Greywater cistern
The innovative gray water cistern design addresses the inefficiencies of using sink gray water for toilets by optimizing drain placement and overflow management, achieving significant water savings and simplified installation.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- DE202024001475
- Authority / Receiving Office
- DE · DE
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-08-02
- Publication Date
- 2024-12-19
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-08-31
AI Technical Summary
Existing toilet cisterns in Germany use clear water for flushing, and attempts to utilize gray water from sinks have been hindered by the depth of sink drains lacking sufficient slope, leading to inefficient water use and complex installation challenges.
A modified gray water cistern design with a higher drain placement and larger dimensions (200 x 200 mm x 400 mm) collects and directs gray water effectively, utilizing an overflow pipe to manage excess inflow and simplify installation by exposing the flushing pipe.
This design saves approximately 7,300 liters of clear water annually by using gray water for flushing, promoting climate-friendly practices while reducing installation complexity.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
State of the art
[0001] In Germany, there are a variety of different types of toilet cisterns that use clear water to flush the toilet. problem
[0002] Considerations about using grey water from sinks to flush toilets failed because the drain from the sink is so deep that there is no gradient for its use. Solution
[0003] One solution for use is to raise the drain higher, up to the edge of the sink drain.
[0004] To ensure that the grey water cistern can hold a lot of water within these dimensions, it is lower and deeper with dimensions of 200 x 200 mm, but wider, in this case 400 mm or times x, than standard cisterns.
[0005] Since the inflow consists of irregular water volume, but the grey water cistern has a limited volume, excess inflowing water is drained into the toilet via an overflow pipe via the existing toilet flush pipe.
[0006] However, this works without any major problems with an exposed flush pipe. With a built-in flush pipe, the connection is more complex. However, it's still recommended for climate policy reasons. Advantages
[0007] Since an average of approximately 10 liters of gray water is used when using the sink, this volume of clear water can be saved when flushing the toilet. Just one person, using the sink twice a day, saves 20 liters per day, or 365 liters per year, equaling 7,300 liters of clear water.
Claims
[1] Grey water cistern for use of the Grey water from a sink for flushing the toilet characterized by , that a housing made of hard plastic, measuring 200 x 200 x 400 or (x) mm, contains grey water (1); [2] the housing has an inlet for the grey water, characterized by that it is drained from a higher drainpipe)* (2) grey water from the sink; [3] There is an overflow pipe in the housing characterized by that through the upper opening of the overflow pipe)* (3), incoming water which exceeds the volume of the cistern can flow easily into the toilet by means of a pipe)*; [4] Inlet device, characterized by , that an inlet connection (4) for the grey water is installed on the flush pipe of an existing toilet. The housing has a drain valve inside, at the bottom characterized by , that, by means of a lever device, the drain valve is operated, through which the grey water can flow into the toilet via a pipe)*. (* Pipes made of plastic or other material)