Patent Application
20250000315
The present invention generally relates to water extraction and remediation. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fluid extraction station for facilitating such water and other fluid extraction.
Water damage and flooding can be caused in a variety of ways, including by broken pipes, floods, hurricanes and other storms and the like. When such flooding occurs, it is necessary to remove large quantities of water from the flooded floor area, which may be either a hard surface floor area or a soft surface. Regardless, extraction and removal of the water is necessary.
Depending upon the conditions, various recovery techniques are typically used. In some cases, an end of a hose attached to a wet vacuum device is used to suction up the water. In other cases, a squeegee is used to push the water to a place where it can be vacuumed up and removed from the area. The end of the vacuum hose may be all that is available and it must be held by an operator, which is inefficient and costly in time and expense.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for improvements in removing large quantities of water from a flooded area. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.
The present invention is directed to a fluid extraction station and related method, such as for facilitating water or other fluid extraction from a floor or other surface, such as during flooding or the like. The fluid extraction station of the present invention is easy to use and increases efficiency, being able to be used by a single individual or multiple individuals at the same time.
The fluid extraction station generally comprises a hub having a fluid passageway extending therethrough. A fluid inlet is disposed adjacent to a floor or ground surface, and the fluid passageway extends to a fluid outlet. The fluid outlet is attachable to a source of vacuum. The fluid passageway may be formed within the hub. Preferably, an opening area of the fluid inlet is larger than an outlet area of the fluid outlet. Typically, the fluid passageway tapers inwardly from periphery of the inlet aperture. The fluid inlet is disposed over the floor or ground surface in spaced relation thereto, so as to extract the water or other fluid that is directed below the fluid inlet.
The fluid outlet may be operably coupled to a fluid extraction hose. A hose fitting may be attachable to the fluid outlet at one end thereof and a fluid extraction vacuum hose at an opposite end thereof. The hose fitting may have an elbow configuration. The hose fitting may be rotationally adjustable.
A plurality of legs extend in spaced relation from the periphery of the hub. At least a portion of each leg forms a fluid dam. A lower portion of each leg along a length thereof may be contact with the ground or floor surface. The legs may comprise elongated walls extending away from the hub and upwardly from the floor or ground surface. The legs support the hub a distance from the ground or floor surface. Adjacent legs, forming a fluid dam, form a fluid pathway for directing fluid towards the fluid inlet of the fluid passageway for extraction from the floor or ground surface.
The hub may include an inner wall defining the fluid passageway. The hub may also include an outer wall spaced apart from the inner wall to form a weighting material receiving cavity therebetween.
A method of extracting fluid from a floor or ground surface in accordance with the present invention generally comprises providing a fluid extraction station. The fluid extraction station may comprise a hub having a fluid passageway therethrough from a fluid inlet to a fluid outlet. A plurality of legs forming fluid dams extend from the hub in spaced relation to one another and form a converging fluid pathway towards the fluid inlet of the hub. A vacuum hose is attached to the fluid outlet. Fluid from a ground or floor surface is directed towards the fluid dam, causing the fluid to flow along the fluid pathway. The fluid is extracted from the ground or floor surface through the fluid inlet and the vacuum hose. The fluid may be directed towards the fluid dams by manually pushing the fluid on the ground or floor surface towards the fluid dams or legs of the fluid extraction station.
Weighting material may be placed into a cavity of the hub.
A hose fitting, such as an elbow, may be attached at one end thereof to the fluid outlet and the generally opposite end thereof to the vacuum hose. The hose fitting may be rotated.
The fluid inlet may be positioned in a base of the hub and taper inwardly from a periphery thereof. The fluid extraction station may have elongated walls formed in the legs and fluid dams extending divergently away from the hub and in contact at a lower edge thereof with the ground or floor surface to form the fluid pathway leading to the fluid inlet.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:
The present invention, as shown in the drawings, for purposes of illustration and as more fully described herein, is directed to a fluid extraction station, generally referred to by the reference number 100, which facilitates extraction and removal of water and other fluids from a flooded floor, ground surface or other area. The fluid extraction station 100 of the present invention enables water and other fluid to be extracted and removed from floor surfaces and other areas much more quickly and efficiently regardless of the number of workers.
With reference to
Use of the fluid extraction station 100 of the present invention enables as few as a single worker to extract or otherwise remove water or other fluid from a floor or ground surface in a very efficient manner. Use of the fluid extraction station 100 of the present invention also enables multiple workers to work in unison in pushing water or fluid towards the fluid extraction station 100 so as to extract and remove the water or other fluid from the floor or other ground surface. Such could be, for example, placing the fluid extraction station 100 in a central area of the floor within a room or the like and multiple workers pushing water, such as using push brooms or squeegees or the like to move the water from the floor surface towards the fluid extraction station 100, where it is suctioned up and delivered to a holding tank of the vacuum source 12 for removal.
With reference now to
In a particularly preferred embodiment, as illustrated, at least a portion of the legs 104 form a fluid dam. Typically, as illustrated, a lower portion of each leg 108 along a length thereof is in contact with the ground or floor surface. In a particularly preferred embodiment, as illustrated, the legs 104 comprise elongated walls extending away from the hub and upwardly from the floor or ground surface in order to form a fluid dam along substantially a length of the legs 104. Such legs 104 comprise elongated walls 110 which provide a vertical and horizontal dimension to form the fluid dam of each leg 104.
The legs 104 are spaced apart from one another on the periphery of the hub 102 and extend outwardly so as to diverge from one another, as illustrated. The space between adjacent legs 104 form a fluid pathway for directing fluid towards the hub 102, and more particularly in the space 112 between the floor or ground surface 10 and the bottom 106 of the hub 102. This is typically done as the one or more workers push the water or other fluid on the ground or floor surface toward the fluid extraction station 100 using squeegees, brooms, blowers or the like. When the fluid extraction station 100 includes three legs or fluid dams 104, three fluid pathways are formed between the adjacent legs 104. If four legs or dams 104 are incorporated into the fluid extraction station 100, then the adjacent legs 104 would form four fluid converging pathways towards the hub 102.
With particular reference now to
The fluid inlet 116 is preferably disposed over the floor or ground surface 10 in spaced relation thereto. The fluid passageway 114 may be formed by an inner wall 120 of the hub 102, as illustrated in
Preferably, the fluid inlet 116, forming the opening of the passageway 114 is flared so as to distribute the negative air pressure over a large area beneath the hub 102. As such, the fluid inlet 116 is larger in an opening area or diameter than the fluid outlet 118 of the fluid passageway 114. Typically, the fluid passageway tapers inwardly from a periphery 122 to form such flared arrangement. As such, the clearance space 112 between the bottom 106 of the hub 102 and the floor surface 10 may experience a vacuum or suction force, such that water that is disposed or pushed into such space 112 is suctioned through the inlet 116 and the passageway 114 to the outlet 118. The flared end 122 of the fluid inlet 116 is designed so as to increase the area below the control hub 102 having a negative pressure, and thus the area which water or other fluid will be suctioned up through the passageway 114.
The vacuum hose 14 from the vacuum source 12 may be connectable to the fluid extraction station 100, such as at fluid outlet 118. This may be either directly to the upper opening of the fluid outlet 118 or this may be by means of a hose fitting 124 which is disposed between the fluid outlet 118 and the vacuum hose 14 or vacuum source 12. For example, the inner wall 120 adjacent to the fluid outlet 118 may have internally formed threads 126 which threadedly receive external threads 128 of the hose fitting 124, such that the hose fitting 124 can be detachably connected thereto. Such threaded connection also enables the hose fitting 124 to be selectively rotated with respect to the hub 102 and fluid extraction station 100.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, as illustrated, the hose fitting 124 has an elbow configuration with one end thereof 130 attached to the fluid outlet 118, such as described above, and an opposite end thereof 132 attachable to the vacuum hose 14 or the like. The exterior surface of the end 132 of the hose fitting 124 may have one or more threads, ridges or bumps 134, such as forming a hose barb or threads or other spiraling or non-uniform surface, so as to securely connect an end of the vacuum hose 14 thereto, so as to easily manually attach the vacuum hose to the end 132 of the fitting 124. The fitting 124 may be rotatably mounted to the hub 102 such that in the event that the fluid extraction station 100 and/or the vacuum source or fluid receptacle is moved, the fitting 124 can rotate or pivot accordingly to accommodate such movement or placement such that the hose extends from the vacuum source to the fluid extraction station 100 without undue bends or kinks or the like in the hose 14. Although the fitting 124 is illustrated as having an elbow configuration, it will be appreciated that other configurations are contemplated by the present invention. Moreover, the fitting 124 may be rotationally mounted to the hub or pivotally mounted to the hub or fixedly mounted to the hub or even integrally mounted to the hub 102.
The hub may have an outer wall 136 in spaced relation to the inner wall 132 so as to form a cavity 138 therebetween. Weighting material 140, such as water, sand, rocks, steel shot or the like which can add weight to the fluid extraction station 100 may be placed within such cavity 138, if needed or desired. Such weight may be desirable, for instance, in order to keep the fluid extraction station 100 in place. This could be, for example, so as to resist movement due to water or other fluid being pushed against the station 100, such as the fluid dam potions of legs 104, ambient wind or wind generated by air blowers or the like in the vicinity, etc. The cavity or chamber 138 may be covered with a plug, lid, or other covering 142 to hold the weighting material 140 in the cavity chamber 138. The cover 142 may instead be attached to the hub and have a hole through which weighting material can be added and removed. The hole may be closed with a removable plug. Such cover 142 can also prevent items from entering into the cavity chamber 134, such as when the cavity 138 is desired to be empty, or to prevent water intrusion, etc. therein.
In use, the fluid extraction station 100 is disposed on a floor or ground surface, such as the desired location within a room or a building or the like. The fluid extraction station 100 may be placed generally centrally or at least spaced apart from walls of the room or building. The vacuum hose 14 is attached to the end 132 of fitting 124 and the fitting 124 rotated, as deemed desirable or necessary. The vacuum hose 14 extends to a vacuum source, such as a fluid extractor, wet vac or the like. When the vacuum source 12 is turned on, so as to create a vacuum or suction, water or fluid within the space 112 or in the vicinity of fluid inlet 116 is suctioned through the inlet 116, fluid passageway 114, and through the vacuum hose 14 to a receptacle associated with the vacuum source 12. As few as a single operator may perform the water extraction as the single operator can squeegee or otherwise move the water or other fluid towards the station 100, such that it is suctioned and removed from the floor surface. However, when multiple operators use the present invention, an even greater efficiency is achieved as water or other fluid may be squeegeed or otherwise moved from many directions of the floor, such as in a room towards the fluid extraction station 100, which may be centrally located.
As the fluid from the ground or floor surface is directed towards the fluid dams or legs 104, the fluid flows along fluid pathways between the legs or dams 104 and converges towards the area 112 below the hub 102 and the fluid inlet 116, wherein it is suctioned and removed from the floor surface. The water directing dams, or legs, are comprised of a material sufficiently rigid and having sufficient strength so as to support the central hub 102, while also resisting deformation as water is pushed thereagainst by the operators. Adjacent legs or dams 104 will create the fluid flow pathways as the water is pushed towards the station 100, such that the water or fluid is directed to the suction area 12 below the central hub 102 and the fluid inlet 116 of the fluid passageway 114. In effect, all of the water or fluid that is pushed to one or more of the extended dams or legs 104 will be directed into a concentrated area of high vacuum beneath the hub 102.
The fluid extraction station 100 may be moved to different areas of the floor or ground surface, such as varying locations within a room or building, in order to extract the water or other fluid therefrom. After all of the desired water or fluid has been extracted and removed, the vacuum hose 14 can be disconnected from the fluid extraction station 100, such as disconnecting the vacuum hose 14 from the end 132 of fitting 124. Moreover, hose fitting 124 may be detachably connected to the central hub 102, such as when needing to unclog or clean the passageway 114 in the hub 102 or within the hose attachment itself 124. Any weighting material may be removed, as desired for transportation and/or storage of the fluid extraction station 100. The fluid extraction station 100 is preferably of a size and weight so as to be easily carried by a single operator from one location to another.
Although several embodiments have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited, except as by the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/523,607, filed on Jun. 27, 2023.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63523607 | Jun 2023 | US |
