Animal husbandry – Aquatic animal culturing – Aquarium
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-27
2001-08-21
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Aquatic animal culturing
Aquarium
C119S256000, C119S249000, C119S269000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276303
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to aquariums and associated accessories, particularly aerators.
In aquariums aerators are necessary to add oxygen to the water in order for the fish kept therein to survive. Most aerators consist of plastic tubes placed on the side or on the bottom of an aquarium. In such a position the aerators are visible and not aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, in most cases the air bubbles dispersed from the aerator are not evenly distributed throughout the water and therefore the water is not oxygenated as well as it could be. An even further problem with many present aerators is that when an aerator is placed on the bottom of the tank it may become covered by sand, rock and gravel, thereby not doing an effective job of aerating the water in the aquarium tank.
Thus, a need exists for an aerator conduit holder that hides the aerator, prevents it from becoming covered with sand, rocks and gravel when placed on the bottom of the aquarium, does a better overall job of aerating the water and has an overall more aesthetically pleasing appearance.
The prior patented art includes some aerator conduit holders but none like the present invention. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,184 by Greenbaum, issued on Jun. 20, 1967, teaches a conduit line stabilizer which has a channel running along the bottom thereof. However, the latter holder does not have the same structure or purpose as does the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,185, issued to Perez on Jun. 20, 1967, discloses an aerator holder in the form of a lighted ornament which holds the aerator off of the bottom of the tank. U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,946, issued to Leuthesser et al. on Aug. 2, 1977, teaches an aeration system for a fish farm tank with an aerator holder that runs along the bottom of the tank. Canadian patent number 472,732, issued to Feldman on Apr. 10, 1951, shows a U-shaped aeration device for an aquarium. U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,959, issued to Stone et al. on Aug. 8, 1995, teaches an aquarium tank with a flat full aerator running in the back of the tank. U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,985, issued to Wilkins on Nov. 29, 1994, shows an aquarium aerator manifold having a grid with holes on the bottom placed on the bottom of the tank. U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,966, issued to Smolski on Jul. 1, 1969, teaches a vertical, tubular aerator device with an internal helix through which bubbles rise, thereby causing a circular motion to circulate the water. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 950,999, issued to Erlwein et al. on Mar. 1, 1910, shows another aerator device consisting of an elevated tube on the bottom of the aquarium.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A major object of the present invention is to provide an aerator conduit holder that hides an aerator from view and therefore is more aesthetically pleasing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an aerator holder that allows more even distribution of oxygen in the aquarium tank.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an aerator holder that keeps the aerator, particularly the oxygen dispersement holes, from being covered by sand, rocks or gravel at the bottom of the tank for increased effectiveness in oxygenating the water.
The present invention fulfills the above and other objects by providing a holder for placing an aerator conduit along the bottom of an aquarium tank which is an elongated trough with at least one side wall. The trough has a retaining channel at the bottom which size is such that it exerts pressure against an aerator conduit when placed in the channel so that the aerator conduit is held firmly in place. Sand, gravel, rocks or other material on the bottom of the tank pressing against an outside surface of the side walls maintains the holder in an upright position during use. To further stabilize the holder in an upright position during use a planar stabilizer base can be attached to an outside bottom of the trough so that the aerator holder can be placed on or against the bottom of the aquarium or anywhere in the sand and gravel and be supported thereby. Preferably, the holder is made of clear, rigid plastic so that it is virtually invisible to the naked eye during use and may be V-shaped.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 249879 (1978-10-01), Willinger
patent: 3326184 (1967-06-01), Greenbaum
patent: 3326185 (1967-06-01), Perez
patent: 3543283 (1970-11-01), Cataline
patent: 3929102 (1975-12-01), Suchowski et al.
patent: 4233790 (1980-11-01), Meadows
patent: 4395973 (1983-08-01), Hall et al.
patent: 4903629 (1990-02-01), Maudlin et al.
patent: 5367985 (1994-11-01), Wilkins
patent: 5476068 (1995-12-01), Townsend
patent: 4727232 (1951-04-01), None
Abbott Yvonne R.
Jordan Charles T.
Livingston, Esq. Edward M.
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