Watering can augmented by pump and snorkel device

A watering can includes a pump and a snorkel which can be used to draw water out of a vessel and into the watering can. The snorkel device is put into a vessel from which water is to be evacuated and the pump is cranked in order to start the flow of water from the vessel and into the reservoir of the watering can. In some embodiments, the pump is a peristaltic pump which includes a mode where the pump is fully disengaged and fluid may flow freely from the snorkel, through the pump, and into the reservoir of the watering can. This allows the operator to use the pump to start a siphoning process which evacuates the remainder of the water from the vessel without further pumping. When not being used to draw water out of a vessel, the watering can may be used in the ordinary manner.

This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/528,070 filed Dec. 9, 2003.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to watering cans or water carrying pitchers, especially those watering cans which are made to be used indoors for the care of house plants and cut flowers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is a common problem encountered while caring for an arrangement of cut flowers: It is difficult to change the water in which the flowers reside because doing so requires removing the flowers to turn the container upside down. Changing the water in such arrangements is advised in order to extend the life of the flowers and to avoid the water becoming unsightly and smelly.

There are other household problems encountered which involve water or another liquid which needs to be removed from a vessel without turning it upside down. Another example is the catch tray under a large potted plant which may fill with water if the plant is over watered. One more is the water in a fish tank which needs to be periodically changed. A third example is a clogged sink which may be filled with water.

Separate devices, such as siphons or small hand pumps, could be used to solve these problems, but they are inconvenient because they need to be cleaned and stored separately from other household cleaning equipment. Most households, however, have a watering can for flowers or a water carrying pitcher of some kind for a fish bowl which are kept handy and used often. It is therefore convenient that these devices (a watering can or pitcher) be augmented by something which can solve these other household problems.

In the past, watering cans have been augmented with many devices which allow one to distribute the water in the can in various ways such as a spray or in a hose. The focus of these inventions is distributing water rather than taking it in. Many watering cans, for instance, exist which include sprayers for spraying the leaves of plants. Other watering cans have been created which may distribute water through a tube for easy watering.

Buckets have also been augmented in order to distribute water through a hose rather than pouring by tilting the bucket. Consequently a need exists for a watering can which addresses the problems of previous designs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a watering can or water carrying pitcher, which is augmented by a pump and a wand-like snorkel device. The wand-like snorkel device can be placed into an arrangement of cut flowers or other vessel and used to extract the water within the vessel without moving the vessel or disturbing the contents in the vessel. The water is extracted using the pump which is preferably actuated by hand but might also be actuated by an electric motor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A watering can100of the present invention is shown inFIGS. 1 through 3. The basic external features of the watering can100are as follows. The body component101of the watering can100is augmented by a pump102, which in this embodiment takes the form of a peristaltic pump. A length of flexible tubing103exits the pump and is attached to a snorkel104, which is shown in a position of temporary storage.

To use the watering can100to extract water from a vessel (not shown), the snorkel104is withdrawn from a receiving feature105and inserted into the vessel containing the water to be extracted. The snorkel104should be inserted down to the bottom of the vessel. At that time, a crank handle106should be rotated in a clockwise direction which will cause a suction to be established in the tubing103and snorkel104. The suction pulls the water through the snorkel104and tubing103into the pump102and the water exits through hole107into the body of the watering can.

The pump functions in the following manner to produce suction in the tubing. Referring toFIGS. 2 and 2awhere the pump cover114and drive plate108have been shown transparent with phantom lines, the crank handle106is attached to a pump drive plate108with a feature109which allows for the free rotation of the crank handle as the pump drive plate108is rotated. The pump drive plate also has at least two rollers110which may actually be the same component as the crank handle106in order to reduce the number of different components used to construct the device. The rollers110are free to rotate in the pump drive plate108. As the drive plate is rotated, the rollers ride on surface111where they act as rolling bearings, guiding the motion of the rotating drive plate108and reducing the friction in the assembly as it rotates. When a roller110leaves the guide surface111, they encounter the flexible tubing103and pinch the tubing between the roller and another guiding surface112. The roller110and guiding surface112must be in close enough proximity that they pinch the flexible tube103enough to affect a fluid-tight seal or near-fluid-tight seal between the pinched walls of the tube. The pinched area of the tube is shown as item113. As the drive plate108rotates and the roller110rolls along the tubing103, the movement of the pinched portion of the tube113pushes water or air in the direction towards the exit hole107where it enters the body of the watering can.

While the guiding surfaces111and112act to guide the rotating elements in the direction radial to their rotation, the body of the watering can and the cover114act to retain the rotating elements in the axial direction. The opening in the cover114where the flexible tubing103exits the cover is made to pinch the tube in order to keep the tube from moving in the pump over time. One skilled in the art can see that various features in the cover114might accomplish this goal. The cover114is retained by screws117which might by replaced by snap features.

After the operator of the device is satisfied with the amount of water extracted from the vessel, the snorkel104can then be stowed again in the feature provided105. The handle115can be used to pick up the watering can and pour the water through the spout116into a sink or other place of disposal. At that time, fresh water can be poured into the watering can and that water can be poured into the vessel using the spout116.

In this embodiment, a preferred material for all parts is plastic. The body of the watering can101may be blow molded while all other parts might be injection molded. The body component101may be connected to the pump base component118by a process such as ultrasonic welding or adhesive bonding using features119and120to orient the components.

One skilled in the art will note that the amount of water pumped per revolution of the crank is directly related to the size of the tubing used and the diameter of the pump (surface111). To augment the volume flow rate of the pump without increasing its size, a pair of gears (not shown) could be added between the crank106and drive plate108to increase the number of rotations of the drive plate108per revolution of the crank106.

A first alternative embodiment watering can200shown inFIGS. 4-6uses a different type of pump and also has a different construction than watering can100. To use watering can200to extract water from a vessel, a snorkel204is withdrawn from a receiving feature205and inserted into the vessel containing the water to be extracted. The snorkel204should be inserted down to the bottom of the vessel. At that time, a crank handle206should be rotated in the clockwise direction which will cause a suction to be established in tubing203and snorkel204. The suction pulls the water through the snorkel204and tubing203into a gear pump and the water exits through opening207into the body of the watering can.

The gear pump of the first alternative embodiment functions in the following manner to produce suction in the tubing. The crank handle206is attached to a pump drive crank208with a feature which allows for the free rotation of the crank handle as the pump drive crank208is rotated. As the pump drive crank is rotated in a clockwise direction, it drives a pump drive shaft250which in turn drives a first pump gear251which then drives a second pump gear252using gear teeth253. As the gear teeth rotate, water or air is drawn into cavity254as the teeth come out of mesh and the gaps between the teeth are exposed to the cavity. Water or air which enters the gaps between the teeth are taken into spaces255between the pump walls and the gear by the motion of the gear. Then, as the spaces255arrive at an exit cavity256, the water or air is pushed out of the gaps between the teeth as the gears start to mesh at the location denoted as257. Since more water or air is arriving all the time to the exit cavity256, the water or air is forced to exit through the opening207into the body of the watering can.

One skilled in the art will note that such a pump needs to include some amount of sealing in order to function properly. In this embodiment the sealing is realized by close tolerances between surface258on the watering can base267, surfaces259on the gears, and surfaces260on pump cover261. A labyrinth seal is also formed by lip262on cover261which protrudes into slot263in the gear in order to form a seal where the pump drive shaft250enters the pump cover. One should note that in this design, both pump gears can be identical in design and symmetric for ease of assembly. The first pump gear rotates on the pump drive shaft250which uses the protrusion264as a bearing surface to rotate on. The second pump gear,252uses the protrusion265as a bearing surface.

After the operator of the device is satisfied with the amount of water extracted from the vessel, the snorkel204can then be stowed again in the feature provided205. The handle214can be used to pick up the watering can and pour the water through the spout215into a sink or other place of disposal. At that time, fresh water can be poured into the watering can and that water can poured into the vessel using the spout215. The spout on this embodiment is augmented by a swiveling spout tip266, which can be twisted to change the direction of the water exiting the can.

This embodiment is to be made of plastic with all parts being injection molded except for the swiveling spout tip266which might be blow molded. The two halves of the watering can body might be sealed together using ultrasonic welding or an adhesive bond. This first alternative embodiment shows how a different pump technology can easily be adapted to the invention. Other possible pump technologies that could be used include using a flexible vane pump, diaphragm pump, or lobe pump.

A second alternative embodiment watering can300as seen inFIG. 7is almost the same as watering can100except for two things: 1) the relative size of the pump has been increased to increase the amount of flow per revolution of the crank; and 2) the surface111which was in contact with the rollers has been replaced with a surface311that is not in contact with the rollers and therefore not used as a bearing surface. Surface311is only present to add stiffness to the pump base component318and to make the component symmetric. Instead of the rotating elements being guided by surface111, a small shaft-like feature350has been added to the drive plate308(which is shown partially cut away) to provide a bearing surface for the radial forces. In this case a cylindrical sleeve bearing feature351is added to the center of the pump base component318in which the shaft-like feature rides.

A third alternative embodiment watering can400as shown inFIGS. 8-10is also much like watering can100as well, but an electric motor with batteries has been substituted for the hand crank106. The drive plate108of embodiment100has been replaced by a drive plate408which has gear teeth450around its perimeter. The gear teeth450mesh with the teeth on a smaller gear451which is connected to a motor452held into the pump base component418with a cap453. Batteries454are also mounted in the pump base418. A button would be provided in the handle of the watering can which would be connected by wires to the batteries454and motor452and used to turn the motor on and off. A second button could be used to reverse the direction of the motor so that the snorkel device could be used to distribute water as well.

Watering can body401can be made of two injection molded halves which are bonded together in the middle. This allows a divider455to be added to divide the inside of the watering can body into two sections: one for clean water456, and one for dirty water457. This could possibly eliminate a trip to the sink if the amount of water to be changed were small. In that case, the user would fill the compartment456with an amount of clean water that does not reach the top of the divider455. When the pump is used, the dirty water goes into chamber457and the clean water can be poured into the flowers without returning to the sink to empty the dirty water (provided that the dirty water is not of such a quantity that it will spill over the divider455during pouring). The divider is situated in the can at an angle such that both chambers can be drained via the spout and therefore the entire volume of the watering can can be used normally (filled with clean water) if desired.

A fourth alternative embodiment watering can500as seen inFIG. 11shows that the body component501of the watering can may be of substantially different design and that snorkel504could be connected to the bottom of the watering can body directly in order to construct an embodiment where the watering can can be held above the flower arrangement with one hand while the other hand is used to pump. The rigid tube snorkel504could be affixed permanently with adhesive or spin welding, or it could be removable and include a sealing element which allowed it to be replaced and form a water-tight seal. The rigid tube snorkel504is connected to the pump502by flexible tubing, which is not visible inFIG. 11.

A fifth alternative embodiment watering can600as shown inFIGS. 12-14is very different from the other embodiments in that the medium, which is pumped through the pump, is air rather than water. In this embodiment, watering can body601is actually a vacuum chamber in which a vacuum is established by a centrifugal blower which removes air from the inside of the watering can and blows it out an exit port650in the bottom of the can. Because chamber doors651and652will seal the other entrances through which air or water could enter the can, air or water will be forced to enter through snorkel604. As air and water flow through flexible tubing603and enter the chamber through opening653, the water falls to the bottom of the chamber but the air enters the centrifugal blower through blower entry tube assembly654. This assembly has a float ball check valve assembly655which prevents water from entering the blower in the event that the chamber is over filled with water. The blower entry tube assembly may also include a filter where the air enters the float ball check valve assembly to prevent solid debris from entering the blower.

The fifth alternative embodiment is constructed as follows. The body of the watering can is made up of two components656and657(both shown transparent in phantom lines inFIG. 13). The upper component656includes a hinge pivot feature which allows the chamber door651to pivot when a persons thumb presses down on the surface659of the door651. The upper component656also connects to a swiveling spout tip661just as in the second alternative embodiment. However, the swiveling spout tip661which includes a similar hinge pivot feature662where the door652pivots. The door652is intended to remain closed normally due to the force of gravity, opening only when the watering can is inclined to pour water.

The lower component of the watering can body657provides a housing for the blower, motor, and batteries. The blower entry tube assembly654is assembled into an opening in the watering can body base component657with an adhesive or is ultrasonically or spin welded such that the parts have a water tight seal. A centrifugal blower impeller663is attached to the shaft of motor664which is held into the component657using a cap-like component665. In operation, air enters the impeller663through the central opening666and is expelled from the openings along the perimeter668. Batteries669are held into the component657using a snap-in cover670.

The fifth alternative embodiment has an extra functionality in that it can be used in a limited fashion as a vacuum cleaner. This could be advantageous because it could allow the user to remove the pollen that often accumulates on the furniture underneath an arrangement of blooming flowers. This could be done before or after the water is sucked into the can.

A sixth alternative embodiment watering can700is shown inFIGS. 15 and 16and uses a different type of pump and also is configured to employ siphoning action to extract water from the vessel. Watering can700has a handle715, which has a flexible walled region750which can be squeezed with the hand to pump fluid from a flexible tube703into the body701of the watering can. To extract water from a vessel, a snorkel704is withdrawn from the receiving feature and inserted into the vessel containing the water to be extracted. The snorkel704should be inserted down to the bottom of the vessel. At that time, the flexible region of the handle750is squeezed with the hand such that it partially collapses and will cause a suction to be established in the tubing703and snorkel704. The suction pulls the water through the snorkel704and tubing703into the watering can.

The pump is shown in cross section inFIG. 16and is assembled in the following manner. The flexible tubing703terminates on a hose barb751, which is part of the first pump end cap752. The first pump end cap752is attached with a sealed connection to the flexible wall material753, which is molded in a shape that matches the contour of the handle. A check valve consisting of a body component754and a flexible flap component755are also attached to the first pump end cap752in a manner that produces a watertight seal. The exit end of the pump is similar except that an identical check valve body756and flexible flap757are assembled in a different order into the second pump end cap758in order to produce a check valve which allows flow in the same direction. Another piece of flexible tubing759is attached to the second pump end cap758and proceeds down the handle into the base of the watering can. One skilled in the art will note that there are many ways to produce the water-tight seals mentioned above including using adhesives, using snap fits with o-rings, using different types of thermoplastic welding, and (for the flexible walled elements) using simple interference fits between the components.

The pump functions in the following manner to produce suction in the tubing703. When the flexible wall material753is squeezed, it partially collapses forming pressure in the air or water which is inside the cavity760. This pressure bears on the check valve flap757through the ports761in the check valve body756. This pressure pushes the flexible flap757out of the way so that water or air exits the pump via the ports761. When the operator relaxes the pressure on the flexible wall material753, the material (being elastic) tries to spring back to its original shape. This causes a low pressure to form in the cavity760. The difference in pressure between the cavity in the check valve body756and the cavity760causes the flexible flap757to spring back to its original shape and form a seal such that water or air that has just left cannot return to the cavity760. However, the pressure difference between the cavity in the first check valve body754and cavity760will push the flexible flap755open so that water or air on the other side of the check valve will be exposed to the low pressure in cavity760. Water or air therefore enters the cavity760through ports762until the flexible walled material753has returned to its original shape. At this point the process can be repeated.

The unique result of using such a pump is that the watering can can be used as a siphon to remove water from a vessel without needing to provide pumping action through the entire process. If the watering can is held at a level which is below the height of the water vessel being emptied, only a few squeezes of the flexible portion of the handle750will be necessary to start the siphon and empty the entire vessel. A few squeezes of the flexible region750will suck water into tube703. After a substantial portion of tube703is filled with water, gravity will cause a positive pressure to form in the entrance of the pump in the check valve body754causing the check valve to open and water to flow through cavity760, opening the second check valve and proceeding out of the pump via tube759. The water leaving tube703via the pump will cause additional water to be drawn into tube703via snorkel704.

In order to prevent debris in the water from causing the check valve flaps755and757to be held open, the snorkel704may require a screen of some sort to insure large objects do not enter. One skilled in the art will note that there are many different types of check valves that could be employed in this embodiment, some of which might be more resistant to fouling by debris than others.

A seventh alternative embodiment watering can800as shown inFIGS. 17-20combines a robust peristaltic pump with siphoning action. Watering can800includes a trigger850and release button851which protrude from drive disk808. The trigger850is used to retract one of the wheels from contact with the tube and therefore let water flow freely through the tube when siphoning.

The modification to the pump of the seventh alternative embodiment only requires changes to the drive disk assembly and is shown inFIGS. 18-20. InFIG. 18, the drive disk assembly is shown in an exploded view. A modified drive disk808has been modified so that there is a pocket852in which a roller-mounting plunger853may slide. A spring854also is installed into the pocket852so that it bears on the roller-mounting plunger853, providing a force which pushes roller855against the flexible tubing. The roller855only pushes against the flexible tubing during approximately 140 degrees of the rotation of the pump, and therefore, features need to be provided which cause the travel of the roller-mounting plunger853to stop before it interferes with other pump components when it is not riding on the flexible tube. This is accomplished by providing travel stops856on the disk808which encounter flexible beams857on the roller-mounting plunger853. The beams857are made to be flexible such that they can be bent to allow the roller-mounting plunger853to be inserted into the pocket852during assembly. The beams857should not bend significantly during operation however.

The release button851is mounted on a flexible beam858which provides a force that pushes the button into a buttonhole859. When the roller-mounting plunger853is pushed into pocket852as far as it can go using the trigger850, the button851is forced into the buttonhole859on disk808by the elasticity of the beam858. The button then holds the roller-mounting plunger853at the far end of the pocket even after the force on the trigger850is released. The roller-mounting plunger853will then only move when the user depresses the button851to release it. Arrows860and861are purely cosmetic and are molded into the pump cover and the drive disk to aid the user in proper operation.

The pump of the seventh alternative embodiment is used in the following manner to evacuate a vessel of water. The process is started by pressing the release button851in order to insure that the roller mounting plunger853is in its outward position and in contact with the flexible tube803. The snorkel device804is put into the vessel from which water is to be evacuated so that the snorkel extends all the way to the bottom of the vessel. The watering can is held at a level which is below the height of the water vessel being emptied. The crank handle806is cranked in the clockwise direction in order to draw water into the snorkel804and tube803. After a substantial portion of tube803is filled with water, gravity will cause a positive pressure to form in the entrance of the pump. At this time, the user can position the crank handle806such that the arrow860and the arrow861are approximately aligned with each other (approximately 180 degrees from the orientation shown inFIG. 17). Then the user pulls the trigger850towards the crank handle806until the button851clicks into the buttonhole859, thereby holding the roller-mounting plunger853and roller855back away from the flexible tube. This removes the pinch point from the flexible tube and therefore allows the water to flow freely under the influence of gravity. The water leaving tube803into the watering can will cause additional water to be drawn into tube803via snorkel804. This process will continue until the vessel is completely evacuated of water and air starts to enter the snorkel804.

It is possible to add features to the roller-mounting plunger853and to the pump base component (analogous to component318ofFIG. 7) such that the roller-mounting plunger853could not be moved unless the crank handle806were in the position with the arrows aligned and thereby eliminate user confusion about what position the crank should be in when operating the trigger.

An eighth alternative embodiment watering can900is shown inFIGS. 21 and 22and is much like the seventh alternative embodiment except for two differences. In the overall view ofFIG. 21, one can see that the eighth alternative embodiment900has been modified by abbreviating spout903so that the shape of the body is more like an ordinary water pitcher. This might make this version more useful for ordinary household chores like changing fish bowl water or changing the water in a birdbath or indoor fountain. Also seen inFIG. 21is a rubber strain relief950which surrounds the flexible tubing906where it enters the pump on the side of the can. This rubber strain relief not only protects the flexible tubing906but it hides a junction between it and another piece of flexible tubing951seen inFIG. 22. The two pieces are joined together using an ordinary barbed hose union952. Having this juncture between two different hoses906and951allows the designer to pick tubing with different properties for the external flexible tube and the internal flexible tube951, which is part of the pump. This is advantageous since the required properties of the two different pieces of tubing are very different.

A ninth alternative embodiment watering can1000is shown inFIGS. 23 and 24and is meant to provide the same functionality as the seventh alternative embodiment without the complication of a trigger. In the overall view,FIG. 23, one can see that the embodiment is similar and retains arrows1060and1061which are cosmetic and aid the user in proper operation.

The pump of the ninth alternative embodiment is used in the following manner to evacuate a vessel of water: A snorkel device1004is put into the vessel from which water is to be evacuated so that the snorkel extends all the way to the bottom of the vessel. The watering can is held at a level which is below the height of the water vessel being emptied. A crank handle1006is cranked in the clockwise direction in order to draw water into the snorkel1004and tube1003. After a substantial portion of tube1003is filled with water, gravity will cause a positive pressure to form in the entrance of the pump. At this time, the user can position the crank handle1006such that the arrow1060and the arrow1061are approximately aligned with each other. Selecting this position of in the crank rotation removes the pinch points from the flexible tube and therefore allows the water to flow freely under the influence of gravity. The water leaving tube1003into the watering can will cause additional water to be drawn into tube1003via snorkel1004. This process will continue until the vessel is completely evacuated of water and air starts to enter the snorkel1004.

To see why the flexible tube1003is not pinched when arrows1060and1061are aligned, refer toFIG. 24showing the inside of the pump with the cover and drive disk1008shown transparent. Here it can be seen that the rollers1010in this design are not distributed symmetrically about the drive disk1008. Instead, angle A is significantly larger than angle B such that in the position shown, none of the rollers1010pinch the tube substantially against pump wall1012causing the pinch point to seal. This means that at this spot in the rotation, the tube is open and free to act as a siphon. Since the angle is small where this condition is true, the brief disengagement of the pinch points will not affect pump performance greatly while cranking.

Although the present invention has been described herein by various embodiments, it is not to be so limited since changes and modifications can be made which are intended to be covered by the claims as hereinafter stated.