Aquarium power filter

• US 5,228,986 A
• Filed: 06/05/1990
• Issued: 07/20/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tetra Holding US Incorporated (Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Willinger Bros., Inc. (Pfizer Inc.)
• Inventors: Ellis, Robert, Willinger, Allan H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hruskoci, Peter
• Assistant Examiner(s): POPOVICS, ROBERT J
• Application Number:
  US07/533,739
• Time in Patent Office: 1,141 Days
• Field of Search: 210/169, 210/416.2, 210/456, 119/5
• US Class Current: 210/167.27
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 63/045 Filters for aquaria

Abstract

An aquarium filtration system is formed as a filter assembly for mounting on the wall of an aquarium tank, and includes a pair of filter chambers, each having a filter element, mounted side by side along the aquarium wall. An inlet conduit is located in a transverse medial plane of the assembly. A water pump including a rotating impeller is located between the two filter chambers, and pumps water from the aquarium tank, via the inlet conduit, into a corridor which communicates with the two filter chambers. The impeller is constructed with relatively closely spaced radially extending blades, each of which is formed of a circular disk. A base edge, or chord, of each blade is inclined upon a frustoconical surface of a central hub of the impeller. A discharge end of the inlet conduit directs water upon the impeller blades, the latter urging the water outward along a horizontal plane into the corridor. A lower end of the inlet conduit terminates in a housing structured as a cage with plural ports for unrestricted delivery of water from the impeller into the corridor. A stream diverter is located adjacent the impeller for directing water from the impeller in equal quantities to both of the filter chambers. In smaller single filter chamber systems a single fin diverter can be used. This construction reduces noise and turbulence in the filtration system.

Claims

1. An aquarium filtration system comprising:

a filter assembly comprising a housing with at least two filter elements therein;

an impeller for urging water into the filter assembly;

said impeller being positioned between said two filter elements; and

means located at and being operative with said impeller for dispersing the water uniformly among said filter elements.

2. An aquarium filtration system comprising:

a filter assembly comprising a housing with at least two filter elements therein;

an impeller for urgins water into the filter assembly;

said impeller being positioned between said two filter elements; and

means located at and being operative with said impeller for dispersing the water uniformly among said filter elements, wherein said impeller includes a frustoconical hub pointing toward a stream of water incident upon said impeller, and a set of blades positioned on said hub and directed radially outward from said hub, said blades being distributed uniformly about said hub, and each blade being angled relative to a next blade on said hub with an angle smaller than 90 degrees.

3. A system according to claim 2 wherein there are six of said blades, each of said blades being angled relative to the next blade with an angle of about 60 degrees.

4. A system according to claim 2 wherein each of said blades has a circular periphery greater than a semicircle.

5. An aquarium filtration system comprising:

a filter assembly comprising a housing with at least two filter elements therein;

an impeller for urgins water into the filter assembly;

said impeller being positioned between said two filter elements; and

means located at and being operative with said impeller for dispersing the water among said filter elements, wherein said dispersing means is located between said impeller and said filter elements, said impeller discharging water along a generally horizontal plane intercepting a lower region of each of said filter elements, said dispersing means comprising a water diverter upstanding from said plane and formed so as to direct water discharged by said impeller in diverging paths uniformly to said filter elements.

6. A system according to claim 5 wherein said water diverter is pyramidal in shape and has a generally triangular hub with three generally planar sides extending upward from said diverter hub to a vertex of said diverter, a junction of two of said diverter sides facing said impeller.

7. An aquarium filtration system comprising:

a filter assembly including a housing with a plurality of filter chambers;

means for circulating water between an aquarium tank and said filter assembly; and

wherein said circulating means includes means for reducing the turbulence and the noise as the water flows through the chambers,

said circulating means comprising;

a conduit with an impeller in an outlet of said conduit, said impeller urging water from said conduit toward said filter chambers; and

said outlet of said conduit and said impeller being positioned between said filter chambers;

dispersing means located between said impeller and said filter chambers and formed so as to impede the flow of water from said impeller to said filter chambers.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein said impeller discharges water along a generally horizontal plane intercepting a lower region of each of said filter chambers, said dispersing means comprising a pyramidal water diverter upstanding from said plane to direct water in diverging upwardly inclined paths to each of said filter chambers.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein said pyramidal water diverter has a generally triangular hub with three generally planar sides extending upward from said diverter hub to a vertex of said diverter, a junction of a first side and a second side of said diverter facing said impeller.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein said first side and said second side of said diverter are each inclined relative to said diverter hub at an angle in a range of approximately 55-65 degrees.

11. A system according to claim 7, wherein said impeller is rotatable about a shaft, the system further comprising:

a cage depending from said conduit and forming an outlet thereof and in fluid communication with said conduit, said cage enclosing said impeller, said cage including a roof for locating said impeller shaft; and

wherein said cage includes a cylindrical sidewall having a plurality of ports for discharging water in said horizontal plane.

12. A system according to claim 11 wherein said outlet of said conduit terminates in an intake chamber of said filter assembly, and further comprising a motor stator unit depending from the intake chamber, a stem coupling said motor stator unit to the intake chamber, and wherein the stem terminates below the impeller.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein said impeller has a hub and six blades positioned thereon, each of said blades being angled relative to a next blade on said hub with an angle of about 60 degrees.

14. A system according to claim 11, wherein said impeller includes a frustoconical hub and a set of blades positioned on said hub and directed radially outward from said hub, said blades being distributed uniformly about said hub, each of said blades being angled relative to a next blade on said hub with an angle smaller than 90 degrees.

15. A system according to claim 14, wherein each of said blades has a circular periphery greater than a semicircle.

16. A system according to claim 14, wherein there are six of said blades, each of said blades being angled relative to the next blade with an angle of about 60 degrees, there being a rotor of an electric motor disposed coaxially with and mechanically connected to said impeller hub for imparting rotation to said impeller upon energization of said motor.

17. A system according to claim 16, wherein said impeller is rotatable about an axis, a geometric projection of any one of said blades upon said impeller axis falls within a projection of any one of said ports upon said impeller axis, there being an unobstructed path for flow of water in a radial direction of said axis from a blade to a port.

18. A system according to claim 16, wherein in said impeller hub, a frustoconical surface of said hub is inclined relative to an axis thereof at an angle in a range of approximately 10-30 degrees.

19. A system according to claim 11, wherein said impeller is rotatable about an axis and said diversing means includes a pyramidal water diverter which has a height approximately equal to a height of a port of said impeller cage as measured in a direction parallel to said axis.

20. A system according to claim 11, wherein

said sidewall includes frame elements oriented parallel to said shaft for separating said ports;

and the width of a port is greater than the width of a frame elements for substantially unimpeded flow of water through said sidewall.

21. A system according to claim 20, wherein there are four of said ports in said sidewall, the four ports being distributed uniformly along said sidewall.

22. A system according to claim 21, wherein each of said ports has rectangular shape, all of the ports being of equal size.

23. A system according to claim 7, wherein said impeller discharged water along a generally horizontal plane intercepting a lower region of said filter assembly, said dispersing means comprising a water diverter upstanding from said plane and formed so as to impede the flow of water from said impeller to said filter chambers.

24. A system according to claim 23, wherein said water diverter comprises a single upstanding fin.

25. A system according to claim 24, wherein said filter assembly includes an intake chamber, said impeller being positioned within said intake chamber, and wherein said fin is upstandingly positioned in said intake chamber spaced from said impeller.