Patent Publication Number: US-9840822-B2

Title: Drain assisting water fixture

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to water drainage systems in general and in particular to a method and apparatus for assisting the drainage of water into a moving water supply. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Many water sources frequently need to be drained of excess water. In particular fields and other lands may be prone to flooding which adversely affects their utility and usability for such purposes. In such situations, it is necessary to remove the excess water prior to resuming use of these lands. Current methods of removing this water may not be satisfactory in all situations. 
     In particular, one common method to remove standing water is through the use of a pump either at the proximate or distal end of a pipe or hose to pump the standing water from the undesirable location to a less disadvantageous location such as a lake, river, ditch or the like. Disadvantageously, pumps may not be usable in all situations as such pumps require an electrical or other power source to operate. It will be appreciated that use of such pumps may not be possible in some locations due to the unavailability of such power sources or due to the cost of providing such power source. 
     Another common method for removing standing water is to provide ditches having a bottom lower than the surface of the standing water. It will be appreciated that such systems may not be appropriate for all locations such as were an adjoining drainage site is available. Additionally, such gravity drain systems may have a limited speed of drainage due to having to rely upon the speed at which the water may drain by gravity operation alone. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to a first embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed an apparatus for drawing water from a water source into a flowing water body. The apparatus comprises a tubular member defined by a sidewall extending between an inlet and an outlet and a central passage therethrough and a drainage pipe having an internal passage therethrough. The drainage pipe passes through the sidewall of the tubular member and has an outlet located within the central passage. The drainage outlet is oriented in a direction towards the outlet of the tubular member and has an unobstructed continuous profile extending there through. The apparatus further comprises a frame adapted to support the tubular member within a body of flowing water at a height above a bottom of the body of flowing water below a top surface of the flowing water. 
     The tubular member may include a narrowed portion in a middle portion thereof between the inlet and outlet. The narrowed portion may form a venturi. The drainage outlet may be located within the venture. 
     The drainage pipe may extend from the drainage outlet in a direction from outlet to the inlet of the tubular body. The drainage pipe may extend through the sidewall of the tubular body at an angle relative thereto. 
     The inlet of the tubular body may include a flared opening. The outlet of the tubular body may include a flared outlet. 
     According to a further embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed an apparatus for drawing water from a water source into a flowing water body. The apparatus comprises a tubular member defined by a sidewall extending between an inlet and an outlet and a central passage therethrough and a drainage pipe having an internal passage therethrough. The drainage pipe passes through the sidewall of the tubular member and has an outlet located within the central passage. The drainage outlet is oriented in a direction towards the outlet of the tubular member and has a continuous diameter with the internal passage of the drainage pipe. The apparatus further comprises a frame adapted to support the tubular member within a body of flowing water at a height above a bottom of the body of flowing water below a top surface of the flowing water and a pipe extending from said drainage pipe to a water source to be drained. 
     Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention wherein similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view, 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of a system for use in draining a water supply according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an apparatus for assisting drainage of standing water or use in the system of  FIG. 1  according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the apparatus of  FIG. 2  as taken along the line  3 - 3 . 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view of the apparatus of  FIG. 2  as taken along the line  3 - 3  according to a further embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of the apparatus of  FIG. 2  as located within a flowing water source. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a system for drawing water out of an undesired standing source  10  such as, by way of non-limiting example, a flooded area of land, into a flowing water source  12 , such as, by way of non-limiting example, a river or creek is illustrated generally at  20 . The system comprises a drain pipe  22  extending from the standing water  10  to the flowing water source  12  and a drain assisting device  24  as will be more fully described below located at the distal end of the drain pipe  22  within the flowing water source  12 . The drain assisting device utilizes the flow of water within the flowing water source  12  to pull or draw the water through the drain pipe to drain the standing water  10  faster. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the drain assisting device  24  comprises a tubular member  30  extending between inlet and outlet ends,  32  and  34 , respectively. The tubular member  30  further includes a central passage  36  therethrough extending between the inlet and outlets  32  and  34  defined by a sidewall  38  of the tubular member. As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the central passage  36  may have a continuous diameter between the inlet and outlet ends  32  and  34 . It will be appreciated that the diameter of the central passage may be selected to provide sufficient water flow therethrough. In particular, the diameter of the central passage may be selected to correspond to the diameter of the drain pipe  22  with which it is used as will be more fully described below. By way of non-limiting example, the central passage may have a diameter of between 6 and 12 inches (152 and 305 mm) for use with a drain pipe having a diameter between 6 to 8 inches (152 and 203 mm). The tubular member  30  also has a length between the inlet and outlets ends  32  and  34  selected to provide sufficiently consistent and controlled water flow therethrough. By way of non-limiting example, it has been found that a length of between 60 and 16 inches has been useful for a central passage having a diameter of between 6 and 12 inches (152 and 305 mm). 
     The drain assisting device  24  further includes a drain inlet pipe  40  passing through the sidewall  38  of the tubular member  30 . The drain pipe extends from an inlet end  42  located outside of the central passage  36  of the tubular member  30  to an outlet end  44  located within the central passage of the tubular member. The drain inlet pipe  40  includes a central passage  46  therethrough which has an unobstructed profile therethrough. In particular, the outlet end  44  does not include a nozzle or other flow restricting means in the outlet end so as to not reduce the flow of water therethrough. The drain inlet pipe  40  may have a reduced dimension upstream of the outlet end  44  so as to facilitate location within the central passage  36  however it will be appreciated that such reduced profile will be continuous through to the outlet end  44  thereafter. In particular it has been found that a reduced diameter of 3 to 4 inches (76 to 102 mm) for a portion of the drain inlet pipe  40  has been useful for use with a 6 inch (152 mm) drain inlet pipe. The inlet end  42  may be connected to a drain pipe  22  through any conventional means such as threading, pipe welding, connectors or the like. The outlet end is oriented towards the outlet end  34  of the tubular member  30  with the drain inlet pipe extending upstream therefrom towards the inlet end  32  of the tubular member. As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the drain inlet pipe  40  may pass through the sidewall  38  of the tubular member at an angle  48  relative thereto. The angle may be selected to be between 30 and 90 degrees although it will be appreciated that other angles may also be utilized. 
     In operation, the drain assisting device  24  may be connected to a drain pipe  22  extending to a standing water source wishing to be drained and thereafter the drain assisting device  24  located within a flowing water source  12  below the water level as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . As the water flowing through the water source passes through the tubular member, such water flow will draw the water to be drained out of the outlet end  44  so as to induce a greater flow rate through the drain pipe  22 . As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a frame  60  may be located below the tubular member  30  so as to position the central passage  36  of the tubular member  30  at a height above the bottom  14  of the flowing water source  12  while remaining below the surface thereof  16  thereby ensuring adequate water flow therethrough. The drain pipe  22  may then pass through the side bank of the flowing water source  12  as illustrated in  FIG. 5  or over the bank. 
     Turning to  FIG. 4 , according to an optional embodiment, one or both of the inlet and outlet ends  32  and  34  of the tubular member may be flared to increase or enhance water flow therethrough. Optionally, the central passage  36  may include a throat section  50  which may be either co-formed with the tubular member  30  or through providing an insert  52  therein so as to narrow the central passage  36  at the middle portion of the device proximate to the outlet end  44  of the drain inlet pipe  40 . 
     While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.