the portions of the container 201 are shown fitted within one another so as to produce a reduced height which allows for transport more easily. In the embodiment, base portion 202 is stored within collector portion 203 which, in turn, is installed within the collector portion 204. When in use, a stand 301 is further provided for supporting container 201. Stand 301 can be fitted for storage purposes within base portion 202. As can be seen in respect of Figure 3, the different diameters of the base portion 202, collector portion 203 and upper collector portion 204 ensure that each portion in turn can be placed within another portion. Stand 301 is configured to support the container in use and is shaped so as to allow base portion 202 to fit on a top surface 302 of the stand 301 in use. It is appreciated that in the example shown in Figure 1, the stand 301 is positioned in the opposite orientation to how it would be positioned in use such that stand 301 can be removed and base portion 202 can be supported by the bottom surface 303 of base portion on top surface 302 of stand 301. In the embodiment, base portion 202 comprises a slot 304 which extends around the upper circumference of base portion 202. Slot 304 is configured to receive a corresponding protrusion from a collector portion such as collector portion 203. In addition, collector portion 203 comprises a protrusion which is configured to be located in slot 304 and, correspondingly protrusion 305 corresponds to slot 304 of base portion 202. Collector portion 203 further comprises slot 306 which, similarly, extends around an upper circumference of collector portion 203 and which is configured to receive a corresponding protrusion or protrusion from a further collector portion such as upper collector portion 204. Collector portion 204 therefore comprises corresponding protrusion 307 which is configured for locating in the corresponding slot 306 of collector portion 203. Protrusion 307 extends around the circumference of the lower end of upper collector portion 204 in a substantially similar manner to protrusion 305 Collector portion 204 further comprises a support 308 which extends around the outer circumference of collector portion 204 and which is configured to support a lid once the container 201 has been erected into the configuration shown in previously in Figure 2 and as will be described further with respect to Figure 4. In the embodiment of Figure 3, the container 201 is packaged in such a way that enables it to be efficiently transported either from the manufacturer to a vendor or a storage warehouse or directly to a customer. In the embodiment therefore, the container has a total height 309 which is substantially reduced from height 205 previously shown in Figure 2. In particular, in an example embodiment, height 205 previously described may be around one metre (1m) high. In contrast, height 309 would therefore be around thirty-five centimetres (35 cm) in height. This enables far easier transport or storage due to the less cumbersome container. Thus, the container 201 as shown in Figure 3 may then be shipped to an end user who can be provided with suitable instructions so as to arrange container 201 into the orientation shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 A further schematic of the container 201 shown in Figure 4 in which a customer has arranged each portion of the container into their final position for use in collecting and storing rainwater. In the embodiment therefore, base portion 202 receives protrusion 305 of collector portion 203 into corresponding slot 304 which ensures that base portion 202 and collector portion 203 are held together in a suitable manner. In addition, upper collector portion 204 is connected to collector portion 203 such that protrusion 307 is received by slot 306. In this way, the collector portion 204 is secured to collector portion 203 and consequently base portion 202 to form the container suitable for use in collecting and storing rainwater. In this embodiment, container 201 is therefore arranged with a height 401 which is much larger than height 409 from the storage configuration in Figure 3. Consequently, container 201 can be used in a substantially similar manner to conventional water butts and provide a similar internal volume as required by a user. While the embodiment described herein comprises three separate portions to form the container 201, it is appreciated that additional container portions may be utilised in alternative embodiments. For example, in an alternative embodiment a further container comprises an upper collector portion, a base portion and a plurality of collector portions so as to increase the volume and corresponding height of the final container. In such embodiments, the diameter of each of the portions may be adapted to ensure that the final container still allows the collector portions to fit within one another to ensure a reduced transport or storage height in the manner of Figure 3. Further, it is appreciated that the invention only requires the base portion and the upper collector portion and, in an alternative embodiment the container comprises a base portion and a single collector portion which may either take the form of collector portion 203 or upper collector portion 204. This arrangement may also be suitable for collecting and storing rainwater as required and may be desirable under alternative space constraints. Figure 5 A schematic of an example container for collecting and storing rainwater is shown in Figure 5 connected to a drainpipe mounted to a suitable building. In the embodiment, container 201 is supported by stand 302 and connected to drainpipe 501 of building 502. Container 201 is further provided with a suitable lid 503 which is supported by upper collector portion 204. In order to receive water from drainpipe 501, container 201 is provided with an inlet tube 505 which provides a means to connect container 201 to drainpipe 501. In addition, an overflow tube 504 is also provided. In the embodiment, overflow tube 504 is connected to base portion 202 while inlet tube 505 is connected to upper collector portion 204. In use, water enters container 201 via drainpipe 501 and inlet tube 505 and is permitted to allow water to fill to fill level 506. In the event of a heavy storm in which large volumes of rainwater are received by drainpipe 501, rainwater may exceed fill level 506 and fill a volume to the top of container 201. Once fill level 506 has been exceeded, water is released from container 201 by means of overflow tube 504. This ensures that when large volumes of rainwater have been collected, while excess water still exits container 201 and into the drainage and sewer systems, the flow of water can be reduced by overflow tube 504 thereby reducing storm issues and flooding problems. It is appreciated that, while in the embodiment overflow tube 504 is fitted to collector portion 202, this may be fitted at any other suitable height, which may require fitting to collector portion 203, for example. In such cases, the fill level will be adjusted in line with the position of the overflow tube, and can therefore be fitted in line with any user requirements to ensure an appropriate level of water is stored prior to the overflow tube coming into operation.

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. A container for collecting and storing rainwater, comprising:a base portion and at least one collector portion; whereineach said collector portion is configured to be stackable on said base portion in use to form a container having a first height; andsaid base portion and said at least one collector portion are configured to fit within one another such that said base portion and each said collector portion are combined to have a second height, said second height being smaller than said first height.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein each of said base portion and each said at least one collector portion comprise a tapered side wall.

3. The container of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein:said base portion comprises a slot, andeach said at least one collector portion comprises a slot and a protrusion for locating in a corresponding slot of said base portion or another said at least one collector portion.

4. The container of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an upper collector portion comprising a protrusion and a support for a lid.

5. The container of claim 4, wherein said upper collector portion comprises a tapered side wall.

6. The container of any preceding claim, comprising a base portion, a collector portion and an upper collector portion;said base portion having a first diameter, said collector portion having a second diameter and said upper collector portion having a third diameter;wherein:said third diameter is larger than said first diameter and said second diameter; and said second diameter is smaller than said third diameter and larger than said first diameter.

7. The container of any preceding claim, further comprising at least one 0 ring.

8. The container of any preceding claim, wherein said container is configured to be supported by a stand.

9. The container of any preceding claim, further comprising at least one tap to allow release of water from said container.

10. The container of any preceding claim, further comprising a lid configured to attach to an upper collector portion.

11. The container of any preceding claim, wherein said base portion and said at least one collector portion each comprise a plastics material.

12. The container of any preceding claim, said container being configured to be connected to a drainpipe of a building.

13. The container of claim 12, further comprising an inlet tube, said inlet tube providing a means to connect said container to said drainpipe.

14. The container of any preceding claim, in which said container comprises an inlet tube and an overflow tube.10

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