EP0483677B1 - Functioning method and cleaning device for swimming pools - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a process and apparatus for cleaning a swimming pool, where the apparatus or device, moves back and forth in the swimming pool, and where the device has driving gears or belts that can be switched to drive reverse or forward during operation. A contact rail is frontally positioned in the cleaning casing of the device, and a swich rail is positioned at the rear of the casing. Correction-dependent signals are obtained by the device striking an obstacle and these signals are supplied to a gear via a control mechanism. Upon obtaining such signals, the driving gear or belt slows down and remains still for so long until the other driving gear or belt which is still moving turns the cleaning device around and until the rear switch rail is activated. The signals resulting from the switch rail are used for switching the gear to reverse and for straightening out the cleaning device to a new position and prepare it to a forwards motion to continue its course along the swimming pool.

Description

The invention relates to a working method for a cleaning device which can be moved back and forth in a swimming pool according to the preamble of patent claim 1 and to a cleaning device for carrying out the method.

From DE-A 3 110 203 a method for operating a reciprocating device for cleaning a swimming pool is known, which device is provided with contact elements oriented approximately in the direction of travel, by means of which the drive motor assigned to the first contact element stopped when contacting the pool wall becomes. Then the device is aligned with the not yet stopped drive motor on the pool wall, after which this drive motor is also switched off. By switching on the first stopped drive motor in the opposite direction of travel, the device is pivoted through an angle, after which the other drive motor is also switched on in the opposite direction of travel. With this device, the swimming pool with a essentially cleaned zigzag-like driving patterns, so that corresponding wedge-shaped strips are not cleaned. In addition, two suction fronts are required because the device is not turned over. This means that a pump with a high pumping speed is required.

EP-A-0 099 489 relates to a method for cleaning a water basin by means of a cleaning device which can be used under water and which reverses the direction of travel when it comes into contact with a wall or another obstacle. This means that the device is not turned and two extraction fronts are required. The device is controlled by a course controller to maintain a certain direction of travel, using a relatively imprecise, interference-sensitive compass.

According to another method of cleaning a water basin by means of a cleaning device (EP-A 0 257 006), the device is moved along a straight travel pattern path, the device performing a turning maneuver when it comes into contact with a wall and being displaced transversely to the direction of travel, after which it is fed to the opposite wall. This device works with parallel driving pattern paths and is moved from one wall to the other until a desired floor section or the entire floor area is cleaned. The movement of the device is monitored by a single pulse sensor. The turning maneuver is carried out with the aid of a time switch, which leads to considerable deviations from the target values, especially in the case of irregularly shaped swimming pools, where alignment on the pool wall is not possible, so that the desired driving pattern cannot be achieved. In the case of rectangular swimming pools, the device is additionally aligned on the pool wall by means of a bumper, which, however, has no sensors.

In the known methods and devices for carrying out the method, there is the problem that the device in an uncontrollable change of direction due to any obstacles, for example by entry ladders, standing steps, headlights, inflow nozzles etc. and / or by transitions, different pool levels or the like is steered, whereby an optimal cleaning of the pelvic floor is not guaranteed at all or only insufficiently.

The present invention deals with the problem of automatic, systematic cleaning of swimming pools, the object of the invention being to specify a method and a device for carrying out the method, by means of which any changes in direction of the device are recorded and values determined therefrom for determining a directional correction be used.

This object is achieved according to the inventive method by the features of claim 1.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the method is characterized in that after executing the rotary movement, the cleaning device for alignment with the switching bar strikes the obstacle, with switching elements pivotally mounted in the switching bar being actuated as a function of the relative position of the cleaning device with respect to the obstacle .

The cleaning device according to the invention for carrying out the working method comprises a chassis which can be switched over to forward and reverse travel and is operatively connected to drive wheels or travel belts, a contact strip arranged on the front of a housing of the cleaning device and a switching bar arranged on the back, of which strips when the device is opened onto an obstacle Correction-dependent signals can be fed to the chassis via control logic are, and is characterized in that the cleaning device is provided with at least a first optical / electronic sensor for detecting the current direction of movement and with a direction sensor system for measuring the current angle of rotation.

Further features of the invention relating to the method and to the cleaning device result from the following description in conjunction with the drawing and the individual patent claims.

Fig. 1

ein in schematischer Draufsicht dargestelltes Schwimmbecken-Reinigungsgerät,

Fig.2

ein in grösserem Massstab und teilweise im Schnitt dargestelles Teilstück einer Umschaltschiene für das Reinigungsgerät gemäss Fig.1, und

Fig.3

ein schematisch dargestelltes Fahrmuster des Reini gungsgerätes.

The invention is described below with reference to the drawing. It shows:

Fig. 1

a swimming pool cleaning device shown in schematic plan view,

Fig. 2

a on a larger scale and partially in section section of a switching rail for the cleaning device according to Fig.1, and

Fig. 3

a schematically illustrated driving pattern of the cleaning device.

1 shows a schematic plan view of a pool cleaning device, designated as a whole by 100, with the essential functional elements for a fully automatic and systematic drive and control process.

The cleaning device 100 has a schematically represented housing 1, which is provided with a suction front which is designed to suck in the liquid and to take up impurities and is designated 101 in its entirety. At the oriented in the direction of travel Y and essentially the End face 1 'of the housing 1 forming the suction front 101, at least one correspondingly mounted, not shown cleaning brush and an associated filter device are provided. Furthermore, one can see in FIG. 1 a contact strip 18 fastened to the end face 1 'of the housing 1 in a manner not shown in detail, and a changeover strip 20 correspondingly fastened to the rear side 1''of the housing 1. The function of the contact strip 18 and the changeover strip 20 becomes described later in detail.

For driving the cleaning device 100 in the direction of the arrow Y, a drive shaft 8 is provided, which is mounted in the housing 1 in a manner not shown. The drive shaft 8 is operatively connected, with the interposition of clutches 11 and 12 arranged in the housing 1, to a transmission 10 arranged in the housing 1. The two clutches 11, 12 are designed as known electric or magnetic clutches. Correspondingly designed drive wheels 3, 3 'are arranged on the drive shaft 8 which is driven about its longitudinal axis 8' in the direction of the arrow 8 ''.

At a distance parallel to the axis of the drive shaft 8, a shaft 7 which is operatively connected to impellers 4, 4 'is arranged and is mounted in the housing 1. The impellers 3, 3 'and 4, 4' arranged on the drive shaft 8 and on the shaft 7 are each operatively connected to one another via an endless, for example caterpillar-like conveyor belt 2, 2 '. Between the drive wheels 3, 3 'and running wheels 4, 4', further deflection or drive wheels, not shown, can be arranged which are operatively connected to the travel belt 2, 2 '.

The drive 10, which is preferably provided with a reduction gear stage, is assigned a drive unit 9, which is designed, for example, as a three-phase asynchronous motor and is fed with modulated three-phase current. Hereby will achieved that regardless of the type of current and current frequency of the drive unit 9 via the gear 10, a constant speed is transmitted to the drive shaft 8.

The drive unit 9 is preceded by a converter 13, in which the single-phase voltage supplied via a cable 15 to control logic 14 is rectified and subsequently a three-phase AC voltage by means of an electronic circuit (not shown) provided with power transistors is generated with a stable output frequency. By means of the control logic 14, which is connected to the two clutches 11, 12 via lines 43, 43 ', a corresponding switchover of the drive unit 9 from forward to reverse travel can be achieved.

At this point, it should be pointed out that the conveyor belt 2, 2 ', the drive wheels 3, 3' operatively connected to one another via the drive shaft 8, the impellers 4, 4 'operatively connected to one another via the shaft 7, the transmission 10 with the two clutches 11, 12 and the drive unit 9 together form a chassis, which is switchable to forward and reverse travel and is not specified.

The electrical supply to the cleaning device 100 takes place essentially via the cable 15 connected to the control logic 14, which is connected to a socket (not shown) arranged outside the swimming pool. The cable 15 is also detachably connected to the housing 1 via a correspondingly watertight service connector (not shown).

An isolating transformer (not shown) is arranged between the mains connection (socket) and the cable 15, by means of which the present mains voltage is transformed from over 50 volts to a corresponding value, so that the cleaning device 100 can also be used during bathing can be done. The transformed value of the one-phase voltage is of the order of 42 volts.

The cleaning device 100 normally works in automatic mode by means of an appropriately designed and arranged autopilot control. The cleaning device 100 can also be controlled remotely via a corresponding control box 16. For this purpose, the cable 15 is preferably provided with a conductor, not shown, as a receiving antenna.

Optical / electronic sensors 25 and 26 and an evaluation unit 27 connected thereto are also arranged in the housing 1 of the cleaning device 100. Corresponding signals of the control logic 14 are supplied by the evaluation unit 27.

At this point, it should be pointed out that instead of the optical / electronic sensors 25, 26, an electronic direction sensor system (not shown in more detail) can also be used and installed in the housing 1 of the cleaning device 100.

As shown schematically in FIG. 3, the first sensor 25 detects the relative position of the cleaning device 100 with respect to a fictitious driving line F or with respect to a fictitious driving lane F oriented in the direction of the arrow Y during the travel movement of the cleaning device 100 oriented in the direction of the arrow Y 'measured. The relative position of the housing axis of symmetry S is preferably measured with respect to the driving line F or with respect to the driving lane F '.

The width b of the lane F 'essentially corresponds to the permissible path deviation within which the cleaning device 100 may move. However, the width b of the lane F 'can also correspond to the effective range of the sensor beam 25' or the beam 25 ' the width b can be designed accordingly.

A deviation from the predetermined direction which arises during the movement of the cleaning device 100 from one wall W to the other wall W '(FIG. 3) is determined in the form of an offset in the horizontal plane at an angle α or α' in the side and supplied as a corresponding signal from the first sensor 25 to the evaluation unit 27. In the evaluation unit 27, a comparison of the specified direction of movement with the current direction of movement (TARGET-ACTUAL VALUE comparison) is carried out. A signal, which is dependent on the comparison, is sent by the evaluation unit 27 to the control logic 14 for a necessary correction of the direction of travel, as a result of which one or the other clutch 11 or 12 and thus the associated drive wheel 3 or 3 'is actuated accordingly. The correction of the direction of travel based on the horizontal offset is preferably carried out with inclusion and thus as a function of the predetermined driving speed of the cleaning device 100.

A possible upward or downward gradient in the swimming pool can be detected with the second sensor 26 during the driving movement and a corresponding reversing signal can be supplied to the evaluation unit 27. This signal essentially causes a "STOP" or a change in direction (turning process) of the cleaning device 100. This change in direction can prevent the cleaning device 100 from falling into a lower part of the swimming pool or from standing still on an insurmountable slope.

As already mentioned, the contact strip 18 is arranged on the end face 101 of the housing 1 and fastened by means which are not shown in detail. As shown in FIG. 1 with the direction of the arrow 40, when the cleaning device hits 100 on the one basin wall W or on the other basin wall W '(FIG. 3) or on an obstacle (not shown), a corresponding signal is sent to the control logic 14 via a line 41, from which the corresponding coupling 11 or 12 is actuated and the associated drive wheel 3 or 3 'is braked, for example, to initiate a turning or evasive operation.

The switch bar 20 is arranged on the rear side 1 ″ of the housing 1 and is mounted accordingly. In the turning process, when the switching bar 20 strikes the respective pool wall W or W ', appropriately designed switching elements 60 and 60' are actuated. The switching elements 60, 60 'are actuated as a function of the relative position of the cleaning device 100 with respect to the respective pool wall W or W' (FIG. 3). The switching elements 60, 60 'are actuated in accordance with the relative position of the cleaning device 100 to the basin wall W or W', for example in the direction of the arrows 74, 74 'and 75, 75', so that signals of the control logic 14 can be supplied via lines 42, 42 'in accordance with the angular position.

FIG. 2 shows a section of the changeover strip, designated in its entirety by 20, partially in section and on a larger scale, and the housing 1 designed for receiving the changeover strip 20 with the rear wall 30 and the side wall 31 can be seen.

The switching bar 20 comprises a carrier element 50, which is partially designed as a hollow body and is arranged in a manner not shown on a support plate 55 and is provided with a bumper bar 51 and with a molded-on side part 52. This has a main chamber 53 and a side chamber 54 for the switching element 60 stored therein provided support element 50 is supported with a wall part 56 on the rear wall 30 of the housing 1. Furthermore, the carrier element 50 is fastened with a holding piece 35 arranged on the support plate 55 to an angle piece 32 by means of screws 33, 33 '. The on the side wall 31 of the housing 1 arranged angle piece 32 is attached to the side wall 31 in a manner not shown.

The switching element 60 arranged in the main chamber 53 of the carrier element 50 comprises a lever piece 61 which is pivotably mounted about a bolt 59 and which is essentially supported on the inside 51 'of the bumper strip 51. A first head piece 62 is formed on one end of the lever piece 61 and a second head piece 65 is formed on the other end. A recess 63 is provided in the first head piece 62 and is designed to receive a permanent magnet 64. The second head piece 65 is arranged in a recess 57 of the carrier element side part 52 which limits the pivoting movement of the switching element 60. The lever piece 61 is further provided with a recess 66 in which a spring element 67 which is supported on the holding piece 35 is arranged.

At this point, it should be pointed out that the other, not shown, section of the carrier element 50 with the switching element 60 ′ (FIG. 1) arranged therein and the individual parts is designed analogously to the section described above in connection with FIG. 2 and therefore not in more detail is described.

The operation of the cleaning device described is described below:
At the beginning, the cleaning device 100 is placed on the floor of the swimming pool to be cleaned and the drive is actuated by means of which the cleaning device is moved in the direction of arrow Y, as shown schematically in FIG. 1 or FIG. During this movement, the cleaning device can be remote-controlled accordingly via the control box 16. As soon as the cleaning device with the contact strip 18 comes into contact with the pool wall, a signal is sent to the control logic 14, which actuates the clutch 11 or 12 and the drive wheel 3 'or 3, which is operatively connected thereto, to the travel belt 2 'or 2 brakes and stops. At the same time, the control logic 14 switches the drive 9 to reverse travel via the converter 13, as a result of which the cleaning device 100 is rotated about a fictitious device axis until the switching bar 20 strikes the pool wall and thereby actuates the corresponding switching element 60 or 60 '. As a result, the drive unit 9 is in turn switched over so that the cleaning device 100 can now drive off and clean an adjacent roadway.
In a preferred exemplary embodiment, as shown schematically in FIG. 3, a fictitious driving line F or a lane F 'is measured during the journey by means of the optical / electronic sensor 25 and the instantaneous direction of movement is compared with the predetermined direction of movement and corrected accordingly if necessary.

In order to achieve an optimal alignment movement of the cleaning device 100 on the associated pool wall, the clutches 11 and 12 are switched over until the corresponding signals from the switching elements 60, 60 'simultaneously arrive at the control logic 14 and thereby the parallelism to the pool wall is indicated. The alignment of the cleaning device 100 is further optimized by the lateral signals determined in the direction of the arrows 74, 74 'and 75.75'.

In the case of swimming pools with an irregular shape, for example in the form of a so-called kidney pool or the like, or in the case of swimming pools with differently arranged obstacles, the angle of rotation is preferably measured during the displacement process. After a rotational movement of 180 ° has been reached, the clutch that is at rest is activated. The cleaning device 100 is thereby reset until the switching bar 20 signals the wall contact.

However, if the measured angle of rotation is not completely executed by 180 ° after the reversal signal has been given (signal: turning process not ended), the corresponding difference from the setpoint angle of 180 ° is supplemented in such a way that by actuating the corresponding clutch 11 or 12 the drive is switched over. Aggregates 9 is carried out.

The turning process of the cleaning device 100 can also be achieved by forward rotation through 180 ° when driving forward and when an obstacle is detected by means of the sensor 26. The corresponding angle of rotation is measured by means of the sensor.

Claims (14)

1. Method of operation for a cleaning device which can move backwards and forwards in a swimming pool, having a drive unit which can be changed over to forward travel and reverse travel and which is operatively connected to driven wheels or driven belts, having a contact bar (18) arranged at the front of a housing (1) of the cleaning device (100), and having a change-over bar (20) arranged at the rear, from which bars (18, 20) correction-dependent signals are fed to the drive unit via a control logic unit (14) when the device strikes an obstacle, characterized in that, during the travel movement of the cleaning device (100), the instantaneous direction of movement is detected in relation to a travel line (F) or in relation to a travel strip (F') by at least a first optical/electronic sensor (25), the cleaning device (100) executes a rotary movement with a setpoint angle of 180° when an obstacle is detected, the instantaneous angle of rotation being measured by an associated direction sensor system (26), and the deviations which are determined in this way being converted as signals and used for a direction correction, and the rotary movement being executed in such a way that, when the front contact bar (18) is activated, one driven wheel or driven belt is braked and deactivated until the other driven wheel or driven belt, which is then being driven in reverse, rotates the cleaning device (100) on the flat until the rear change-over bar (20) is activated, and in that signals which are determined by the change-over bar (20) in this process are used for switching off the drive unit during reverse travel and for aligning the cleaning device (100) with respect to the obstacle, and signals which are dependent on the alignment process are used for subsequent changing over of the drive unit to forward travel oriented parallel to the present course or to the side wall of the swimming pool.
2. Method of operation according to Claim 1, characterized in that, after executing the rotary movement, the cleaning device (100) strikes the obstacle with the change-over bar (20) for alignment purposes, switching elements (60, 60') which are pivotably mounted in the change-over bar (20) being activated as a function of the relative position of the cleaning device (100) with respect to the obstacle.
3. Method of operation according to Claim 2, characterized in that all the occasions when contact is made in a fashion which acts on the front of the change-over bar (20) and/or oriented transversely thereto are detected by the switching elements (60, 60') and signals which are determined as a function thereof are fed to the control logic unit (14).
4. Method of operation according to Claim 1, characterized in that the drive unit is not changed over to forward travel until the change-over bar (20) is parallel to the obstacle.
5. Method of operation according to Claim 1, characterized in that, in the case of an incomplete rotary movement of the cleaning device (100), the difference measured with respect to the prescribed setpoint angle is supplemented as a deviation.
6. Method of operation according to one of Claims 1 and 5, characterized in that the difference measured in relation to the setpoint angle in the case of the rotary movement of the cleaning device (100) is supplemented by changing over the drive unit.
7. Method of operation according to Claim 1, characterized in that, when an obstacle is detected during forward travel, the cleaning device (100) is rotated through 180° and the rotary-movement angle executed in this process is measured by the direction sensor system (26).
8. Method of operation according to Claim 1, characterized in that the deviations, which are dependent on the instantaneous movement direction, are determined taking into account the instantaneous travel speed and are used, on the basis of a comparison with the prescribed travel speed, as converted signals for correcting the direction.
9. Method of operation according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, during the travel movement of the cleaning device (100), the instantaneous movement direction, which is oriented in relation to the travel line (F) or the travel strip (F'), is detected by the optical/electronic sensor (25) and deviations which are determined in this process are converted as signals and are used to correct the directional movement, and in that, when the front contact bar (18) is activated, the cleaning device (100) is rotated rearwards on the flat until the rear change-over bar (20) is activated, and signals which are determined in this process are used for switching off the drive unit during reverse travel and for aligning the cleaning device (100) with respect to the obstacle, and signals which are dependent on the alignment process are used for changing over the drive unit to forward travel.
10. Cleaning device for implementing the method according to Claims 1 to 9, having a drive unit which can be changed over to forward travel and reverse travel and which is operatively connected to driven wheels or driven belts, having a contact bar (18) arranged at the front of a housing (1) of the cleaning device (100), and having a change-over bar (20) arranged at the rear, from which bars (18, 20) correction-dependent signals can be fed to the drive unit via a control logic unit (14) when the device strikes an obstacle, the driven wheels (3, 3') which are arranged on a drive shaft (8) being connected to a drive assembly (9) via a gearbox (10) with the interposition of at least one clutch (11, 12), and the clutch (11, 12) being connected to the control logic unit (14), characterized in that the cleaning device (100) is provided with at least a first optical/electronic sensor (25) for detecting the instantaneous movement direction and with a direction sensor system (26) for measuring the instantaneous angle of rotation.
11. Cleaning device according to Claim 10, characterized in that the change-over bar (20), which is operatively connected to the control logic unit (14), is constructed as a hollow-body-like carrier element (50) in which two switching elements (60, 60') which are each mounted at a distance from one another so as to be capable of pivoting about a pin (59) are arranged.
12. Cleaning device according to Claim 11, characterized in that the switching elements (60, 60') are arranged and pivotably mounted in the carrier element (50) in such a way that all the occasions when contact is made in a fashion which acts on the front of the carrier element (50) and/or oriented transversely thereto are detected and signals which are determined as a function thereof can be fed to the control logic unit (14).
13. Cleaning device according to Claim 10, characterized in that a converter (13) which is provided with an electric circuit is connected upstream of the drive assembly (9), by means of which converter (13) a single-phase voltage can be converted into a three-phase alternating voltage with a stable output frequency.
14. Cleaning device according to Claim 10, characterized in that the two clutches (11, 12), which are operatively connected to the drive shaft (8), are constructed as electroclutches or magnetic clutches, and the gearbox (10) which is arranged between them is constructed as a worm drive provided with a frictionally engaging reduction gear stage.

Images