SUBMERSIBLE PUMP

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to submersible pumps. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to rain protection for a battery of the submersible pumps along with provisions for air based cooling of the battery.

BACKGROUND

Submersible pumps generally make use of a power source (generally referred to as batteries) for supplying power to the submersible pumps. The batteries are generally housed inside a control housing for protection from outside agents such as rains, impurities and the like. However, conventional arrangements of the control housing have constraints which make it difficult to access the batteries. Further, there are concerns due to undesirable heating of the batteries from sun radiation, in particular for outdoor applications of the submersible pumps. This heating reduces the runtime of the batteries since the batteries reach their temperature limit earlier, especially when starting operation at high temperatures.

Moreover, in case of inability to access the batteries there may not be full utilization of universal nature of the batteries, particularly with different compatible devices/appliances. Such problems exacerbate when the batteries heat up from sunlight (or even any other heat source) during outdoor applications. Further, there may be constrains to properly maintain the batteries and even service life of the batteries may be affected due to such heating of the batteries. For similar reasons, there have been efforts in the art to provide cooling arrangements, but such efforts lead to undesirable hindrances for a common user and generally involve undue expenditure for any external cooling means and the like.

An example of a submersible pump is provided by EP1455092 (hereinafter referred to as’092 reference). The Ό92 reference provides a battery-driven pump with a motor and a battery, an adjustable control device for adjusting the power output of the battery to the motor. The power output of the battery to the motor can be preset by a user. Further, the control device can be waterproof in nature. However, the Ό92 reference does not disclose means for allowing convenient access to the battery while providing protection from water such as during rain. Moreover, there is lack of any cooling arrangement which can limit any undue heating of the battery.

Thus, improved rain protection and cooling arrangement for the batteries of submersible pump is required.

SUMMARY

In view of the above, it is an objective of the present invention to solve or at least reduce the drawbacks discussed above. The objective is at least partially achieved by a rain protection system (RPS). The RPS includes a pump having a pump housing. The RPS includes a control housing, and a power source housed within the control housing. The RPS is characterized in that the control housing defines at least one first opening and at least one second opening. Further, the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening together define an air ventilation channel for the power source. Thus, the present disclosure provides a simple, convenient, and efficient cooling channel for the power source which leads to enhanced and continued runtime and reduced stress on the power source.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control housing has a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls extending upwards from the bottom wall. This gives a cylinder-like arrangement to the control housing which can readily house the power source as per the operating requirements.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the RPS further includes a cover hingedly coupled to the control housing. The cover, in the closed state, leads to desired ventilation of the air inside the control housing through the second opening.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the first opening is on/towards the bottom wall, and at least one of the second opening is on/towards at least one of the cover or top of the side walls to produce a chimney effect. This will allow easy and hinderance free uplift of air inside the control housing leading to a quick and effective removal of heat from the power source. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cover mated with the control housing leads to a mushroom or an umbrella shaped configuration. The mushroom configuration defines the air ventilation channel leading to the second opening. This ensures that the low-density hot air is regularly moved out of the second opening by way of the air ventilation channel.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, some or all of the first and/or the second opening are partially or wholly obstructed. This allows optimum control of the temperature of air inside the control housing thereby allowing better control of the working temperature of the battery.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the power source is a battery. The battery is used for powering the pump and alternatively any other compatible device for which the cover provides convenient access to the battery. The cover allows ease of replacement of the battery with access to the battery in the open state of the cover.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control housing is made of a water proof material. The control housing ensures protection of the power source from environmental agents such as moisture, spray of water, humidity, dust etc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit is configured to perform variable levels of control of the pump. This can prove useful in cases where there is a requirement to provide only restricted access (say only power control) to control the pump by means of the control housing.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control housing can be made of any or a combination of a metal, and/or a polymer. Materials such as metals, plastics provide benefits such as light-weight, ease of manufacture, user- friendliness among others.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cover (and also the control housing) can be made of a transparent material. This will provide safety and security of operation by ease of monitoring of the cover, the control housing or any components present therein. Other features and aspects of this invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a rain protection system (RPS) with a cover of a control housing in a closed state, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a front view of the RPS with the cover of the control housing in an open state, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the control housing with the cover in the closed state, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the control housing with the cover in the open state, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the control housing without the cover, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C show a front view, front- sectional view and a side- sectional-view respectively, of the control housing along with the cover, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments of the invention incorporating one or more aspects of the present invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. For example, one or more aspects of the present invention can be utilized in other embodiments and even other types of structures and/or methods. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.

Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the invention. For example, "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "side", "longitudinal", "lateral", "transverse", "upwards", "downwards", "forward", "backward", "sideward", "left," "right," "horizontal," "vertical," "upward", "inner", "outer", "inward", "outward", "top", "bottom", "higher", "above", "below", "central", "middle", "intermediate", "between", "end", "adjacent", "proximate", "near", "distal", "remote", "radial", "circumferential", or the like, merely describe the configuration shown in the Figures. Indeed, the components may be oriented in any direction and the terminology, therefore, should be understood as encompassing such variations unless specified otherwise.

FIG. 1 illustrates a rain protection system (RPS) 100. The RPS 100 of the present disclosure generally refers to a submersible pump. However, The RPS 100 may also be implemented with any other pump such as, but not limited to, impulse pumps, velocity pumps, gravity pumps since the present disclosure is not to be limited by the type/size/mechanism of the pump in any manner.

The RPS 100 includes a pump 110 having a pump housing 112. The RPS 100 includes a control housing 120 which houses a control unit 122. The control unit 122 is configured to at least partially control the pump 110. The control unit 122 can be configured to perform various levels of control of the pump 110 such as, for example but need not necessarily, total control of the pump 110 where the control unit 122 can be used to control any function of the pump 110 without any restriction. Further, there may be situations where the control unit 122 may be able to control the pump 110 with some restrictions, for whatsoever reason, such as only power control of the pump 110. In such cases, where there are restricted controls with the control unit 122 of the pump 110, there may be independent controls provided on the pump 110 itself dedicated to rest of the functions of the pump 110. Moreover, the control unit 122 can have means such as levers, buttons etc. to perform changes to the various levels of the control of the pump 110. This allows ease of operation of the pump 110 for an operator while providing multiple options (i.e. the pump 110 itself or the control unit 122) for the operator to control the pump

110.

The control housing 120 has a cover 124 which is hingedly coupled to the control housing 120 using a hinge 126. Further, the hinge 126 includes a spring 128 (best shown in FIG. 5) to act as a biasing means while controlling the movement of the cover between the open state and the closed state. Herein, the cover 124 is illustrated in a closed state 124 which restricts access inside the control housing 120. Further, the pump 110, the control unit 122 and the power source 202 can be configured with a flexible connection 130.

The flexible connection 130 can be an electrical cable, power cord, hydraulic hose, mechanical connection, any combination thereof or any other connection as used or known in the art. Various other modifications of type/dimension/size of the flexible connection 130 have been contemplated, and are well within the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates the RPS 100 with the cover 124 in an open state. The RPS 100 includes a power source 202 housed with a control housing 120. The cover 124 is hingedly coupled (by the hinge 126) to the control housing 120 such that the cover 124 allows access to the power source 202 in the open state of the cover 124.

There can be events when an operator may want to access the power source 202 in the open state of the cover 124. Such events can be related to maintenance and replacement of the power source 202 thereby enhancing the usability and application of the power source 202 with other appliances (say hedge trimmers) of the operator. Further, ease of replacement of the power source 202 without the need of any special tools to open the cover 124 makes the pump 110 more usable for the operator.

The cover 124 is made of a transparent material. The cover 124 being transparent allows any indicators, or display, or sensors which may be provided with the power source 202 to be seen through the cover 124, without opening the cover 124. FIG. 3 illustrates the control housing 120 with the cover 124 (transparent) in the closed state. The control housing 120 includes a hook 302 which serve as a mating means with a mounting port (say a notch, not shown) on the pump housing 112. The hook 302 (and the notch matching with it) of the present disclosure is merely shown to serve as an example, and other mating means such as, but not limited to, magnetic, screwing, sliding has been contemplated and are well within the scope of the present disclosure. The cover 124 does not allow access to the power source 202 in the closed state of the cover 124. The cover 124 in the closed state, protects the power source 202 from water, dust, moisture or any other such environmental agents. The cover 124 may also protect the control unit 122 from sprays of water, humidity, moisture etc. In some embodiments, the power source 202 can be a battery. More particularly, the cover 124 protects electrical contacts of the battery 202 and the battery 202 itself from water.

The cover 124 thus allows visual access to the power source 202 on account of the transparent material. The cover 124 being transparent allows any indicators, or display, or sensors which may be provided with the power source 202 to be seen through the cover 124, without opening the cover 124. Further, this will allow uninterrupted check on internal indicators 304 (shown in FIGS. 3-5) or any part/component of the power source 202 even from outside of the control housing 120 and the cover 124 (in the closed state). Additionally, this visual access may provide hint or indication of any foreign intrusion such as water, dust or any other material inside the control housing 120 even in the closed state of the cover 124.

As illustrated, the control housing 120 has the hook 302 while the pump housing 112 has the mounting port (not visible), while the present disclosure is not to be limited by the choice of the mounting port. The hook 302 and the mounting port are designed such that the hook 302 mates with the mounting port during assembly of the control housing 120 and the pump housing 120 respectively. Further the control housing 120 has the internal indicators 304 which serve multiple purposes such as indicate temperature, working state, life, maintenance status of the battery 202. The internal indicators 304 have varied applications and a plurality of such internal indicators 304 are possible with each one of them serving a different purpose, mainly to convey a message/notification/alert to a user. Moreover, the internal indicators 304 may be adapted to interact with a user portable device (such as smartphone, tab and the like) to convey the message/notification/alert to the user portable device in real-time, or as per feature preference set by the user. Such arrangement is merely for illustration purposes, and the present disclosure can be readily used with any mounting arrangement or mechanism and or the convey a message/notification/alert, as known or used in the art.

In an embodiment, the control housing 120 is made of a water proof material. From aesthetics and implementation benefits, the control housing 120 can be made of a transparent material. Further, the control housing 120 can be made of any or a combination of a metal, and a polymer or any other material as used or known in the relevant art.

The control unit 122 may be configured with functionality to control opening of the cover 124. The control unit 122 may be configured to allow opening of the cover 124 only after entering, a password, or a code, or any other such input through a user interface. The control unit 122 may further switch off a motor when the cover 124 is in open state. Appropriate sensors may be provided to detect opening of the cover 124, and the control unit 122 may perform control actions such as switching off the motor, cutting off power supply etc. based on sensor output.

FIG. 4 illustrates the control housing 120 with the cover 124 in the open state. The cover 124 is hinged substantially midway in vertical dimension of the control housing 120 in various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, the cover 124 may be hinged at any other place or angular orientation as well such as around top of the control housing 120. Moreover, a person having ordinary knowledge in the art will appreciate that the cover 124 may be attached using any arrangement such as snap-fit, sliding-fit and the like as used or implemented in the pertinent art.

In the present disclosure, the open state of the cover 124 has been illustrated with the cover 124 opening around front of the control housing 120. However, the cover 124 may be configured to open/move towards any other part of the control unit 122 in some embodiments. This can be desirable to avoid any interference between the cover 124 and any part of the pump 110, particularly during opening of the cover 124.

FIG. 4 further illustrates that the cover 124 includes a ribbed portion 404 near to part of the cover 124 which contacts the control housing 122. The ribbed portion 404 overlaps corresponding ribbed portion (not shown) of the control housing 122, and provides a snug fit of the cover 124 with the control housing 122. However, it should be contemplated that any other type of structural features may also be incorporated to provide effective coupling between the cover 124 and the control housing 122.

FIG. 5 illustrates the control housing 120 without the cover 124. The cover 124 has been removed from aesthetical and clarity considerations only and the control housing 120 is preferred to be used with the cover 124. During working life of the RPS 100, the cover 124 may need to be removed for events such as maintenance, particularly during maintenance/inspection of the control housing 120. In some cases, the cover 124 may be required to be replaced with another cover 124 of different dimensions i.e. different height to accommodate changed requirement of some other type of batteries to be housed in the control housing 120.

In an embodiment, the control housing 120 itself can be hingedly coupled to the pump housing 112 such that the control housing 120 allows access to the power source 202 in an open configuration of the control housing 120. This arrangement can be utilized with or without the cover 124 as disclosed in the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the cover 124 may be configured to be actuated i.e. moved between the open state and the closed state only by using the control unit 122 of the control housing 120. This can ensure that only legitimate access to the battery 202 is possible while providing desired rain/water protection to the battery

202.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate outer design as well as internal components of the control housing 120, which is mated here with the cover 124. The control housing 120 includes a pivotable rail 602 which mates with outer surface of the pump housing 112. The rail 602, as illustrated in embodiments of the present disclosure, shall be biased by a spring/biasing means and this should be considered as an exemplary arrangement and the present disclosure may be implemented with any type of mating arrangement as used or known in the art. Further, the rail 602 may be used in combination, or alternatively with the hook 302 whose purpose is also to serve as a mating means between the control housing 120 and the pump housing 112. The control housing 120 defines at least one first opening 604 within a bottom wall 606 of the control housing 120. Further, at least one of the control housing 120 and the cover 124 defines at least one second opening 610, 612. As will be evident to a person having knowledge in the art, the placement/size/number/dimensions of the first opening 604 and/or the second opening 610, 612 shall depend upon a multitude of factors such as, but need not necessarily, the battery 202, operating time of the RPS 100 among other functional factors. The first opening 604 and the second opening 610 together define an air ventilation channel (shown by means of the inwards airstream(s) 620, and the outwards airstream(s) 622 in FIGS. 6B and 6C) for the power source (i.e. the battery 202). The present disclosure makes reference and also illustrates only one combination of the first opening 604 and the second opening 610, 612 merely from clarity and explanation consideration while multiple combination of the first opening 604 and the second opening 610, 612 are evident and also well within the scope of the present disclosure.

The control housing 120 is having the bottom wall 606 and a plurality of side walls 608 extending upwards from the bottom wall 606. As illustrated, the control housing 120 of the present embodiment has a cylinder-like arrangement which can house the power source 202 which has a PCB 204 within its four side walls 608, however there maybe any number of side walls of the control housing 120 and all such modifications have been contemplated and are well within the scope of the present disclosure. The PCB 204 can be associated with the control unit 122 and/or power source 202, and all such modifications are well within the scope of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the first opening 604 is on/towards the bottom wall 606, and the second opening 610 is on/towards the cover to produce a chimney effect. The air inside the control housing 120 is more hot (due to the discharge of the battery 202 and heating from sun radiation through the transparent cover 124) than air outside. This makes the air inside the control housing 120 to be lighter than the air outside leading to the chimney effect, as will be evident to a person having knowledge in the art. From another perspective, this will allow easy uplift of air inside the control housing 120 since density of the air inside the control housing 120 will be lower than density of the air outside the control housing 120. Moreover, this chimney effect is further accentuated or diverted by position and shape of the second opening 610 (as best illustrated in FIG. 6C). As illustrated in FIG. 6C, the second opening 610 is preferably provided towards the top of the control housing 120. For example, the second opening 610 could be near meeting point(s) of the cover 124 and the control housing 120 leading to a gill-like configuration. Additionally, or alternatively, the cover 124 further has vents 612 or any known or used ventilation means in the art, shown around outwards airstreams 622 near top of the cover 124 in the present figure. Such vents 612 have been shown around top of the cover 124. With this embodiment the vents 612 might be covered by a mushroom configuration 630 like protrusion of the cover 124 to protect them against rain and water sprays. However, implementations of the present disclosure contemplate any other position/number/orientation of the vents 612 (such as vents around side of the cover 124), and all such variations are well within the scope of the present disclosure. During application, the chimney effect will create the desired uplift force to scavenge or move the air inside the control housing 120 from around the first opening 604 (the inwards airstream 620) to the second opening 610 and the vents 612 (the outwards airstream 622), through the air ventilation channel. Thus, this will allow cooling around surface of the battery 202 leading to a reduction in temperature, during operation as well as at staring of operation of the battery 202. In some embodiments, one or more of the first opening 604, the second opening 610, or the vents 612 may be partially or wholly obstructed or closed (say for desired interval) to control the temperature effect from the air inside the control housing 124 on the battery 202, leading to desired control in hands of users regarding working temperature of the battery 202. This feature of controlling the working temperature of the battery 202 may prove really favorable while working in environments with reasonably dynamic weather such as dynamic temperature, sunlight, humidity etc. From similar considerations, obstruction or opening/closing (by presence of flaps, brushes, caps and the like) of the one or more of the first opening 604, the second opening 610, or the vents 612 maybe synchronized with change in the dynamic weather conditions, or any other factor worthwhile for the user, as will be appreciated by a person having knowledge in the art.

In an embodiment, the cover 124 mated with the control housing 120 leads to the mushroom configuration 630, or the umbrella configuration. The mushroom or umbrella configuration 630 defines the shape of the air ventilation channel leading to the second opening 610. The mushroom or umbrella configuration 630, as illustrated in various embodiments of the present disclosure, is mere for explanation considerations and in actual implementations the air ventilation channel may have any modification or alteration of path or route between the first opening 604 and the second opening 610, and all such variations are well within the scope of the present disclosure. This makes sure that the low-density hot air (say the inwards airstreams 620) is regularly moved out of the second opening 610 (the outwards airstreams 622) by way of the ventilation channel. More importantly, the present disclosure allows proper ventilation by the hot air moving out of the second opening 610 even while the cover 124 is in closed state as also illustrated here. This allows regular regulation of the hot air out of the control housing 120 leading to an improved, interruption-free and extended operation of the battery 202.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed preferred embodiments and examples of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation of the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims. LIST OF ELEMENTS

100 Rain Protection System

110 Pump

112 Pump Housing

120 Control Housing

122 Control Unit

124 Cover

126 Hinge

128 Spring

130 Flexible Connection

202 Power Source

204 PCB of Control Unit and/or Power Source

302 Hook

304 Internal Indicators

404 Ribbed Portion

602 Rail

604 First Opening

606 Bottom Wall

608 Side Wall

610 Second Opening/Vents

612 Vents

620 Inwards Airstream

622 Outwards Airstream

630 Mushroom or Umbrella Configuration