WO2013121198A2 - An aquarium or a vivarium - Google Patents
An aquarium or a vivarium Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2013121198A2 WO2013121198A2 PCT/GB2013/050343 GB2013050343W WO2013121198A2 WO 2013121198 A2 WO2013121198 A2 WO 2013121198A2 GB 2013050343 W GB2013050343 W GB 2013050343W WO 2013121198 A2 WO2013121198 A2 WO 2013121198A2
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- aquarium
- layer
- woven material
- enclosure
- vivarium
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01K—ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; CARE OF BIRDS, FISHES, INSECTS; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
- A01K63/00—Receptacles for live fish, e.g. aquaria; Terraria
- A01K63/003—Aquaria; Terraria
Definitions
- the invention relates to an aquarium or a vivarium
- the invention provides in at least one embodiment an improved configuration to better withstand the stresses and strains which aquaria are subjected to.
- JPD8191644 discloses an aquarium comprising transparent resin boards having randomly oriented glass and acrylic fibres
- JP081 9938 discloses a water tank made of transparent acrylic resin boards with a reinforced frame.
- US2008/053376 olsdoses an aquarium or tank which is made of Plexiglas, fibreglass, or mads of some other opaque material other than glass, or where such a tank is a combination of glass, and one or more other opaque or non-opaque materials.
- FR2437782 discloses an aquarium having a body of expanded PVC with other plasti fittings.
- the invention provides an aquarium or a vivarium comprising an enclosure formed primarily of plastics material; wherein at least a portion of said enclosure is transparent and wherein at least a portion of said enclosure incorporates a layer of woven material which is embedded in said plastics material.
- plastics material is substantially of acrylic and said woven material is permeable to said plastics material. This allows the woven material layer to be fully embedded in a portion of the enclosure, It allows for example in at least one embodiment a portion of the enclosure to comprise acrylic on both sides of the woven material so that only a surface of acrylic is exposed to the aquatic environment.
- the enclosure incorporates an upper portion with an aperture; the layer of woven material being provided in at least said portion. This allows the advantages of the reinforced portion to be present particularly around the aperture which is potentially prone to higher stress and strain concentrations.
- the enclosure comprises a plurality of substantially upright portions; at least one of said upright portions incorporating the layer of woven material whilst the remaining upright portions are substantially transparent and incorporate no such layer. This allows the upright portions to be reinforced at least in part in order to allow the enclosure to withstand greater stresses and strains.
- the enclosure incorporates a first substantially C-shaped member forming an upper portion, an upright portion and a base portion of said enclosure; and a second substantially C-shaped member forming three consecutive upright portions.
- This configuration is particularly advantageous as it minimises the number of individual components required whilst allowing these to be reinforced.
- the layer of woven material is provided in at least part of the first substantially C-shaped member. This configuration allows the enclosure to be strengthened in at least one dimension.
- a rounded edge portion is provided between at least two of the portions of the first substantially C-shaped member and the layer of woven material is provided in at least the rounded edge portion.
- the layer of woven material is a textile. This choice of material is particularly advantageous because it allows advantageous permeability to be achieved whilst contributing to the properties of reinforcement.
- said layer of woven material incorporates carbon and/or glass fibres and said plastics material acts as a resin. This configuration is particularly advantageous since it provides an even greater reinforcement characteristic whilst the fibres are fully shielded from the aquatic environment.
- the enclosure is substantially a parallelepiped shape which incorporates a transparent front face and a transparent rear face; and wherein the side, upper and base walls incorporate a layer of woven material.
- the layer of woven material is formed from a single strip of woven material extending around the entire perimeter of said enclosure.
- the layer of woven material is conductive.
- the layer of woven material is resistant to temperatures in the range of 120 to 160 degrees Celsius.
- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an aquarium generally referenced 1.
- the aquarium incorporates an upper portion with an aperture 2 which facilitates access to the inner portions of the aquarium.
- a layer of woven material 3 is provided in the upper portion 4, upright portion 5 and base portion 6, View A is a magnified view of a portion of the upright portion 5 which shows the woven configuration of the layer,
- the layer of woven material 3 is fully embedded in acrylic material or other suitable plastics material so that both the upper and lower exposed surfaces of a portion of the enclosure is of acrylic material in order to facilitate effective cleaning of the enclosure.
- the layer of woven material is provided in a first C-shaped member formed by portions 4, 5 and 6.
- the second G-shaped member is of transparent material and is formed by portions 7, 8 and 9.
- the various portions are separated by rounded edges such as edge 10.
- the woven material layer may also be preferably provided in the rounded edge portion 10.
- a number of particularly advantageous woven materials are envisaged such as a textile (in particular a silk or a polyester), carbon and/or glass fibres.
- the woven material is resistant to temperature in the region of 140 degrees Celsius.
- the woven material is resistant to temperature in the range of 20 to 80 degrees Celsius,
- said woven material may consist of a strip of electrically conductive woven material, whereby electricity may be conducted through said layer as appropriate; thereby providing extra structural strength with the ability to conduct electricity which may be used for lighting and/or heating the aquarium.
- FIG. 2 shows a further aquarium of known shape which is now equipped with the advantageous layer of woven material embedded in the side wall of the aquarium.
- the aquarium in question comprises an enclosure entirely of plastics material, preferably of acrylic.
- Aquarium 1 1 comprises a dear front face 12 and a dear rear face 3,
- the side wails are also of acrylic material which in the prior art are simply opaque incorporating a dye of a particular colour, instead of or in addition to the provision of a dye in the side walls a layer of woven material is embedded as shown in the magnified view S of side wall 14,
- the woven material may be a single piece extending from the base portion 15 through the corner portion 16.
- the invention also covers within its scope the provision of multiple layers in parallel or in series within the wall of the aquarium.
- the invention envisages the provision of potentially electrically conductive woven material in order to conduct electricity from a first point in the aquarium to a second point. This may be used to power lighting, heating, a
- loudspeaker for sound effects and any other powered component of an aquarium such as a filtration system
- Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of rounded corner portion 13,
- the layer of woven material 20 is embedded in plastics material provided on both sides of layer 20. Due to the inherent porosity between woven strands of material, the plastics material such as acrylic will flow through the woven material at least in part in order to avoid the formation of a boundary between the woven material and the acrylic. As illustrated by crack 21 , the propagation of the crack would be limited due to the pres n e of the woven material,
Abstract
An aquarium or a vivarium comprises an enclosure formed primarily of plastics material; wherein at. least, a portion of a wall of said enclosure is transparent and wherein at least a portion of a wall of said enclosure incorporates a layer of woven material which is embedded in said plastics material.
Description
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The invention relates to an aquarium or a vivarium,
In recent years with the use of plastics material for the enclosures of self-standing aquaria or vivaria increasingly complex shapes are being used in their construction. Whilst these are pleasing to the eye, these may have areas of excessive stress and strain. These may be substantially reduced by accurate assembly and selecting appropriate dimensions for the individual components which interact with one another to form the enclosures. The invention provides in at least one embodiment an improved configuration to better withstand the stresses and strains which aquaria are subjected to.
The closest prior art embodiments are the applicants own aquaria and vivaria which are made of walls incorporating a single layer of plastics material. Nevertheless, the following further prior art documents are acknowledged:
JPD8191644 discloses an aquarium comprising transparent resin boards having randomly oriented glass and acrylic fibres,
JP081 9938 discloses a water tank made of transparent acrylic resin boards with a reinforced frame.
US2008/053376 olsdoses an aquarium or tank which is made of Plexiglas, fibreglass, or mads of some other opaque material other than glass, or where such a tank is a combination of glass, and one or more other opaque or non-opaque materials.
FR2437782 discloses an aquarium having a body of expanded PVC with other plasti fittings.
None of the prior art documents identified addresses the problems which the invention tackles - let alone are the solutions proposed by the applicant envisaged. Summary ofjhejnvgj ttoa
In a first broad independent aspect the invention provides an aquarium or a vivarium comprising an enclosure formed primarily of plastics material; wherein at least a portion of said enclosure is transparent and wherein at least a portion of said enclosure incorporates a layer of woven material which is embedded in said plastics material. This configuration is particularly advantageous since it increases the resistance of an aquarium panel when for example it is submitted to tensile forces. in a subsidiary aspect the plastics material is substantially of acrylic and said woven material is permeable to said plastics material. This allows the woven material layer to be fully embedded in a portion of the enclosure, It allows for example in at least one embodiment a portion of the enclosure to comprise acrylic on both sides of the woven material so that only a surface of acrylic is exposed to the aquatic environment. This allows the enclosure to lend itself to straightforward cleaning. n a further subsidiary aspect the enclosure incorporates an upper portion with an aperture; the layer of woven material being provided in at least said portion. This allows the advantages of the reinforced portion to be present particularly around the aperture which is potentially prone to higher stress and strain concentrations. in a further subsidiary aspect the enclosure comprises a plurality of substantially upright portions; at least one of said upright portions incorporating the layer of woven material whilst the remaining upright portions are substantially transparent and incorporate no such
layer. This allows the upright portions to be reinforced at least in part in order to allow the enclosure to withstand greater stresses and strains.
In a further subsidiary aspec the enclosure incorporates a first substantially C-shaped member forming an upper portion, an upright portion and a base portion of said enclosure; and a second substantially C-shaped member forming three consecutive upright portions. This configuration is particularly advantageous as it minimises the number of individual components required whilst allowing these to be reinforced. In a further subsidiary aspect, the layer of woven material is provided in at least part of the first substantially C-shaped member. This configuration allows the enclosure to be strengthened in at least one dimension.
In a further subsidiary aspect, a rounded edge portion is provided between at least two of the portions of the first substantially C-shaped member and the layer of woven material is provided in at least the rounded edge portion. This configuration is particularly
advantageous because it allows rounded portions to be reinforced.
In a further subsidiary aspect, the layer of woven material is a textile. This choice of material is particularly advantageous because it allows advantageous permeability to be achieved whilst contributing to the properties of reinforcement.
In a further subsidiary aspect said layer of woven material incorporates carbon and/or glass fibres and said plastics material acts as a resin. This configuration is particularly advantageous since it provides an even greater reinforcement characteristic whilst the fibres are fully shielded from the aquatic environment.
In a further subsidiary aspect, the enclosure is substantially a parallelepiped shape which incorporates a transparent front face and a transparent rear face; and wherein the side, upper and base walls incorporate a layer of woven material.
In a further subsidiary aspect, the layer of woven material is formed from a single strip of woven material extending around the entire perimeter of said enclosure.
In a further subsidiary aspect the layer of woven material is conductive. in a further subsidiary aspect, the layer of woven material is resistant to temperatures in the range of 120 to 160 degrees Celsius.
DetaMed. Des^
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an aquarium generally referenced 1. The aquarium incorporates an upper portion with an aperture 2 which facilitates access to the inner portions of the aquarium. A layer of woven material 3 is provided in the upper portion 4, upright portion 5 and base portion 6, View A is a magnified view of a portion of the upright portion 5 which shows the woven configuration of the layer, The layer of woven material 3 is fully embedded in acrylic material or other suitable plastics material so that both the upper and lower exposed surfaces of a portion of the enclosure is of acrylic material in order to facilitate effective cleaning of the enclosure. In this embodiment the layer of woven material is provided in a first C-shaped member formed by portions 4, 5 and 6. The second G-shaped member is of transparent material and is formed by portions 7, 8 and 9. In this embodiment, the various portions are separated by rounded edges such as edge 10. The woven material layer may also be preferably provided in the rounded edge portion 10.
A number of particularly advantageous woven materials are envisaged such as a textile (in particular a silk or a polyester), carbon and/or glass fibres. Preferably, the woven material is resistant to temperature in the region of 140 degrees Celsius. Preferably, the woven material is resistant to temperature in the range of 20 to 80 degrees Celsius,
In a further embodiment, said woven material may consist of a strip of electrically conductive woven material, whereby electricity may be conducted through said layer as appropriate; thereby providing extra structural strength with the ability to conduct electricity which may be used for lighting and/or heating the aquarium.
Figure 2 shows a further aquarium of known shape which is now equipped with the advantageous layer of woven material embedded in the side wall of the aquarium. The aquarium in question comprises an enclosure entirely of plastics material, preferably of
acrylic. Aquarium 1 1 comprises a dear front face 12 and a dear rear face 3, The side wails are also of acrylic material which in the prior art are simply opaque incorporating a dye of a particular colour, instead of or in addition to the provision of a dye in the side walls a layer of woven material is embedded as shown in the magnified view S of side wall 14, The woven material may be a single piece extending from the base portion 15 through the corner portion 16. side portion 14, corner portion 17, uppe portion 18, rounded corner portion 1 , side portion 20, rounded corner portion 21 and back to base portion 5. it has been found that the provision of the layer of woven material
considerably strengthens the walls of the aquarium. Additionally, if for any reason a crack arises on the outer portion of the aquarium, the propagation of the crack through the woven material and into the water contacting side of the wall is considerably reduced. Whilst in a preferred embodiment a single sheet of woven material is envisaged, the invention also covers within its scope the provision of multiple layers in parallel or in series within the wall of the aquarium. Instead of the woven material being provided to simply reinforce the wall of the aquarium, the invention envisages the provision of potentially electrically conductive woven material in order to conduct electricity from a first point in the aquarium to a second point. This may be used to power lighting, heating, a
loudspeaker for sound effects and any other powered component of an aquarium such as a filtration system,
Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of rounded corner portion 13, In this embodiment the layer of woven material 20 is embedded in plastics material provided on both sides of layer 20. Due to the inherent porosity between woven strands of material, the plastics material such as acrylic will flow through the woven material at least in part in order to avoid the formation of a boundary between the woven material and the acrylic. As illustrated by crack 21 , the propagation of the crack would be limited due to the pres n e of the woven material,
Claims
1. An aquarium or a vivarium comprising an enclosure formed primarily of plastics material; wherein at least a portion of a wall of said enclosure is transparent and wherein at least a portion of a wall of said enclosure incorporates a layer of woven material which is embedded in said plastics material.
2. An aquarium or a vivarium according to claim 1 , wherein said plastics material is substantially of acrylic and said woven material layer is permeable to said plastics material
3. An aquarium or a vivarium according to either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said enclosure incorporates an upper portion with an aperture; said layer of woven material being provided in at least said upper portion.
4 An aquarium or a vivarium according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said enclosure comprises a plurality of substantially upright portions; at least one of said upright portions incorporating said layer of woven material whilst the remaining upright portions are substantially transparent and incorporate no such layer,
5. An aquarium or a vivarium according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said enclosure incorporates a first substantially C shaped member forming an upper portion, an upright portion and a base portion of said enclosure; and a second substantially C shaped member forming three consecutive upright portions,
6. An aquarium or a vivarium according to claim 5, wherein said layer of woven material is provided in at least part of said first substantially C shaped member.
7. An aquarium or a vivarium according to either claim 5 or claim 6, wherein a rounded edge portion is provided between a least two of the portions of said first substantially C shaped member and said layer of woven material is provided in at least said rounded edge portion.
8. An aquarium or a v varium according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said layer of woven material is a textile.
9. An aquarium or a vivarium according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said layer of woven material incorporates carbon and/or glass fibres and said plastics material acts as a resi .
s
10. An aquarium or a vivarium according to any of claims 1-4, wherein said enclosure is substantially a parallelepiped shape which incorporates a transparent front face and a transparent rear face; and wherein the side, upper and base walls incorporate a layer of woven material
0
1 1. An aquarium or a vivarium according to claim 10, wherein said layer of woven material is formed from a single strip of woven material extending around the entire perimeter of said enclosure,
12. An aquarium or a vivarium according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said layer of woven material is conductive.
13. An aquarium or a vivarium according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said layer of woven material is resistant to temperatures in the range of 120 to 60 degrees Celsius.
14. An aquarium or a vivarium substantially as hereinbefore described and/or illustrated in any appropriate combination of the accompanying text and/or figures.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1202507.8A GB2500170A (en) | 2012-02-14 | 2012-02-14 | An aquarium or vivarium with reinforced walls |
| GB1202507.8 | 2012-02-14 |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| WO2013121198A2 true WO2013121198A2 (en) | 2013-08-22 |
| WO2013121198A3 WO2013121198A3 (en) | 2013-12-05 |
Family
ID=45930070
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GB2013/050343 WO2013121198A2 (en) | 2012-02-14 | 2013-02-14 | An aquarium or a vivarium |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2500170A (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2013121198A2 (en) |
Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE2522418A1 (en) * | 1975-05-21 | 1976-12-09 | Guenter Apel | Glass and plastic side aquarium - has transparent glass front moulded into opaque foam plastic sides and base |
| DE8212984U1 (en) * | 1982-05-05 | 1982-07-29 | Tubes, Engelbert, 4000 Düsseldorf | AQUARIUM OR FISH HOLDING TANK |
| GB2239402A (en) * | 1989-12-26 | 1991-07-03 | Japan Crystal Ind | Aquarium tank and filters |
| DE202009012525U1 (en) * | 2009-09-15 | 2009-12-17 | Scheifele, Martin | Construction container |
| USD626698S1 (en) * | 2008-02-11 | 2010-11-02 | Reef One Limited | Aquarium |
Family Cites Families (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR2437782A1 (en) * | 1978-10-05 | 1980-04-30 | Plastina | Aquarium having body of expanded PVC with other plastics fittings - for smooth watertight lightweight and easily cleaned construction |
| JPH07327546A (en) * | 1994-06-06 | 1995-12-19 | Toyo Terumii Kk | Wall plate for water tank |
| JPH08191644A (en) * | 1994-08-17 | 1996-07-30 | Takashi Nishigori | Aquarium |
| JPH08149938A (en) * | 1994-11-29 | 1996-06-11 | Hiroshi Nakahata | Water tank |
| GB2426528B (en) * | 2005-05-27 | 2007-05-30 | Eslam Michael Edward Langford | The well pond |
| US20080053376A1 (en) * | 2006-09-05 | 2008-03-06 | Marks Jeffrey S | Tank display device |
| CN201451058U (en) * | 2009-07-22 | 2010-05-12 | 北京顺通虹鳟鱼养殖中心 | Recirculating-type hexagonal raising groove |
-
2012
- 2012-02-14 GB GB1202507.8A patent/GB2500170A/en not_active Withdrawn
-
2013
- 2013-02-14 WO PCT/GB2013/050343 patent/WO2013121198A2/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE2522418A1 (en) * | 1975-05-21 | 1976-12-09 | Guenter Apel | Glass and plastic side aquarium - has transparent glass front moulded into opaque foam plastic sides and base |
| DE8212984U1 (en) * | 1982-05-05 | 1982-07-29 | Tubes, Engelbert, 4000 Düsseldorf | AQUARIUM OR FISH HOLDING TANK |
| GB2239402A (en) * | 1989-12-26 | 1991-07-03 | Japan Crystal Ind | Aquarium tank and filters |
| USD626698S1 (en) * | 2008-02-11 | 2010-11-02 | Reef One Limited | Aquarium |
| DE202009012525U1 (en) * | 2009-09-15 | 2009-12-17 | Scheifele, Martin | Construction container |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2500170A (en) | 2013-09-18 |
| GB201202507D0 (en) | 2012-03-28 |
| WO2013121198A3 (en) | 2013-12-05 |
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