WO1993009666A1

WO1993009666A1 - Aquarium accessory

Info

Publication number: WO1993009666A1
Application number: PCT/US1992/009690
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Hartley
Original assignee: David Hartley
Priority date: 1991-11-14
Filing date: 1992-11-10
Publication date: 1993-05-27
Also published as: AU3177293A

Abstract

A 'fish tunnel' accessory for ornamental aquariums is made up of a 'C' shaped tunnel (10) through which fish swim and one or more supports (13) which position the major portion of the tunnel (10) above the water level of one or more aquarium(s). A small portion of the tunnel down legs are in the water. The support (13) can have a fixed or variable size and edges which are partially recessed to form an upper extension (46) which lays on the aquarium(s) top(s) and a lower shoulder (47) which prevents lateral movement of the fish tunnel.

Description

AQUARIUM ACCESSORY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Accessories for fish tanks or aquariums come in many forms. The accessory of this invention is a "tunnel" or "bridge" which is separate from the aquarium and permits the fish to swim within the accessory but outside the confines of the tank(s) or aquarium(s) . "Tunnels" or "bridges" for fish come in two general forms. The first is integrated with the fish bowl. The second is made up of separate parts. The patents teaching the integrated systems are: U.S. Patent 2,646,021 issued to E. A. Rice which teaches a unitized tunnel/fish bowl which has a general shape of a basket wherein the handle is the tunnel. U.S. Patent 2,512,678 issued to E. A. Rice teaches a variation on the same theme wherein a fish bowl in the form of a large snifter has the tunnel ends fused into holes in the sides of the snifter. DES. 160,125, also to E. A. Rice, is designed to sit against a wall. Once side of the snifter and handle is flat. There have been a variety of approaches to the design of fish tunnels with multiple parts. For example, U.S. Patent 192,595 issued to Matthew Palen et al teach two designs. The first has a tunnel posi- tioned over two fish bowls or pans. The tunnel is supported by a central vertical support attached to each of the bowls or pans and laterally positioned strips attached to the tops of the sides of the bowl or pan and to the sides of the tunnel. Water is drawn up into the tunnel by use of a vacuum pump. The second device taught is a combination of a fish tank/tunnel and a bird cage. The bird cage has an aquarium cover with a central opening for the bird to exit. A bell jar with a diameter substanti- ally greater than that of the opening is concentrically positioned around the opening and on a support within the aquarium water. A second bell jar of a diameter substantially greater than the first bell jar comprises the "tunnel". These jar supports are apparently within the aquarium water and appear to be made up of strips connected to the sides of the central opening and the outer side of the aquarium. The arrangement enables the bird to go up into the inner bell jar from a position within the bird cage while surrounded by fish swimming in the water within the outer bell jar. U.S. 1,576,462 issued to H. A. Polzin is a double tank tunnel/sup- port combination. The "tunnel" is made up of two "U's" with legs of unequal length joined by a horizontal section connected to each of the longer legs of the "U's". The ends of shorter legs are positioned within the water. The fish can swim both above and below the water level of the two tanks using this arrangement. The tunnel is supported by split rings which are bolted to horizontally extending rods. The rods have balls at their outer ends which prevent the "bridge" from slipping laterally. U.S. 1,943,417 issued to G. W. Bringman teaches a bell jar shaped tunnel for a fish tank where the jar has two flattened transparent sides and, from its apex, a support for a curved metal baffle hangs. Mechanisms are provided for the adjustment of the height of the "tunnel" from above to within the tank. 1 U.S. 2,059,927 issued to O.G. Peck teaches a simplified tunnel

2 positioned between two tanks. The inner sides of the tunnel has

3 projections which rest on the sides of the tanks. With multiple

^•* projections, the tunnel can be positioned with the tanks at different

~ distances apart.

6 U.S. 3,991,715 issued to J. W. Gibson Jr. teaches a tunnel

' which rests on a saddle which can rest on rods or the sides of two

° tanks.

° A problem which exists in the designs of the prior art lies in

10 the fact that the more active fish can jump out of the tank. Modern,

^•*^•■•^• upscale tanks are usually fabricated with a cover where an unhinged

-~ or separate part of the cover can be raised or moved to feed the fish

-~ but, when in place, prevents the fish from leaping out of the tank.

^■■-^*+ The device of the present invention provides a mechanism for the

^■*^•--^■ placement of a tunnel over and in one or more fish tanks while pro-

^•*^■" viding the necessary closure for the tank. 17

18 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

19 Figures 1 and 2 depict tunnels for use with a single fish tank.

20 Figure 3 depicts a support for use with a variety of sizes of

21 tunnels.

22 Figure 4 depicts a tunnel device for use with two fish tanks.

23 Figure 5 depicts a preferred edge of the support/base and feeder

24 opening cover of Figures 1 and 2.

*^•■■■> Figure 6 depicts positioning projections on a tunnel down leg.

26 Figure 7 depicts a variable length support/base for use with two

²⁷ fish tanks.

28 Figure 8 shows a cap for a fish feeder port. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 depicts a squared off "C" shaped tubing made up of three elements. These are an upper section 11, and two down legs 12. The tubing is attached to support 13. Support 13 has a feeding port 14 with a cover 15 and a handle 16. Upper section 11 and down legs 12 are joined by solvent welding or dielectric heating fusion. Projec- tion 17 is attached to the down legs 12 by solvent welding, dielectric heating fusion or frictional contact. The down legs 12 pass through holes 19 in support 13. For ease of use of filling or cleaning, a threaded plug 20 is screwed into hole 21 in the upper section 11. Projections 17 ensure that the tubing and support 13 are properly positioned during assembly. Cup plugs 22 are joined by a cord 23. Prior to use, plug 20 is tightly screwed into hole 21 and the tunnel is completely filled with water while turned upside down. Cup plugs 22 are then slipped over the ends of down legs 12 and the unit is turned upright, placed in the fish tank, and the plugs 22 removed. Air pressure on the surface of the water in the fish tank ensures that the water does not flow out of the tunnel. In the embodiment of Figure 2, the squared off "C"-shaped tube 25, threaded plug 27 and cups 28 are all hexagonal for design purposes. Further, there is no mechanism for specifically positioning the "C" tube 25 during assembly. Figure 3 - A variable length support/base 29 is made up of a central section 30 with a feeding port 31 and longitudinal extensions 32 positioned above surface 33. Extensions 32 fit into channels 34 in end sections 35. Projections 36, which extend inwardly beyond the edges of extensions 32 and bottom supports 37 combine with "T" shaped extensions 38 to ensure that extensions 32 do not slide out of I channels 34. Holes 39 are provided for round tubing, e.g., the tubing

2 41 of Figure 4. Figure 4 depicts a "C"-shaped, round tubing 41 which has been solvent welded to two supports 42. Cup plugs 43 are utilized to cover

5 the end of the tubing after it is filled with water so that it can be 5 inserted into two fish tanks. After positioning in the fish tanks,

7 the cup plugs 43 are removed.

8 Figure 5 depicts a portion of a preferred embodiment of a sup- port 45. It has an upper extension 46 and shoulder 47 where the support

10 is intended to contact the top and sides of a fish tank so that the

H support rests on top of the tank edge and cannot slip laterally due to

12 the shoulder resting below the tank's upper edge.

13 Figure 6 depicts a tubing down leg 48 with two clear plastic positioning darts 49 which have been solvent welded to its side. The

15 darts 49 assist an assembler to correctly position a support on the 1 down leg 48.

17 Figure 7 depicts a support 51 which is used in embodiments of the

18 general configuration of Figure 3 where it is desired to enclose the

19 entire tank opening. It differs from the configuration in that it

20 lacks one of the holes 52 into which a down leg (not shown) fits.

21 Figure 8 is a side view of a cap 55 for closing one of the holes

22 39 in support/base 29 of the embodiment of Figure 3 where it is to be

23 used as an alternative to the device of Figure 7.

24

25 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

26 The aquariums with which the instant invention is used are the

27 ornamental type normally seen in homes, offices and hotels, etc. They

28 are not intended to include large aquariums such as those used with

29 pinnipeds or cetaceans. Modern aquariums come in many shapes ranging from squares and

2 rectangles to octagonals and circles. The cross section of the -> transparent tubing can be the same as the upper surface of the

_Λ aquarium or any other desired shape. The tubing itself can range from a square "C", to a rounded "C" to even a configuration such as g that found in U.S. 1,576,462. The size of the tubing will be,

7 generally, aesthetically related to the size of the aquarium and will g have the configuration of one or more aquariums with which the tubing

9 is used.

10 Most upscale fish tanks have a "permanent" partial closure which has, on its under surface, a fluorescent or other light and one or 2 more sensors, e.g., a temperature sensor. Air pumps, etc., may also 3 be attached to this permanent cover. The remaining portion of the cover, sometimes hinged, is rotated upwardly or rearwardly to assist in feeding the fish or cleaning the aquarium. Sometimes, the cover will 5 have an opening to be used for this purpose and a cap for the opening. 7 The aquarium covers normally rest on the upper edge of the aquarium 3 and have a flange depending from the outer edge which closely encir- 9 cles the outer edge of the aquarium. 0 The support of the instant invention is usually the nonpermanent, i partial cover that is removed periodically for cleaning the tank, 2 feeding the fish, etc., although it can be made in the form which 3 includes the function of the more permanent portion of the tank 4 cover. The edges of the supports are preferably continuous where 5 they contact the tops of the sides of the aquarium. However, they 6 can be discontinuous and can be in contact with only small portions 7 of the tops. The depending shoulders are also preferably continuous 8 but need contact and be proximate to only as much of only one or both 9 of the upper edge inner surfaces of the sides of the aquarium as is necessary to prevent the support(s) (cover) from sliding laterally over the upper surface of the aquarium so that the more active fish can jump out of the tank and/or allow the cover to slip completely off of the aquarium. One preferred embodiment of a cap of this invention utilizes two sheets of acrylic, or other transparent plastic, as indicated in Figure 8. A slightly smaller one then serves as a shoulder. More preferably, one sheet of plastic will have a depression in the lower portion of the outer edge forming a shoulder against which the upper inner surface of the sides of the feeding port or holes for the down legs abut. Alternately, a slot can be cut into the bottom surface of the cover which is sized to provide "shoulders" which abut both sides of the top of the aquarium. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the support is attached to the tubing without the presence of positioning mechanisms. However, positioning mechanisms can be utilized and, as indicated by the figures, can be continuous or discontinuous.

Claims

CLAIMS Claim 1. In an aquarium accessory made up of a fish tunnel and support for the fish tunnel, the improvement comprising at least one support, of predetermined size and shape, with edges for covering at least a substantial portion of at least one aquarium of predetermined size and shape and for resting on at least the upper surfaces of two sides of the aquarium and the support having: a) at least one hole per at least one support through which a down leg of the fish tunnel extends; and b) a substantial portion of the edges of the support being extension means for resting on at least a substantial portion of an upper suface of at least two sides of the aquarium and shoulder means of predetermined size and shape for resting in close proximity to the said upper surfaces of the aquarium for preventing substantially lateral movement of the accessory with respect to the aquarium. Claim 2. The accessory of Claim 1 wherein the accessory has multiple support means resting on at least two upper surfaces of at least two aquariums. Claim 3. The accessory of Claim 1 wherein the support includes means for varying the size of the support. Claim 4. The accessory of Claim 1 wherein the support is multi- layered. Claim 5. The accessory of Claim 1 wherein the support is a single layer. Claim 6. The accessory of Claim 1 wherein the shoulder is posi- tioned to contact the upper inner surface of the at least one aquarium proximate to its top. A "fish tunnel" accessory for ornamental aquariums is made up of a "C" shaped tunnel through which fish swim and one or more supports which position the major portion of the tunnel above the water level of one or more aquarium(s). A small portion of the tunnel down legs are in the water. The support can have a fixed or variable size and edges which are partially recessed to form an upper extension which lays on the aquarium(s) top(s) and a lower shoulder which prevents lateral movement of the fish tunnel.