Abstract:
Disclosed herein is a device for facilitating siphoning of greywater (graywater) or gently used water. An adapter is designed to fit onto the end of a hose or tube. The adapter is manually held tightly or attached by friction to a spigot or faucet. The faucet is turned on and running water primes the hose. The adapter is then placed under the surface of a collection of greywater in a sink, tub, clothes washer and the like. Greywater is then allowed to flow to a garden, lawn, cistern or other place where the greywater can be put to use instead of shunting it into a sewer. The device includes a funnel-shaped portion and a threaded portion. The device is made from a pliant material such as a silicone rubber or plastic.

Description:
This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. provisional patent application filed on 30 Apr. 2015 and having Ser. No. 62/155,260. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Field 
     The present invention relates generally to faucet adapters for attaching a hose or tube, and more specifically to a faucet attachment to increase efficient use of grey water. 
     Related Art 
     In many parts of the world, there is a shortage of water. In many communities, people waste under-used water by sending it down the drain. The term grey water or greywater has been coined to label gently used water. Greywater includes gently used water collected in bathroom sinks, showers, tubs, washing machines and the like. A large portion of greywater comes from bathing and showering where otherwise potable water is put to a very short-term use before passing into a drain. Millions of gallons are lost from ordinary and daily household tasks. Of course there are contaminated household waters, termed blackwater, that should be sent down a sewer drain or collected in a septic tank, and treated prior to releasing it back to nature. In contrast, greywater can be put to other uses rather than discarding it down a sewer drain. 
     Greywater may be put to further use by delivering it to gardens, flowerbeds, lawns, car washes and landscapes and the like. The problem is getting the greywater from collection places to the place of actual use. Ordinarily, kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, toilets and household appliances have a single outlet to a sewer system. Substantial greywater is thereby discarded into pipes and treated as blackwater because there is no easy mechanism for transporting greywater to another place of use near a household. At the point greywater meets blackwater, the greywater is lost by becoming irreversibly contaminated. 
     There is a substantial opportunity to make better use of water across the planet including transporting greywater to places that can use it. Until household fixtures and appliances can properly accommodate greywater, there is a substantial need for better ways to take advantage of wasted greywater. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments and techniques described herein relate to an inexpensive device for making productive use of greywater. According to one implementation, an adapter is provided that can be temporarily and easily attached to a water spigot or faucet for priming a hose or tube. Subsequently, greywater can be siphoned from its holding vessel such as a sink, tub, clothes washer and the like to a garden, lawn, cistern or other place where the greywater can be put to use. 
     According to various embodiments described, a device includes a funnel-shaped portion that easily and removably mates to a water faucet and a threaded portion for attaching a typical garden hose, water hose or tube. In operation, the hose or tube is primed with a small amount of tap water from the faucet. Subsequently, the device attached to the working end of the hose is placed into the reservoir of greywater and the greywater is allowed to pass to a desired location. The device is preferably made from a resilient and flexible material such as a silicone rubber, plastic or other pliant material. The material simultaneously gives sufficient strength to the device and the flexibility to fit tightly over the end of the faucet. The material can be used for years without impact to the faucet and without wear to the device. The device is easy to clean and maintain. 
     This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, and thus is not intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       While the appended claims set forth the disclosure with particularity, the device, together with its objects and advantages, is more readily appreciated from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout, like numerals generally refer to like parts. Unless specifically indicated, the components and drawings are not shown to scale. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a top perspective view of one implementation of the device. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a bottom perspective view of the device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a top view of the device first shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a bottom view of the device first shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the device first shown in  FIG. 1  along line A-A. 
     
    
    
     GLOSSARY 
     
         
           1  device according to first illustrated embodiment 
           2  funnel-shaped section 
           3  tubular section 
           4  connection section 
           5  receiving end 
           6  top surface or edge 
           7  inner surface, funnel-shaped section 
           7 A flattened inner surface 
           8  cascading rings 
           9  outer surface, funnel-shaped section 
           10  outer surface, tubular section 
           10 A inner surface, tubular section 
           11  surface, connection section 
           11 A inner surface, connection section 
           12  connection surface 
           13  threads, connection section 
           14  discharge end 
           15  outer diameter, funnel-shaped section 
           16  outer dimension, tubular section 
           17  overall height of device 
           18  funnel-shaped section height 
           19  tubular section height 
           20  connection section height 
           21  inner discharge diameter 
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Overview. The present disclosure describes a device for use with a tube or garden hose to facilitate siphoning greywater and making better use of greywater. Greywater is alternatively spelled gray water, graywater and grey water. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a top perspective view of one implementation of the device. With reference to  FIG. 1 , the device  1  includes a funnel-shaped section  2 ; a barrel, tubular or neck section  3 ; and a connection section  4 . The discharge end of a water faucet or spigot (not shown) is placed into the receiving end  5  of the funnel-shaped section  2 . A hose or tube (not shown) is placed into or fastened to the distal or discharge end  14  of the connection section  4 . The funnel-shaped section  2  includes a preferably flat outer or top edge or surface  6 , an inner surface  7  and an outer surface  9 . Preferably, at least the inner surface  7  includes several horizontal or flattened surfaces  7 A as the funnel-shaped section  2  progressively narrows from the top or receiving end  5  toward the tubular section  3 . Conceptually, the funnel-shaped section  2  is comprised of a series of cascading rings  8  of progressively smaller diameter. Such arrangement provides a series of flattened surfaces  7 A for matting tightly against a surface of the water faucet. 
     The widest dimension or outer diameter  15  at the receiving end  5  of the funnel-shaped section  2  is preferably over two inches (5.0 cm) wide. This size allows the funnel-shaped section  2  to accommodate most commercially available household faucets, spigots and other water outlets. The outer dimension  16  of the tubular section  3  is at least 1.3 inches (3.5 cm) wide and is preferably uniform in outer diameter along its length. This outer dimension  16  is designed to accommodate a variety of connection sizes and connection materials of the connection portion  4  such as a brass fitting, a hardened plastic fitting, stainless steel fitting and so forth. While the outer diameter of the connection section  4  is shown smaller than the outer diameter  16  of the tubular section  3 , such is for sake of illustration only. Further, while the tubular or mid section  3  is shown as cylindrical in shape, other outer and inner profile shapes for the mid section  3  are possible. The tubular section  3  is preferably sized so as to accommodate either a male connector or a female connector of a standard garden hose. A male connector of a garden hose typically has an outer diameter of 1 1/16 inches (27 mm). 
     Although not shown in this figure, the outer surface  9  of the funnel-shaped section  2  may include a texture to facilitate manual gripping of the funnel-shaped section  2 . For example, a set of divots or raised mounds or grooves may be formed in the outer surface  9 . The inner surface  7  of the funnel-shaped section  2  is preferably smooth. Such feature provides several benefits. A smooth inner surface  7  encourages a water-tight seal between the funnel-shaped section  2  and a faucet. Also, a smooth inner surface  7  promotes easy cleaning and maintenance of the device  1 . The outer surface  10  of the tubular section  3  is preferably planar and smooth to facilitate a water-tight seal for any tube or hose fitted directly up and onto the barrel portion of the tubular section  3  having an outer diameter  16 . 
     In terms of size, the overall height  17  of the device  1  is preferably over two inches (5.0 cm) tall and may be substantially longer such as 4-5 inches (10-13 cm). The funnel-shaped section height  18  is preferably over 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) tall, and the tubular section height  19  is preferably at least one inch (2.5 cm) tall. The connection height  20  may be of any length depending on the type of connection form needed. As illustrated, the connection portion  4  is at least approximately one inch (2.54 cm) in height  20  to accommodate adequate an adequate amount of male threads at the discharge end  14 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a bottom perspective view of the device of  FIG. 1 . With reference to  FIG. 2 , the cascading rings  8  of the funnel-shaped section  2  progressively widen at each step downward to the receiving end  5  of the device  1 . Threads  13  are formed in surface  12  or of the material of the connecting portion  4 . As illustrated, male threads  13  are available for receiving a female connector of a hose (not shown). According to a preferred implementation, the connection section  4  includes a set of threads  13  in a brass or plastic fitting that is molded into the tubular section  10  or distal end of the material of connection section  4 . Such fitting and threads  13  provide a solid discharge end for receiving the hose. The threads  13  prevent a hose from slipping off of the device  1  under pressure from water discharging from a faucet placed into the receiving end  5 . Further, the threads  13  may be part of a metal barrel that is molded onto or to the connection section  4 . Preferably, for a metal barrel, the threads  13  are made of a brass, zinc-coated copper fitting or some other type of metal that resists corrosion. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a top view of the device of  FIG. 1 . With reference to  FIG. 3 , the funnel-shaped section  2  dominates the figure. The receiving end  5  includes a smooth inner surface  7 . Several flattened, substantially horizontal surfaces or shoulders  7 A are visible. Depending on the application, a user is able to tear or cut away some or all of one or more of the cascading rings  8  from the end  5  of the device  1 —such as along a seam at a shoulder  7 A—so that the outer diameter  15  and shape of the funnel-shaped section  2  exhibit a final desired size 15 and shape depending on the particular application of the device  1  for a particular faucet or source of priming water. Preferably, the material composition and wall thickness of the funnel-shaped section  2  are chosen such that such modification can be done with few or no cutting tools. At the most inner portion of the figure, portion of the inner surface  11 A of the tubular section  3  is visible. The inner surface  11 A may be perpendicular into the plane of the figure, or it may slope from the inner diameter of the last ring  8  to the inner diameter of the connection section  4 . 
     According to an alternative embodiment, at least the inner shape of the funnel-shaped section  2  is designed and shaped to exactly match the distal end of a faucet so that the inner surface  7  of the funnel-shaped section  2  mates in a water-tight fashion with the particular faucet. Thus, in use, the funnel-shaped section  2  may be held tightly and frictionally onto the end of the faucet without a need for manually holding the device  1  onto the faucet when priming a hose with water from the faucet. Grooves, lips or other surface feature may be designed into the surface  7  of the funnel-shaped section  2 . For example, a square-shaped faucet may match up with a square-shaped funnel-shaped section. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a bottom view of the device first shown in  FIG. 1 . With reference to  FIG. 4 , the discharge end  14  of the device  1  is visible. The outer edge of the tubular section  10  is visible toward the center of the figure. Cascading rings  8  of the funnel-shaped section expand outward from the tubular section  10 . The surface  12  of the connection section  4  includes threads  13 . The threads  13  are male threads and are more plainly visible in other figures. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the device first shown in  FIG. 1  along line A-A. A view along line B-B would be substantively equivalent to the view along A-A and is not show for sake of simplicity in explanation. With reference to  FIG. 5 , the funnel-shaped section  2 , tubular section  3  and connection section  4  are visible. A discharge end of a water faucet or spigot (not shown) is placed into the receiving end  5  of the funnel-shaped section  2 . A hose or tube (not shown) is placed onto, into or threaded onto or into the distal or discharge end  14  of the connection section  4 . The funnel-shaped section  2  includes a flat outer edge or surface  6 , an inner surface  7  and an outer surface  9 . Preferably, at least the inner surface  7  includes several horizontal or flattened surfaces  7 A for butting flatly against a surface at an end of a spigot or faucet so as to create a substantially water-tight seal between the spigot and device  1 . A series of cascading rings  8  progressively become smaller in diameter from the receiving end  5  to the discharge end  14  to accommodate different sizes and shapes of faucet. 
     The funnel-shaped section height  18 , tubular section height  19  and connection section height  20  are illustrated. These heights  18 ,  19 ,  20  are approximately the same in length relative to each other in this embodiment of the device  1 . The body  10  of the tubular section  3  extends vertically. The inner surface  10 A of the tubular section is illustrated as smooth. The inner lumen of the tubular section  3  narrows from the top to the entrance to the connection section  4 . The inner surface of the connection section  11 A is shown as smooth. Water enters the receiving end  5  and, in use, passes toward the discharge end  14 . The opening at the discharge end  14  has an inner diameter  21  as illustrated. 
     Conclusion. In the description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the device can be formed and used without these specific details. In other instances, structures, devices, systems and methods are shown only in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the invention. 
     Reference in this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “implementation” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or implementation is included in at least one embodiment or implementation of the invention. Appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in one implementation” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments. 
     It will be evident that the various modification and changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit of the description. In this technology, advancements are frequent and further advancements are not easily foreseen. The disclosed embodiments may be readily modifiable in arrangement and detail as facilitated by enabling technological advancements without departing from the principles of the present disclosure.