U.S. patent application number 10/526053 was filed with the patent office on 2005-11-17 for water play pump.
Invention is credited to Hoffmeier, Dieter.
Application Number | 20050254963 10/526053 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 30010623 |
Filed Date | 2005-11-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050254963 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hoffmeier, Dieter |
November 17, 2005 |
Water play pump
Abstract
A fountain pump includes a housing for a pumping device, the
housing having a housing wall constructed as a filter through which
water can flow into the housing, and an outlet through which water
can be pumped out of the housing. At least one additional filter
element which is detachably mounted to the housing.
Inventors: |
Hoffmeier, Dieter;
(Ibbenburen, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
COHEN, PONTANI, LIEBERMAN & PAVANE
551 FIFTH AVENUE
SUITE 1210
NEW YORK
NY
10176
US
|
Family ID: |
30010623 |
Appl. No.: |
10/526053 |
Filed: |
April 18, 2005 |
PCT Filed: |
August 22, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/DE03/02804 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
417/313 ;
417/423.3; 417/572 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01K 63/045 20130101;
F04D 29/426 20130101; A01K 63/047 20130101; F04D 29/708
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
417/313 ;
417/572; 417/423.3 |
International
Class: |
F04B 017/00; F04B
053/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 30, 2002 |
DE |
10239944.1 |
Claims
1-10. (canceled)
11. A fountain pump comprising: a housing for a pumping device, the
housing having a housing wall constructed as a filter through which
water can flow into the housing; a first outlet through which water
can be pumped out of the housing; and at least one additional
filter element which is detachably mounted to the housing.
12. The fountain pump of claim 11 wherein said at least one
additional filter element comprises a wing-like filter element
which is hinged to the housing over said wall, each said additional
filter element being pivotable from a first position against said
wall to a second position away from said wall.
13. The fountain pump of claim 11 wherein the housing has a
longitudinal axis, said wall being parallel to said longitudinal
axis.
14. The fountain pump of claim 13 wherein the wall comprises a pair
of filter surfaces which are symmetric to the longitudinal
axis.
15. The fountain pump of claim 14 wherein said at least one
additional filter element comprises a pair of wing-like filter
elements which are hinged to the housing over respective said
filter surfaces, each said wing-like filter element being pivotable
from a first position against said filter surface to a second
position away from said filter surface.
16. The fountain pump of claim 11 wherein the housing has an upper
side, each said additional filter element being hinged to the upper
side.
17. The fountain pump of claim 11 wherein each said additional
filter element has an outside filter surface and an inside filter
surface.
18. The fountain pump of claim 11 wherein the housing further
comprises a suction connection, the fountain pump further
comprising a filter connector which can be connected to said
suction connection by a hose, said at least one additional filter
element being connected to said filter connector.
19. The fountain pump of claim 18 wherein the filter connector has
a control element for adjusting a waterworks function at the
outlet.
20. The fountain pump of claim 11 further comprising a second
outlet through which water can be pumped out of the housing.
Description
[0001] The present invention concerns a fountain pump with a
housing, which has a housing wall, which is constructed at least
partially as a filter, through which the water can flow into the
housing; with a first outlet, through which the water can be pumped
out of the housing; with a suction connection; with a pumping
device for sucking in water and for discharging water; and with a
control unit for controlling the pumping device.
[0002] Fountain pumps of this type are widely known and are used,
for example, in ponds. They usually stand in the water in the
middle of the pond and are used to produce waterworks on the pond.
Fountain pumps of this type generally have an essentially
vertically standing outlet that forms a fountain connection.
[0003] Fountain pumps of this type have a housing wall, which can
be designed in any desired way but is formed as a filter at least
in sections to prevent coarse material and debris from entering the
pump housing.
[0004] The problem with well-known fountain pumps of this type is
that the filter surface is generally limited to the sides of the
housing, since support elements are present on the bottom side, and
the fountain outlet and various control elements are formed on the
upper side. Some regions of the housing must be filter-free for
stability reasons, so that in fact only certain sections of the
housing wall can ever be used as filters.
[0005] Due to these restricting structural conditions, the filters
cannot be designed as large as one would want, so that
contamination and obstruction of the filters by coarse material and
debris occur after a predeterminable time. This time is so short
under practical conditions of use that the user of a fountain pump
of this type must deal with the problem of frequently taking the
pump out of the water to clean the filter.
[0006] Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to
develop a fountain pump whose filter surface is significantly
increased using the same housing dimensions.
[0007] In accordance with the invention, this objective is achieved
by mounting an additional, detachable filter element on the
housing.
[0008] An additional, detachable filter element of this type offers
many possibilities for creating additional filter surface. For
example, the additional, detachable filter element can be installed
spatially in front of the actual filter, so that a portion of the
water sucked in flows through this additional filter element and
relatively coarse material present in the water is retained. An
increase in the filter surface also results in longer running times
during which cleaning of the filter surfaces is not necessary.
[0009] In accordance with claim 2, it is advantageous for the
additional filter element to have a hinged design, so that it can
be secured on the housing in such a way that the filter element
rests against the wall of the housing in a first position and is
swung away from the wall of the housing like wings in a second
position. In this way, the additional filter element can be
spatially placed in front of the housing while a secure connection
is maintained, so that exact positioning of the wing elements is
possible. Another advantage is that the additional filter element
has an outside and an inside, each of which is formed as a filter
surface. In this way, the filter surface can even be tripled.
[0010] Another advantage is that the additional filter element has
a connection for a hose coupling with the suction connection on the
housing, so that the additional filter element remains connected
with the housing even when it is detached from the housing. In this
way, the additional filter element can be installed a distance away
from the actual housing in an area in which strong intake of coarse
material and debris is expected.
[0011] The latter advantage is also related to a further advantage,
namely, that the additional filter element has a control device for
setting a waterworks function. Specifically, this makes it possible
to utilize the additional filter element not only as a means of
optimizing the running time of the fountain pump but also as a
remote control device, for example, for setting the height of a
fountain.
[0012] An embodiment of the present invention is described in
greater detail below with reference to the drawings.
[0013] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a fountain pump
in accordance with the present invention with the additional filter
element detached.
[0014] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of the fountain
pump of the invention with the additional filter element swung out
from the housing.
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a fountain pump 1, which has a housing 3. The
housing 3 has a longitudinal axis and in the present embodiment is
designed with an essentially oval cross section. The housing 3 has
a housing wall 3.1, which is formed on both longitudinal sides of
the housing 3 as filter surface 3.2 and filter surface 3.3. The
filter surface follows the contour of the housing wall and is thus
outwardly convex, corresponding to the essentially oval cross
section of the housing 3. The filter surfaces 3.2 and 3.3 are
designed with grooves and webs in such a way that coarse material,
such as leaves, small twigs, debris, and even small animals, is
retained on the filter when pond water is drawn into the housing 3.
The bottom of the housing 3 has feet 5 with slotted holes 5.1
formed in them, with which the housing 3 can also be mounted on
mounting plates, rocks, etc. On the upper side of the housing, a
web 3.7 extends from one end face 3.5 of the housing 3 to the
opposite end face 3.6 of the housing 3. The web 3.7 spatially
separates the two filter surfaces 3.2 and 3.3 from each other in
such a way that they are arranged parallel to and symmetrically
about the longitudinal axis. A first outlet 7 is formed on the web
3.7. A telescoping extension 7.1, for example, can be mounted with
a water-tight seal on the first outlet 7. A nozzle to produce the
fountain is installed at the other end. Snap connections 9, with
which two halves of the housing 3 are held together, are also
formed on the web 3.7.
[0016] A suction connection 11 is formed on the web face 3.5. The
suction connection 11 can be connected with a threaded insert to
allow a hose (not shown) to be attached. In the absence of a
threaded insert of this type, the suction connection can be covered
with a cover 12. The opposite web face 3.6 is provided with a
second outlet 13, from which water can emerge, for example, for a
water spout or the like. A controller 15 for this second outlet 13
is formed on the web 3.7. A mounting 16, on which a lighting
fixture for the water spout or fountain can be mounted, is also
formed on the web 3.7.
[0017] The end faces 3.5 and 3.6 define the maximum outer contour
of the oval cross section. The filter surfaces 3.2 and 3.3 lie
closer to the longitudinal axis, so that they are positioned a
certain radial distance from the outer contour of the end faces 3.5
and 3.6. The purpose of this design is to allow the integration of
an additional filter element 17 in the housing 3. This is more
clearly illustrated in FIG. 2.
[0018] The additional filter element 17 in FIG. 1 comprises two
filter wings 17.1 and 17.2, which are secured on a central filter
connector 17.3. The central filter connector 17.3 has a connection
17.4, by which a hose coupling (not shown) with the suction
connection 11 can be produced, so that even when the additional
filter element is installed at a distance from the housing 3, the
two parts are still functionally connected. A control element 19 is
formed on the connection 17.4, with which the first outlet 7 and
the second outlet 13 can be controlled in such a way that, for
example, the water spout and the height of the fountain can be
varied from a location remote from the housing 3.
[0019] In the present embodiment, the filter wings 17.1 and 17.2 of
the additional filter element can be secured on the housing 3 in
such a way that they form a continuation of the circumference
determined by the outer contour of the end faces 3.5 and 3.6 along
the entire length of the housing 3. The filter wings 17.1 and 17.2
thus fit into the recessed lateral regions of the filter surfaces
3.2 and 3.3 of the housing 3.
[0020] Furthermore, the additional filter element 17 or the filter
wings 17.1 and 17.2 in the present embodiment can be hinged on the
upper side of the housing 3 in the vicinity of the web 3.7 in such
a way that the filter wings 17.1 and 17.2 can be swung out of a
first position, in which the filter wings 17.1 and 17.2 are
integrated in the housing in such a way that they are flush with
the end faces of the housing (not shown), and into a second
position (see FIG. 2), in which the filter wings no longer rest
against the filter surfaces 3.2 and 3.3.
[0021] The additional filter element 17 has one filter surface on
its upper or outer side and one filter surface on its lower or
inner side. As a result, the two opposite main surfaces of the
additional filter element 17 and thus of the filter wings 17.1 and
17.2 have their own filter characteristics. In the state shown in
FIG. 2, in which the filter wings are swung out, the filter surface
is approximately tripled.
[0022] The first outlet 7 on the web 3.7 of the housing 3 is
designed in such a way that a nozzle (not shown) mounted on it can
swivel about 20.degree. in all directions.
* * * * *