Liquid purification or separation – With time control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-15
2001-07-17
Drodge, Joseph W. (Department: 1723)
Liquid purification or separation
With time control
C210S087000, C210S136000, C210S142000, C210S172300, C210S253000, C210S921000, C137S255000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06261443
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART
The present invention relates to a system and a method for transporting drain water depending upon the degree of drain water contamination.
A system of the above mentioned type is previously known from e.g. SE, B, 409 480, SE 389 881, DE 2 726 527, DE 3 500 130 and FR 2 681 354. The applicant's own, still unpublished, Swedish patent application
9503851-9
may also be mentioned. Thus, drain water contaminated to different degrees is divided and collected in different containers in such devices. So-called black water originating from toilets may therefor be collected in one container, blue water from showers, washbasins, bathtubs and similar may be collected in another container and so-called green water from sinks may be collected in yet another container. The containers must thereafter somehow be discharged for taking care of the separated drain water, wherein it is not possible to utilize the ordinary main drain water conduit for a plurality of buildings without stopping the separation and the whole point is thereby lost. It is therefor necessary to discharge the containers in question in some other way by completely separate conduits from the respective container to e.g. a deposit arrangement or to discharge the containers directly into tanks of vehicles and drive the drain water to a suitable location. There are also other possibilities such as exchanging the containers with empty ones when they are full.
All the actions available by utilizing any of the previously known devices for separation of drain water contaminated to different degrees are complicated and therefor expensive and they do not always lead to an optimum result from the separation point of view.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a system of the type defined in the introduction, which enables an elimination of the above mentioned disadvantages of previously known such devices, as well as a method enabling an improved transport of drain water from buildings to an end station to take care of the drain water.
This object is according to the invention achieved by providing a device and a method according to the attached independent device and method patent claim.
A utilization of the main drain water conduit for transportation of the separated drain water is enabled by these different characteristics while maintaining the separation in the stations, such as purifying plants, to which the drain water arrives for being taken care of.
Thus, it is by means of such a “sequential drain” possible to transport drain water with a certain contamination character at a time in the main drain water conduit from all buildings connected to the same to a certain main drain water station without any mixture of drain water of some other contamination character therewith. Some type of container in the respective building is a prerequisite for such a “sequential drain”. It would have been completely unreasonable to demand that the persons utilizing the different drain water receiving units should use certain units only during certain time periods. Another advantage with a system according to the invention is that it will be easy to drain the main drain water conduit when there is a need for renovation work on the main drain water conduit thanks to the presence of the adjusting apparatus.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the first drain water system section has at least three said parts and at least three said containers and the second drain water system section has at least three main drain water stations, and the adjusting apparatus is arranged to obtain discharging of drain water from one of said parts via the container in question in the main drain water conduit and to transport drain water therein to one of said main drain water stations at a time while simultaneously preventing discharging of drain water from the other parts in the main drain water conduit and preventing transport of drain water through the main drain water conduit to any of the main drain water stations associated with said other parts of the first system section. The same good separation of the drain water is in this way achieved at said stations as in the different buildings connected to the main drain water conduit, which is of course a great advantage. It is however pointed out that it is within the scope of the invention that there are e.g. three containers in the different buildings and that two containers are discharged simultaneously and this drain water is transported in the main drain water conduit, while discharging of a third container is prevented, said both containers of course having a main drain water station in common, and it is in such a case possible that the number of main drain water stations are less than the number of containers in a building. For instance, the above discussed “blue” and “green” water should thereby e.g. be able to be transported separated from the transportation of the “black” water.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the adjusting apparatus comprises members for an adjustable opening and closing of the flow communication through said conduits between said containers and the main drain water conduit, and according to another preferred embodiment of the invention the adjusting apparatus comprises members for an adjustable opening and closing of the flow communication between the main drain water conduit and the respective main drain water station. Such members of the adjusting apparatus ensure a possibility of maintaining optimum separation of drain water with different contamination characters from said containers to the main drain water stations.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the adjusting apparatus comprises a pump arranged in each of said conduits between each container and the main drain water conduit, said pump being formed to pump the drain water of the containers in question to the main drain water conduit during the time periods when discharging of said container is intended to take place. By utilizing a pump for the transport of drain water to the main drain water conduit, it is by easy means ensured that the main drain water conduit is provided with drain water of a certain contamination character during certain predetermined time periods.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention each said conduit between said containers and the main drain water conduit is provided with a non-return valve for preventing a drain water flow from the main drain water conduit up to the respective container through the respective conduit. It is advantageous to arrange such a non-return valve in each conduit, while there is otherwise a risk that drain water with different contamination characters are being mixed due to that “wrong” drain water rises in one of said conduits and besides any thinkable risk for flowing at any container from the back is in this way prevented.
According to another very preferred embodiment of the invention it comprises conduits for connecting the main drain water conduit with means for receiving surface water, such as a street inlet or a surface water conduit, and members are arranged for an adjustable opening and closing of these connection conduits. The inventive characteristics enabling transport of drain water during certain time periods and also preventing transport of drain water during other time periods are in this way utilized in a very advantageous way, since there is a possibility to turn off the main drain water conduit temporarily during e.g. a few hours relating to transport of drain water at e.g. cloudburst and when there is a risk for flowing in the surface water gutters of the surface water system, and instead open said connection conduits on desired positions and letting surface water also flow in the drain water conduit for reducing the water level in the surface water system. Means are therefor advantageously arranged to guide the surface water transported in the main drain water conduit past the main drain water stat
Cecil Terry K.
Drodge Joseph W.
Zarley McKee Thomte Voorhees & Sease
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