| Quickflush valve kit for flushing and winterizing of cooling system of inboard marine engines, power generators, air-conditioning units, and sailboat engines -> Monitor Keywords |
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  Quickflush valve kit for flushing and winterizing of cooling system of inboard marine engines, power generators, air-conditioning units, and sailboat enginesUSPTO Application #: 20060068657Title: Quickflush valve kit for flushing and winterizing of cooling system of inboard marine engines, power generators, air-conditioning units, and sailboat engines Abstract: A QuickFlush Valve, available in four different versions is a simple, inexpensive device, which allows for a thorough, regular, cost-effective, and convenient flushing or winterizing of cooling systems of inboard marine engines, power generators, and A/C units. At the same time after it is easily installed on boats—either by a boat manufactures or by an owner—it offers years of unmatched reliability, safety and convenience of use for the necessary flushing and wintering thus contributing to extended life expectancy and more efficient operation of inboard marine engines, power generators, and A/C units. (end of abstract) Agent: Mikulas Csitari - Media, PA, US Inventor: Mikulas Csitari USPTO Applicaton #: 20060068657 - Class: 44008800N (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060068657. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE [0001] Reference is made to provisional application No. 60/471,765 filed May 20, 2003. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1) Field of Invention [0003] This invention relates generally to flushing of saltwater, sediments and debris drawn into water-cooled systems of inboard marine engines, power generators, and air-conditioning units with fresh water or with winterization of said engines, generators and units. The invention can also function as an emergency bilge pump. [0004] 2) Description of the Related Art [0005] U.S. Patent Documents: TABLE-US-00001 Patent Number Date Name Classification 3,441,044 April, 1969 Rodriguez 137/111 3,550,612 December, 1970 Maxon 440/88 3,946,694 March, 1976 Belsky 114/183 4,619,618 October, 1986 Patti 440/88R 5,251,670 October, 1993 Bates 137/625.46 5,263,885 November, 1993 Montague 440/88R 5,295,880 March, 1994 Parker 440/88R 5,362,266 November, 1994 Brogdon 440/88 6,004,175 December, 1999 McCoy 440/88R [0006] Cooling systems of internal combustion engines such as inboard marine engines, power generators and air conditioning unit installed on power boats use raw water drawn from ambient body of water on which said boats operate. Raw water, i.e. saltwater or water from a lake or a river, carries in the cooling system sand, sediments and other debris, minerals, organic matters which tend to obstruct cooling liquid flow and build deposits in engine's cooling system. Keeping the cooling system free of such damaging particles and deposits by regular and proper flushing considerably prolongs life expectancy and improves performance and safety of operation of said engines, power generators, and air conditioning units. [0007] Similarly, marine engines, power generators, and air-conditioning unit on the boats need to be winterized, i.e. flushed with fresh water and filled with antifreeze liquid. [0008] Great majority of existing and currently operating cooling systems of inboard marine engines, inboard power generators and air-conditioning units do not have flushing and winterizing units installed. [0009] The most frequently used, impromptu, very inconvenient, and costly solution to the need of performing at least somehow effective flushing (and/or winterizing) of said inboard systems is as follows: [0010] A hose (raw water intake conduit) is disconnected from the raw pick up valve ("seacock") and put into a bucket or a similar container. The bucket is being continuously filled with fresh water from a garden hose. With marine engine running and, therefore, the impeller pump engaged fresh water from the bucket is sucked up into engine's cooling system thus flushing it. This procedure is not very effective as the inflow of fresh water from the garden hose and the outflow of water from the bucket, i.e. the water sucked to flush the engine, are very uneven, thus leading to frequent run-outs of water in the bucket, forced shut-downs of engine/impeller pump, and a risk that no water but the air is sucked into the engine's cooling system, creating engine damage and safety hazard. These time consuming and inconvenient procedure, poor accessibility-related to removing and reconnecting intake raw water conduit and working with the bucket in limited space lead to an insufficient and infrequent flushing and subsequent economic loses and an inefficient or less safe engine operation. The raw water intake hose and its hose clamps being each time disconnected and reconnected from the raw water pickup valve are also quickly worn out and damaged. [0011] Similarly to flushing, winterizing--which, unlike flushing needs to be done each year--represents the same set of great inconveniences, problems and expenses as it too requires in most of the cases dry-docking where the cost for each is significant. At this time it varies nationwide between about $300 and $800 for each event. This expense makes it further more unlikely that the cooling systems are being kept clean of said deposits and debris. [0012] Several devices are known in prior art allowing for flushing of the cooling system of marine engines. However it is believed that none of the prior art inventions are of the same structure and that they are able to provide same benefits as the preferred embodiment of the present invention. [0013] Generally, boat manufactures do not install any flushing (and/or winterizing) units because they do not see any unit available on the market as being satisfactory to meet their product reliability with related safety and liability concerns. Very limited number of flushing devices is available in aftermarket. [0014] Only the boats manufactured in recent years (approximately after 1999) and only those with diesel marine engines have an extra valve ("seacock", next to the raw water intake valve, which is generally found, at the very bottom of the boat) offering emergency bilge water pump function. But this solution does not allow for removal of bilge water in any additional compartment of the bilge outside the one where the raw pickup valve and the "seacock" are mounted. [0015] In U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,044 issued on Feb. 23, 1967 to Rodriguez pressure-actuated flush valve for marine engines is disclosed. A movable piston valve switching mechanism controlled by the pressure of the fresh water supply is the basis of said valve. The body is of elongated T-shape with two opposing nipples for in and outflow of cooling water. A sliding piston with a an enclosed solid bottom and one hole in its wall matching in size coolant conduit cross-section can move based on helical compression spring action allowing for a wide range of input water pressures. In flushing mode position of the piston hole meets coolant outflow nipple and fresh water flows into cooling system thus flushing it. With pressurized fresh water turned off, spring forces the cylinder to slid up, as bottom part of the piston is to seal off the hollow space for the normal flow of raw water to and from the valve. This device is not being installed apparently due to cost-prohibitive machining of the body bore and matching piston cylinder; sealing action becomes quickly ineffective due to deposits on the bore and piston walls. Tendency for the piston to get stuck in improper position exists. It is visually impossible to verify proper operation or position of the piston visa vie fresh waterhole in it and T-body cooling water outflow nipple. Device does not allow for seacock and raw water conduit back flush. It also doesn't allow for emergency bilge pump operation. [0016] In U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,612 issued on Dec. 29, 1970 to Maxon discloses T-shape device with fresh water intake controlled by a spring. Raw water inlet has a ball, not spring loaded against its seat and having holes running through it. The purpose of the holes is to allow for limited back flush of raw water intake conduit by pressurized fresh water. Holes in the ball seem to defy or at least substantially reduce the benefits of the very purpose of flushing of the cooling system as raw water electrolytes, sediments, debris, and harmful minerals are coming in along with pressurized fresh water. The hydraulics of coolant flow seems to be also negatively affected by the fact that the clearance of the ball seat reduces the clearance designed by the engine manufacturer for optimum cooling action. Coolant flow seems to be further affected by inevitable turbulence due to the shape of the hollow body of the device as it has to flow toward the fresh water intake port and back to the port leading to the pump and the engine where the shield design to keep the moving ball further reduces a clearance available to the coolant's flow. Maxon apparently doesn't allow for using non-pressurised fresh water, as it would need to overcome resistance of the spring urging ball valve to keep fresh water intake port closed. [0017] U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,694 issued on Mar. 30, 1976 to Belsky discloses automatic emergency bilge water pumpout system. The system comprises of through-hull water intake pipe for an engine's cooling water pump and a valve for closing the intake of water through the said water intake pipe, another emergency pipe for aspiring water from the interior of a boat bilge and a float for automatic closing off the flow through said water intake pipe and simultaneously opening the valve to the other emergency pipe. The system uses boat engines water pump to dispose of bilge water. It also provides signaling means to alert the boat's pilot to dangerous conditions of water in the bilge. [0018] U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,618 issued on Oct. 28, 1986 to Patti discloses a fresh water flushing kit. The kit includes a conduit system for inboard/outboard marine engines. Conduit has an inlet for fresh water and an ancillary outlet for discharge of seawater overboard during an engine flushing cycle. [0019] U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,670 issued on Oct. 12, 1993 to Bates discloses flush valves for alternatively supplying fresh water or seawater coolant to marine engines. [0020] U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,885 issued on Nov. 23, 1993 to Montague describes electronic winterizer for inboard/outboard engines. Winterizing can be done in or out of the water. After inboard/outboard engines is started, reaches an acceptable temperature and thermostat is opened a switch on driver's console activates an electronic timer that operates DC powered valve and pump. Valve opens, pump starts and drains pre-measured amount of antifreeze from a holding tank pump dispenses antifreeze through an open valve and into the injector, which is mounted in the engine coolant hose. Antifreeze is injected in such an angle that it mixes with water coolant to a ratio acceptable to prevent the unit from freezing. Engine drive shaft operates pump. [0021] One flushing unit (valve) available on the market is believed to be U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,880, issued on Mar. 22, 1994 to Parker. Parker shows flushing valve composed of a transparent material (plastics) with three ports. First biased check valve prevents outward flow through the first port (water from lake) and prevents inward flow from said port until outside versus inside pressure difference exceeds the set value. Second biased check valve is at the second port (fresh water intake) and the said port is capped unless the engine is being flushed. Device can used both pressurized water and non-pressurized source of fresh water (or winterizing or cleaning liquid). Besides flushing Parker states the invention's objectives to be modulation of flow of engine coolant to prevent overcooling at lower speeds and though use of transparent material of the valve's body allow for readily monitoring of valve's operation. Operation of the device in its (three) modes relies on action of its 2 spring urged valves, one being conical plunger (raw water intake), the second one (fresh water intake) being a ball. Design of the device and industry experience suggests several significant shortcomings in intended and actual function leading to its limited use and removal or replacement with other aftermarket flushing devices. It is a standard industry practice for internal combustion engines with cooling system, including marine engines and power generators, to have a thermostat installed to allow for an optimal engine-cooling regime. Such thermostats do not open inflow of ambient (raw) cooling water in the system until a designed optimum temperature of the cooling medium is reached. Thermostat also closes inflow of ambient water in the cooling system if the coolant's temperature might fall below engine manufacturer's preset values. Transparency of the plastics used for the valve's body might be lost due to growing algae and other deposits making visual monitoring of flowing liquids difficult or impossible. Various debris, minerals, sediments and other contaminants tend to deposit on sealing surfaces of conical plunger and ball valves negatively affecting intended sealing function and thus effectiveness or basic operation of the valve. Plastics version of the device seems to be prone to excessive wear (conical plunger and ball valve, threats including cap at fresh water intake. Cracking of entire (plastic) units are reported by the industry leading at times to sinking of the boat. While a valve made of plastics has excellent electrolysis resistance characteristics the above-mentioned excessive wear and tear, cracking and short life expectancy made its use limited for claimed safety and economic reasons. Another significant deficiency of plastics version of the device available on the market is the fact that while all on-board metal parts and instruments are required by the law to be properly grounded to prevent progressive corrosion due to electrolysis this device's springs are not grounded thus being constantly and significantly exposed to said progressive corrosion. This corrosion, along with exposure to constant abrasive flow of minerals, debris and particles in raw water, leads to faster damage of desired function of the springs. Cap on the fresh water intake requires its manual removal before any flushing (or winterizing) operation and when the valves body is of plastics, it again leads to excessive wear and more lily malfunction due to damaged sealing action. Spoiler designed to be used at fresh water port when non-pressurized source of fresh water (or winterizing liquid) is to be used seems to be prone to getting lost due to its size and being easily damaged affecting is function. Furthermore, it seems that inserting the spoiler into the port to move the spring-urged ball from its seat inevitably lead to leaking of raw water from the cooling system into bilge. Spring-urged valve at the raw-water port by imposing 10 psi effective resistance pressure seems to undesirably restrict raw water flow and cooling action expected by engine manufacturer for given size of coolant conduit while seemingly duplicating thermal protection of cooling system already addressed by standard thermostat. Empirical experience seems to suggest that with impeller pump running and pressurized fresh water hose attached and fresh water flowing in, a very frequent vacuum is being created in the hollow body of a valve, therefore not exposing conical spring-urged plunger at raw water port to seal sufficiently and, therefore, causing air being sucked in a dry-dock position when seacock might be left open and suction impulses from impeller pump action overcome pre-set 10 psi spring-urged valve's resistance. Vacuum is also reported to be likely due to the fact that sucking action of the impeller pump is not matched by sufficient inflow of pressurized fresh water, as fresh water port inflow diameter is rather small. Parker's device doesn't allow for back-flush seacock and raw water intake conduit. It also doesn't offer emergency bilge pump function. Per Parker's disclosure, flushing and winterizing modus of operation of the device require dry-dock position of the boat. This substantially defies the very benefit of flushing, as it is desirable that it is done frequently, preferably after each time the engine is running and raw water with impurities flows through its cooling system. [0022] U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,266 issued on Nov. 8, 1994 to Brogdon discloses Flushmaster fresh water flushing system. Two tubular T-shaped interconnection fittings and fresh water valve between them. Continue reading... Full patent description for Quickflush valve kit for flushing and winterizing of cooling system of inboard marine engines, power generators, air-conditioning units, and sailboat engines Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Quickflush valve kit for flushing and winterizing of cooling system of inboard marine engines, power generators, air-conditioning units, and sailboat engines patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. 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