AU722235B3 - Rainwater cleaner - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT RAINWATER CLEANER A description and Completed Additional Specifications including changed claims and additional drawings for The Rainwater Cleaner.

The following explanation and drawings, I hope, will help to show the simplicity and effectiveness of this device. I have shown it to the best of my ability and my knowledge on this subject.

EDITORIAL NOTE: CASE FILE NO.: 45846/99 (Petty Patent) THE PAGES IN THIS SPECIFICATION ARE NOT NUMBERED CONSECUTIVELY.

DESCRIPTION

This device really needs little explaining as can be seen by the drawings.

It is terribly simple and very effective although some things simple can still bamboozle lots of people.

Many discoveries have been made regarding water over the centuries and more will be found in the future for instance, very few creeks or rivers are straight for any distance. Water is quite an unstable fluid! This was the main problem with running water over a screen. Regardless of the shape or the slope put on a screen, water would go through only to reappear somewhere else and eventually run over the edge and to where it was not wanted. By adding indentations (swaging fitting curls) in other words fitting a groove on the outside of the screen wire it was found that the water would go straight down. In other words it had become manageable.

It matters little what shape the finished article is, conical, oblong, square or the like. The main feature here being the surface of the screen must be at an angle greater than the angle of repose 32 degrees and the reason has nothing to do with water passing through, only rubbish cannot adhere to a steep surface.

In working models I used the angle of 44 degrees. Exact angles are not important. It also matters little what material this is made from (the Rainwater Cleaner) plastic, zinc, copper, stainless steel or the like. I used stainless steel. The main feature here being the aperture of the mesh being sufficiently small as to stop filth and disease bearing insects (as mosquitoes) entering the water tank.

This device is not a filter in the true sense although even the dictionary can't give a clear meaning between cleaner and filter. It differentiates on the phraseology. So one can only deal with what we know to exist.

In a filter and an air cleaner in a motor car we have the following: Let's deal with this one at a time. Oil Filter will clean up discoloured oil (and remove dirt from same). Air Cleaner on the other hand will only remove dirt down to four microns which means that it will only remove part of the dirt.

This rainwater cleaner will not clean up discoloured water. It will take out everything else.

Example: flies, maggots, bird dung, leaves, berries, insects plus any other rubbish that comes in contact with rainwater on an ordinary roof. A conical or other shape frame made from rural farm water pipe grade plastic formed in a mould would do the job.

The outside surface (mesh) could be fastened over the plastic frame. There have been many attempts to rectify this problem (of stopping impurities and the like entering water tanks) but all have failed one way or another, for instance a screen without rings or curls will stop dirt but will waste a lot of water which is a precious commodity especially in Australia.

This invention does not have this problem. Another reason that many have failed is because of maintenance problems. Nobody really likes maintenance and as a rule it does not get done. This 4 device is virtually maintenance free as it is exposed and the wind, in most circumstances, does the maintenance for you.

ADDITIONAL SPECIFICATIONS Rainwater Cleaner Drawing 1 Figure 1: The drawing shows a working example of this Rainwater Cleaner.

Referring to Figure 1: In the drawing is seen as a section of a roof which deposits water with undesirable dirt into roof gutter where it travels along and passes through spouting or down pipe It then travels with dirt across the surface of the screen until it comes in contact with the first indentation which is positioned on the outside surface of the screen wire. A large amount of the water will have gone through the screen before it reaches the top of the first ring (indentation) but any that has not will immediately pass through the screen upon coming into contact with this ring. What I refer to as a ring here is a groove around or along the outside of the mesh.

The drawing Fig. 1 shows four said rings. The reason for using four rings is to make sure that in the event that debris blocked the first section, the water would travel to next section and so on. As soon as the screen dries out, any debris that may have adhered to the screen blows off with the wind.

Also, the heavier the rain the better as a swift current of water across the screen moves any debris further down the screen and away from the immediate working area. Because of the steep surface of the' screen, leaves, debris and the like roll off the screen until it passes the unscreened portion of the cleaner which is 50 millimetres or so above the top of the water tank. Dirt and the like is left here on top of the tank where it cannot enter as the whole thing is sealed around its base shows the top of the water tank.

is the vertical side of the water tank.

outlet of which is also sealed against insects and the like entering. (there are many successful patents for devices that cover this).

Drawing 2 Figure 1: is shown as screen is swaged grooves on outside of screen (indentation running horizontally around screen four off) unscreened area below working area of screen 50mm or so above top of tank.

Drawing 2 Figure 2: Shows side of screen at approximate angle with section of one indentation Drawing 2 Figure 3: Shows more on indentation in screen wire and in reference of how it works.

is screen surface at working angle.

Water and debris run down screen when it comes to (5CA) turns around to (5C) then goes inside screen and consequently fall into rainwater tank.

Debris skips across gap (5C) and lands on surface of screen (5CB) and continues to fall down rest of screen past unscreened section and onto top of tank.

Drawing 3 Figure 1: Shows a different shape that this can be made (square).

screen area swage indentations running along outer surface of screen unscreened area metal ends.