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US 5,473,837 AGranted
Water level maintenance device
OwnerHenry F. Skoczylas, Georgette P. Skoczylasinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device for maintaining a water level within a fluid reservoir, such as a Christmas tree stand or aquarium. The inventive device includes a pump for supplying water from a container to the fluid reservoir. A switch responsive to the water level of the reservoir communicates with the pump to effect energization thereof as the water level declines. The pump preferably includes a resilient stopper to permit mounting of the pump to an empty bottle or the like.
Claims2
A water level maintenance device comprising:
- a pump means for transferring fluid from a container to a water reservoir, said pump means comprising a pump formed in a small generally cylindrical configuration, an electric motor for mechanically driving said pump, a tapered cylindrical shaped resilient stopper coupled to said pump for frictionally engaging a neck of a bottle to mount said pump and said electric motor of said pump means to said bottle, a suction tube in fluid communication with said pump and extending through said resilient stopper and into fluid communication with an interior of said bottle, and a supply tube in fluid communication with said pump;
- and
- a switch means for selectively energizing said pump means in response to a depletion of fluid within said water reservoir, said switch means comprising a switch body having a hanging clip extending therefrom for supporting said switch means relative to said fluid reservoir;
- switch wires extending from said electric motor and into said switch body;
- a pair of spaced contacts positioned along diametrically opposed sides of an interior of said switch body, said contacts each being in communication with an individual one of said switch wires;
- a plunger movably mounted within said switch body and including a conductive bridge coupled to an upper end thereof, said plunger having a lower end projecting into an aperture formed in a lower end of said switch body;
- a threaded rod threadably engaged to said lower end of said plunger and projecting exteriorly of said switch body;
- and a float connected to a lower end of said threaded rod, wherein said float will buoyantly reside on top of fluid within said fluid reservoir such that a depletion of the fluid therefrom will cause said conductive bridge to be gravitationally biased into electrical communication with said contacts to energize said pump.
5 more elements
A water level maintenance device comprising:
- a pump means for transferring fluid from a container to a water reservoir, said pump means comprising a pump;
- an electric motor for mechanically driving said pump;
- a tapered resilient stopper coupled to said pump for frictionally engaging a neck of a bottle to mount said pump and said electric motor of said pump means to said bottle;
- a suction tube in fluid communication with said pump and extending through said resilient stopper and into fluid communication with an interior of said bottle;
- and a supply tube in fluid communication with said pump;
- a switch means for selectively energizing said pump means in response to a depletion of fluid within said water reservoir, said switch means comprising a switch body having a hanging clip extending therefrom for supporting said switch means relative to said fluid reservoir, said hanging clip including a first clip member extending orthogonally from said switch body and terminating in an outer distal end, with a second clip member projecting orthogonally from said outer distal end of said first clip member and parallel to said switch body;
- switch wires extending from said electric motor and into said switch body;
- a pair of spaced contacts positioned along diametrically opposed sides of an interior of said switch body, said contacts each being in communication with an individual one of said switch wires;
- a plunger movably mounted within said switch body and including a conductive bridge coupled to an upper end thereof, said plunger having a lower end projecting into an aperture formed in a lower end of said switch body;
- a threaded rod threadably engaged to said lower end of said plunger and projecting exteriorly of said switch body;
- and a float connected to a lower end of said threaded rod, wherein said float will buoyantly reside on top of fluid within said fluid reservoir such that a depletion of the fluid therefrom will cause said conductive bridge to be gravitationally biased into electrical communication with said contacts to energize said pump.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.