Operation of watercraft frequently requires the use of bilge pumps, which are used to remove the accumulated water from within the watercraft. Bilge pumps therefore help to both keep watercraft dry and prevent them from sinking. They may also be helpful in other applications in which fluid has accumulated and needs to be removed, such as in plumbing and irrigation situations.
In traditional bilge pumps, fluid is drawn into a pump through an inlet by retracting a plunger within a pump chamber and an outlet that expels the fluid from the watercraft when the plunger is pulled up into the pump chamber. Typically, the inlet has a valve that ensures that fluid does not flow back out through the inlet when the plunger is pushed down into the chamber. The plunger also includes a plunger valve with a flexible flap that only allows fluid to pass as the plunger is pushed down, and prevents fluid to pass as the plunger is pulled up. Fluid is only expelled through the outlet as the plunger is retracted and thereby pulled up the pump chamber.
Bilge fluid often includes other solid and semi-solid debris, such as sticks and leaves, which frequently plug up traditional pumps. If debris is drawn into the inlet as the plunger is retracted, the debris accumulates around the plunger valve and thereby prevents fluid from passing through the valve as the plunger is pushed down. Such pumps are also frequently not capable of being taken apart to allow for removal of the accumulated debris.
A better bilge pump mechanism is needed to avoid the problem of current bilge pumps, which are constructed with easily clogged valves, thereby inhibiting bilge removal over time.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the devices and mechanisms disclosed herein will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the devices and mechanisms taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Traditional bilge pumps are ineffective because they are easily clogged with debris drawn into a pump. Existing pumps have inlet and plunger valves that each only allow fluid to pass in one direction. The plunger valve is often a small flexible flap constructed to only provide passage for fluid and separates a lower and upper compartment of the pump. In other words, fluid is drawn into a traditional pump through an inlet valve as a plunger is pulled up into the pump body, by reducing the pressure within the pump body. To expel the fluid drawn into the pump, the plunger is pushed back into the pump body, whereby the pressure in the pump body is increased and thus opens the plunger valve and forces fluid into the upper compartment of the pump. Then the plunger is pulled back up, closing the plunger valve expelling the fluid in the upper compartment out of an outlet. Fluid is therefore only expelled when the plunger is pulled upward. When debris comes in through the inlet of a traditional bilge pump, it clogs the plunger valve such that the debris often accumulates and inhibits further pumping.
The inventor realized that pressures at the inlet and the outlet could be isolated from each other by designing a secondary chamber within the pump by which fluid first is drawn into the pump into a first chamber, then into the secondary chamber, which is isolated from the inlet. Then the fluid is pumped out and flows from the secondary chamber and out of the pump through the outlet. In so designing, fluid is pumped out of the outlet during both the upward and downward strokes of the pumping action. Also, in one embodiment, the device may include two ball valves, one between the pump inlet and the first chamber, and one that separates the first chamber with the secondary chamber.
Using such ball valves facilitates passage of any withdrawn solid and semi-solid debris because all of the openings or apertures are larger and/or not impeded by structural impedances, wherein such impedances are associated with traditional bilge pumps. Due to the minimized structural impedance, the pumped bilge fluid passes through the pump with decreased resistance therefore requiring less physical effort to pump, as compared to traditional bilge pumps. Also, the mechanism of which will be later described in detail, an embodiment of the present invention provides for expelling fluid both as a piston is pulled away from the inlet and as it is pushed toward the inlet, whereas traditional bilge pumps only expel fluid as the piston is pulled away from the inlet. In an embodiment of the invention, which combines the minimized structural impedance and the bi-directional pumping capability, a volume of bilge fluid can be pumped in less time and with less physical expenditure by the user than if a traditional bilge pump were used.
In one embodiment, this device relates to a pump with an outer housing defining an enclosure, an inlet for admitting fluid into the outer housing and an outlet for expelling fluid from the outer housing, a piston for selectively modulating a first fluid pressure, such that the first fluid pressure is associated with a location proximate said inlet, and a member that selectively isolates a second pressure associated with a location proximate the outlet from said first fluid pressure.
In another embodiment, this device relates to a pump with an outer housing defining an enclosure, a first chamber within the outer housing for receiving fluid admitted into the pump from an ambient environment and through an inlet to said pump, a second chamber within the outer housing for receiving fluid from the first chamber, and a piston that both (i) selectively controls the flow of fluid from the first chamber to the second chamber and (ii) selectively expels said fluid from the second chamber into the ambient environment.
In yet another embodiment, this device relates to a pump with an outer housing defining an enclosure, an inlet for admitting fluid into the outer housing and an outlet for expelling fluid from the outer housing, and a piston capable of a first directional movement and a second directional movement different than the first directional movement, where the fluid is admitted into the outer housing and expelled from the outer housing during said first directional movement, and the fluid is expelled from the outer housing but not admitted into the outer housing during the second directional movement.
Referring to the
The enclosure 14 is bounded by an inner wall 24 and the first and second ends 18, 20 of the enclosure 14 or the elongate chamber 16. The second end 20 may be sealed with a top 22, configured to both seal the second end 20 and provide a moveable seal with a piston stem 52, as will be later described in more detail.
As best viewed in
The pump 10 may also include an outlet 30 for expelling fluid from the outer housing 12. In the embodiment shown in
In one embodiment of the present device, a primary check valve 32 is located adjacent the inlet 26 and associated with the pump stand 27, such that any fluid and possible debris that enters the inlet 26 from the ambient environment 28 enters the enclosure 14 through the primary check valve 32. In an embodiment of the device shown in
A function of the primary check valve 32 is to allow fluid to enter through the inlet 26, past the primary check valve 32, and into the enclosure 14, while preventing any fluid from exiting the enclosure 14 though the inlet 26. The primary check valve 32 responds to changes in surrounding pressure, as will be described in more detail later in the disclosure.
The piston 36 shown herein has a first end 38 and a second end 40. The first end 38 includes a member 42 that selectively isolates a first chamber 58, associated with a first fluid pressure 44, from a second chamber 60, associated with second fluid pressure 46. The volume of the first chamber 58 changes with respect to the volume of the second chamber 60, thereby changing the corresponding fluid pressures 44, 46.
In this embodiment of the present device, the piston 36 includes an elongate stem or handle 52, which extends out of the second end of the elongate chamber 20. The stem 52 is moveably sealed to the top 22 of the pump 10. The volume of fluid that can be retained in the second chamber 60 when the piston is the position pushed all the way to the end of the chamber, as shown in
The member 42 includes a secondary check valve 48 and a seal 50. The piston 36 and the seal 50 effectively isolates the first fluid pressure 44 from the second fluid pressure 46, thereby dividing the enclosure 14 into a first chamber 58 and a second chamber 60. The secondary check valve 48 shown in
When the piston 36 is urged in the second directional movement 56, as shown in
The terms and expressions that have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the device is defined and limited only by the claims that follow.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. Application No. 15/158,244 filed on May 18, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15158244 | May 2016 | US |
Child | 18222816 | US |