WO2011040855A1

WO2011040855A1 - Improvements in or relating to a winch device in a latrine emptying station

Info

Publication number: WO2011040855A1
Application number: PCT/SE2010/000235
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rolf Herrström; Tore KÄLLMARK
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-10-01
Filing date: 2010-09-30
Publication date: 2011-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 2012-04-01
Also published as: SE0901260A1; EP2483191A1; EP2483191A4; SE533239C2

Abstract

The present invention relates to an arrangement in a winch device (1) for winding in and out a collecting hose (3) which, after a latrine (6) is drained from a tank (7) on a boat or a camping vehicle, can be wound in onto a hose reel (4) in a latrine draining station (2), wherein, when the collecting hose (3) is wound out, a rope (10) can be wound up around the hose reel (4), which lifts a counterweight (8), which then stores potential energy which is used to wind in the collecting hose (3) onto the hose reel (4), which according to the invention has at least one water- and moisture-draining base (14), which removes water and moisture from the rope ( 10) and the collecting hose (3) in order to reduce the risk that they may freeze solid and make difficult their winding in and out.

Description

Improvements in or relating to a winch device in a latrine emptying station

The present invention relates to an arrangement in a winch device for winding in and out a collecting hose which, after the latrine is drained from a tank on a boat or a camper van, is wound in on a hose reel in a latrine draining station. When the collecting hose is unwound, a rope is wound around the periphery of the hose reel. The rope then lifts a counterweight suspended from the same, which then stores potential energy which is used to wind in the collecting hose onto the hose reel which, according to the invention, has a water- and moisture-draining base which removes water and moisture from the rope and the collecting hose to reduce the risk of freezing solid and make it difficult to wind them in and out.

Prior art latrine draining stations have winch devices which are subjected to high stresses such as rain, wind, temperature variations, condensation and frost despite the fact that they are enclosed by walls and roofs. The mechanics in the winch device for causing the winding in and out of a collecting hose for sucking in latrine from a tank, for example in a boat or a camper van to be pumped to the latrine draining station, are composed of unnecessarily expensive and complicated technical solutions which easily malfunction because the winch device, including the hose reel, gathers moisture, water, condensation and dirt which easily freezes and causes operating faults, which in turn give rise to operating stoppages and are expensive to repair. The hose reel in these devices is driven to rotate around its pivot shaft by an electric motor or an extended steel spring, for example, or by a counterweight suspended on a rope, which counterweight has stored potential energy for generating a force for winding the collecting hose in and out. Moreover, the hose reel has too small a diameter, which means that too many wound in revolutions of the rope and collecting hose must be completed causing water, moisture and dirt to accumulate around its envelope surfaces and its surfaces of contact arranged around its pivot shaft according to patent specification FR 772658A, which means that moisture, water and dirt remain at the points where ice forms and causes the problems mentioned. The object of the present invention is to solve the problems associated with the above-mentioned designs by creating a cheap, simple and reliable winch device which drives the hose reel with a force which has been stored in a counterweight suspended on a rope for winding in a collecting hose. According to the invention the rope and collecting hose are wound out and in around a water- and moisture-draining base located there around the pivot shaft of the hose reel, which base drains away moisture and water, which cannot freeze solid and cause operating faults.

Thanks to the invention a cheap, simple technical solution has been developed for draining water, moisture, condensation and dirt, thus providing more reliable operation when winding a rope in and out and a collecting hose with a hose reel in the latrine draining station, in which is arranged a winch device for winding in and out when the latrine is to be drained from a tank arranged, for example, in a boat which berthed in a quay or from a camper van in a camp site. The rope has a counterweight, e.g. a plumb, which is suspended from it and which can be rolled or slid suspended from a number of fastening points, e.g. pulleys which steer the rope to hose feel. When the collecting hose is wound out by manual force from the hose reel by one person, the hose reel rotates about its own pivot shaft and winds up part of the rope onto the hose reel. The rope then pulls the counterweight upwards to store the potential energy. After the latrine is drained from the tank the collecting hose is returned to the hose reel when the stored potential energy is released, draws in the rope and winds it out from the hose reel, wherein the pivot shaft rotates and the hose reel winds back the collecting hose. According to the invention the rope and the collecting hose are wound in and out around the pivot shaft of the hose reel towards a water- and moisture-draining base arranged around it, which base removes moisture, condensation and water and hence also dirt, which would otherwise disturb the winding in and out, particularly in below freezing conditions when there is a risk of icing. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the water- and moisture-draining base consists of a wire netting or a perforated plate or plastic sheet, which has fixed parts against which the rope or collecting hose rests when they are wound in. The fixed parts have openings, e.g. perforations, holes or meshes which admit the water, which then runs away and which releases moisture and condensation, and therefore dries a damp or wet rope and collecting hose. If the entire hose reel is constructed of the water- and moisture-draining base having the openings, moisture is released around the entire hose reel and the hose reel becomes lighter and it therefore rotates more easily around its pivot shaft. The diameter of the hose reel, calculated at the water- and moisture-draining base, is made greater than 50 cm in order to obtain a small number of wound in revolutions of the rope and collecting hose, which do not then lie one on the other, which means that its envelope surfaces abut against a smaller surface of contact and that the water- and moisture-draining base abuts against a larger envelope surface with more openings per metre of collecting hose and rope than if the diameter had been smaller.

The invention is described in greater detail below by means of one or two preferred embodiment examples with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which

Fig. 1 shows a vertical cross-section through a latrine draining station,

Fig. 2 shows a view of a hose reel viewed towards the longitudinal direction of its pivot shaft, transversely to it, when part of the rope is wound in before the collecting hose is wound in, and

Fig. 3 shows a side view of the hose reel, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the pivot shaft, which shows a part of the water- and moisture-draining base.

Figure 1 shows a winch device 1 in a latrine draining station 2 for winding in and out a collecting hose 3 onto a hose reel 4 when latrine 6 is emptied or drained from a tank 7 on a boat. The latrine draining station 2 has a counterweight 8 which is suspended from a rope 10, which can be wound suspended from a number of fastening points 9 in a number of pulleys. The rope 10 is fed on from the pulleys to the hose reel 4, where it is secured in its periphery 12. The collecting hose 3 is wound out for the most part by manual force from the hose reel 4 by one person. The hose reel 3 has then rotated around its own pivot shaft 13 and wound up a large proportion of rope 10 onto the hose reel 4 and raised the counterweight 8 towards an upper fastening point 9 in order to store potential energy in it, said energy is then released when the weight bears down and winds out rope 10 from the hose reel 4, which then winds in the collecting hose 8 after that the latrine 6 has been emptied. The rope 10 and the collecting hose 3 are wound out and in around the pivot shaft 13 of the hose reel 4 towards a water- and moisture- draining base 14 arranged around it, said base removes water, moisture, condensation and dirt. The water- and moisture-draining base 14 is produced as a wire netting 17 or a perforated plate or plastic sheet 18, which has fixed parts 19 against which the rope 10 and the collecting hose 3 rests when it is fully or partially wound up. The fixed parts 19 have openings 20, such as perforations, holes or meshes which admit water, which then runs away and which releases moisture and condensation and therefore dries the damp or wet rope 10 and the collecting hose 3. The latrine draining station 2 has a space 15 which encloses the winch device 1 with walls and roofs, which to some extent protect the winch device 1 from weather and wind .The counterweight 8 and a part of the rope 10 are enclosed in an upwardly directed tube formation 16, which has a vertical extension which extends a little inside the space and further upwards and through and above the roof to ensure that the rope 10 and the counterweight 8 inside the tube formation 16 are to some extent protected against weather and wind, as well as mechanical damage, whilst the counterweight 8 is provided with a long path for storing more potential energy in the tube formation 16, which can simultaneously constitute, outside the surrounding area, an advertising column which, on top of it can provide space for an information sign which informs the neighbourhood that there is a latrine emptying or draining station in that location.

Fig. 2 shows that the pivot shaft 13 extends in the horizontal plane and that it has two ends 1 1 which are rotatably arranged in each of their upwardly directed supporting legs 26 at its other ends, lower ends of which are fixedly arranged in an underlying assembly base 5 so that the hose reel 4 is able to rotate freely between the supporting legs and the assembly base 5. The water- and moisture-draining base 14 comprises two "U formations" 23, which, with their openings 32 in the "U", face in a direction from the pivot shaft 13, viewed in a cross-section through the hose reel 4 through the longitudinal direction of the pivot shaft 13 , and the legs 24 and bottoms 30 of which in the "U formation" have said water- and moisture-draining base 14. The legs 24 then constitute side limiting walls 25 of the rope 10 and the collecting hose 3, said walls guide the rope 10 into the "U formation" 23 during the winding in and out inside the legs 24 in a direction transverse to the drive shaft 13 , so that they abut against the bottom 30. The collecting hose 3 has a diameter of 2-5 cm and is wound in and out so that it rests in a large "U formation" 28, the legs 24 of which are 10-20 cm high and its bottom 30 approx. 15-40 cm wide. The rope 10 has a diameter of 2-8 mm, and is wound in and out in a small "U formation" 29, which has legs 24 which are 1 -5 cm high and the bottom of which is 3-8 cm wide. The "U formations" 28, 29 are then arranged adjacent to each other around the pivot shaft 13, the outermost ends of said legs 24 are located at the same distance from the pivot shaft 13 and therefore constitute the periphery 12 of the hose reel 4, the diameter of which, calculated between bottoms 30 in the "U formations" 28, 29, is at least 50 cm, for receiving a small number of wound in revolutions of the rope 10 and the collecting hose 3 when they are wound in. The small number of revolutions means that the rope 10 and the collecting hose 3 do not need to abut against each other but can be accommodated wound in side by side in a store in a small number of layers, which means that there is a limited area of contact with their mutual envelope surfaces 27, wherein the quantity of wetness and moisture which can freeze on the envelope surfaces 27 will be less than with a larger number of revolutions. The small "U formation" 29 is then given a larger diameter than the large "U formation" 28, but the same diameter around its periphery 12. The entire hose reel 4 consists of wire netting 17.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the rope 10 is secured at its end, which is the first part of rope 10, in the small "U formation" around the periphery 12, so that it can be wound into the small "U formation" 29 and abut against the upper part 31 of the hose reel 4. The rope 10 is then guided from an underlying position relative to the upper part 3 1 into a fastening point 9, arranged in the assembly base 5, so that the rope 10 is directed in a direction at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the pivot shaft 13 into the small "U formation" 29, where it is pressed during winding in and out against the water- and moisture- draining base 14 towards the bottom 30 between legs 24 in order to cause the rope 10 to lie alongside and press the water and moisture out of it by means of the tension of counterweight 8 in the rope 10.

Fig. 3 shows that the water- and moisture-draining base 14 is designed as a folded surface which has peaks 21 and valleys 22 which extend transversely to the longitudinal direction of the rope 10. The rope 10 is supported towards the peaks 21 , whilst the valleys 22, located to the side of the peaks 21 , create an interval between the rope 10 which releases and dries moisture and water, which are discharged in the valleys 22 underneath the rope 10 and the collecting hose 3.

Claims

1. A winch device ( 1 ) in a latrine draining station (2), said winch device (1 ) has a collecting hose (3) which can be wound out and in onto a hose reel (4) when the latrine (6) is drained from a tank (7) on a boat berthed in a quay, for example, or from a camper van on a camp site, said winch device (1 ) has at least one counterweight (8), e.g. a plumb suspended from at least one rope (10), which can be wound or slid suspended from at least one fastening point (9), e.g. a pulley, said rope (10) extends to the hose reel (4), to which it is secured, said collecting hose (3) can be wound out with manual force from the hose reel (4) by one person, wherein the hose reel (4) then rotates about its own pivot shaft (13) and winds up at least a proportion of the rope ( 10) on the hose reel (4), said rope (10) then pulls the counterweight (8) upwards, which then stores potential energy which, after the latrine (6) is drained, is used to wind in the collecting hose (8), said rope ( 10) is then wound out from the hose reel (4), characterized in that at least the pivot shaft ( 13) has a at least one water- and moisture- draining base (14) arranged at that point, said base admits or discharges water and moisture from the rope (10) and/or the collecting hose (3).

2. A winch device (1 ) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the water- and moisture-draining base ( 14) is a wire netting (17) and/or a perforated plate or plastic sheet ( 18) having fixed parts ( 19) against which the rope ( 10) or the collecting hose (3) rest, said fixed parts ( 19) have openings (20) such as perforations, holes or meshes.

3. A winch device ( 1 ) according to claim 2, characterized in that essentially the entire hose reel (4) has the same structure as the water- and moisture-draining base (14), preferably of said wire netting ( 17).

4. A winch device ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the latrine draining stating (2) has at least one space ( 15) enclosing the winch device (1 ) with surrounding walls and roofs, and in that the counterweight (8) and the rope ( 10) are enclosed, at least to a certain extent, in an upwardly directed tube formation ( 16) which extends upwards and through and/or above the roof or wall and is protected inside the tube formation ( 16) against weather and wind and mechanical damage, whilst the counterweight (8) can be lifted above the roof and can therefore be given a longer path of inner movement, said tube formation ( 16) at the same time constitutes on the outside an advertising column which provides space for a sign arranged on it.

5. A winch device ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the pivot shaft (13) extends in the horizontal plane and in that both its ends (1 1) are rotatably arranged in at least each other's upwardly directed supporting legs (26), lower ends of which are fixedly arranged in an underlying assembly base (5).

6. A winch device (1 ) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the water- and moisture-draining base ( 14) is a folded surface having peaks (21 ) and valleys (22) which extend transversely to the longitudinal direction of the rope (10) or the collecting hose (3) and which rest and are supported against the peaks (21 ), wherein the valleys (22), to the side of the peaks (21 ), create an interval underneath the rope (10) or the collecting hose (3), and wherein the interval drains away and dries moisture and water under the rope ( 10) or the collecting hose (3).

7. A winch device (1 ) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the water- and moisture-draining base ( 14) comprises at least one "U formation"

(23) which, with its opening (32) in the "U" faces away from the pivot shaft

(13) viewed in a cross-section through the hose reel (4) and through the longitudinal direction of the pivot shaft ( 13), the legs (24) and bottoms (30) of which in said "U formation" have the water- and moisture-draining base

(14) , said legs (24) then constitute side limiting walls (25) of the rope ( 10) or collecting hose (3), which walls guide the rope ( 10) or collecting hose (3) into the "U formation" (23) during the winding in and out inside the legs

(24) towards the bottom (30).

8. A winch device (1 ) according to claim 7, characterized in that the collecting hose (3), having a diameter of 2-5 cm, is wound in and out in a large "U formation" (28), the legs (24) of which are 10-20 cm high and bottom (30) approx. 15-40 cm wide, and in that the rope (10), which has a diameter of 2-8 mm, is wound in and out in a small "U formation" (29), which has legs (4) which are 1 -5 cm high and bottom is 3-8 cm wide, said "U formations" (28, 29) are arranged adjacent to each other about the pivot shaft ( 13), the outermost ends of said legs (24) of both "U formations" (28, 29), are located essentially at the same distance from the pivot haft (13) and constitute the periphery (12) of the hose reel (4).

9. A winch device ( 1 ) according to claim 8, characterized in that the diameter of the hose reel (4), calculated between the bottoms (30) in the "U formations" (28, 29), is at least 50 cm to obtain a small number of wound in revolutions of the rope (10) or the collecting hose (3), which then abuts, with a limited contact surface, against their mutual envelope surfaces (27) in order to reduce the quantity of wet and moisture which can freeze on the envelope surfaces (27).

10. A winch device (1) according to claim 2 or 8, characterized in that the rope (1 ) is secured preferably at its end in the small "U formation" (29) in an upper part (31 ) located there, said rope ( 10) is guided from that point so that it is wound in and out of the small "U formation" (29) from an underlying position relative to the upper part (3 1 ) from a fastening point (9) arranged preferably in the assembly base (5) in a position where the rope ( 10) is directed in a direction at right angles to the pivot shaft ( 13) and straight into the small "U formation" (29), in order to in that position press the rope (10) during winding in and out against the water- and moisture- draining base ( 14), which is located near the leg (24), in order to cause the rope to lie alongside and to press the water and moisture out of it when the counterweight (8) draws in the rope ( 10).