Recirculating shower system

Abstract

A recirculating shower system that can supply recirculated water to one or more spray heads to conserve water consumption during use and reduce water pollution. The recirculated water may be combined with fresh water to maintain comfortable conditions of the water being dispensed via the one or more spray heads. The recirculating shower system may include a flow control valve that operates to control the fresh water supply and a recirculation skid that controls the supply of the recirculated-fresh water mixture. The recirculation skid may include one or more inline cleaning devices that are operable to generate cleaned water that can be distributed throughout the recirculated water plumbing for intermittent or periodic cleaning.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A recirculating shower system comprising:
 a first spray head and a second spray head, each of the first spray head and the second spray head dispensing water;   a shower base collecting the water being dispensed via the first and second spray heads;   a sump receiving the water from the shower base;   a flow control valve receiving fresh water, the flow control valve being connected to a first fresh water line and a second fresh water line, the first fresh water line delivering the fresh water to the first spray head; and   a recirculation skid receiving recirculated water from the sump via a first recirculated water line, the recirculation skid being connected to a second recirculated water line that delivers the recirculated water from the recirculation skid to the second spray head.   
     
     
         2 . The recirculating shower system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a sump pump positioned in the sump for moving the recirculated water towards the recirculation skid via the first recirculated water line; and   a recirculation pump for moving the recirculated water towards the second spray head via the second recirculated water line.   
     
     
         3 . The recirculating shower system of  claim 2 , wherein the recirculation pump is positioned in a recirculation housing of the recirculation skid. 
     
     
         4 . The recirculating shower system of  claim 1 , wherein the recirculation skid comprises:
 a recirculation housing having a first inlet connected to the second fresh water line, a second inlet connected to the first recirculated water line, and an outlet connected to the second recirculated water line; and   a manifold combining the fresh water from the second fresh water line and the recirculated water from the first recirculated water line into a recirculated-fresh water mixture;   wherein the second recirculated water line delivers the recirculated-fresh water mixture exiting the recirculation housing via the outlet to the second spray head.   
     
     
         5 . The recirculating shower system of  claim 4 , wherein the recirculation skid comprises a recirculation pump positioned downstream from the manifold, the recirculation pump being operable to move the recirculated-fresh water mixture through the second recirculated water line towards the second spray head. 
     
     
         6 . The recirculating shower system of  claim 1 , wherein the flow control valve is operable to divert the fresh water towards one or both the first fresh water line and the second fresh water line. 
     
     
         7 . The recirculating shower system of  claim 6 , further comprising a controller configured to:
 control the flow control valve to divert the fresh water towards the first fresh water line while restricting flow of the fresh water towards the second fresh water line in a first operating mode of the recirculating shower system; and   control the flow control valve to divert the fresh water towards the second fresh water line while restricting flow of the fresh water towards the first fresh water line in a second operating mode of the recirculating shower system.   
     
     
         8 . The recirculating shower system of  claim 7 , further comprising a user interface communicating with the controller, wherein the user interface receives inputs that cause the controller to operate the recirculating shower system in the first operating mode or the second operating mode. 
     
     
         9 . The recirculating shower system of  claim 1 , wherein the recirculation skid comprises an inline cleaning device operable to generate cleaned water from the fresh water, and wherein the recirculation skid directs the cleaned water into the first recirculated water line towards the sump and into the second recirculated water line towards the second spray head. 
     
     
         10 . The recirculating shower system of  claim 1 , further comprising an anti-backflow device positioned on the second fresh water line between the flow control valve and the recirculation skid. 
     
     
         11 . The recirculating shower system of  claim 10 , wherein the anti-backflow device includes a vacuum breaker. 
     
     
         12 . A plumbing system for a recirculating shower system, the plumbing system comprising:
 a flow control valve receiving fresh water, the flow control valve being connected to a first fresh water line and a second fresh water line, the first fresh water line delivering the fresh water to a spray head of the recirculating shower system that dispenses the fresh water into a shower base of the recirculating shower system;   a recirculation skid connected to a first recirculated water line receiving recirculated water from a sump located below the shower base, the recirculated water in the first recirculated water line being combined with the fresh water in the second fresh water line to produce a recirculated-fresh water mixture, the recirculation skid being connected to a second recirculated water line that delivers the recirculated-fresh water mixture to the recirculating shower system; and   a recirculation pump operable to move the recirculated-fresh water mixture through the second recirculated water line.   
     
     
         13 . The plumbing system of  claim 12 , wherein the recirculation skid comprises:
 a recirculation housing having a first inlet connected to the second fresh water line, a second inlet connected to the first recirculated water line, and an outlet connected to the second recirculated water line; and   a manifold combining the fresh water from the second fresh water line and the recirculated water from the first recirculated water line into the recirculated-fresh water mixture; and   wherein the recirculation pump is positioned downstream from the manifold.   
     
     
         14 . The plumbing system of  claim 13 , wherein the recirculation pump is positioned in the recirculation housing. 
     
     
         15 . The plumbing system of  claim 12 , further comprising a controller communicating with the flow control valve, the recirculation skid, and the recirculation pump, wherein the controller is configured to:
 in a first operating mode, control the flow control valve to direct the fresh water towards the first fresh water line while restricting the fresh water from flowing towards the second fresh water line; and   in a second operating mode, control the flow control valve to direct the fresh water towards the second fresh water line while restricting the fresh water from flowing towards the first fresh water line;   wherein, in the first operating mode, the recirculated water is not received by the recirculation skid and, in the second operating mode, the recirculated water is received by the recirculation skid and is combined with the fresh water in the second fresh water line to produce the recirculated-fresh water mixture.   
     
     
         16 . The plumbing system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is configured to activate the recirculation pump in the second operating mode in response to an indication that the second operating mode has initiated, the indication including a sensed signal of the recirculated-fresh water moving through the recirculation skid into the second recirculated water line. 
     
     
         17 . The plumbing system of  claim 12 , wherein the recirculation skid comprises an inline cleaning device operable to generate cleaned water from the fresh water, and wherein the recirculation skid directs the cleaned water into the first recirculated water line and into the second recirculated water line. 
     
     
         18 . A recirculation skid for a recirculating shower system, the recirculation skid comprising:
 a recirculation housing having a first inlet receiving fresh water and a second inlet receiving recirculated water from the recirculating shower system;   a manifold positioned in the recirculation housing to combine the fresh water and the recirculated water into a recirculated-fresh water mixture; and   a recirculation pump positioned in the recirculation housing downstream from the manifold, the recirculation pump operable to move the recirculated-fresh water mixture towards an outlet of the recirculation housing.   
     
     
         19 . The recirculation skid of  claim 18 , further comprising an inline cleaning device positioned in the recirculation housing, the inline cleaning device operable to generate cleaned water from the fresh water, and wherein the recirculation skid directs the cleaned water towards the outlet and the second inlet. 
     
     
         20 . The recirculation skid of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 a controller configured to control operation of the recirculation pump; and   a sensor communicating with the controller, the sensor detecting the recirculated-fresh water mixture moving through the recirculation skid and the controller activating the recirculation pump in response to the detection.