Fluid handling – Distribution systems involving geographic features
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-26
2002-05-07
Lee, Kevin (Department: 3753)
Fluid handling
Distribution systems involving geographic features
C220S567100, C405S053000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06382237
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the priority of Japanese Application Nos. Hei 10-303519 filed Oct. 26, 1998, Hei 10-330561 filed Nov. 20, 1998 and International Application No. PCT/JP99/05829 filed Oct. 22, 1999, the complete disclosure of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an underground water tank for reserving rainwater having fallen onto a roof or rooftop of a house or onto a ground surface. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wide area water collection type underground water tank adapted to collect and reserve rainwater infiltrating into a relatively wide area and filtered thereby.
BACKGROUND ART
It has been conventionally known to bury a water tank underground and to reserve rainwater in the water tank, so as to effectively utilize the rainwater. In such a water tank, rainwater having fallen onto a roof or rooftop of a house or onto a ground surface is reserved in the water tank by collecting and guiding the rainwater by an eaves trough or gutter into the water tank. Further, such a water tank is provided with draining means such as a pump at an aboveground position for drawing out the water reserved within the water tank, so that the water reserved within the water tank is drawn out therefrom for use.
In the aforementioned underground water tank, however, since rainwater is collected by an eaves trough or gutter, the collected water itself is contaminated with impurities such as dust and dirt, thereby problematically restricting the usage of the reserved water and causing contamination of the interior of the water tank such as by the dust and dirt. Particularly, the reserving tank buried underground problematically leads to difficulty in cleaning the once contaminated reserving tank and causes an increased burden of management of the reserving tank. Further, building a plurality of houses or factories on the ground surface under which the reserving tank has been buried will complicate: the provision of routes of an eaves trough or gutter for guiding rainwater to the water tank; and the collection of rainwater having fallen over a relatively wide area.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a wide area water collection type underground water tank capable of effectively collecting rainwater having fallen over a wide area and of reserving the collected rainwater.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a wide area water collection type underground water tank capable of reserving relatively clean infiltrating/filtered rainwater, to thereby reduce the burden of management of the water tank itself.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a wide area water collection type underground water tank capable of preventing an occurrence of a flood, by preventing the underground from being saturated by the rainwater infiltrating thereinto, even upon a relatively much amount of rainfall.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
As shown in
FIG. 1
, the invention according to claim
1
is a wide area water collection type underground water tank comprising: a water tank
11
constituted to be capable of reserving water therein, the water tank
11
being buried underground and having draining means
14
capable of drawing out the water within the water tank
11
from the aboveground position; one or two or more intake pipe
21
having one end communicated with the interior of the water tank
11
from the side portion or upper portion of the water tank
11
, and the other end opened into the underground around the water tank
11
; a check valve
31
mounted to the intake pipe
21
, the check valve
31
being constituted to: allow water to flow from the other end of the intake pipe
21
toward the one end of the intake pipe
21
when the water pressure at the other end side of the intake pipe
21
is equal to or higher than that at the one end side of the intake pipe
21
; and inhibit water from flowing from the one end of the intake pipe
21
toward the other end of the intake pipe
21
when the water pressure at the other end side of the intake pipe
21
is lower than that at the one end side of the intake pipe
21
; and a water impermeable sheet
19
buried underground and being upwardly and outwardly inclined from the side or bottom of the water tank
11
; wherein the other end of the intake pipe
21
is arranged near and above the water impermeable sheet
19
.
According to the invention of claim
1
, rainwater having fallen onto the ground surface infiltrates into the underground. The rainwater infiltrated into the underground is purified by the natural filtering effect by the ground, and the buried water impermeable sheet
19
guides the infiltrated rainwater down to the water tank
11
by the inclination of the water impermeable sheet
19
. The thus guided water flows from the other end of the intake pipe
21
arranged near and above the water impermeable sheet
19
, toward the one end side of the intake pipe
21
to thereby flow into the water tank
11
. The water pressure at the other end side of the intake pipe
21
is equal to or higher than that at the one end side of the intake pipe
21
when no water is reserved within the water tank
11
, so that the check valve
31
allows water to flow from the other end of the intake pipe
21
to the one end of the intake pipe
21
. In this way, rainwater having fallen over a relatively wide area is filtered by the ground, and then collected by the water impermeable sheet
19
and reserved in the water tank
11
.
Water is inhibited from flowing from the one end of the intake pipe
21
to the other end of the intake pipe
21
, when the water tank
11
is filled up with rainwater so that the water pressure at the other end side of the intake pipe
21
becomes lower than that at the one end side of the intake pipe
21
. Thus, the rainwater once reserved within the water tank
11
never leaks out via intake pipe
21
, so that the rainwater is effectively reserved within the water tank
11
. The water within the water tank
11
is drawn out therefrom, as required, by the draining means
14
.
As shown in
FIG. 14
, the invention of claim
2
is a wide area water collection type underground water tank comprising: a water tank
11
constituted to be capable of reserving water therein, the water tank
11
being buried underground and having draining means
14
capable of drawing out the water within the water tank
11
from the aboveground position; one or two or more intake pipe
21
having one end communicated with the interior of the water tank
11
from the side portion or upper portion of the water tank
11
, and the other end opened into the underground around the water tank
11
; a check valve
31
mounted to the intake pipe
21
, the check valve
31
being constituted to: allow water to flow from the other end of the intake pipe
21
toward the one end of the intake pipe
21
when the water pressure at the other end side of the intake pipe
21
is equal to or higher than that at the one end side of the intake pipe
21
; and inhibit water from flowing from the one end of the intake pipe
21
toward the other end of the intake pipe
21
when the water pressure at the other end side of the intake pipe
21
is lower than that at the one end side of the intake pipe
21
; and forcible check valve opening means
70
for controlling the check valve
31
so as to allow water to flow from the one end of the intake pipe
21
toward the other end of the intake pipe
21
even when the water pressure at the other end side of the intake pipe
21
is lower than that at the one end side of the intake pipe
21
.
According to the invention of claim
2
, the water tank
11
reserves water having infiltrated into the underground upon rainfall. Further, the check valve
31
is controlled by the forcible check valve opening means
70
, when the water pressure at the other end side of the intake pipe
21
becomes lower than that of the one end side of the intake pipe
21
since the water existing within th
Lee Kevin
Reed Smith LLP
Totetu Mfg. Co. Ltd.
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