Abstract:
The sewer hose for a recreational vehicle includes a valve coupling disposed at both ends of the sewer hose so that the body of the sewer hose may be closed off after the sewer hose is used to empty the holding tank of the recreational vehicle. The valve couplings and sewer hose have exterior dimensions small enough to fit in the standard sewer hose storage compartment.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application serial no. 60/201,519 filed May 2, 2000. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Technical Field  
           [0003]    The present invention generally relates to sewer lines for recreational vehicles and, more particularly, to a coupling that is used on two ends of a sewer hose to prevent leakage from the hose after the sewer hose is used to empty the sewage holding tank on the recreational vehicle. Specifically, the present invention is related to a valved sewer hose coupling having a sliding valve disposed between a pair of rigid tube sections that receive sections of flexible sewer line.  
           [0004]    2. Background Information  
           [0005]    Touring in recreational vehicles (RVs) has become increasingly popular in recent years. Most new RVs include a lavatory that empties into a holding tank that temporarily holds the sewage until the tank is pumped out or emptied into an appropriate waste treatment system.  
           [0006]    Most RV camping areas have power hook ups, fresh water hook ups, and a sewage disposal system that may be used by the owner of the recreational vehicle for a fee. The sewage disposal system typically includes an inlet disposed at ground level near the camping area. The user of the recreational vehicle connects with the sewage disposal system by using a sewer hose to connect an outlet of the holding tank to the inlet to the sewage disposal system. The outlet of the holding tank is typically valved to prevent unintended release.  
           [0007]    Once the sewer hose is connected, the user opens the valve to the holding tank and allows the tank to empty into the sewage system. The user then closes the valve to the holding tank and disconnects the sewer hose. A problem with this system is that the residue inside the sewer hose often leaks or drips out onto the ground while the sewer hose is being stored. The result is that the ground around the RV is contaminated with sewage leaving it undesirable for camping. The contamination is especially unpleasant when the users of the RV are cooking out or sitting outside the RV. The leakage can also lead to environmental harm that may lead to liability for the campgrounds. The art thus desires a sewer hose for an RV that does not create the leaking problem of the past. Such a sewer hose must be able to be stored in the same storage container as present sewer hoses. These hoses are typically stored in the bumper of the RV. The storage container has a limited cross sectional area and length that prevents the solution from having large dimensions.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention provides an RV sewer hose having valved ends that allow the body of the sewer hose to be sealed to prevent residual sewage from leaking from the hose after the hose has been used to empty the holding tank of an RV. In one embodiment, the invention provides a valved sewer hose has exterior dimensions that are smaller than the interior dimensions of the RV bumper so that the valved sewer hose may be stored inside the bumper. In another embodiment of the invention, the valves disposed at each end of the sewer hose are manually-operated and include covers that prevent the user from contacting any residual sewage when the user opens the valves.  
           [0009]    The invention also provides a valved coupling for an RV sewer hose that may be selectively connected to existing sewer hoses. In this embodiment of the invention, the invention provides a valved coupling having one end that connects to the sewer hose and another end that connects with the sewage disposal system or the outlet to the holding tank. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    The preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrative of the best mode in which applicant contemplated applying the principles of the invention, is set forth in the following description and is shown in the drawings and is particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a view of a prior art recreational vehicle hooked up to a prior art sewage disposal system with a prior art sewer line.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the valved coupling of the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  of FIG. 2.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 with the valve door in the open position.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a pair of the valved couplings being used with s sewer hose.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing an alternative embodiment of the invention having a cover around the valve door.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 6 showing the valve door open with the cover in an expanded condition. 
     
    
       [0018]    Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the specification.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]    In the prior art arrangement depicted in FIG. 1, a recreational vehicle  10  is emptying its holding tank (not shown) into the inlet  12  of a sewage disposal system  14 . A prior art sewer hose  16  is connected to the outlet  18  of the holding tank below the valve  20 . The user opens valve  20  and allows the holding tank to empty into system  14 . When empty, the user closes valve  20  and disconnects hose  16  from system  14 . The undesirable leaking occurs when hose  16  is being disconnected and stored.  
         [0020]    The valved coupling of the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral  50  in FIGS. 2 through 5. Coupling  50  includes a manually operable valve door  52  carried by a valve body  54 . Door  52  includes a handle  51  and a body  53 . In the preferred embodiment of the invention, handle  51  is substantially perpendicular to body  53  in order to decrease the dimensions of coupling  50 . In other embodiments, handle  51  may be a finger recess or finger hole in body  53 . First and second  56  and  58  tube sections extend outwardly from either side of valve body  54 . Tube sections  56  and  58  preferably has three inch outside diameters. Coupling  50  may be used to selectively close an end of sewer hose  16  by connecting hose  16  to one of tube sections  56  and  58 . Both ends of hose  16  may be selectively closed by connected one coupling to each end of hose  16 . The end of hose  16  may be connected to tube section  56  by sliding the end over tube section  56  and applying a tube clamp the end of hose  16 . The user may then close the ends of hose  16  before disconnecting hose  16  to prevent accidental spillage and leakage.  
         [0021]    Body  54  includes a front wall  60  and a rear wall  62 . A pair of sidewalls  64 , a bottom wall  66 , and a top wall  68  extend between walls  60  and  62  to form body  54 . Top wall  68  defines an opening  70  that slidingly receives valve door  52 . Front  60  and rear  62  walls includes openings  72  and  74  so that fluid may flow through coupling  10 . Tube sections  56  and  58  are aligned with openings  72  and  74 . In the preferred embodiment of the invention, body  54  has a substantially square cross section. In other embodiments of the invention, body  54  may be round. Body  54  and handle  52  preferably have combined outside dimensions less than 3.75 inches by 3.75 inches so that coupling  50  may be stored in the same located as hose  16 . A common storage location is inside of the bumper  75  of RV  10 .  
         [0022]    Seals  76  are disposed between each opening  72 , 74  and valve door  52  to prevent liquid from leaking out of coupling  50  when door  52  is open or closed. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, each seal  76  is an O-ring fabricated from a rubber or plastic material that allows door  52  to slide between the open and closed positions.  
         [0023]    Door  52  preferably includes a stop  78  or a pair of stops  78  that prevent the user from pulling door  52  past seals  76 . Each stop  78  is preferably a protuberance that engages the upper portion of seals  76  when door  52  is in the open position.  
         [0024]    In use, the user of coupling  50  attaches a coupling  50  to each end of hose  16  as shown in FIG. 5. Valve doors  52  are moved to the closed position. One coupling  50  is connected to outlet  18  below valve  20  with the other coupling  50  being connected to a universal sewer connector  79 . Connector  79  is attached to inlet  12  of system  14 . The user may connect tube section  58  to universal sewer connector  79  (or any other quick coupling known in the art) with a short length (4 to 6 inch) of flex hose. The connection may be made with auto hose clamps or any of a variety of other connectors known in the art.  
         [0025]    The user then opens all valves to empty the holding tank of RV  10 . Once the holding tank is empty, the user closes valve  20  and closes doors  52 . Hose  16  and couplings  50  may then be removed and stored without the residue inside hose  16  leaking out onto the ground.  
         [0026]    An alternative embodiment of the coupling is indicated generally by the numeral  150  in FIGS. 6 and 7. Coupling  150  includes many of the same elements as coupling  50  and the same numbers are used to refer to these elements. Coupling  150  includes a cover member  152  disposed between valve body  54  and the top end  154  of valve door  52 . Cover member  152  is flexible and moves between the collapsed position depicted in FIG. 6 and an expanded position depicted in FIG. 7. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, cover member  152  is in the form of bellows that expand and contract with the opening and closing of valve door  52 . Cover member  152  may be attached to valve body  54  with a sealed connection that prevents any liquid from exiting or entering cover member  152 . In another embodiment, cover member  152  is loosely connected to valve body  54  so that the user may wash the inside of cover member  152 .  
         [0027]    Cover member  152  prevents the user from contacting the outer surfaces of body  53  of valve door  52  when valve door  52  is in the open position depicted in FIG. 7. The outer surfaces of body  53  can be contaminated with sewage and cover members  152  prevent the user from contacting the sewage.  
         [0028]    In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding; but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art, because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.  
         [0029]    Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described. For example, the valve couplings of the invention may include flipper valves, pivoting valve doors, or rotating valve doors.  
         [0030]    Having now described the features, discoveries and principles of the invention, the manner in which the improved coupling is construed and used, the characteristics of the construction, and the advantageous, new and useful results obtained; the new and useful structures, devices, elements, arrangements, parts and combinations, are set forth in the appended claims.