Granted Patent B2

US 12,653,167 · App. 18/768,968 · Granted Jun 16, 2026

Inventors: William Nathan Brunner (Middleton, WI); Gregory Van Eyk (Middleton, WI); Kevin Sears (Middleton, WI); Terry Allen Willemin (Middleton, WI)

Assignee: Spectrum Brands, Inc.

A01K63/045A01K63/065B01D27/142B01D46/0005

Abstract

Claims (13)

1 . A back panel assembly for an aquarium; the back panel assembly comprising:

(a) a housing having a surrounding wall defining an internal cavity; an open top in communication with the cavity; a bottom opposite of the open top; and a dependent lip adjacent to the open top projecting from the wall;

(i) the dependent lip having a connecting structure comprising a plurality of spaced openings sized to receive corresponding tabs from an aquarium rim, wherein the spaced openings are positioned along a length of the dependent lip to enable selective positioning of the back panel assembly at multiple locations along the aquarium rim permitting the housing to be removably attached to an aquarium; and

(b) a cartridge holder removably positioned in the cavity of the housing.

2 . The back panel assembly of claim 1 further including a plurality of filter cartridges removably positioned in the cartridge holder.

3 . The back panel assembly of claim 2 wherein each of the filter cartridges are the same size.

4 . The back panel assembly of claim 1 further including a pump and a heater in the housing internal cavity; and a flow controller within the cartridge holder.

5 . The back panel assembly of claim 1 wherein the housing has a closed bottom.

6 . The back panel assembly of claim 1 wherein the wall of the housing has an inlet opening arrangement therethrough.

7 . The back panel assembly of claim 1 wherein the cartridge holder comprises a framework defining a plurality of throughports; the framework having receiving slots along the throughports sized to receive the filter cartridges.

8 . The back panel assembly of claim 7 wherein the cartridge holder includes a baffle plate extending below the throughports.

9 . The back panel assembly of claim 7 wherein the cartridge holder further includes a flow controller housing with an open interior sized to hold the flow controller; the flow controller housing being adjacent to the throughports.

10 . The back panel assembly of claim 1 wherein the dependent lip projects from the wall of the housing at an angle between 70-120 degrees.

Continuity (2)

References Cited (116)