Suction nozzle and aquarium cleaning tool

Abstract

To provide a suction nozzle 1 for a water tank cleaning tool, capable of quickly removing gravel or the like sucked together with sediment on the bottom of the water tank from a nozzle body 11 and performing water tank cleaning work in a shorter time, and a water tank cleaning tool 10 equipped with the suction nozzle 1. [Solution] A partition plate 12 is provided inside the nozzle body 11 of the suction nozzle 1, which is provided at the tip of the suction pipe 2 of the aquarium cleaning tool 10, dividing the flow path FP of the nozzle body 11 into a first divided flow path FP1 and a second divided flow path FP2.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a suction nozzle and an aquarium cleaning tool, and more specifically to a suction nozzle used in an aquarium cleaning tool that sucks up sediment that has settled at the bottom of an aquarium along with the aquarium water and discharges it outside the aquarium, and to an aquarium cleaning tool equipped with this suction nozzle. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there have been known aquarium cleaning tools that suck up sediments such as feces and leftover food that have settled at the bottom of an aquarium, for example, in an aquarium for raising ornamental fish, along with the aquarium water, and discharge them outside the aquarium (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 listed below).

[0003] As shown in Figure 5 of Patent Document 1, these conventional aquarium cleaning tools utilize the siphon principle to suck up sediments such as feces and leftover food that have settled to the bottom of the aquarium through a suction pipe along with the aquarium water, while also sucking up gravel and other particles that have been laid on the bottom at the same time.Then, within the flow path of the suction pipe, sediments with a relatively low specific gravity are sucked up together with the aquarium water and discharged outside the aquarium, while the gravel and other particles with a relatively high specific gravity are allowed to fall under their own weight within the suction pipe against the suction flow of the aquarium water and are returned to the aquarium.

[0004] Furthermore, the method of operating these conventional aquarium cleaners involves first inserting the tip of the suction pipe between the gravel at the bottom while the siphon-based suction action continues, thereby sucking up sediment and gravel at the bottom of the aquarium along with the aquarium water, and then, when the amount of gravel accumulated in the suction pipe increases and the suction flow of the aquarium water weakens, temporarily removing the tip of the suction pipe from the bottom to allow the gravel in the suction pipe to fall under its own weight and wait for it to return to the aquarium. Then, when the gravel in the suction pipe has mostly been used up, the tip of the suction pipe is inserted between the gravel again to resume suctioning the sediment and gravel.

[0005] With these conventional aquarium cleaning tools, by repeating the above operation, it is possible to easily remove sediment from the bottom of the aquarium, which is difficult to remove with a typical underwater filtration device, and it is also possible to easily change the water in the aquarium while keeping ornamental fish inside.

[0006] However, with these conventional aquarium cleaning tools, the sucked-up gravel and other particles were allowed to fall by their own weight almost uniformly across the cross section of the suction pipe's flow path, against the suction flow of the aquarium water, which meant that the sucked-up gravel and other particles could not be quickly removed from the suction pipe, and the aquarium cleaning operation took a considerable amount of time. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-75547 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-57475 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned drawbacks of conventional aquarium cleaning tools, and aims to provide a suction nozzle for an aquarium cleaning tool that can quickly remove gravel and the like sucked up together with sediment, thereby enabling the aquarium cleaning work to be completed in a shorter time, and an aquarium cleaning tool equipped with this suction nozzle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention provides a suction nozzle for use in an aquarium cleaning tool that sucks up sediment that has settled at the bottom of an aquarium along with the aquarium water through a suction pipe and discharges it outside the aquarium, a tubular nozzle body provided at the tip of the suction pipe; and a partition plate provided within the tube of the nozzle body, dividing the flow path of the nozzle body into a first divided flow path and a second divided flow path along the flow path. Preparation, The tip of the partition plate is located at the tip suction port of the nozzle body. It is characterized by the following.

[0010] The present invention also provides A suction nozzle used in an aquarium cleaning tool that sucks up sediment that has settled at the bottom of the aquarium along with the aquarium water through a suction pipe and discharges it outside the aquarium, a tubular nozzle body provided at a tip end of the suction pipe; and a partition plate provided within the tube of the nozzle body, dividing a flow path of the nozzle body into a first divided flow path and a second divided flow path along the flow path, A communication hole that communicates the first divided flow path and the second divided flow path is provided on the base end side of the partition plate. It is characterized by the following.

[0011] The present invention also provides This is an aquarium cleaning tool that sucks up sediment that has settled at the bottom of the aquarium together with the aquarium water and discharges it outside the aquarium, a suction nozzle at the tip end, the suction nozzle comprising a tubular nozzle body and a partition plate disposed within the nozzle body and dividing the flow path of the nozzle body into a first divided flow path and a second divided flow path along the flow path; a suction pipe for sucking the sediment together with the aquarium water; and a discharge pipe connected to the base end of the suction pipe for discharging the sediment sucked through the suction pipe to outside the aquarium together with the aquarium water. The tip of the partition plate is located at the tip suction port of the nozzle body. It is characterized by the following.

[0012] The present invention also provides an aquarium cleaning tool that sucks up sediment that has settled on the bottom of an aquarium together with the aquarium water and discharges it outside the aquarium, a suction pipe at the tip of the nozzle, the suction nozzle comprising a tubular nozzle body and a partition plate disposed within the nozzle body and dividing the flow path of the nozzle body into a first divided flow path and a second divided flow path along the flow path, the suction pipe sucking up the sediment together with the aquarium water; and a discharge pipe connected to the base end of the suction pipe and discharging the sediment sucked through the suction pipe to outside the aquarium together with the aquarium water. Preparation, A communication hole that communicates the first divided flow path and the second divided flow path is provided on the base end side of the partition plate. It is characterized by the following.

[0013] The present invention is also characterized in that a pump is provided between the suction pipe and the discharge pipe, which sucks the sediment together with the aquarium water through the suction pipe and discharges the sediment together with the aquarium water through the discharge pipe. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the suction nozzle and aquarium cleaning tool of the present invention, the flow path of the nozzle body is divided into a first divided flow path and a second divided flow path by a partition plate. Therefore, when in use, simply by tilting the suction nozzle relative to the horizontal plane, the aquarium water can be continuously sucked up in one of the divided flow paths (the second divided flow path or the first divided flow path) located at the top of the nozzle body, while promoting the falling of gravel and the like under its own weight in the other divided flow path (the first divided flow path or the second divided flow path) located below. This allows gravel and the like that has accumulated in the suction nozzle to be quickly removed and returned to the bottom of the aquarium, allowing the aquarium cleaning work to be completed in a shorter time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a side view of the aquarium cleaning tool of the present embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the suction nozzle of the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the state in which the aquarium cleaning tool of this embodiment is used. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main part of the water tank cleaning tool according to the present embodiment, showing the state of use. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main part of the water tank cleaning tool according to the present embodiment, showing the state of use. [Figure 7] 1 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the suction nozzle according to the present invention, showing a state of use when no partition plate is provided. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a front view of a suction nozzle according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line V in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main part of the suction nozzle showing the state of use. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a side view of an aquarium cleaning tool according to still another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] As shown in Figure 1, the aquarium cleaning tool 10 of this embodiment is composed of a suction pipe 2 having a suction nozzle 1 at its tip, a pump 3 connected to the base end of the suction pipe 2 and sucking sediment from the aquarium together with the aquarium water through the suction pipe 2, and a discharge pipe 4 connected to the pump 3 and discharging the sediment sucked by the pump 3 out of the aquarium together with the aquarium water.

[0017] The suction pipe 2 is made of a straight pipe material made of transparent synthetic resin with a predetermined bending strength, and the suction nozzle 1 described later is detachably fitted into the tip of the pipe. The discharge pipe 4 is made of a flexible pipe material made of transparent synthetic resin, and can be easily bent and deformed.

[0018] Pump 3 is a manual pump configured in the same way as a well-known oil injection pump for oil-burning appliances. By manually compressing and releasing actuator cylinder 31, the pressure inside valve box 32, which has built-in suction and discharge valves (not shown), can be increased or decreased, and water in the tank can be sucked in through suction pipe 2 and discharged through discharge pipe 4.

[0019] In addition, in the aquarium cleaning tool 10 of this embodiment, after the inside of the suction pipe 2, valve box 32, and discharge pipe 4 are filled with aquarium water by manually operating the actuating cylinder 31, the siphon principle is utilized to suck and discharge the aquarium water without manually operating the actuating cylinder 31. It is also possible to manually operate the actuating cylinder 31 to suction and discharge the aquarium water as needed while the suction action based on the siphon principle is continuing. It is also possible to suction and discharge the aquarium water only by the action of the pump 3 without using the siphon principle.

[0020] 2 and 3, the suction nozzle 1 of this embodiment is composed of a nozzle body 11 in the form of a substantially straight tube made of a transparent synthetic resin material having a predetermined bending strength, and a long plate-like partition plate 12 made of a transparent synthetic resin material having a predetermined bending strength that is provided inside the tube of the nozzle body 11. The partition plate 12 is provided along the flow path FP of the nozzle body 11, and this partition plate 12 divides the flow path FP of the nozzle body 11 into a first divided flow path FP1 and a second divided flow path FP2.

[0021] In this embodiment, the tip end of the partition plate 12 is located at the tip suction port 11a of the nozzle body 11, and a first divided flow path FP1 and a second divided flow path FP2 are formed at the tip suction port 11a of the nozzle body 11. On the other hand, the base end of the partition plate 12 is located in the middle part of the nozzle body 11 in the longitudinal direction, and on the side of the base end connection port 11b of the nozzle body 11 to which the suction pipe 2 is connected, the flow path FP of the nozzle body 11 is not divided into two.

[0022] 3, in this embodiment, a pair of insertion grooves 111, 111 are formed facing each other on the inner wall of the nozzle body 11. Each insertion groove 111 is formed from the middle of the inner wall of the nozzle body 11 in the longitudinal direction to the tip suction port 11a, and a partition plate 12 is detachably inserted and fixed between the pair of insertion grooves 111.

[0023] When using the aquarium cleaning tool 10 of this embodiment, first, the suction nozzle 1 and suction pipe 2 are placed in the aquarium, and the pump 3 is manually operated to initiate the siphon-based suction and discharge action. Next, as shown in Figure 4, while the siphon-based suction action continues, the suction nozzle 1 and suction pipe 2 are tilted relative to the horizontal, and the tip suction port 11a of the suction nozzle 1 is inserted between the gravel S at the bottom of the aquarium 5, thereby sucking up the sediment P, gravel S, etc. at the bottom of the aquarium together with the aquarium water W.

[0024] At this time, as shown in Figure 5, within the flow path FP of the suction nozzle 1, the sediment P, which has a relatively low specific gravity, is sucked up by the suction flow WF of the tank water W and discharged outside the tank 5 through the suction pipe 2 and the discharge pipe 4.

[0025] On the other hand, gravel S and the like, which have a relatively high specific gravity, are encouraged to fall under their own weight after passing through the first divided flow path FP1 and the second divided flow path FP2 of the suction nozzle 1, due to the turbulent suction of the tank water W that occurs near the base end of the partition plate 12.

[0026] Then, when gravel S etc. fall under its own weight, the movement of gravel S etc. from the second divided flow path FP2 located above within the nozzle body 11, which is inclined relative to the horizontal plane, to the first divided flow path FP1 located below (see arrow A in Figure 5) becomes dominant over the movement in the opposite direction (movement from the first divided flow path FP1 to the second divided flow path FP2), and the amount of gravel S etc. remaining in the lower first divided flow path FP1 gradually becomes greater than the amount remaining in the upper second divided flow path FP2, and the suction flow WF1 of the aquarium water W in the lower first divided flow path FP1 becomes weaker than the suction flow WF2 in the upper second divided flow path FP2.

[0027] As a result, as shown in Figure 6, when the tip suction port 11a of the suction nozzle 1 is removed from the bottom of the aquarium 5, the aquarium water W continues to be sucked up mainly in the upper second divided flow path FP2, while the gravel S and the like falling under their own weight in the lower first divided flow path FP1 is further promoted (see arrow B in Figure 6), and the gravel S and the like in the suction nozzle 1 can be quickly removed from the suction nozzle 1 and returned to the bottom of the aquarium. In this way, the waiting time until the next insertion of the suction nozzle 1 into the bottom to resume suctioning of sediment P can be significantly reduced, making it possible to complete the aquarium cleaning work in a shorter time.

[0028] In contrast, as shown in Figure 7, when the flow path FP of the nozzle body 11 is not divided into two by a partition plate (corresponding to the suction pipe of a conventional aquarium cleaning tool), the amount of gravel S and other particles accumulated on the lower side of the inner wall of the nozzle body 11, which is inclined relative to the horizontal plane, is greater than the amount accumulated on the upper side of the inner wall.However, the gravel S and other particles accumulated on the lower side of the inner wall are mainly blown up toward the back of the nozzle body 11 by the suction flow WF of the aquarium water W on the upper side of the inner wall (see arrow C in Figure 7), and it takes a considerable amount of time to remove the gravel S and other particles from inside the suction nozzle 1.

[0029] Thus, according to the aquarium cleaning tool 10 and suction nozzle 1 of this embodiment, the flow path FP of the nozzle body 11 is divided into a first divided flow path FP1 and a second divided flow path FP2 by the partition plate 12, so that when in use, simply by tilting the suction nozzle 1 relative to the horizontal plane, it is possible to continue suctioning up the aquarium water W in one divided flow path (second divided flow path FP2) located at the top within the nozzle body 11 while promoting the falling of gravel S and the like under its own weight in the other divided flow path (first divided flow path FP1) located below, so that gravel S and the like remaining in the suction nozzle 1 can be quickly removed and returned to the bottom of the aquarium, allowing the aquarium cleaning work to be completed in a shorter time.

[0030] Furthermore, with the aquarium cleaning tool 10 and suction nozzle 1 of this embodiment, the tip of the partition plate 12 is located at the tip suction port 11a of the nozzle body 11, and the first divided flow path FP1 and the second divided flow path FP2 are formed at the tip suction port 11a, which allows the aquarium water W to be sucked in and the gravel S and other particles to fall out at the tip suction port 11a more smoothly. Furthermore, the partition plate 12 can be easily attached and detached at the tip suction port 11a, which makes it easy to disassemble and clean the suction nozzle 1.

[0031] Although the aquarium cleaning tool 10 and the suction nozzle 1 of this embodiment have been described above, the present invention can also be implemented in other embodiments.

[0032] 8 and 9, a communication hole 13 that connects the first divided flow path FP1 and the second divided flow path FP2 may be provided on the base end side of the partition plate 12. By providing the communication hole 13, when the suction nozzle 1 is inserted among the gravel at the bottom of the tank to suck up sediment, gravel, etc., or when the suction nozzle 1 is moved away from the bottom of the tank to remove gravel S, etc., as shown in Fig. 10, a diverted suction flow WF3 can be generated that flows from the second divided flow path FP2 to the first divided flow path FP1 through the communication hole 13. This diverted suction flow WF3 can prevent gravel blockage due to the accumulation of gravel S, etc. (bridge phenomenon) near the base end of the partition plate 12, which can occur depending on the suction conditions and environment of the aquarium cleaning tool 10.

[0033] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a manual pump 3 is used as the pump that sucks sediment together with the aquarium water through the suction pipe 2 and discharges the sediment together with the aquarium water through the discharge pipe 4, but the present invention is by no means limited to this, and for example, a well-known electric pump 6 may be used, as in aquarium tank cleaning tool 20 shown in Figure 11. Furthermore, as in this aquarium tank cleaning tool 20, the suction pipe 2 may be composed of a straight pipe 21 made of a transparent synthetic resin material that has a predetermined bending strength, and a flexible pipe 22 made of a transparent synthetic resin material that is connected to this straight pipe 21 and is easily bendable, thereby improving the handleability of aquarium tank cleaning tool 20.

[0034] Furthermore, the aquarium cleaning tool of the present invention does not necessarily need to use a pump. For example, in the aquarium cleaning tool 10 of the above embodiment, the suction pipe 2 and the discharge pipe 4 may be directly connected, so that the suction and discharge of aquarium water is carried out solely using the siphon principle.

[0035] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the suction nozzle 1 is detachably attached to the tip of the suction pipe 2 of the aquarium cleaning tool, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the suction pipe 2 of the aquarium cleaning tool and the suction nozzle 1 may be formed integrally.

[0036] In addition, in the above embodiment, the second divided flow path FP2 of the nozzle body 11 is positioned above the first divided flow path FP1 during use, but the present invention is by no means limited to this, and the suction nozzle 1 may be used at an angle so that the first divided flow path FP1 is positioned above the second divided flow path FP2. Furthermore, when the suction nozzle 1 is tilted relative to the horizontal plane in this manner, it is sufficient that either the first divided flow path FP1 or the second divided flow path FP2 is positioned above the other, and the orientation of the suction nozzle 1 around its axis when the suction nozzle 1 is attached to the tip of the suction pipe 2 can be changed as appropriate, taking into account the operability of the aquarium cleaning tool, etc.

[0037] In the above embodiment, the tip of partition plate 12 is located at tip suction port 11a of nozzle body 11, and its base end is located in the middle of nozzle body 11 in the longitudinal direction, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the tip of partition plate 12 may be located further back than tip suction port 11a or may protrude from tip suction port 11a. Also, the base end of partition plate 12 may be located at base end connection port 11b of nozzle body 11.

[0038] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 6, when the amount of gravel S and the like accumulated in the suction nozzle 1 increases, the tip suction port 11a of the suction nozzle 1 is moved away from the bottom of the aquarium. However, the method of use of the present invention is by no means limited to this. Even when the amount of gravel S and the like accumulated in the suction nozzle 1 increases, the tip suction port 11a of the suction nozzle 1 may be moved horizontally without moving away from the bottom of the aquarium, thereby continuously sucking up the aquarium water W, gravel S, and sediment P and removing the gravel S and the like.

[0039] The present invention may be embodied in various other forms, including improvements, modifications, and variations based on the knowledge of a person skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, within the scope of producing the same action or effect, any of the features specifying the invention may be substituted with other technology, and an integrally configured feature of the invention may be composed of multiple components, or an integrally configured feature of the invention consisting of multiple components may be embodied. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 10, 20 Aquarium cleaning tools 1 suction nozzle 11 Nozzle body 11a (Nozzle body) tip suction port 12 Divider 13 Communication hole 2 suction pipes 3, 6 pump 4. Exhaust pipe 5. Aquarium FP (nozzle body) flow path FP1 First divided channel FP2 Second divided channel P precipitate S Gravel W Aquarium Water

Claims

1. A suction nozzle used in an aquarium cleaning tool that sucks up sediment that has settled at the bottom of the aquarium along with the aquarium water through a suction pipe and discharges it outside the aquarium, a tubular nozzle body provided at a tip end of the suction pipe; and a partition plate provided within the tube of the nozzle body, dividing a flow path of the nozzle body into a first divided flow path and a second divided flow path along the flow path, The suction nozzle is characterized in that the tip of the partition plate is located at the tip suction port of the nozzle body.

2. A suction nozzle used in an aquarium cleaning tool that sucks up sediment that has settled at the bottom of the aquarium along with the aquarium water through a suction pipe and discharges it outside the aquarium, a tubular nozzle body provided at a tip end of the suction pipe; and a partition plate provided within the tube of the nozzle body, dividing a flow path of the nozzle body into a first divided flow path and a second divided flow path along the flow path, The suction nozzle is characterized in that a communication hole that communicates the first divided flow path and the second divided flow path is provided on the base end side of the partition plate.

3. This is an aquarium cleaning tool that sucks up sediment that has settled at the bottom of the aquarium together with the aquarium water and discharges it outside the aquarium, 1. An aquarium cleaning tool comprising: a suction pipe having a suction nozzle according to claim 1 or claim 2 at its tip, which sucks up the sediment together with the aquarium water; and a discharge pipe connected to the base end of the suction pipe, which discharges the sediment sucked through the suction pipe together with the aquarium water outside the aquarium.

4. The aquarium cleaning tool according to claim 3, characterized in that a pump is provided between the suction pipe and the discharge pipe to suck the sediment together with the aquarium water through the suction pipe and discharge the sediment together with the aquarium water through the discharge pipe.

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