Patent Application
20140251460
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a home wastewater reversal and overflow prevention system and method that provide alternate wastewater routing in case of main sewer blockage as well as home detection and alert system for reversed wastewater overflow prevention. Its application is both in new construction (residential and commercial) as well as in retrofitting existing systems.
2. Description of Related Art Conventional household septic and sewer systems consist of a number of wastewater receptacles (such as toilets or wastewater inlets for basement appliances as in
Restricted flow can occur in many places within the system, e.g., at the leaching pipes, at the distribution box, at the filter within the septic which block solids from exiting the tank, at the inlet pipe to the septic tank, as well as anywhere along the wastewater pipes. Regardless of where the restriction occurs, wastewater fills the piping eventually backing up into the building. Wastewater continues to back up until it reaches the lowest discharge point. In buildings without pipe openings in the basement, wastewater will discharge at the lowest point on the first level typically causing a toilet to overflow.
The established standard for septic systems are not equipped to detect flow restrictions nor contain an alarm to notify the building occupants that flow to the leach field/sewer is restricted or blocked. When the waste outflow is restricted or blocked, wastewater fills the outlet pipes. Undetected wastewater fills the waste pipes until the lowest level waste inlet point (opening) is reached. Typical low points where sewage discharges are a washer waste pipe, a water softener waste pipe, a toilet or a sink. At this point, the waste is discharged into the building creating damage and an immediate health risk. In many situations the area affected by the discharge cannot be completely cleaned and dried creating the potential for long-term health problems including mold buildup.
Nonetheless, most commercially available alarm solutions alert property occupants only after the damage has occurred. Also, the use of commercially available backflow preventers is not expedient as they are designed to allow fluid buildup to escape with increasing pressure and then prevent it from returning to its source when the pressure subsides. If used in the wastewater system they would allow wastewater backup to flood the inlet area and prevent it from going back down the drain once the restriction is removed.
Therefore, an urgent need exists for a system that solves the above challenges present in the prior art.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is disclosed a wastewater reversal and overflow prevention system incorporating three unique components that can all be implemented together or each one of them can be implemented independently. These components are an overflow conduit to remove waste water from building when the primary line is restricted, sensing probes in the overflow conduit to detect standing water which is an indicator of flow restriction, and a backflow preventer.
In the system of the present invention an overflow conduit consists of a substantially vertical section of piping that projects from the main sewer line and a substantially horizontal section that travels through the foundation wall and continues outside to the overflow leaching field. In new construction the foundation is cored to place the overflow conduit above the main sewer line. For retrofit where foundation coring is cost prohibitive or impractical the overflow conduit can be run across wooden truss section of building wall. The overflow conduit leads to an independent leaching system sector capturing overflow wastewater only. The overflow conduit fills with wastewater where blockage of the main sewer line occurs only.
The substantially vertical section of the overflow conduit has a water sensor serving to detect rising wastewater level in the overflow conduit. The sensor is connected to an alarm designed to signal whenever flow is restricted. The advance notification provides a window of opportunity for corrective actions, i.e., turning off all sources of wastewater generation such as washing machine, water softener, toilets, sinks and tubs, and schedule service for the restricted or blocked discharge component, before sewage is discharged into the building.
A backflow preventer is located at the basement wastewater inlet. It consists of body piping section that accommodates a substantially spherical float, a porous, honeycombed, sieve-like or equivalent float seat that allows free water flow, and a gasket, all fitted between inlet and base piping of the wastewater inlet section. The backflow preventer of the instant invention provides an open fluid path in the normal operation state and blocks fluid exit when wastewater rises in the discharge piping. In the open (regular operation state) position the float rests on the seat permitting wastewater from an appliance to enter the wastewater system.
However, in cases where the overflow conduit exits a building at a level above the one where the lowest positioned wastewater inlet discharges wastewater into the system flow must be restricted from exiting into the building at these locations in order for the wastewater to reach the overflow piping. When wastewater discharge is impeded, pressure created by liquid rising in wastewater inlet piping causes the float of the backflow preventer to rise and press against the gasket thus blocking discharge from the wastewater inlet. To enable the system to function as desired, a backflow preventer must be installed at each inlet that is below the lowest ‘flow level’ of the overflow conduit.
The more important features of the invention have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may better be appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention and that such other structures do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.
Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claim, and the accompanying drawings in which similar elements are given similar reference numerals.
Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.
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The substantially vertical section of the overflow conduit of both systems accommodates water sensor (9) serving to detect rising wastewater level in the overflow conduit. The sensor is connected to a commercially available alarm system (
A backflow preventer (10) is located at the basement wastewater inlet. It consists of body piping (11) section that accommodates a substantially spherical float (12), a porous, honeycombed or equivalent float seat (13), and a gasket (14), all fitted between inlet (15) and base piping (16) of the wastewater inlet section.
However, in cases where an overflow conduit exit from a building is positioned at a level above the one where a washer, water softener or other device discharges wastewater into the system is positioned, flow must be restricted from exiting back into the building at these locations in order for the wastewater to reach the overflow piping. When wastewater discharge is impeded, pressure created by liquid rising in wastewater inlet piping causes the float of the backflow preventer of the present invention to rise and press against the gasket thus blocking discharge from the wastewater inlet. To enable the system to function as desired, a backflow preventer must be installed at each inlet that is below the lowest ‘flow level’ of the overflow conduit.
The system of the present invention can also incorporate sink traps (not detailed in the diagrams) on both the wastewater inlet and the overflow pipe to prevent gases from the sewer/septic from entering the building.
All the piping and conduits of the present invention are made of PVC or equivalent material known in the art.
While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention and not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are entitled.
