Self-propelled underwater electromechanical apparatus for cleaning the bottom and walls of swimming pools

• US 5,617,600 A
• Filed: 12/05/1994
• Issued: 04/08/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ercole Frattini
• Original Assignee: Ercole Frattini
• Inventors: Frattini, Ercole
• Primary Examiner(s): SOOHOO, TONY GLEN
• Application Number:
  US08/353,348
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 15/1.7, 15/49.1, 210/169, 310/87, 310/88, 310/45
• US Class Current: 15/1.7
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1654 Self-propelled cleaners

Abstract

Self-propelled underwater electromechanical apparatus for cleaning the bottom and the walls of swimming pools, having an electric motor which operates a propeller turbine for circulating the water and a driving unit for transmitting movement to a roller travel system. The electric motor and the driving unit are made with an open structure in which the swimming-pool water freely circulates. The electric motor is of the brushless type and both the winding of its rotor and that of its stator are embedded in an impermeable resin. The driving unit has a reduction unit with an output shaft operating two roller travel systems mounted on opposite sides of the apparatus. Devices for achieving reversal of movement consisting of a shaft extension oscillating between two different working positions, are arranged between the output shaft and the two travel systems.

Claims

1. A self-propelled, underwater, electromechanical apparatus for cleaning a bottom and walls of swimming pools, comprising

an apparatus body provided with a water suction opening and a water outlet,

a single electric motor unit in said body,

a circulating turbine connected to said electric motor for circulating water from said water suction opening to said water outlet through a filter system and,

a mechanical driving unit connected to said electric motor and,

a roller travel system connected to said driving unit, said driving unit transmitting forward, backward and rotational movement to said roller travel system, wherein at least one of said electric motor and said driving unit has an open structure exposed to the swimming-pool water.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotor of said electric motor is mounted on a through drive shaft, two opposite ends of which, emerging from the body of the motor, respectively operate said circulating turbine and said driving unit.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said through drive drive shaft is made of stainless steel.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said shafts have, at least partly, a polygonal cross-section, and the propeller of said circulating turbine and at least some of propeller of said circulating turbine and at least some of said gears have a hole with an identical cross-section, for keying onto said shafts by being simply mounted with a slight forcing action.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said circulating turbine is formed by a propeller enclosed in a tube and directly keyed onto through drive shaft, the propeller and tube body of the turbine being made of plastic.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said driving unit comprises a reduction unit with an output shaft having two opposite ends for operating two roller travel systems mounted on opposite sides of the body of the apparatus.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein movement reversal means are arranged between said output shaft and said two roller travel systems.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said output shaft is formed by a substantially rigid central section, to which there are hingeably joined two extension sections which have an end locked in rotation with the central section, and another end being able to oscillate between two different working positions, each extension section carrying at its other end at least one gear, which forms said movement reversal means due to its engagement with a forward travel pinion or respectively a reverse travel crown gear in one or respectively the other of said two oscillating positions.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each of said two extension shafts has, keyed on its respective end, two coaxial gears, a first gear meshing with said forward travel pinion in a first oscillating position, and a second gear meshing with said reverse travel crown gear in a second oscillating position.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said forward travel pinion forms hub of a drive wheel and said reverse travel crown gear is formed inside a cylindrical, peripheral wall of said drive wheel, outside this cylindrical wall there being formed teeth for driving a toothed belt of the driving unit.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein an oscillating end of each of said extension shafts cooperates with a control cam, so as to be displaced towards one or other of said two oscillating positions.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the two control cams associated respectively with each of said extension shafts are keyed onto a common control shaft.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said control shaft of said two cams receives the movement from the drive shaft of said single electric motor via a second reduction unit with a high reduction ratio.

14. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said control cams have identical and angularly offset profiles or respectively different profiles, so as to cause oscillation of said extension shafts in a staggered time sequence.

15. Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein each of said two roller travel systems comprises a pair of rollers, a front one and a rear one, driven in parallel by one of said toothed belts.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the two front rollers of each of the two travel systems are mounted, in a freely and independently rotatable manner, on a common front support shaft, the two rear rollers being mounted likewise on a common rear shaft.

17. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said motor is a low voltage motor rotating at a speed ranging from about 2700 to about 3000 rpm.

18. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said driving unit comprises a first reduction unit formed by a housing with an essentially open structure and by a train of gears with a high reduction ratio, the individual gears being made of plastic and partly keyed and partly rotatably mounted on stainless-steel shafts, the first gear being directly keyed onto the drive shaft of the electric motor.

19. Apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said train of gears forms a reduction ratio of the order of 60:

1 to 100;

1, the speed of the output shaft of said first reduction unit being of the order of 30 to 50 rpm.

20. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said electric motor is of a brushless type, an electric winding of a rotor and stator of said electric motor being embedded in an impermeable resin, a water passage being formed in a gap between said stator and said rotor.