Udupi: Smart Flush Retrofit, an innovation by siblings studying in Madhava Kripa School, Manipal, has received a patent. The device by Sidharth Adiga, a class six student and Pradyumna Adiga, a class 3 student, intends to conserve water used in toilet flushing.
They are probably the youngest patent owners of Karnataka. Since they are minors, the applicant is their mother.
Dr Shripathi Adiga, professor, division of Ayurveda, MAHE, Manipal told TOI that the project was supported and guided by his wife Dr Ramya S Adiga and himself.
“Our sons have been spending a lot of time trying out various experiments mostly related to conservation. Earlier they had tried building a cooler with earthen pots. Last year, when they had to present a science project in school, they came up with several ideas and finally started working on this. With the increasing population, the rate of water consumption has drastically increased, leading to a water crisis. At this juncture, it is necessary to come up with simple measures to conserve water. If we consider the various means of domestic water consumption, it is evident that around 30% of it is spent on toilet flushing,” Dr Adiga said.
“Smart Flush Retrofit represents a component, when installed in a standard Indian single flush system, which is flapper-less and gravity-assisted, converts into a dual flush system. This enables different amounts of water to be used for flushing solid and liquid waste. This innovation enables us to convert the pre-existing Indian single flush system to dual flush system, in an easy and economical way, without changing the existing fixtures,” he said.
“The project was granted a patent from the Patent Office, Government of India recently. The patent was obtained under the guidance of Om Prakash Sringeri, director, OMS Patent Services, Bengaluru and his team,” said Dr Adiga, adding they plan to present this innovation in various science fairs and at a later stage probably think of a commercial release of the product.
They are probably the youngest patent owners of Karnataka. Since they are minors, the applicant is their mother.
Dr Shripathi Adiga, professor, division of Ayurveda, MAHE, Manipal told TOI that the project was supported and guided by his wife Dr Ramya S Adiga and himself.
“Our sons have been spending a lot of time trying out various experiments mostly related to conservation. Earlier they had tried building a cooler with earthen pots. Last year, when they had to present a science project in school, they came up with several ideas and finally started working on this. With the increasing population, the rate of water consumption has drastically increased, leading to a water crisis. At this juncture, it is necessary to come up with simple measures to conserve water. If we consider the various means of domestic water consumption, it is evident that around 30% of it is spent on toilet flushing,” Dr Adiga said.
“Smart Flush Retrofit represents a component, when installed in a standard Indian single flush system, which is flapper-less and gravity-assisted, converts into a dual flush system. This enables different amounts of water to be used for flushing solid and liquid waste. This innovation enables us to convert the pre-existing Indian single flush system to dual flush system, in an easy and economical way, without changing the existing fixtures,” he said.
“The project was granted a patent from the Patent Office, Government of India recently. The patent was obtained under the guidance of Om Prakash Sringeri, director, OMS Patent Services, Bengaluru and his team,” said Dr Adiga, adding they plan to present this innovation in various science fairs and at a later stage probably think of a commercial release of the product.