Patent Application
20240254796
This invention relates to cleaning devices capable of autonomous movement in water-containing vessels such as swimming pools or spas and more particularly, although not necessarily exclusively, to cleaners, systems, and methods providing enhanced cleaning of sections of the vessels containing stairs or other angled surfaces.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0345728 of Adlivankin, et al., whose entire contents are incorporated herein by this reference, describes an automatic swimming pool cleaner (APC) with a tilt sensor and a controller “configured to detect ascending or descending a stair of [a pool] stairway in accordance with a sensed tilt of the pool cleaner.” See Adlivankin, p. 1, ¶ 0006. The APC also may include a depth sensor similarly “configured to detect ascending or descending a stair of the stairway.” See id., ¶ 0011. When the cleaning device has ascended to a highest permissible stair, the controller either stops operation of the device or reverses its direction of motion. See id., ¶¶ 0013-0016.
Absent from the Adlivankin application is any description of structures designed to facilitate climbing and improve cleaning of, for example, stairs or other angled sections of pools or spas. Hence, although the APC of the Adlivankin application may recognize when it has ascended or descended a stair and stop operation or reverse direction accordingly, the cleaner otherwise is structured conventionally. If a stair is narrow or longer than the width of the APC, the cleaner of the Adlivankin application is unlikely to clean it effectively.
The present invention provides apparatus, systems, and methods for improving cleaning of, e.g., these types of stairs.
According to certain embodiments, an APC includes a body, motive elements configured to move the body along a surface of a swimming pool, and a sensor for tracking a distance travelled by the APC.
According to various embodiments, an APC includes a body, motive elements configured to move the body along a surface of a swimming pool, a pressure sensor configured to detect a depth of the APC in the swimming pool, and a controller configured to maintain the depth of the APC based on the detected depth from the pressure sensor.
According to certain embodiments, an APC includes a body, motive elements configured to move the body along a surface of a swimming pool and in a first direction, and a sensor oriented in a second direction that is different from the first direction, the sensor configured to detect a distance or proximity in the second direction.
According to some embodiments, a method of cleaning walls of a swimming pool includes causing operation of an APC and controlling the APC to clean in a horizontal direction along the walls of the swimming pool based on a depth detected by the pressure sensor.
According to various embodiments, a method of cleaning a surface of a swimming pool includes causing operation of an APC and tracking a distance travelled by the APC using a sensor.
According to certain embodiments, a method of cleaning a swimming pool includes climbing (or causing to climb) a plurality of steps in a going up direction by an APC, determining, by the APC, when the APC is at a highest step of the plurality of steps, and cleaning, by the APC, the plurality of steps in a going down direction.
According to various embodiments, a method of cleaning a swimming pool includes cleaning (or causing to clean) a run of a step by advancing an APC towards an edge of the run of the step and altering movement and/or a direction of the APC upon a detection, by a sensor of the APC, of the edge of the run of the step.
According to some embodiments, a method of cleaning a swimming pool includes cleaning (or causing to clean) a run of a step by advancing the APC towards an edge of the run of the step using an APC, and altering a direction of the APC based on an approach of the APC to the edge of the run of the step or an approach of the APC to a rise or vertical wall.
According to certain embodiments, an APC includes a bypass valve assembly with a valve door, a float, and an actuator arm linking the valve door to the float. The bypass valve assembly is configured to selectively open or close a bypass opening based on an orientation of the APC.
Various implementations described herein can include additional systems, methods, features, and advantages, which cannot necessarily be expressly disclosed herein but will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within the present disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.
Described herein are APCs and associated systems and methods for providing improved cleaning of a swimming pool or spa.
In certain embodiments, the APCs described herein may include one or more sensors, and the APCs advantageously may be controlled based on information from such sensors. Non-limiting examples of such sensors are discussed below, and the skilled person will appreciate that various combinations of sensors and/or other sensors or combinations of sensors may be utilized as desired. In some embodiments, the APCs described herein include means for tracking a distance travelled by the APC along a surface of the swimming pool or spa. Such tracking means may include, but are not limited to, one or more optical flow sensors carried on, in, or by the body of the APC. In various embodiments, APCs described herein include means for detecting a depth of the APC, such as but not limited to a pressure sensor and/or a depth sensor. In such embodiments, a horizontal and/or vertical position and/or movement of the APC may be controlled based on the detected depth of the APC. According to certain embodiments, APCs described herein include one or more sensors for detecting a distance and/or proximity of the APC in one or more directions. In such embodiments, the one or more directions may be a direction of movement, a direction, an oblique angle or orthogonal angle to the direction of movement, and/or any other direction or combination of directions as desired.
In various embodiments, the APCs described herein may provide improved cleaning of features of the swimming pool or spa with surfaces that are not necessarily in a same plane, such as but not limited to stairs of the pool, a bench of the pool, etc. In some non-limiting examples, a method of cleaning a swimming pool includes cleaning the steps in a “going up” direction, meaning that APC starts on the bottom surface of the pool, cleans a wall (rise) of a step, climbs up the step and cleans all along the floor (run) of the step horizontally/diagonally, and repeats as needed. In various embodiments, the APC may determine when the APC is at a highest step that it can access, and then perform cleaning in a “going down” direction. In other embodiments, the APC may climb stairs in a going up direction and without cleaning the steps, determine when the APC is at the highest step, and then perform cleaning in the going down direction. With the APCs provided herein, the stairs can be cleaned one step at a time because of the size and/or profile of the cleaner and the independently controlled thrust for improved movements (e.g., shuffling, pivoting, etc.), which may provide an improved cleaning of the stairs compared to traditional APCs that are too big to clean one step at a time and/or lack sufficient navigation control.
According to various embodiments, an improved cleaning method may include cleaning, by the APC, a run of a step by advancing the APC towards an edge of the run of the step, and altering movement and/or a direction of the APC based on a detection of the edge of the run of the step, an approach of the APC to the edge of the run of the step, and/or an approach of the APC to a rise or vertical wall.
Various other benefits and advantages may be realized with the devices and methods provided herein, and the aforementioned advantages should not be considered limiting.
In certain embodiments, in addition to performing a cleaning operation, the brush assembly 16 may be used to orient the APC 10. In such examples, the brush assembly 16 may function as another motive element of the APC 10.
In certain embodiments, the brush assembly 16 may be in close proximity to the motive elements 14, thereby giving the APC 10 a compact footprint in a front-to-back direction. In certain embodiments, relative to a surface that the APC 10 is moving along, the brush assembly 16 may be “tucked under” the motive elements 14, which may make the APC 10 compact from the point-of-contact point of the motive elements 14 with the surface to the tip of the brush assembly 16. Such a compact assembly may allow the APC 10 to be at locations within a pool that traditionally were difficult or not possible for cleaners to reach. As a non-limiting example, the compact assembly of the APC 10 may allow the APC 10 to sit on a narrow stair while still having room to maneuver. In certain embodiments, the compact relationship between the brush assembly 16 and the motive elements 14 optionally may allow for the body 12 of the APC 10 to have an improved shape (e.g., so that the body 12 does not make contact when the APC 10 is moving between two surfaces such as a rise and a run of a step). As an example, the motive elements 14 may be on a first surface and the brush assembly 16 may be on a second surface that is not parallel to the first surface. In such an example, while the brush assembly 16 and the motive elements 14 are on different surfaces, the body 12 may not make contact with a surface of the pool.
The APCs 10, 100 are provided for illustrative purposes, and in other embodiments, APCs may include additional and/or fewer components as desired. Non-limiting examples of other APCs are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/185,220 to Van der Meijden et al., titled “Automatic Swimming Pool Cleaners Especially Adept At Climbing and Cleaning Pool Stairs” and filed on Feb. 25, 2021, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
APCs with Sensors
In some embodiments, the APCs provided herein optionally may include one or more sensors located and/or oriented in one or more directions. Optionally, a direction or orientation of at least one sensor is different than the direction of travel of the APC. Such sensors may have sensing regions and/or otherwise be configured to sense or detect in a direction other than the first direction (e.g., the direction of travel). In various embodiments, the sensors may be configured to sense or detect information in a direction other than a vertical direction of the APC. The orientation of the sensors may be at various angles relative to the direction of travel, including angles of greater than 0° and less than 180°, such as an angle from about 15° to about 165°, such as an angle from about 10° to about 150°, such as an angle from about 45° to about 135°, such as an angle from about 60° to about 120°, such as an angle from about 75° to about 105°, such as an angle of about 90°. The sensors may be provided at other angles as desired, and when a plurality of sensors are included, the angle of orientation of one sensor need not be the same as the angle of orientation of another sensor.
In some examples, the sensors may be provided on the hubs 20 and/or other suitable locations as desired, and in such embodiments the sensors may be “side” sensors. However, in other embodiments, the sensors may be provided at various locations on the APC as desired while having sensing regions other than in the direction of travel.
The sensors may be various types of sensors and/or combinations of types of sensors as desired, including but not limited to distance sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt sensors, depth sensors, pressure sensors, location sensors, orientation sensors, sensors for measuring a water characteristic, combinations thereof, and/or other sensors or combinations of sensors as desired. In certain embodiments, the sensors may be various types of sensors as desired capable of sensing, among other things, information relating to objects which APC is approaching (e.g., a wall, piece of equipment, etc.). In some non-limiting examples, the sensors may be distance sensors oriented in the direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the APC. The sensors may be utilized in certain embodiments to sense walls during a cleaning operation and/or movement of the APC, particularly when the APC is on a stair. In some examples, the sensors may facilitate detection of a stair edge. As a non-limiting example, the sensors on one end of the APC may detect a proximity or minimum distance between the APC and a wall, and the APC may determine an adjacent wall of the stair forming the corner via a forward facing sensor, inability to move forward, etc.
In some embodiments, one or more of the APCs described herein includes one or more pressure (depth) sensors to facilitate horizontal positioning and/or movement of the APC within the pool, particularly on a wall of the pool. As a non-limiting example, the pressure sensor may detect the APC is at a certain depth or vertical height. In this embodiment, the APC may be controlled (e.g., using a controller onboard the APC) based on the data from the pressure sensor such that the APC travels at the vertical height around all the walls of the pools. After the APC travels the desired horizontal path at the vertical height, the APC may change its depth or vertical height. In such embodiments, the APC may adjust its depth or vertical height based on the data from the pressure sensor (e.g., it determines it is at the next vertical height for cleaning), and once at the new vertical height, travel along another horizontal path around all walls of the pool at the new vertical height. The pressure sensor may be used to perform various other controls of the APC during travel and/or cleaning as desired.
In certain embodiments, the APCs described herein optionally may include an optical flow sensor for tracking movement of the APC in two directions (e.g., an x direction and a y direction) along a surface and/or a distance travelled by the APC. In such embodiments, the optical flow sensor may include an optical sensor (e.g., a camera and/or other suitable device or sensor) directed at the surface that the APC is travelling along. In various embodiments, the optical flow sensor includes a light source directed at the surface being measured. In certain embodiments, the optical flow sensor may be oriented directly down, preferably (although not required) 90 degrees to the surface that it is moving over. In such embodiments, the optical flow sensor may track the movement of discernible features and a speed at which they pass relative to the optical flow sensor. The optical flow sensor includes an accompanying light source, including, but not limited to, a light emitting diode (LED), to selectively illuminate the surface over which the APC the travelling. An intensity of the light emitted from the light source may be adjusted based on ambient light detected (e.g., by a light receiver of the flow sensor). In some embodiments, the intensity of the light may be automatically adjusted, although it need not be in other embodiments. Optionally, a controller (e.g., of the optical flow sensor and/or of the APC) may control an intensity of the light source as desired, and in certain embodiments the intensity of the light source is controlled based on a distance between the optical flow sensor and the surface.
In some embodiments, the APC may be controlled such that the optical flow sensor is maintained at a predetermined distance relative to the surface, which may improve an accuracy of the information detected and gathered by the optical flow sensor. In one non-limiting example, the APC may be controlled to be at a predetermined distance of 10 mm-40 mm, for example, 15 mm-38 mm, inclusive, from the surface, although in other embodiments the APC may be controlled to various other distances as desired. In certain embodiments, the optical flow sensor may be provided on a portion of the APC which may generally maintain the predetermined distance relative to the surface. In some non-limiting examples, the optical flow sensor may be provided on a motive element 13, hub 20, bottom surface of the body 12, scrubber, and/or any other portion of the APC as desired.
In various embodiments, an additional sensor (e.g., proximity sensor, distance sensor, etc.) may be utilized in conjunction with the optical flow sensor. Suitable sensors may include, but are not limited to, an ultrasonic proximity sensor, a light-intensity proximity sensor, LIDAR or a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor (measures the time a pulsed light takes to bounce back to the sensor), combinations thereof, and/or other sensors as desired. In two non-limiting examples, the optical flow sensor may be used in combination with a distance sensor such as a TOF sensor or a light intensity distance sensor. In certain embodiments, the optical flow sensor may be calibrated based on readings from the distance sensor. As non-limiting examples, the additional sensor may measure a distance to the surface, and based on the measured distance from the additional sensor, the data from the optical flow sensor may be adjusted and/or corrected, and/or the optical flow sensor itself may be adjusted (e.g., by controlling an intensity of the light source, focus of a lens of the sensor, etc.).
In some embodiments, if the APC includes the light intensity distance sensor, the light intensity distance sensor optionally may self-calibrate based on its light intensity reading and a known distance from the sensor to the pool floor (assuming the APC is not moving and is sitting on the floor).
The aforementioned sensors are for illustrative purposes, and in other embodiments, the APCs described herein may include additional and/or fewer sensors as desired.
In certain embodiments, APCs consistent with the disclosure may perform cleaning actions during which the APCs alter their movement and/or a direction of travel. While the following description makes reference to the APC 10, the description is applicable to the APCs consistent with the disclosure.
In one embodiment, the APC 10 may selectively flip over to reverse a direction of travel. However, in other embodiments, the APC 10 need not flip over to change a direction of travel and/or alter its movement, and the APC 10 may perform other actions to change its direction of travel and/or alter its movement.
As a non-limiting example, and referring to
Referring to
As another non-limiting example and referring to
In certain embodiments, the APC 10 may alter its orientation and/or movement and cause itself to travel away from the edge of the run of the step or away from the rise. In various embodiments, the APC 10 may alter its orientation and/or movement by causing itself to remain on the run of the step. In some embodiments, and as illustrated in
Regardless of how the APC 10 recognizes the edge of the step, based on such a detection, the APC 10 may stop movement in that direction and may move itself in the opposite direction such that it does not fall off the edge 705 of the step 701 (represented by arrow 713), or otherwise remains on the step 701. Optionally, based on such a detection, the APC 10 may adjust its orientation (e.g., by controlling thrust from one of the pumps) (represented by arrows 715 and orientation 717, which is illustrated offset from where the APC 10 would actually be for clarity of the figure). Such adjustment may minimize the possibility of the APC 10 falling off the edge 705 prior to advancing away from the edge 705. In certain optional embodiments, the APC 10 may halt a cleaning operation upon detection that it is going off/approaching the edge 705 of the step 701 (e.g., based on the detected bump or detected tilt) and may restart the cleaning operation based on movement in the opposite direction and/or the subsequent detection of the edge (e.g., the bump) again. In other embodiments, the APC 10 may perform other cleaning operations on the stairs, including but not limited to the pivoting movement illustrated in
While the cleaning patterns illustrated thus far have been illustrated with linear paths, the cleaning patterns need not be limited to linear travel paths by the APC 10. As an example,
When included, the bypass valve assembly 1128 may allow for a full flow of water to the pump motors of the APC 1100 when the APC 1100 is climbing the wall 1153. Without the bypass valve assembly 1128, a clogged filter of the APC 1100 may prevent and/or compromise the ability of the APC 1100 to ascend and/or stay on the wall 1153. For example, a thrust force caused by the pump motor directing water out the outlet 18 allows the APC 1100 to climb and clean the wall and/or the waterline of the pool, and a clogged filter diminishes this thrust force. The diminished ability of the APC 1100 to stay on the wall in turn detracts from the ability of the APC 1100 to perform an effective cleaning pattern and the user's perception of the performance of the APC 1100. In various embodiments, the bypass valve assembly 1128 described herein allows water to bypass the filter when the orientation of the APC 1100 is generally in a vertical orientation (see, e.g.,
As best illustrated in
Each bypass valve assembly 1128 includes a support 1130, a float 1132, a bypass opening 1134 (see
The actuator arm 1138 links the float 1132 and the valve door 1136 such that movement of the float 1132 causes movement of the door 1136. In various embodiments, connecting the float 1132 to the valve door 1136 via the actuator arm 1138 (rather than directly connecting the float 1132 to the valve door 1136) may provide a lever advantage to the beginning of the opening stroke or movement of the valve door 1136. As an example, although the valve door 1136 is balanced (i.e., the second pivot point 1142 is in the middle of the valve door 1136), there is a considerable force keeping it shut when the pump motor is trying to draw from a clogged/dirty filter. The lever advantage achieved via the actuator arm 1138 helps to overcome this closing-force and ensures that the valve door 1136 will open in all conditions. In certain embodiments, the arrangement of the pivot points of the float 1132, the valve door 1136, and the actuator arm 1138 is such that the lever advantage is at its greatest when “cracking the valve open” (i.e., initially opening the valve door 1136 from a closed position) and diminishes as the valve door 1136 progresses to its fully open state.
In
Referring to
Exemplary concepts or combinations of features of the invention may include, but are not limited to, the following statements:
These examples of features of an automatic pool cleaner are not intended to be mutually exclusive, exhaustive, or restrictive in any way, and the invention is not limited to these example embodiments but rather encompasses all possible modifications and variations within the scope of any claims ultimately drafted and issued in connection with the invention (and their equivalents). For avoidance of doubt, any combination of features not physically impossible or expressly identified as non-combinable herein may be within the scope of the invention.
The entire contents of the Deloche patent are incorporated herein by this reference. Further, although applicant has described cleaning devices for use with water containing vessels, persons skilled in the relevant field will recognize that the present invention may be employed in other manners. Finally, references to “pools” and “swimming pools” herein may also refer to spas or other water containing vessels used for recreation or therapy and for which cleaning is needed or desired.
