AU2008202086B2 - Resources conservation system - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA FB RICE & CO Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys Patents Act 1990 PETER BATHURST WYBURD COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: Resources Conservation System The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us:- 2 Resources conservation system Cross-Reference to Related Applications The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent 5 Application No 2007902644 filed on 17 May 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Field of the Invention This invention relates, generally, to the conserving of natural resources and, 10 more particularly, to a resources conservation system and to a method of conserving resources. Background to the Invention Many parts of the world are becoming more drought prone and there is an ever 15 increasing need to conserve water. One of the ways in which water can be conserved is by storing rain water. Rain water is generally stored in tanks, the tanks being filled by water run-off from the roofs of buildings. In general, the capacity of these tanks to provide meaningful storage is inadequate and owners of such tanks still need to rely on a supply 20 of municipal water for activities such as watering gardens, etc. Some underground storage facilities arranged beneath buildings do exist but they can only be installed as original equipment when the building is built and cannot be retrofitted without great expense. 25 Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a resources conservation system which includes: a swimming pool defining a volume bounded by sidewalls; and at least one storage compartment arranged outwardly of at least one of the 30 sidewalls of the swimming pool, the at least one storage compartment being configured to store a natural resource and, in use, being in communication with a source of such resource, and the at least one storage compartment being isolated from the swimming pool such that the resource is not transferable between the at least one storage compartment and the swimming pool. 35 The swimming pool may be arranged at least partially in-ground. Preferably, the swimming pool is a concrete structure with the sidewalls being of reinforced concrete. The swimming pool may also have a floor of reinforced concrete.

3 The floor of the swimming pool may extend beyond at least one of the sidewalls of the swimming pool so that the floor forms a floor of the at least one storage compartment. It will be appreciated that the system may comprise a plurality of storage compartments. For example, in the case of a rectangular swimming pool, a storage 5 compartment may be arranged outwardly of at least two of the sidewalls of the swimming pool. The sidewalls of the swimming pool may include a waterproof membrane for inhibiting seepage of water out of the swimming pool into the storage compartment and vice versa. 10 A walkway may be arranged about the swimming pool and extending outwardly from the sidewalls of the swimming pool. This walkway, which may also be of a concrete material, may form a roof of the at least one storage compartment. It will be appreciated that each storage compartment may have at least one access opening associated with it for enabling access to be gained to an interior of the compartment, for 15 example, for maintenance or other purposes. Each access opening may be closed off by a cover such as a manhole cover. Preferably, the system includes plumbing associated with the at least one storage compartment. It will be appreciated that the storage compartment is, generally, to be used for water conservation. Accordingly, the plumbing may be plumbed to a gutter 20 system of a nearby building so that water run-off is fed from the building to the storage compartment. In addition, the plumbing may include outlet plumbing for enabling water from the storage compartment to be fed to the desired location. The desired location may be a water reticulation system of the premises. In addition, or instead, the outlet plumbing may be connected to a garden watering system of the premises. 25 The plumbing may include a prime mover, such as a pump, for pumping water from the at least one storage compartment. The pump may, conveniently, be a submersible pump. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of conserving a natural resource, the method including: 30 erecting a swimming pool defining a volume, the swimming pool having a plurality of sidewalls and a floor defining member; and forming at least one storage compartment within which a resource to be conserved can be stored outwardly of at least one of the sidewalls and the floor defining member. 35 The method may include excavating a hole in the ground and erecting the swimming pool at least partially within the hole. The method may include, when erecting the swimming pool, extending the floor defining member beyond at least one of the sidewalls of the swimming pool and 4 forming the at least one storage compartment on the floor defining member alongside the swimming pool. Brief Description of Drawin2s 5 An embodiment of the invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. I shows a schematic plan view of a resources conservation system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 shows a schematic, sectional side view of the resources conservation 10 system taken along line II - II in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 shows a detailed, cross-sectional end view of the resource conservation system. Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiment 15 In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally designates a resources conservation system, in the form of a water conservation system 10. The water conservation system 10 comprises an in-ground structure 12 having a plurality of sidewalls 14 and a floor 16 (Fig. 2) defining a volume 18. More particularly, the structure is in the form of a swimming pool 12. However, it will be appreciated that the 20 structure could be any in-ground structure such as a storage facility, a dam, or the like. A storage compartment 20 is defined outwardly of at least one of the side walls 14 of the swimming pool 12. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, a storage compartment 20 is defined outwardly of at least the shorter sidewalls of a rectangular swimming pool 12 but it will be appreciated that, in use, a storage 25 compartment 20 could be arranged alongside any, or all, of the sidewalls 14 of the swimming pool 12. Each storage compartment 20 has a floor 22 which is an extension of the floor 16 of the swimming pool 12 extending beyond the relevant sidewall 14 of the swimming pool 12. Each storage compartment 20 further includes an outer wall 24 and 30 a roof portion 26. The roof portion 26, in use, forms a walkway surround of the swimming pool 12. Each storage compartment 20 has an access opening 28 closed off by a cover, such as a manhole cover, 30 so that access can be gained to an interior of the storage compartment 20 for maintenance purposes or any other required purpose.

5 As illustrated more clearly in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the swimming pool 12 is a concrete-reinforced structure having concrete sidewalls 14 reinforced by steel mesh 32. Similarly, the floor 22 and outer wall 24 of the storage compartment 20 are also of a concrete fabrication having steel reinforcing 34. In addition, a water proofing 5 membrane 35 is embedded in the concrete of the sidewalls 14 and floor 16 as well as the floor 22 and outer wall 24 of the storage compartment to inhibit seepage of water from the volume 18 of the swimming pool 12 into the storage compartment 20 or vice versa. The roof structure 26 of the storage compartment also carries steel reinforcing 36. 10 Each storage compartment 20 has plumbing 38 associated with it. The storage compartments 20 are fed with water from the roof of a building (not shown) via a gutter 40. The gutter 40 charges the storage compartment with water. Further, the plumbing 38 includes an outlet manifold 42 associated with each storage compartment. The outlet manifold 42 has a first feed arrangement 44 for feeding water from the storage 15 compartment 20 from its associated storage compartment 20 to at least a part of a water reticulation circuit of the building. The outlet manifold 42 further includes a second feed arrangement 46 for feeding water from the storage compartment 20 to an outer area of the premises, such as a garden. Flow control through the outlet manifold 42 is controlled by a valve 48 which 20 enables an operator to direct fluid either through the feed arrangement 44, through the feed arrangement 46, through both feed arrangements 44 and 46 or to close off flow from the storage compartment 20 entirely. The outlet manifold 42 is fed with water via a feed pipe 50 (Fig. 2). Water is fed through the feed pipe via a pump in the form of a submersible pump 52. 25 In use, when a hole is excavated in ground 54 (Fig. 3) the hole is excavated slightly larger than the size of the swimming pool. This accommodates the storage compartments 20. The concrete is thrown to form the structure of the swimming pool 12 as well as the storage compartments 20. As indicated above, the concrete is reinforced by the steel reinforcing 32, 34 and 36. 30 Once the concrete has set, the volume 18 of the swimming pool is charged, in the usual manner, with water to enable to swimming pool to be utilised. Water runoff from the roof of a neighbouring building is fed via the gutter 40 into the, or each, storage compartment 20 to conserve water. The water in the storage compartments 20 is then used either within the building, in a garden associated with the building or both 35 via the outlet manifold. Each storage compartment 20 includes an overflow facility 6 (not shown) via which excess water can be discharged into a stormwater drainage system of the area. It is therefore an advantage of the invention that, as an excavation is going to take place anyway, the cost of excavating for the storage compartments 20 does not add 5 significantly to the costs and provides economy of scale. The storage compartments 20 are permanent concrete structures and the likelihood of distortion arising due to pressure from surrounding soil or water is therefore reduced. Access to the storage compartments 20 can easily be gained via the covers 30 10 for maintenance purposes. The space taken up by the storage compartments 20 is little more than for a normal swimming pool as the walkway surround 26 is still provided for a swimming pool which does not have storage compartments. Thus, very little excess garden space, if any, is used for the storage compartments. 15 Naturally, the most important advantage of the invention is that it provides a further method of conserving water. The manner in which water is conserved using the invention also does not result in the installation of above ground storage tanks which can be extremely unsightly. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations 20 and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims (14)

1. A resources conservation system including: a swimming pool defining a volume bounded by sidewalls; and 5 at least one storage compartment arranged outwardly of at least one of the sidewalls of the swimming pool, the at least one storage compartment being configured to store a natural resource and, in use, being in communication with a source of such resource, and the at least one storage compartment being isolated from the swimming pool such that the resource is not transferable between the at least one storage 10 compartment and the swimming pool.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the swimming pool is arranged at least partially in-ground. 15

3. The system of claim I or claim 2, in which the swimming pool is a concrete swimming pool with the sidewalls being of reinforced concrete.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the swimming pool has a floor of reinforced concrete. 20

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the floor of the swimming pool extends beyond at least one of the sidewalls of the swimming pool so that the floor forms a floor of the at least one storage compartment. 25

6. The system of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the sidewalls of the swimming pool include a waterproof membrane for inhibiting seepage of water out of the swimming pool into the storage compartment and vice versa.

7. The system of any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein a walkway is arranged about 30 the swimming pool and extending outwardly from the sidewalls of the swimming pool, the walkway forming a roof of the at least one storage compartment.

8. The system of any one of the preceding claims, which includes plumbing associated with the at least one storage compartment. 35 8

9. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the resource is water and which includes a prime mover for pumping the water from the at least one storage compartment. 5

10. A method of conserving a natural resource, the method including: erecting a swimming pool defining a volume, the swimming pool having a plurality of sidewalls and a floor defining member; and forming at least one storage compartment within which a resource to be conserved can be stored outwardly of at least one of the sidewalls and the floor defining 10 member, the at least one storage compartment being isolated from the swimming pool such that the resource is not transferable between the at least one storage compartment and the swimming pool.

11. The method of claim 10, which includes excavating a hole in the ground, 15 erecting the swimming pool and forming the at least one storage compartment at least partially within the hole.

12. The method of claim 10 or claim 11 which includes, when erecting the swimming pool, extending the floor defining member beyond at least one of the 20 sidewalls of the swimming pool and forming the at least one storage compartment on the floor defining member alongside the swimming pool.

13. A resource conservation system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 25

14. A method of conserving a natural resource substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.