1. A combined manure fork and air blower, directed to conservation of bedding material in cleaning of livestock environments, comprising:
a tined portion of the fork in an open configuration with a substantially flat main floor region of which a major portion is made solid and a minor portion extends forward therefrom as a row of tines;
a handle attached to and extending from said tined portion;
at least one fan-type air blower, attached to said handle near said tined portion, made and arranged to generate a sufficient flow of air directed in a manner to blow loose livestock bedding material off said tined portion, thus enabling a worker, manipulating the tined portion in a conventional manner for cleaning the livestock environments, to blow off and recycle the bedding material;
said air blower comprising an electric motor, cylindrical in shape, having a rotational central shaft, and a fan having a plurality of fan blades affixed onto a hub secured onto the central shaft of said electric motor, the fan blades extending radially substantially beyond an outer diameter extent of said electric motor;
a tubular inner sleeve closely surrounding and attached to said electric motor;
a tubular outer shell, co-axially surrounding said motor, made, arranged and dimensioned internally to provide working clearance around said fan and to provide an annular passageway for air-flow associated therewith;
sleeve-to-shell spacer means made and arranged to locate and support said inner sleeve co-axially relative to said outer shell in a manner that allows the air-flow through the annular passageway; and
handle-mounting means made and arranged to attach said tubular outer shell to said handle in a location selected to direct the air-flow onto said tined portion in an optimal manner to remove bedding material.
2. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 1 wherein said motor is oriented so as to be located between said fan and said tined portion, and the blades of said fan are pitched so as to direct air-flow in a direction toward said tined portion.
3. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 2 further comprising a protective grill, located at an air-flow inlet end plane of said outer shell adjacent to said fan, made and arranged to allow air-flow into said outer shell while preventing access by human fingers.
4. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 3 wherein said fan is located on said central shaft of said motor at an end region thereof that faces away from said tined portion, such that airflow from said fan flows through said tubular outer shell, past said motor and thence onto the main floor region of said tined portion.
5. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 2 further comprising a pair of air-flow deflecting plates, located at an air-flow outlet end plane of said outer shell facing said tined portion, configured in an aerodynamically shape and oriented at an angle so as to direct portions of the air-flow from said outer shell onto said tined portion in directions that diverge sideways toward two opposite sides of said tined portion for enhanced action by blowing bedding materials off sideways from the tined portion.
6. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 5 wherein said pair of air-flow deflecting plates are mounted onto an annular flange made and arranged to fit over an outer shell end region proximal to said tined portion.
7. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 2 wherein said sleeve-to-shell spacer means comprises a plurality of spacer vanes, extending radially between outer surfaces of said inner sleeve and inner surfaces of said outer shell in a generally longitudinal axial direction.
8. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 7 comprising four of said spacer vanes disposed radially 90 degrees apart in a polar array.
9. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 7 wherein each of said spacer vanes is located at a predetermined uniform angle of rotation, relative to a central axis of said outer shell, chosen so as to impart a spiral component into the air-flow pattern with an associated centrifugal effect that tends to diverge the air-flow pattern for enhanced action, blowing bedding materials off sideways from the tined portion.
10. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 2 wherein:
said inner sleeve, said spacer means, said outer shell and said handle-mounting means are molded together integrally of plastic as a single part; and
said handle-mounting means comprises a tubular handle sleeve, made and arranged to fit around said handle and to be fastened thereto, adjoined to said outer shell by a radial strut plate that is configured in a wedge shape so as to provide a predetermined offset angle between central axes of said outer shell and said handle for purposes of optimal air flow direction onto said tined portion.
11. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 1 further comprising an onboard battery power supply providing electrical power to the motor.
12. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 11 wherein said onboard battery power supply is a rechargeable battery pack attached and connected by adaptor means located at an end of said handle opposite the end thereof attached to said tined portion.
13. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 12 wherein said adaptor means comprises a molded plastic combined hand grip and plug-in battery pack holderconnector fitted onto said handle and providing mounting for an on-off switch and providing connector means for readily disconnecting and removing the battery pack from the handle for recharging purposes.
14. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 1 further comprising a manually operable on-off switch, mounted in a predetermined location along said handle, made and arranged to permit a user to conveniently control operation of the motor.
15. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 1 wherein:
said air blower comprises a blower housing having a tubular inner sleeve, a tubular outer shell co-axially surrounding the inner sleeve providing therebetween an annular passageway for air-flow, a plurality of spacer vanes constituting said sleeve-to-shell spacer means, extending radially between outer surfaces of said inner sleeve and inner surfaces of said outer shell in a generally longitudinal axial direction so as to not impede the air-flow but oriented at a slight angle to impart a spiral air-flow pattern, a cylindrical shaped electric motor secured in the inner sleeve, the blades of said fan being pitched so as to direct air-flow onto said tined portion; and
said air blower further comprises a pair of air-flow deflecting plates, located at an air-flow outlet end plane of said outer shell facing said tined portion, configured in an aerodynamically shape and angularly oriented so as to direct portions of the air-flow from said outer shell onto said tined portion in directions that diverge sideways toward two opposite sides of said tined portion for enhanced action by blowing bedding materials off sideways from the main floor region of the tined portion.
16. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 15 wherein said spacer vanes are located at a predetermined uniform angle of rotation, relative to a central axis of said outer shell, chosen so as to impart a spiral component into the air-flow pattern with an associated centrifugal effect that tends to diverge the air-flow pattern for enhanced action, blowing bedding materials off sideways from the tined portion.
17. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 16 wherein:
said inner sleeve, said spacer vanes, said outer shell and said handle-mounting means are molded together integrally of plastic as a single part;
said handle-mounting means comprises a tubular handle sleeve, made and arranged to fit around said handle and to be fastened thereto, adjoined to said outer shell by a pair of strut plates that are each configured in a wedge shape so as to provide a predetermined offset angle between central axes of said outer shell and said handle for purposes of optimal air flow direction onto said tined portion.
18. The combined manure fork and air blower as defined in claim 17 further comprising:
a handgrip, fitted onto an end of said handle opposite the end thereof attached to said tined portion, configured with a battery attachment panel made and arranged to provide battery support and electrical connection;
an onboard rechargeable battery, for providing electrical power to the motor, removably attached to the battery attachment panel; and
a momentary type on-off switch, mounted on said handgrip, made and arranged to permit a user to conveniently finger-control operation of the motor.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A fuel supply apparatus comprising:
a lid unit fitted in a tank opening of a fuel tank, the lid unit having a fuel discharge passage portion through which to discharge fuel inside the fuel tank to an outside thereof and a guide tube portion disposed to extend in a direction inward of the fuel tank;
a fuel pump body having a filter-integrated pump in which a fuel pump and a fuel filter are integrally formed and a fuel reservoir having a bottom capable of coming into abutment with a bottom side of the fuel tank, the filter-integrated pump being integrally accommodated in the fuel reservoir, the fuel inside the fuel tank being transferred under pressure to an internal combustion engine via the fuel discharge passage portion;
a sliding tube portion disposed to extend from the fuel pump body toward the tank opening and expansibly fitted onto the guide tube portion;
an air-tight member disposed in a sliding portion between the guide tube portion and the sliding tube portion; and
a pressure regulator secured to the fuel pump body and operative to regulate a pressure of the fuel discharged from the fuel discharge passage portion to a predetermined pressure,
the fuel pump body being operative to travel according to variations in depth of the bottom side of the fuel tank by making use of relative expanding and shortening movements between the guide tube portion and the sliding tube portion, by an urging force generated on the basis of a pressure regulated by the pressure regulator.
2. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fuel discharged from the fuel filter is supplied to the fuel discharge passage portion via a storage chamber formed by the guide tube portion and the sliding tube portion, a pressure inside the storage chamber being regulated to a predetermined value by the pressure regulator.
3. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fuel discharged from the fuel filter is supplied from an outlet of the fuel filter directly to the fuel discharge passage portion via a connecting member, a pressure at the outlet of the fuel filter being regulated to a predetermined value by the pressure regulator.
4. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the connecting member is formed in any of coiled, S-like and zigzag shapes.
5. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 3, wherein excess fuel remaining after the pressure has been regulated by the pressure regulator is supplied via the pressure regulator to a storage chamber formed by the guide tube portion and the sliding tube portion, and a valve mechanism portion is provided in the storage chamber to detect a predetermined pressure inside the storage chamber, and to cause the excess fuel inside the storage chamber to flow into the fuel reservoir.
6. A fuel supply apparatus comprising:
a lid unit fitted in a tank opening of a fuel tank and having a fuel discharge passage portion through which to discharge fuel inside the fuel tank to an outside thereof;
a fuel pump body having a filter-integrated pump in which a fuel pump and a fuel filter are integrally formed and a fuel reservoir having a bottom capable of coming into abutment with a bottom side of the fuel tank, the filter-integrated pump being integrally accommodated in the fuel reservoir, the fuel inside the fuel tank being transferred under pressure to an internal combustion engine via the fuel discharge passage portion;
a pressure regulator secured to the fuel pump body and operative to regulate a pressure of the fuel discharged from the fuel discharge passage portion to a predetermined pressure;
a flexible connecting member through which to supply the fuel discharged from the fuel filter from an outlet of the fuel filter directly to the fuel discharge passage portion; and
a cavity portion which is provided in a bottom portion of the fuel tank and into which a bottom portion of the fuel pump body is fitted, the cavity portion serving to guide vertical movements of the fuel pump body,
the fuel pump body being operative to travel according to variations in depth of the bottom side of the fuel tank by making use of the guide cavity portion, by an urging force generated on the basis of a pressure regulated by the pressure regulator.
7. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the fuel pump is removably integrally held in a filter case having a cylindrical shape by pump holding members provided on the fuel pump to engage, respectively, with first engaging portions arranged in a peripheral portion of the filter case, with the fuel pump inserted in a hollow portion of the filter case.
8. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the filter-integrated pump is removably integrally held in the fuel reservoir by second engaging portions.
9. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the bottom of the fuel reservoir has an umbrella-shaped check valve which enables the fuel inside the fuel tank to flow into the fuel reservoir and disables the fuel inside the fuel reservoir from flowing out therefrom.
10. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 6, wherein excess fuel remaining after the pressure has been regulated by the pressure regulator is made to flow into the fuel reservoir.
11. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the fuel reservoir has an inflow hole which is closed by an umbrella portion of the check valve and a holding hole in which a grip portion of the check valve is insertedly held through a cut-out portion of the holding hole.
12. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the air-tight member is made of a molded rubber product having a plurality of stacked lip-shaped portions.
13. A fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1 to 6, wherein a plurality of shock absorbing members are respectively provided at the bottom of the fuel reservoir at locations where the plurality of shock absorbing members are placed in abutment with the tank bottom of the fuel tank.