Pool cleaning apparatus

• US 9,328,525 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2013
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maytronics Ltd (Kibbutz Yizreel)
• Original Assignee: Maytronics Ltd (Kibbutz Yizreel)
• Inventors: Shlomi-Shlomi, Idan, Grubman, Igor
• Primary Examiner(s): Prince, Fred
• Application Number:
  US14/023,557
• Publication Number:
  US 20140076789A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: 210/167.1, 210/167.15, 210/167.16, 210/167.17, 210/232, 210/416.1, 210/416.2, 15/17
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1209 Treatment of water for swimming pools filters B01D
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1654 Self-propelled cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1663 the propulsion resulting from an intermittent interruption of the waterflow through the cleaner

Abstract

A pool cleaning apparatus that may include a filter; a entrapment cell; a first impeller; a first pump motor arranged to rotate the first impeller; a driving unit arranged to move the pool cleaning robot; a structural element; and an external housing that comprises a first inlet and a first outlet; wherein the filter and the structural element define a first space that has a spiral portion; wherein the first impeller is arranged to rotate along a first rotational direction; wherein rotation of the first impeller along a first rotational direction causes fluid be drawn through the first inlet and to follow a spiral path within the first space during which a first portion of the fluid is filtered by the filter to provide filtered fluid that exits through the first outlet of the housing; and a second portion of the fluid follows the spiral path until entering the entrapment cell.

Claims

1. The pool cleaning apparatus comprising:

a filter;

an entrapment cell;

a first impeller;

a first pump motor arranged to rotate the first impeller;

a driving unit arranged to move the pool cleaning apparatus;

a structural element; and

an external housing that comprises a first inlet and a first outlet;

wherein the filter and the structural element define a first space that has a spiral portion;

wherein the first impeller is arranged to rotate along a first rotational direction;

wherein rotation of the first impeller along a first rotational direction causes fluid to be drawn through the first inlet and to follow a spiral path within the first space during which (a) a first portion of the fluid is filtered by the filter to provide filtered fluid that exits through the first outlet of the housing; and

(b) a second portion of the fluid follows the spiral path until entering the entrapment cell;

wherein the second portion of the fluid conveys particles that did not pass through the filter.

2. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, at least some of the particles conveyed by the second portion of the fluid are too big to be filtered by the filter.

3. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the entrapment cell is arranged to return at least some of the second portion of the fluid to the first space.

4. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the structural element comprises a wall and a spiral guide that is coupled to the wall.

5. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the wall comprises at least one opening that facilitates an exchange of fluid between the first space and the entrapment cell.

6. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the wall and the filter have a radial symmetry in relation to a vertical axis.

7. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the first inlet has a first movable flap that is arranged to move between an inlet closing position and a fluid directing position.

8. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first movable flap, when positioned at the fluid directing position, is arranged to direct the fluid towards the spiral guide.

9. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first movable flap is arranged to move to the fluid directing position due to the rotation of the first impeller along the first rotational direction.

10. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first movable flap, when positioned at the inlet closing position, is arranged to prevent particles to exit the pool cleaning apparatus.

11. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the external housing comprises multiple inlets that are located between the filter and the wall;

and wherein each of the multiple inlets is proximate to a movable flap;

wherein the multiple inlets comprise the first inlet.

12. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the multiple inlets are formed within a ring shaped portion of a bottom panel of the housing, wherein the ring shaped portion is delimited by the filter and the wall.

13. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 11, wherein each movable flap, when positioned at a fluid directing position, directs the fluid towards the spiral guide.

14. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the wall substantially surrounds the filter and wherein the filter substantially surrounds the first impeller.

15. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the filter substantially surrounds the wall.

16. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first impeller is arranged, when rotating along a second rotational direction that is opposite to the first rotational direction, to perform a backwash operation, while the second impeller is either stationary or rotates along the second rotational direction.

17. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the entrapment cell has a first opening for receiving the second portion of fluid, the first opening is at least partially defined by an upper rim of the wall.

18. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4 comprising a fluid directing element that extends between the wall and the filter and arranged to direct fluid that reaches the end of the spiral path to enter the entrapment cell.

19. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first outlet is preceded by a first fluid conduit that is arranged to guide the filtered fluid from the first impeller towards the first outlet so that the filtered fluid exits the pool cleaning apparatus such as to induce motion of the pool cleaning apparatus along a first direction.

20. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the housing comprises a second outlet and wherein the pool cleaning apparatus comprises a second impeller;

wherein the second outlet is preceded by a second fluid conduit that is arranged to guide filtered fluid from the second impeller, wherein the second impeller rotates along the first rotational direction, towards the second outlet so that the filtered fluid exits the pool cleaning apparatus such as to induce motion of the pool cleaning apparatus along a second direction.

21. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the second direction differs from the first direction.

22. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 20, wherein each of the first and second impeller is independently controllable.

23. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 20, wherein each of the first and second impellers is located within a central segment of the pool cleaning apparatus, the central segment being delimited by the filter, a bottom panel of the housing and an upper shell of the housing.

24. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the filter has a spiral shape.

25. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a filtering unit that is detachably coupled to at least one other element of the pool cleaning apparatus, wherein the filtering unit comprises the filter, the entrapment cell and the structural element.

26. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the external housing comprises an external cover that is detachably coupled to an upper shell of the external housing.

27. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 26, wherein a removal of the external cover facilitates a removal of the filtering unit.

28. The pool cleaning apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the filtering unit comprises a first filtering unit inlet that has a first movable flap that is arranged to move between an inlet closing position and a fluid directing position.