Pool cleaning device with adjustable buoyant element

• US 8,869,337 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2010
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hayward Industries, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hayward Industries, Inc.
• Inventors: Sumonthee, Jirawat
• Primary Examiner(s): CHIN, RANDALL E
• Application Number:
  US12/938,041
• Publication Number:
  US 20120103365A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,456 Days
• Field of Search: 15/17
• US Class Current: 15/1.7
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1654 Self-propelled cleaners

Abstract

An automatic pool cleaner has a plurality of components, some of which have a density greater than water, giving the cleaner an overall negative buoyancy. The cleaner has a buoyant element which is adjustable in position relative to the center of gravity of the cleaner. Adjusting the position of the buoyant element changes the probable motion path of the cleaner on the pool floor and on the walls to allow the cleaner to execute a variety of motion paths to clean various parts of the pool. The adjustable element may be slidably positioned by a handle extending through a slot in the housing or be slidable on a slide band attached to the housing, which may be pivotable, translatable and rotatable, providing an additional range of position alternatives. A selected position is held by a detent or other holding mechanism. The adjustable element permits the cleaner to be adapted to clean various pool shapes and surfaces.

Claims

1. A cleaner for cleaning surfaces of a pool containing water and having a plurality of elements, including a housing directing a flow of water, the housing having a water inlet and a water outlet, said plurality of elements being composed at least partially of materials having a density greater than water, said cleaner having a center of gravity, comprising:

a plurality of buoyant elements including at least one buoyant element having a density less than water, said at least one buoyant element being positionable at a selected position of a plurality of alternative positions relative to the center of gravity of said cleaner, said at least one buoyant element being retained in said selected position while said cleaner moves over the floor and side walls of the pool until being selectively repositioned at another of said plurality of alternative positions, said at least one buoyant element exerting a buoyancy force contributing to a biasing of said cleaner toward at least one specific orientation when said cleaner is in the water; and

said cleaner having an overall negative buoyancy.

2. The cleaner of claim 1, said plurality of buoyant elements exerting a resultant buoyant force on said cleaner at any given orientation of said cleaner, said resultant buoyant force being expressable as a force emanating from a center of buoyancy, said at least one specific orientation characterized by the resultant buoyant force acting in line with and opposite to the gravitational force, a first said at least one specific orientation having said center of buoyancy directly above the center of gravity and a second said at least one specific orientation having said center of buoyancy directly below said center of gravity;

and wherein, when said cleaner is not in said first specific orientation or in said second specific orientation, said resultant buoyant force is exerted at a distance from the gravitational force exerted on the center of gravity, said resultant buoyant force and the gravitational force acting as a couple biasing said cleaner toward said first specific orientation.

3. The cleaner of claim 2, wherein one of the surfaces of the pool is a floor surface, a first of said plurality of alternative positions causing the resultant buoyancy force to be more distant from the center of gravity than a second of said alternative positions when viewed from a first perspective, said at least one buoyant element, when in said first of said plurality of alternative positions causing a more uneven distribution of weight on one side of said cleaner relative to another side than said second of said plurality of alternative positions, such that the side bearing the greater weight engages the pool surface more strongly than the side bearing the lesser weight.

4. The cleaner of claim 3, wherein said cleaner further comprises at least one motive element disposed on each of said one side and said another side of said cleaner, said cleaner movable by activating said motive elements, said first alternative position causing the motive element on said side bearing greater weight to engage the floor surface more strongly than said side bearing the lesser weight, causing the cleaner to turn when said motive elements are active in moving the cleaner, the arc of turning bending toward said side bearing the greater weight.

5. The cleaner of claim 4, wherein said cleaner has a motor-driven impeller that creates a cleaning flow through said cleaner, said cleaning flow creating a down-force pushing the cleaner into contact with the pool surface on which it is moved and wherein said motive elements tend to drive said cleaner in a straight line when evenly engaged on the pool surface, said down-force urging said motive elements to evenly engage said floor surface and resist said buoyancy force which biases the cleaner to have an uneven weighting on one side compared to the other, thereby resisting the turning attributable to an uneven weighting, the resultant path of the cleaner being at least partially determined by the relative strengths of the frictional force that drives the cleaner on a straight path and the position and orientation of the resultant buoyancy force which biases the cleaner to turn, as at least partially determined by the position of said at least one buoyant element.

6. The cleaner of claim 2, wherein one of the surfaces of the pool is a wall surface, a first of said plurality of alternative positions causing the resultant buoyancy force to be more distant from the center of gravity than a second of said plurality of alternative positions when viewed from a perspective perpendicular to the wall surface, said at least one buoyant element, when in said first of said plurality of alternative positions causing a more uneven distribution of weight on one side of said cleaner relative to another side, such that the cleaner is biased to turn on the wall surface until said cleaner achieves said at least one specific orientation, the arc of turning bending toward said side bearing the greater weight.

7. The cleaner of claim 6, wherein said cleaner has a motor-driven impeller that creates a cleaning flow through said cleaner, said cleaning flow creating a down-force pushing the cleaner into frictional engagement with the pool surface on which it is moved, said frictional engagement resisting said buoyancy force which biases the cleaner to turn on the wall surface.

8. The cleaner of claim 7, wherein said cleaner further comprises motive elements which tend to drive said cleaner in a straight line, said cleaner movable by activating said motive elements, said down-force causing said motive elements to engage said wall surface and resist said buoyancy force which biases the cleaner to turn on the wall surface, the resultant path of the cleaner being at least partially determined by the relative strengths of the frictional force that drives the cleaner on a straight path and the position and orientation of the resultant buoyancy force which biases the cleaner to turn, as at least partially determined by the position of said at least one buoyant element.

9. The cleaner of claim 1, wherein the center of gravity is substantially geometrically centralized when viewed from at least one perspective of top, bottom, left side, right side, front and rear perspectives.

10. The cleaner of claim 9, wherein the center of gravity is substantially geometrically centralized when viewed from at least two perspectives of top, bottom, left side, right side, front and rear perspectives.

11. The cleaner of claim 10, wherein the center of gravity is substantially geometrically centralized when viewed from more than two perspectives of top, bottom, left side, right side, front and rear perspectives.

12. The cleaner of claim 1, wherein the center of gravity is geometrically asymmetrically positioned when viewed from at least one perspective of top, bottom, left side, right side, front and rear perspectives.

13. A cleaner for cleaning surfaces of a pool containing water and having a plurality of elements at least partially composed of materials having a density greater than water, said cleaner having a center of gravity and an overall negative buoyancy, comprising:

(a) a housing assembly;

(b) a motor-driven impeller for inducing a flow of water though said housing;

(c) a filter for filtering debris from water that is passed through the filter by the flow created by the impeller;

(d) a motor-driven motive element assembly for moving the cleaner over the pool surfaces and having motive elements disposed on two opposing sides of said cleaner;

(e) at least one buoyant element having a density less than water, said buoyant element being positionable at a selected position of a plurality of alternative positions relative to the center of gravity of said cleaner, said at least one buoyant element being retained in said selected position while said cleaner moves over the floor and side walls of the pool until being selectively repositioned at another of said plurality of alternative positions, said at least one buoyant element exerting a buoyancy force contributing to a biasing of said cleaner toward at least one specific orientation when said cleaner is in the water.

14. The cleaner of claim 13, wherein said at least one buoyant element is coupled to said cleaner at a slot through said housing, such that said plurality of alternative positions are selected by sliding said at least one buoyant element along said slot.

15. The cleaner of claim 14, wherein said at least one buoyant element is substantially contained within said housing and said slot is substantially arcuate, a handle coupled to said at least one buoyant element external to said housing allowing a user to position said at least one buoyant element relative to said slot.

16. The cleaner of claim 15, wherein said handle has a pair of arcuate extensions covering said slot in said plurality of alternative positions, said selected position being maintained by a detent mechanism.

17. The cleaner of claim 16, wherein said housing includes a lid with an aperture for said impeller flow and said arcuate slot is positioned proximate said aperture and has a center of curvature approximating coaxiality with the axis of rotation of said impeller.

18. The cleaner of claim 13, further including a slide member attached to said housing, said slide member having a slot such that said selected position is selected by sliding said at least one buoyant element along said slot, said selected position being maintained by a releasable gripping mechanism.

19. The cleaner of claim 18, wherein said slide member is attached to said housing in a manner such that said at least one buoyant member is external to said housing.

20. The cleaner of claim 19, wherein said slide member is a band attached at opposite ends to said housing.

21. The cleaner of claim 20, wherein said band has an arcuate shape when attached to said cleaner, said arcuate shape extending over a geometrically central portion of said cleaner in a generally side-to-side direction, said arcuate band being pivotally attached to said cleaner at each of said opposite ends by a fastener such that said arcuate band can be positioned at a selected pivotal orientation relative to said cleaner and affixed in that orientation by said fasteners.

22. The cleaner of claim 21, wherein said pivotal attachment on opposite ends of said band is made at a corresponding slot in said housing permitting said arcuate band to be rotated and translated relative to said housing.

23. A cleaner for cleaning surfaces of a pool containing water and having a plurality of elements, including a housing directing a flow of water, the housing having a water inlet and a water outlet, said plurality of elements being composed at least partially of materials having a density greater than water, said cleaner having a center of gravity, comprising:

at least one buoyant element having a density less than water, said buoyant element being positionable at a selected position of a plurality of alternative positions relative to the center of gravity of said cleaner, said at least one buoyant element being retained in said selected position while said cleaner moves relative to the pool surfaces until being selectively repositioned at another of said plurality of alternative positions, said at least one buoyant element exerting a buoyancy force contributing to a biasing of said cleaner toward at least one specific orientation when said cleaner is in the water; and

said cleaner having an overall negative buoyancy;

wherein said at least one buoyant element is retained in said selected position by a detent mechanism comprising arcuate plates, and wherein said arcuate plates comprise one or more teeth extending from a bottom surface thereof.

24. The cleaner of claim 23, wherein said one or more teeth engage mating notches formed in an opposed surface of a lid assembly of said housing.

25. A cleaner for cleaning surfaces of a pool containing water and having a plurality of elements, including a housing directing a flow of water, the housing having a water inlet and a water outlet, said plurality of elements being composed at least partially of materials having a density greater than water, said cleaner having a center of gravity, comprising:

at least one buoyant element having a density less than water, said buoyant element being positionable at a selected position of a plurality of alternative positions relative to the center of gravity of said cleaner, said at least one buoyant element being retained in said selected position while said cleaner moves over the floor and side walls of the pool until being selectively repositioned at another of said plurality of alternative positions, said at least one buoyant element exerting a buoyancy force contributing to a biasing of said cleaner toward at least one specific orientation when said cleaner is in the water;

said cleaner having an overall negative buoyancy; and

a drive motor gear assembly disposed towards one of said sides of said cleaner;

wherein said cleaner comprises a front, a back, first and second opposing sides therebetween, and wherein said repositioning of said at least one buoyant element shifts a buoyancy vector of said cleaner from side-to-side.

26. The cleaner of claim 25, wherein said plurality of alternative positions of said at least one buoyant element comprise (i) a position away from said drive motor gear assembly, (ii) a position near said drive motor gear assembly, and (iii) a position intermediate said away position and said near position.

27. A cleaner for cleaning surfaces of a pool containing water and having a plurality of elements, including a housing directing a flow of water, the housing having a water inlet and a water outlet, said plurality of elements being composed at least partially of materials having a density greater than water, said cleaner having a center of gravity, comprising:

at least one buoyant element having a density less than water, said buoyant element being positionable beneath a lid assembly of said housing and at a selected position of a plurality of alternative positions relative to the center of gravity of said cleaner, said at least one buoyant element being retained in said selected position while said cleaner moves relative to the pool surfaces until being selectively repositioned at another of said plurality of alternative positions, said at least one buoyant element exerting a buoyancy force contributing to a biasing of said cleaner toward at least one specific orientation when said cleaner is in the water; and

said cleaner having an overall negative buoyancy.

28. The cleaner of claim 27, wherein said at least one buoyant element is retained in said selected position by a detent mechanism.

29. The cleaner of claim 28, wherein said detent mechanism comprises arcuate plates.

30. The cleaner of claim 29, wherein said arcuate plates comprise one or more teeth extending from a bottom surface thereof.

31. The cleaner of claim 30, wherein said one or more teeth engage mating notches formed in an opposed surface of said lid assembly of said housing.

32. The cleaner of claim 27, wherein said cleaner comprises a front, a back, first and second opposing sides therebetween, and wherein said repositioning of said at least one buoyant element shifts a buoyancy vector of said cleaner from side-to-side.

33. The cleaner of claim 32, wherein said cleaner further comprises a drive motor gear assembly disposed towards one of said sides of said cleaner.

34. The cleaner of claim 33, wherein said plurality of alternative positions of said at least one buoyant element comprise (i) a position away from said drive motor gear assembly, (ii) a position near said drive motor gear assembly, and (iii) a position intermediate said away position and said near position.