Recirculating Shower System

Abstract

There is described a shower system that includes a showerhead fixture and a base connected by conduits. The showerhead fixture includes an inlet for receiving pressurized water. A diverter is configured to divert at least a portion of the pressurized water to the base. The showerhead fixture also includes a second inlet fluidly connected to a recirculating showerhead portion with a plurality of showerhead jets for expelling mixed water received from the base. The base is configured to create a reservoir of water on a shower floor and includes a venturi pump capable of using pressurized water from the showerhead fixture to draw in water from the reservoir into the stream of pressurized water. The mixed water is sent from the base to the jets in the showerhead fixture to thereby increase the volume of water expelled from the showerhead.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A shower system comprising:
 a showerhead fixture comprising:
 a first showerhead fixture inlet for receiving pressurized water; 
 a diverter for diverting at least a portion of the pressurized water into a first end of a first conduit; 
 a second inlet for receiving mixed water into a recirculating showerhead portion from a second end of a second conduit; and 
 a plurality of showerhead jets for expelling mixed water received into the recirculating showerhead portion; 
   a base configured to rest on a shower floor, the base comprising:
 a base inlet for receiving the at least a portion of the pressurized water through a second end of the first conduit; 
 a venturi pump receiving the at least a portion of the pressurized water at its inlet and drawing water from around the base on the shower floor through an intake in the base; 
 a base mix chamber wherein the at least a portion of pressurized water and the drawn water are mixed to provide mixed water; and 
 a base outlet through which the mixed water can exit the base into a first end of the second conduit; 
   whereby, in operation, the portion of the pressurized water and the venturi pump are used to draw water from the shower floor and thus mix the drawn water with the at least a portion of pressurized water, to thereby produce an increased volume of water expelled through the showerhead jets.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a freshwater showerhead downstream from the diverter and wherein the diverter selectively diverts the pressurized water to at least one of the freshwater showerhead and the base. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the diverter selectively diverts the pressurized water to at least one of the recirculating showerhead portion and the base. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the diverter can be changed by a shower system user to a non-recirculation position wherein none of the pressurized water is diverted to the base, the venturi pump is not operated, and none of the water from the shower floor is recirculated to the recirculating showerhead portion. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the diverter can be changed by the shower system user between the non-recirculation position and multiple other positions, wherein different amounts of the pressurized water are diverted to the base and the amount of the drawn water recirculated to the recirculating showerhead portion is contingent upon the amount of pressurized water diverted to the base. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the base further comprises a dam and wherein the dam is configured to be positioned around a drain in the shower floor and thereby create a reservoir of water around the base on the shower floor; and wherein the base is configured so the reservoir supplies the water drawn into the venturi pump through the intake. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the dam is formed with a height selected to provide an optimum height of the reservoir while allowing suds and any debris floating on the reservoir to spill over a top of the dam and into the drain. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the dam includes one or more holes configured to allow the reservoir to drain to the drain. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a filtering system upstream from the intake in the base. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the filtering system comprises a screen integrated into the base. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the screen is removable from the base for maintenance. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pressurized water has a supply flow rate going into the showerhead fixture and the supply flow rate is approximately between 0.8 and 2.0 gallons per minute. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the supply flow rate of the pressurized water is approximately 1.2 gallons per minute. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the showerhead fixture further comprises a recirculation showerhead, the recirculation showerhead comprises the recirculating showerhead portion, the mixed water expelled from the recirculation showerhead has a total flow rate, and the total flow rate is approximately between 1.2 and 4.5 gallons per minute. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14  wherein the total flow rate is approximately 3 gallons per minute. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a flow ratio comparing a fluid flow rate of water expelled from the showerhead fixture to a fluid flow rate of the pressurized water and wherein the flow ratio is between approximately 1.2 and 4. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the flow ratio is approximately 3.5. 
     
     
         18 . A method of recirculating bathing water comprising:
 providing a venturi pump with an inlet capable of receiving pressurized water, an intake capable of drawing water from a reservoir of bathing water into the flow of pressurized water passing through the venturi pump, and an outlet capable of expelling a combination of mixed water and reservoir water from the venturi pump.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising providing a showerhead fixture comprising a recirculation portion to be fluidly connected downstream from the outlet of the venturi pump, out of which water expelled from the venturi pump can be expelled in a shower. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising providing a diverter to be upstream from the inlet of the venturi pump which is capable of receiving pressurized water and selectively diverting the pressurized water between two outlets, one of which outlets is to be fluidly connected to the inlet of the venturi pump.