GB2497264A

GB2497264A - A recirculating shower

Info

Publication number: GB2497264A
Application number: GB1010071.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Lee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-06-16
Filing date: 2010-06-16
Publication date: 2013-06-12
Also published as: GB201010071D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to a shower system 2 comprising a water storage means 4 operable to hold a desired volume of water, a water treatment means 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 operable to clean and purify said water, a water delivery means 6 operable to deliver the cleaned and purified water to a water outlet; a water collection means 8 operable to collect the water after it has passed through the water delivery means 6, and connecting means 10 for connecting the water collection means 8 to the water storage means 4. Water within the system flows directly from the water storage means 4 through the water treatment means and the water delivery means 6 to the water collection means 8 and returns to the water storage means 4. Also defined is a method of operation of a recirculating shower characterised by the step of activating the shower system by activating a solenoid valve.

Description

A Re-circulating Shower The present invention relates to a portable shower. In particular, the present invention relates to a re-circulating shower, in which the water is re-circulated through the S shower system. The shower system requires no waste water outlet and no mains water inlet.

Portable showers are becoming increasingly popular. This is especially so in the case of people who attend festivals and/or other events where the is traditionally no access to showers or other wash-room facilities.

Portable showers of the type that have been available until now are limited in their usability. Since showers use a large volume of water, it is usually necessary to have a mains water supply connected up to the shower system. In cases where a mains water supply is not used, a water tank is substituted for the mains supply. However, this allows only one or two people to shower, before the supply of water is exhausted.

Furthermore, it is necessary to have a waste pipe connected to a portable shower to allow the used water to drain from the system. In view of the need for water supplies and waste outlets, portable showers of the type currently available can not be used in a lot of locations. Usually, these types of showers are used on camp sites, or other sites where the installations become semi-permanent.

Thus it is clear that current portable showers suffer from the disadvantage that they are not completely portable. They are usable only in conditions where there is a plentiful water supply and a suitable waste outlet.

It is an object of the present invention to address these and other disadvantages

associated with the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shower system comprising: a water storage means operable to hold a desired volume of water; a water treatment means operable to clean and purify said water; a water delivery means operable to deliver the cleaned and purified water to a water outlet; a water collection means operable to collect the water after it has passed through the water delivery means; and connecting means for connecting the water collection means to the water storage means; wherein the water is operable to flow directly from the water storage means through the water treatment means and the water delivery means to the water collection means and water storage means.

Preferably, the shower system comprises a single water storage means. Preferably, the shower system is operable to move water from the water storage means through the water treatment means when there is a demand for clean water.

Preferably, the water storage means comprises a water tank.

Preferably, the water treatment means comprises a filtration means and a purification means.

Preferably, the filtration means comprises at least one filter. Preferably, the filtration means comprises at least two types of filter. Preferably, the filtration means comprises one or more of a course filter, a fine filter and/or a carbon filter. Preferably, the filtration means comprises a course filter for filtering large particles from the water, a fine filter for filtering fine particles from the water and a carbon filter for filtering chemical impurities from the water.

Preferably, the course filter comprises a bag filter.

Preferably, the fine filter comprises a sieve-type filter, more preferably a cartridge filter.

Preferably, the carbon filter comprises an activated carbon filter. More preferably, the carbon filter comprises a granular activated carbon filter.

Preferably, the purification means comprises a radiation treatment means. Preferably, the purification means comprises a short-wave electromagnetic radiation treatment means. More preferably, the purification means comprises an ultraviolet radiation treatment means. The ultraviolet radiation treatment means preferably comprises an ultraviolet light source.

Preferably, the water delivery means comprises a pump. Preferably, the pump is operable to provide a water pressure of up to approximately 10 Bar, more preferably of up to approximately 5 Bar. Preferably, the pump is a variable speed pump. The water delivery may also comprise a pressure vessel.

Preferably, the water outlet comprises a shower head.

Alternatively, the water outlet may comprise a tap.

Preferably, the water collection means comprises a showei tiay.

Alternatively, the water collection means may comprise a bath, basin, pool of the like.

Preferably, the connecting means comprises a waste. Preferably, the waste delivers the water from the water collection means to the water storage means.

Preferably, the shower system comprises water heating means to heat the water to a desired temperature prior to reaching the water outlet. Preferably, the heating means comprises a boiler.

Preferably, the shower system further comprises an activation means operable to control the flow of water through the system. Preferably, the activation means comprises a solenoid valve.

The shower system may comprise two or more water outlets. The shower system may comprise a shower block having multiple water outlets. In this case, the shower system may comprise one or more water collection means and connecting means.

Furthermore, in this case, the shower system may comprise one or more water heating means. Preferably, there is an activation means per water outlet.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operation of a re-circulating shower, the method comprising the steps of: a) activating the shower system by activating a solenoid valve; b) pumping water from a water storage tank to a water outlet via a water treatment means; c) collecting water from the water outlet; d) delivering the collected water to the water storage tank.

The present invention extends to a shower block comprising a shower system according to the first aspect of the invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be illustrated further, by way of example only, in the following description and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic box diagram of an embodiment of the shower system of the present invention; Figure 2 shows the shower system of Figure 1 installed within a portable shower block.

Throughout the following description, like numerals will be used to denote like features between the embodiments of the invention.

Referring to Figure 1, the shower system 2 of the present invention comprises a shower cubicle, a supply tank 4, water treatment means and shower operation means.

The shower itself comprises a shower head 6 through which water is expelled, a shower trayS into which the water falls and a waste 10 through which the water exits the shower.

The shower head 6 may be any shower head 6 of the type already available, or that may be produced in future. The size and shape of the shower head 6 does not have a significant effect on the shower system 2.

The shower tray S is a one piece construction to prevent leakage of water out of the system 2. The shower tray 8 is made from a fibreglass material and is moulded across the whole shower cubicle floor. The shower tray S has raised edges to minimise water leakage.

The waste 10 is formed in the shower tray 8. The shower tray 8 surface slopes towards the waste 10 to ensure that all the waste water enters the waste 10. The waste 10 is connected to the supply tank 4.

The supply tank 4 has a capacity sufficient to hold the entire volume of water present in the shower system 2. The supply tank 4 is constructed from a material which does not react with water or any personal hygiene products, for example! soaps, shower gels and hair cleansing products. The material of the supply tank 4 may be a plastics or metal material. The supply tank 4 is located beneath a floor 5 of the shower system 2. The supply tank 4 is, therefore, not visible to the user of the shower system 2.

The supply tank 4 acts as the water supply to the shower system 2, supplying water to the water treatment means and shower head 6, and also as the waste water collection tank, collecting all the water from the waste 10 in the shower.

The water treatment means comprises a filtration and purification system. The filtration system comprises a bag filter 12, two cartridge filters 14,16 and two carbon filters 18,20. The purification system comprises a UV treatment means 22.

The bag filter 12 is operable to collect any solid residue or waste in the form of large particles from the water. The bag filter 12 comprises a bag made from lOOgram weight polypropylene. The bag 12 is porous.

The two cartridge filters 14,16 are operable to collect any finer residue from the water.

Each filter 14,16 is made from a spun polypropylene material. The spun material comprises pores or holes having an average diameter of approximately 0.1 pm.

The two carbon filters 18,20 are operable to adsorb any impurities from the water.

Such impurities may be solid particles and/or chemical compounds. The carbon filters 18,20 comprise activated carbon. The activated carbon contained in the filters 18,20 is a form of carbon that has been processed to make it extremely porous and thus to have a very large surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions. The processing involves physical reactivation or chemical activation. The activated carbon is a granular activated carbon.

The UV treatment means 22 is operable to purify the water. The UV treatment means 22 comprise a UV light source to which the water is exposed. The UV light is operable to destroy any bacteria present in the water, and as such, disinfects the water.

The shower operation means comprises a solenoid valve 24, a motor driven pump 26, a pressure vessel 28 and temperature control means. The temperature control means comprises a radiator 30 and a boiler 32.

The solenoid valve 24 is operable to start and stop a flow of water through the shower system 2. The solenoid valve 24 is of a type readily available and regularly used in shower systems to control the flow of water through the shower system.

The pump 26 is preferably a variable pressure pump. The variable pressure feature allows the pump 26 to service a single shower or a plurality of showers as the case may necessitate. The pump 26 is operable to supply water to the shower head 6 at a pressure of 5 Bar (5OkPa). The pump 26 is operable to draw water from the supply tank 4 through the filtration and purification systems and to the shower head 6.

The pressure vessel 28 holds a volume of water at a different pressure to that in the supply tank 4. The water in the pressure vessel 28 is kept at a pressure of approximately 5 Bar. The pressure vessel 28 is operable to deliver the pressurised water to the water treatment means, such that the supply of water to the shower head 6 is maintained at an even flow.

The radiator 30 is operable to cool the water flowing through the treatment means.

This ensures that the water can be heated to a correct temperature in the boiler 32.

The radiator 30 comprises a large surface area device through which the water flows.

The water loses heat due to the temperature differential between the surface of the radiator 30 and the ambient external temperature.

The boiler 32 is operable to heat the water to a desired temperature. The boiler 32 works in the same way as a conventional boiler, and may be gas or oil powered.

The water flow path through the shower system 2 is constructed from conventional water pipes 34. The pipes 34 are constructed from a material which does not react with water or any personal hygiene products, for example, soaps, shower gels and hair cleansing products. The pipes 34 may be constructed from copper or plastic.

In use, a user operates the solenoid valve 24 to start the flow of water to the shower head 6. The activation of the solenoid valve 24 allows the pump 26 to start to draw water from the supply tank 4.

The water flows from the supply tank 4 into the bag filter 12, where the majority of the large particle impurities are removed. The water then flows through the radiator 30 to reduce the temperature of the water. This allows the boiler 32 to heat the water to the correct temperature.

From the radiator 30, the water flows through the pump 26. After the pump 26, a second source of water from the pressure vessel 38 is added into the water flow.

The combined water flow then moves into the first cartridge filter 14. Smaller solid impurities are removed by the filter 14. The filtered water is then passed through the first 18 and second 20 carbon filters. The carbon filters 18, 20 remove any fine solid impurities and chemical impurities from the water. This is achieved by physical hindrance of solid particles and adsorption of chemical impurities. The water is then re-filtered by the second cartridge filter 16 to remove any activated carbon residues.

The filtered water is then purified, or disinfected. This is done by applying a UV light 22 to the water. The UV light 22 has a wavelength that destroys bacterial DNA.

Therefore, the UV light 22 kills any bacteria present in the water to leave purified water. This purified water is safe for re-use.

The purified water is fed to the boiler 32 where it is heated to the desired temperature before being delivered to the shower head 6. When the water passes through the shower head 6, it is used by the user for washing purposes and falls into the shower tray 8. From the shower tray 8, the used water flows through the waste 10 and back into the supply tank 4.

S

The shower system of the present invention may comprise a single shower head 6, or may comprise a plurality of shower heads 6a,b,c. In the second embodiment of the invention, as shown in Figure 2, the shower system 2 may be used in a portable shower block 202. In this case, the water is fed through the water treatment means to a plurality of shower heads 6a,b,c, each of which is located within its own shower cubicle 206a,b,c. The wastes lOa,b,c from each cubicle 206a,b,c all run into the supply tank 4.

In the case of a shower block, the water may flow through separate boilers for each shower head. This allows the water flowing through each shower head to be set at a different temperature to that flowing through the other shower heads.

Also in the case of a shower block, separate solenoid valves may be fitted for each shower head. This ensures that the flow of water through each shower head can be controlled individually.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, in a shower block, the shower system may comprise one charcoal filter and one UV filter per shower head. In this case, the shower system may be split after the first cartridge filter into a plurality of parallel shower systems depending on the number of shower heads, before re-joining into a single shower system in the supply tank.

The water in the shower system may be re-circulated many times before needing to be replaced. This makes the shower system of the present invention ideal for use in locations where there are no readily available water supplies or waste water outlets.

For example, the shower system of the present invention may be used at a festival

and may be set up in a field with no utilities.

The present invention also means that the water can be continuously treated.

Therefore, there is no need to have to wait for water to be treated before it can be delivered to a shower.

Furthermore, in the present invention, there is no need to have separate tanks for waste water to be treated and clean water that has been treated. The water flows directly from the water treatment means to the shower head. This reduces the amount of water storage space needed in the shower system. This also ensures that the water is clean when it reaches the shower head. In the case where a separate clean water tank is used, there is no water treatment between the clean water tank and the shower head. Therefore, if the water has been standing in the tank for a while, i.e. stagnant, there is a risk that any bacteria or impurities will have had chance to multiply in the water, meaning that the water leaving the tank and flowing through the shower heads is not clean. Thus the present invention provides an advantageous

solution to those described in the prior art.

Attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

<claim-text>Claims 1. A shower system comprising: a water storage means operable to hold a desired volume of water; a water treatment means operable to clean and purify said water; a water dehvery means operab!e to deilver the cleaned and purified water to a water outlet: a water collection means operable to collect the water after it has passed through the water deliverj means; and connecting means for connecting the water coection means to the water storage means; wherein the water is operable to flow directly ñom the water storage means through the water treatment means arid the water delivery means to the water colrection means and water storage means.</claim-text> <claim-text>2, The shower system as claimed in claim 1 comprising a single water storage means.</claim-text> <claim-text>3, The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the shower 0 20 system is operable to move water from the water storage means through the water If) treatment means when there isa demand for clean water.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the water storage means comprises a water tank.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the water treatment means comprises a filtration means and a purification means.</claim-text> <claim-text>6. The shower system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the filtration means comprises at least one filter.</claim-text> <claim-text>7. The shower system as claimed in claims 5 to 6, wherein the filtration means comprises at east two types of filter.</claim-text> <claim-text>8. The shower system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the filtration means comprises one or more of a course jilter, a fine tilter and/or a carbon filter.</claim-text> <claim-text>9. The shower system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the filtration means comprises a course filter for filtering large particles from the water, a fine fflter for filtering fine particles from the water and a carbon filter for filtering chemical impurities from the water.</claim-text> <claim-text>10. The shower system as claimed in any of Sims 8 to 8, wherein the course filter corn prizes a bay fflter.ii. The shower system as claimed n any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the fine filter comprises a sieve4ype filter, more preferably a cartridge filter.12. The shower system as claimed n any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the carbon filter compnses an activated carbon filter.13. The shower system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the carbon filter comprises a granular activated carbon filter, r 14. The shower system as claimed in any of Sims S to 13, wherein the purification means comprises a radiation treatment means. 0 20If) 15. The shower system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the purification means comprises a short-wave electromagnetro radiation treatment means, 16. The shower system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the purification means comprises an ultraviolet radiation treatment means.17. The shower system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the ultraviolet radiation treatment means preferably comprises an ultraviolet light source, 18. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the water delivery means comprises a pump.19. The shower system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the pump is operable to provide a water pressure of up to approximately 10 Bar.20. The shower system as claimed in claim 18, whereki the pump is operable to provide water pressure of up to approximately 5 Bar.21, The shower system as claimed in any of caims 18 to 20, wherein the pump is a variable speed pump.22. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein water delivery comprises a pressure vessel, 23. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the water outlet comprises a shower head.24. The shower system as claimed in any of claims I to 22, wherein the water outlet may comprise a tap.25. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the water collection means comprises a shower tray.26. The shower system as claimed in any of claims I to 24, wherein the water 0 20 collection means may comprise a bath, basin, pool of the like.LU27. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the connecting means comprises a waste.28. The shower system as claimed in claim 27, wherein the waste delivers the water from the water collection means to the water storage means.29. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the shower system comprises water heating means to heat the water to a desired temperature prior to reaching the water cutlet.30. The shower system as claimed in claim 29, wherein the heating means comprises a boiler.31. The shower system as claimed n any preceding claim, wherein the shower system comprises an activation means operable to control the flow of water through the system.32. The shower system as claimed n claim 31, wherein the activation means comprises a solenoid valve.33. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the shower system comprises two or more water outlets.34. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the shower system compnses a shower block having multiple water outlets.35. The shower system as claimed in claim 34, wherein the shower system may cornpase one or more water collection means and connecting means, r 36. The shower system as claimed in claim 35, wherein the shower system corn prses one or more water heating means.0 20 37. The shower system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein there is an If) activation means per water outlet.38. A method of operation of a recircuiating shower, the method comprising the steps of: a) actFvating the shower system by activating a solenoid valve; b) pumping water from a water storage tank to a water ouet via a water treatment means; c) collecting water from the water outlet; d) delivering the collected water o the water storage tank.39. A shower block comprising a shower system in accordance with claims I to 37.</claim-text>