POOL CLEANING VEHICLE HAVING ALGORITHM FOR MOVING

• US 20090255069A1
• Filed: 04/10/2008
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smartpool Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Techno SpA Limited
• Inventors: HUI, Wing-kin
• Granted Patent: US 8,141,191 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/1.700
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1654 Self-propelled cleaners

Abstract

Disclosed herein is using a combination of pump and drive motor activation and de activation the vehicle can be turned and programmed to avoid vertical and other obstacles.

Claims

1. A pool cleaning vehicle having a drive mechanism for traveling around the underwater surface of the pool, comprising:

a platform having an interior with lines of longitudinal and transverse symmetry;

ballast mounted in the interior of the covered platform, and offset from the lines of symmetry;

pump means for creating a downward sucking force also mounted in the interior;

means for activating and de-activating the pump; and

the vehicle, including the ballast, having a predetermined mass and that mass being slightly greater than the amount of displacement of the vehicle.

2. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 1, wherein the ballast is weighted toward the rear of the vehicle.

3. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 2, wherein the ballast is weighted toward the right side of the vehicle.

4. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 3, wherein the vehicle has motor means for moving the drive wheels and wherein the vehicle is a rear drive vehicle and the pump and the motor comprise the ballast.

5. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes an inclination sensor and wherein upon reaching a predetermined angle the sensor de-activates the pump.

6. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 5, wherein the pump includes a delay means which activates the pump after a predetermined period of inactivity.

7. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 5, wherein the delay means has first and second periods of inactivity before reactivation of the pump.

8. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 5, wherein the delay means has multiple periods of inactivity before reactivation of the pump.

9. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 5, wherein the delay means has multiple periods of inactivity before reactivation of the pump and wherein the periods of inactivity are randomly chosen.

10. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle upon pump de-activation, the vehicle has an initial upward movement and then a slow descending motion.

11. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes the ability to make turns and wherein the turning of the vehicle is randomly selected.

12. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle drops to the lowest point of a full pool, slowly because the displacement of the vehicle is only slightly less than the mass of the vehicle.

13. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 10, wherein the vehicle includes programming means for determining movement of the vehicle.

14. The pool cleaning vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes a single motor to power the drive mechanism.

15. A pool cleaning device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes a micro processor for determining movement of the vehicle.

16. Method of left, right and moving from vertical obstacles

17. vertical random repeat