Patent Application
20110047726
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of swimming pool cleaning devices and more specifically to a water pressure-based apparatus which obviates difficult brushing of underwater pool surfaces.
2. Background Art
There are approximately 8.6 million in-ground and above-ground swimming pools in the United States. The vast majority of these pools need to be cleaned periodically in order to properly maintain them and keep them aesthetically attractive and hygienically useful. Cleaning of underwater pool surfaces is most often done with a brush at the distal end of a long pole, typically made of aluminum pipe. However, manipulating such a brush over a long distance and under water can be challenging. It can be inherently difficult to apply sufficient force on such a brush to properly clean pool surfaces, particularly at the correct angle (i.e., perpendicular to the pool surface) and at such long distances (i.e., 15 to 30 feet or more). Moreover, there may be a hydraulic pressure effect on the brush head from the pool water, particular at depths of 10 or more feet near the bottom of deeper portions of a swimming pool. Thus, the prior art includes disclosures such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,637,087 and 5,983,431 which teach the use of pool brush head attachments such as hydrofoils to allow the pool water to aid in increasing contact pressure between the brush head and the pool surface by reducing hydro-dynamic resistance to movement of the brush head along the bottom of the pool.
It would therefore be highly advantageous if there were an improved pool cleaning apparatus that could be more easily manipulated, less influenced by water pressure and which didn't require the application of strenuous forces to frictionally engage the underwater pool surface. Moreover, it would be extremely beneficial to facilitate the cleaning of normally difficult pool surfaces such as corners and step recesses.
The present invention comprises a swimming pool cleaning apparatus which overcomes the aforementioned deficiencies of brush-type cleaning devices. It can be easily manipulated to clean all pool surfaces. It is not significantly affected by the water pressure. It does not require that one apply significant force to produce a clean underwater surface. There is no need to frictionally engage the pool surface. It is not particularly subject to hydraulic forces incurred as a result of movement of the apparatus under the water surface. It can be used to easily clean normally difficult pool surfaces such as corners and step recesses.
A preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed in detail herein, comprises a number of joined sections of tubing or pipe in a generally T-shaped configuration. The pipe is preferably PVC pipe, simply because it is light, readily available, relatively inexpensive and easily joined by gluing. The preferred embodiment comprises an elongated hollow pipe section referred to herein as the head. The head is preferably about 28 inches in length, although lengths of about 20 inches to about 40 inches have been shown to be suitable as well. The PVC pipe used in the preferred embodiment is standard half-inch PVC pipe, but other size PVC may also be suitable. The head pipe has a plurality of aligned 1/16 inch diameter holes drilled through the pipe along its length. In the preferred embodiment, these holes are drilled at different angles relative to the longitudinal axis of the head. One or two of these holes are drilled to be perpendicular to the head axis while holes to either side of the perpendicular holes are drilled to have an angular offset of about 5° from hole to adjacent hole. This offset provides a more effective cleaning pattern as will become more evident hereinafter.
The center of the head is connected by means of a tee to a perpendicular stub pipe which serves two purposes. It provides a suitable interface for an elongated standard telescopic aluminum pole that can be adjusted, for example, to be from eight feet to fourteen feet in overall length. This pole permits the head to be positioned in the pool below the surface and to be located at or adjacent virtually any portion of most typical swimming pools. The second purpose of the center perpendicular stub pipe is to provide a convenient position in which to connect a hose to the cleaning apparatus. A standard 50 or 100 foot garden hose having a connection to normal household water pressure is contemplated for use with the present invention. Connection to such a hose is facilitated by a standard hose connector being provided along the stub pipe in a direction that is preferably perpendicular to both the head and stub pipes.
Once a hose is connected to the hose connector and water pressure is applied, a plurality of thin, high velocity water jets will be emitted by the head through the drilled holes over a pattern dictated by the directions of the axes of the drilled holes.
Cleaning the pool surfaces is then simply a matter of positioning the head immediately adjacent such surfaces including corners and steps where cleaning is often difficult. The force of the water jets is normally more than adequate to remove dirt, algae and grime that have formed on such surfaces. Importantly, such cleaning is readily accomplished without requiring application of strong downward force or fighting the hydrodynamic influence of the pool water with movement of the head.
The aforementioned objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will be more fully understood herein after as a result of a detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which:
Referring to the accompanying figures, it will be seen that a pool cleaning apparatus 10 in accordance with the present invention may comprise a water jet head 12 preferably formed from a pair of capped co-linear elongated PVC pipes 13 and 15 having a common axis and joined at tee 20. Tee 20 has a connection to a stub 14 which extends perpendicular to the pipes 13 and 15 and terminates in a stub cap 17. Stub 14 forms a member for receiving the distal end of a standard pool accessory pole which may be a telescopic device commonly used with brush-based pool cleaning apparatus. A pin hole 19 is provided for securing the pole to the stub 14 using a pin (not shown).
Extending from stub 14 in a direction which is perpendicular to both the stub and head 12, is a hose stem 16 which terminates in a hose connector 24. Connector 24 is adapted to connect to a standard garden hose which is in turn, connected to a source of household-type water pressure for delivering water under pressure to the interior flow paths 21 of stub 14 and 23 of head 12.
Each of pipes 13 and 15 of head 12 is provided with a plurality of drilled holes 18. In the embodiment shown in
In the preferred embodiment 10 of the present invention, the total length of head 12 is 32 inches and the height of stub 14 is 8 inches. The PVC pipe used is standard one-half inch and the drilled holes are one-sixteenth inch diameter holes. The apparatus 10 is preferably connected to a telescopic aluminum pool pole which can be adjusted in length from about 8 feet to about 14 feet. The hose may, of course, be any convenient length, however a 50 foot garden hose appears to be suitable for most applications where the water supply is within about fifteen feet of the pool.
It will now be understood that what has been disclosed herein comprises a swimming pool cleaning apparatus that obviates brushes and simplifies the cleaning process by making it unnecessary to apply high force or to overcome hydrodynamic resistance. While a preferred embodiment has been described, it will be apparent that variations and modifications would be readily achieved without deviating from the inventive concepts herein. By way of example, although the water jet head described is an elongated straight member, it would be within the scope hereof to provide a shorter curved water jet head instead. Therefore, the scope of protection hereof is to be limited only by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
