Vacuum relief safety valve for a swimming pool filter pump system

Abstract

A method and device are provided for preventing a child or an object from being trapped by suction to a drain of a swimming pool filter pump system. The invention entails a safety valve capable of causing the filter pump to immediately lose its prime when a child or object becomes trapped against the drain of a swimming pool, so that the vacuum created by the filter pump is completely eliminated. The valve of this invention can be mounted directly to a suction line fluidically interconnecting the drain and the filter pump, and is constructed to permit air to rapidly flow into the suction line if a predetermined vacuum level is exceeded within the suction line, as is the case if the drain becomes partially or completely obstructed. The influx of air causes the filter pump to rapidly lose its prime, thereby completely eliminating the vacuum and the resulting hazardous condition.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.