EP3795837B1

EP3795837B1 - Rain protection for battery of a submersible pump

Info

Publication number: EP3795837B1
Application number: EP20206153.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Johannes Gungl; Wang Jian; Chen XINGAN
Original assignee: Husqvarna AB
Current assignee: Husqvarna AB
Priority date: 2018-02-01
Filing date: 2019-01-31
Publication date: 2022-12-21
Anticipated expiration: 2039-01-31
Also published as: EP3795837A1; WO2019149840A1; EP3746660A1; HUE062519T2; WO2019149841A1; EP3746660B1

Description

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.

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. Access to batteries is important since they can find applications with other devices too such as hedge trimmers, grass trimmers or any other appliance compatible with the batteries. Moreover, there is a need to make access to the batteries user-friendly with a simple and convenient opening of covering means of the control housing.
However, 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. Further, there may be constrains to properly maintain the batteries in case of restricted access to the batteries. But protection from water and other agents is also desirable for desired working of the batteries along with the submersible pumps. For similar reasons, there have been efforts in the art to provide water-proof arrangements, or covers for the batteries but such efforts have led to undesirable hindrances for a common user to access and use the batteries for various other purposes.
An example of a submersible pump is provided by EP1455092 (hereinafter referred to as '092 reference). The '092 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 '092 reference does not disclose means for allowing convenient access to the battery while providing protection from water such as during rain.
U.S. patent reference 6,146,108 (hereinafter called as the ' 108 reference) describes a portable pump having a box. A rechargeable battery is housed within a lower portion of the box. The box is provided by a box cover for closing an open top of the box. Further, the box cover may provide access to the battery in an open condition. However, the ' 108 reference seems short of providing features such as a cover made of a transparent material, say to provide visual access to the battery. Moreover, the '108 reference along with US2017/0122325 and US4789307 references seem silent on any ribbed portions on both the box and the box cover which may mate to provide a sealed connection between the box and the box cover. Such lack of crucial features may lead to safety and efficiency issues for working of the pump. Moreover, the pumps of the aforementioned references may face shortcomings related to non-access to critical battery status and other information due to lack of visual access to a power source (or battery) within a cover.
Thus, improved rain protection for 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 power source housed within a control housing. The RPS further includes a control unit housed inside the control housing. The control unit at least partially controls the pump. The RPS includes a cover hingedly coupled to the control housing such that the cover moves between an open state and a closed state. Moreover, the cover allows access to the power source in the open state of the cover. The cover is biased by a biasing means to remain in the closed state of the cover. Thus, the present disclosure prevents any inadvertent opening of the cover, and also allows the cover to remain in the natural state (i.e. the closed state) of the cover, by biasing action of the biasing means.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the biasing means (alternatively, spring) is actuated by means (such as any buttons, electronics) of the control unit to change between the open state and the closed state of the cover. This may be convenient for a common user while reducing any unreasonable manual load on the spring which might take place during any manual engaging event with the cover.
The cover is made of a transparent material leading to a transparent state. This will provide safety and security of operation by ease of monitoring of the control housing or any components present therein. Moreover, application of the cover in the transparent state allows heat radiation from the sun being efficiently and more directly passing through the cover to bring the power source to working temperature earlier than normal operation. In some embodiments, the transparent state of the cover may be set in accordance with the desired working temperature of the power source or any other operation factor associated with the control housing or the pump. Additionally, or alternatively, the cover may be such that the transparent state (say like tint of glasses) of the cover may change dynamically with environmental or external conditions such as change in sunlight, temperature, wind, humidity to further synchronize the working of the power source of the control housing as per the operating conditions. This makes operation of the battery more effective, smart, and user-friendly among other benefits.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cover allows visual access to the power source on account of the transparent material. This will allow uninterrupted check on internal indicators or any part/component of the power source even from outside of the cover (in the closed state).
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the biasing means is a spring. The present disclosure has a preference for the biasing means to be a spring, however any other mechanical energy storing means such as bellows, spring mechanical seals can be used for the biasing means, and all such variations are well within the scope of the present disclosure.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cover does not allow access to the power source in the closed state of the cover. This provides protection from unwarranted access to the power source, particularly during working of the pump.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cover in the closed state protects the power source and the control unit from spray of water. Protection from water during rain and the like is essential in order to protect the power source from corrosion, therefore incurring a low maintenance cost, and enhanced life of the power source.
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 outside agents such as water, dust etc.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the biasing means is a torsion spring. This choice of the spring will generally depend on multiple factors namely size/weight/dimensions of the cover and the control housing among other operational factors having a bearing on the service life of the spring.
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 control unit stops operation of the pump in the open state of the cover. This provides safety against any inadvertent use of the pump. A user may remove the power source in the open state of the cover, and if the pump is in operation it may lead to injury to the user due to sparks in contact elements of the power source, or may also incur damages to the pump. Automatic switching off of the pump prevents occurrence of any such events.
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.

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.
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.
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. 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.
The RPS 100 further includes a biasing means (preferably and used alternatively hereinafter, as a spring 128 (best shown in FIG. 5 ) housed inside the hinge 126 of the control housing 120. The spring 128 biases the cover 124 to keep it in the closed state, in absence of any command for opening of the cover 124. The cover 124 can move from the closed state to the open state by actuation of the spring 128 by means of a button (or like means) of the control housing 120. This may check any inadvertent opening of the cover 124. In other embodiments, there may be a provision to even allow changeover between the closed state and the open state of the cover 124 by manual engagement (and without a need of the control housing 120 for the same) with the cover 124 while the cover 124 moves under the action of the spring 128.
As used herein, the "biasing means" or "spring" of the present disclosure is used to bias the cover 124 in the closed state. So, as will be evident to a person having knowledge in the art, the biasing means 126 can be any elastic object that stores mechanical energy and uses it to bias an object like the cover 124 of the present disclosure. Moreover, the present disclosure can be implemented with bellows, spring mechanical seals or any other biasing/elastic object as used or known in the art and all such variations are well within the scope of the present disclosure.
The cover 124 is preferably made of a transparent material, however any other type of material which may be opaque, translucent and the like have been contemplated and are well within the scope of the present disclosure. Use of the transparent material will provide safety and security of operation by ease of monitoring of the control housing 120 or any components present therein. Further, this will allow ease of monitoring of the power source 202 or anywhere inside the control housing 120 without a need to move the cover 124 to the open state. Such a feature will find more prominence in case of a wet environment where unreasonable opening of the cover 124 may lead to intrusion of water or any other potentially harmful liquid inside the control housing 120 which can even lead to any damage.
As explained above, 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.
FIG. 2 illustrates the RPS 100 with the cover 124 in an open state. The open state is achieved when the cover 124 is being moved against the force exerted by the biasing means 128. 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.
FIG. 3 illustrates the control housing 120 with the cover 124 in the closed state. 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. 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.
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.
As illustrated, the control housing 120 has a hook 302 while the pump housing 112 has a mounting port (not visible), while the present disclosure is not to be limited by the choice of the hook 302 and 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 realtime, 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.
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 the 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 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 a part of the cover 124 which contacts the control housing 122. The ribbed portion 404 overlaps a 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.
As best illustrated in the present figure, the spring 128 can be a torsion spring or any other spring such as, but not limited to, compression spring, conical spring or any other spring as used or known in the art. The choice of the spring 128 will generally be dependent upon the amount or degree of actuation by means of which the control unit is required to change between the open state and the closed state of the cover 124. Moreover, the amount of the biasing force required to keep the cover 124 in the closed state will also have a bearing on the choice of the spring 128. Use of the spring 128 will also ensure that the cover 124 remains in the desired state (i.e. the open state or the closed state) as long as the cover 124 or, more particularly the spring 128 is not actuated by intervention of the control unit 122. Additionally, or alternatively, actuation of the spring 128 may be solely or partially controlled by mere manual intervention (say user touch/push) to the cover 124. However, from safety and procedural considerations the spring 128 and the cover 124 may be so configured that they respond only to interventions through the control unit 122, and disregard any manual intervention or action with the cover 124. This may be convenient for a common user while reducing any unreasonable manual load on the spring 128 which may be expected during manually moving the cover 124 between the closed state and the open state.
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. Moreover, application of the cover 124 in the transparent state allows heat radiation from the sun being efficiently and more directly passing through the cover 124 to bring the battery 202 to working temperature earlier than normal operation. In some embodiments, the transparent state of the cover 124 may be set in accordance with the desired working temperature of the battery 202 or any other operation factor associated with the control housing 120 or the pump 110. Additionally, or alternatively, the cover 124 may be such that the transparent state (say like tint of glasses) of the cover 124 may change dynamically with environmental or external conditions such as change in sunlight, temperature, wind, humidity to further synchronize the working of the battery 202 of the control housing 120 as per the operating conditions. This makes operation of the battery more effective, smart, and user-friendly among other benefits.
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.
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: Biasing Means/Spring
130: Flexible Connection
202: Power Source
302: Hook
304: Internal Indicators
404: Ribbed Portion

Claims

A rain protection system (RPS) (100) comprising:
a pump (110) having a pump housing (112);

a power source (202) housed within a control housing (120);

a control unit (122) housed inside the control housing (120), wherein the control unit (122) is configured to at least partially control the pump (110);

a cover (124) hingedly coupled to the control housing (120) such that the cover (124) is adapted to move between an open state and a closed state, wherein the cover (124) allows access to the power source (202) in the open state of the cover (124);

the cover (124) is biased by a biasing means (128) to remain in the closed state of the cover (124).

characterized in that:
the cover (124) is made of a transparent material, allowing visual access to the power source (202) on account of the transparent material,

wherein the cover (124) includes a ribbed portion (404) near to a part of the cover (124) which contacts the control housing (120), with the ribbed portion (404) overlapping a corresponding ribbed portion of the control housing (120) providing a snug fit of the cover (124) with the control housing (120).
The RPS (100) of claim 1, wherein the biasing means (128) is actuated by means of the control unit (122) to change between the open state and the closed state of the cover (124).
The RPS (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the biasing means (128) is a spring.
The RPS (100) of claim 3, wherein the spring is a torsion spring.
The RPS (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cover (124) does not allow access to the power source (202) in the closed state of the cover (124).
The RPS (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the biasing means (128) is housed within a hinge (126) of the control housing (120).
The RPS (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the power source (202) is a battery.
The RPS (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control housing (120) is made of a water proof material.
The RPS (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control housing (120) is made of any or a combination of a plastic, and a polymer.