Patent Application
20240133163
The following relates generally to a water dispensing assembly. More particularly, a water dispensing assembly is provided that is adapted to be fluidly connected to a fire hydrant so as to provide fresh water to the public for filling water bottles and the like.
It is important, especially during the summer months, for a person to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. However, often this is difficult to do when a person is away from home. While bottled water is available at most convenience stores, purchasing disposable water bottles can become expensive and is not environmentally friendly. Thus, the current trend has been for individuals to carry reusable water bottles filled with fresh water to keep a supply of water when away from home. However, it is often difficult to find a facility, such as a water bottle filling station, to refill these reusable water bottles. Further, many water dispensing units used in commercial establishments are coin operated.
Thus, there is a need for water bottle filling stations that are readily available at no cost to the general public that safely dispense fresh, reliable water for filling water bottles and the like.
The current application is directed to a water dispensing assembly that can be connected to an outlet that is present on an accessible, above-ground portion of a fire hydrant. Typically, fire hydrants, particularly in North America, have multiple water outlets for attaching a fire hose thereto. These water outlets are often referred to as “hose nozzles” and the water dispensing assembly will be connected to one of these outlets, which then will allow individuals to safely fill their water bottles and the like with fresh water. Thus, water dispensing assemblies of the present application can be scattered throughout a town or city to provide the public with clean water for filling water bottles and the like when away from home.
The water dispensing assembly presented herein uses a municipality's water supply via municipal fire hydrants while ensuring that this water supply remains uncontaminated. The water dispensing assembly is a self-contained unit that is relatively compact and low maintenance. The water dispensing assembly can be housed in a housing structure that is tamper proof (e.g., one having a door that can be locked) so that it cannot be accessed or modified by the public at large.
When the water dispensing assembly presented herein is connected to a fire hydrant having multiple outlets, typically three or more, the assembly does not interfere with the functionality of the fire hydrant for fire control. This will be described in more detail below.
Broadly stated, in one aspect, a water dispensing assembly is provided that is adapted to connect to a fire hydrant water outlet, the fire hydrant being connected to a water supply, the water dispensing assembly comprising:
In one embodiment, the water dispensing assembly further comprises a spigot attached to the dispensing orifice. In one embodiment, the spigot comprises a self-closing valve.
In one embodiment, the water dispensing assembly comprises the water pressure regulator. In this embodiment, the fluid hose comprises a first hose portion having the input end and a second hose portion having the output end, whereby the backflow preventer is fluidly connected to the first hose portion and the water pressure reducing valve is fluidly connected to the second hose portion, the backflow preventer and the water pressure regulator being fluidly connected to one another.
In one embodiment, the water dispensing assembly further comprises a water meter for determining the amount of water that is being dispensed in a given time period.
In one embodiment, the water dispensing assembly further comprises a flushing unit fluidly connected thereto for discharging water from the water dispensing assembly from time to time.
In one embodiment, the water dispensing apparatus is contained in an enclosed housing structure, said housing structure having a door to access components of the water dispensing assembly.
Additional aspects and advantages of the water dispensing assembly will be apparent in view of the description, which follows. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the water dispensing assembly, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
Referring to the drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate similar parts throughout the several views, several aspects of the water dispensing assembly are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in detail in the following figures. It is understood that the drawings provided herein are for illustration purposes only and are not necessarily drawn to scale
The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various embodiments of the water dispensing assembly and is not intended to represent the only embodiments contemplated. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a comprehensive understanding of the water dispensing assembly of the present application. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the water dispensing assembly of the present application may be practiced without these specific details.
The following relates generally to a water dispensing assembly that fluidly connects to a fire hydrant to allow individuals to safely fill their water bottles and the like with fresh water.
As can be seen in
Turning again to the water dispensing assembly 10 of
The gate valve 18 is further fluidly connected at its opposite end to an adapter 20, which adapter, in this embodiment, is a 2½ inch to 2 inch adapter. Fluidly connected to adapter 20 is a reducer 24, which, in this embodiment, is a 2 inch to ½ inch reducer. Thus, all of the subsequent (downstream) piping, elbows, tubing, etc. of the water dispensing assembly will generally have an internal diameter of ½ inch. Because the water dispensing assembly will be primarily used for filling water bottles and the like, there is no need to have the downstream piping to have a large diameter. Further, by reducing the size of the downstream piping, the water dispensing assembly is more compact and can readily fit into housing 50, thereby leaving a much smaller footprint. Housing 50 will be described in more detail below.
Water dispensing assembly 10 further comprises first fluid tube 22, which is in fluid communication with reducer 24. First fluid tube 22 is preferably a flexible tubing such as flexible braided stainless steel tubing. Preferably, first fluid tube 22 is made from stainless steel to reduce oxidation, scale build up and avoid contamination, however, it is understood that other corrosion-resistant materials could be used such as copper, aluminum, brass, polyethylene (PE) and the like. Fluidly connected to the opposition end of first fluid tube 22 is a reduced pressure backflow assembly 30 (also commonly referred to as a reduced pressure backflow preventer), which is designed to prevent backflow of water caused either by back-pressure or back-siphonage. In general, a backflow preventer only allows water to flow in one direction but never in the opposite direction. A reduced pressure backflow assembly incorporates the use of two independently acting spring-loaded check valves separated by a spring-loaded differential pressure relief valve, two resilient seated shutoff valves and four properly located test cocks. Thus, they work like a double-check (DC) backflow preventer, but also have an intermediate relief valve that opens to the atmosphere if both check valves should fail. Backflow preventers work by letting water flow through them in one direction, but prevent water from flowing back through them in a reverse direction. This is important in order to prevent risk to the water supply quality from any backflow contamination. It is understood, however, that a double or dual backflow preventer may be used in place of a reduced pressure backflow assembly, depending on the level of risk and what current safety codes are where the assembly is being installed.
Water dispensing assembly 10 as shown in
Fluidly connected to the water pressure reducing valve 32 is water meter 34, which is used to monitor the amount of water that is being used. Useful water meters are well-known in the art and may be positive displacement, turbine, or magnetic water meters. A second fluid hose 36 is fluidly connected at one end to the water meter 34, said second fluid hose having a dispensing orifice with a spigot (spout, faucet) 38 fluidly connected thereto for dispensing water. In one embodiment, a spring-loaded spigot having a self-closing valve 39 is used so that the water flow will automatically stop once pressure is relieved from the self-closing valve 39. However, it is understood that any spigot, spout, faucet could be used in the present invention. Ideally, the spigot should be designed to prevent contamination by the end-user. As shown in
Water dispensing assembly 10 can also be equipped with a flushing unit (or discharge unit) 42, which, as shown in
It is understood that various piping or pipefittings such as nipples, elbows, and like are used to place the various components described above in fluid communication with one another, all of which are well known in the art. The details of such piping or pipefittings for fluidly connecting the components of the water dispensing assembly together are shown in
First fluid hose 22 is connected at its opposite end to reduced pressure assembly backflow preventer 30 at its one end via close nipple 27, 90 degree elbow and close nipple 29, respectively. At its opposite end, backflow preventer 30 is fluidly connected to one end of water pressure reducing valve 32 via close nipple 31. While having a water meter 34 is optional, in this embodiment, water meter is fluidly connected to the opposite end of water pressure reducing valve 32 via close nipple 33, 90 degree elbow 35 and close nipple 37, respectively. Tee pipe 59 is used to fluidly connect water meter 34 to second fluid hose 36, as well as water flushing unit 42.
Water flushing unit 42 comprising timer 44 is connected to tee pipe 59 via nipple 47, 90 degree elbow 49, nipple 51, 90 degree elbow 52, nipple 53 and 90 degree elbow 54, respectively. As previously mentioned, water flushing unit 42 may also comprise shutoff hose bib valve 45, which can be fluidly connected to 90 degree elbow 54 by means of male to hose bib male 54. Flushing tubing 46 is fluidly connected to water flushing unit 42 by means of air gap fitting 57 and fitting 58. It is understood that air gap fitting 57 and fitting 58 can be manufactured as a single fitting. Air gap fittings are well known in the art and are manufactured by a number of plumbing manufacturing companies. Air gap fitting 57 prevents cross-connections and contamination by discharging the flushed water across an unobstructed space (i.e., a gap of air). Thus, the flushed water flows across empty air into flushing tube 46 and, ultimately, into drain trough 48; however, in the event of back-up, the back-up water cannot reach the potable water supply due to the presence of this gap or space.
Spigot 38 is connected to the other end of second fluid hose 36 by means of nipple 56. Useful spigots are well known in the art. Spigot 38 as shown in
With reference now to
The steps for attaching a water dispensing assembly of the present application to a standard fire hydrant will now be described in more detail with reference to water dispensing assembly 10 as shown in
In the event of a situation where a fire hydrant having a plurality of water outlets and having a water dispensing unit attached to one of the water outlets is required to be put into service for controlling a fire, the following steps can be followed to now allow the fire hydrant to be operational for fire control despite the water dispensing assembly being attached thereto. Initially, a hydrant wrench, which can be a multi-purpose hydrant wrench that has one end for removing the locking cap, the other end for placing the operating nut in the open or closed position, and a hook to loosen and tighten other hydrant fittings such as gate valves or fire hoses, etc., is used to remove the locking cap 15 to expose the operating nut, which operating nut is in the open position to allow the water to flow to the water dispensing assembly. It is understood, however, that individual wrenches for each hydrant fitting can be used. The hydrant wrench is then used to close the operating nut, i.e., turn the fire hydrant off, to relieve the pressure so that an outlet cap or pumper cap can be removed from one of the free water outlets using the multi-purpose hydrant wrench. A hose is then attached to the free water outlet by using the multi-purpose hydrant wrench. The operating nut is then opened again using the multi-purpose hydrant wrench to “charge” the hydrant again. The hydrant is then ready to deliver water to the firefighting equipment, e.g., hose, as needed. Once the hydrant is no longer needed for the firefighting operation, the hydrant operating nut is turned off, the hose(s) removed and both the outlet (pumper) cap and the locking (dome) cap are reinstalled their respective places. Generally, the hydrant is left turned off (out of service) so that the hydrant can be inspected for any maintenance requirements prior to the water dispensing assembly being put back into service.
References in the specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular aspect, feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes that aspect, feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment referred to in other portions of the specification. Further, when a particular aspect, feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect or connect such module, aspect, feature, structure, or characteristic with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described. In other words, any module, element or feature may be combined with any other element or feature in different embodiments, unless there is an obvious or inherent incompatibility, or it is specifically excluded.
It is further noted that the claims may be drafted to exclude any optional element. As such, this statement is intended to serve as antecedent basis for the use of exclusive terminology, such as “solely,” “only,” and the like, in connection with the recitation of claim elements or use of a “negative” limitation. The terms “preferably,” “preferred,” “prefer,” “optionally,” “may,” and similar terms are used to indicate that an item, condition or step being referred to is an optional (not required) feature of the invention.
The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “and/or” means any one of the items, any combination of the items, or all of the items with which this term is associated. The phrase “one or more” is readily understood by one of skill in the art, particularly when read in context of its usage.
The term “about” can refer to a variation of ±5%, 10%, 20%, or +25% of the value specified. For example, “about 50” percent can in some embodiments carry a variation from 45 to 55 percent. For integer ranges, the term “about” can include one or two integers greater than and/or less than a recited integer at each end of the range. Unless indicated otherwise herein, the term “about” is intended to include values and ranges proximate to the recited range that are equivalent in terms of the functionality of the composition, or the embodiment.
As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, particularly in terms of providing a written description, all ranges recited herein also encompass any and all possible sub-ranges and combinations of sub-ranges thereof, as well as the individual values making up the range, particularly integer values. A recited range includes each specific value, integer, decimal, or identity within the range. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, or tenths. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc.
As will also be understood by one skilled in the art, all language such as “up to”, “at least”, “greater than”, “less than”, “more than”, “or more”, and the like, include the number recited and such terms refer to ranges that can be subsequently broken down into sub-ranges as discussed above. In the same manner, all ratios recited herein also include all sub-ratios falling within the broader ratio.
The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
