Abstract:
A portable fluid transfer apparatus for handling volatile fuels or other chemicals comprises a jug-like container of a convenient volume having a removable cap that can be screwed or clamped onto the neck of the jug and mounted atop the cap is a manually operable rotary vane pump having a first inlet/outlet port disposed within the container when the cap is in place and a second inlet/outlet port external of the jug or container. An elongated, suction/discharge hose having a tether for anchoring the end of the hose in place is affixed to the second inlet/outlet. Manual actuation of the vane pump is then used to transfer a liquid from or into the portable container.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   I. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates generally to fluid transfer apparatus, and more particularly to a portable container for a liquid having a built-in, manual pump for transferring a liquid into or from the portable container. 
   II. Discussion of the Prior Art 
   There are many instances where a liquid must be dispensed from a first container to a second container rapidly and without any spillage. For example, in fueling an internal combustion engine, gasoline or diesel fuel must be carried in a portable container to the location of the engine fuel tank and the fuel poured from the transporting container into the fuel tank without spillage. This task becomes difficult where the entrance opening to the engine&#39;s fuel tank is relatively small in size or is at an angle to the horizontal or a difficult to reach location. In an attempt to address the small size issue, the prior art solution has generally been to utilize a funnel, but this solution has its drawbacks. Specifically, the rate at which the fuel can be poured from an auxiliary gas can into the engine&#39;s tank is limited by the build-up of a back pressure as the fuel displaces air in the engine&#39;s fuel tank. Air can only escape back up through the opening in the funnel which not only produces harmful fumes, but also possible splattering of the fuel being poured. 
   With volatile fuels, such as gasoline, a potential exists for explosion or fire if static electric charge is able to build up on one or the other of the container transporting the fuel and the tank into which the fuel is to be deposited. If the charge is sufficiently high, a spark can result that can ignite fumes resulting as the fuel is being poured into the engine&#39;s tank. 
   In agricultural applications, a farmer may have to deal with liquid fertilizers and herbicides, transferring the chemical from a container transported to the field and into the tank of an agricultural sprayer. Here again, as in the case of handling engine fuels, it is important that spillage be minimized or eliminated. Plumbers and building maintenance workers often face a need to pump liquids from toilets, plugged sinks into a container for later disposal. 
   It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to provide a safe, convenient and expeditious way of transferring a liquid from a first container into a second container that avoids the possibility of spillage and which minimizes fume escape and the possibility of fuel ignition due to static electricity discharges. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The instant invention comprises a fluid transfer apparatus that includes a jug-like container having a neck sealable by a cap member and a carrying handle. Affixed to the cap member is a rotary vane pump that has a first inlet/outlet port extending through the cap to an interior of the jug and a second inlet/outlet port exterior of the jug. A suction/discharge hose has a first end thereof connected to the second inlet/outlet port of the pump and a second end adapted for placement in a container for a liquid. A tether has one end thereof slidable along an exterior of the suction/discharge hose and a clamp member affixed to another end of the tether whereby the second end of the suction/discharge hose can be prevented from falling out of the container into or from which the liquid in the jug is to be transferred. Rotation of the vane pump in a first direction is effective to draw the liquid in the jug through the first inlet/outlet port and out the second inlet/outlet port and through the suction/discharge hose into the container or tank to be filled. By rotating the vane pump in the opposite direction, a liquid may be drawn from a supply container through the suction/discharge hose and the second inlet/outlet port and into the jug, via the first inlet/outlet port. The tether also serves to maintain the suction/discharge hose in the container to be filled or emptied at the same electrical potential such that static discharges are eliminated. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, especially when considered in conjunction of the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a fluid transfer apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 2  is a sectional view taken through a cap that is adapted to be removably secured to the spout of the jug shown in  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is illustrated by means of a perspective view a preferred embodiment of the fluid transfer apparatus of the present invention. It is indicated generally by numeral  10  and is seen to comprise a container  12 , preferably formed from a suitable plastic, such as polyethylene, in a roto-molding operation so as to have a wall thickness of about 1/16 th  inch and a length, width and depth dimension giving the container a capacity of approximately five U.S. gallons. It is to be understood that these dimensions are exemplary and should not be considered as limiting of the invention. An adult can readily carry the container filled with five gallons of most liquids. The container has a bottom  14  and four mutually perpendicular side walls  16 ,  18 ,  20  and  22  rising upwardly from the bottom  14  for a predetermined distance then sloping upwardly and inwardly as at  22 ,  24 ,  26  and  28  to form a neck or spout  30 . Formed integrally with the container or jug  12  is a carrying handle  32  by which a person may conveniently lift and carry the apparatus  10 . While a jug of rectangular cross-section is depicted in the drawings, the jug may just as well be round. 
   The neck  30  of the jug  12  has external threads formed thereon for mating with internal threads as at  34  ( FIG. 2 ) of a cap  36 . Rotatably mounted atop the cap  36  is a rotary vane pump, indicated generally by numeral  38 . The rotary vane pump is a commercially available item and it has a first inlet/outlet port  40  in which a flexible or rigid pipe or tube  41  is connected by screw threads. Pipe or tube  41  penetrates through a bore  50  formed in the top of the cap  36 . The flexible or rigid pipe  41  is long enough to reach the bottom  24  of the jug  12 . The pump has a second inlet/outlet port  42  to which is attached a hose adapter  44  for connecting a suction/discharge tube  46  thereto. A strain relief spring  48  surrounds the tube  46  to inhibit any tendency for kinking when tension forces are applied to the hose  46 . 
   Referring again to  FIG. 2 , the manner in which the rotary vane pump  38  is joined to the cap  36  will be described. The cap may be molded from the same material as is used in fabricating the container or jug  12  and the bore  50  is drilled (or otherwise formed during molding) that penetrates through the top of the cap. A counterbore  52  is formed inwardly of the inner top surface of the cap  36  for receiving a toroidal retainer or washer  54  therein. The washer  54  surrounds the tube  41  and is held in place in the counterbore  52  by a flat ground compression coil spring  53  that is held in place by the combination of a further washer  55  and a bolt  57  that extends diametrically through the pipe  41 . The bolt  57  serves to prevent the washer  55  from sliding down the pipe  41 . 
   The pipe  41  has external threads  56  proximate its upper end allowing it to be screwed into the flange  58  comprising a part of the pump housing. It will be seen that the coil spring  53  will urge the top surface of the cap  36  against the bottom of the flange  58  and will also urge the washer  52  tightly against the end  60  of the counterbore  52  to provide a liquid tight seal. A further O-ring  59  in the cap cooperates with the rim of the container&#39;s neck  30  to provide further sealing. 
   Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this method of joining the cap  36  to the pump  58  will permit the cap to be rotated while the pump is held stationary. Thus, the cap  36  can be screwed on and off the jug with one hand while holding the pump stationary with the other. 
   The vaned rotor of the pump  38  (not shown) has an output shaft  60  to which a crank arm  62  is affixed by a locking bolt  64 . Affixed to the crank arm  62  is a crank handle  66 . 
   A venting port  68  is formed in the hollow handle  32  and is in fluid communication with the interior of the container  12 . It is through this vent port  68  that air may enter and leave the jug or container  12  as a liquid is poured or pumped into the container and pumped out of the container. A plug  70  is provided for sealing the vent hole during long-term storage of the liquid within the container to block the escape of fumes or the like. 
   A tether strap  72  is wrapped about the outer diameter of the suction/discharge hose  46 . The loop  74  in the tether may slide along the suction/discharge tube  46  to a desired location. Affixed to the free end of the strap or tether  72  is a spring-biased clamp  76 . 
   OPERATION 
   In use, the container or jug  12  may be filled with a liquid to be dispensed. For the purposes of illustration only, the fluid transfer device  10  will be explained in the context of using it to fuel the gas tank of an internal combustion engine, such as on a racing vehicle. Once the container is filled at a bulk supply point, such as a gasoline station, by removing the cap  36  and its attached pump assembly  38  and inserting the nozzle of a fuel supply pump into the container, the cap  36  may be replaced such that the hose  41  will reach a location proximate the bottom  14  of the container. The filled container can be hand carried or transported on a suitable cart and ultimately moved to a point of use. The free end of the suction discharge hose  46  is then inserted into the fuel tank of the engine to be refueled and the clamp  76  is attached to a suitable anchor point as the hose  46  is pulled through the loop  74  and made to enter the tank to be filled. When properly adjusted, the open end of the hose is prevented from inadvertently being pulled out of the tank to be filled during the transfer operation. Any static electricity that may have built up on the assembly  10  becomes grounded via the tether and clamp to prevent any possible spark discharge. 
   Now, a person may transfer the fuel from the container  12  into the engine&#39;s fuel tank by rotating the crank  66  of the vane pump  38  in a first direction. A suction is created in the tube  41 , thus drawing fuel through that tube and into the bell housing of the pump  38  where it is ultimately forced out of the hose  46 . At this time, the vent port  68  of the container should be opened to permit entry of air into the jug  12  to replace the volume of liquid being extracted therefrom. 
   In certain applications it may be desirable to fill the container  12  from a vessel containing a liquid. Here again, the free end of the suction discharge hose  46  will be placed in the vessel to be emptied and the clamp  76  affixed to the vessel to prevent the tube  46  from accidentally being pulled out of the supply vessel. If the vessel to be emptied does not have a convenient point on which to clamp the tether, the clamp  76  can be used to hold a weight that can be placed in the vessel to prevent the hose  46  from falling out of the vessel. The crank  66  will then be rotated in an opposite direction from that which is used when discharging liquid from the container  12 . This will create a suction force in the tube  46  and will draw the liquid from the supply vessel, through the pump  38  and into the jug  12 , via the suction/discharge port  40  and the hose  41 . 
   It can be seen, then, that there is provided a small, lightweight, portable pump and an associated container capable of transferring liquids in either direction, from or into the container. By adapting the pump to the container&#39;s cap or lid that is used to seal the container allows the pump to be utilized with any jug or container to which the cap may be affixed. This obviates the need to have a rotary vane pump for each container or jug. While in the preferred embodiment, the cap and neck are threaded to allow the cap to be screwed onto the neck of the jug, other ways of securing the cap to the jug can be devised. 
   The bi-directional pump allows the user to draw a liquid from a bulk container into the portable container or jug and then easily transport the portable unit to another location for redistribution of the contents. 
   Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the internal draw tube  41  and the external suction discharge hose  46  can have their length tailored to suit a variety of applications. 
   Because the suction discharge hose  46  will be anchored by the tether strap  72  in place within a container to be emptied or filled, there is no opportunity for spillage to occur as the liquid transfer operation takes place through rotation of the crank handle. Not only are spills avoided but fumes from volatile liquids are inhibited from escaping. 
   This invention has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required. However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different equipment and devices, and that various modifications, both as to the equipment and operating procedures, can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself