Fluid handling – With casing – support – protector or static constructional... – Vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-15
2003-04-08
Chambers, A. Michael (Department: 3753)
Fluid handling
With casing, support, protector or static constructional...
Vehicle
C137S240000, C137S255000, C137S355120, C137S355200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06543484
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to an extendable waste hose system for dumping waste from a recreational vehicle (RV).
Present recreational vehicles that have a water system and toilet built into them have a significant drawback in that disposal of waste water must be done manually by the RV user. This task often results in the spillage of raw sewage and resulting in odor that is both unpleasant and unsanitary. With all the modern conveniences of the present day RV's this messy task is still performed archaically. In accordance with the prior art, dumping of waste water from an RV was accomplished by means of a loose hose that had to be connected on both ends, one end to the vehicle and the other to the dump stations in an RV park or at a roadside dumping station. One would have to put on rubber gloves as a barrier from the accidental spills and leaks. Afterwards, the clean up of the loose hose and fittings would be accomplished by a great deal of handling with a water hose.
An example of a system for disposing of waste from RV is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,262 issued to Hannemaayer, which discloses a sewer discharge and stowing system including an axially extendable flexible hose. U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,183 issued to Leech discloses a recreational vehicle waste drainer including a drainer sheath and an angled drain nipple connected to an expandable tube
5
. U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,156 issued to Tomczyk disclsoes a holding tank having a waster evacuation device including a telescoping arm and a flexible coupling mount.
A need therefore exists for a waste water disposal system that minimizes the manual intervention required by the RV user. Similarly, a need exists to retrofit RVs and other vehicles containing water and/or toilet systems with waste water disposal systems that minimize the need for manual intervention. It would be desirable for such a waste water disposal system to
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention meets this need by providing a waste water disposal system that eliminates the need to handle or come near waste while dumping and flushing the tanks of an RV. By using the apparatus and methods of the present invention, the manual intervention of prior art waste water disposal systems is minimized or eliminated. Also, in accordance with the present invention, current RV's and vehicles can be retrofitted to include the waste water disposal system of the present invention. In this way such vehicles can attain the benefits of minimizing or eliminating contact with waste water.
With the systems and methods of the present invention, prior art methods of dumping waste will be updated to an easy operation and eliminate all of the unpleasant aspects of dumping waste from an RV. The present invention includes a manually or motor driven carousel covered by a corrugated ribbed surface, which interlocks with the corrugated surface of the discharging hose. This causes the hose to extend and retract as the carousel is rotated in one direction or the other. This system may actuated by a hand held switch that is plugged into the unit; or a switch directly located on the unit casing which causes the motor to rotate in the desired direction. Alternatively, the system may be manually driven.
The system includes fresh water globe valves, check valves and manually operated slide gate valves connected to the main gray water and black water piping. With these devices, the system can be flushed prior to disconnection of the hose from the dumping station. This will eliminate the need for any further cleaning.
To facilitate with the retro fitting of older model recreational vehicles the present invention also contemplates an elevation and lowering device which lowers the whole incased unit closer to the ground to aid in the gravitational flow of waste.
Other advantages and purpose of this invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages and purpose of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To attain the advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention provides methods and apparatus for
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Chambers A. Michael
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
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