U.S. patent application number 13/654755 was filed with the patent office on 2013-04-18 for robot for cleaning swimming pools.
This patent application is currently assigned to AQUATRON ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is Aquatron Robotic Technology Ltd.. Invention is credited to Torem BEN ZION.
Application Number | 20130091641 13/654755 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45561326 |
Filed Date | 2013-04-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130091641 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
BEN ZION; Torem |
April 18, 2013 |
ROBOT FOR CLEANING SWIMMING POOLS
Abstract
The present invention relates to a robot for cleaning swimming
pools, comprising driving means which can transmit movement to
movement means, where the movement means comprise two wheels (2)
arranged in line on each side (3, 4) of the robot, the robot having
two sides (3, 4), the driving means consisting of a drive unit (5)
which is operatively connected to two wheels (2) located on a first
side (3) of the robot, comprising at least one drive shaft (6)
which allows transmitting the movement originating from the drive
unit (5) from said first side (3) to the wheels (2) located on a
second side (4).
Inventors: |
BEN ZION; Torem; (Afula
Elite, IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Aquatron Robotic Technology Ltd.; |
Afula Elite |
|
IL |
|
|
Assignee: |
AQUATRON ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY
LTD.
Afula Elite
IL
|
Family ID: |
45561326 |
Appl. No.: |
13/654755 |
Filed: |
October 18, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/1.7 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04H 4/1654
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/1.7 |
International
Class: |
E04H 4/16 20060101
E04H004/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 18, 2011 |
ES |
P201131675 |
Claims
1. A robot for cleaning swimming pools, comprising driving means
which can transmit movement to movement means, where said movement
means comprises two wheels (2) arranged in line on each side (3, 4)
of the robot, the robot having two sides (3, 4), characterised in
that the driving means consists of a drive unit (5) which is
operatively connected to two wheels (2) located on a first side (3)
of the robot, comprising at least one drive shaft (6) which allows
transmitting the movement originating from the drive unit (5) from
said first side (3) to the wheels (2) located on a second side
(4).
2. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 1,
wherein it comprises a drive sprocket wheel (7) directly connected
to the drive unit (5), said drive sprocket wheel (7) being
operatively connected to a first intermediate sprocket wheel (8)
which can transmit movement to two wheels (2) located on the first
side (3) of the robot, where said first intermediate sprocket wheel
(8) can in turn be operatively connected to a first transmission
sprocket wheel (9) which is fixed at a first end of the drive shaft
(6), where a second end of said drive shaft has a second
transmission sprocket wheel (9') fixed thereto which can be
operatively connected to a second intermediate sprocket wheel (8')
which can transmit movement to two wheels (2) located on the second
side (4) of the robot.
3. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 2,
wherein the transmission of movement from the intermediate sprocket
wheels (8, 8') to the wheels (2) is performed by means of sprocket
wheels (10) which are fixed to the inner side of the wheels (2),
said sprocket wheels (10) being operatively connected to the
intermediate sprocket wheels (8, 8').
4. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 1,
wherein it comprises at least one cleaning roller (1) located
around a drive shaft (6).
5. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 1,
wherein the drive shaft (6) is arranged in its operating position
by means of housing at least two pins (11) in at least two holes
(12).
6. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 2,
wherein it comprises at least one cleaning roller (1) located
around a drive shaft (6).
7. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 3,
wherein it comprises at least one cleaning roller (1) located
around a drive shaft (6).
8. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 2,
wherein the drive shaft (6) is arranged in its operating position
by means of housing at least two pins (11) in at least two holes
(12).
9. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 3,
wherein the drive shaft (6) is arranged in its operating position
by means of housing at least two pins (11) in at least two holes
(12).
10. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 4,
wherein the drive shaft (6) is arranged in its operating position
by means of housing at least two pins (11) in at least two holes
(12).
11. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 6,
wherein the drive shaft (6) is arranged in its operating position
by means of housing at least two pins (11) in at least two holes
(12).
12. The robot for cleaning swimming pools according to claim 7,
wherein the drive shaft (6) is arranged in its operating position
by means of housing at least two pins (11) in at least two holes
(12).
Description
[0001] This application claims priority of Spanish Patent
Application No. P 201131675, filed Oct. 18, 2011, the entire
contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into this
application.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a robot for cleaning
swimming pools, which can be applied to the aquatic facility
maintenance industry, and more specifically in the environment of
performing automated maintenance tasks in swimming pool basins.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] There are robots today for automatically performing the
tasks of cleaning the surfaces of swimming pool basins, both the
bottom and the side walls, for which said robots have the capacity
of moving autonomously along the bottom and the walls of the basin,
as well as suction and storage means for sucking in and storing the
dirt found in the basin, dirt being understood as any type of
impurities such as leaves or solid waste which are deposited on the
bottom or on the side walls of the basin.
[0004] For autonomous movement, most of these cleaning robots have
movement means consisting of caterpillar tracks, usually of rubber
or another elastic material for the purpose of preventing damage to
the surface of the basin. One example of this type of robots can be
found in French patent application no. FR-2946378-A1. Even though
caterpillar tracks allow having a large contact surface for the
forward movement of the robot, allowing sufficient driving capacity
for forward movement, precisely because of the particularities of
these movement means, in addition to having a high maintenance
cost, in which the caterpillar tracks sustain high wear and when
any of the caterpillar tracks must be replaced due to wear or
breakage, replacement is difficult. Likewise, these devices have a
high number of parts and their arrangement is complex from a
mechanical point of view, implying a high manufacturing cost.
[0005] For the purpose of overcoming the drawbacks of robots with
caterpillar tracks, robots for cleaning swimming pools the movement
means of which consist of wheels, have recently emerged on the
market, such as for example the model described in U.S. design Pat.
application No. UD-D599967-S. This robot has a front cleaning
roller or brush and a rear propulsion turbine, and consists of four
wheels independent from one another and two geared motors, such
that the robot has two drive wheels, which in the mentioned example
are the front wheels. The drawbacks of these robots include the
fact that given the configuration of its driving means and
transmission to the movement means, its movement capacity is only
in a single direction, according to one and the same direction,
being able to rotate about itself to change said forward direction,
which implies cleaning down times during said manoeuvres, which
taking into account the size of a basin, means a lot of wasted time
when cleaning the entire basin.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention relates to a robot for cleaning
swimming pools which allows having a four-wheel drive and
bidirectional robot, all with a simple arrangement, which has a
lower cost than currently existing robots. The robot of the
invention allows a much simpler assembly and maintenance than the
currently existing robots, precisely because of the simplicity in
the number of necessary elements as well as their arrangement.
[0007] The robot proposed by the invention comprises driving means
which can transmit its movement to movement means comprising two
wheels arranged in line on each side of the robot, the robot having
two sides.
[0008] Therefore, according to the invention the driving means
consist of a single drive unit, which can consist of a geared motor
which is operatively connected, with two wheels located on a first
side of the robot, being able to transmit a driving force which is
converted into movement. The robot comprises at least one drive
shaft which allows transmitting the movement originating from the
drive unit from said first side to the wheels located on a second
side.
[0009] The robot of the invention thus has the particularity that
it can be considered a 4.times.4 robot, with four-wheel drive,
which allows the robot to move in any direction, i.e., it can go
forwards or backwards indistinctly. This represents a huge
advantage with respect to the currently existing robots, given that
the working environment is under water and it must have enough
driving capacity so as to climb up the side walls of the basin.
Precisely because of the high manoeuvrability of the robot, and
more specifically because of its driving capacity in both
directions, the robot does not involve any cleaning down time
during its operation, in addition to the robot being able to
overcome obstacles more easily as a result of the four-wheel drive
with a single traction motor.
[0010] Currently, the only robots allowing 4.times.4 drive are
caterpillar track robots, with the aforementioned drawbacks.
However, the robot of the invention allows reducing the number of
necessary components, and therefore the space, which in turn
facilitates its maintenance and allows reducing manufacturing,
maintenance and repair costs with respect to the currently existing
robots, all these determining factors being especially relevant
given the robot work place conditions, requiring complete
water-tightness. The invention thus allows reducing the total cost
of the device by reducing the geared motors from two to one, with
all this implies in terms of reducing components and risk when the
device works under water.
[0011] Based on the foregoing, solutions of another type do not
provide the effects achieved with the invention. In this sense, it
is not possible to achieve four-wheel drive by means of a fixed
shaft joining the rear and front wheels due to the lack of
available space, this being the reason current robots incorporate
two geared motors.
[0012] The possibility of the robot comprising at least one
cleaning roller which is located around a drive shaft is
contemplated; said drive shaft is thus used to be incorporated into
a cleaning brush which, though optional, is very useful.
[0013] Likewise, the drive shaft being arranged in its operating
position by means of housing at least two pins in at least two
holes is also contemplated, the pins being able to be located in
the drive shaft and the holes in a casing which the robot comprises
robot, or the other way round, which allows the drive shaft to be
unlocked sequentially, first from one hole and then from another,
and thus be easily removed by the user for changing the cleaning
roller, without the need for a technical operator to intervene.
Said pins being retractable is likewise contemplated.
[0014] The fact that the drive shaft can be removed by the user
him/herself for maintenance or replacement for allowing the
interchangeability both of the shaft and of the roller is a huge
advantage given that current robots require said change to be done
by technical services, although in recent models the cleaning
rollers can be removed by the user him/herself since they are
attached to the casing by means of screws. Nevertheless, the robot
of the invention has the advantage that it does not require screws
for locking the drive shaft in its operating position, on it can be
removed to change the rollers for maintenance or replacement with a
simple key, or even with a pen or the like, sequentially pressing
on the pins to unlock them.
[0015] The shaft and the brush can thus be removed without the need
for tools such as screwdrivers, etc.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] To complement the description which is being made and for
the purpose of aiding to better understand the features of the
invention according to a preferred practical embodiment thereof, a
set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description
in which the following has been depicted with an illustrative and
non-limiting character:
[0017] FIG. 1 shows a top perspective view of the robot for
cleaning swimming pools proposed by the invention, the location of
the dirt storage tanks being able to be seen.
[0018] FIG. 2 shows a bottom perspective view of the robot, in
which the suction openings and the cleaning roller can be seen in
the operating position.
[0019] FIG. 3 shows a schematic side perspective view of the robot,
in which some elements have been depicted in a transparent and
translucent manner for the purpose of allowing the transmission
means for transmitting movement from the driving means to the
movement means to be seen.
[0020] FIG. 4 shows a top schematic perspective view of the robot
in which only the transmission means and the movement means, as
well as a cleaning roller located in the drive shaft, have been
depicted, the transmission of movement to the driving means,
specifically by means of sprocket wheels fixed to the inner side of
the wheels, particularly being able to be seen.
[0021] FIG. 5 shows a top perspective view of the robot in which
the arrangement of the drive unit in the robot can be seen, for
which one of the dirt storage tanks has been depicted removed.
[0022] FIG. 6 shows two views of the drive shaft, with and without
cleaning roller.
[0023] FIG. 7 shows a bottom side perspective view of the robot, in
which the manner in which the drive shaft can be removed by means
of sequentially unlocking the pins located at the ends of the drive
shaft can be seen.
[0024] FIG. 8 shows a bottom perspective view of the robot with the
drive shaft removed, the holes which the casing has for housing the
pins of the drive shaft, as well as the lower space taken up by the
cleaning roller when it is in an operating position, i.e.,
incorporated around the drive shaft when it is placed in the robot,
being able to be seen, the intermediate wheels transmitting
movement to the transmission wheels which the drive shaft has at
its ends can also partially be seen.
[0025] FIG. 9 shows a top perspective view of the robot in which
the upper suspension handle has been depicted raised and one of the
dirt storage tanks removed and the other raised for its removal by
means of its corresponding handle, has been depicted.
[0026] FIG. 10 shows a view like that of the preceding figure, in
which the tank which had been depicted raised is completely removed
with a side collapsed for allowing its inside to be cleaned.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0027] In view of the discussed figures, it can be seen how in one
of the possible embodiments of the invention the robot for cleaning
swimming pools proposed by the invention comprises a cleaning
roller (1) and driving means transmitting movement to movement
means.
[0028] Said movement means comprise two wheels (2) arranged in line
on each side (3, 4) of the robot, the robot having two sides (3,
4).
[0029] In turn, the driving means consist of a single drive unit
(5), specifically a geared motor, which is operatively connected to
two wheels (2) located on a first side (3) of the robot. The robot
also comprises at least one drive shaft (6) which allows
transmitting the movement originating from the drive unit (5) from
said first side (3) to the wheels (2) located on a second side
(4).
[0030] According to a preferred embodiment, the robot comprises a
drive sprocket wheel (7) directly connected to the drive unit (5),
said drive sprocket wheel (7) being operatively connected to a
first intermediate sprocket wheel (8) which can transmit movement
to two wheels (2) located on the first side (3) of the robot, as
can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.
[0031] Said first intermediate sprocket wheel (8) can in turn be
operatively connected to a first transmission sprocket wheel (9)
which is fixed at a first end of the drive shaft (6), where a
second end of said drive shaft has a second transmission sprocket
wheel (9') fixed thereto which can be operatively connected to a
second intermediate sprocket wheel (8') which can transmit movement
to two wheels (2) located on the second side (4) of the robot.
[0032] For the purpose of minimising the space taken up, the output
shaft of the drive unit (5) is preferably located perpendicular to
the longitudinal axis of forward movement the robot.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 4, the transmission of movement from the
intermediate sprocket wheels (8, 8') to the wheels (2) is performed
by means of sprocket wheels (10) which are fixed to the inner side
of the wheels (2), said sprocket wheels (10) being operatively
connected to the intermediate sprocket wheels (8, 8').
[0034] On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6, the
cleaning roller (1) is located around the drive shaft (6). The
rotation speed of the drive shaft (6) is obviously greater than
that of the wheels (2) so the cleaning roller (1) rotates at that
same greater speed, thus increasing cleaning efficiency.
[0035] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the drive shaft (6) is arranged
in its operating position by means of housing two pins (11) in two
holes (12) located in the casing (13) of the robot, thus allowing
its sequential unlocking, as seen in FIG. 7.
[0036] According to a preferred embodiment, said casing (13) or
enclosure serves as a block in which the drive unit (5), as well as
electronic control modules of the robot and a pump motor like those
usually incorporated in robots of this type for performing cleaning
tasks, are housed.
[0037] As the robot moves forward it generates a series of currents
allowing the dirt to be introduced through suction openings (18)
located in the lower part inside two dirt storage tanks (14) which
have collapsible handles (15) for lifting and removing the robot to
allow cleaning them, therefore they have a collapsible side (16)
facilitating this, as seen in FIG. 10. Said collapsible handles
(15) allow, in addition to suspending the storage tanks (14),
fixing the filter itself to the body or casing (13) of the robot,
taking into account that the robot can incorporate said filters for
filtering dirt in the tanks.
[0038] The robot also comprises an upper suspension handle (17),
equally collapsible during the operation of the robot, which allows
lifting the robot to be transported as a whole.
[0039] In view of this description and set of drawings, the person
skilled in the art will be able to understand that the embodiments
of the invention which have been described can be changed in many
ways within of the object of the invention. The invention has been
described according to preferred embodiments thereof, but for the
person skilled in the art it will be evident that multiple
variations can be included in said preferred embodiments without
exceeding the object of the claimed invention.
* * * * *