AU2006101080A5

AU2006101080A5 - Water collection system

Info

Publication number: AU2006101080A5
Application number: AU2006101080A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Peter Matherson
Original assignee: MATHERSON CONSTRUCTION Pty Ltd
Current assignee: MATHERSON CONSTRUCTION Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2002-11-14
Filing date: 2006-12-27
Publication date: 2007-01-18
Anticipated expiration: 2011-11-14
Also published as: AU2003262222A1; AU2006101080B4; AU2002952653A0; AU2010219382A1

Description

27/12/2006 14:41 61-3-98901337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 04/17

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 INNOVATION PATENT SPECIFICATION Applicant(s): Title: Divisional of: MATHERSON CONSTRUCTION PTY LTD WATER COLLECTION SYSTEM Complete Application No. 2003262222 Prepared by: PATENT ATTORNEY SERVICES 26 Ellingworth Parade Box Hill Victoria 3128 Australia Telephone: (03) 9890 7070 Facsimile: (03) 9890 1337 COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27 27/12/2006 14:41 61-3-98901337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 05/17 o WATER COLLECTION SYSTEM FIELD OF INVENTION d This invention relates to a water collection system in a building structure. More particularly, this invention relates to a water collection system for collecting rain and C 5 grey water which is incorporated into a foundation slab of a building structure.

BACKGROUND ART 00 The following references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art in Australia.

Population pressures and long term climatic conditions, increased irrigation Cl demands and poor water conservation pressures have placed water authorities throughout the world, particularly in drier regions, under increasing pressure to provide users of mains water systems with an adequate supply of potable water. There is increasing demand for systems and devices which better utilise the precious water resources available through the mains water systems and from primary sources such as rain water and run off. In this regard, regulatory regimes governing the use of domestic water tanks have been modified in line with the growing demand for domestic users to trap their own water from rain water sources, such as run off from roofs, driveways, and the like. Moreover, there has been increased developmental activity directed to the utilisation of dirty or grey water sources such as washing water which may be recycled for use in, for example, toilet systems and gardens.

However, large water tanks may be considered unsightly from an aesthetic view point and may occupy critical space, particularly on small domestic blocks. Moreover, their supports must be adequately rated for high load bearing thereby often ruling out the option of placing the tank on the roof of a building structure.

Another aspect of the prior art relates to the expense of raft slabs which require a high volume of concrete to form the base of a building structure, such as a domestic dwelling, factory or the like. An object of the present invention is to ameliorate one or more of the above mentioned disadvantages or difficulties of the prior art or, at least, to provide a useful alternative thereto.

l COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27 27/12/2006 14:41 61-3-98901337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 06/17

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o DISCI.OSURE OF INVENTION o According to a first aspect the present invention provides a water collection system in a building structure including a plurality of containers in fluid communication with each other and at least one water source connected to supply water to the containers, o wherein each container is incorporated into a foundation slab of the building structure 00 o such that each container is permanently positioned within a perimeter of the foundation slab and in use stores water below a floor of the building structure formed by the foundation slab.

c In one embodiment, the at least one water source is selected from a rain water supply and a grey water supply, both of which source the water supplied to the containers from the building structure.

A water level regulation means may also be provided to maintain the amount of water stored in the plurality of containers at or above a predetermined level. The water level regulation means may include a valve in a line in communication with a mains water supply such that when said water regulation means senses the level of water stored in the plurality of containers falling below said predetermined level, the valve in the mains water supply line is opened to permit the ingress of water from the mains water supply to return the water level stored in the plurality of containers to or above said predetermined level. The water level regulation means may also include a preliminary container located externally of the foundation slab and at substantially the same level as and in communication with, the containers incorporated in the slab. The at least one water source may supply water to the preliminary container and the water level regulation means may be responsive to the level of water in the preliminary container.

2 COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27 27/12/2006 14:41 61-3-98901337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 07/17

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o In another aspect, this invention provides a container forming part of a sub-floor building structure, the container defining a space filled with liquid to a sufficient level C) to resist the collapsing of the container walls under the pressure of external loads applied to the walls by the remaining sub-floor building structure components or materials. The remaining sub-floor building structure materials or components may form a raft-slab. The liquid may be water and the container may be a water storage 00 tank. In another aspect, there is provided a water storage tank installed in a space between at least two sub-floor building support structures.

The water may be supplied from primary sources such as rain water and run off o 10 from paved surfaces such as driveways. The water may also be recycled water obtained C, from grey water sources such as dishwashing machines, clothes washing machines, kitchen sink water and the like. The water may also be sourced from a secondary supplementary source such as mains water.

The supplementary mains water outlet may be fed directly into the system without passing through a filtration system. Conversely, the water derived from primary sources may be directed through a filtration system, before being admitted to the water tank. The filtration system may be interposed between the primary water source collection area and the water tank. The filtration system may be included in a common pipeline in communication with all of the primary source collection areas.

Alternatively, the filtration system may comprise a plurality of different filtration devices specifically adapted to filter out particular contaminating elements which characterise the particular primary source. For example, the filtration system may include one or more filters specifically adapted to remove leaves and other debris (such as by wire mesh) borne by water derived from roof areas and the silt and other sedimentary elements characteristic of ground level run-off may be filtered out using matted fibre or woven fibre filters, as appropriate.

The water collection system may include different water containers or compartmentalised non-communicating water containers to manage water from different sources of different quality. For example, the water collection system may include a container or compartment dedicated to storing water derived from rain water sources and a separate non-communicating compartment dedicated to storage of water 3 COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27 27/12/2006 14:41 61-3-9891337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 08/17 0O 0 derived from grey water sources. As the skilled person will appreciate, the water

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derived from rain water may be more easily treated to obtain water of a potable quality, Swhereas grey water may be recycled for use in toilet systems and for watering gardens, etc and may therefore be subj ect to a less stringent treatment regime.

Preferably, where a mains water source is available, the water collection system O includes a mains outlet control device for regulating the mains water outlet whereby, 00 O when the water level achieved from the primary water sources drops below a O predetermined threshold in the container, the mains outlet control device opens to IN permit entry of mains water to the system. There are various means for detecting and O 10 regulating water levels which will be familiar to a person skilled in the art and it is merely noted that a float or ballcock device operably connected to a mains outlet valve would be satisfactory for this purpose. The mains outlet control may be located in the tank or may be located external thereto.

In a preferred arrangement, the mains outlet control is located in a preliminary container in direct communication with the or each container. Mains water may be fed directly into the preliminary container. In a particularly preferred arrangement, the water from the primary sources is fed into the preliminary container via the filtration system located in the preliminary container. Accordingly, maintenance and repair of the mains outlet control device and the filtration system may be carried out by an operator by reference to the same location.

The or each water container is typically large in capacity by domestic standards and may range from 5,000 to 20,000 litres for domestic applications and may be much larger in capacity for commercial applications such as for use in farm, office and factory buildings. The water containers are preferably precast or premoulded and are made in a range of dimensions and configurations corresponding to the variety of different applications. Typically, a domestic water container according to the invention will be about 5 to 12 metres in width and length and about 100 to 800 mm in height.

Each container may be made from a variety of suitable materials such as metal or plastic. Although galvanised metals may be utilised, if metal is required for structural 4 COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27 27/12/2006 14:41 61-3-98901337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 09/17

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0 reasons, it is preferred that stainless steel be used to provide corrosion resistance o particularly in corrosive environments such as close proximity to sea water. In most

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0 applications, however, plastic materials will be adequate in terms of strength requirements and preferred in terms of ease and cost of manufacture, corrosion resistance and transportability. Moreover, as resistance to UV degradation is of no significance in the sub-floor environment, plastics materials will be generally preferred.

00 O Polypropylene, optionally strengthened by additional constituents, is particularly Spreferred.

IN Each container may be of a simple hollow construction with provision for inlet 0. io and outlet pipes and optionally air vents. Each container may include inclined external walls. Preferably the external walls are inclined inwardly so that the container is wider at the base than at its roof. This configuration is particularly preferred where the container is intended for a load bearing application. The comers and edges of the container may be angular. However, it is preferred that the corners and edges be curved to provide greater strength and ease of manufacture, such as in a plastic moulding process.

Preferably, the containers are installed as part of the building process of the building and, preferably, when the foundations of the building are being laid.

In a particularly advantageous arrangement, the containers are incorporated into a raft slab as part of the formwork thereof. The containers are particularly well adapted to form part of the formwork in that the water filled containers are resistant to collapsing under load due to the outward pressure of the water contained therein, whereby the container provides an extremely useful utilisation of the void and reduces the amount of formwork required and the time required to set it up. Therefore, the container may be placed in position prior to pouring the concrete raft slab, filled with water to strengthen the structure against collapse, the other formwork placed in position as appropriate and the concrete poured. Optionally, prior to pouring and positioning of the containers, connecting pipe work between the various water bearing components of the water COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27 27/12/2006 14:41 61-3-98901337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 10/17 collection system may be set in place by minor excavation of the soil at a level lower c than the base of the tank.

Cq To provide increased load bearing capacity of the containers, the container may include internal vertical supports. The internal vertical supports may be in the form of solid or hollow blocks, posts or walls. The vertical supports may be in the form of one o or more partitions whereby to compartmentalise the container. Preferably, the vertical 00 0 supports include archways, apertures or channels at their lower most portions permitting Sor facilitating communication between the compartments to allow flow of water N therethrough. It is preferred that the vertical supports extend to the base of the container o 10 for maximum strength, although in some applications it may be adequate to weld or otherwise affix the vertical supports to the side walls of the container, whereby to effectively support the roof.

The water containers may be connected via water pipe work to all or selected water outlets in the building, such as kitchen, laundry or bathroom facilities. As the water outlets will typically be elevated relative to the water containers, it is generally advantageous to provide a water pump to pump water against gravity to the elevated outlets.

In another aspect the invention provides a method of constructing a water collection system into a foundation slab of a building structure including the steps of: assembling a formwork to define a casting perimeter of the foundation slab of the building structure; placing at least one water collection container in position within said formwork; plumbing said one or more water collection containers to facilitate fluid communication between one or more water collection containers and at least one water source; and pouring the foundation slab into the formwork.

6 COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27 27/12/2006 14:41 61-3-98901337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 11/17 O In one embodiment of this aspect, the method may include the further step of at least partially filling the at least one water collection container with water prior to o pouring the foundation slab. In this regard, the or each container may provide increased Sresistance to collapsing when subject to loads due to said foundation slab during and 5 post pouring of the slab.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Q The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of one or more preferred embodiments, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation of a domestic dwelling according to a first o 10 embodiment incorporating a water storage system in which the dwelling is built on a Craft slab.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to Figure there is shown domestic dwelling 10 including a first water collection system 1. The first water collection system I includes a rain water collection arrangement whereby rain water is collected off the roof 11, the rain water running into a gutter 12 and down a downpipe 13. The rain water is then directed to a preliminary treatment container 20 where the water is passed through a filter 21 and down into the main body of the preliminary container The water collection system 1 includes a pair of water containers 30 and 40 which are in communication with the preliminary container 20 and each other by means of subterranean connecting pipes 31, 41. The water level in each of the preliminary container 20, and the water containers 30, 40 is always maintained in equilibrium by operation of the direct communication through subterranean pipes 31, 41. The first container 30 is compartmentalised by partitions 32 which extend from the base 33 of the container to the roof 34. Each partition 32 includes an aperture 35 whereby the water is freely communicable between the different compartments within the container 30 such that the water level of the container 30 is the same in each compartment, once equilibrium is achieved, 7 COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27 27/12/2006 14:41 61-3-98901337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 12/17

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0 In contrast, the second container 40 is a hollow non-compartmentalised structure.

Cxl o The second container 40 has inclined side walls 42, a base 43 and a roof 44. Depending Son the load bearing requirements of the roof of the container, it may or may not be necessary to include the partitions 32, and where necessary, the number and distribution of the partitions may be varied. For example, where the roof 34 is required to have a 0 high load bearing capacity, the first container 30 may include a large number of vertical 00 0 supporting structures such as the partitions 32. It should be noted that the vertical 0 supporting structures may include vertical poles or posts of varying cross sections which Smay or may not be of a consistent cross section along their respective lengths. For C, 10 example, the vertical supporting structures may be wider at their bases and may taper towards the roof 34. Moreover, the thickness of the walls and roof of the tanks 30, may be varied to improve load bearing capacity and to resist stress forces such as may occur as a result of movement, land slippage or even earthquakes.

In the installation shown in Figure 1, the first and second containers 30, 40 form part of the form work used to define the space occupied by the raft slab or foundation slab 50. The raft slab 50 includes primary building support structures 51 for load bearing walls and typically includes reinforcing in the form of trench meshing 52 in accordance with standard building practice. As part of the installation process, the site of the dwelling 10 may be levelled by excavation equipment and minor excavations made to install interconnecting pipes 31, 41 and 61. The trench meshing 52 is typically installed on bar chairs, the containers 30, 40 are positioned as required and the other form work defining the raft slab is installed ready for the concrete pour.

The second container 40 includes a single inlet 45 and two outlets, a supply outlet 46 and an overflow outlet 47 which permits overflow from the second container 40 to be delivered to a storm water drain, another holding container or the garden, as appropriate, via overflow pipe 62.

Against gravity, the water collection system provides a water pump 60 operable to draw water from the second container 40 via the supply outlet 46 through the 3 COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27 27/12/2006 14:41 61-3-98901337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 13/17

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0 o interconnecting pipe 61 and up to a water outlet appliance 63. The pump 6 is located o just above ground level 64 for ease of access for maintenance and repair.

SReturning to the preliminary container 20, it can be understood that in periods of low rainfall or higher water usage, the water level regulation means in the form of the ballcock 22 is effective to operate a valve 23 whereby to maintain the water level in the o preliminary container 20, first container 30 and second container 40 at a predetermined 00 O desirable level 24.

O Throughout the specification and claims the word "comprise" and its derivatives N are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the context requires otherwise.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications are variations may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

9 COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27

Claims

1. A water collection system in a building structure including a plurality of 0 containers in fluid communication wit each oilier and at least one water source Cl connected to supply water to the containers, wherein each container is; incorporated into a foundation slab of the building structuresuhtaechoniersprm etl 00 positioned within a perimeter of the foudto saaninuetoswater below a floor O of the building structure formed by the foundation slab. IN

2. A water collection system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one water Cl source is selected from a rain water supply and a grey water supply, both of which source jo the water supplied to the containers from the building structure.

3. A water collection system according to claim 2, further including a water level regulation means to maintain the amount of water stored in the plurality of containers at or above a predetermined level.

4. A water collection system according to claim 3, wherein the water level regulation means includes a valve in a line in communication with a mains water supply such that when said water regulation means senses the level of water stored in the plurality of containers falling below said predetermined level, the valve in the mains water suppl y line is opened to permit the ingress of water from the mains water supply to return the water level stored in the plurality of containers to or above said predetermined level. S. A water collection system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the water level regulation means includes a preliminary container located externally of the foundation slab and at substantially the same level as and in communication with the containers incorporated in the slab, the at least one water source supplying water to the COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27 27/12/2009 14:41 61-3-98901337 PATENT ATTORNEY SERV PAGE 15/17 preliminary container and the water level regulation means being responsive to he level of water in the preliminary container. 11 COMS ID No: SBMI-05771874 Received by IP Australia: Time 14:46 Date 2006-12-27