Patent Abstract:
A kit for cleaning clogged conduits and thruhole fitting valves in water intake systems of pleasure boats, fishing boats and yacht marine craft includes a hollow, substantially cylindrical male hose coupler connected to a nipple or elbow joined with the valve, and an open-end cap having a flexible, resilient press-fitted inner gasket configured with a central orifice to receive a shaft of larger diameter able to be force-fitted through the cap, the coupler and the valve when opened, and of a strength sufficient to force-free any matter clogging the input hose to the valve from acceptable performance usage.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    NONE 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program. 
       REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
       [0003]    NOT APPLICABLE 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    This invention relates to pleasure boat, fishing boat and yacht marine craft, in general, and to onboard systems employed for cooling their engines and for operating their onboard toilets and refrigerators, in particular. 
         [0006]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0007]    As will be understood, rivers, large lakes and open waters where these craft may travel typically contain natural weed growth, algae, leaves and like accumulations—as well as unnatural debris such as plastic bags, cloth rags, paper products, etc. Although attempts are taken to prevent the entry of all these materials into the intake conduits of the craft to prevent them from fouling pumps and filters, oftentimes, the thruhole fittings become clogged. On such occasions, it is not unusual for an occupant of the vessel to enter the water himself/herself to try to unclog the water intake conduit by hand. When no one on the craft is willing to enter the water where, for example, extensive weed growth is present, the solution is to call for a tow to bring the craft to a service area where an experienced technician would attempt to clear the fitting. On the other hand, where the clogging takes place while the craft is in the bay or on the sea, almost no one is ever willing to go into the very deep water to try to clear the fitting from below; there, the call for assistance is almost always made. This is especially the situation where the water intake conduit becomes clogged by barnacles which grow inside the conduit. 
         [0008]    In all these situations of clogging, depending on the conditions, the marine engine shuts off, the onboard toilet does not flush or the refrigerator stops working. In each instance, it becomes necessary to manually clear the intake conduit, and from outside the craft. 
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a new and improved manner of clearing a clogged thruhole fitting regardless of the cause of its blockage. 
         [0010]    It is an object of the present invention, also, to provide apparatus to enable the clearing to be accomplished from inside the craft, without having to enter the water. 
         [0011]    It is an object of the present invention, furthermore, to provide an apparatus to enable the clearing to take place in substantially the same manner, utilizing the same type of operation, for a variety of water intake conduits, realizing that some of the conduits may be of different diameters to satisfy a variety of onboard uses on the craft. 
         [0012]    It is an object of the present invention, additionally, to allow these clearings of clogged intake conduits to be had without any need for retrofitting an existing craft design—as would be needed in those manufactures, for example, which recommend the use of a compressed air utilization to clear clogged filters employed to prevent coarse material entry to begin with. 
         [0013]    As will be appreciated, satisfying these objectives enables the marine craft to continue on its way, without the need for any occupant entering the water, without any need for seeking assistance to tow the craft to a staging area for service to be addressed, and without any need for redesigning or altering the existing craft structure. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    As will become clear from the following description, the present invention attains all these objectives through the use of a male hose coupler, having an open-end cap with an inner gasket having central orifice of predescribed diameter through which a shaft is force-fitted to extend beyond the thruhole fitting valve into the water, yet with the gasket being flexible and resilient to accept manual rotation of the shaft through the orifice and about the gasket by way of an included handle in substantially 360° rotation to force-free the valve of any clogging material. As will be described, the hose coupler joins with the nipple or elbow coupled to the valve, from which the hose to the pump is first disconnected from the nipple or elbow with the valve closed—the valve being once again opened when the hose coupler and shaft are in place. As will also become apparent, these objectives are satisfied with the described kit of the invention serving as a separate, stored article of repair aboard the boat or marine craft until its component parts are needed to clean the clogging of the thruhole fitting valve. 
         [0015]    In a preferred embodiment, a hollow, substantially cylindrical male hose coupler is employed having four outwardly extending flanges of progressively smaller diameter in linear progression from the first, or, cap end to a second, opposite end in allowing the use of the invention with up to four nipple or elbow hose connections as may be present in service with different sized pumps aboard the boat or marine craft. Such male hose coupler will be seen to have external threads at the first end, to which the open-end cap secures through its construction of internal threads to receive the coupler. As will be appreciated, a one, two or three flange hose coupler could instead be employed for boats or craft where a lesser number of pump interconnections are present. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    These and other features of the present invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0017]      FIGS. 1   a ,  1   b  and  1   c  are illustrations of typical prior art components found in water intake systems of pleasure boats, fishing boats and yacht marine craft—of a thruhole fitting valve, a nipple coupler and an elbow coupler, respectively; 
           [0018]      FIGS. 2   a ,  2   b ,  2   c ,  2   d ,  2   e  and  2   f  are illustrations of component parts of a prior art male hose coupler useful in the attainment of the objectives of the present invention; and 
           [0019]      FIGS. 3   a ,  3   b ,  3   c  and  3   d  are illustrations of the shaft and gasket interrelationships helpful in understanding the teachings of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates a storage compartment for the component parts employed to clear a valve blockage; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  illustrates a manner of assembling the component parts for use. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    The prior art nipple coupler (or “nipple”)  10  of  FIG. 1   b  includes external threads  12  at its lower end  14  to connect with the internal threads  16  of the prior art thruhole fitting valve  18  of  FIG. 1   a . A handle  20  serves to open the valve  18  when rotated vertically and serves to close the valve  18  when rotated to a horizontal position. In use, a plastic or rubber hose (not shown) couples over the upper end  22  of the nipple  10  to connect the valve  18  with a pump (not shown) to provide marine water to cool the boat or yacht&#39;s engine, or to operate the onboard toilets and refrigerators. A clamp (also not shown) typically is used to secure that hose at the upper end  22  of the nipple  10 . An orifice is provided in the bottom of the valve  18  to receive another hose serving as a conduit for the river, lake or open waters to be drawn in and utilized in these manners when the valve is opened and the pump turned “on”. 
         [0023]    In those instances where insufficient room exists on the craft to run a hose vertically from the upper end  22  of the nipple  10  to the pump, the elbow  24  of  FIG. 1   c  is employed instead. There, the external threads  26  of the elbow at its one end  28  connect with the internal threads  16  of the thruhole fitting valve  18  and the hose to the pump couples over in similar manner to its right angle-bent end  30 . A clamp (similarly not shown) secures the hose at the elbow end  28  in its path to the pump. 
         [0024]      FIG. 2   a  illustrates a hollow, substantially cylindrical prior art male hose coupler  32  having external threads  34  at an upper end  36 . A pair of outwardly extending flanges  38 ,  40  of progressively smaller diameter extend linearly from the upper end  36  of the coupler  32  to an opposite second, or lower end  42 . An open end cap  44  ( FIG. 2   b ) is provided with internal threads  48  to secure the cap  44  with the upper end  36  of the coupler  32 . As will be appreciated, in its usage as a coupler, a first hose (not shown) is clamped about an input port  50  of the cap  44 , and a further hose is clamped to either of the flanges  38  and  40  in forming a water conduit. The lower end  42  of the male hose coupler  32  then serves as its output port  43 . 
         [0025]    Additionally, and in a typical construction, a coupler extension  52  is available for insertion at the upper end  36  of the coupler  32  to protrude beyond the coupler&#39;s lower end  42  ( FIG. 2   c ). In such manner, two additional outwardly extending flanges  54 ,  56  are so provided, as to allow the clamping of ever smaller diameter hoses on to the coupler. The extender  52  includes a pair of washers  58 ,  60  within walled channels  62 ,  64  in providing a water sealant in the coupling which follows.  FIG. 2   d  shows the coupler extension being inserted, with  FIG. 2   e  showing the result with the full insertion and with the open-end cap  44  secured&#39;“on”. 
         [0026]    In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a kit is provided which includes, as an example, this prior art coupler  32 , the coupler extension  52  with its washers  58 ,  60 , the open-end cap  44 , and four hoses, each having an inner diameter to fit around and over the input port  50  of the cap  44 , and the others having inner diameter hoses to fit over the appropriate flange  38 ,  40  of the coupler  32  or of the flange  54 ,  56  of the extension  52 . Such hoses may be of a plastic or rubber composition. A pair of clamps as in  FIG. 2   f  are also included in the kit, of any appropriate construction—one ( 90 ) to be positioned near where the hose (a portion shown at  92 ) is to overlap a flange (as shown) and the other ( 94 ) where it is to secure to either the upper end  22  of the nipple  10  or the right angle bent end  30  of the elbow  24  (as at  96 ). 
         [0027]    As will become clear from the following description, the kit is included within a package to be stored aboard the pleasure boat, fishing boat or yacht, awaiting time for its need in clearing the valve when it becomes clogged with natural weed growth, algae, leaf and like accumulations—as well as such unnatural debris as plastic bags, cloth, rags and paper products when traveling through rivers, large lakes and open waters. In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, the open-end cap  44  of  FIG. 2   b  is modified to include a flexible gasket  66  ( FIG. 3   a ) preferably of a neoprene rubber composition press-fitted within the cap between side surfaces  68 ,  70 . Additionally, a substantially central orifice  72  is provided in the gasket  66 . To finalize the construction, the kit of the invention also includes a shaft  74  ( FIG. 3   b ) of a diameter greater than that of the orifice  72  but able to be force fitted through the orifice. Such shaft  74 , additionally, is of a length to extend through the open-end cap  44  through its input port  50 , through the hose coupler  32 , through the hose secured at its lower end  42  and through the nipple  10  or elbow  24 , through the valve  18  in this manner, with the shaft being of a composition sufficiently strong to force-free the valve  18  of any matter clogging it. The shaft then becomes effective to clear whatever clogging exists in the valve  18  from inside the boat or craft, without requiring anyone to leave the vessel and enter the water.  FIG. 4  illustrates a schematic arrangement of how the kit of the invention can be taken from storage for use in attaining this objective. Rotating the shaft  74  will be understood to free the clogging of the valve. 
         [0028]    As more particularly shown in  FIGS. 3   b  and  3   c , to optimize this, the shaft  74  is provided with a slanted groove cut-out  76  at a lower end  78  and a handle  80  at an upper end  82 . Such slotted cut-out  76  facilitates the use of the shaft in additionally clearing barnacles that may form in the hose coupling the marine water to the valve  18 , while the handle  80  is of a substantially circular knob configuration  84  with a flat portion  86  in alignment with the cut-out  76  so as to assist a user in determining the orientation of the shaft at any time in clearing barnacles from the sides of the input hose ( FIG. 3   d ). In this embodiment, the gasket  66  is selected of a resilience to accept the manual rotation of the shaft  74  in and about the orifice  72  in the force-freeing of the valve in a substantial 360° plane of orientation from side-to-side and front-to-back. 
         [0029]    In use of the invention, while everything is operating normally aboard the boat or craft, the kit of the invention is included in a storage compartment  90  ( FIG. 4 ). Once it is determined that a clog exists, the hose connected to the engine, toilet, refrigerator, etc. is released from the upper end  22  of the nipple or from the right-angle bend end  30  of the elbow where it is connected. The components of the kit are then set up for assembly, as shown in  FIG. 5 , one of the provided hoses is fitted and secured over the appropriate flange  38 ,  40 ,  54  or  56  depending upon the diameter of the nipple end  22  or elbow end  30 , and then clamped into securement. The shaft  74  is then force-fit through the gasket orifice  72  and the handle  80  grasped, pushed and rotated in a circular plane through the coupler, the extension and through the valve to clear whatever clogging is present. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, however, before disconnecting the pump hose from the nipple or elbow, and connecting the assembled components of the invention, the handle  20  of the thruhole fitting valve  18  is first rotated to the horizontal position to close the valve—and once everything is in place for the shaft  74  to be inserted, the handle  20  is rotated to the vertical position for opening the valve  18  so the shaft can be pushed through the valve  18  to clear the blockage. Once it is determined that the clogging has been cleared, the shaft can be withdrawn, the valve  18  closed by rotating the handle  20  back to its horizontal position, the coupler  32 , and its connecting hose removed from the nipple or elbow, and the hose from the pump then reconnected. The component parts of the kit are then broken down for placement back into the compartment  90  for use at a later time, when needed again. 
         [0030]    While there has been described what is considered to be a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the teachings herein. Thus, for example, where a preferred embodiment may employ a pair of clamps at each end of the provided hose in securing the coupler to the nipple or elbow, the teachings of the invention would apply where only one such hose clamp is utilized. Similarly, while the use of the coupler extension  52  facilitates use of the invention for four different sized nipples or elbows, the operation of the invention will be seen to follow equally as well where the coupler extension  52  is not needed, and only nipples or elbows of two diameter selections are involved. In such instance, the kit of the invention need only include two, instead of four, provided hoses. For at least such reasons, therefore, resort should be had to the claims appended hereto for a true understanding of the scope of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8