Pneumo-hydraulic Sump Water Evacuation System

Abstract

A system is taught for automatically siphoning water out of a sump pit or reservoir that only relies on domestic water as the sole source of motive power to automatically evacuate water from a sump pit. This pump system uses neither electricity nor floats as it mechanically amplifies a small pneumatic pressure signal—a change in air pressure—to turn on and off a higher-pressure hydraulic source such as a domestic water supply having a pressure of approximately 60 psig. The present sump pump system further teaches an eductor Venturi assembly having an annular groove in the fluid outflow conduit that creates pumping suction using the principle of differential pressure created when a fluid transitions from laminar to turbulent flow. This sump pump system operates with or without backpressure unlike some systems of this type. Importantly, the present automatic sump pump is further distinguished from other sump pump assemblies by being easy and inexpensive to install into Radon-remediated sump pits, which by code must have hermetically sealed covers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for evacuating a liquid from a sump pit to a remote location, powered solely by a domestic water pressure in response to a stagnation pressure signal, comprising:
 a. a housing; and,   b. a diaphragm chamber having a diaphragm assembly deformably responsive to said stagnation pressure signal; and,   c. a plunger stem connected to said diaphragm assembly and sealably protruding into a lower pressure fluid chamber; and,   d. a transition pressure fluid chamber housing a long stem tilt valve juxtaposed against said plunger stem such that a mechanical lever arm moment amplification is induced; and,   e. a porting orifice fluidly connecting said higher pressure fluid chamber and a lower pressure fluid chamber; and,   f. a check valve piston assembly located such that a large diameter piston end of said check valve comprises a means to be sealably slideable within the lower pressure fluid chamber and a smaller diameter valve end of said check valve is sealably located within an inlet end of the higher pressure fluid chamber; and,   g. a stagnation pressure standpipe vertically located in the sump pit and in fluidic continuity with said diaphragm housing, wherein said stagnation pressure signal originates and controls a pneumohydraulic means for an on off operation of a motive fluid flow through an eductor Venturi component that creates a pumping suction force with said motive fluid flow causing said fluid to be siphoned from said sump pit.   
     
     
         2 . The system as recited in  claim 1  wherein the stagnation pressure signal side of the diaphragm chamber has volume dimensions to afford a flat diaphragm under zero differential pressure conditions, and further comprising a vent port on an opposite spring side of said diaphragm assembly open to an ambient atmospheric pressure. 
     
     
         3 . The system as recited in  claim 2  further comprising a biasing spring located on the opposite spring side of said diaphragm chamber which exerts a force on said diaphragm assembly slightly greater than a static friction force induced by a sealing means of said pushrod, and further comprising on said pushrod a plunger seal having a small inner diameter. 
     
     
         4 . The system as recited in  claim 1  wherein said long stem tilt valve having a minimal diameter long-stem rod sealably located in the transition pressure fluid chamber is ported to an inlet of said domestic water pressure, and further comprising:
 a. an elongated stem of said long stem tilt valve, juxtaposed with the transition pressure fluid chamber, which by a summation of moments mechanically amplifies said stagnation pressure signal to produce a high-level hydraulic force; and, 
 b. wherein said tilt valve controls a domestic high pressure fluid flow entering from a high pressure inlet into a chamber having a large diameter piston end of said check valve. 
 
     
     
         5 . The check valve piston assembly as recited in  claim 4  wherein said large diameter piston end is ported in communication with said lower pressure fluid chamber side of the tilt valve, said check valve piston assembly further comprising:
 a. a high-lohm orifice located in the large diameter piston end through which there is a restricted fluid communication flow to a low-pressure chamber bounded on a side by an underside of said piston; and, 
 b. a small diameter valve is affixed to a slideably sealed stem segment of the larger diameter piston; and, 
 c. said low-pressure chamber ported to a sub-atmospheric pressure zone. 
 
     
     
         6 . The system as recited in  claim 1  further comprising an exit chamber sealably located between said large diameter piston end and an inlet valve, wherein said discharge fluid chamber is in fluidic communication with the eductor Venturi component. 
     
     
         7 . The check valve as recited in  claim 1  wherein the sealable means of piston  2  comprises a rolling elastomeric diaphragm in place of an O-ring. 
     
     
         8 . The system as recited in  claim 1  wherein the eductor Venturi component comprises
 a nozzle; and, 
 a cylindrical conduit for conducting a laminar flow of a fluid with a hydraulic pressure; and, 
 an annular groove circumferentially positioned in said cylindrical conduit imparting a discontinuous increase in a diameter of a groove section of said cylindrical conduit, whereby said annular groove induces a turbulent fluid boundary layer that causes a hydraulic flow velocity increase and a hydraulic pressure reduction within the cylindrical conduit, resulting in a pumping suction force. 
 
     
     
         9 . A system for siphoning a fluid from a reservoir comprising,
 a. means to transmit a stagnation pressure signal given a pre-determined fluid level in said reservoir without electricity or a float; and,   b. means to amplify said stagnation pressure signal by a mechanical lever arm moment amplification; and,   c. means to transduce a pneumatic stagnation pressure signal to a high pressure liquid flow; and,   d. means to direct said high-pressure liquid flow through an eductor Venturi assembly integrated in a substantially cylindrical discharge conduit having a nozzle and a discontinuous segmental increase in a conduit circumference, comprising an annular groove to create a pumping suction force,   whereby said stagnation pressure signal controls an operation of said system.