Valve-Controllable Urinal Drain Line and Plumbing Component Rinse Management System for Very Low Water and/or Non-Water Use Urinals

Abstract

A water-conserving system equipped to periodically rinse ultra high-efficiency urinal drainage plumbing of corrosive waste liquid and reduce associated gaseous odor is provided. A valve-controllable rinse-cycle supply of water is provided which can selectively be directed into a single drainage conduit which receives waste water from one or more ultra high-efficiency urinals. The system provides embodiments having mechanical valves, or electro-mechanical valves configured responsive to control-signals provided from one or more electronic components, or one or more types of microprocessor-enabled devices, networked devices or computer apparatus.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a non-provisional application which relies on U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61 / 508,610 filed on Jul. 16, 2011, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention pertains generally to the field of water and energy conserving plumbing products, fixtures and systems. More specifically the invention relates to a valve-controllable urinal drain line and plumbing component rinse management system equipped to periodically convey a controllable supply of water or water solution (e.g., fresh, saline, alkali-enriched, rain water, grey water or water with one or more cleaning agents) as needed for rinsing the plumbing drainage line (and optionally one or more other plumbing components) of systems equipped with non-water urinals using no flush water per use-cycle, and / or ultra-high efficiency urinals (‘Ultra-HEU’) using less than...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]The objects of the present invention are achieved through a valve-controllable urinal drain line and plumbing component rinse management system configured for periodically rinsing, flushing or purging non-water urinal drainage plumbing or ultra high efficiency urinal (ultra-HEU) drainage plumbing, or both, and doing so in a water and energy conserving manner. In one of the embodiments, the system incorporates one or more non-water or ultra high efficiency urinals, or both, e.g., wall-mounted or otherwise configured for use by a user, each having a urinal drain pipe or conduit preferably configured to pass liquid in a single or urinal-exiting direction e.g., by incorporating a on

Problems solved by technology

It is projected that over 800 million people worldwide will not have a sufficient supply of water.

For example, in recent years water-conserving efforts made by manufacturers of plumbing fixtures have lead to significant decreases in the amount of water needed to flush toilets and urinals.

While such improvements have come relatively quickly and have contributed to significant reduction in water usage, they do not represent the best in what is attainable in urinal related water conservation.

For example non-water urinals, initially thought to be an ideal solution to reducing urinal water use, have been

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