JP2844134B2 - Rainwater utilization system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rainwater utilization system that collects and uses rainwater in a storage tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art From the viewpoint of resource saving and energy saving, research for recovering and effectively utilizing solar energy, geothermal energy and waste heat energy has been made from various angles.
The collection and utilization of rainwater is the same as the above-mentioned energy recovery and utilization. When rainwater is used, a simple method of collecting water from the roof can be adopted without preparing special water collecting equipment, and is generally used for washing water and the like.

However, for example, when collecting and using rainwater from a roof, there is a problem that the quality of the collected water is deteriorated by turbidity at the beginning of rainfall. This is because dust and the like in the atmosphere fall on the roof, deposit thinly on the surface, and are washed away with rainfall. Therefore, if rainwater is collected from the roof and supplied as it is to the utilization equipment, equipment such as pipes and pumps will be damaged.

When rainwater is collected and used as described above, pollutants are mixed in an early stage of rainfall. As a countermeasure, there is a system for installing a processing apparatus to filter and remove the mixed pollutants. The processing apparatus can remove pollutants almost completely using a device such as sand filtration or a microstrainer.

[0005] Further, assuming that no processing device is used,
Systems have been devised with several initial rainwater removal devices. Conventional initial rainwater removing devices include the following.

A device that combines a rain gauge and a timer, operates the timer at a certain rainfall intensity or higher, removes rainwater for a certain period of time, and then flows the rainwater into a rainwater utilization system.

A device that stores rainwater that has flowed in a small pit and that uses an electric conductivity meter to remove rainwater having a certain value or more.

[0008]

However, in each of the above-described conventional apparatuses, the amount of available water is reduced due to excessive removal of the initial rainwater, or the use of a sensor having a low correlation with the turbid concentration causes the use of the initial polluted rainwater. It is not possible to properly eliminate the wastewater, and a sufficiently large sedimentation tank and storage tank are required to prevent the deterioration of water quality. In addition, when a filtration device is installed, there is a problem that the initial cost of the device is high and the running cost such as electric power is high.

[0009] In the above-mentioned conventional initial rainwater removing apparatus,
Although the operation is controlled by the rainfall intensity, the turbidity of the rainwater containing dust accumulated on the roof surface is not clearly correlated with the rainfall intensity, so it is possible to effectively eliminate the initial polluted water. There is a problem that can not be. Further, in the method of removing the initial polluted water by the electric conductivity, the concentration of the soluble salts is detected, so that the actual turbidity cannot be accurately measured.

It is an object of the present invention to minimize the removal of rainwater containing turbidity at the beginning of rainfall and to collect the maximum amount of good quality rainwater. Another object of the present invention is to reduce the initial cost and running cost of the utilization system.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a rainwater utilization system for collecting and using rainwater in a storage tank. The rainwater sensing means detects rainfall, and no rainfall is detected from the signal of the rain sensing means. A counting means for counting time, a flow switching means for switching between a flow path for collecting rainwater into a storage tank and a flow path for draining, and a control means for controlling flow switching of the flow switching means; When detecting, the control means controls the flow path switching means so as to collect rainwater into the storage tank after a lapse of a predetermined time corresponding to the preceding non-rainfall time counted by the counting means. It is a feature.

[0012]

In the rainwater utilization system of the present invention, rainwater is collected into the storage tank after a predetermined time corresponding to the preceding non-rainfall time has elapsed by the rain-sensing means, the counting means for counting no rainfall time, the flow path switching means, and the control means. Since the flow path switching means is controlled by the control means so that the water flows, it is possible to control the removal of the initial rainwater according to the amount of dust accumulated on the roof surface. In addition, since the timer switches the flow path so that the initial rainwater is drained to the sewage or the like for a time corresponding to the turbidity by the timer and is not introduced into the storage tank, turbidity is reliably removed, and high-quality rainwater is collected efficiently. be able to.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a rainwater utilization system of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a roof surface 1 is used for collecting rainwater to be collected and used.
The rainwater is guided to the sedimentation tank 3. The sedimentation tank 3 sediments sediment from rainwater collected from the roof surface 1 through the gutter 2.

The storage tank 4 stores rainwater after sedimentation of the sediment by the sedimentation tank 3. When rainfall exceeds the storage capacity, the excess overflows to the sewer. Let me. The filtration pump 7 is for feeding rainwater from the storage tank 4 that has been stored after sedimentation of sediment to the filtration tank 8, and the filtration tank 8 is for filtering and removing turbid matter.

The water pump 6 sends rainwater stored in the storage tank 4 to the elevated water tank 5, and the elevated water tank 5 supplies water to the user equipment such as a toilet as toilet flush water and other miscellaneous water. is there.

The rain detector 9 is a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of rain, and is installed, for example, as a part of a rain gauge, and has a function of independently detecting the presence or absence of rain. The time counter 10 counts the operation time of the rain detector 9, and is cleared when the operation of the rain detector 9 is stopped, and at the same time, the timer 11 is set and started according to the count value. For this purpose, at least the time counter 10 or the timer 11 has at least a function of calculating a set time from the count value and a setting and control function of the timer 11.

The solenoid valve 12 switches between a flow path for collecting rainwater into the sedimentation tank 3 and a flow path for draining rainwater to sewage or the like as it is. After being set and started, until the time-out occurs, switching to the drain passage side is controlled.

According to the present invention, a rain detector 9 is installed on the roof to eliminate pollutants of the initial rain water as described above, and a solenoid valve is provided in the middle of the gutter 2 for collecting rain water from the roof surface to the sedimentation tank 3. A time counter 10 and a timer 11 for measuring the preceding non-rainfall time based on the rain signal from the rain detector 9 and controlling the solenoid valve 12 are installed. This method of removing the pollutants in the initial rainwater controls the water collection by a preceding non-rainfall time proportional to the amount of the pollutants.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the preceding no-rainfall time and the initial rainwater SS concentration. In Tokyo, rainwater with a rainfall of 5 mm or less from the roof surface was stored in a tank, and the water quality was measured. As described above, the amount of dust accumulated on the roof varies depending on the region, surrounding environment, weather conditions, and the like, but is generally substantially proportional to the time during which there is no rainfall. However, the time to wash off the dust accumulated on the roof surface depends on the preceding no-rainfall time,
Settings having a wide range are made depending on the surrounding environment, weather conditions, and the like. That is, even if the preceding non-rainfall time is short, a constant flushing time is required at a minimum, but if the preceding non-rainfall time is 15 days, the washing time is not necessarily 15 times as long as 1 day. Not always. In addition, there are areas with a lot of dust, areas with little dust, areas with lots of smoke and exhaust gas from factories containing oily (sticky), seasons with a lot of dust, and seasons with a little dust. However, even during the same week, the flushing time can be varied to minimize the amount of rainwater rejection. The set time of the timer 11 may be changed according to each of the above conditions, but may be the same under certain conditions. Therefore,
Since the set time of the timer 11 can be determined for each preceding no-rainfall time under certain conditions, for example, the set time for the preceding no-rainfall time is stored as a table in a memory, and the preceding no-rainfall time (time counter 10) is stored. ) Can be configured to read the set time by using the value of Of course, it goes without saying that a configuration other than the above may be adopted.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the rain detector 9 detects the presence or absence of rain, and the time counter 10 counts the time during which no rain is detected. When the start of rain is detected by the rain detector 9, the time counter 1 at that time is used.
The count value of 0 is defined as the preceding no-rainfall time, and the initial rainwater removal time corresponding to the length of the preceding no-rainfall time is determined by the timer 11.
Set to and start. The initial rainwater removal time set in the timer 11 is a time during which the initial rainwater contaminants deposited on the roof surface 1 are removed, and the solenoid valve 12 is moved from the sedimentation tank 3 to the drainage side until the predetermined time has elapsed. Switch to. By draining the initial rainwater in this way, contaminants deposited on the roof surface 1 are eliminated.

Thereafter, when the time set by the timer 11 elapses and a timeout occurs, the flow path of the solenoid valve 12 is switched so as to collect rainwater from the roof surface to the sedimentation tank 3, and high-quality rainwater is taken into the sedimentation tank 3. Start. By doing so, the rainwater from which the initial pollutants have been removed is collected in the sedimentation tank 3, and good-quality rainwater is stored in the storage tank 4.

Further, the rainwater in the storage tank 4 is supplied to the filtration pump 7
And water is sent to the filtration tank 8 to remove turbid matter by filtration. Then, the water is pumped by the water pump 6 to the elevated water tank 5 and supplied from the elevated water tank 5 to toilets and other utilization devices as toilet washing water and other miscellaneous water.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a filtration device including a filtration pump and a filtration tank was used. However, since pollutants of initial rainwater were removed, the filtration device was omitted, and the pumping pump 6 was passed through the precipitation tank 3 and the storage tank 4. It may be used as toilet wash water or the like simply by sending water to the elevated water tank 5. These costs can be reduced by not using a filtration device with high initial cost and running cost.

Further, a flow meter may be provided to set the integrated flow rate in accordance with the preceding non-rainfall time and control the solenoid valve. Also, the solenoid valve may be switched to the drainage side during no rainfall and switched to the water collection side when the timer times out, or at the same time the timer is set by the rain sensing signal, the solenoid valve is switched to the drainage side. switching,
It may be possible to switch to the water collecting side by the timeout of the timer.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Using a rain sensor and a time counter, the no-rain time is counted until rain is detected, and the initial rainwater is drained into sewage, etc. according to the preceding no-rain time, and then collected. High quality rainwater can be collected by eliminating pollutants. Moreover, since the removal of initial rainwater is minimized, high-quality rainwater can be effectively collected and used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a rainwater utilization system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a preceding non-rainfall time and an initial rainwater SS concentration.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Roof, 2 ... Gutter, 3 ... Sedimentation tank, 4 ... Storage tank, 5 ... Elevated water tank, 6 ... Pumping pump, 7 ... Filtration pump, 8 ... Filtration tank,
9 ... rain detector, 10 ... time counter, 11 ... timer,
12 ... Solenoid valve

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on front page (72) Inventor Tatsuto Hamada 1-3-2 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Shimizu Construction Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Osamu Hatanaka 2-3-2 Shibaura, Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Sato 1-3-2 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Shimizu Corporation (72) Inventor Hiroshi Yonekura 1-3-2 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Shimizu Corporation ( 56) References: JP-A 63-41660 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) E03B 3/02 E03B 3/03

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rainwater utilization system for collecting and using rainwater in a storage tank, comprising a rain sensing means for sensing rainfall, a counting means for counting no rainfall time from a signal of the rain sensing means, and storing rain water. It has a flow path switching means for switching between a flow path for collecting water in the tank and a flow path for draining, and a control means for controlling flow path switching of the flow path switching means. When rainfall is detected, counting is performed by the counting means. A rainwater utilization system , wherein the control means controls the flow path switching means so as to collect rainwater into the storage tank after a predetermined time corresponding to the preceding non-rainfall time has elapsed.