1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of aquariums and, more particularly, to an intake tube filter for an aquarium.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
At present, aquarium filters are of two general types. The first type constitutes under-gravel filters which are placed on a bottom of an aquarium and filtered with gravel so that the entire floor of the aquarium acts as a filter. The second type is defined by above gravel filters which function to draw in fluid from above the bottom of the aquarium and subsequently pass the fluid through a filter prior to re-introducing the fluid back into the aquarium. For instance, it is known to draw in fluid through an intake tube of a filter that is suspended above the bottom of the aquarium. The fluid is then directed through an enclosure arranged outside the aquarium prior to being sent back to the aquarium. The enclosure is packed with a filter medium, such as charcoal, synthetic floss or the like, to cleanse the fluid.
Above gravel filters possess certain drawbacks. More specifically, external filters typically employ a filter tube having an intake provided with a strainer or the like that prevents fish from being drawn into the filter. However, strainers are designed to keep out larger fish, not smaller fish. For instance, fry and other small fish can often pass through the strainer and wind up in the filter. To address this problem, while also providing an additional degree of filtration, it has been proposed to place a filter over the intake. Unfortunately, available intake filters are essentially only fit to a particular intake tube, rather than to the tank. This creates a serious concern as fish can become trapped between the intake filter and a wall of the aquarium. Unless this condition is discovered quickly, the fish may be fatally harmed.
Based on the above, there exists a need for a filter for an intake tube wherein the filter is specifically designed to protect fish from being undesirably trapped between the filter tube and a wall of an aquarium. More specifically, there exists a need for a filter that can be universally fit to a wide variety of filter tubes, while preventing the ingestion of smaller fish or fry and, at the same time, ensuring that fish are not caught and trapped between the filter and a wall of the aquarium. In addition, there exists a need for an intake tube filter which is capable of performing at least a substantial portion of the filtering function.
The present invention is directed to a filter for an intake tube of an aquarium filter assembly. In accordance with the invention, the intake filter includes a top surface portion, a bottom surface portion and a plurality of side surface portions that collectively define a multi-faceted filter body. The filter body is preferably formed from a compressible foam-like material. Once in place, at least one of the side surface portions abuts a wall of the aquarium in order to prevent fish from become trapped between the intake filter and the aquarium wall. In further accordance with the invention, the intake filter includes a bore that extends along a longitudinal axis of the filter body. More specifically, the bore includes a first end exposed at the top surface portion that leads to a second end which terminates prior to the bottom surface portion. The bore is designed to receive an end portion of the intake tube. Given that the intake filter is formed from a compressible material, the bore will accept a wide range of filter tube diameters.
In the most preferred form of the invention, the bore is off-set from a central longitudinal axis of the filter body. That is, the distance between a center of the bore and a plurality of the side surface portions varies. With this arrangement, the intake filter can be positioned on the intake portion of a filter tube and oriented so that one of the side surface portion abuts a wall of the aquarium. In this manner, the intake tube can assume a number of different positions to accommodate a wide range of tube/wall spacing configurations.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the intake filter is formed by immersing a foam block in a brine or saltwater mixture and then subjecting the intake filter to low temperatures to cause freezing of the mixture. Once sufficiently frozen, the intake filter can be cut into a multi-faceted member and the bore drilled to accommodate an intake tube. Again, the bore preferably extends along a longitudinal axis of the foam block, while being offset from a longitudinal centerline, such that various face portions of the intake filter will be varying distances from the bore. With this arrangement, the filter can be placed on an aquarium intake tube, while being adjustable to assure that one of the face portions of the filter abuts a wall of the aquarium.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.
With initial reference to
Inlet portion 30 of pump 24 is connected to a filter tube 50. As shown, filter tube 50 includes a first end 52 that joins with inlet portion 30 leading to a second end 54. If desired, a strainer 58 can be provided on second end 54 of filter tube 50. In general, the structure described above is known in the art and presented for the sake of completeness. Instead, the present invention is directed to providing an intake filter 70 for intake tube 50.
With reference to
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, it is desired to have one of side surface portions 82-89 directly abut a wall 6, 7, 9 or 10 adjacent filter tube 50, i.e., side wall 10 in the embodiment shown. This configuration is provided to assure that fish cannot become trapped between intake filter 70 and side wall 10. Given the varying distances between side surface portions 82-89 and bore 110, intake filter 70 can be placed at or rotated to various orientations to accommodate various spacings between inlet portion 30 of intake tube 50 and side wall 10 of aquarium 2. Additionally, bore 110 is sized so as to readily accept most commercially available filter tubes in order to accommodate the widest possible range of aquarium applications. In preferred embodiments, intake filter 70 has a width of approximately 2.5-3.0 inches (about 6.3-7.6 cm), a height of approximately 4 inches (about 10.2 cm) and a bore diameter ranging from β -1 inch (1.6-2.5 cm). In any case, given the size of bore 110 and the compressibility of the material employed in the construction of intake filter 70, most available filter tubes can be snugly inserted into bore 110.
Having described the preferred structure for intake filter 70, a method of forming intake filter 70 will now be described with particular reference to
Once foam block 200 has been sufficiently frozen, bore 110 is drilled from top surface portion 80 down into body 94 along off-set axis 117 such as illustrated in
With the above-described arrangement, the present invention provides for a filter to an intake tube of an aquarium that can be adjusted to a variety of different environments while, at the same time, ensuring that small fish cannot be ingested into an intake of the aquarium or become lodged between a wall of the aquarium and the intake tube. The present invention is particularly suitable to breeder tanks in that the intake filter will prevent fry from being drawn into the intake tube, regardless of the existence of or screen size associated with a strainer on the intake tube. In addition to providing a safety feature for the fish of an aquarium, the intake filter of the invention has been found to perform the majority of the filtering function for the aquarium, requiring the infrequent need to clean the charcoal or other filtering medium of the aquarium. In general, to clean the intake filter of the invention for repeated use, it is only necessary to slip the filter off the intake tube, rinse and squeeze the same under a flow of clean water and reposition the filter on the intake tube.
Although described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be readily understood that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, while the intake filter is shown having eight sides, the overall number of sides can be varied without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20060180531 A1 | Aug 2006 | US |