Abstract:
A portable water-pumping system comprises a water-tight case with a hinged lid. A deep recess in the lid allows a photovoltaic array to be nested inside in a protected position. A gel-cell battery operates a high-pressure water-pump and both are carried inside the case. A trigger-operated water nozzle and a pressure switch allow automatic functioning of the water pump. A non-collapsible water-suction hose includes a strainer to prevent clogging of the pump. A cigarette-lighter power cord allows near-continuous and heavy use when a source of 12VDC power is available from a car, boat, plane, or other vehicle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to pumping systems, and more particularly to portable, battery-powered pumps that include solar-cells for photovoltaic recharging and water-proof cases suitable for use around a boat. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Water pumping and pressurized water are often needed far away from any available source of utility power. So it has become quite common for water pumps to be operated by gasoline motors, generators, and even batteries. Recent advances in photovoltaic device technology have also made it possible for rather modest solar arrays to affordably keep a bank of storage batteries fully charged for water pumping. Many water pumping applications do not require continual pumping, so batteries are used to supply the peak electrical demands and solar panels are used to charge them over the long-run. Such systems are very common in remote homes and aboard off-shore sailboats. A few, light-duty portable water pumping systems have even been marketed, but these generally do not provide the water pressures needed to scour a boat clean, or the volumes needed for other washing applications boaters may have. High pressure systems are needed to clean off-road vehicles and race cars before and after use. 
     For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,104, issued Jul. 19, 1994, to David Marcus, describes and illustrates a portable outdoor mister that is housed in a box 12 with solar panels 50 on a lid 14. A battery 46 inside has a switch 66 to interrupt power from the solar panel 50 and another switch 64 to control a water pump motor 44. A suction line 18 draws-in water to a pump 42 inside the housing 12. An output hose 26 provides high pressure water. FIG. 1 of Marcus shows the system on-board a boat with the suction line drawing water from the body of water the -boat is floating on. 
     U.S. Pat. 5,569,998, issued Oct. 29, 1996, to Thomas Cowan, describes a solar water pumping system that uses 50-60 watt 12-volt photovoltaic panels. A storage battery 15 is connected through to a pump 18. A diode sensor 12 prevents back voltage flow from the battery to the solar panel 10 when there is no light. The battery is described as being preferably a lead-acid gel-type, and for a 10-watt photovoltaic panel 10, a 7-amp hour battery is appropriate. The motor and panels are sized so that the pump can run continuously during the day while sunlight is available. A DC-switcher type power supply 17 is used to deliver a constant 12-13.5 volts to the pump, no matter how discharged the battery becomes. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a portable water-pumping system. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable pressure washer suitable for washing boats. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a portable water-pumping system with a recharging system that can operate in the field far away from common utility power. 
     Briefly, a portable water-pumping system embodiment of the present invention comprises a water-tight case with a hinged lid. A deep recess in the lid allows a photovoltaic array to be nested inside in a protected position. A gel-cell battery operates a high-pressure water pump and both are carried inside the case. A trigger-operated water nozzle and a pressure switch allow automatic functioning of the water pump. A non-collapsible water-suction hose includes a strainer to prevent clogging of the pump. A cigarette-lighter power cord allows near-continuous and heavy use when a source of 12VDC power is available from a car, boat, plane, or other vehicle. 
     An advantage of the present invention is that a portable water-pumping system is provided that is rugged and suitable for use on a pleasure boat or while camping. 
     Another advantage of the present invention is that a portable pumping system is provided that can serve multiple uses in the pumping of liquids during emergencies or in routine use in the field. 
     A still further advantage of the present invention is that a portable pumping system is provided that can serve as a backup sump or bilge pump. 
     The above and still further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1A is a side view of a portable water-pumping system embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 1B is a top view of the portable water-pumping system of FIG.  1 A. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a portable water-pumping system embodiment of the present invention, referred to herein by the reference numeral  100 . The portable water-pumping system  100  comprises a water-tight case  102  with a bottom housing  104  and a hinged lid  106 . A suitable field utility box that can be used for the water-tight case  102  is marketed by Action Products Company (Odessa, Mont.) as model number 560115. Plastic is preferred for both the bottom housing  104  and hinged lid  106  so that corrosive marine environments can be tolerated. A carrying handle  108  is attached inside a deep well  110  on the top of the lid  106 . A set of photovoltaic panels  112  and an on-off switch  113  are also nested inside the well  110 . A prototype that provided good results used a pair of photovoltaic panels  112  that were rated at forty milliamps @ 18VDC and was provided by Golden Genesis Photocom (Scottsdale, Ariz.) as model TJ225. 
     The relative placement geometries of the photovoltaic panels  112  inside the deep well  110  and the position of the carrying handle  108  are preferably such that a user can randomly lay the water-tight case  102  down on sun-lit ground and have the battery charging feature function. For this reason, it may be preferable to fix the carrying handle  108  so that it cannot layover and shadow one or the other of the photovoltaic panels  112 . Alternatively, the carrying handle  108  may be located elsewhere, and not between the photovoltaic panels  112 . 
     The “safe-harbor” position of the photovoltaic panels  112  inside the well  110  protects the relatively fragile and sometimes brittle photovoltaic devices from being damaged during normal use, transport, and storage. Very often, glass is used to package photovoltaic devices, and so ruggedizing the system requires that they be protected from normal bumps and scratches. The on-off switch  113  is preferably fitted with a rubber boot over the switch handle and the wires from the photovoltaic panels  112  are sealed to the case  102  to prevent water entry. A hinge  114  allows the lid  106  to swing wide open for service. A lockable spring clamp  116  is used to keep the lid  106  tightly shut during use. A soft rubber gasket is preferably used between the lid  106  and housing  104  to assist in preventing water entry. Alternatively, all internal wiring and circuits can be water-proofed. 
     A high-pressure water pump  118  is located inside the housing  104  and is mechanically driven by a 12-volt direct current pump motor  120 . A prototype that provided good results used a high-pressure water pump  118  that could deliver 3.3 gallons per minute (GPM) and would shut-off automatically when the back pressure exceeded thirty-five pounds per square inch (35 PSI). The water pump and motor combination  118  and  120  are preferably self-priming, able to run without damage while dry, and includes an electric thermal overload device to protect the motor. Such a pump is marketed by FLOJET Corporation (Irvine, Calif.) as model number 4406-143, and nominally draws 3.9 amps at 12VDC. Such water pump  118  preferably delivers over thirty-five PSI at 3.3 GPM. Lesser capable pumps provide unacceptable, inferior performance in system  100 . 
     A sealed 12VDC, 12-amp-hour, gel-cell type battery  122  operates the pump via the on-off switch  113 . An acceptable way to wire together the electrical components is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,998, issued Oct. 29, 1996, to Thomas Cowan. Such Patent is incorporated by reference. However, a fuse is preferably included in series with one of the battery leads to prevent any short-circuits in the pump or photovoltaic circuits from burning the internal wiring. 
     The photovoltaic panels  112  are connected to charge the battery  122 . A diode wired in series between the photovoltaic panels  112  and the battery  122  can be included to prevent battery current from leaking back into the photovoltaic panels  112  when not charging. A solar-charge controller can also be included between the photovoltaic panels  112  and the battery  122  to prevent overcharging of the battery. 
     In alternative embodiments of the present invention, a 12-volt cigarette-lighter type power plug can be attached to the battery. If 120VAC utility power is available, the 12-volt cigarette-lighter type power plug can be plugged into an AC adapter. For example, a suitable AC power adapter is sold as a portable cellular-telephone battery charger by J. C. Whitney (LaSalle, Ill.) as catalog number 71BH1896U. 
     A high pressure outlet  124  includes a quick-release hose coupling for attachment to a pressure hose  126  and nozzle  128 . An accessory quick-connect port system is marketed by FLOJET Corporation to fit with their water pumps. The FLOJET quick-connect part numbers 20381-002 and 20381-009 were used successfully. In the prototype that was built, a water nozzle with thumb slide control was used. Such thumb slide would tend to stick and needed frequent lubrication. So a water nozzle of the type illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B is preferred. A palm trigger  130  allows the user to switch water delivery on and off. A suitable water nozzle is marketed by Gilmour Manufacturing, Co. (Sommerset, Pa.) as the Douglas DBG-1212. 
     During operation, triggering the water nozzle causes changes in hydraulic backpressure. These changes, in turn are used to automatically turn the pump motor  120  on and off with a pressure-operated electrical switch. The on-off switch  113  is used principally to prevent a small water-pressure leak in the water output system from causing the pump to cycle needlessly. A suction hose  132  is reinforced to prevent collapsing and is used to draw in water through an aluminum strainer  134 . A quick-release coupling  136  attaches the suction hose  132  to the inlet of the water pump  118 . 
     The suction hose  132  or the aluminum strainer  134  itself may include filter elements that are sufficient to produce good, clean, potable drinking water from streams and lakes that may be dangerous to drink otherwise. Alternatively, such filter elements may be placed in the high pressure outlet side when the filter backpressure is too great. 
     Additional solar panels can be easily added to help charge a heavily used portable pumping system  100 . For example, any number of secondary solar panels can be temporarily connected through a cigarette lighter cord attachment directly to the battery through a fuse. 
     Applications for the portable pumping system  100  include pressure washing of boats and other vehicles, bilge pumping, fresh water transfer, black water disposal, chemical transfer, pesticide and herbicide spraying, etc. On a recent test trip, a bucket of hot water was used to provide “real” showers for campers. Each of these uses would require various obvious modifications to the design and materials used in the strainer, hoses, pump, and nozzles. So the particulars of the construction of each are unnecessary to describe here. 
     An alternative embodiment of the present invention includes the portable water-pumping system  100  mounted to a wheeled water tank. For example, 10-30 gallon molded polyethylene tanks fitted with wheels like a cart are sold by J. C. Whitney to carry off waste water from recreational vehicles, e.g., order number 86ND5347X. The portable water-pumping system  100  is then connected to a garden hose outlet and cap provided with such tank. 
     Alternative embodiments of the present invention also include hot-water heating coils connected to either the inlet or outlet of the portable water-pumping system  100 . For example, a length of flexible copper tubing with hose connectors on either end can be connected to the portable water-pumping system  100  and placed in a camp fire. The hot or warmed water would be useful for dish washing, showers, etc. Long lengths of black plastic tubing could be used instead and simply left to warm in the sun. The lengths of warming/heating tube needed would be dependent on the water flow used and the desired temperatures. 
     Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, such is not intended to limit the invention. Modifications and changes will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is intended that the invention only be limited by the scope of the appended claims.