ES2720174A1 - SYSTEM OF RECOVERY AND REUSE OF BLACK WATERS IN WASHBASINS OF VEHICLES AND WASHBASIN MODULE COMPRISING SUCH SYSTEM (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

System of recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle washbasins and washbasin module that includes said system. The present invention refers to a system of recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks which is connected to the toilet bowls by means of transfer means to take the sewage to a single storage and separation tank in which filtrate separates the liquid that will be reused in the cleaning/rinsing circuit of the toilet bowls, previous deodorization and desbacterization of said recovered liquids by chemical additive. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

SYSTEM OF RECOVERY AND REUSE OF BLACK WATER IN LAVABOS

OF VEHICLES AND LAVABO MODULE THAT INCLUDES SUCH SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a recovery system of sewage under pressure / vacuum in car washrooms that transport people, such as trains, for the treatment and use of part of the fluids that are discharged, where such systems are usually Modularize for installation in these vehicles.

Background of the invention

They are known and, therefore, are part of the state of the art, the systems for recovering washbasin water, also known as gray water, installed in washbasin modules that are coupled to vehicles, preferably for transporting people, in which The water discharged into these sinks is collected and deposited in an intermediate tank and then reused as water used in the toilet, and thus have a saving in the consumption of fresh water from the sink and, therefore, minimize the reserve of Fresh water needed for said sink module, reducing weights and spaces.

With respect to the sewage discharged by the toilets, which are accompanied by human waste, feces and / or urine, the known systems responsible for the collection of said human waste and its management, due to the bacterial load, smell and complexity of The associated treatment systems are usually used as simple means of collecting waste from the toilet and taken to a storage tank where they are retained until they are emptied, many of them working at atmospheric pressure, by gravity.

These usual systems involve having a considerable collection space or, preferably, requiring a high frequency of emptying the tank, and assuming a loss of the water used for the dragging of the waste and cleaning the toilet, which implies a greater consumption of water gray or fresh water calculated for this purpose.

To solve the problem of the high frequency of emptying the tank Storage of human waste, chemical treatments of such waste have been introduced in the sector, with the aim of eliminating odors and bacteria and being able to store human waste longer without requiring this emptying every short period of time, sometimes daily . It has also contributed to reduce the necessary size of such deposits for the containment of human waste, the dehydration and / or compaction action thereof, making it necessary a system of said dehydration and / or compaction that makes the whole system certainly more complex and of greater economic cost.

The use of these treatment tanks necessitates the provision of an intermediate tank under pressure or in vacuum, which acts in the collection of human waste deposited in the toilet, dragging by said vacuum generated in the intermediate tank or by the pressure generated in the exit of the water of cleaning of the toilet, towards the intermediate tank, of which by the corresponding operation of valves allows a posteriori, to pass the waste to the tank of storage / treatment.

There are and, therefore, part of the state of the art, sewage treatment systems that use complex systems of water separation contained in human waste that creeps from the toilet, by dehydration by means of heating the sewage , to evaporate the water contained and then perform its condensate and have a water to be used again in the toilet.

This last type of systems that tries to take advantage of the consumption of water in the toilet to minimize the necessary fresh water reserve, converts the system of recovery and reuse of sewage into a system of high complexity, which entails at the level of higher space required and a high manufacturing cost, since in addition to said heating and condensation means, they incorporate more than one deposit for the different steps to be performed, or crushing means, multi-filtering of the waste prior to evaporation of liquids

They are also known in the application of treatment and reuse of sewage, another complex system of separation of water from collected waste, such as the use of dynamic motorized mechanical filters that, in the same way as the systems mentioned above, entail greater complexity which becomes a need for superior space needed and a higher manufacturing cost Description of the invention

With the wastewater recovery and reuse system in vehicle sinks and the washbasin module comprising said system, described in the present invention, the aforementioned drawbacks are resolved, presenting other advantages that will be described.

The present invention is based on a system that allows the recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks that have such a washbasin service, such as means of transporting people, and that need to have an effective, economical system, as compact as possible and that minimizes the consumption of fresh water, as well as reducing the necessary maintenance of said system.

For the present invention, sewage is understood to be those eliminated by the toilet bowl, which are usually formed by the combination of feces and / or urine, as well as the waste introduced into the toilet bowl for disposal by means of liquids cleaning / rinsing, which are included in the set of sewage.

Said system for the recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks that serves one or more toilet bowls comprises, at least, a rinse / cleaning liquid dispensing system installed in the toilet bowls; of means for connecting the toilet bowl to the storage and separation tank by means of a system for transferring the sewage to said tank; a single storage and liquid separation tank for sewage; means for supplying filtered liquid recovered from sewage and means for controlling the automated operating elements of the system, where the configuration of the storage and separation tank allows passive filtering to allow the passage of filtered liquids from one zone of the deposit to another, according to the division that is made within said deposit.

In this way, we have a toilet bowl with a dispensing system for rinsing / cleaning liquid by means of dispensers that expel said rinsing / cleaning liquid to the cup. The dispensers used have been oversized with respect to the usual ones in the use of fresh water or gray water, where said known and usual dispensers are of outlet opening of an approximate measure of 200 microns, said new dispensers remaining with a measuring outlet opening between 1000 and 2000 microns, preferably being 1000 microns, to allow the smooth passage of the liquid from the rinse / cleaning liquid circuit, which can be fed of fresh water, gray water and / or recovered filtered sewage, as decided by the control system based on data / information on the volume of water recovered in the storage and separation tank of sewage and possible alternative feeds available, fresh water and / or gray water.

The toilet bowl has means of connection to the storage and separation tank by means of a system for transferring the sewage to said tank by means that are not simply by gravity. These means may preferably consist of an intermediate vacuum / pressure system with intermediate tank, not treatment or storage, and the corresponding associated vacuum / pressure means of the intermediate tank, or consist of a continuous vacuum system in the tank of storage and separation of sewage, with or without intermediate deposit. The wastewater storage and separation tank can be connected to one or more toilet bowls, by means of the sewage transfer system mentioned above.

The sewage recovery and reuse system has, for storage and treatment, separation of said sewage, a single tank that incorporates in it the reception and storage of sewage, the filtering media and the area of filtered liquid to be supplied as reused, being connected to the toilet bowl by means of one of the previous sewage transfer systems, as well as to the means of supply of the filtered liquids, reducing the complexity of the systems that need more than one tank to perform storage and treatment / separation of sewage liquids, and therefore reducing the necessary space.

This single storage and liquid separation tank of the sewage comprises at least one internal division with a sewage filtration system, an amount of associated chemical additive and self-cleaning means of said filtering means. Said storage tank and sewage liquid separation can be located both outside the vehicle, under its frame or inside the vehicle. vehicle / frame.

The internal division of the storage and separation tank is carried out by having at least one communication opening between the two zones that it separates, having passive mechanical filtering means in said openings, which guarantee that the liquids that pass through said separation of the storage tank and separation will be filtered. These passive filtering means base their operation on the passage of said liquid from one side of the tank to the other by the difference in heights of the liquid available in said storage and separation tank, since the area where they receive the sewage transferred from the cup it will have a higher level of liquid, due to said liquid inlet, so that by gravity they will move to the side where they have less liquid, where the filtered liquid that is withdrawn to recirculate it is located, also having the help of vehicle movement , creating a kind of swell, which drives sewage through the filtration means to bring the filtered liquids to the separated area, thus having the internal division divide the tank into two zones, one in which they are collected the black waters of the cup and the other one where the filtered liquids are had. This movement of the vehicle allows, as will be indicated later, the return of filtered liquid to the sewage zone through the filter, purging possible seals of the filter meshes.

This separation into two zones is carried out in such a way that the filtered liquid zone occupies a volume relative to that of the storage and separation tank, less than one third of said total volume of said tank. Preferably and depending on the design made to consider the forecast calculations of the use of the system according to the type of transport and the habits of the users of the area where it is implanted, the area of filtered liquid occupies a volume of a quarter of the total volume of the storage and separation tank, allowing a greater volume of human waste storage, to increase the time between cleaning and necessary emptying of said area.

The passive mechanical filtering means are preferably formed by a double mesh filter, where the size of the passage opening of the first mesh is larger than the second, so that in the first mesh the sewage is found they enter the storage and separation tank, the larger solids are retained. Both this first and second mesh can be found made with a non-stick coating, which will preferably be of the paint type of nanorecoating, using nanotechnology to maximize the non-stick properties of these meshes, which allows reducing bodies that can get stuck in these meshes, being more likely in the first one. Thanks to the orientation of the meshes, perpendicular to the displacement by gravity of the sewage and the movement of the vehicle, that is, the swell created by the movement, facilitates the reverse flow, that is to say the purging, of the filtered liquids to be able to eliminate Possible sealing elements in the first mesh.

In addition to this possibility of reverse flow that allows cleaning of the possible bodies that seal the meshes, the filtering means have self-cleaning means formed by a liquid injection system to said filtering means, where preferably the injection system of liquid to said filtering means has a pump that captures liquid from the area of filtered sewage to inject it under pressure into said filtering means. In the case of having double mesh filtration means, the liquid injection is carried out between the two meshes that form the filtration means.

The system contains, a certain amount of chemical deodorant and antibacterial additive, an amount that is based on the approximate calculation of the times that the cleaning / rinsing system will be operated. This quantity of chemical additive, can be contributed in a total way from the beginning to the separation and filtering tank, so that the first drives would be of a large concentration of chemical additive, or by means of a dispensing system of said additive, at least to the zone of filtered liquids, to act, governed by the control means, providing chemical additive to the storage and separation tank every certain uses of the system. This dispensing system may be attached externally to the storage and separation tank, or in the event that the tank is under the frame, or to facilitate its maintenance filling, it is attached to the cabin or cabins it serves. This system preferably discharges the chemical additive to the filtered liquid section.

In this way, once the sewage is filtered, the system has means for supplying the filtered liquid recovered from said sewage, to the rinsing / cleaning liquid circuit of the toilet bowl, formed by at least one pump connected to the filtered liquid zone of the storage and separation tank.

For the proper functioning of the wastewater recovery and reuse system, a minimum volume must be available for the first operation after the installation, emptying and / or cleaning of the tank, since in these cases no filtered liquid will be available for cleaning / rinsing from the tank. To achieve this, a lower height is preferably established in the filtered liquid zone so that a certain volume of liquid to be used in the first uses of the system can be preloaded without this greater volume in the filtered liquid zone, does not pass through gravity on the other side of the filter, to the reception area of the sewage This can also be solved, alternatively, by the contribution of other auxiliary systems that can be connected to the rinsing / cleaning liquid circuit of the toilet bowl, such as a gray water connection recovered from the sink or a fresh water connection from the tank, this being controlled by the control means, which depending on whether you have a liquid content signal in the area of the filtered liquid tank and If you have any of these alternatives of liquid supply to the rinsing / cleaning liquid circuit, they will be used in the first demands of Dec or rinsing / cleaning liquid of the toilet bowl, one or another available liquid, for subsequent filtering liquid, provided there is no problem that prevents having volume of filtered liquid in said area of the tank, in which case it will resort to alternative liquid supply systems, if they are connected.

In this way, we have that the sewage recovery and reuse system has control means that detect the user's action on the dispensers of the rinsing / cleaning liquid of the toilet bowl, and acts on the means of connection / transfer of the cup with the tank, as well as on the pumps associated with the dispensing of chemical additive, and on the pumps of capture of filtered liquid for its application on the self-cleaning system of the filtering means and / or for its introduction into the rinsing / cleaning liquid circuit, being able to have independent pump systems for each system, or a common pumping system with motorized valve system that directs the liquid extracted from the area of filtered liquids to one application or another.

This wastewater recovery and reuse system, in the case of being installed in vehicles with modularized mounting systems, such as train cars or other means of transport that use these modular systems, is installed in a washbasin module that includes said sewage recovery and reuse system of according to the characteristics of the entire description above.

Brief description of the figures

To better understand how much has been exposed, some drawings are attached in which, schematically and only by way of non-limiting example, a practical case of realization is represented.

Figure 1 is a schematic view of the whole sewage recovery and reuse system in vehicle sinks.

Figure 2 is a detailed view of the whole of the sewage separation tank, without its upper closing panel to visualize its interior.

Description of a preferred embodiment

In the present preferred embodiment of the invention, and as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the sewage recovery and reuse system (10) has to be installed in a passenger train car, not shown in the figures, and serves two toilet bowls (11) from which you want to manage the sewage collected with said system (10).

Said sewage recovery and reuse system (10) is connected to said toilet bowls (11) by means of a sewage transfer system (12), responsible for carrying said sewage to the only storage and separation tank (13) . This transfer system (12) is composed, in the present embodiment, of a vacuum / pressure system that by means of an intermediate tank (14) and the corresponding opening / closing valves, said vacuum / pressure is made allowing the vacuum to be transferred sewage from the toilet bowl (11) to the intermediate tank (14), then, by pressure in said intermediate tank (14) bring the wastewater to the storage tank (13) for storage and separation.

This action carried out by the sewage transfer system (12) is carried out at the moment when the user presses the cleaning / rinse button. This signal is received by the control means, not graphed in the figures, which send liquid necessary for said cleaning / rinsing of the toilet bowl (11), either, in this embodiment, of the filtered liquids, or in alternative embodiments, of Complementary gray water that the system also has for collecting the sink, or fresh water, would also complement the system (10) due to the absence of necessary volume of the two previous liquids.

The discharge of the cleaning / rinsing liquid is carried out by means of dispensers (18) that expel said liquid to the toilet bowl (11), the liquid outlet openings of said dispensers (18) having a diameter of 1000 microns, in order to give way to possible particles that would not have leaked smaller sizes.

Sewage transferred from the toilet bowl (11) is received in the reception and storage area (15) of the storage and separation tank (13). This reception and storage zone (15) is one of the two zones that are created in the same storage and separation tank (13), where the other zone is the filtered liquid zone (16), having said zones (15 , 16) are separated by a partition wall (17) having a communication opening between said two zones (15, 16) in which the passive filtering means (18) are located. The ratio of storage and separation tank volume (13) destined to the area of filtered liquid is, in the present embodiment, one fifth of the total volume, although in alternative embodiments, according to the calculation of estimates made based on customs and data of the users, as well as the intention of periodicity of maintenance, may vary, being a quarter and usually less than a third.

The filtered liquid zone (16) has a lower level than the reception and storage zone (15) so that the volume of liquid preloaded in said zone (16) does not transfer to the other zone (15) and leaves without volume of liquid needed at the first uses.

The storage and separation tank (13) contains in a single element the reception, storage and filtering of the sewage, said filtering means and the area of filtered liquid.

Thus, the sewage that has been transferred from the toilet bowl (11) to the reception / storage area (15) of the storage tank (13) and separation, by difference of liquid level and by the swell created by the movement of the train, move towards said passive filter (18), located in the partition (17) that divides the two zones (15, 16), which The sewage, by said action of the difference in levels and by the waves, pass through the double mesh that forms the passive filter (18), to settle in the area of filtered liquid (16).

As indicated, the passive filter (18) has two meshes oriented perpendicularly, both to the displacement of liquids by gravity, and to the movement of the train, so that the sewage passes first through the first and then to through the second, the passage opening, that is to say the particle size that its lattice passes, of the first mesh greater than the second, and both have a nanorecoating that gives the mesh non-stick properties.

This passive filter (18) is self-cleaning by the inverse flow of the filtered liquids, produced by the movement of the train itself, as well as self-cleaning by means of an injection system (28) of filtered liquid between the two meshes of the passive filter (18), which collects said filtered liquid and by means of a pump is carried to said passive filter (18) to be injected and release possible seals that have occurred in said meshes. The pump used in this embodiment is the same as that used to bring the filtered liquid to the cleaning and rinsing circuit (20), although in alternative embodiments independent pumping systems may be available.

The sewage recovery and reuse system (10) has a quantity of chemical additive, by means of a dispensing system (19) of said chemical deodorant and antibacterial additive which, being located accessible from inside the train car for maintenance, discharges the additive in the area (16) of filtered liquid and / or in the rinsing / cleaning circuit (20) by means of said recovered liquid. Alternatively, the chemical additive dispensing device (19) may be adjacent externally to the storage and separation tank (13).

Alternatively, the chemical additive dispenser (19) can be dispensed with, in an alternative to the first use of the recovery system (10), of the amount calculated as necessary for the system work cycle ( 10) until your next maintenance. In this way, the charge is made in the area of filtered liquid (16) and will be diluted to the passage of uses.

In this way, the filtered, deodorized and debacterized sewage waters located in the area (16) of filtered liquids, are captured by a pump (25) as a means of recovering filtered liquid and injected onto the toilet bowl (11) to make its exit through the dispensers (18) of rinsing / cleaning liquid of said toilet bowl (11).

The control system that incorporates the system receives the information of the flushing / cleaning button of the toilet bowl (11), as well as the volumes of liquid in the area of recovered liquid, thanks to sensors (29) located in the corresponding area, acting on the transfer system (12) of the sewage, on the self-cleaning means of the filter by injection of filtered liquid, on the recovery system of filtered liquid to introduce it into the circuit (20) of liquid for cleaning / rinsing, as well as chemical additive discharges and possible auxiliary elements such as fresh water or gray water supply to the cleaning / rinsing circuit (20). This possible addition of liquid to the cleaning / rinsing circuit (20) at the initial moment of operation of the recovery system (10), in which there is no filtered liquid to be able to contribute to the circuit (20) itself, can be changed by initial incorporation of a certain amount of liquid into the zone (16) of filtered liquid, for the start of system operation.

Additionally, and in the case of installing the recovery system (10) in vehicles that can circulate through territories with low ambient temperature conditions, heating means (21) of the storage and separation tank (13) are available, and of thermal insulating means (22) thereof, in order to have suitable conditions in the storage and separation tank (13) that prevent the freezing of liquids in pipes or in the storage and separation tank (13) and in their elements.

Also available are cleaning means (23) of the tank that allow the discharge of liquids supplied by the external network (24) and thus perform its complete maintenance cleaning, extracting through the pipes (26) installed in the storage tank (13) and separation to external emptying means (27).

Alternatively, the wastewater recovery system (10) can be configured to act with a single toilet bowl (11), as well as with more than two in the same way of operation, and with the same elements, having to have to size the system accordingly and having a specific operating configuration of the system control for each of the possibilities.

Alternatively, the transfer system (12) may be formed by a vacuum system, instead of the vacuum / pressure system described in the previous preferred embodiment.

The corresponding configuration of the recovery system (10) is mounted in the carriage forming a module of two sinks, which adapts to the standard or usual spaces of said washbasins in trains, and which incorporate all the elements of the system. In alternative embodiments, the washbasin module includes a single toilet, although more than two toilet bowls can also be taken from which to collect the sewage.

Although reference has been made to a specific embodiment of the invention, it is apparent to one skilled in the art that the sewage recovery and reuse system in vehicle sinks and the washbasin module comprising said described system is susceptible of numerous variations and modifications, and that all the mentioned details can be replaced by other technically equivalent ones, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

Claims (17)

1.- System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle washbasins that serve one or more toilet bowls, water dispensing means for cleaning the toilet bowl and a wastewater collection tank , characterized in that the wastewater recovery and reuse system (10) comprises at least the following elements: • A rinsing / cleaning liquid dispensing system, installed in the toilet bowl (11), by means of dispensers (18) that expel the rinsing / cleaning liquid from the rinsing / cleaning liquid circuit, which can be fed by fresh water, gray water and / or reclaimed filtered sewage; • Means for connecting the toilet bowl to the tank by means of a transfer system (12) of the sewage to the tank (13) for storage and separation by means of permanent vacuum or by vacuum / pressure systems; • A single reservoir (13) for storage and separation of liquid from sewage, comprising at least: o An internal division (17) that divides the tank into two zones (15, 16), an area (15) in which the sewage is collected from the cup and the other area (16) where the filtered liquids are held, wherein the division (17) has at least one communication opening between the two zones (15, 16) which has passive mechanical filtering means (18), which guarantee that the liquids that pass through said separation will be filtered; o Self-cleaning means (28) of the filtering means (18); • A chemical additive deodorant and antibacterial; • Means of supply (25) of filtered liquid recovered from the sewage to the circuit (20) of rinsing / cleaning liquid from the toilet bowl (11). • Control means that detect the user's action on the dispensers (18) for the exit of the rinsing / cleaning liquid of the toilet bowl (12), and acts on the connection / transfer means (12) of the cup ( 11) with the storage and separation tank (13), as well as on the possible chemical additive dispensing pumps, and on the capture pumps (25) of filtered liquid for application on the self-cleaning system (28) of the filtering means (18) and / or for introduction into the circuit (20) of rinsing / cleaning liquid; wherein the configuration of the storage and separation tank (13) performs a passive filtration thanks to the movement of the vehicle to allow the passage of liquids from the area (15) of the collection tank, to the area (16) of filtered liquid. 2. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage water in vehicle sinks according to claim 1a, wherein the toilet bowl (11) has outlet openings (18) for dispensing liquid rinse / cleaning the cup (11) that is 1000 to 2000 microns in diameter 3. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle washbasins according to claim 1a, wherein the connection between toilet bowl (11) and storage and separation tank (13) is carried out by means of an intermediate vacuum system / pressure with intermediate tank and said vacuum / pressure means of the intermediate tank. 4. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks according to claim 1a, wherein the connection between toilet bowl (11) and storage and separation tank (13) is made by a continuous vacuum system in the reservoir (13) for storage and separation of sewage. 5. - Black water recovery and reuse system in vehicle washbasins according to claim 1a, wherein the wastewater storage and separation tank (13) has an internal division (17) that separates the tank into two zones (15, 16) where the filtered liquid zone (16) occupies a volume less than one third of the total volume of the tank. 6. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks according to claim 1a, wherein the zone (16) of filtered liquid has a lower level, to prevent the passage of gravity to the area ( 15) receiving / storing sewage of liquids that can be pre-filled in said area (16) of filtered liquid to be used in the first uses of the system (10). 7. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle washbasins according to claim 1a, wherein the passive mechanical filtering means (18) are formed by a double mesh filter, where the size of the passage opening of the first mesh is greater than the second, having an orientation perpendicular to the direction of displacement of the sewage by gravity and to the direction of movement of the vehicle, which facilitates the reverse flow to be able to eliminate possible sealing elements in the first mesh. 8. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks according to claims 1a and 7a, wherein the grid of passive filtering means (18) has a non-stick nano-coating using nanotechnological paint. 9. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle washbasins according to claim 1a, wherein the self-cleaning means (28) of the filtering means (18) are formed by a liquid injection system to said filter media. 10. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks according to claim 9a, wherein the liquid injection system to said filtering means (18) has a pump that captures liquid from the area (16 ) of filtered sewage to be injected under pressure into said filtering means (18). 11. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks according to claims 7a, 9a and 10a, wherein the liquid injection is carried out between the two meshes that form the filtering means (18). 12. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks according to claim 1a, wherein the chemical additive incorporated into the system (10) is made by means of a dispenser (19) that gradually discharges said additive, to the less, to the zone (16) of the filtered liquids, being governed by the control means. 13. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks according to claim 1a, wherein all the chemical additive incorporated into the system (10) is carried out by carrying out its total preload, before the first use of the system (10) , directly in the zone (16) of filtered liquid. 14. - Black water recovery and reuse system in vehicle washbasins according to claim 1a, wherein the wastewater storage and separation tank (13) is located outside the vehicle, under its frame . 15. - System for recovery and reuse of sewage in vehicle sinks according to claim 1a, wherein the reservoir (13) for storage and separation of liquid from sewage is located inside the vehicle. 16. - Black water recovery and reuse system in vehicle washbasins according to claim 1a, wherein the wastewater storage and separation tank (13) has heating means (21) of the tank and a thermal insulator (22). 17. - Vehicle wash module with wastewater recovery and reuse system characterized in that the washbasin module comprises the wastewater recovery and reuse system (10) described in claims 1 to 16, so which is included in a joint equipment to be installed and connected in the vehicle without having to install by parts.