Patent Application
20200407995
This invention relates to automatic swimming pool cleaners (APCs) and more particularly, although not necessarily exclusively, to systems and methods for detecting whether an APC has contacted, encountered, or mounted a drain cover protruding from a surface of a swimming pool.
Many swimming pools include main drains typically positioned in floors or bottom surfaces of the pools. Anti-vortex covers often shield swimmers from the main drains. These covers protrude upward from the bottom surfaces and thus tend to create obstacles for passage of APCs travelling along the surfaces.
Indeed, at least some APCs are susceptible to becoming lodged atop the covers or to having their movement impeded thereby. Consequently, certain conventional robotic APCs may include programmed “time out” routines in which movement of an APC is altered if, for example, the APC does not detect contact with a vertical wall within a pre-determined period of time. These “time out” routines do not indicate that an APC has become lodged atop a main drain cover; rather, they activate based solely on how much time has elapsed since the APC has contacted a wall. Moreover, because an APC may become lodged prior to elapse of the requisite time period, thereafter activating a “time out” routine might not dislodge the APC.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,141,191 to Hui describes an APC whose ballast is centrally offset “to the right and to the rear” of the cleaner. See Hui, col. 1,11. 59-62. This offset provides “increased . . . traction in order to run over or climb over . . . various obstacles, including vertical obstacles.” See id., 11. 66-67. Also mentioned in the Hui patent is use of an inclination sensor, which activates a motor when an angle of 10-15° off vertical is sensed. See id., col. 6, 11. 47-52. Such activation causes the APC to reverse its motion and thereafter, if necessary, to disable its drive mechanism and pump so that the cleaner “twists and jumps” off the obstacle. See id., col. 6,1. 53 to col. 7,1. 6.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0225718 of Albaugh, II discloses kits and methods seeking to prevent an APC from becoming caught on a main drain cover. The kits include a “clip-on protective device” comprising “an arch shaped flexible member having two resting portions and two mounting hooks” configured to engage apertures of the cover. See Albaugh, II at p. 3, ¶ 0060 (numerals omitted). According to the Albaugh, II application, the shape of the protective device causes an APC contacting it “to tilt to one side regardless of direction of approach or speed and does not allow the suction forces of the [APC] and the main drain to interact to an extent that would cause the [APC] to hang-up over the main drain cover.” See id. at pp. 3-4, ¶ 0072.
The present invention contemplates detecting when an APC has encountered a main drain cover (or other protruding object) in a swimming pool. Unlike the kits of the Albaugh, II application, no additional arch-shaped product is required to be positioned in the pool. Furthermore, although the present invention may consider elapses of time, no such elapse is necessary for activating an evasive maneuver following detection of a drain cover. Likewise, no offset ballast such as that of the Hui patent is needed, as no “twist[ing] or jump[ing]” of the cleaner necessarily occurs.
In some versions of the invention, an APC may include means for detecting a change in its pitch. Such means may be or comprise a tilt or inclination sensor, an accelerometer, or any other electrical, mechanical, electromechanical, magnetic, or other mechanism for sensing a change in orientation of the cleaner. Other versions of the invention contemplate an APC having means for detecting a change in its yaw. Both pitch-detecting and yaw-detecting means may be incorporated into APCs if appropriate or desired.
Information from the various detecting means may be processed on-board an APC, remotely, or partially on-board and partially remotely. If on-board processing is to occur, an APC may include a suitable processor configured to receive information from the detector(s). If remote processing is to occur, an APC may have wired or wireless transmission capability. APCs additionally may include components typical of their genre such as any or all of wheels, tracks, pumps, motors, floats, weights, bodies, and filters, as examples.
One process of the current invention, as depicted in
Another process of the invention, as depicted in
Exemplary concepts or combinations of features of the invention may include:
The entire contents of the Hui patent and the Albaugh, II application are incorporated herein by this reference. Further, although applicant has described systems and methods for use with APCs, persons skilled in the relevant field will recognize that the present invention may be employed in other devices such as (but not limited to) manual pool cleaners. 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.
This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/866,108, filed Jun. 25, 2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by this reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62866108 | Jun 2019 | US |
