U.S. patent number 3,665,942 [Application Number 05/199,644] was granted by the patent office on 1972-05-30 for swimming pool cleaning device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Danny Henderson, Marty Ross. Invention is credited to Werton D. Moore.
United States Patent |
3,665,942 |
Moore |
May 30, 1972 |
SWIMMING POOL CLEANING DEVICE
Abstract
A swimming pool cleaning device having a floating head which is
placed upon a pool surface and adapted to be supplied with water
from a floating flexible hose, the floating head having cleaner
hose attachments and an impeller all receiving a portion of the
water supplied to the head, the impeller and a rudder being carried
by a hollow swivel through which water is supplied to the impeller
and being so constructed and arranged as to propel and guide the
head around the pool in a random manner.
Inventors: |
Moore; Werton D. (Dallas,
TX) |
Assignee: |
Ross; Marty (Las Vegas, NV)
Henderson; Danny (Las Vegas, NV)
|
Family
ID: |
22738424 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/199,644 |
Filed: |
November 17, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
134/167R; 15/1.7;
440/38 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04H
4/1681 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E04H
4/16 (20060101); E04H 4/00 (20060101); B08b
003/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;15/1.7 ;134/167R,168R
;115/12R ;210/169 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Roberts; Edward L.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. In a swimming pool cleaning device comprising a movable floating
head carrying at least one cleaner hose, a water jet impeller and
means for supplying water to said cleaner hose and impeller, the
improvement comprising a swivel carrying said impeller and also
carrying a rudder, the impeller being arranged and directed to
cause rotation of the swivel and the rudder tending to counteract
such rotation whereby said impeller and rudder cause the floating
head to move in an irregular pattern around the pool and to move
away from pool walls and corners it may engage.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the swivel is offset from the
geometric center of the floating head to facilitate the irregular
pattern of movement of the floating head.
3. The device of claim 1 wherein the impeller comprises a pipe
extending horizontally from the swivel at an angle to the rudder
and wherein said pipe is bent at a slight angle away from the
direction in which the rudder extends.
4. The device of claim 3 in which the impeller pipe is bent at an
angle of from about 3.degree.-10.degree..
5. The device of claim 1 including a floatable flexible water
supply hose for supplying water from a source at pool-side to the
movable floating head for distribution to the cleaner hoses and
water jet impeller.
6. The device of claim 6 wherein said floatable water supply hose
comprises an outer hose of flexible foamed plastic and a flexible
water carrying hose within said inner hose.
7. The device of claim 1 wherein there are cleaner hoses of
different lengths.
8. The device of claim 1 wherein at least one cleaner hose has a
coil set and the terminal end of said cleaner hose is provided with
a nozzle directed perpendicular to the coil set so as to direct
cleaning water against the pool bottom.
9. A swimming pool cleaning device comprising, a floating head
adapted to move upon the surface of the pool; a pipe extending
downwardly from said floating head; a swivel joint in said pipe;
water distributing means carried by said floating head, said water
distributing means including first connecting means for a flexible
water supply hose, second connecting means for at least one
flexible cleaner hose and means connecting said first connecting
means with the second connecting means and with said pipe; a water
jet impeller extending horizontally from the lower part of said
swivel joint and arranged to deliver a stream of water in a
direction tending to rotate said part, and; rudder means carried by
the lower part of said swivel joint and tending to counteract
rotation of said part, whereby said impeller and rudder cooperate
to cause said float to move in an irregular pattern around the pool
and to move away from pool walls and corners it may engage.
10. The device of claim 9 wherein means extend downwardly from said
floating head to a position below said impeller and rudder to
prevent them from engaging shallow pool obstructions.
11. The device of claim 10 wherein the means extending downwardly
from the floating head comprise short pipes to which the flexible
cleaner hoses are adapted to be attached, said pipes comprising
part of said second connecting means.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an improved swimming pool cleaning device
which is simple in construction and which will automatically move
around the entire pool area without entrapment against pool edges
or in corners.
Virtually all modern swimming pools, whether private ones at homes,
motels or apartments or large municipal pools are built with a
filtering and cleaning system installed as standard equipment. In
this system, pool water is drawn into a pump from outlets on the
surface and usually from a bottom drain. The pump forces the water
through a filter, from whence it is returned to the pool.
For practical reasons of engineering and economy, it is not
practical for this system to keep the entire pool contents stirred
up sufficiently to prevent the settling of the larger dirt and dust
particles, leaves, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the
pool periodically to remove the debris which the filtering system
does not removed. This is usually done by vacuuming the bottom and
sides with a vacuum head on a pipe which is manually moved over the
bottom. Its suction is water going directly to the pool pump in the
filtering system. For a normal home pool, the operation requires 2
to 4 hours, and is normally performed once a week.
Observation of any outdoor pool will show that weekly cleaning is
insufficient to keep the pool clean all the time. Dirt settles
enough in one day to be visible in most locations. But due to the
onerous and time-consuming task of vacuuming, very few pools are
cleaned more often than weekly, if that often.
Therefore, a need exists and has existed for an automatic pool
cleaning device which will obviate the necessity of manual
vacuuming the pool.
Many attempts have been made to construct such a device with
varying degrees of success over the last 20 years and more. Almost
all of these devices have depended on the stirring-up action of
water ejected from flexible tubes or hoses long enough to reach the
pool bottom. The recurring problem is not how to stir up the dirt
so that the filter can remove it. The problem is transporting the
stirring tubes around the pool so as to cover its entire area. Most
attempts have utilized floating heads with the tubes attached to
the head. Units have been made with the head attached to
complicated machinery on the side of the pool which is geared or
programmed to extend in and out, move from side to side, or both in
order to cover all the area. The most prevalent type of device
utilizes a floating head with one or more fixed position nozzles
around its perimeter to drive it across the water surface by the
force of the water ejected from said nozzle(s). One of these
contains a complicated gear train and internal valve set-up driven
by a water turbine so that water is ejected from two or more
nozzles in rotation. Thus, if the head becomes trapped in a corner,
eventually the nozzle which drove it there will be stopped, and
another nozzle will start ejecting water--hopefully in a direction
which will result in the head moving out of the corner to resume
travel around the pool surface. Another device gives up on solving
the programmed floating head problem, and consists of a head with
four flexible tubes attached which sinks to the bottom of the pool
and stays there until removed, with its attached tubes snaking
around stirring up the debris. This head does not move at all,
resulting in spotty and inadequate coverage for cleaning.
All of the devices described and all which have previously been
manufactured have demonstrated inadequacies which result in poor
and spotty pool cleaning. Furthermore, the best known of these
machines is quite expensive and is overcomplicated and
unreliable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a simple, inexpensive
and reliable pool cleaner which will cover the entire pool area
automatically.
The swimming pool cleaning device of this invention, in a
representative embodiment, comprises a floating head which is
placed on the pool surface, which is supplied with water pressure
via a floating flexible hose, and beneath which are several
attachments, each receiving a portion of the available water
pressure supply. The attachments are: at least one flexible hose
equipped with a nozzle at its bottom end; and a swivel impeller and
rudder assembly so constructed that it propels and guides the head
around the pool in a random manner.
The actual cleaning of the pool sides and bottom is accomplished by
the scouring action of the water ejected from the nozzles at the
bottom ends of the dangling flexible tubes as the head moves around
the pool. The scouring action stirs up the dirt and debris, which
becomes temporarily suspended in the water long enough to be
removed by the pool's normal filtering system.
The time for complete pool cleaning varies with the amount and
types of soil to be removed, the capacity of the filtering system
and the available water pressure and volume which can be used to
operate the cleaner. In normal circumstances, this time will
average between 4 and 10 hours.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a pool showing the pool cleaning
device of the invention in solid lines in one position in the pool
and in broken lines in another position.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged top view of the floating head of the pool
cleaning device.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the lines 3--3 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the lines 4--4 of
FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view showing a floating supply hose
assembly.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1, the pool cleaning device comprises
floating head 10 which is adapted to move about the surface of pool
12. The head 10 is conveniently constructed of foam plastic, but
can be made of any material which will float and can take any of
the variety of shapes and sizes. In the embodiment shown it is
shaped like a life buoy but could be of solid, oval, rectangular or
other shape.
Mounted on the head 10 is a water distributing assembly 14
comprising pipes 16, 18, 20 and 22, tees 24 and 26 elbows 28 and 30
and union 32. The union 32 is connected to a short piece of pipe 34
which extends from the head 10 and terminates in coupling 36 to
which flexible supply line 38 is attached. The supply line 38 is in
turn attached at its other end to a source of water under pressure
40, which may be an outlet from the pool filter system. The pipes
and fittings mounted on the floating head 10 are conveniently made
from rigid plastic to save weight and avoid corrosion problems. A
float 42 is attached to connecting pipe 34 to add buoyancy to the
system.
Preferably the supply lines 38 is one which will float. This can be
accomplished by several means including the attachment of floats at
intervals. A preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. 5 wherein an
outer floatable hose 44 of foamed plastic material such as a
floating pool vacuum hose encompasses a flexible inner hose 46
which carries the water under pressure. Vacuum hose of 1 1/2 inch
diameter in combination with three-fourths inch vinyl tubing is
suitable for this purpose.
As shown in FIG. 3, the elbows 28 and 30 are each equipped with a
short nipple 48 extending downwardly through an opening 50 in the
floating head 10. A union 52 secures the assembly in position. A
short length of pipe 54 extends downwardly from the union 52. In a
typical arrangement the floating head may be 18-20 inches in
diameter with the elbows 28 and 30 approximately 16 inches apart on
centers. The pipes 54 may extend approximately 8 inches below the
floating head 10 before their attachment to the cleaning tubes.
These pipe projections serve to prevent the head 10 from traveling
over pool steps and other shallow obstructions which might bump the
rotating swivel assembly and interfere with its operation.
Two flexible tubes 56 and 58 are attached to the respective pipes
54. Each tube is equipped with a nozzle 60 of the flat fan spray
pattern type with a fixed size orifice at one end of the tube. As
water is ejected from the nozzle, the reaction force of the water
jet against the pool water causes the tube to zig-zag or snake from
side to side and in circular patterns around the pool bottom, thus
stirring up debris for the filter system of the pool to remove.
Flat fan spray nozzles 60 are eminently suitable for tubing that is
manufactured in coils, and has a coil set. This natural coil set
causes either one side or the other of the tubing to lie on the
bottom. The nozzle is set to spray perpendicularly to the coil set
of the tubing, so that half the ejected water from the nozzle must
impinge against the pool bottom at all times when the nozzle is
against the bottom.
The flexible cleaning tubes 56 and 58 are preferably of different
lengths. For example, one of the tubes may be 15 feet long, causing
it to range far away from the floating head and to reach the
deepest parts of the pool. The other tube may be 5 feet long, and
touches the bottom in the shallow end only. However, it serves to
keep sediment suspended at all times, and cleans the side walls of
the pool when it is brought within reach by the head.
Attached to tee 24 is a swivel impeller and drive assembly
generally designated at 62. As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, this
comprises a downwardly extending pipe 64 carrying a hollow swivel
joint 66 from which depends another short length of pipe 68 closed
by cap 70. All of these parts may be conveniently made of plastic.
A metal impeller tube 72 communicates with the pipe 68 through the
cap 70. On the other side of cap 70 a flat plastic or metal rudder
74 is secured by means of cap screw 76. The tee 24 and its
depending swivel drive assembly 62 may be offset from the
geometrical center of the floating head 10 so as to facilitate
irregular directional movement of the device around the pool.
The swivel drive assembly 62 is the heart and "brain" of the
cleaning device of this invention since it impels and guides the
floating head 10 around the pool surface. Its principle is new but
simple. The lower part of the assembly rotates freely around the
hollow supporting pipe 64. The assembly has only two essential
parts besides the swivel itself; an impeller tube 72 bent at an
angle of e.g., 3.degree.-10.degree. from a radial line drawn
horizontally from the swivel center which causes counterclockwise
swivel rotation when water is ejected through the tube 72 under
pressure; and the flat metal or plastic rudder 74 fastened to the
same part of the swivel as the impeller tube, set vertically and
projecting to one side of swivel center opposite to the angle bend
of the tube 72. This rudder 74 has little effect on the swivel
action when the head 10 is stationary, thus allowing the bent tube
72 to cause CCW swiveling action, but when the head 10 is moving
across the water, the rudder 74 tends to cause clockwise swivel
action--opposing the action of the tube 72. Thus, the drive jet
will always cause the assembly to swivel when the head 10 is
stalled, but may not swivel at all or swivel in the opposite
direction when the head 10 is moving, depending on the speed of
movement, since the pool water exerts more force against the rudder
the faster it is propelled through the water. The result is random
travel of the head but programmed to prevent entrapment.
The manner in which the impeller and rudder assembly will swivel
around upon entrapment of the head 10 is illustrated at the lower
right hand corner of FIG. 1. Here the device shown in broken lines
has been driven into the corner of the pool. The impeller action of
the tube 72 has caused the drive assembly to rotate
counterclockwise from the angular position of the device shown in
solid lines at the center of the pool. The action of the impeller
will now drive the device out of the corner to again randomly
proceed across the pool surface.
From the foregoing, it will be seen that the invention embodies a
new and unique method of propelling floating cleaner head around
the pool surface via a swiveling drive impeller which swivels when
the head is stopped for any reason until it reaches a position to
drive the head away from the trapped position, no matter what
caused it or where it is on the pool surface. When the head begins
to travel across the surface slowly, the swivel does not rotate. At
higher speed of travel, the impeller and swivel tend to rotate in a
direction opposite to that evidenced when the head is not
moving.
As a result, the novel pool cleaning device travels completely
around the perimeter of any shape pool, cannot be trapped by any
corner or obstruction, and makes occasional side trips out into the
middle of the pool, sometimes crossing over from side to side or
end to end, sometimes lingering in an area performing a roughly
oval oscillating movement, finally returning to its travel around
the pool perimeter. Over a few hours time, the head will traverse
all the area of the pool surface several times. It may be placed in
the pool in the evening and allowed to run all night. Results have
been perfect, in that it never stalls or becomes trapped, it covers
the entire surface and bottom areas and cleans the pool bottom and
sides to the point where no debris is visible the following
morning. Manual vacuuming is no longer required.
It will be understood that the device of the invention is adapted
to many modifications within the spirit of the invention and range
of equivalents to which it is entitled. The description of
materials and dimensions are for illustrative purposes and are not
intended to be limitative of the scope of the invention. The
principle of swivel impeller and rudder may be incorporated in any
device which is adapted to float upon and automatically travel over
the surface of any body of liquid. Thus, it may be used in pond
aerators, pond treaters, distributing devices for insecticides,
chemicals and the like and even in toy ships and amusement
devices.
* * * * *