FOUNTAIN PUMP

POMPE A FONTAINE

English Abstract

The invention relates to a water play pump comprising a housing with a housing
wall which is embodied as a filter through which the water in the housing
flows; also comprising a first outlet through which the water from the housing
can be pumped. An additional filter element is detachably arranged on the
housing (1).

French Abstract

La présente invention concerne une pompe à fontaine comprenant un boîtier dont une paroi est conçue sous forme de filtre à travers lequel l'eau peut entrer dans le boîtier. Cette pompe à fontaine présente également une première sortie à travers laquelle l'eau est pompée hors du boîtier. Un élément filtrant supplémentaire est monté de manière amovible sur le boîtier (1).

Claims

CLAIMS:
1. Fountain pump with a housing, which has a housing
wall, which is constructed at least partially as a filter,
through which the water can flow into the housing; with a
first outlet, through which the water can be pumped out of
the housing; with a suction connection; with a pumping
device for sucking in water and for discharging water; and
with a control unit for controlling the pumping device,
characterized by the fact that at least one additional
filter element (17) is detachably mounted on the housing
(3).
2. Fountain pump in accordance with Claim 1,
characterized by the fact that the additional filter element
(17) is hinged on the housing (3) in such a way that the
filter element (17) rests against the wall (3.2, 3.3) of the
housing (3) in a first position and is swung away from the
wall (3.2, 3.3) of the housing (3) like wings in a second
position.
3. Fountain pump in accordance with Claim 1 or Claim
2, characterized by the fact that the housing (3) has a
longitudinal axis, and the housing wall (3.2, 3.3), which is
constructed as a filter, is arranged parallel to the
longitudinal axis.
4. Fountain pump in accordance with Claim 3,
characterized by the fact that the housing wall (3.2, 3.3),
which is constructed as a filter, has two filter surfaces,
which are arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis and
each other and symmetrically about the longitudinal axis.
5. Fountain pump in accordance with Claim 4,
characterized by the fact that an additional filter element
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(17) is hinged on the housing (3) in such a way that it
rests against each filter surface (3.2, 3.3) in the first
position and is swung away from each filter surface (3.2,
3.3) like wings in the second position.
6. Fountain pump in accordance with any of Claims 1
to 5, characterized by the fact that the additional filter
element (17) is hinged on the upper side of the housing (3).
7. Fountain pump in accordance with any of Claims 1
to 6, characterized by the fact that the additional filter
element (17) has an outside and an inside, each of which is
designed as a filter surface.
8. Fountain pump in accordance with any of Claims 1
to 7, characterized by the fact that the additional filter
element (17) has a connection (17.4) for a hose coupling
with the suction connection (11), so that the additional
filter element (17) remains connected with the housing (3)
even when it is separated from the housing.
9. Fountain pump in accordance with any of Claims 1
to 8, characterized by the fact that a second outlet (13) is
formed on the housing (3).
10. Fountain pump in accordance with any of Claims 1
to 9, characterized by the fact that the additional filter
element (17) has a control element (9) for adjusting a
waterworks function at an outlet (7, 13) of the housing (3).
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Description

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FOUNTAIN PUMP
The present invention concerns a fountain pump
with a housing, which has a housing wall, which is
constructed at least partially as a filter, through which
the water can flow into the housing; with a first outlet,
through which the water can be pumped out of the housing;
with a suction connection; with a pumping device for sucking
in water and for discharging water; and with a control unit
for controlling the pumping device.
Fountain pumps of this type are widely known and
are used, for example, in ponds. They usually stand in the
water in the middle of the pond and are used to produce
fountains on the pond. Fountain pumps of this type
generally have an essentially vertically standing outlet
that forms a fountain connection.
Fountain pumps of this type have a housing wall,
which can be designed in any desired way but is formed as a
filter at least in sections to prevent coarse material and
debris from entering the pump housing.
The problem with well-known fountain pumps of this
type is that the filter surface is generally limited to the
sides of the housing, since support elements are present on
the bottom side, and the fountain outlet and various control
elements are formed on the upper side. Some regions of the
housing must be filter-free for stability reasons, so that
in fact only certain sections of the housing wall can ever
be used as filters.
Due to these restricting structural conditions,
the filters cannot be designed as large as one would want,
so that contamination and obstruction of the filters by
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coarse material and debris occur after a predeterminable
time. This time is so short under practical conditions of
use that the user of a fountain pump of this type must deal
with the problem of frequently taking the pump out of the
water to clean the filter.
Therefore, the objective of the present invention
is to develop a fountain pump whose filter surface is
significantly increased using the same housing dimensions.
In accordance with the invention, this objective
is achieved by mounting an additional, detachable filter
element on the housing.
An additional, detachable filter element of this
type offers many possibilities for creating additional
filter surface. For example, the additional, detachable
filter element can be installed spatially in front of the
actual filter, so that a portion of the water sucked in
flows through this additional filter element and relatively
coarse material present in the water is retained. An
increase in the filter surface also results in longer
running times during which cleaning of the filter surfaces
is not necessary.
In accordance with Claim 2, it is advantageous
for the additional filter element to have a hinged design,
so that it can be secured on the housing in such a way that
the filter element rests against the wall of the housing in
a first position and is swung away from the wall of the
housing like wings in a second position. In this way, the
additional filter element can be spatially placed in front
of the housing while a secure connection is maintained, so
that exact positioning of the wing elements is possible.
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Another advantage is that the additional filter
element has an outside and an inside, each of which is
formed as a filter surface. In this way, the filter surface
can even be tripled.
Another advantage is that the additional filter
element has a connection for a hose coupling with the
suction connection on the housing, so that the additional
filter element remains connected with the housing even when
it is detached from the housing. In this way, the
additional filter element can be installed a distance away
from the actual housing in an area in which strong intake of
coarse material and debris is expected.
The latter advantage is also related to a further
advantage, namely, that the additional filter element has a
control device for setting a fountain function.
Specifically, this makes it possible to utilize the
additional filter element not only as a means of optimizing
the running time of the fountain pump but also as a remote
control device, for example, for setting the height of a
fountain.
An embodiment of the present invention is
described in greater detail below with reference to the
drawings.
Figure 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a
fountain pump in accordance with the present invention with
the additional filter element detached.
Figure 2 shows a schematic perspective view of the
fountain pump of the invention with the additional filter
element swung out from the housing.
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Figure 1 shows a fountain pump 1, which has a
housing 3. The housing 3 has a longitudinal axis and in the
present embodiment is designed with an essentially oval
cross section. The housing 3 has a housing wall 3.1, which
is formed on both longitudinal sides of the housing 3 as
filter surface 3.2 and filter surface 3.3. The filter
surface follows the contour of the housing wall and is thus
outwardly convex, corresponding to the essentially oval
cross section of the housing 3. The filter surfaces 3.2 and
3.3 are designed with grooves and webs in such a way that
coarse material, such as leaves, small twigs, debris, and
even small animals, is retained on the filter when pond
water is drawn into the housing 3. The bottom of the
housing 3 has feet 5 with slotted holes 5.1 formed in them,
with which the housing 3 can also be mounted on mounting
plates, rocks, etc. On the upper side of the housing, a web
3.7 extends from one end face 3.5 of the housing 3 to the
opposite end face 3.6 of the housing 3. The web 3.7
spatially separates the two filter surfaces 3.2 and 3.3 from
each other in such a way that they are arranged parallel to
and symmetrically about the longitudinal axis. A first
outlet 7 is formed on the web 3.7. A telescoping extension
7.1, for example, can be mounted with a water-tight seal on
the first outlet 7. A nozzle to produce the fountain is
installed at the other end. Snap connections 9, with which
two halves of the housing 3 are held together, are also
formed on the web 3.7.
A suction connection 11 is formed on the end face
3.5. The suction connection 11 can be connected with a
threaded insert to allow a hose (not shown) to be attached.
In the absence of a threaded insert of this type, the
suction connection can be covered with a cover 12. The
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opposite end face 3.6 is provided with a second outlet 13,
from which water can emerge, for example, for a water spout
or the like. A controller 15 for this second outlet 13 is
formed on the web 3.7. A mounting 16, on which a lighting
fixture for the water spout or fountain can be mounted, is
also formed on the web 3.7.
The end faces 3.5 and 3.6 define the maximum outer
contour of the oval cross section. The filter surfaces 3.2
and 3.3 lie closer to the longitudinal axis, so that they
are positioned a certain radial distance from the outer
contour of the end faces 3.5 and 3.6. The purpose of this
design is to allow the integration of an additional filter
element 17 in the housing 3. This is more clearly
illustrated in Figure 2.
The additional filter element 17 in Figure 1
comprises two filter wings 17.1 and 17.2, which are secured
on a central filter connector 17.3. The central filter
connector 17.3 has a connection 17.4, by which a hose
coupling (not shown) with the suction connection 11 can be
produced, so that even when the additional filter element is
installed at a distance from the housing 3, the two parts
are still functionally connected. A control element 19 is
formed on the connection 17.4, with which the first outlet 7
and the second outlet 13 can be controlled in such a way
that, for example, the water spout and the height of the
fountain can be varied from a location remote from the
housing 3.
In the present embodiment, the filter wings 17.1
and 17.2 of the additional filter element can be secured on
the housing 3 in such a way that they form a continuation of
the circumference determined by the outer contour of the end
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faces 3.5 and 3.6 along the entire length of the housing 3.
The filter wings 17.1 and 17.2 thus fit into the recessed
lateral regions of the filter surfaces 3.2 and 3.3 of the
housing 3.
Furthermore, the additional filter element 17 or
the filter wings 17.1 and 17.2 in the present embodiment can
be hinged on the upper side of the housing 3 in the vicinity
of the web 3.7 in such a way that the filter wings 17.1 and
17.2 can be swung out of a first position, in which the
filter wings 17.1 and 17.2 are integrated in the housing in
such a way that they are flush with the end faces of the
housing (not shown), and into a second position (see Figure
2), in which the filter wings no longer rest against the
filter surfaces 3.2 and 3.3.
The additional filter element 17 has one filter
surface on its upper or outer side and one filter surface on
its lower or inner side. As a result, the two opposite main
surfaces of the additional filter element 17 and thus of the
filter wings 17.1 and 17.2 have their own filter
characteristics. In the state shown in Figure 2, in which
the filter wings are swung out, the filter surface is
approximately tripled.
The first outlet 7 on the web 3.7 of the housing 3
is designed in such a way that a nozzle (not shown) mounted
on it can swivel about 20° in all directions.
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Representative Drawing