EP2484574B1

EP2484574B1 - A water storage and distribution system having a water tank by pass

Info

Publication number: EP2484574B1
Application number: EP11305121.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sebastian Sanchez; David Pich Martinez; Jose Julio Muyo; Dicad Puebla Ribas
Original assignee: Alte Transportation SL; Alstom Transport SA
Current assignee: Alte Transportation SL; Alstom Transport SA
Priority date: 2011-02-07
Filing date: 2011-02-07
Publication date: 2013-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 2031-02-07
Also published as: CN102627112A; BR102012002710A2; RU2012104021A; RU2586790C2; ES2439510T3; DK2484574T3; BR102012002710B1; BR102012002710A8; CN102627112B; EP2484574A1

Description

The invention pertains to a system for storing and distributing water, the system comprising a water tank having a fresh water inlet, a collected water inlet, and a main water outlet; a fresh water conduit connected to the fresh water inlet; and a main drain connected to the main water outlet.
Prior art systems according to the preamble of claim 1 are known for instance from FR-A-2 286 922 .
It is getting more and more important to reduce the weight of all components on vehicles such as trains. In vehicles with sanitary facilities, there are two components whose weight has a big contribution to the total weight of the vehicle, namely the fresh water tank and the waste water tank.
At the same time, it is required to have more autonomy of the sanitary facilities between filling operations of the fresh water tank, and especially between emptying operations of the waste water tank. Higher autonomies result in bigger tanks, while of course the weight and volume of the equipments increase.
In vehicles with the usual sanitary facilities, fresh water is used both for the wash basin and the toilet bowl. For every use of the sanitary facilities, 0.4 (aprox.) liters are used on the wash basin and 0.4 (aprox) liters on the toilet bowl (0.2 effluent evacuation + 0.2 after cleaning).
In more recent sanitary facilities for vehicles, thanks to a grey water recovery system, the water used on the wash basin is re-used on the toilet bowl, and therefore, less quantity of water is required for the autonomy requested. The size of fresh and waste water tanks can be then optimized taking into account the recovery operation. Less fresh water is needed to cover the basin and bowl functions (smaller fresh water tank), and so less water will be also kept with human effluents (smaller waste water tank). The system allows reducing the size of the tanks and the weight on the vehicle.

Figure 1 shows a known sanitary facility with a grey water recovery system. These facilities are currently implemented in the Euro tunnel shuttles.
Figure 1 illustrates the sanitary facility 100 of a railway carriage. The main components of sanitary facility 100 are a main fresh water tank 102, an intermediate fresh water tank 104, a wash basin 106, a toilet bowl 108, a waste water tank 110 and a grey water tank 112. The grey water tank 112 is used to recover the water coming from the wash basin 106 to flush the toilet bowl 108. The sanitary facility 100 comprises three filters 114 to 118. The first filter 114 is located between the wash basin 106 and the grey water tank 112, the second filter 116 is located inside the grey water tank 112, and the third filter 118 is located between the grey water tank 112 and the toilet bowl 108.

A major drawback of this known sanitary facility 100 is the complete shut-down of the facility in case of a filter blockage or a faulty grey water tank 112. Indeed, if the grey water tank 112 is out of order, the toilet bowl 108 can no longer be provided with flushing water, which means that the sanitary facility 100 must enter an "out of service" mode with the corresponding impact on the comfort of the passengers of the railway carriage.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a more reliable water storage and distribution system.
This object is achieved by a system for storing and distributing water of the aforementioned type being characterised by a water tank bypass connecting the fresh water conduit to the main drain and by a device for switching the system between a first mode, wherein the bypass is closed and the main water outlet is open, and a second mode, wherein the bypass is open and the main water outlet is closed.
Thanks to the provision of a water tank by-pass and the corresponding switching device, the system remains operational even in case of a water tank malfunction. Indeed, if such a malfunction occurs, the switching device switches the system into the second mode, thus by-passing the water tank. The toilet bowl can then be directly flushed with fresh water such that the main system function is maintained.
Preferred embodiments of the inventive water storage and distribution system have one or several of the following features:

the first mode is the system's main operational mode, and the second mode is a degraded operational mode;
the switching device is adapted for switching to the second mode upon detection of a system malfunction;
the switching device comprises a manually or automatically operated three-way valve;
the three-way valve has three terminals, the first terminal being connected to the water tank bypass, the second terminal being connected to the main drain, and the third terminal being connected to the main water outlet;
a fresh water pollution prevention valve in the fresh water conduit;
a filter at the bottom of the water tank, wherein the collected water inlet leads into said filter;
the water tank further comprises a water evacuation outlet;
the water tank further comprises a water overflow outlet;
the water tank further comprises at least one of a first sensor for detecting a high water level inside the water tank and a second sensor for detecting a low water level inside the water tank;
a water tank cleaning circuit;
the system is a greywater recovery system.

The invention also relates to a sanitary facility comprising the afore-mentioned water storage and distribution system; a wash basin having a basin drain connected to the collected water inlet; a toilet bowl having a bowl inlet connected to the main drain; and a fresh water tank having an outlet connected to the fresh water conduit.
Preferably, the sanitary facility further comprises a wastewater tank having an inlet connected to the water evacuation outlet.
The invention also relates to a vehicle, and in particular a railway carriage, comprising the aforementioned sanitary facility.
The invention will be better understood when reading the following exemplary and non limiting description in conjunction with the drawings, in which :

figure 1 is a diagram of a prior art sanitary facility;
figure 2 is a diagram of a sanitary facility according to the invention ;
figure 3 is an elevational and sectional view of the grey water tank of the facility of figure 2 ;
figure 4 illustrates the facility of figure 2 in its main operational mode ; and
figure 5 illustrates the facility of figure 2 in its degraded operational mode.

Figure 2 shows a sanitary facility 200 according to the invention. The sanitary facility 200 is installed in a vehicle such as a railway carriage. The main components of sanitary facility 200 are a fresh water tank 202, a wash basin 204, a waste water tank 206, a toilet bowl 208 and a water storage and distribution system, namely a grey water recovery system 209. The grey water recovery system 209 has a grey water input 210, a fresh water input 212, a waste water output 214 and a flushing water output 216. The grey water input 210 is connected to the drain 218 of wash basin 204. The fresh water input 212 is connected to the outlet 220 of fresh water tank 202. The waste water output 214 is connected to the inlet 222 of the waste water tank 206. The flushing water output 216 is connected to the inlet 224 of the toilet bowl 208. The fresh water tap 226 of the wash basin 204 is connected to the outlet 220 of fresh water tank 202.
The grey water recovery system 209 may also have a further cleaning circuit input 228.
The central element of the grey water recovery system 209 is a grey water tank 230. The grey water tank 230 has a fresh water inlet 232, a collected water inlet 234, a main water outlet 236, a water evacuation outlet 238 and a water overflow outlet 240. A fresh water conduit 242 connects the fresh water input 212 with the fresh water inlet 232. A fresh water pollution prevention valve 244 and a fresh water feed valve 246 are located in the fresh water conduit 242. The collected water inlet 234 is connected to the grey water input 210.
A main drain 248 connects the main water outlet 236 to the flushing water output 216. A grey water tank by-pass 250 connects the fresh water conduit 242 to the main drain 248. The connection between the main water outlet 236, the grey water tank by pass 250 and the main drain 248 is implemented via a switching device 252. The switching device 252 is preferably a three-way valve with three terminals 254, 256, and 258. The first terminal 254 is connected to the grey water tank by-pass 250, the second terminal 256 is connected to the main drain 248, and the third terminal 258 is connected to the main water outlet 236. A non return valve 260 is located in the main drain 248.
The water evacuation outlet 238 is connected, via an evacuation valve 262, to the evacuation output 214. The water overflow outlet 240 leads, via an overflow valve 264, to a discharge area 266. In the context of a railway carriage, the discharge area 266 corresponds to the railway tracks.
The grey water tank 230 may also comprise a cleaning nozzle 268. This nozzle 268 is connected, via a non return valve 270, to the cleaning circuit input 228.
Figure 3 gives a detailed view of the grey water tank 230. Grey water tank 230 comprises a main body 272, a lower body 274 and a connection element 276. The fresh water inlet 232 and the overflow outlet 240 are arranged at the top 278 of the main body 272. The main body 272 defines a grey water storage cavity 280. This cavity is fitted with a low level sensor 282 for detecting a low water level inside the water tank 230, and a high level sensor 284 for detecting a high water level inside the water tank 230. The cleaning nozzle 268 protrudes into the grey water storage cavity 280. The main water outlet 236 is arranged at the bottom of the main body 272.
A grey water filter 286 is fitted inside the lower body 274. The filter 286 may be accessed via a removable filter cap 288, for filter cleaning. The filter 286 is located at the bottom 290 of the water tank 230.
The connection element 276 is Y-shaped. It has a base 292 connected to the lower body 274 via a watertight joint 294. Its upper leg consists of the collected water inlet 234, and its lower leg consists of the water evacuation outlet 238.
With reference to figures 4 and 5, the main operational mode and the degraded operational mode of the sanitary facility 200 will now be described.
Figure 4 shows the sanitary facility 200 in its main operational mode. In this mode, the three-way valve 252 is switched such that the by-pass 250 is closed, as indicated by a dotted line, and the main water outlet 236 is open, as indicated by a solid line. Grey water GW coming from the wash basin 204 enters the grey water tank 230 via the collected water inlet 234. Since the collected water inlet 234 reaches into filter 286, the grey water is filtered and temporarily stored in the grey water tank 230. If a toilet flush is required, the grey water leaves the grey water tank 230 through the main water outlet 236, transits through three-way valve 252 and the non return valve 260, and finally goes to the toilet bowl 208. If no grey water is available in the grey water tank 230 for the flushing, the low level sensor 282 will activate. This triggers the opening of the fresh water valve 246 such that grey water tank 230 is filled with fresh water FW coming from the fresh water tank 202. This fresh water will then leave through the main water outlet 236 for flushing the toilet bowl 208.
Thanks to the non return valve 244, no grey water can flow back from the grey water tank 230 to the fresh water tank 202. Accordingly, bacteria and other pollutants cannot cross from the grey water tank through to the fresh water tank. Preferably, the non return valve 244 is designed according to the standard EN 1717.
If there is no bowl flushing while there are lots of basin uses, the grey water tank 230 will fill up, and the high level sensor 284 will activate. This triggers the opening of the evacuation valve 262. Accordingly, the content of the grey water tank 230 will be evacuated to waste water tank 206.
As a further security measure, the grey water tank 230 may include the overflow outlet 240. If, for example, the high level sensor 284 is malfunctioning such that the grey water tank is not evacuated via the evacuation outlet 238 even when full, the grey water can leave water tank 230 via the overflow outlet 240 and the overflow valve 264, which by default is in an opened state. In the context of a railway carriage, the overflow valve 264 is temporarily closed when the railway carriage crosses a tunnel.
Figure 5 shows the sanitary facility 200 in its degraded operational mode. In this mode, the three-way valve 252 is switched such that the by-pass 250 is open, as indicated by a solid line, and the main water outlet 236 is closed as indicated by a dotted line. Sanitary facility 200 is switched from the main operational mode to the degraded mode upon detection of a malfunctioning of the grey water recovery system 209. The switching between the two modes can be manual or automatic, depending on the functional requirements of the sanitary facility 200. In the degraded mode of figure 5, the fresh water circuit and the grey water circuit are separated and work independently. Grey water tank 230 then acts as a waste water buffer tank for the actual waste water tank 206. Grey water GW coming from the wash basin 204 accumulates in the grey water tank 230 until it is full. This activates the high level sensor 284, which triggers the opening of evacuation valve 262 such that the grey water is evacuated to the waste water tank 206.
In the degraded mode, fresh water is used for flushing the toilet bowl 208. More precisely, using the toilet bowl 208 triggers the release of fresh water FW from the fresh water tank 202, which flows through the fresh water conduit 242, the by-pass 250, is led by the three-way valve 252 to the main drain 248 and flushes the toilet bowl 208.
Thanks to the grey water tank by-pass 250 and the three-way valve 252, a grey water tank failure does not jeopardize the proper flushing of the toilet bowl 208. Indeed, the toilet bowl 208 can still be flushed using fresh water from the fresh water tank 202.
If the grey water recovery system 209 is fitted with the cleaning circuit input 228, the grey water tank 230 can be cleaned by connecting the cleaning circuit input 228 to a cleaning water supply. The cleaning water enters the grey water tank through the cleaning nozzle 268 and leaves via the overflow outlet 240.
In summary, the inventive water storage and distribution system and corresponding sanitary facility stand out thanks to their small tank size and thus small weight, their reliability and small number of components, the possibility to by-pass the grey water tank and thus separate the grey and fresh water circuits, the protection against fresh water pollution, and the easy cleaning. A further advantage is the use of a single filter for the whole system.

Claims

A system (209) for storing and distributing water, the system comprising:
- a water tank (230) having a fresh water inlet (232), a collected water inlet (234), and a main water outlet (236);

- a fresh water conduit (242) connected to the fresh water inlet; and

- a main drain (248) connected to the main water outlet,
the system being characterised by a water tank bypass (250) connecting the fresh water conduit to the main drain and by a device (252) for switching the system between a first mode, wherein the bypass (250) is closed and the main water outlet (236) is open, and a second mode, wherein the bypass (250) is open and the main water outlet (236) is closed.
The system of claim 1, wherein the first mode is the system's main operational mode, and the second mode is a degraded operational mode.
The system of any one of the previous claims, wherein the switching device (252) is adapted for switching to the second mode upon detection of a system malfunction.
The system of any one of the previous claims, wherein the switching device comprises a manually or automatically operated three-way valve (252).
The system of claim 4, wherein the three-way valve has three terminals, the first terminal (254) being connected to the water tank bypass, the second terminal (256) being connected to the main drain, and the third terminal (258) being connected to the main water outlet.
The system of any one of the previous claims, further comprising a fresh water pollution prevention valve (244) in the fresh water conduit.
The system of any one of the previous claims, further comprising a filter (286) at the bottom (290) of the water tank, wherein the collected water inlet leads into said filter.
The system of any one of the previous claims, the water tank further comprising a water evacuation outlet (238).
The system of any one of the previous claims, the water tank further comprising a water overflow outlet (240).
The system of any one of the previous claims, the water tank further comprising at least one of a first sensor (284) for detecting a high water level inside the water tank and a second sensor (282) for detecting a low water level inside the water tank.
The system of any one of the previous claims, further comprising a water tank cleaning circuit (228, 268).
The system of any one of the previous claims, the system being a greywater recovery system.
A sanitary facility (200) comprising:
- the system (209) of any one of the previous claims;

- a wash basin (204) having a basin drain (218) connected to the collected water inlet;

- a toilet bowl (208) having a bowl inlet (224) connected to the main drain; and

- a fresh water tank (202) having an outlet (220) connected to the fresh water conduit.
The sanitary facility of claim 13 with the system of claim 8, further comprising a wastewater tank (206) having an inlet (222) connected to the water evacuation outlet.
A vehicle, in particular a railway carriage, comprising the sanitary facility of claim 13 or 14.