Water supply device for divers

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6446628
  • Patent Number
    6,446,628
  • Date Filed
    Friday, November 24, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 10, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Original Assignees
  • Examiners
    • Weiss; John G.
    • Mendoza; Michael
    Agents
    • Rosenberg, Klein & Lee
Abstract
A water supply device for divers includes a cylinder connected to a mouthpiece and a piston member is movably received in the cylinder so that when the piston member is moved by pushing a push rod connected to the piston member, water in the cylinder flows out from the cylinder and enters into the mouthpiece. The piston member has a central passage defined longitudinally therethrough and has a threaded portion defined in a periphery defining the central passage. The push rod extends through the central passage of the piston member and has a threaded section engaged with the threaded portion of the piston member. The push rod is disengaged from the threaded portion of the piston member and received in the cylinder when the push rod is not in use.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a water supply device for divers and the device has a push rod threadedly connected to a piston member in a cylinder so that the push rod can be disengaged from the piston member and received in the cylinder when the push rod is not in use.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




A conventional water supply device known to applicant is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,612 to Chen with a title of “Drinking Device For Drivers”, filed Nov., 22, 1994. A mouthpiece is connected to a cylinder which includes a push rod and a cylinder in which water is filled. The push rod can be pushed into the cylinder to squeeze water in the cylinder into the mouthpiece for relief thirsty of the divers. Another water supply device


80


is disclosed in FIG.


8


and has a similar structure as the cylinder in U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,612. The cylinder


81


has a push rod


83


movably inserted therein and a head


831


is connected to the push rod


83


and accessible by the diver. A piston member


85


is mounted to the push rod


83


and located in the cylinder


81


. A spring


82


is biased between the piston member


85


and an end of the cylinder


81


so that the piston member


85


is kept at the left extreme position as shown in FIG.


8


. When the diver pushes the push rod


83


, the piston member


85


pushes the water in the cylinder


81


to flow out from a passage


84


communicating with an interior of the cylinder


81


.




Both of the conventional water supply devices shown above involve a push rod that extends outward from the cylinder


81


. However, the extending push rod sometimes is not convenient for the divers especially when diving in a narrow space because the push rod could be tangled by objects around the divers.




The present invention intends to provide a water supply device for divers wherein the push rod can be received in the cylinder when it is not to be used.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water supply device and comprising a cylinder connected to a mouthpiece which has a passage communicating with an interior of the cylinder. An inlet is defined radially through the cylinder and a pipe is connected between the inlet and a bladder. A piston member is received in the cylinder and has a central passage defined longitudinally therethrough. A threaded portion is defined in a periphery defining the central passage and a spring is biased between the piston member and a closed end of the cylinder. A push rod extends through the central passage of the piston member and has a threaded section engaged with the threaded portion of the piston member. The push rod can be disengaged from the threaded portion of the piston member and received in the cylinder.




The primary object of the present invention is to provide a water supply device for divers wherein the push rod of the device can be received in the cylinder so that the push rod will not tangle objects.




These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view to show a oxygen cylinder connected to a mouthpiece with a water supply device of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is an exploded view to show the water supply device of the present invention;





FIG. 3

is a perspective view to show the water supply device of the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a cross sectional view to show the water supply device of the Present invention;





FIG. 5

is a cross sectional view to show the water in the cylinder is ejected from the mouthpiece by pushing the push rod of the supply device of the present invention;





FIG. 6

is a cross sectional view to show the push rod of the water supply device of the present invention is received in the cylinder;





FIG. 7

is an exploded view to show a water bladder connected to the water supply device of the present invention, and





FIG. 8

is a cross sectional view to show a conventional water supply device for divers.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to

FIGS. 1

to


4


, the water supply device for divers of the present invention comprises a cylinder


32


connected to a mouthpiece


30


which has a passage


312


defined therein and the passage


312


communicates with an interior of the cylinder


32


so that water in the cylinder


32


can be pushed into the diver's mouth via the passage


312


. The cylinder


32


has a closed end and an open end through which a spring


33


is received and an inlet


322


is defined radially through the cylinder


32


and a pipe


50


engaged with the inlet


322


. A bladder


61


(see

FIG. 7

) is connected to the pipe


50


so as to provide water to the cylinder


32


.




A piston member


37


is received in the cylinder


32


and has a central passage defined longitudinally therethrough. Seals


371


are mounted to the piston member


37


so that the piston member


37


is movably engaged with an inner periphery of the passage


312


. The spring


33


is biased between the piston member and the closed end of the cylinder


32


. A threaded portion


373


is defined in a periphery defining the central passage.




A push rod


34


extends through the central passage of the piston member


37


and a threaded section


342


is defined in an outer periphery of the push rod


34


. The threaded section


342


is engaged with the threaded portion


373


of the piston member


37


and a head


340


is connected to a distal end of the push rod


34


. The head


340


is larger than a diameter of the central passage of the piston member


37


so that the push rod


34


will not slide off from the central passage of the piston member


37


. The other distal end of the push rod


34


has an operation knob


341


for convenience of push by the divers.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, when pushing the operation knob


341


toward the cylinder


32


, water in the cylinder


32


is pushed by the piston member


37


and ejected out from the mouthpiece


30


via the passage


312


and enters in the diver's mouth. When releasing the push rod


34


, the spring


33


pushes the push rod


34


to its original position. As shown in

FIG. 6

, when the push rod


34


is not in use, the push rod


34


is rotated to disengage from the threaded portion


342


so that the push rod


34


can be received in the cylinder


32


as shown. When the push rod


34


is received in the cylinder


32


, it will not tangled with objects.




Referring to

FIGS. 1 and 7

, an oxygen pipe


10


is connected between the oxygen cylinder


20


and a regulator


40


connected to the mouthpiece


30


to provide oxygen to the diver. The bladder


61


is received in a casing


64


which is attached to the oxygen pipe


10


. A threaded neck


62


extends from the bladder


61


and communicates with an interior of the bladder


61


. A cap


63


is connected to the threaded neck


62


and retained by a retaining collar


65


which is threadedly engaged with the threaded neck


62


. The cap


63


is connected to the pipe


50


. The casing


64


for receiving the bladder


61


is composed of two parts which are pivotally connected with each other. Each part has a semi-circular recess


641


and the threaded neck


62


extends out from a hole defined by the two semi-circular recesses


641


so that the bladder


61


is protected and received in the casing


64


. One of the two parts has a belt


66


through which apertures are defined, and the other part has bosses


642


extending from an outer surface thereof so that the bosses


642


are engaged with the apertures in the belt


66


to connect the two parts.




The engagement of the push rod


34


and the piston member


37


is easily to be disengaged and/or connected simply by rotating the push rod


34


so that when the diver receives the push rod


34


in the cylinder


32


, the push rod


34


is avoided to be tangled or broken by objects.




While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. A water supply device comprising:a cylinder connected to a mouthpiece which has a passage defined therein and the passage communicates with an interior of said cylinder, said cylinder having a closed end and an open end through which a spring is received, an inlet defined radially through said cylinder and a pipe engaged with said inlet, a bladder connected to said pipe; a piston member received in said cylinder and having a central passage defined longitudinally therethrough, said piston member engaged with an inner periphery of said passage and having a threaded portion defined in a periphery defining said central passage, said spring biased between said piston member and said closed end of said cylinder, and a push rod extending through said central passage of said piston member and having a threaded section defined in an outer periphery of said push rod, said threaded section engaged with said threaded portion of said piston member.
  • 2. The device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a head connected to a distal end of said push rod and said head being larger than a diameter of said central passage of said piston member.
  • 3. The device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a threaded neck extending from said bladder and communicating with an interior of said bladder, a cap connected to said threaded neck and retained by a retaining collar threadedly engaged with said threaded neck, said cap connected to said pipe.
  • 4. The device as claimed in claim 3 further comprising a casing for receiving said bladder, said casing having two parts which are pivotally connected with each other, each part having a semi-circular recess and said threaded neck extending from a hole defined by said two semi-circular recesses.
  • 5. The device as claimed in claim 4 wherein one of said two parts has a belt through which apertures are defined, the other part having bosses extending from an outer surface thereof so that said bosses are engaged with said apertures in said belt to connect said two parts.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Number Name Date Kind
4193518 Holmes Mar 1980 A
4398533 Barker Aug 1983 A
4815893 Feder Mar 1989 A
5524612 Chen Jun 1996 A
5634780 Chen Jun 1997 A
5709478 Chen Jan 1998 A
5755368 Bekkedahl May 1998 A
5984145 McAllister Nov 1999 A
6283344 Bradley Sep 2001 B1