Sewage effluent volume control and alarm arrangement for pressurized sewage disposal system
AssigneeJet, Inc.
InventorsRichard E. Culp, Robert G. Baker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Sewage effluent from a septic tank collects in a holding tank before being pumped out into a disposal field. The pump is turned on and off automatically by a control circuit which includes maximum and minimum level float switches in the holding tank, so that a predetermined volume of the effluent is discharged under pressure into the disposal field during each on-and-off cycle of the pump. A third float switch in the holding tank triggers an alarm whenever the effluent rises above a predetermined maximum level. The alarm signalling system may be silenced or tested by a manual switch.
Claims19
In a sewage disposal system for passing effluent from a septic tank to a disposal field, said system having:
- a holding tank operatively connected to the septic tank to receive effluent therefrom;
- a pump for discharging effluent from the holding tank to a disposal field;
- an electric motor driving said pump;
- a first switch operatively arranged to be closed while the effluent in the holding tank is above a predetermined minimum level and to open when the effluent drops below said minimum level;
- and a second switch operatively arranged to be open while the effluent in the holding tank is below a predetermined maximum level and to close when the effluent in the holding tank rises to a said maximum level;
- the improvement which comprises a level control circuit for turning off the pump in response to the opening of said first switch and for turning on the pump in response to the closing of said second switch, said level control circuit including:
- an A.C. power supply for the pump motor;
- a bidirectional semiconductor switching device connected in series with the pump motor across said A.C. power supply;
- a control device having means for gating on said bidirectional switching device and having an electrically energizable element for activating said gating means;
- a step-down transformer having a primary winding connected across said A.C. power supply and having a lower voltage secondary winding inductively coupled to said primary winding;
- an SCR having an anode-cathode path connected in series with said first switch and said electrically energizable element of said control device across said secondary winding, said SCR having a gate electrode;
- and means operatively connecting said second switch between said secondary winding and said gate electrode of said SCR to turn on the SCR and thereby energize said electrically energizable element of said control device in response to the closing of said second switch;
- said SCR, after being turned on, being operative to stay on independent of said second switch as long as said first switch remains closed.
In a system having:
- a holding tank for holding liquid;
- a pump for discharging the liquid from the holding tank;
- a first switch operatively arranged to be closed while the liquid in the holding tank is above a predetermined minimum level and to open when the liquid drops below said minimum level;
- a second switch operatively arranged to be open while the liquid in the holding tank is below a predetermined maximum level and to close when the liquid in the holding tank rises to said maximum level;
- and means for turning off the pump in response to the opening of said first switch and for turning on the pump in response to the closing of said second switch;
- an alarm signalling arrangement comprising:
- a normally-open third switch operatively arranged to be closed when the liquid in the holding tank rises past said predetermined maximum level;
- and alarm signalling means operatively connected to said third switch to signal an alarm in response to the closing of said third switch.
A system according to claim 16, wherein said alarm signalling means comprises a lamp and an audible alarm device, and a manual switch for turning off said audible alarm device without turning off said lamp as long as said third switch remains closed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.