Pond pump having a controllable suction volume
A pond pump includes a housing having a discharge port and an intake area, the intake area having a plurality of openings. A pump device is installed in the housing. A suction port in the housing is in fluid communication with the discharge port via the pump device. An intake connector is supported by the housing and is movable relative to the suction port so that the percentage of suction volume of the suction port drawn in between the intake connector and the intake area can be varied. The pond pump also has a motor for driving the pump device, and a control unit for controlling the pump device and the motor.
Latest OASE GMBH Patents:
The present invention relates to a pond pump with a housing, a suction port, to which the intake area of a slotted housing shell is assigned, a discharge port, which is in fluid communication with the suction port by way of a pump device installed in the housing, a motor for operating the pump device, and a control unit for controlling the pump device and the motor.
Pond pumps of this type are generally known in the state of the art. They are positioned on the bottom of ponds or basins. The housing of the pond pump is designed as a coarse filter and has slots, through which water, but not leaves, small twigs, or other coarse particles, can pass and thus enter the housing. A pump device installed in the housing draws water in through a suction port situated behind the coarse filter shell and conveys the water through a discharge port and into a delivery line, which releases the water at its free end. In pond pumps of this type, only water from the bottom area of the pond or basin is drawn in and filtered on a regular basis. With a pump of this type it is not possible to draw in and filter water from the surface of the pond.
The task of the present invention is now to create a pond pump which can be used to draw water at a given suction volume either from the bottom area of a pond or basin and/or from the surface of the water, as desired.
The task is accomplished according to the invention in that the suction port is also provided with an intake connector, which is mounted adjustably with respect to the suction port so that the suction volume of the suction port can be split between the intake connector and the intake area.
When the inventive pond pump is used, an additional intake line starting near the surface of the water can be connected to the pond pump by way of the intake connector, so that water can be drawn from this area. The suction volume of the suction port can be split as desired between the bottom area of the pond and the area near the surface of the water.
An additional advantage of the present invention is that the intake connector can be adjusted between a first end position and a second end position. In the first end position, 100% of the suction volume is drawn in through the intake connector and 0% from the intake area, whereas, in the second end position, 0% of the suction volume is drawn in from the intake connector and 100% from the intake area.
Thanks to this adjustability of the suction volume, it is possible to draw water either only from the surface of the water or only from the bottom area or to split the suction volume between these extreme positions.
Another advantage is that the longitudinal axes of the intake connector and of the suction port lie on the same plane, and that the intake connector can thus be moved between the first end position and the second end position around an axis perpendicular to its longitudinal axis.
As a result of this measure, the pond pump can have a very compact design. The position to which the intake connector has been rotated, furthermore, is an indicator of how the suction volume has been apportioned, which can thus be determined visually from the outside.
In this context, another advantage is that the longitudinal axes of the suction port and of the intake connector coincide in the first end position, whereas they are at an angle to each other in all other positions between the first end position and the second end position.
If the discharge port also has a discharge connector for connection to a delivery line, which is normally the case, the angle between the discharge connector and the suction connector also changes by the adjustment angle, which means again that the adjustment can be determined visually from a distance.
Additional advantages can be derived from the features of the additional subclaims.
An embodiment of the present invention is described in greater detail below on the basis of the drawing:
The intake connector 7 is mounted in the housing 3 in such a way that its position with respect to the suction port 17 can be adjusted. In
Because of the free choice of position of the intake connector 7 with respect to the suction port 17, the suction volume of the pump device 9 via the intake connector can be adjusted between 0% and 100%. The difference between that setting and 100% is supplied via the intake area 3.2.
The angle enclosed by the intake connector 7 and the discharge connector 5 in the first end position, that is, where 100% of the intake is through the intake connector 7, is 90°. The angle between the discharge connector 5 and the intake connector 7 in the second end position is between approximately 90° and 180°. The angle of the intake connector 7 to the longitudinal axis of the intake port 17 is 0° in the first end position and approximately 0-90° in the second end position.
Claims
1.-10. (canceled)
11. A pond pump comprising:
- a housing having a discharge port and an intake area, the intake area having a plurality of slots providing openings in the housing;
- a pump device mounted in the housing and connected to the discharge port;
- a suction port connected to the pump device so that the suction port is in fluid communication with the discharge port via the pump device;
- an intake connector movably mounted to the suction port so that a percentage of suction volume drawn through the suction port can be variably split between the intake connector and the intake area; and
- a motor for driving the pump device.
12. The pond pump of claim 11, wherein the intake connector is operable to be adjusted between a first position, where approximately 100% of the suction volume of the suction port is drawn from the intake connector, and a second position, where approximately 100% of the suction volume of the suction port is drawn from the intake area.
13. The pond pump of claim 12, wherein the intake connector is operable to be adjusted continuously between the first position and the second position.
14. The pond pump of claim 12, wherein the intake connector is operable to be adjusted to a predetermined intermediate position between the first position and the second position.
15. The pond pump of claim 12, wherein the intake connector has a fluid communication cross-section relative to the suction port which is progressively reduced when the intake connector is adjusted from the first position to the second position.
16. The pond pump of claim 12, wherein the intake connector has a first longitudinal axis, the suction port has a second longitudinal axis, and the first and second longitudinal axes are coplanar, and wherein the intake connector is operable to be adjusted between the first position and the second position around an axis perpendicular to the first longitudinal axis.
17. The pond pump of claim 16, wherein the first and second longitudinal axes coincide when the intake connector is in the first position, and form an angle when the intake connector is not in the first position.
18. The pond pump of claim 17, wherein the angle is in the range of approximately 0° to approximately 90°.
18. The pond pump of claim 17, wherein the angle is in the range of approximately 0° to approximately 90°.
19. The pond pump of claim 11, wherein the intake connector is manually adjustable.
20. The pond pump of claim 11, further comprising a control unit connected to and controlling the pump device and the motor.
21. The pond pump of claim 20, wherein the control unit is also operable to control adjustment of the intake connector.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 24, 2004
Publication Date: Aug 9, 2007
Applicant: OASE GMBH (HOERSTEL GERMANY)
Inventor: Dieter Hoffmeier (Ibbenburen)
Application Number: 10/569,663
International Classification: F04B 49/00 (20060101);