CA2903892A1 - Self-sinking and self-orienting aerator - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a self-sinking and self-orienting diffuser water aerator, a method of making same, and a method of using the same. This invention preferably includes a multi-port diffuser assembly connected to a sled plate bottom, where the diffusers are spaced from the sled plate bottom, making the aerator capable of orienting itself on the bottom of a body of water, such as a pond, while still allowing for maximum aeration. By spacing the diffusers a distance apart and above the bottom of the sled plate bottom of the aerator, air can circulate between the diffusers and the top of the sled plate assembly, whereby a much greater oxygenation of the body of water may be realized. The aerator may be manufactured of waterproof and corrosion resistant plastic materials with watertight seals between air passageways from an air source at the surface and any suitable air diffusion device may be attached in a spaced apart relation to the sled bottom. Use of the self-sinking and self-orienting aerator of the present invention includes dropping the aerator into the water, supplying an air source to the aerator and running the air source through the integral air diffusers to oxygenate the body of water.

Description

SELF-SINKING AND SELF-ORIENTING AERATOR
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water aerator, methods of manufacturing same, and methods of using same. More particularly, the invention relates to a self-sinking self-orienting water aerator and how it is made and utilized.

2. Description of the Prior Art Aerating bodies of water, especially ponds, both on the surface and throughout the depth of the water is desired by owners, as they desire an algae free body of water. Stagnant water provides a fertile environment for the growth of algae, insects and other undesirable growths. In the case of pond owners, they desire a pond that is capable of sustaining fish and decorative plantings rather than algae and muck. Therefore, to eliminate algae growth, full oxygenation, both at the surface and down to the floor of the body of water, is helpful so that almost no algae builds, and the water remains clean and clear, and free of algae growth. In order to be extremely effective at aerating most, if not all, of the water, proper placement of an effective water aerator is most helpful.
In the past, problems have arisen when attempting to place an aerator in an upright position on the floor of a body of water. For the purposes of this disclosure, reference will be made to a pond as the body of water to be aerated, although the present aerator may be advantageous in any body of water having a depth of less than 200 feet deep.
In that regard, it should be noted that prior art designs of pond aerators have not aerated the entire pond water because they lay on the bottom of the pond and merely bubble a small stream of bubbles in an upward direction, so that the bubbles immediately rise to the surface, thereby only aerating the surface water. To ensure full oxygenation of all the pond water, oxygenated bubbles need to be in contact with the bulk of the pond water, not just a small stream of bubbles rising to the surface.
Much like a bubbler in a fish tank with which we are all so familiar, aerators are designed to infuse broken up bubbles of air, thereby injecting oxygen into the water around the aerator. In fish tanks, most bubblers do not make the entire body of water churn to expose all the water to the surface for air absorption, where over 60% of all oxygenation takes place. Although total oxygenation of the entire fish tank may not be necessary for that environment, in a pond or body of water that needs to be more completely aerated in order to remain clear and clean, total churning of most, if not all, of the pond water may be necessary. In these instances, 60%
oxygenation at the surface may not be enough to prevent algae growth. Anyone who has seen a stagnant pond will usually remember the bright green algae forming in the water. Algae grows in non-aerobic conditions, so the stagnant pond is a fertile breeding ground.
Furthermore, mosquitoes and other undesirable creatures will also find a home there. In order to deter such algae growth, circulation of highly oxygenated water must take place.
In the past, oxygenating the pond waters has been attempted by the proper placement of conventional pond aerators to ensure a more efficient oxygenation of water in and around the aerator. Usually, for applications in relatively large ponds, aerators were guided down into the water from a boat out in the body of pond water. However, even though guided, these conventional pond aerators rarely sank directly to the bottom of the pond or other body of water, which explains why those aerators exhibited compromised aeration for the pond.
One particular problem that has plagued users has been that nearly all of the sinkable aerators seem to land on the pond floor in a bad orientation for optimum aeration. It has been the experience of the present inventor that keeping diffusers from sinking into the muck at the bottom of a pond has been problematic for conventional manufacturers. In an attempt to provide proper orientation, the present invention came about.
Further, since most conventional aerators are disc-based, they are inefficient and have trouble sinking directly downward without intricate guide ropes and numerous people to ensure /Ironer nIneement The dice chant- nf rariii i nn aeratnrc matte the a pratnr "CAXI9V" "dein"

or -sail" during its downward descent, like a kite swiveling through the air, so that the travel path is not direct, but rather sailing down in a silting motion, side to side and all over. Pond maintenance workers have tried to compensate for such erratic motion by using multiple guide ropes held by multiple people. However, if one has ever tried to sink a disc in water, you know how impossible it is to get it to sink directly to the bottom. Rather, it scoots from side to side, due to the resistance of the water, and, if you are very lucky, the disc will land flat on the bottom.
It is highly unlikely that the disc aerator will perfectly drop in a straight line into a position that was intended.
Practitioners of those inventions have become aware of certain other problems which are also presented by those prior art devices. There are complexities which give rise to improper aeration and algae build-up because full exchange between the water and the air does not seem to be achievable. A full churning of the water, from the bottom of the water body, up to the surface to capture air, and then traveling back down to the bottom to oxygenate the very bottom of the water body, never seems to take place. This lack of a frill exchange can result in inadequate aeration and consequent formation of anaerobic growths that the owner would like to avoid.
It would be desirable to the pond maintenance industry if there was provided a self-sinking and self-orienting diffuser aerator, and methods of making such aerators, and/or a novel method of using such an aerator for maximum aeration of a pond or other body of water.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the above-noted desires of the industry, the present invention provides various aspects, including a self-sinking and self-orienting diffuser aerator, a method of making same, and a method of using the same. This preferably includes at least one multi-port diffuser with a multi-plate sled bottom spaced from the at least one diffuser that orients itself on 30 the bottom of the pond while still allowing for maximum aeration. This overcomes many of the aforementioned problems with the prior art because the self-sinking aerator drops directly into position and its aeration diffusers are held above the at least one sled plate underneath the self-sinking aerator that rests on the bottom of the pond, while allowing sufficient airflow out of the diffusers to provide an effective amount of aeration to the surrounding water.
In fact, by providing a space underneath the diffusers of the self-sinking aerator, a large flux like pattern of aerating bubbles may be created, bringing un-aerated water up from the bottom of the water body up to the surface, creating a rotational churning of the water. Once this rotational churning of the water is fully achieved, my design aerates the body of water much more effectively than conventional aerators. In fact, it appears that one or more of my aerators are capable of full aeration of a typically sized pond of some acreage because the rotationally churning air bubbles bring up the water from the bottom and bring it to the surface, where it picks up more air and becomes oxygenated.
The present self-sinking aerator can literally be dropped off the edge of a boat and it will sink straight down and land correctly without guide ropes being necessary. The multi-diffuser Although the invention will be described by way of examples hereinbelow for specific aspects having certain features, it must also be realized that minor modifications that do not require undo experimentation on the part of the practitioner are covered within the scope and breadth of this invention. Additional advantages and other novel features of the present invention will be set forth in the description that follows and in particular will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination or may be learned within the practice of the invention.
Therefore, the invention is capable of many other different aspects and its details are capable of modifications of various aspects which will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art all without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the rest of the description will be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a further understanding of the nature and advantages of the expected scope and various aspects of the present invention, reference shall be made to the following detailed description, and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are given the same reference numerals, and wherein:
FIG 1 is an environmental view of the self-sinking aerator made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the self-sinking aerator of FIG. 1;
FIG 3 is an exploded perspective view of the self-sinking aerator of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4A is a top plan view of the self-sinking aerator of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4B is a front elevational view of the self-sinking aerator of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a handle of the self-sinking aerator of FIG.
1; and FIG. 6 is a cut away elevational view of a nozzle of the self-sinking aerator of FIG. 1.
In summary, numerous benefits have been described which result from employing any or all of the concepts and the features of the various specific aspects of the present invention, or those that are within the scope of the invention. The present aerator acts to enable a fully, or nearly fully, complete oxygenation of a small body of water, such as a pond, and is easy to install and work efficiently.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS UTILIZED IN THE DRAWINGS
10. Self-sinking aerator 12. Pond 14. Operator 16. Boat 18. Line hose 20. Bubbles up 22. Bubbles down 30. Self-sinking aerator 32. Sled plate 34. Handle 36. Diffuser ports 37. Diffuser handle collar 38. Valve assembly 40. Diffuser sticks 42. Air nozzle 44. Spacer 0-ring 70 46. Pipe cap 48. Air intake 50. Gripping handle overmold 52. Air port 54. Threaded end 56. Air nozzle valve assembly DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG 1 is an environmental view of a self-sinking self-orienting water aerator made in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, and is generally indicated by the numeral 10, shown in its environment as it lies on the bottom of a pond 12 or other body of water. In this first aspect of the present invention, an operator 14 may go out into the pond 12 in a boat 16, and drops self-sinking aerator 10 with a line hose 18 attached thereto. Alternatively, an operator may stand on shore and just throw my aerator as far out into the middle of the pond or other body of water as he is capable. while keeping an air hose intact to supply air to the aerator. Once in place, bubbles ascending upwardly 20 and bubbles descending downwardly 22 create a rotational flux of bubbles that act to better aerate the pond 12 than is experienced when utilizing prior art devices.
FIG. 2 is a closer perspective view of the self-sinking, self-orienting water aerator shown in FIG. I, which is generally denoted by numeral 30. Self-sinking aerator 30 may include at least one sled plate 32 which is configured with a relatively flat bottom with upturned curved sides and having a recess in the middle of the device so that water can rush through the center to allow the sled plate to float evenly to the bottom of a body of water. There is an optional handle extending longitudinally between the two sled plates 32. This optional handle may be ovennolded with a gripping type of material 50. Extending radially from handle 34, there is shown at least one diffuser stick 40, and preferably more than one diffuser stick 40, to release tiny air bubbles therefrom in order to locally add oxygen to the body of water.
Diffuser stick 40 may also be a membrane diffuser stick, such as the AirMax ProAir4TM Membrane Diffuser Stick, commercially available from www.thepondguy.com of Armada. Michigan. USA, or any other suitable air diffuser. The membrane diffusion stick is most advantageous as it is substantially maintenance free, and performs better than traditional air stone type diffusers. However, air stone type diffusers will work with this aspect of the invention.
In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, diffuser sticks 40 are raised up from the upper surface of sled plates 32 with a space of anywhere from one inch to twelve inches in order to provide sufficient space to release diffuser bubbles from the entire surface circumferentially radiating outward in all directions around the diffuser sticks 40. By spacing the diffuser sticks 40 above the sled plates 32, a sufficient amount of water can circulate underneath the diffuser sticks 40 in a substantially muck-free environment, allowing full oxygenation of the water circulating around. Depending on the amount of water to be oxygenated, the size of the entire device may be selected for maximum efficiency. In essence, sled plates 32 may act as a false bottom that stays clean and provides a sufficient amount of space between the diffuser and the bottom so that air can circulate freely about the diffuser. Most suitable diffusers provide dispersed bubble circumferentially about the diffuser, so providing a sufficient amount of space all the way around the diffuser allows for maximum aeration. Furthermore, the aerator is preferably weighted to further enable a proper downward journey for the aerator. Depending upon the desired configuration and size of the aerator unit being purchased, the weights may be incorporated anywhere in the aerator. The weight to aerator assembly ratio may be from 1:1 to 50:1. The weights may be located on the bottom side of the sled plates 32, or any other suitable location on the aerator.
Although FIG. 2 illustrates diffuser sticks 40 being connected to a central air passage way through the handle 34, if the handle is not desired, an air source can be designed to directly communicate with the diffuser sticks 40 (not shown). Regardless, in this aspect shown, air is received through air nozzle 42 with a hose (not shown) which feeds air into the air nozzle through a valve assembly 38 and into the cavity inside handle 34. Air is then dispersed through handle 34, and handle 34 may be advantageously capped with a pipe cap 46 so that as air passes through air nozzle 42, it is released through diffuser sticks 40. Between diffuser sticks 40 and handle 34 are spacer 0-rings 44 to create an airtight seal to allow for all the air to be dispersed through the diffuser sticks 40. Other configurations of the air delivery system are contemplated, depending on the application. Another possibility is the use of fritted air stones or diffusers or conventional perforated aerator sticks in conjunction with the sled plate sinker design described herein. Any suitable air diffusion system may be used with the present invention of the self-sinking and self-orienting sled plate configuration.
For a close-up view of all of the components of the first aspect of the self-sinking aerator 30 of the present invention, FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view with all the elements in a fragmentary view of the self-sinking aerator 30. Again, sled plates 32 are positioned on either side of an optional handle 34 and are in communication with the air flow through air nozzle 42 by the diffuser ports 36. Sled plates 32 are configured such that the entire self-sinking aerator 30 will drop vertically without much swaying back and forth, thereby providing a perfect drop to the bottom. Although any type of air diffuser may be used, in this aspect, membrane diffuser sticks 40 are attached to diffuser ports 36 through the holes in the upper portion of sled plates 32 and are sealed off with spacer 0-rings 44. A
valve assembly 38 is located intermediate between the air nozzle 42 and the distal portion of handle 34, and will be discussed more fully herein below. Diffuser handle collar 37 distributes the air between the various diffuser sticks through the diffuser ports 36.
Sled plates 32 shall be large enough to be larger than the diffusion sticks 40, so that sled plates maintain a muck free zone. Hence, sled plates 32 shall be at least 5% to 100%
longer and wider than the diffusion sticks 40, and said plates are self-weighted to make sure self-orientation can occur with surety. If the diffuser stick hangs out over the sled plate, self-orientation is not assured, and in fact is compromised. One can imagine that if the diffuser stick is longer or wider than the sled plate, when it is dropped into the water, the diffuser stick will jam into the muck before the sled plate hits the bottom, and compromise the effectiveness. By using a much larger surface area of the sled plate, self-orientation is assured, which is especially helpful in deeper bodies of water. In fact, the deeper the pond, the more advantage there is for a larger sled plate in relation to the diffuser sticks. Sled plates 32 shall be longer, from 5% to 100% longer, and preferably from 10% to 50% longer than the diffuser stick so that a substantial muck free zone under the diffuser stick is maintained for a length of time. By allowing a diffuser stick to be longer than the sled plate, it restricts its effectiveness to very shallow applications, and my invention assures proper usage over a much wider range of depths.
FIG. 4A shows a top plan view of this aspect of my self-sinking aerator 30 with the relative placements of the sled plates 32 and diffuser sticks 40. Air nozzle 42 distributes air through valve assembly 38 into handle 34 which distributes radially into the diffuser sticks 40.
Handle 34 may optionally include an overmolded rubber gripping handle because, when the self-sinking aerator 30 is retrieved, there is generally slimy build up on the handle, and the gripping handle overmold 50 helps in handling the self-sinking aerator.
FIG 4B is a front elevational view of the self-sinking aerator, and shows the turned up ends of sled plates 32 with a distance A-A between the upper surface of sled plates 32 and the lowermost portion of diffuser sticks 40. Consequently, this dimension may be from approximately two inches to twelve inches, and is most preferably about four inches. This dimension allows air bubble flow from the diffuser stick to project downwardly and then rise back up, unlike conventional diffuser sticks which do not allow for any space between the bottom of the diffuser and the bottom of the body of the water. As can be seen in this Figure, spacer 0-rings 44 seal the end of diffuser sticks 40 onto diffuser ports 36.
Regarding the sled plate configuration, a preferred ratio of net free area to solid surface of the sled plates is from 5% free area to 95% solid sled plate area up to 75% free area to 25% solid sled plate area, depending on the application. The sled plates are preferably made of a any suitable corrosion resistant material, such as plastic, stainless steel or ceramic, and may have upturned edges with an upwardly extending angle relative to the bottom of the sled plate of from 5 degrees to 90 degrees to help prevent "sailing". The total area of the upturned edges may be from about 5% to 75% of the total top surface area of the sled plate. Such upturned edges may be present on at least one of the sled plates, or upturned edges may be present on each of the distal portions of the sled plates described herein.
Sled plates 32 may also include a non-stick coating to prevent debris from sticking to the aerator. In fact, the inventor envisions a advantage for all of the components of the present aerator to be coated with a non-stick coating to prevent debris from sticking. Any suitable non-sticking coating may be utilized, depending upon the material used to construct the aerator. Each of the components may include the non-stick coating for the sake of maintenance.

FIG. 5 is a close up of hollow handle 34 including four diffuser ports, although any number of diffuser ports may be utilized. In this aspect, hollow handle 34 is in communication with an air source above the water surface and is connected to the air source with air tubing, preferably self-weighted to prevent floating. Handle 34 is shown without the valve assembly 38 or air nozzle 42 shown in previous Figures. An optional gripping handle overmold 50 of a preferably soft plastic material and is shown in place over handle 34 which would make handling of the aerator much easier. Handle 34 also provides even distribution of streaming air bubbles because it splits up the air surging therethrough to the various diffuser sticks. Handle 34 also provides an easy to handle device when rocking around in a boat during installation. The total cubic volumetrics of the interior air handling capacity of handle 34, when relating to the overall air handling cubic volumetric of the total overall air handling volume is from I% to 10,000%, depending on the length of the air tubing connecting the air source to the handle and the depth of the pond being aerated.
Looking lastly to the aspect of FIG. 6, within the air delivery system of the handle and the diffuser stick interfaces, valve assembly 38 is shown with its components between air nozzle 42 and air intake port 48. Valve assembly 38 is shown as including an air port 52 and with a threaded end 54. A narrow inner diameter dimension of the valve assembly will compress the air to force more air through handle 34 and diffuser ports 36 into diffuser sticks 40 in operation. Threaded end 54 of valve assembly 38 is secured to air intake 48 and then air is disseminated through diffuser ports 36. It may be found to be advantageous to include a check valve within the valve assembly to prevent back pressure to the compressor, thereby extending the life of the compressor. Any suitable check valve may be utilized for this purpose.
The foregoing description of a preferred aspect of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings with regards to the specific aspects.
The aspect was chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various aspects and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims which are appended hereto.

Claims (2)

What is claimed is:

1. A pond aerator, comprising:
a self-sinking and self-orienting diffuser aerator including at least one multi-port diffuser with a sled plate bottom; and said sled plate bottom being spaced from at least one diffuser that orients itself on the bottom of the pond while still allowing for maximum aeration;
whereby the self-sinking aerator drops directly into position and its aeration diffusers are held above the at least one sled plate underneath the self-sinking aerator that rests on the bottom of the pond, while allowing sufficient airflow out of the diffusers to provide an effective amount of aeration to the surrounding water.

2. The aerator of claim 1, further comprising a handle in communication with the diffuser, said handle being hollow and hooked to an air source.