Floating suction head assembly

Claim 1

A floating suction head assembly for connection with fire hoses and the like comprising a float which is generally "U-shaped" viewed from above in an operational or floating attitude, the body and each arm of the "U" being of horizontally elongated sealed hollow cylindrical construction, an elongated hollow generally cylindrical strainer open at one end and adapted for connection with the suction end of a fire hose or the like and closed at an opposite end, said strainer being disposed generally in a longitudinal attitude with its axis generally horizontal between the arms of the "U-shaped" float and with its closed end adjacent the body of the float, and means pivotally interconnecting the strainer and float adjacent the closed end of the former, the strainer thus being pivotally movable with the open end thereof swingable downwardly relative to the float at the urging of a connected fire hose or the like, the latter describing a shallow arc under the water surface due to its own weight, and said strainer having a plurality of small openings therein along and throughout its arcuate lower surface and extending upwardly along each arcuate side thereof through an angle of at least 80° from a vertical plane through the axis of the strainer, turbulence and whirl-pooling of the water about the suction head thus being minimized.