System for recovering viscous fluid from bottles
A residual fluid extraction device is provided for recovering residual fluids, such as oil from a container. The device includes an air injection tube for injecting heated air through a mouth of the container and a fluid recovery receptacle for receiving fluid from the mouth of the container. A method for conserving residual fluid from a container having a mouth is also provided.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/580,522, filed Jun. 17, 2004, which is incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth.
BACKGROUNDThis invention generally relates to the recovery of residual viscous fluids, especially viscous lubricating fluids, from seemingly emptied containers.
Viscous lubricating fluids stored in a variety of containers are used in the maintenance and service of mechanical devices. For example, large quantities of motor and transmission oils are consumed each year for the maintenance of private and commercial vehicles. Often such fluids are distributed in small containers, 1-5 quarts in size, which are discarded after most of their contents are poured into a vehicle or other mechanism. Typically, depending on a fluid's viscosity, a significant amount of residual fluid remains in a discarded container. This wasted fluid is costly for the consumer. Many lubricating fluids, such as motor and transmission oils, are potentially damaging to the environment and may contaminate soil and water.
All other variables being equal, a fluid having a lower viscosity exits a container faster than a fluid having a higher viscosity. Accordingly, decreasing the viscosity of a fluid being dispensed from a container will result in more of the fluid being dispensed over a given period of time and result in less residual fluid remaining in the container after dispensing is complete. A fluid's viscosity is determined in large part by its temperature. As a fluid's temperature increases its viscosity decreases. It follows that as a fluid's temperature increases, the speed at which it is dispensed from a container increases. shows four (4) plots of predicted viscosity of SAE 30 motor oil determined using equations found in Table 1 and one (1) plot determined by actual experimentation.
The functions of Table 1 do each provide an asymptotic value of viscosity as temperature (T) approaches infinite. However, in mathematical terms, a minimum value is not achieved at a finite temperature value. As an engineering approximation, a minimum value of viscosity will be achieved at a finite temperature. Mathematically defined, as shown in Equation 1 below, the instantaneous slope (first derivative) of a viscosity-temperature curve will be within a value epsilon (ε) of zero (or an acceptable deviation (ε) from zero) at a target temperature Tt.
In other words, dμ/dT would ideally be equal to zero (indicating a perfectly flat or horizontal slope), but it would be acceptable to have the slope of the μ versus T curve at a mild incline (indicating that □ is a relatively small value).
It would be desireable to provide a device and method for decreasing the viscosity of residual fluid within a fluid container for retrieving residual fluid from the fluid container.
SUMMARYThe present invention provides a residual fluid extraction device. The device includes an air injection tube for injecting heated air through a mouth of a container and a fluid recovery receptacle for receiving fluid from a mouth of a container. The present invention also provides a method for conserving residual fluid from a container. The method includes inverting the container, positioning a mouth of the container over a fluid recovery receptacle, and introducing a medium through the mouth of the container for decreasing the viscosity of the residual fluid.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)
Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not considered limiting. Words such as “front”, “back”, “top” and “bottom” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. This terminology includes the words specifically noted above, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. Additionally, the terms “a” and “one” are defined as including one or more of the referenced item unless specifically noted. The phrase “at least one” followed by a list of two or more items (such as A, B, or C) means any individual one of A, B or C as well as any combination thereof.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the drawing figures where like numerals represent like elements throughout.
Referring to
The fluid recovery tube inlet 16 preferably includes stops 18, shown in
As shown in
Preferably, the manifold 26, reservoir 30, air injection and fluid recovery tubes 12, 14, parts of the air mover 24 and other device structure are formed of molded plastic. Alternatively, metals, ceramics, composites or any combination of suitable materials may be used to form the various components, such as by machining, casting or molding, and the parts are then joined to form the device 10.
In use, a container 50, such as a motor oil container, which has been seemingly drained of its contents, is placed on the device 10 with the air injection tube 12 extending into an interior of the container 50 through its mouth 52. Multiple containers of various shapes and sizes may be placed on the device. In the embodiment shown, up to six containers can be received by the six air injection tubes 12 and six fluid recovery tubes 14. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the device may be configured to receive more or less containers by varying the number of air injection and fluid recovery tubes 12, 14. As shown in
After the container(s) 50 are in place, the air mover 24 is activated, producing a flow of air through air filter 32 and past the heater 28 within the manifold. Heated air passes from the manifold into the air injection tube 12, and exits the air injection tube 12 through the omni-directional nozzle 20 into the interior of the container(s) 50. The omni-directional nozzle 20 directs the heated air such that it flows along the inside walls of the container(s) 50, as shown by dashed arrows in
Referring now to
The air injection tube 112 is connected to an outlet of an air mover 124, preferably a single-stage fan-type blower, for providing a flow of air through the air injection tube 112. The air mover 124 is preferably operated by a controller which receives instructions from a user operated control panel 148, which can be a simple switch arrangement. A heat source connector 136 is preferably connected to an inlet of the air mover 124 via a scavenge tube 146 which functions as a conduit to transport heated air emitted from an external hot surface 160 onto which the connector 136 is attached, as shown in
A spout 134 is connected to the fluid recovery tube 114. The spout 134 is preferably sufficiently elongated and narrow to permit its insertion into a fluid filling port of a machine, for example, a motor oil filling port 162 on an internal combustion engine 170. In this manner, the device 110 can be quickly and easily attached and removed from a machine, and fluid extracted from a container such as the container 50 can be directly transferred into the filling port of a machine eliminating the need for additional storage containers. Power can be obtained to operate the device 110 by attaching a connector to a power source of a machine on which the device 110 is placed. For example, if the device 110 is attached to a vehicle engine, power can be obtained by attaching spring loaded conductive clamps directly to the vehicle's battery terminals or connecting an adapter to the vehicle's cigarette lighter. Alternatively, the device 110 can be integrally formed with a machine requiring a periodic addition of fluids from a container.
Referring to
The air injection tube 212 is connected to an outlet of an air mover 224, shown in
A photovoltaic collector 254 with an associated storage battery 256 is also preferably provided. The photovoltaic collector 254 produces electrical energy from solar radiation to provide power to the air mover 224 directly, or alternatively, the collector 254 charges the battery 256 which provides the necessary power. Alternatively, the photovoltaic collector 254 can also power the heater 228. The photovoltaic collector 254 and the solar heat collector 236 are preferably angularly adjustable to an angle α, as shown in
Referring to
Alternative embodiments of the present invention may incorporate other systems for decreasing the viscosity of residual fluid in a container. In one alternative embodiment, the air injection tube disposed within the fluid recovery tube as described above with reference to the first, second, or third embodiments of the present invention can be replaced by a single tube which functions to supply heated air and extract residual fluid. In another alternative embodiment, a hot fluid spray tube can replace the air injection tube as described above to allow heated fluid from a reservoir (identical to the fluid being extracted) to be heated and sprayed onto the inner walls of a container using the hot fluid spray tube. In yet another alternative embodiment, a sonic vibrator could be used in place of or in addition to the systems described in the preferred embodiments. By vibrating a container at specific frequencies, such as the natural frequency of a fluid film on the inner walls of the container, the extraction of residual fluid can be accelerated. In yet another alternative embodiment, microwave radiation may be employed to accelerate the extraction of residual fluids.
Referring to
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail above, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, which should be considered as merely exemplary. Further modifications and extensions of the present invention may be developed, and all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A residual fluid extraction device comprising:
- an air injection tube for injecting heated air through a mouth of a container; and
- a fluid recovery receptacle for receiving fluid from a mouth of a container.
2. The device of claim 1, further comprising a heater connected to the air injection tube for heating air for injecting through the air injecting tube.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein the fluid recovery receptacle comprises a fluid recovery tube, and wherein the air injection tube is located generally concentric to the fluid recovery tube at a receiving area for a mouth of a container.
4. The device of claim 1, further comprising an air mover connected to the air injection tube for providing a flow of air through the air injection tube.
5. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
- an air mover connected to the air injection tube for providing a flow of air through the air injection tube; and
- a heat source for heating the flow of air produced by the air mover.
6. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
- an air mover having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the air injection tube is connected to the air mover at the outlet of the air mover; and
- a scavenge tube connected to the inlet of the air mover, the scavenge tube including a connector for connection to a heated surface.
7. The device of claim 6, wherein the scavenge tube connector includes a magnet for connecting the connector to a ferromagnetic surface.
8. The device of claim 1, wherein the air injection tube is elongated and extends vertically from a receiving area for a mouth of a container.
9. The device of claim 1, further comprising a discharge spout connected to an end of the fluid recovery receptacle for discharging from the device fluid received from a mouth of a container.
10. The device of claim 1, further comprising a dust cap removably attached over the air injection tube and fluid recovery receptacle.
11. The device of claim 1, wherein the air injection tube extends from within the fluid recovery receptacle.
12. The device of claim 1, wherein the fluid recovery receptacle is adapted to receive a mouth of a container therein.
13. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
- a solar collector for absorbing heat energy; and
- a conduit which connects the air injection tube to the solar collector for transporting heated air from the solar collector to the air injection tube.
14. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
- an air mover having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the air injection tube is connected to the air mover outlet;
- a photovoltaic solar collector connected to the air mover for supplying current to the air mover; and
- a conduit connected to an inlet of the air mover for providing the heated air to the air injection tube.
15. The device of claim 1, further comprising an omni-directional nozzle connected to an end of the air injection tube, the nozzle including a plurality of flow paths for distributing a flow of air exiting the air injection tube.
16. The device of claim 14, wherein the flow paths are configured to direct a flow of air in a horizontal direction, generally perpendicular to the air injection tube.
17. The device of claim 1, wherein the air injection tube comprises a plurality of air injection tubes connected to a manifold that distributes heated air to each of the air injection tubes, and the fluid recovery receptacle comprises a plurality of fluid recovery receptacles connected to a common reservoir for receiving fluid received from the plurality of fluid recovery receptacles.
18. A residual fluid extraction device comprising:
- means for decreasing the viscosity of fluid adapted for insertion into a mouth of a container; and
- a fluid recovery receptacle for receiving fluid from the mouth of a container.
19. A method for conserving residual fluid from a container having a mouth, the method comprising:
- generally inverting the container;
- positioning a mouth of the container over a fluid recovery receptacle; and
- introducing a medium through the mouth of the container for decreasing the viscosity of the residual fluid.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the introducing the medium comprises inserting an air injection tube into the mouth of the container and injecting heated air into the container using the air injection tube.
21. The method of claim 19, wherein the introducing the medium comprises inserting a radiant heater into the mouth of the container and heating the container using the radiant heater.
22. The method of claim 19, further comprising removably connecting the fluid recovery receptacle to a fluid filling port on a machine.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 17, 2005
Publication Date: Dec 22, 2005
Inventor: Jesper Andersen (Lake Hiawatha, NJ)
Application Number: 11/156,337