Rain Water Recycling System using the Void spaces of Pods forming a Waffle Slab

FIELD QF THE INVENTION

TIie present invention relates to rain water recycling systems and, in particular, to apparatus and a method for storing rain water, caught and channeled via roofing and gutter structures, in the void spaces of pods forming a waffle slab foundation of a home, and supplying the stored rain water to the home for use as required.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The increasing public focus on water conservation in the midst of climate change has given rise to many systems that seek to recycle or recover rain water for use in domestic and industrial applications. Most storage tanks for such systems are above ground and, whilst that enables ease of construction and access for maintenance and repair, th&se storage tanks may occupy valuable above ground land space that could be put to other use or are aesthetically unappealing. Underground storage tanks, in contrast, go largely unnoticed, but require large scale ground excavation in the vicinity of the building which they supply and may, on occasions, be prevented by the location of underground utility service structures, such as sewerage pipes, telecommunication cables and the like.

Rain water recycling systems utilizing underground storage tanks are known. A typical system is disclosed in US Patent No. 5,234,286. That

system comprises an underground water storage tank of two attachable halves. The tank cooperates with a rain water receiving roof of a building, water inlet, conduits, valve and overflow, controllable pump, and a sump to utilize water from the reservoir.

However, this and other similar underground rain water recycling systems of me prior art have a complex structure which, in the event of malfunction, may require costly and time consuming repairs. Furthermore, the sometimes chemically aggressive or unpredictable underground environment may cause material degradation of the structure, or at least require costly preventative measures to be taken against such degradation.

It would, in many cases, be preferred that the ground beneath a building be used to locate water storage tanks, but this is not always feasible for homes built on a traditional pier foundation. With the more recent development of the practice of building homes upon a waffle slab foundation, new space has become available beneath the home in the form of the voids that occupy the pods around which the concrete is poured to form the slab foundation.

It has been found by the present inventors that the void spaces of pods forming a waffle slab foundation of a home may be used to store rain water that has been caught and channeled via roofing and gutter structures of the home. The present inventors have also found that such waffle pods may be connected by inlet and outlet pipes of a service system which ultimately

supplies rain water to the home for use, without adversely affecting the strength of the waffle slab foundation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially anieliorate the disadvantages and shortcomings of the aforementioned prior art, or at least provide a useful alternative.

According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for storing rain water in the void spaces of pods forming a waffle slab foundation of a home, the rain water having been caught and channeled via roofing and gutter structures, and supplying the stored rain water to the home for use as required, the apparatus comprising:

(a) a plurality of rain water storage compartments defined by the void spaces,

(b) inlet pipe means for supplying rain water from the roofing and gutter structures into the storage compartments,

(c) outlet pipe means from the storage compartments, and

(d) pump means cooperating with the outlet pipe means for supplying rain water from the storage compartments into the home for use as required.

A single pipe means preferably defines the inlet and outlet pipe means.

Preferably, the apparatus includes breather pipe, means-allowiag-air-to evacuate from the storage compartments as they are being supplied with rain water.

In a preferred form, the pump means includes a water filtration system.

It is also preferred that the apparatus includes overflow pipe means allowing excess water to flow out of the storage compartments when the water inside the storage compartments has reached a predetermined level.

In a preferred form, a single pipe means defines the overflow pipe means and the breather pipe means.

The apparatus preferably includes a supply tank located intermediate of first and second parts of the inlet pipe means, wherein the first part comprises an above ground, storm water down pipe which feeds rain water into the supply tank, and the second part comprises a below ground, supply pipe which supplies rain water stored in the supply tank to the storage compartments.

Preferably, the supply tank is underground.

It is preferred that the supply tank includes a leaf filter at a top region of the supply tank.

In a preferred form, the pump means includes a pump inlet pipe having an inlet opening at a bottom region of the supply tank.

According to another aspect of the present inventionjiiere is-provided-a- method for storing rain water in the void spaces of pods forming a waffle slab foundation of a home and supplying the stored rain water to the home for use as required, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a plurality of rain water storage compartments defined by the void spaces.

(b) supplying rain water into the storage compartments, and

(c) pumping rain water from the storage compartments into the home for use as required.

SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional side view of part of a waffle slab foundation which incorporates a rain water storage and supply apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

Fig, 2 is a plan view of the waffle slab foundation of Fig. 1 showing the storage compartments defined by the void spaces of waffle pods forming the foundation,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a supply tank that can be used in the apparatus shown in Fig, 1, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a waffle pod that can be used in the foundation shown in Fig. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The slab foundation 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 has a waffle pod and reinforced concrete structure that is similar to known waffle slab foundations, but differs from these in that it utilizes the void spaces 12 within the pods 14 as storage compartments for rain water 15.

There are inlet and outlet pipe means 16. 18 to and from the pods, and between the pods 14. These pipe means include a two-way supply pipe 19 located beneath the foundation and, in the case of the inlet pipe means 16, the supply pipe 19 supplies rain water captured by roofing and gutter structures of the home into each storage compartment 12 through the bottom thereof. In the case of the outlet pipe means 18, the supply pipe 19 supplies stored rain water, also through the bottom of the storage compartment 12, ultimately into the home for use as required, by cooperating with a pump means.

The pump means includes a pumping unit 20, a water filtration device, and a pump inlet pipe 22. The pumping unit 20 is located alongside an external wall of the home, the wall being supported upon a shoulder of the slab foundation 10. The pods 14 are located in a spaced apart manner internally of the shoulder and are, in this embodiment, 1100mm in length, 1100mm in width, and 300mm in height. They are made of a water impermeable

polymer, but any suitable material of combination of materials may be used in their construction. Each pod 14 is formed with column voids 24 extending between top and bottom surfaces of the pod. The column voids 24 are filled with concrete during the formation or laying of the foundation;, and so provide structural support for the pods under the weight of the concrete aboye.

From at least one of the pods 14 there is a hreather pipe 26 which has a first open end 27 at the pod and a second open end 2S externally of the slab foundation. The breather pipe 26 allows air to evacuate from the storage compartment 12 of the pod 14 as it is being supplied or filled with rain water through the inlet pipe means 16.

Rain water caught and channeled via roofing and gutter structures of the home are fed firstly into one or more storm water downpipes 30 and then into an underground supply tank 32 (which may also be referred to as a control tank) sunk to a depth that is beneath the slab foundation 10. A leaf filter 34 is located at a top region of the supply tank 32, and downstream of the leaf filter 34 in the supply tank 32 is an opening of the supply pipe 19. Rain water filling the supply tank 32 is diverted into and through the supply pipe 19 so that it also fills all of the storage compartments 12.

The pump inlet pipe 22 has an inlet opening near the bottom of the supply tank 32, but not so close to the bottom as to draw in silt or other impurities or debris that have settled on the bottom of the supply tank 32, whereby the pump means draws stored rain water, supplied continuously from the storage

compartments 12, for use as required in the home via one or more delivery pipe 36, such as may be used in plumbing to taps.

In the event that the rain water in the storage compartments 12 reaches a predetermined level representative of near volume capacity, the excess rain water is allowed to flow out of the storage compartments through an overflow pipe 40. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the overflow pipe 40 and the breather pipe 26 are the same pipe. Excess rain water can flow out of the supply tank 32 through storm water exit pipe 42.

It will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in details of design and construction of the rain water recycling system described above without departing from the scope or ambit of the present invention.

The description of the prior art herein is not to be taken as implying that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in this field before the filing date of this patent application.