Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ELECTRICALLY POWERED MARINE ENGINE WINTERIZING
SYSTEM
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the field of marine engine winterizing systems, and
more particularly, to marine engine winterizing systems that can flush fresh
water or sea water from the marine engine quickly and easily, stabilize the
engine with liquid chemicals during the wintertime, and reclaim the liquid
chemicals in the spring.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Several attempts have been made in the prior art to provide a system that
winterizes and dewinterizes an engine by pumping and storing engine coolant.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,774 to Boyd discloses a system for
winterizing a marine engine that includes a pump with a closed coolant storage
tank working in association with a second pump and an open coolant recovery
tank. The coolant fluid transfer lines connect the storage tank pump outlet to
the
recovery tank and connect the recovery tank pump outlet to the storage tank,
further incorporating a control for operating the storage tank pump and
recovery
tank pump independently of each other. Antifreeze is discharged into, and
removed from, the system by running the engine and pump at the same time. In
winterization, antifreeze is pumped from the recovery tank into the engine and
water is pushed out of the engine. In dewinterization, when water is pumped
into the engine, antifreeze is pushed out and can be recollected in the
recovery
tank where it can be pumped to a supply tank for proper disposal or ruse.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,456 to Delport discloses a pressure-vacuum method for
removing and replacing engine coolant in automobiles. The coolant is suctioned
through a vacuum line into a holding tank and a pressure pump is used to
deliver a new coolant. A quick connect coupler can be used for quick
connection and disconnection to the engine.
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In U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,400 to Thompson and U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,364 to
Bratschitsch, each discloses a pumping system for drawing liquid into or
discharging the liquid from a tank by creating respectively a vacuum or
pressurized conditions within the tank. It provides a special valve device to
preclude the entry of contaminants into the pump.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,587,864 to Sargent and U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,124 to
Jenkins, each discloses an apparatus with two divided chambers of a tank and
an
air compressor driven from an engine or a pump. One chamber is used for
holding the waste liquid by pressure transferred on application of air
pressure or
vacuum in the other chamber, where the other chamber keeps clean water or air.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,505 to Payne discloses a system including a storage tank,
air pressure system for selectively apply the fluid pressure to the tank for
extraction and injecting liquid coolant from and into a reservoir for an
engine
cooling system, and a hose connects the tank to the engine cooling system
reservoir through a double shut-off type coupling.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,154 to Sage discloses an oil changing apparatus having
a single air compressor with internal combustion engine to provide vacuum to
suction the oil from the motorized oil engine to the storage tank, and to
pressurize the air to drain the storage tank rapidly. Fresh oil is added to
the
engine manually by gravity. Standard quick coupling connectors are employed
to prevent leakage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,144 to Kriewaldt discloses vacuum tanks connected to a
vacuum pump, which removes various operating liquids from fill ports of a
salvage vehicle. Portions of the fumes drawn off through the vacuum line from
the fluids in the tanks are fed through vacuum pump and burnt by the engine to
drive the vacuum pump.
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Many of the prior art only use a one-tank system to draw and discharge
liquid. Separate processes are required to fill the engine with fresh liquid.
Some
of the prior art used two compartments in a tank system to separate the fresh
liquid from the old liquid, however, many valves are involved, causing
difficulties in operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a marine engine
winterizing
system that is an improvement over the prior art.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a marine engine winterizing
system that can reclaim the liquid chemicals in the springtime easily and
efficiently without damaging the marine engine or its environment.
The present invention has many advantages. It reduces the time necessary to
remove water from a marine engine which includes manifolds and coolers. It
installs liquid chemicals into marine engine faster than the previous systems.
It
removes liquid chemicals from the marine engine without polluting the water or
the liquid chemicals, thereby allowing the liquid chemical to be reused.
Other advantages, objects and features of the present invention will be
readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the following
detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings and claims.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a two-part
device for transfernng liquid to or from an engine, the first part of said
device
comprising at least one engine connection means attachable to the engine water
exhaust manifold; one line for each of said engine connection means, said line
being anchored at one end to said engine connection means, and anchored at the
other end to a pressure-vacuum fitting bracket, said pressure-vacuum fitting
bracket housing a pump connection means for each line; and the second part of
said device comprising a pump; two tanks connected to said pump; first tank
for holding the liquid drawn from the engine, and a second tank for holding
the
liquid to be transferred to the engine;
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two lines connected to said tanks, wherein a first vacuum line is connected to
said pump for drawing liquid from the engine to the tank, and a fast pressure
line is connected to said pump for pushing liquid from the tank into the
engine;
connection means complementary to said pump connection means; and
S actuation means connected to a second vacuum line and a second pressure
line,
said actuation means controlling the function of said second vacuum line and
said second pressure line, wherein when the second vacuum line is activated,
fluid is drawn from the engine into the tank, and when the second pressure
line
is activated, fluid is pushed from the tank into the engine
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
device for transferring liquid to or from an engine, said device being
comprised
of a hand pump, and complementary connection means associated with the
pump and engine, said connection means facilitating attachment of the hand
pump to the engine. Two lines connect to the hand pump, the first line
vacuum-drawing liquid from the engine, and the second line pressure-pushing
liquid to a container. Actuation means on said system is by manually working
the hand pump, said activation means controlling the drawing of liquid from
the engine and the pushing of liquid into the engine. By turning the body of
the hand pump, the flow of liquid is reversed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of one embodiment of the
present invention, an engine winterization system.
FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic representation of a second embodiment of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to FIG. 1, the marine engine winterizing system 1, is comprised
of an electric motor vacuum pressure pump 10, which typically includes
vacuum line 12 and pressure line 11, both of which have connections to a
small bleeder line 13. Pressure line 11 connects to pressure tank 14, while
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vacuum line 12 connects to vacuum tank 15. The pressure tank 14 has a
removable top 16 for fast filling of liquids. The vacuum tank 15 has a
removable bottom 7 to remove liquids quickly and easily. Line 18 is the
pressure line to control valve 20, and line 19 is the vacuum line to control
valve 20. Control valve 20 will control the liquid flow at the female quick
connect fitting 21. Turning the control valve to remove position will put
vacuum at the female quick connect fitting 21 drawing liquids from the engine
and moving the control valve 20 to fill position will put pressure to the
female
quick connect fitting 21, pushing liquids into the engine. The bleeder line
13,
will limit the pressure and vacuum in the tanks and lines and release pressure
and vacuum in the tank and lines when the electric motor is shut off.
In a preferred embodiment, the vacuum pump is the %i HP electrically
driven vane pump with high volume of air and vacuum, which provides a
pressure of not more than 30 psi. Pressure line and vacuum line are made of
metal, the tanks are made of glass, clear styrene acryl nitrile or
polycarbonate
plastic.
The marine engine 5 is refitted with special fittings 8 (to replace the
current water draining fittings) and a plastic or nylon tube 45, is attached
to
the male disconnect fittings 9, which are mounted on a pressure-vacuum
fitting bracket 50. The pressure-vacuum fitting bracket 50 is permanently
mounted within easy access of the engine, whether on the engine itself or on
the boat. There is at least one male disconnect fitting 9, for each water
drain
fitting on the engine 5, water exhaust manifolds 6 &7, and coolers (some
engines have up to 7 fittings).
In operation, a person who wants to winterize or flush a marine engine,
installs the fittings 8 onto engine 5, water exhaust manifold drain cocks, and
all other drain cocks, and install lines 45, pressure-vacuum fitting bracket
50,
and the male disconnect fittings 9. If there are five drain cocks, there
should be five lines 45, and five male disconnect fittings 9, on the pressure-
vacuum fitting bracket 50. This is a one time installation and only needs
inspection periodically.
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To remove liquids from the marine engine 5, the operator turns the handle
on the control valve 20 to remove position, turns on the electric vacuum-
pressure pump, then installs the female quick disconnect fitting 21, onto any
male disconnect fitting 9. An indication that all the water has been drawn
from that water chamber is indicated by the formation of air bubbles in the
tank 15. While the electric vacuum-pressure pump is still running, the
operator removes the female quick disconnect fitting 21, and installs it onto
another male quick disconnect fitting 9, this process is continued until all
the
male quick disconnect fittings 9 have been emptied. The female quick
disconnect fitting 21 has an internal shut-off valve that is pushed by the
male
disconnect fitting, which stops the fluid when the control valve is switched
to
fill position.
To install liquids into the marine engine 5, the operator turns the handle on
the control valve 20 to install position, turns on the electric vacuum-
pressure
1 S pump, then installs the female quick disconnect fitting 21 onto any male
disconnect fitting 9. A graduated scale on tank 14 will indicate how much
liquid has been installed into that engine connection. While the electric
vacuum-pressure pump is still running, the operator removes the female quick
connect fitting 21, and installs it onto another male quick disconnect fitting
9,
this process is continued until all the male quick disconnect fittings 9 have
been filled.
Referring to FIG 2, the marine engine winterizing system is comprised of a
hand-operated vacuum-pressure pump 200, and pressure-vacuum fitting
bracket system.
The marine engine 5 is refitted with special fittings 8 (to replace the
current
water-draining fittings) and adapted to a plastic or nylon tube 45, which will
be attached to the male disconnect fittings 9 which are mounted on a pressure-
vacuum fitting bracket 50. The pressure-vacuum fitting bracket 50, is mounted
within easy access of the engine, whether on the engine itself or on the boat.
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There is at least one male disconnect fitting 9 for each water drain fitting
on
the engine 5, water exhaust manifolds 6, 7, and water oil coolers.
In operation, a person who wants to winterize or flush a marine engine
would install the fittings 8 onto the engine 5, water exhaust manifold drain
cocks, and all other drain cocks, and install lines 45, pressure-vacuum
fitting
bracket 50, and the male disconnect fittings 9. If there are five drain cocks,
there should be five lines 45 and five male disconnect fittings 9 on the
pressure-vacuum fitting bracket 50. This is a one time installation and only
needs inspection periodically.
To remove liquids from the marine engine 5, the operator turns the handle
205 on the hand pump 200 to align with an indicator 300. The operator then
installs the female quick disconnect fitting 21I onto the male quick
disconnect
fitting 9 mounted on the pressure-vacuum fitting bracket 50. By moving the
hand pump handle 205 in and out, the pump action will remove any liquid in
the engine water jacket. The pressure line 210 can be put into any container
to
catch the liquid that is being removed. The operator then moves the female
quick disconnect fitting 211 to the next male quick disconnect fitting 9 and
repeats the process. When all male quick disconnect fittings have been
emptied, all liquids from the engine water jackets will have been removed.
The operator will know when the water jacket is empty when he feels less
pressure on the pump handle 205 when pumping air and not liquid.
To install liquids into the marine engine 5, the operator would turn the
handle 205 on the hand pump 200, 180 degrees with the indicator 300. The
operator then installs the female quick disconnect fitting 211 onto the male
quick disconnect fitting 9 mounted on the pressure-vacuum fitting bracket 50.
The pressure line 210 will now become a vacuum line and must be put into the
container that contains the liquid that the operator wants installed into the
engine water jacket. By moving the hand pump handle 205 in and out, the pump
action will install any liquid in the engine water jacket. The operator then
moves
the female quick disconnect fitting Z11 to the next male quick disconnect
fitting
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9 and repeats the process. When all male quick disconnect fitting have been
filled, the engine water jackets are protected. Counting the number of strokes
it
takes to empty each male disconnect fitting 9 will give an indication of how
many strokes it will take to fill each male disconnect fitting 9.
Removing Liquids from the Engine
Power System
To remove liquids from the engine 5, the operator turns the handle on the
control valve 20 to remove position, turns on the electric motor, installs the
female quick connect fitting 21 to the male quick connect fitting 9, and waits
until bubbles appear in the tank 15. The operator then moves the female quick
connect fitting 21 to another male quick fitting 9 and repeats procedure until
all the male quick connect fittings 9 are empty.
Manual System
To remove liquids from the engine 5, the operator installs the female quick
connect fitting 211 to the male quick connect fitting 9, puts the hand pump
onto remove, and manually pumps until no resistance is felt on the pump
handle. The operator then moves the female quick connect fitting 211 to
another male quick connect fitting 9 and repeats the procedure until all the
male quick connect fittings 9 are empty.
Installing Liquids into the Engine
Power System
To install liquids into the engine 5, the operator turns the handle on the
control valve 20 to install position turns on the electric motor, installs the
female quick connect fitting 21 to the male quick connect fitting 9, and
monitors
the amount of liquid installed by watching the liquid level in the graduated
tank
14. The operator then moves the female quick connect fitting 21 to another
male
quick fitting 9 and repeats procedure until all the male quick connect
fittings 9
are filled to their capacity.
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Manual System
To install liquids into the engine 5, the operator installs the female quick
connect fitting 211 to the male quick connect fitting 9, turns the body of the
hand pump half a turn to install and manually pumps in the amount of liquid
required for that engine cavity. The operator then moves the female quick
connect fitting 211 to another male quick connect fitting 9 and repeats the
procedure until all the male quick connect fittings 9 are filled to their
capacity.
