Apparatus for withdrawing liquid from a reservoir by means of a water jet device

Claim 1

Apparatus for withdrawing liquid from a reservoir, comprising: a reservoir box having a bottom wall provided with an opening; a flexible bag for containing a supply of liquid to be withdrawn from said flexible bag through said opening, said flexible bag being supported in said reservoir box; a connector extending as an outlet opening means from within said flexible bag near said bottom wall, down and out of said flexible bag through said opening; said connector being fitted with a valve mechanism including a normally closed lip seal which, while externally subjected to lowered pressure flexes to an open condition which permits liquid contained in the bag to flow out through the connector; a water jet assembly comprising: a water jet device arranged to be connected at an inlet end thereof to a supply of pressurized water and to be connected at an outlet end thereof to a drain for water mixed with liquid withdrawn from said flexible bag by operation of said water jet device, said water jet device including a socket through which water is jetted, in use, for creating a lowered pressure on said lip seal, said lip seal arranged to be communicated by said socket, in use, to water jetted through said socket; means defining a plurality of passages through said bottom wall of said reservoir box, said passages being spaced from said opening for said connector; a clamping device at least partly housing said water jet assembly, and supporting said socket; and a plurality of hook-shaped projections provided on said clamping device and extending through respective ones of said passages into said reservoir box and thereby securing said box bottom onto said clamping device at a plurality of locations around said opening.