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.

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 lead 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 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 a means allowing convenient access to the battery while providing protection from water such as during rain. 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 with a control housing. The RPS includes a control unit housed inside the control housing. The control unit is configured to at least partially control the pump. The RPS further includes a cover hingedly coupled to the control housing such that the cover allows access to the power source in an open state of the cover. The RPS is characterized in that the cover is made up of a transparent material. The cover being transparent allows any indicators, or display, or sensors which may be provided with the battery to be seen through the cover, without opening the cover.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cover does not allow access to the power source in a 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 water. Protection from water during rain and the like is essential in order to protect the power source from corrosion, therefore maintain a low maintenance cost, and long 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 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 of 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 control housing can be made of a transparent material. This will provide safety and security of operation by ease of monitoring of the control housing or any components present therein.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cover may be biased by a spring to remain in the closed state of the cover. This allows the cover to be closes in the natural state of the cover, and prevent any inadvertent opening of the cover as well.

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.

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 desiring an operator 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 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. 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.

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 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.

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.

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

130 Flexible Connection 202 Power Source 404 Ribbed portion