ES1286180U - Deposit and disposition for the use of rainwater without pumping or energy consumption (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Deposit for the use of rainwater without pumping or energy consumption, characterized in that it involves: - A rainwater inlet (23) that is conducted with a curved sections (23A) and a straight section (23B) towards the inside of the tank (5) lending below the minimum level of filling. - A discharge pipe (25) to the sanitary devices (15) - A filling pipe (13) with pressure water, which is above the minimum level of water. - An emptying hole (9) - an outflow (6) of interconnection of waterfall deposits, - An emergency overflow (8) whose inferior generatriz of the overflow coincides with the level corresponding to 70% filling of the outflow (6) towards the lower tank. - A base of the tank (22) with slope to two waters where the low point is available next to the emptying orifice (9) and the high point in the opposite corner. - a cap (14) folding with at least two hinges (16) on the long side closest to the emptying orifice (9) with anchors (18) to ensure its locking with padlocks and a propylene EPDM ethylene rubber gasket (19) Sealing between cover and deposit covering all the perimeter of the record. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Deposit and provision for the use of rainwater without pumping or energy consumption

TECHNICAL SECTOR

The invention of this document falls within the sector of the design of rainwater harvesting systems. The objective is to optimize the reuse of rainwater for later use in toilets or urinals, minimizing the energy consumption required in the usual systems with pumping from underground tanks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, colloquially known as the nZEB (nearly Zero Energy Building) directive, obliges the Member States of the European Union to ensure that, from the end of 2020, all new buildings are buildings Near-zero power consumption, to say the least.

In addition, the Paris Agreement, within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), must also help the rest of the States of the world that sign it, take measures to prevent global warming.

To achieve this, one of the needs is to reduce energy demand. The best savings in energy consumption is the one that does not occur.

Based on this premise, it has been observed that the design of current rainwater harvesting systems for use in toilets and urinals is energy-optimizable in some situations.

In them, the water is captured in elevated areas of the building, it is conducted by gravity to the lowest levels of said building, to later be raised by pumping to intermediate levels, where the water had already circulated during its capture.

The invention presented below aims to eliminate this need for energy consumption, taking advantage of the potential energy that rainwater has at its collection points.

As for the current state of the art, the following documents for the protection of the inventive activity are noteworthy, by way of example and not limitation:

- ES1015975U: “Device for recovering rainwater”

- ES1073766U: “Device for collecting rainwater”

- ES1264941U: "Rainwater filtering system arranged in a downspout"

- ES2241564T3: “Regulated flow rainwater evacuation device”

- ES2534002T3: "Device and method for filtering rainwater"

- ES2729878T3: "Device to filter rainwater"

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

Consider a building that contains toilets with toilets and/or urinals on one or more levels, and that a rainwater tank is installed above each of these toilets.

These tanks are connected in cascade so that the outlet overflow of the upper tank is connected to the rainwater inlet of the next tank, with the exception of the last tank whose outlet overflow is connected to the evacuation network of the building.

At the origin of the installation, one or more drains installed on a roof or in gutters, have a protective element that prevents the passage of solids that could be washed away by rainwater (leaves, gravel, butts, etc.), according to the type of roof and its environment: if it is passable or not, if it has gravel or not, etc.

The outlet of the drains is conducted to a self-cleaning filter installed upstream of the tank located at the highest level within the building. The filter has a sieve to filter the smallest particles, to ensure that the rainwater that reaches the tank is suitable for use in toilets and urinals.

The tanks have the following connections: a rainwater inlet; a pressurized water inlet for automatic filling in case there is no rainwater available; a discharge outlet to toilets and urinals; an overflow outlet, to drive excess rainwater to the tank located immediately below, at a lower level; an emergency overflow outlet; an outlet to empty the tank.

In addition, the tank also has pre-punched holes for the connection of the level control, for the connection of an aeration valve if necessary, for the connection of a possible external treatment system (biological or chemical), or other need that could be considered.

At the highest level of the tank inlet, the pipe from the self-cleaning filter will be connected. At the entrances of the rest of the tanks, the pipes coming from the outlet of each tank immediately above will be connected.

Finally, to evacuate the excess water from the last tank, the outlet overflow, the emergency overflow, or both, may be connected to the rainwater drainage network.

At the beginning of the rain, the tank located at the highest level will initially be filled. When the water begins to overflow through the outlet pipe, the immediately lower tank will begin to fill. And so on, until the last tank pours excess water into the rainwater drainage network.

These tanks will act as a common cistern for the corresponding toilets and urinals, and will be emptied as the sanitary devices connected to each of them are used.

The tanks have an adjustable level control to ensure that water is always available. Upon reaching the minimum level, the level control will open the solenoid valve so that the water from the pressure filling circuit enters, and will close the solenoid valve when the maximum level is reached.

The filling and discharge system of each tank may in turn have a normally closed manual bypass, in case it is necessary to put the tank out of service (provided that the mechanisms of the sanitary appliances are suitable for working at the pressure of the filling network).

The emergency overflows must be connected to a ventilated downspout, previously inserting a siphon to prevent the return of odors from the rainwater drainage network, and a vent to prevent the siphon from emptying.

The drainage pipes and the waste outlet of the self-cleaning filter will also be connected to this ventilated downspout, and it will be led to the rainwater drainage network.

If the catchment system is not siphonic, the outlet pipes of the drains must also be connected to a ventilated downspout.

In installations where at least one of the emergency overflows does not have a sufficient level to connect to the building's gravity evacuation network, a pumping well must be provided, and an independent ventilated downspout that conducts the water discharged through overflows from emergency and empties that cannot be evacuated by gravity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complete the description that is being made, and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description, where, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, represented the following:

Figure 1 - Scheme of the installation with two accumulation levels.

Figure 2 - Front elevation view of the tank.

Figure 3 - Plan view of the deposit.

Figure 4 - Side elevation view of the tank.

Figure 5 - Sectional view of the tank plan.

Figure 6.- Longitudinal section view of the tank.

Figure 7.- Detail of the sealing joint.

LIST OF REFERENCES

1- Sinks

2- Cover

3- Protective element

4- Self-cleaning filter

5- Deposit

6- Outlet overflow

7- ventilated downspout

8- Emergency overflow

- drain hole

0- evacuation network

1- level control

2- filling solenoid valve

3 - fill pipe

4- Tank cover

5- Toilets

6- Hinges

7- Siphon

8- Padlock anchors

9- EPDM gasket

0- Pre-punched holes

1- Tank side

2- Base of the tank

3- Rainwater inlet

3a- Curved section

3b- Straight section

4- Vent

5- Discharge pipe

6- Discharge valve

7- Position anchors

8- Automatic filling manual bypass PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

As a general criterion, the installation must comply with the requirements and conditions indicated in the UNE-EN 16941-1 standard, or the current equivalent standard.

The sinks (1) or catchment points must have a protective element (3) that prevents the passage of solid particles, which could be foreseen due to the type of cover (2). Cigarette butts or gravel with a minimum dimension of at least 16mm should be avoided.

The self-cleaning filter (4) (or set of filters in series) will preferably be installed in the downspout, and must prevent the passage of solid particles with a diameter greater than 1 mm.

The tank (5) will be built by melting and molding, preferably of 100% recyclable plastic material, with a general cuboid shape without prejudice to its faces not being smooth for reasons of structural rigidity. The cuboid shape allows minimizing the space and installation volume required for the same useful capacity, optimization of transport and fixing, and ease of installing pipes or accessories inside if necessary.

Its lid (14) will be large in order to easily carry out maintenance and cleaning tasks inside the tank, it will be hinged with at least two hinges (16) on the long side closest to the emptying hole (9), it will have anchors (18 ) to be able to use padlocks, and it will have a continuous ethylene propylene diene EPDM rubber gasket (19) that ensures sealing between the cover and the tank around the entire perimeter of the register.

All the hydraulic connections will be on the same side (21) of the tank to facilitate its installation, leaving three of the four faces without the need for access, and the bottom also completely free so that it can be supported without difficulty on any resistant flat surface.

In the upper part, there will be some pre-punched holes (20), which allow the installation of ventilation valves, level probes, level gauges in situ, cable glands or fittings for the passage of cables, or pipes for chemical or biological treatment, for example. example. It will also have position anchors (27) that allow its position to be fixed with respect to nearby enclosures and/or support surface.

At least internally, the base of the tank (22) must have a gabled slope, placing the low point next to the emptying hole (9), and the high point in the opposite corner.

The connections of the rainwater inlet pipe (23), the outlet overflow (6) to another tank (5) and the emergency overflow (8) which is connected to the ventilated downspout (7), have been planned with flanges for two reasons: to be able to easily adapt the diameters of the pipes depending on the flow rates, velocities and useful section of the pipes, and to easily allow the installation of a bypass between the rainwater inlet and the outlet to the lower tank, when necessary because the tank needs to be changed, or simply because it is installed at a later date than the installation is put into service.

In the connections of the filling pipe (13), drain hole (9), and discharge pipe (25) towards sanitary appliances (15), the connections have been planned smooth, so that the user can choose between a flanged or threaded

The rainwater inlet (23) will be conducted with a curve (23a) and a straight section (23b) inside the tank (5), which ends below the minimum fill level. The purpose is to prevent the transmission of odours, avoid disturbances in possible residues on the water surface, and minimize turbulence inside the tank that may affect level control.

The separation between the end of the straight section (23b) and the base of the tank (22) must be sufficient to guarantee the nominal inlet flow.

The minimum filling level, determined by the lower internal generatrix of the discharge pipe (25), must be a few cm above the end of the straight section (23b) to ensure that siphoning between tanks is maintained.

The filling pipe (13) should be at least a few cm above the minimum water level, to facilitate the visual check of the operation of the filling system.

The rainwater inlet connections (23) and the emergency overflow (8) will be as high as possible as permitted by the tank manufacturing constraints. In the first case, to keep the pipe prior to entry free of stagnant water; in the second case, to maximize the useful capacity of the tank with respect to the total volume.

The lower generatrix of the emergency overflow (8) will coincide with the level corresponding to 70% filling of the outlet overflow (6) towards the lower tank, to prevent the latter from entering the load and working in a turbulent regime.

When the siphon (17) is installed after the emergency overflow (8), provision must be made for the vent (24) between siphon and tank; when installed inside the tank, an aeration valve must be provided in the tank.

The relative position between pipe connections on which is closer to the bottom or which is closer to the front, does not affect the operation of the tank. The location proposed in the figures responds to criteria of maintenance and ease of installation.

The level control (11) of each tank (5), regardless of whether there is a controller for each tank or a controller for several tanks, will be individually adjustable to optimize its operation according to needs and acts on the filling solenoid valve (12).

Both because of the different use of connected toilets and/or urinals in each case, and because of the offset in the filling with rainwater that will always exist between the tanks, because until the first is filled, the second will not begin to fill. second, and so on down to the tank located at the lowest level.

The orifice of the discharge pipe (25) towards the plumbing fixtures (15) must be a few cm above the base, to avoid dragging possible sediments from the stored water towards the pipes that supply them, and the discharge valve ( 26) must have a full flow section to minimize the concentration of residual particles over time.

The pipes of both sanitation and supply networks will preferably be made of recyclable materials such as Polypropylene (PP) or Polyethylene (PE).

Both the number of drains (1) that are led to the tanks (5), as well as the diameters of the pipes in the installation and the admissible flow through the filters, must be calculated according to the conditioning factors of the project: collection surfaces, rainfall, location tanks, pipe layouts, etc.

The technical sheet of each tank must indicate the maximum flow rate per overflow that each outlet diameter would admit within the admissible ranges. This will allow the installation designer to determine the maximum flow of rainwater to the tanks.

The water outlets should always be considered by gravity and with a partial use of the pipe section, while the inlet could come from a siphonic system, with high velocities and full use of the pipe section.

To the ventilated downspout (7) the emptying pipes and the outlet of waste from the self-cleaning filter (4), and it will be taken to the rainwater drainage network (10).

The filling and discharge system of each tank (5) has a manual bypass for automatic filling (28) normally closed, in case it is necessary to leave the tank out of service (provided that the mechanisms of the sanitary appliances are suitable for work at the pressure of the filling network).

Claims (5)

1. - Deposit for the use of rainwater without pumping or energy consumption, characterized in that it includes: • A rainwater inlet (23) that is conducted with a curved section (23a) and a straight section (23b) towards the interior of the tank (5) flowing out below the minimum fill level. • A discharge pipe (25) towards the sanitary devices (15) • A filling pipe (13) with pressurized water, which is above the minimum water level. • A drain hole (9) • An outlet overflow (6) for interconnection of tanks in cascade, • an emergency overflow (8) whose lower generator of the overflow coincides with the level corresponding to 70% filling of the outlet overflow (6) towards the lower tank. • A base of the tank (22) with a gabled slope where the low point is arranged next to the emptying hole (9) and the high point in the opposite corner. • A hinged cover (14) with at least two hinges (16) on the long side closest to the drain hole (9) with anchors (18) to ensure its closure with padlocks and an ethylene propylene diene EPDM rubber gasket ( 19) sealing between cover and tank that covers the entire perimeter of the register. 2. - Arrangement of tanks for the use of rainwater without pumping or energy consumption, where several tanks (5) connected in cascade are arranged, characterized in that it involves: • One or several drains (1) for collecting rainwater on the roof (2) of the building, with a protective element (3) with a sieve capable of blocking, at least, the passage of pebble gravel greater than 16 mm . • A self-cleaning filter (4) arranged between the sump (1) and the inlet of the first tank (5). • Two or more tanks (5) connected in cascade in which the outlet overflow (6) of each upper tank is connected to the rainwater inlet (23) of the next lower tank, except for the last tank whose overflow outlet (6) is connected to the evacuation network (10) of the building. • A ventilated downpipe (7) connected to the self-cleaning filter (4), to the emergency overflows (8) and to the emptying hole tube (9) of each tank, which ends in the drainage network (10) through gravity. • A level control (11) of the tanks, which acts on a filling electrovalve (12) of each tank. • A filling pipe (13) with pressurized water to supply the toilets (15) when rainwater is not available. • A manual Bypass of the automatic filling (28) of the water supply to the toilets (15) in case the associated tank is out of service. 3. Arrangement of deposits for the use of rainwater according to the second claim, characterized in that it includes an additional rainwater downpipe for the deposits whose level does not allow the water to be removed by gravity, which flows into a pumping well. 4. Arrangement of tanks for the use of rainwater according to claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the emergency overflow (8) incorporates the siphon arranged inside the tank (5). 5. Arrangement of tanks for the use of rainwater according to claim 4, characterized in that the tank (5) incorporates an aeration valve.