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US 5,630,452 AGranted
Funnel with level indicator
OwnerDieter Schmid, Oliver Schmidinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A special design of a funnel for filling liquids safely especially into nontransparent containers, e.g., fuel tanks of lawn mowers. To indicate the filling level of the container, a measuring rod of a float is guided in a perforated plate of the funnel. Passage slots, through which the liquid filled into the funnel can enter the container, are located in the funnel tube under the perforated plate. Due to buoyancy, the float strikes the underside of the perforated plate, and as a result it prevents the container from being overfilled.
Claims20
A funnel comprising:
- a funnel flare;
- a funnel tube connected to said funnel flare at a downstream end of said funnel flare;
- a float positioned inside said funnel tube and movable along an axis of said funnel tube;
- a measuring rod connected to said float and extending upstream from said float;
- a perforated plate mounted adjacent to a connection between said funnel tube and said funnel flare, said perforated plate surrounding and guiding said measuring rod along said axis of said funnel tube, said perforated plate being designed to be repetitively replaceable without damaging said perforated plate, said funnel tube and said funnel flare;
- passage slots defined by said funnel tube, said passage slots being positioned downstream in said funnel tube of said perforated plate, an upstream side of said float having a dome shape and said perforated plate having a downstream side substantially complimentary to said dome shape to substantially block passage of fluid from said funnel flare to said funnel tube when said float is positioned against said perforated plate, said float being a hollow body open on a downstream side.
3 more elements
A funnel comprising:
- a funnel flare;
- funnel tube connected to said funnel flare at a downstream end of said funnel flare;
- float positioned inside said funnel tube and movable along an axis of said funnel tube;
- a measuring rod connected to said float and extending upstream from said float;
- a perforated plate mounted adjacent to a connection between said funnel tube and said funnel flare, said perforated plate surrounding and guiding said measuring rod along said axis of said funnel tube, said perforated plate being designed to be repetitively replaceable without damaging said perforated plate, said funnel tube and said funnel flare;
- passage slots defined by said funnel tube, said passage slots being positioned downstream in said funnel tube of said perforated plate, said passage slots having an upstream end positioned substantially at a downstream end of said float when said float is positioned adjacent to said perforated plate.
3 more elements
A funnel comprising:.
- a funnel flare;
- a funnel tube connected to said funnel flare at a downstream end of said funnel flare;
- a piston-like float positioned inside said funnel tube and movable along an axis of said funnel tube;
- a measuring rod connected to said float and extending upstream from said float;
- a perforated plate mounted adjacent to a connection between said funnel tube and said funnel flare, said perforated plate surrounding and guiding said measuring rod along said axis of said funnel tube;
- passage slots defined by said funnel tube;
- and
- a reference rod positioned in said funnel flare and extending substantially parallel to said measuring rod, an upstream side of said float having a dome shape and said perforated plate having a downstream side substantially complimentary to said dome shape to substantially block passage of fluid from said funnel flare to said funnel tube when said float is positioned against said perforated plate, said perforated plate acting as an upstream stop for said float and said connected measuring rod and a downstream stop being provided in said funnel tube for limiting movement of said float, and said connected measuring rod, in a downstream direction.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.