The present invention generally relates to effluent pipelines such as wastewater pipelines and wastewater treatment systems in rows. More particularly, the present invention concerns a single-piece piping end cap allowing fluid communication with other pipes and conduits.
In the field of wastewater treatment, end caps are typically used to limit the flow of effluent beyond a distal end of a conduit while still allowing fluid communication with other pipes and conduits such as piping for connecting a piezometer or an aeration vent.
Various conduit end caps have been proposed for allowing fluid connection to other forms of piping. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,977 discloses an end cap comprising two off-axis openings configured to be fitted with separate adapters or fittings allowing for the connection of additional piping.
The use of the aforementioned end cap presents certain drawbacks, namely the requirement of additional installation parts and processes. These increase installation time and costs while introducing additional failure points within the system. There is therefore a need for an end cap comprising the necessary fittings allowing for a secure and cost-effective attachment of additional piping.
The present invention is directed to an end cap for a conduit comprising an open portion configured to mate with the conduit, an enclosure in fluid communication with the skirt portion, the enclosure comprising at least two apertures, and an inner conduit comprising at least two ends, each of the at least two ends being adapted to be received by the at least two apertures, and the inner conduit being in fluid communication with the enclosure.
The inner conduit may further comprise an opening, the bottom opening being in fluid communication with the enclosure. One of the at least two apertures may be configured to receive a piezometer while the other aperture may be configured to receive a vent conduit. The first aperture may be adapted to receive a piezometer while the second aperture may be adapted to receive a vent conduit. Each of the ends of the inner conduit may be inserted in each of the first and second apertures of the enclosure. To that end, the inner conduit may be L-shaped.
The enclosure may comprise three apertures, a first aperture being adapted to receive a piezometer, and second and third apertures being each adapted to receive a vent conduit. The inner conduit may comprise three arms, each of the arms being inserted in each of the first, second and third apertures. The inner conduit may be T-shaped. The open portion may be a skirt portion configured to mate with the conduit and the enclosure and the inner conduit may be unitary.
In another aspect of the invention, the end cap for a conduit may comprise an open portion configured to mate with the conduit, an enclosure in fluid communication with the open portion, the enclosure comprising two side walls and a top portion, a first of the side walls comprising a first aperture, a second of the side walls comprising a second aperture and the top portion comprising a third aperture. The end cap may further comprise an inner conduit comprising three arms, each of the three arms being received by each of the three apertures, the inner conduit being in fluid communication with the enclosure, the first and second arms being configured to each receive a vent conduit, the third arm being adapted to receive a piezometer.
The inner conduit may be T-shaped, the inner conduit may further comprise an opening, the opening being in fluid communication with the enclosure, and the open portion may be a skirt portion configured to mate with the conduit.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a method of venting multiple drainage conduits within a wastewater treatment system is provided. The method comprises fluidly connecting an end cap to each of the drainage conduits, the end cap comprising an inner conduit in fluid communication with the end cap and fluidly connecting a venting conduit to each arm of the inner conduit of each end cap to form a continuous venting conduit.
The method may further comprise fluidly connecting each of the vent conduits to side arms of each of the inner conduits, fluidly connecting a piezometer to an unconnected arm of each of the inner conduits, fluidly connecting each of the piezometers to a top arm of each of the inner conduits. The inner conduit may be in fluid communication with an enclosure of the end cap.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:
A novel fluidly connecting end cap will be described hereinafter. Although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiments, it is to be understood that the embodiments described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby. More specifically, the present invention will be described in relation to a wastewater treatment system. It is to be understood however that the present invention may be used in relation to a number of other systems utilizing fluids.
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The drainage conduits 240 may have any cross-sectional shape adapted to accommodate the volume of water to be disposed supplied by the wastewater treatment system and/or to accommodate the topographic requirements of the installation site. For example, in the present embodiment, the drainage conduits 240 are circular. It may be appreciated that the drainage conduits 240 may have any other cross-sectional shape known in the art. In some embodiments, the drainage conduits 240 may have a cross-sectional area of 175 cm2 to 2,000 cm2.
The drainage conduits 240 may be made of any semi rigid material. Examples of possible construction materials include, but are not limited to, plastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene or flexible metal. Other polymers, fibrous material, metal, rubber or rubber-like materials may also be used.
In some further embodiments, the drainage conduits 240 may be configured in parallel, in series or of combination thereof, such as with some drainage conduits 240 being positioned in parallel and other drainage conduits 240 being positioned in series. When configured in series, the drainage conduits 240 may be interconnected by means of couplers 244 configured to allow a fluid communication between two or more drainage conduits 240. When configured in parallel, the drainage conduits 240 may be interconnected at their upstream ends 251 by means of a distribution device 248 configured to distribute the effluent across the two or more interconnected drainage conduits 240.
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The effluent released from the leach system 220 may be absorbed by the filtering medium 430 enveloping the leach system 220. In some embodiments, the filtering medium 430 may be adapted to neutralize pollutants disposed within the effluent percolating throughout the filtering medium 430, thereby providing a third treatment of the wastewater. These pollutants may include, but are not limited to, pathogens, nitrogen, phosphorous or any other contaminants. The filtering medium 430 may further comprise sand, organic matter (i.e. peat, sawdust) or any other suitable medium or combination known in the art capable of removing or neutralizing pollutants.
In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in
In further embodiments, the enclosure 640 comprises a third aperture 635, generally located on the side wall 642 opposed to the first aperture 630. In such embodiments, the inner conduit 700 may be shaped as a T-shaped connector, each extremity of the inner conduit 700 being received by the first, second and third apertures 630, 635, 650 of the enclosure 640. The extremities received by the first and third apertures 630, 635 are adapted to be each connected to a vent conduit 670, each vent conduit 670 going in opposite directions and connecting to other end caps 600.
In some embodiments, the end cap 600 comprises a cross-sectional area adapted to receive the drainage conduit 240. In further embodiments, the conduit aperture 620 is adapted to sealingly receive the drainage conduit 240. The end cap 600 is typically fluidly connected to the drainage conduit 240 near the downstream end 252 and affixed thereto.
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In certain embodiments, the drainage conduit 240 and the end cap 600 may be sealingly affixed to one another thereby preventing undesired leaks or release of the effluent 130 at the junction between the drainage conduit 240 and the end cap 600. The fluid seal between the drainage conduit 240 and end cap 600 may occur as a consequence of the interference fit or may be obtained by applying a radial force on the drainage conduit 240 and end cap 600 thereby forcing them together. The radial force may be exerted by a cylindrical fastener, cable tie or any other known means of radially compressing objects.
The end cap 600 may further comprise an enclosure 640 at the distal end of the end cap 600 and configured to either partially or entirely limit the flow of the effluent 130. In certain embodiments, the female portion 624 and enclosure 640 may be unitary. To that end, the female portion 624 and the enclosure 640 may form a single piece. In yet other embodiments, the female portion 624 and enclosure 640 may define a continuous surface.
In some embodiments, the end caps 600 are made of any semi rigid material. Examples of possible construction materials include, but are not limited to, plastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene or flexible metal. Other polymers, fibrous material, metal, rubber or rubber-like materials may also be used. Understandably, the end cap 600 may be manufactured using any known manufacturing process known in the art, such as but not limited to machining, extrusion, 3D printed or any other known method of manufacturing pipe fittings.
The leach system 220 may additionally comprise one or more vents 680 configured to allow the circulation of air within the drainage conduits 240. The vents 680 may comprise a substantially vertical shaft extending from a lower end 682 in fluid communication with the drainage conduits 240 to an upper end 684 disposed above the surface 410 allowing access to the outside air or atmosphere. The upper end 684 may comprise a vent cap 686 configured to prevent any substance, such as rainwater, debris or any other contaminant, from entering the vent 680.
The end cap 600 is adapted to be fluidly connected to one or more vent conduits 670, typically through the enclosure 640. The vent conduits 670 are thus interconnecting each of the one or more drainage conduits 240. In the event of multiple drainage conduits 240 it may additionally be desirable to fluidly interconnect the drainage conduits 240 to a single vent 680 thereby potentially reducing installation time and costs.
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The leach system 220 may further comprise one or more piezometers 690 configured to measure and indicate the volume of the effluent 130 disposed within the drainage conduits 240. It may be appreciated that a high volume of the effluent 130 within the drainage conduits 240 may represent a malfunctioning of the wastewater treatment system. In such embodiments, the leach system 220 comprises a piezometer 690 connected to the end cap 600 with a gauge located above the surface 410. The location of the piezometer 690 generally aims at easing inspection by a user, such as a trained individual.
To that end, the end caps 600 may comprise a piezometer aperture 650 configured to allow fluid access to a piezometer 690. In this example embodiment, the piezometer aperture 650 is disposed on the enclosure 640 of the end cap 600. In other embodiments however, the piezometer aperture 650 may be disposed on the female portion 624 or any other location on the end caps 600. The piezometer aperture 650 may have any cross-sectional geometry and area necessary to receive the piezometer 690. In other embodiments still, the piezometer aperture 650 may be disposed on a distal surface 642 of the end cap 600.
In certain embodiments, the inner conduit 700 may be configured to interconnect or pass through one or more of the apertures 630, 635, 640 of the end caps 600. The inner conduit 700 may comprise any shape suitable for interconnecting or passing through the apertures of the end caps 600. In the example embodiment illustrated in
The inner conduit 700 typically comprises an opening 720 configured to allow fluid access between the interior volume of the end caps 600 and the interior of the inner conduit 700. In a preferred embodiment, the opening 720 is positioned at an elevation above the free surface of the resting effluent 130 within the drainage conduits 240 during regular operation thereby preventing the effluent 130 from entering the junction pipes 670 and piezometer 690.
In some embodiments, the female portion 624, the enclosure 640, the inner conduit 700 or any combination thereof may be unitary. To that end, the female portion 624, the enclosure 640, the inner conduit 700 or any combination thereof may form a single piece.
It may be appreciated that the topographical arrangement or soil composition of a particular drainage field 200 may not be suitable for the proper functioning of a wastewater treatment system. In particular and as illustrated in
In some embodiments, the wastewater treatment system comprises a low-pressure distribution system 500 capable of providing a pressurized flow of the effluent across the leach system 220. The low-pressure distribution 500 system may be embodied similarly to the system described in International Patent Application No. PCT/CA2020/050597 entitled “LOW-PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND METHOD”. The low-pressure distribution system 500 typically comprises a pumping system (not shown). The pumping system may be in fluid communication with the septic tank and with the leach system 220. Understandably, the pumping system may be installed at any other suitable location known in the art.
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In certain embodiments, the pressure conduits 550 may be disposed along the bottom of the drainage conduits 240 and resting on the inner surfaces of the drainage conduits 240. In other embodiments, the pressure conduits 550 may be suspended or supported by support structures (not shown) such that they are partially or entirely disjoined from the drainage conduits 240. In yet other embodiments, the pressure conduits 550 may be affixed at any position along the inner circumference of the drainage pipes 240 using cables, straps, tie wraps or any other known means of attaching a pipe to a surface.
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The end caps 600 may further be configured to receive a pressure conduit 550. Configured in this manner, the low-pressure distribution system 500 may further comprise a vertical conduit 552 extending substantially vertically through the opening 720 and into the fitting 700. In the example embodiment illustrated in
In certain embodiments, it may be undesirable to connect an additional piping to the junction apertures 630 and piezometer aperture 650. In such an embodiment, the one or more unused apertures may be partially or entirely covered by an aperture cap (not shown) thereby limiting access to said apertures. In other embodiments, the one or more unused apertures may be partially or entirely filled by an aperture filling (not shown).
Although the invention is described in relation to a wastewater treatment system, it is to be understood that the end cap 600 may be employed in various other applications requiring the connection of various pipes and fittings including water, gas and bulk solid distribution, irrigation, compressed air systems, manufacturing processes and any other application requiring piping and fitting connections wherein a reduced number of pieces may be advantageous.
While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.
The present patent application claims the priority of U.S. Patent Application No. 62/845,734, entitled “PIEZOVENT” and filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 9, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CA2020/050638 | 5/11/2020 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62845734 | May 2019 | US |