ES2963143T3 - Floating module for reducing evaporation losses in water-based liquids - Google Patents

Abstract

A floating module (1) for reducing evaporation losses in aqueous-based liquids that is characterized by two (2) hexagonal, watertight, hollow cells and configured to accommodate an internal ballast; and a perimeter wing (4) arranged on the horizontal axis of the floating module (1). (Automatic translation with Google Translate, without legal value)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Floating module for reducing evaporation losses in water-based liquids

Technical field of the invention

The present invention refers to a device for the maintenance of large masses of water and, more specifically, to systems for reducing water losses due to their evaporation.

Prior art state

It is known that large bodies of water and aqueous-based liquids—such as ponds, artificial lakes or swimming pools—suffer losses mainly due to evaporation caused by the action of sunlight and the action of wind. Therefore, systems are necessary that cover the surface of the water mass and prevent these actions, reducing losses due to evaporation.

These systems essentially consist of floating modules, floating covers, shading covers and chemical barriers. Floating modules are made up of pieces of plastic or any other material that float on the surface. Floating covers are plastic sheets that float on the surface and require anchoring to the perimeter of the body of water. Shade covers consist of structures that cover the body of water and provide shade. Finally, chemical barriers are chemicals that create a thin hydrophobic layer on the surface of the water mass.

Of all the systems, the only one that allows it to adapt to any type of body of water, regardless of its surface and geometric shape, being able to cover 100% of the surface without the need for civil works, with little maintenance and a long useful life. , is that of floating modules.

However, the vast majority of floating modules on the market require complex assembly prior to use. Furthermore, these modules have a very high weight to guarantee their correct handling, given that they require a large amount of material to achieve sufficient rigidity to fit the pieces that compose them. In the state of the art there are floating modules made up of pieces of circular base, which have the disadvantage of not covering 100% of the surface of the mass of water. Furthermore, these modules weigh between 4 and 5 kg to cover 1 m2, which causes handling problems. Another drawback of the current floating modules is that, if they are manufactured light to promote buoyancy, they are easily lifted by the effect of wind suction, thus not meeting the proposed objective of covering the mass of water. Patent application US2010/028082 A1 describes a floating element designed to cover the surface of a liquid. The floating element comprises an elongated body with a polygonal plan, with an upper section and a lower section that delimit a central longitudinal axis, and a peripheral section. The peripheral part may have a considerably flat surface. The floating element may include an interior wall for positioning or controlling the movement of a ballast within the body.

The present invention describes a floating module with a perimeter wing and a configuration that improves the operation of the floating module described in patent application US2010/028082 A1.

Patent application WO 2009/095017 A1 describes a floating element for covering and consequently reducing surface evaporation of liquids, comprising ribs extending from the edge of the floating element and whose height increases as they move away. of the edge, and which are arranged on the surface of the liquid, towards the center of the floating element. Between the ribs, curved faces are arranged, which form a cavity inside the floating element. The present invention describes a floating module without ribs from the edge of the floating element to the center of each compartment.

Document ES1162209U describes a floating module for reducing evaporation losses in masses of water and aqueous-based liquids, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of independent longitudinal cells arranged in parallel and a plurality of holes arranged in the longitudinal cells for ballastment by means of liquid. The present invention aims to improve the geometry and general operation of the device described in this document.

Explanation of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a floating module that solves the problems described in the state of the art. Thus, an object of the present invention is a floating module that maintains its buoyancy characteristics, even if it breaks or deteriorates. Another object of the present invention is to provide a floating module that can be manufactured using different techniques and in different materials, such as plastic polymers, which simplifies and makes production cheaper.

Another object of the invention is to provide a floating module that adapts to any type of mass of water and aqueous-based liquid, regardless of the surface of the mass, its geometry, the slopes of the reservoirs and other elements of the mass. Furthermore, the floating module must adapt to any type of water mass and its rises or falls in level.

Another object of the present invention is that the modules support sunlight and allow navigation in the body of water for maintenance tasks; that they are easy to install and maintain; that it is possible to recover it for subsequent recycling; and allow for easy transportation and installation.

Another object of the invention is wind resistance, both to prevent it being dragged out of the reservoir and stacking on slopes located to the windward, thanks to its ballast, and to quickly recover its optimal working position in the event of strong gusts of wind. wind through the self-flipping effect for which they are designed.

All objects of the invention are achieved by the floating module of claim 1.

Other particular embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims. More specifically, the floating module for reducing losses due to evaporation of liquids in masses of water and aqueous-based liquids is formed by two watertight cells with a polygonal plan, preferably with a hexagonal plan, independent of each other, but joined together. , where each of the cells is configured to ballast them using a liquid housed inside and which, in addition, has the particularity of incorporating a wing distributed perimeter.

The module of the invention, in a particular use thereof, is arranged on the surface of the aqueous mass, individually or in combination with a plurality of modules joined together or not together until covering 100% of the surface of said mass of water, floating on it and preventing the entry of sunlight and the action of the wind, which are the atmospheric agents responsible for evaporation.

The internal compartments that house the ballast allow, thanks to the self-turning effect, that the position of the modules is always that designed for optimal operation and that, in the case of strong winds, the module recovers its working position.

Throughout the description and claims, the word "comprises" and its variants are not intended to exclude other technical characteristics, additives, components or steps. For those skilled in the art, other objects, advantages and features of the invention will arise partly from the invention and partly from the practice of the invention.

The following examples and drawings are provided by way of illustration and are not intended to restrict the present invention. Furthermore, the invention covers all possible combinations of particular and preferred embodiments indicated herein, within the scope of the claims.

Brief description of the drawings

Below, a series of drawings are briefly described that help to better understand the invention and that are expressly related to an embodiment of said invention, which is illustrated as a non-limiting example of this.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a particular embodiment of a floating module object of the present invention, rectangular in shape and formed by two hexagonal cells.

FIG. 2 shows a partial perspective section of an alternative embodiment of a floating module object of the present invention, in which the two hexagonal cells include an internal compartment configured to house a ballast.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of the operation of the invention, where a cell (2) is shown without a compartment (Figure 3a) and with a compartment (Figure 3b) in accordance with the invention.

Detailed explanation of an embodiment of the invention and examples

The attached figures show the floating module (1) configured to reduce losses caused by evaporation in water-based liquids and, particularly, in bodies of water, such as ponds, artificial lakes, swamps or swimming pools.

More specifically, each of the floating modules (1) consists of two watertight cells with a polygonal plan, preferably hexagonal (2), which are independent of each other and are configured as a hollow and watertight body configured to house a ballast, preferably water, since it is the way to ballast the floating module (1). Each of the modules (1) incorporates a perimeter wing (4) that allows more or less water surface to be covered depending on the overlap between the wings (4) of the modules (1).

According to different particular embodiments of the invention, the cells (2) can have various openings and geometries as long as they maintain their polygonal shape, preferably hexagonal or bihexagonal in the plane of their working position. That is, the cells (2) have a geometry such that it avoids the permanent stacking of some modules on top of others due to the effect of the wind, precisely due to the joint action of the location and extension of the ballast and the rounded surface of the module (1).

The ballast of the floating module (1) can be carried out by including during manufacturing a quantity of water in the different compartments of the independent cells (2) that form the module (1). According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the ballast of the modules (1) will be carried out by fixing the aforementioned amount of water in its working position by adding to it some type of harmless additive that thickens, gels or solidifies the ballast, confining it in the interior compartment of each cell (2).

The module (1) described allows for a weight reduction with respect to the already existing modules and maintains the necessary wind resistance thanks to the ballast. The geometry of the cells (2) allows the upper face of the cells to be moved away from the surface of the mass of water, so that flooding does not occur in the cells (2) nor does the surface of the mass of water heat up. to cover up.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the module (1) is manufactured from a plastic polymer, although it can be manufactured from any material that has equivalent mechanical characteristics. The cells (2) are articulated with each other by means of a separator element (3) that grants a certain degree of freedom in the axis orthogonal to the work plane.

Figure 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention in which each hexagonal cell (2) is compartmentalized by means of a plastic sheet, which can be laminar, as can be seen in said figure 3, have greater or lesser thickness, or present any type of configuration.

The compartments (5) are separated by a sheet (7) made of the same material as the hexagonal cells (2), as a continuation of these, although they could also be made of any other material that is considered advantageous in each particular case.

The function of the internal compartments (5) is shown in Figure 3. In Figure 3a you can see, schematically, an uncompartmentalized and weighted cell (2) (6). If the wind acts on it, the cell (2) will be placed in a vertical and orthogonal position with respect to the aqueous surface, while the ballast (6) will move to its lower area and maintain a stable vertical position. Since this verticality implies that the cell (2) is in an orthogonal position with respect to the aqueous surface, the uncompartmentalized module (1) could not fulfill its function of returning to the working position in the presence of strong gusts of air.

However, when the cells (2) are compartmentalized (5), the situation is as shown in Figure 3b. The ballast (6) is located in the lower compartment (5) of each cell (2) and, when an overturning caused by a strong wind occurs, each cell rises 90° until reaching the orthogonal position mentioned above. However, in this case, the ballast (6) located in only one of the compartments (5) of each cell (2) will accumulate on a single side, making the vertical position unstable and therefore tending to recover. the horizontal position with respect to the aqueous liquid in order to fulfill the function for which it has been designed.

Finally, it should be noted that the floating module (1) can be manufactured by extrusion, molding, thermoforming, plastic injection or a combination of these techniques. Subsequently, the module (1) will be processed and the necessary machining will be carried out, such as the arrangement of the compartments (5) for ballast, the articulation of separator elements (3) and the configuration of the perimeter wings (4), and finally, cut it into the specific shape you want to give it.

Claims (6)

1. A floating module (1) for reducing losses due to evaporation in water-based liquids, which comprises: at least two cells (2) with a polygonal plan that are watertight and hollow, where the interior of each cell (2) is divided into at least two internal compartments (5) by means of a horizontal intermediate sheet (7) and where each cell (2) contains a liquid ballast (6) inside a lower internal compartment (5) of the at least two internal compartments (5) mentioned, the two polygonal cells (2) being articulated with each other by means of a separator element (3); and a perimeter wing (4) arranged on the horizontal axis of the floating module (1); in such a way that the module (1) is configured to recover, against the action of the wind, a horizontal and floating position with respect to the aqueous-based liquid. 2. The floating module (1) of claim 1, wherein the polygonal base cells (2) and the intermediate sheet (7) are manufactured with one or more different plastic polymers. 3. The floating module (1) of any of claims 1-2, wherein the polygonal cells (2) are hexagonal. 4. The floating module (1) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the ballast (6) is water that incorporates a thickening, gelling or solidifying additive configured to fix said ballast liquid (6) to its working position. 5. A method for manufacturing the floating module (1) according to any of the preceding claims, said method involving extrusion, molding, thermoforming, plastic injection or a combination of these; and comprising the processing of the arrangement of the compartments and the articulation with the separator element (3), the configuration of the perimeter wing (4) and a cutting phase to give the desired shape, which also includes a filling phase of a quantity of water (6) in the compartments (5) of the sealed cells (2). 6. A method for manufacturing the floating module (1) according to claim 5, further comprising fixing said amount of water (6) to a working position in the cell compartment (5). (2) waterproof by adding a thickening, gelling or solidifying additive.