Portable bailer
A portable bailer is used to remove liquid such as water from a watercraft, such as an open-topped powerboat or rowboat. The bailer features an electrically actuated liquid pump contained within a one-piece protective external molded housing also containing a suitable battery such as a suitable rechargeable battery in close proximity to the liquid pump and operative to provide power to the liquid pump upon actuation. The liquid pump and battery are located intermediate an elongated input section and an elongated output section of respective indeterminate lengths. A portion in close proximity to the distal end of the output section is formed into an inverted J-like configuration operative to direct the pumped liquid outwardly over the gunnel of the watercraft.
The present invention is directed generally to a portable bailer. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a portable bailer used to remove liquid such as water from watercraft such as an open-topped powerboat or rowboat. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a portable bailer including an electrically-operated liquid pump in close proximity to a power source such as a battery pack. The pump and battery pack are enclosed within a one-piece protective external molded housing intermediate elongated input section and an elongated output section of respective indeterminate lengths, with a portion in close proximity to a distal end of the output section formed into an inverted J-like configuration operative to direct the liquid over the gunnel of the watercraft. The pump is actuated by a manual switch preferably mounted on an external handle secured to or integral with an external surface of the molded housing.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ARTVarious electrically-operated pump assemblies have been proposed in the past for use in the removal of liquids such as water from watercraft. The majority of these, however, are intended for use in applications in which weight, compactness, and simplicity of operation are not primary factors. These prior art devices typically utilize float switches that may be permanently secured to the floor of the vessel, or may float on the surface of the water in the vessel. None of these prior art devices are suitable for use in watercraft such as an open-topped powerboat or rowboat where ease of operation, durability, portability, light-weightedness, and speed of removal of liquid from the watercraft is essential. One example of prior art can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,323 in which an automatic bailer is disclosed for removing water from a white water canoe. This bailer, however, differs from the bailer of the present invention by utilizing a float-actuated pump and not having a battery and pump in close proximity located within a single, external molded housing located intermediate elongated input and output sections of respective indeterminate lengths, as associated with the portable bailer of the present invention. The prior art bailer also utilizes a 12-volt battery located outside the housing surrounding the pump rendering the combination extremely heavy and difficult to move. Also another prior art publication is Canadian application CA 2484798 for a cordless dockside boat bailer which differs from the proposed bailer. It differs by having a bilge pump located at the distal end of the input section and having an output section intermediate the battery and the pump and also having external electrical wiring between the battery and the pump highly subject to damage. Also of interest, the following U.S. patents are listed for general information: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,493,982; 5,257,590; and 5,211,363. Also of interest are the following Canadian patents: CA 542062; CA 667804; CA 519585; and CA 445313.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to provide a portable bailer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrically-operated, battery-powered, portable bailer. A further object of the present invention is to provide a portable bailer that utilizes a liquid pump and battery in close proximity to each other within an external one-piece molded housing. Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a portable bailer in which the external housing is disposed intermediate elongated input and output sections of indeterminate length extending therefrom. An additional object of the present invention is to utilize a portable bailer which is light-weight, easy-to-handle, and less subject to damage by having the pump and battery contained in close-proximity to each other within a protective one-piece molded housing.
The portable bailer, in accordance with the present invention, includes an electrically-operated liquid pump that is connected to a power source such as a battery pack. (preferably a rechargeable battery pack). The portable bailer, in accordance with the present invention, preferably includes a one-piece molded external housing surrounding the pump and battery that are in close proximity to each other and are disposed intermediate input and output sections extending therefrom of respective indeterminate lengths and having passageways therethrough that are respectively in liquid communication with the liquid pump.
The portable bailer of the present invention is preferably manually-operated through provision of an electrical switch preferably located upon an external handle either secured to or integral with an outer surface of the molded external housing. The switch is preferably a slide or a push button-type switch but may also be a toggle, or a rocker-type switch, or another suitable switch. The use of such a manual switch keeps the portable bailer simple and enables one to turn the pump on when the watercraft has accumulated water, and to turn the pump off when the watercraft has been bailed out.
While the novel features of the portable bailer in accordance with the present invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims, a full and complete understanding of the present invention may be had by referring to the following detailed description of some preferred embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
In
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Although not shown in the figures, housing Section 2 of the portable bailer of the invention may have one or more air vents therethrough for cooling the liquid pump if required.
In
The embodiment of the bailer of the invention shown in
Although spaced-apart electrical charging contacts 7A and 7B are preferably located on the backside of the bailer of the invention facing away from handle 5 as shown in the Figure's, they may be disposed at any location on the outer surface of the molded housing provided the location is operable to permit the charging process.
The absence of space-apart electrical-charging contacts 7A and 7B from Bailer 30 shown in
In
In
The embodiment of the bailer of the invention shown in
The embodiment of the bailer of the invention in
As described herein, the protective molded housing surrounding the liquid pump and battery including Sections 3 and 4 are preferably made from a suitable, rigid, plastic material resistant to liquids such as water, well known to those skilled in the art. Other embodiments of the bailer of the invention that are releasably secured such as inlet Section 4 and outlet Section 3 may be made from the same or more flexible plastic material that is resistant to liquids such as water or otherwise by having at least a portion of their outer surfaces grooved or corrugated to provide a bellows-like configuration operative to enhance flexibility.
Claims
1. A portable bailer for removing liquid such as water from a watercraft having a bottom, said bailer comprising;
- A one-piece protective molded housing surrounding a liquid pump in close proximity to a battery,
- Said housing having an input section of indeterminate length and an output section of indeterminate length having respective liquid passageways therethrough in liquid communication with the liquid pump,
- Said output section having a portion in close proximity to a distal end thereof formed into a substantially inverted J-like configuration,
- Said housing having an access door for the battery,
- Said housing having a handle mounted thereupon, and
- Said bailer having an electrical switch mounted on the molded housing operative to actuate the liquid pump so as to pump liquid from the watercraft,
2. The bailer of claim 1 wherein the battery is a rechargeable battery.
3. The bailer of claim 2 including a pair of spaced-apart electrical charging contacts operative to enable electrical charging of the battery.
4. The bailer of claim 1 wherein the housing is a molded plastic housing.
5. The bailer of claim 4 wherein the molded plastic housing is a rigid molded plastic housing.
6. The bailer of claim 1 wherein at least one of said inlet and outlet sections is releasably secured to a section of the housing enclosing the liquid pump and battery.
7. The bailer of claim 1 wherein a distal end of the inlet section is provided with a radially extending opening therethrough enabling the bailer to pump liquid upon engagement of the distal end with the bottom of the watercraft.
8. The bailer of claims 1 or 6 where at least one of said inlet and outlet sections is made from a molded plastic material that is the same as or more flexible than the molded plastic housing surrounding the liquid pump and battery.
9. The bailer of claims 1 or 6 where at least one of said outlet and inlet sections has a substantially tubular configuration.
10. The bailer of claims 1 or 6 wherein the molded plastic housing includes at least one light-emitting diode operative to indicate a charging state of the battery.
11. The bailer of claims 1 or 6 wherein the distal end of the inlet section has a plug releasably secured thereto having at least one radially extending opening therethrough operative to enable liquid to flow into the inlet section upon engagement of the distal end with the bottom of the watercraft.
12. The bailer of claims 1 or 6 including a filter releasably secured to the distal end of the inlet section and operative to prevent debris from damaging the liquid pump.
13. The bailer of claim 11 including a filter held in position by the plug to prevent debris from damaging the liquid pump.
14. The bailer of claim 12 wherein the filter is disposed between the inlet section and the molded housing surrounding the liquid pump and battery.
15. The bailer of claims 1 or 6 wherein the handle is integrally secured to the molded housing.
16. The bailer of claims 1 or 6 wherein the switch is mounted on the handle.
17. The bailer of claims 1 or 6 wherein at least a portion of the outer surface of the inlet and outlet sections is grooved to provide a bellows-like configuration operative to enhance flexibility.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 15, 2006
Publication Date: Feb 21, 2008
Inventor: Laura Mary Goliat (Richfield, OH)
Application Number: 11/503,316
International Classification: F04B 53/00 (20060101);