Abstract:
A system that is gravity forced for distributing wastewater to plant material ( 107, 108 ), composing a water receiving means ( 105 ), a lint trapping means ( 508 ) within the receiving means ( 105 ), inlet and outlet devices of the receiving means ( 105 ) and an irrigation means ( 109, 110 ) for transporting water from the receiving means to specified parts of a garden as determined by an operator.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to the field of waste water distribution. In one form, the invention relates to a household greywater (washing water, bath and shower water) distribution system that is gravity fed. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention in relation to a household greywater distribution system, however it should be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to that use only. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]    Due to population growth, governments and water providers struggle with the challenge of ensuring that each population has a sustainable supply of drinking water. As a result, reclaimed household wastewater (greywater) reuse is being viewed as a viable and sustainable way to reduce the consumption of potable water. 
         [0003]    The single largest consumer of potable water within towns and cities is the domestic garden. Water suppliers in developed nations often report that approximately 35% of domestic water consumption can be attributed to our gardens. Reclaiming household greywater is one method that may be implemented to reduce domestic water consumption. 
         [0004]    Reclaiming household greywater can however be fraught with horticultural, environmental and health risks. In addition, there are physical and engineering challenges involved in distributing water throughout a garden in a safe and efficient, maintainable manner. The inventor has identified that most currently available systems fall into disuse within a three years of being installed due to: mechanical failure; blockages; maintenance costs; odours; or being too difficult or time-intensive to maintain. Regardless of the level of filtration, greywater systems are also prone to the problem of blockages due to lint and hair build up. Due to fast multiplying bacteria in greywater when it is stored, odours rapidly build up and the risk of health issues arising are multiplied. 
         [0005]    In urban areas suitable greywater source selection is an important issue, with kitchen and toilet water (or black-water) being the most risk prone to the above problems. The potential health and environmental risks associated with greywater require that greywater must be contained within the boundaries of the property that it originates from. 
         [0006]    In response to these above problems identified by the inventor, single household domestic greywater reuse systems have previously been developed, however the maintenance requirements and costs of these systems means are high and each are often abandoned or not appropriately maintained by the households in which they are installed. 
         [0007]    Alternatively, previous systems do not provide any efficient way of using the water to irrigate domestic gardens. Increasingly, householders who are aware of the situation are looking for simple alternatives to using tens or hundreds of thousands of litres of potable water to maintain their gardens. 
         [0008]    Any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention. It should not be taken as an admission that any of the material forms a part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia or elsewhere on or before the priority date of the disclosure and claims herein. 
         [0009]    An object of the present invention is to provide a system for distributing greywater. 
         [0010]    A further object of the present invention is to alleviate at least one disadvantage associated with the prior art. 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0011]    The present invention provides for a system for distributing wastewater to plant material, comprising: water receiving means; lint trapping means within said receiving means; inlet and outlet devices of said receiving means; and irrigation means for transporting water from said receiving means; wherein wastewater is received and filtered by said receiving means and transported via irrigation means to plant material as determined by an operator. 
         [0012]    The present invention further provides for a system wherein wastewater is transported from said receiving means to plant material by the force of gravity. 
         [0013]    The present invention further provides for a system wherein said receiving means is elevated from the ground by a stand. 
         [0014]    Other aspects and preferred aspects are disclosed in the specification and/or defined in the appended claims, forming a part of the description of the invention. 
         [0015]    In essence, the present Invention provides for a household greywater distribution system that has a unique combination of components and is gravity fed and can be adjusted to allocate selected amounts of waste water to specified parts of a garden, as desired by the operator. The invention is comprised of a number of components that may be assembled to suit the requirements of the individual user. 
         [0016]    The present Invention has been found to result in a number of advantages, such as being simple to operate and maintain by the average householder. The system also has minimal maintenance requirements to ensure that the system is not abandoned. Every component of the system is serviceable by the user which ensures that any problem can easily be rectified. The system is further durable in design and construction to ensure that potential water savings as a result of the system are realised. 
         [0017]    The system advantageously utilises gravity to distribute the greywater with no pump required to distribute the water throughout a garden. It also allows the water to be distributed at rates at which plants are able to fully utilise the water they are being fed. The watering method creates a unique spread pattern that helps prevent root balling and other problems traditionally associated with sub-surface trickle Irrigation. The system further has an easy to change configuration, enabling an operator to water additional plants or garden beds using the system after it has been installed. The system is further portable and water saving can be in excess of 100 000 litres of potable water per year. 
         [0018]    Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    Further disclosure, objects, advantages and aspects of the present application may be better understood by those skilled in the relevant art by reference to the following description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and in which: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  illustrates an aerial view of system plumbing set out from a home on a block of land, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  illustrates a surge capsule in relation to a capsule stand, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  illustrates a front view of a three-way water diverter used in the system of the invention, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, and 
           [0023]      FIG. 4  illustrates a front view of a wand for dispersing water, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]      FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic view of one embodiment of the present invention. Greywater, for example from a washing machine  101  in a household  102  is regulated by from an internal diverter or suitable valve mechanism  103  to either an internal waste  104 , such as a laundry trough, or to a surge capsule  105 , such as a water tank or vessel. From there, the greywater can be regulated by a suitable mechanism  106 , such as an external diverter, to feed one or more irrigation circuits, such as to either or both a front garden circuit  107  and/or a back garden circuit  108 . Other gardens or irrigation systems may also be feed by the present invention by suitably connecting those systems to the greywater feed of the present invention. 
         [0025]    In an embodiment of the invention, the garden circuits  107  and  108  include a 19 mm irrigation line  109  which preferably distributes water to the parts of the gardens that require irrigation, surrounding the house  102 . Joining units (not shown) are adapted to connect lengths of the 19 mm irrigation line  109  as is necessary. Joiners may have a 7 mm long barbed into trunk line with a slightly rounded opening, which the water flows into. A hexagon shaped piece around the joiner allows a tool to be utilised to screw in the joiner. An 11 mm long circular joining length with a diameter of 8 joins the branch line to the joiner (not shown) 
         [0026]    An irrigation outlet  110 , such as an 8 mm PVC irrigation tube (not shown) is used to enable the greywater within the line  109  to soak into the surrounding earth/garden. Any suitable irrigation device may be used to achieve the soaking of the garden. The invention, however, is preferably gravity feed, thus enabling the greywater to ‘sit’ in the line  109  until it passes through outlets  110  into the surrounding garden  107 ,  108 . 
         [0027]    One form of outlet is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The outlet(s) are referred to as a wand  401  and are placed to ensure that water is delivered to the root networks of plant material being watered. An 8 mm joiner  402  is built into a cap  403  of watering wand  401 . The cap  403  is preferably releasably clipped onto the wand and allows for easy Inspection and clearing of each watering wand if necessary. The wand is placed substantially below the garden surface. The plastic tube of the wand  401  then transports water to between 120-160 mm below surface, depending on the length of the wand. A plurality of small holes  404  in the wall of the tube begin at 100 mm below the ground surface. The number and size of these holes  404  controls the flow of water from the wand  401 . The tubes may differ in diameters for different soil conditions and flow rates: preferably 10 mm for sandy soil; 15 mm for loamy clay; and 20 mm for clay, but may be of any size or length as is required. The length of the tube will vary between 120 and 160 mm dependent on the type of plant being watered and soil conditions. 
         [0028]    Flushing points (not shown) are fitted at various points around the system to allow for semi regular flushes to remove any build up or sediment from trunk lines of the system. 
         [0029]    The system preferable includes an external three-way switch  106  to allow the water to be directed to alternative garden sectors to ensure that the system preferably completely drains and avoids the potential problem of waterlogging soils through over-watering. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  illustrates a diverter switch  106 , and may also be used as internal diverter/switch  103 . In use, the three-way diverter  301  is provided on communication with a source of greywater. The external diverter  106  may be mounted onto a wall of a household laundry. The internal diverter may be mounter proximate a washing machine  101  in a laundry of the house  102 . The wastewater hose from the washing machine is connected to the internal diverter  103 . The water source Is connected to inlet  302 . One of the outlets  303  is connected to an existing wastewater disposal system (i.e. laundry trough or waste pipe)  104 . Another of the outlets  304  is connected to surge capsule  105  ( FIG. 2 ) via capsule inlet  501 , using connecting pipe  502 . The directional lever  305  allows the user to direct wastewater to waste disposal  104  and/or the distribution system and the garden  107 ,  108 . A pipe is fitted preferably on a gentle downward slope to feed the waste water from the outlet  304  to the surge capsule  105 . The surge capsule  105  is preferably mounted on a stand  503 , harnessing gravity to enable the water to flow some 100 metres or more. 
         [0031]    The surge capsule provides an important feature in the present invention. It enables waste water to be gathered and slowly dispensed into the water feed system of line  109 . In this way, the waste water can have time to soak into the soil via outlets  110 . The surge capsule  105  has a sump  504  with a (preferably) outlet  505  which is built into a lower end of the capsule  105  to allow the surge capsule to completely drains each time it fills with waste water. An internal overflow  506  and associated pipe allows excess water to be feed to the waste outlet  104  or other external drainage system such as a gulley trap. A two-stage lint basket system  508  enables a majority of lint contained in the greywater to be prevented from entering the irrigation system and lines  109 . 
         [0032]    The external diverter  106  may also be connected to an approved septic or sewerage or other approved waste disposal system, in the event that the waste water Is not required to be feed to the garden, but simply to be disposed of. The 19 mm irrigation line  109  is then used to get the water to the parts of the garden that require irrigation and the 8 mm PVC irrigation tube (not shown) is utilised to take the water from the joiner to the watering wand(s)  401 . The joiners are used to ensure that minimal maintenance is required to prevent blockages due to lint. 
         [0033]    The surge capsule may be a roto-moulded or fibreglass surge capsule  509  in two alternative capacities of 100 and 200 litres and includes a 50 mm or larger inlet  501  at one end of the capsule to allow both the 25 mm inlet pipe  502  and airflow into the capsule. Sump  504  with a 25 mm male outlet  505  is built into the other end of the capsule  509  and a second 32 mm female overflow outlet  506  is fitted internal of the capsule to allow internal 32 mm overflow pipe  507  to be fitted inside capsule. The two or three-stage lint basket  508  inside the capsule  509  and ensures that the majority of the lint contained in the greywater is prevented from entering irrigation system. The baskets will alternatively be nylon or stainless steel in composition. 
         [0034]    While this invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification(s). This application is intended to cover any variations uses or adaptations of the invention following in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth. 
         [0035]    As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit of the essential characteristics of the invention, it should be understood that the above described embodiments are not to limit the present invention unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Various modifications and equivalent arrangements are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of the invention and appended claims. Therefore, the specific embodiments are to be understood to be illustrative of the many ways in which the principles of the present invention may be practiced. In the following claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover structures as performing the defined function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. For example, although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together, whereas a screw employs a helical surface to secure wooden parts together, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw are equivalent structures. 
         [0036]    “Comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.”