Patent Application
20190309503
The invention generally relates to liquid storage devices and methods, and especially to a method for cycling and refreshing water stored long-term in a drum for emergency usage.
Plastic polyethylene plastic drums are well-known bulk containers designed to economically store and transport liquids. They are commonly used by households to store a secondary water supply in the event the primary water supply, such as city tap or well water, becomes contaminated or otherwise unavailable, such as during a storm, flood, or power loss. During an emergency scenario, households, businesses and organizations may turn to these water storage vessels to supply the primary source of potable water.
A system is disclosed for controlling refreshing of contents of a liquid container, such as water in a barrel, having at least an inlet component with a first body, a first horizontal conduit, and a first vertical conduit, for connecting to a fresh liquid supply hose, including a pressure reducer in the first body component, and a first barrel bunghole attachment means, such that, when installed in a barrel bunghole, pressurized fluid received from a fresh liquid supply hose is conducted through the first horizontal conduit to the first vertical conduit, through the pressure reducer and is directed towards an interior volume of liquid container to force contents in the liquid container out of an outlet bunghole. Optionally, an outlet component having a second body, a second vertical conduit and a second horizontal conduit with a connection means to a drain hose is provided, wherein fluid resistance of the outlet component is less than that of the pressure reducer.
The description set forth herein is illustrated by the several drawings.
The inventor of the present invention has recognized a problem not yet recognized and/or solved by those skilled in the relevant arts. Prolonged storage of water in polyethylene plastic drums for extended periods of time, without periodic cleaning, may lead to the development of bacteria or algae. If the water is being stored for the purposes of direct usage in the future, without processing or reprocessing (filtration, sterilization, etc.), then use of contaminated water presents a serious health hazard, especially in an emergency situation.
To avoid the health risk during an emergency one should perform regular maintenance on the drum to keep the water supply fresh and clean. However, regular cleaning of drums is a challenge, due to their size and weight, which is likely why many users fail to do it. Because full drums weigh nearly 500 pounds, attempting to move a full drum without emptying it first is a dangerous task. Therefore, it typically needs to be emptied at its storage location, which implies a need for a nearby drain, a pump to drive the water to a further destination, or both.
Drums stored in a garage or a basement tend to be far from a drain to which the contents of the drum can be discharged, and may be physically encumbered by other items stored in the area. The cleaning process includes siphoning the water out of the drum to empty it, removing the drum to an outside location, hosing it down, treating it with a cleaner such as a bleach solution, rinsing it thoroughly to remove all residues and traces of the cleaner, and returning it to its storage location to be refilled with fresh water. This process is labor intensive and consumes hours of time.
Because of these issues, there is on-going discussion among users of emergency water storage drums regarding methods to “cycle” (“flush”) water in a drum to refresh it without the steps of emptying, moving, cleaning, returning, and refilling. There are various challenges and limitations to accomplish this method which include:
The present inventor, in view of these observations and recognitions of unsolved problems in the art, has realized that there is a need in the art for a fastening device or system that tightens aftermarket parts to the drum with enough torque to prevent leaks. The solution should allow for stationary cleaning and cycling of water in a drum which eliminates the need for the user to physically move the drum or physically remove the water for cleaning. Stationary cleaning greatly reduces the labor required to complete the task. The use of chemical disinfection in combination with cycling is a very effective and easy way to clean a drum. Chemical disinfection cleans the drum, and cycling using an embodiment of the present invention dilutes the disinfection chemical to safe levels for potable use.
The improved water cycling drum system (“cycler”) disclosed herein fastens to the drum and to readily-available hoses in order to deliver clean water to the drum and to carry old water out of it. The drum cycler system connects to a common hose thread for delivery of new water and also has a second connection which serves to expel the old water. This thread type is preferably compatible with garden hoses, recreational vehicle (RV) and marine hoses, washing machine hoses, or any hose with a common ¾″ hose thread.
The cycler is fastened to the drum with a drum wrench. At least one embodiment employs a slot design element that interlocks with the male edge of a plastic bung wrench. The cycler has a slot across the top, offset from the center, which serves as the female component to the male edge of a common plastic drum wrench. This becomes part of an interlocking mechanism to tighten the drum cycler to the drum.
Inlet and outlet hoses connect to the drum cycler horizontally instead of vertically. A lateral connecting feature greatly reduces the risk of a hose kinking under its own weight and unintentionally over-pressurizing the drum. Further, the cycler has a pressure reducing feature which greatly reduces the internal pressure of the drum during cycling operation. The fine-threaded cycler (inlet) has a smaller diameter port thru which water ingresses and restricts the flow of water into the drum, in this exemplary embodiment. The coarse thread cycler component (outlet) has a large diameter port through which the water egresses which promotes a low-pressure free-flow of liquid out of the drum, in this embodiment. The combination of restricting flow upon the ingress of liquid and promoting greater flow upon the egress greatly reduces the pressure inside the drum during the cycling process. In other embodiments, the inlet component may have the coarse thread, and the outlet component may have the fine thread, but in this embodiment, the pressure reducer should be located in the input component to protect the barrel from over-pressurization.
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The components (106, 107) may be manufactured using a variety of approaches and a variety of materials, such as but not limited to Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining, injection molding, welding or gluing of sub-components, or a combination thereof. Suitable materials include any pressure-capable, and preferably potable water compatible metal or plastic, such as copper, brass, aluminum, CPVC, PVC Schedule 80, PVC Schedule 40, high density polyethylene plastic (HDPE), and ABS plastic.
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In some embodiments, a down tube extending from the inlet component down towards the bottom of the barrel was provided to the system. It was believed that this earlier embodiment would enhance the fluid exchange during cycling operation. However, after feedback from users and distributors, it was determined that the benefit of this component was negligible. An improved design disclosed herein omits a downtube on either the inlet component or outlet component, thereby reducing the shipping costs and storage requirements for the system, while maintaining all of the beneficial operations.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof, unless specifically stated otherwise.
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
It will be readily recognized by those skilled in the art that the foregoing example embodiments do not define the extent or scope of the present invention, but instead are provided as illustrations of how to make and use at least one embodiment of the invention. The following claims define the extent and scope of at least one invention disclosed herein.
