NZ240849A - Aquarium with three-chamber filtertank and pump. - Google Patents

Description

2408 4 Priority Date(s): Complete Specification Filed: Class: . fy.Q}K4e?>./ Pi-i-.

Publication Date: F£P, P.O. Journal, No: .. 3:^7171 Patents Form No. 5 -it DEC 1991 aSCEiv'SD NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION BUILT-UP AQUARIUM WE, KE-YO HSU, of No. 14, Lane 86, Ta Lung Road, Taichung, Taiwan, REPUBLIC OF CHINA and KUO-HSIUNG SHEN, of No. 559, Section 1, Chung Te Road, Taichung, Taiwan, REPUBLIC OF CHINA cxj<a -ttvft- £2e_p>i_ck=Uc_ hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: (followed by page 1a) OFt-iCfc 24 0 84 9 BUILT-UP AQUARIUM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to aquariums and relates more particularly to a built-up aquarium in which the filter tank can be conveniently washed and cleaned without detaching from the housing of the aquarium.

Description of the Prior Art In an aquarium, there is generally provided a filter device for filtering the water contained therein so as to minimize the frequency in changing the water. Fig. 1 illustrates an aquarium.constructed according to the prior art, in which the filter device is detachably fastened at the top and connected to a water pump which pumps water from the aquarium through the filter device for circulation. This filter device does not have any sedimentation chamber for collecting any solid particles removed from the water passing therethrough. Therefore, the filter bed or filter element in the filter device may be blocked easily affecting its performance. When the filter bed is blocked, the filter device must be removed from the aquarium and (followed by page 2)Y o c 15 DEC 1993r';; 24 0 84 9 dismantled for cleaning. Therefore, it is not easv to clean the filter device.

Further, in order to reduce space occupation during transportation or storage, a built-up structure is the common choice. According to conventional manufacturing processes, an aquarium is difficult to set up by a user or has to be set up by a professional person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been accomplished to eliminate the aforesaid problems. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a built-up aquarium which has a filter tank fastened therein for automatically circulating the water through a filter bed permitting the dirt from the filtration process to be discharged out of the aquarium without detaching any part of the aquarium. It is another object of the present invention to provide a built-up aquarium which can be conveniently detached for delivery or storage. //v x Z ' \ 5DECB93 w o' 2408 4 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be best understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a prior art aquarium; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a built-up aquarium embodying the present invention; Fig. 3 is a perspective assembly view of the built-up aquarium of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 illustrates an alternate form of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a top view of the built-up aquarium of Fig, 2; Fig. 6 is a plan side view of the built-up aquarium of Fig. 2 showing the flowing direction of the water in the aquarium during filtration process; Fig. 7 is another plan side view of the built-up aquarium of Fig. 2 showing that the water contained in the sedimentation chamber ia discharged through the pipe assembly; Fig. 8 is a plan side view of the built-up aquarium of Fig. 4 showing the flowing direction of the water in the aquarium during filtration process; and — 3 — 24 0 84 Fig. 9 is another plan side view of the built-up aquarium of Fig. 4 showing that the water contained in the sedimentation chamber is discharged through the pipe assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT aquarium as constructed in accordance with the present invention is generally comprised of a housing 10 for keeping live water animals and water plants, a filter tank 20 for filtering dirty water from said housing 10, and a pipe assembly 30 for guiding water from said housing 10 into said filter tank 20 and/or for discharging water out of said filter tank 20. The housing 10 is comprised of a base panel 11 transversely disposed at the bottom and four side panels 12, 13, 14, 15 vertically disposed at the four sides thereof. Each panel 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15 consists of a rectangular frame with a sheet of glass . fastened therein. The panels 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 each has a plurality of holes around the periphery of the rectangular frame thereof at equal intervals, and therefore, they can be connected into shape by screws 16 and nuts 17. During the assembly process of the Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, a built-up — 4- 24 0 8 housing 10, the gap between each two panels must be sealed with rubber packing or water seal (not shown) to prohibit water leakage. The base panel 11 further has two through-holes 111, 112 made thereon at suitable locations. One of the vertical panels, namely, the panel 13 al.so has a through-hole 131 made thereon at a suitable location.

The filter tank 20 is made from a hollow, rectangular, enclosed frame having an opening at the top. The height of the filter tank 20 is approximately equal to the height of the housing 10. A longer partition board 21 and a shorter partition board 22 are fastened in the filter tank 20 at two opposite ends in vertical direction to divide the holding space of the filter tank 20 into three chambers, namely, a dirty water chamber 23 at one end, a filtration chamber 24 at the middle and a clean water chamber 25 at an opposite end. The filtration chamber 24 defines therein a sedimentation chamber 29 at the bottom and has a filter bed transversely disposed above said sedimentation chamber 29, which filter bed consists of a filter gauze filter 27 and a pile of filter stones 28. The filter tank 20 further has three through-holes 231, 241, 242 at locations corresponding to the through-holes 111, 112, 131 on the housing 10, wherein the through-hole 231 is made on the g c DEC 1993 240 8 bottom edge of the dirty water chamber 23; the through-hole 241 is made on the bottom edge of the sedimentation chamber 29; the through-hole 242 is made on the side wall of the filter tank 20 corresponding to the sedimentation chamber 29. When the through-holes on the filter tank 20 are respectively aligned with the through-holes on the housing 10, pipe connectors 41 are respectively fastened therein and locked by lock nuts 44 with water sealing rings 42, 43 respectively retained therebetween to seal the gap, and therefore, the filter tank 20 firmly secured in the housing 10 at one side. The clean water chamber 25 has a water pump 26 fastened therein for pumping clean water from the clean water chamber 25 to the housing 10. The dirty water chamber 23 has a port 232 at a lower position disposed in communication with the housing 10.

The pipe assembly 30 is made from a three-way pipe having a first port connected to the pipe connector 41 on the through-holes 111, 231, a second port connected to the pipe connector 41 on the through-holes 112, 241, and a third port connected to a drain pipe 32. The pipe assembly 30 further comprises a first control valve 31 for controlling the passage way from the first port to the second port, and a second control valve 33 for controlling the passage way from the second port to the drain pipe 32. After the pipe assembly 30 has — 6 — 240 84 been connected to the two pipe connectors 41 on the bottom edge of the housing 10, the other pipe, connector 41 in the through-holes 131, 242 is sealed with a plug 45 (see Fig. 3) . outlet port of the water pump 26. Because the outlet port of the water pump 26 is disposed in horizontal direction, filling water from the clean water chamber 25 into the housing 10 will only cause the upper part of the water which is contained in the housing 10 to rotate moderately. Therefore, any sediments in the'housing 10 will not be stirred up during the filling of cleaning pump 26 is not in use, the water in the housing 10 and the water in the filter tank 20 are maintained at the same level (as shown in the real line in Fig. 6). When the water pump 26 is turned on, the water level in the filtration chamber 24 and the clean water chamber 25 drops (see the dotted line in Fig. 6). While clean v/ater is pumped from the clean water chamber 25 into the housing 10, the water which comes from the sedimentation chamber through the filter bed is induced to flow into the clean water chamber 2 5 so as to make up for the deficiency, and therefore, the water level in the filtration chamber 24 and the clean water chamber 25 Fig. 5 illustrates the arrangement of the water.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, when the water 7- 240849 remains unchanged. While clean water is pumped from the clean water chamber 25 into the housing 10, the water held in the dirty water chamber 23 will be induced to flow toward the sedimentation chamber 29 and then induced again to flow through the filter bed over the shorter partition board 22 toward the clean water chamber 25 for further circulation. During the water circulation process, dirt and solid particles in the dirty water chamber 23 will be carried by water to flow through the pipe assembly 30 to the sedimentation chamber 29. At the same time, dirt and solid particles in the housing 10 will be carried by water to flow through the port 232 into the dirty water chamber 23 for further circulation through the filtration chamber 24. Therefore, clean water is continuously filling into the housing 10 while dirty water is induced to flow out of the housing 10.

Referring to Fig. 7, the first control valve 31 of the pipe assembly 30 is closed-while the water pump 26 is stopped, and then, the second control valve 33 of the pipe assembly 30 is opened permitting dirty water to be discharged out of the sedimentation chamber 29 of the filter tank 20. Because the first control valve 31 is closed, the water contained in the housing 10 is stopped from flowing into the filtration chamber 24. When the water contained in the filtration chamber ^ t r,:' \ — f>— l\^ 1 crvPftao* ' a !;xt „M ^ \ 5DEC1993 J 24 0 84 9 24 is completely drained off, clean water from external water supply can be used to flush the filter bed 27-28.

If the pipe assembly 30 is not to be used or the rack for holding the aquarium has no opening for receiving the pipe assembly 30, an alternate measure may be taken. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the longer partition plate 21 has a water passage 211 between the dirty water chamber 23 and the filtration chamber 24 controlled by a sluice 212. Because the pipe assembly 30 is not used, the two pipe connectors 41 on the bottom edge of the housing 10 are respectively sealed by plugs 45, and the plug 45 on the other pipe connector 41 in the through-holes 131, 242 is removed therefrom with a valve 46 fastened therein for controlling its passage way. The operation of this alternate form of aquarium is outlined hereinafter with reference to Figs. 8 and 9. The sluice 212 is pulled up and secured in an opened position' to let water from the housing 10 pass through the water passage 211 for water circulation. When washing the filtration chamber 24, the water pump 26 is stopped while the sluice 212 is moved dowri to close the water passage 211, and then, the valve 46 is opened to let water discharge out of the sedimentation chamber 29.

As indicated, the water in the aquarium is continuously filtrated while it is pumped to circulate i/% a jixi "c\ \ft5DRB93'.< 2408 4 9 between the housing 10 and the filter tank 20. Further, the arrangement of the pipe assembly 30 and the design of the filter tank 20 make washing of the filter bed easv.

Claims (5)

.WHAT 17WE CLAIM IS>

1. An aquarium for keeping live water animals and water plants, comprising: a rectangular housing for keeping live water animals and water plants, said rectangular housing having a first through-hole and a second through-hole on the bottom thereof; rectangular housing for filtering the water contained therein, said rectangular filter tank having a first partition board .and a second partition board fastened therein at two opposite ends in vertical direction to divide the holding space therein into a dirty water chamber at one end, a filtration chamber at the middle and a clean water chamber at an opposite end, said first partition board being to stop water in said dirty water chamber from flowing to said filtration chamber and said clean water chamber, said second partition board permitting water from said filtration chamber to flow to said clean water chamber from the top, said filtration chamber defining therein a sedimentation chamber at the bottom and having a filter bed transversely set therein above said sedimentation chamber, said filter bed comprised of a filter" gauze filter and on the latter a pile of filter stones-, said dirty water chamber having a water intake port at a lower position for the passing therethrough of a rectangular filter tank fastened in said 11 — 24 0 84 9 water from said rectangular housing, a closeable connection means between said dirty water chamber and said sedimentation chamber, a closeable drainage means for draining said sedimentation chamber, and a water pump for pumping water from said clean water chamber to said rectangular housing; wherein the connection means is open when the water pump is turned on to pump water from the clean water chamber to the rectangular housing, permitting water to be filtered through the filter bed and circulated between the rectangular housing and the rectangular filter tank; the connection means is closed and the drainage means opened when the water pump is stopped, permitting water to be discharged out of the sedimentation chamber for washing the filter bed.

2. An aquarium according to claim 1 wherein said connection means comprises a through-hole on the bottom of the dirty water container connected to said first through-hole on said rectangular housing by a first pipe connector, a through-hole on the bottom of the sedimentation chamber connected to said second through-hole on said rectangular housing by a second pipe connector, and a pipe assembly made from a three-way pipe and connected to said rectangular housing at the outside, said pipe assembly having a first port connected to said first pipe connector through a first control valve, a second port connected to said second pipe connector, and a third port connected to a drain pipe through a second control valve; cV - 12 - 'v " 24 0 84 9 wherein said first control valve is opened and said second control valve is closed, when said water pump is turned on to pump water from said clean water chamber to said rectangular housing, permitting water to be filtered through said filter bed and circulated between said rectangular housing and said rectangular filter tank; said first control valve is closed and said second control valve is opened, when said water pump is stopped, permitting water to be discharged out of said sedimentation chamber for washing said filter bed.

3. The aquarium of either one of claims 1 or 2, wherein said rectangular housing is comprised of a base panel transversely disposed at the bottom and four side panels vertically connected to said base panel at the four sides thereof and rubber packings sealed in the connections, said base and side panels each being comprised of a rectangular frame with a sheet of glass fastened therein and having a plurality of holes around the periphery of the rectangular frame thereof for connecting to one another by screws and lock nuts.

4. The aquarium of claim 1, wherein the closeable connection means comprises a water passage at a lower part of the first partition board between the dirty water chamber and the sedimentation chamber controlled by a sluice; and the closeable drainage means comprises a through-hole on the 13 '■T \ 5DECV)93 ? 240849 sedimentation chamber connected to a third through-hole on the rectangular housing by a third pipe connector comprising a water valve for drainage control.

5. The aquarium as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 or Figures 4, 8 and 9. KE-YO HSU and KUO-HSIUNG SHEN B- By th4i/r attorneys BALDWIN, SON & CAREY - 14 - 15DECS993