US 7,536,967 B2
Marine water conversion
Gerald L. Barber, 410 Hudson Rd., Greenville, S.C. 29601 (US)
Filed on Jan. 30, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/343,144.
Application 11/343144 is a continuation in part of application No. 11/253247, filed on Oct. 18, 2005, abandoned.
Prior Publication US 2007/0084768 A1, Apr. 19, 2007
Int. Cl. B63B 35/00 (2006.01); A01G 15/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 114—144R  [114/144 A; 114/267; 114/382; 210/85; 210/91; 210/121; 210/143; 210/170.11; 210/242.1; 239/2.1; 239/14.1; 405/80; 405/303; 417/14; 417/278; 417/315; 417/320] 30 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
9. A marine water conversion apparatus, comprising:
a cylindrical float tank having a flat top wall, a cylindrical side wall and a bottom wall,
a relatively long main vertical cylindrical tube having
a lower end with a plurality of radially outward opening outlets, and
a top end having an upward diverging conically shaped funnel rigidly secured at its top to said bottom wall of said tank in coaxial relation to said cylindrical side wall,
an annular opening in said top wall of said tank aligned with said main tube,
an upstanding cylindrical tube section concentric with said main tube extending upwardly through said annular opening in said top wall of said float tank and rigidly secured at its lower end to said bottom wall of said tank, said tube section extending a substantial distance above said tank and terminating in a closed upper end to form an air chamber,
an opening in said upper end of said tube section forming an air vent in said air chamber,
a reversible water pump mounted on said top wall of said tank,
a water conveying conduit interconnecting said reversible water pump and the lower end of said air chamber in said tube section, and
a plurality of main water pumps mounted in circumferentially spaced relation to one another on said top wall of said float tank, said main water pumps having surface water intakes and being connected in water delivery relation to said funnel, whereby operation of said main water pumps transfers surface water to said outlets at the lower end of said main tube, when said apparatus is placed in an ocean,
said apparatus being positionable at predetermined locations in said ocean wherein said float tank is disposed below the ocean surface when air fills a first predetermined portion of said air chamber in said tube section and wherein said top wall of said float tank is disposed above the ocean surface when water fills a second predetermined portion of said air chamber in said tube section.