EP3832053A1 - Suction head with central deflector for cleaning swimming pools - Google Patents

Abstract

Suction head (100), intended for submersible use in the water of an artificial pond, comprising a body (10) provided with a suction duct (12), and a suction pump (20) placed inside the suction duct and comprising an electric motor (21) coupled to a propeller (23), the rotation of the propeller producing a suction along the suction duct between a suction mouth (111 ) and an upper opening (122) of said duct, the suction head further comprising a central baffle (25) placed between the motor (21) and the propeller (23) so as to prevent bulky debris from piling up below said propeller by evacuating them towards the periphery of the suction duct (12).

Description

TECHNICAL AREA

The present invention belongs to the field of maintenance equipment for swimming pools and other artificial pools, in particular vacuum cleaners for swimming pools, and relates more particularly to a suction head with a central deflector for cleaning swimming pools and a vacuum cleaner equipped with such a vacuum cleaner. suction head.

STATE OF THE ART

The use of vacuum devices for cleaning swimming pool bottoms is known. The suction makes it possible to reach the debris precipitated at the bottom of a swimming pool more efficiently than a traditional swimming pool brush which requires, in addition to a long and tedious sweeping, a collection of the debris packed using a landing net. for example.

Vacuum cleaners for swimming pools are widely marketed and can be chosen according to the specifics of each pool. In addition to robots allowing automatic cleaning according to programmed cycles, there are electric and autonomous vacuum brushes, operating on battery, which generally comprise a suction head connected to a handle. The interest here is focused on the latter category.

Vacuum brushes can be classified into two types according to their design, filter vacuum brushes and bagged (or net) vacuum brushes.

On the one hand, a filter vacuum sweeper mainly comprises a suction head, a filter and a suction pump, and can suck up relatively heavy and small debris. During suction, the debris is stored in a compartment partially delimited by the filter. This type of vacuum broom is not suitable for vacuuming large debris such as leaves for example due to a low headroom between the bottom of the basin and the suction head, as well as a low storage volume in the debris compartments.

Such a vacuum brush is for example described in the document US 3755843 .

On the other side, a bagged vacuum broom mainly comprises a propeller pump which delivers the raw water sucked into a large capacity bag placed above the pump. The document US 3075227 describes an apparatus of this type. This vacuum cleaner has certain drawbacks such as the reduced section of the suction duct which can cause the suction duct to be blocked by bulky debris. This design is likely to render the vacuum cleaner unusable for vacuuming leaves.

US patent US 5768734 describes a vacuum cleaner overcoming the drawback of the reduced section of the suction duct and the concept of which has been marketed under several registered trademarks: Hammer Head , Power Vac , Riptide , etc.

The document US 2015 128 361 describes a vacuum cleaner of similar design but of reduced power, supplied by electric batteries. This vacuum cleaner marketed by the company Watertech is exclusively suitable for collecting leaves and is mainly intended for private swimming pools.

The document FR 3080879 , in the name of the applicant and of which a figure and reproduced in figure 1 , describes a modular suction head that can be adapted both to vacuum brushes exclusively with filters and to bagged vacuum brushes (leaf pick-up). This latter use nevertheless has the drawback of the accumulation of leaves between the motor and the propeller of the suction pump. Indeed, the leaves and other voluminous debris sucked up tend to pile up below the propeller, which necessarily has a greater radius than the body of the engine, and risk impairing the operation of said propeller, or even block its rotation by clogging, and thus damage the engine.

PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art described above, in particular the problem of accumulation of bulky debris. below the propeller of the suction pump which can lead to clogging of the pump.

To this end, the present invention relates to a suction head, intended for use submersible in the water of an artificial pond, comprising a body, provided with a suction duct, and a suction pump , placed inside the suction duct and comprising an electric motor coupled to a propeller, the rotation of the propeller producing a suction along the suction duct between a suction mouth and an upper opening of said duct. This suction head is remarkable in that it comprises a central deflector placed between the motor and the propeller so as to prevent bulky debris from accumulating below said propeller.

Advantageously, the central deflector is integral with the propeller and is driven by the same rotational movement as the latter, for better evacuation of bulky debris towards the periphery of the suction duct.

Alternatively, the central deflector is integral with an engine block containing the engine, and remains static during the rotation of the propeller.

More particularly, the central deflector is coaxial with an axis of rotation of the propeller.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the central deflector has a flat shape extending radially over a radius smaller than the radius of the helix.

For example, the central deflector is a disc through which a motor shaft passes.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the central deflector has a curved shape.

Alternatively, the central deflector comprises an upper wall, placed between the engine and the propeller, and a side wall converging towards said engine. For example, the top wall and the side wall are respectively flat circular and curved frustoconical.

Conveniently, the upper opening of the suction duct is delimited by an annular edge able to cooperate with a flexible container for collecting bulky debris such as a bag or a net.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the suction head further comprises a sleeve, able to receive a handle of a vacuum brush, and a electric battery supplying the suction pump, said battery being rechargeable, removable and placed in a sealed compartment of the body.

The subject of the invention is also a vacuum cleaning brush, or a vacuum cleaning robot, for cleaning swimming pool floors, equipped with a suction head having one or more characteristics set out above.

The fundamental concepts of the invention having just been explained above in their most elementary form, other details and characteristics will emerge more clearly on reading the description which follows and with reference to the appended drawings, giving by way of nonlimiting example an embodiment of a suction head in accordance with the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The different figures and the elements of the same figure are not necessarily represented on the same scale. In all of the figures, identical or equivalent elements bear the same reference numeral.

• Figure 1 (déjà citée) : une tête d'aspiration de l'art antérieur ;
• Figure 2 : une vue en perspective arrière d'une tête d'aspiration selon un mode de réalisation de l'invention ;
• Figure 3 : une vue de côté de la tête d'aspiration de la figure 1 ;
• Figure 4 : une coupe de la tête d'aspiration de la figure 2 suivant le plan A - A, laissant entrevoir le déflecteur central ;
• Figure 5 : une vue arrière de la tête d'aspiration de la figure 1 ;
• Figure 6 : une coupe de la tête d'aspiration de la figure 4 suivant le plan B - B, laissant entrevoir le déflecteur central.

It is thus illustrated in:

• Figure 1 (already mentioned): a suction head of the prior art;
• Figure 2 : a rear perspective view of a suction head according to one embodiment of the invention;
• Figure 3 : a side view of the suction head of the figure 1 ;
• Figure 4 : a section of the suction head of the figure 2 following plan A - A, showing the central deflector;
• Figure 5 : a rear view of the suction head of the figure 1 ;
• Figure 6 : a section of the suction head of the figure 4 following plan B - B, showing the central deflector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the embodiment described below, reference is made to an improved suction head intended mainly to equip bagged vacuum brushes for cleaning swimming pool bottoms. This non-limiting example is given for a better understanding of the invention and does not exclude the use of the suction head in swimming pool robots for example, or the adaptation of the latter to filter brushes.

The figure 2 , 3 and 5 show a suction head 100 mainly comprising a body 10 materializing its outer casing, a propeller pump 20 for sucking up debris, a sleeve 30 adapted to receive a handle not shown, and a battery 40 supplying the pump and placed in a compartment 14 of the body.

The body 10, according to the illustrated embodiment, comprises a lower shell 11, provided with a suction mouth 111, and a suction duct 12 surmounting said shell. The body 10 can be formed in a single block, manufactured by molding, injection, additive manufacturing or by any other suitable process; or in several assembled parts. Preferably, the body 10 is made of a strong plastic material suitable for submersible use.

The lower shell 11 has an elongated shape, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the suction head 100, tightening at its lateral ends. The suction mouth 111, visible on the figures 3 and 4 , is placed in a central part of the lower shell 11, directly above the suction duct 12.

The suction duct 12 has a tubular shape, preferably cylindrical, extended perpendicularly to a mean plane of the lower shell 11, communicating at its lower end with the suction mouth 111, and ending at its upper end with an annular rim 121 which defines an upper opening 122 through which the debris passes, towards a debris collection bag, not shown.

Thus, the suction duct 12 defines an internal volume, between the suction mouth 111 and its upper opening 122, in which the suction pump 20 is placed.

The suction pump 20, according to the embodiment illustrated in figures 4 and 6 , comprises an electric motor 21 coupled to a propeller 23 whose rotation produces the suction of water, and therefore debris, along the suction duct 12 between the suction mouth 111 and the upper opening 122. Suction is carried out along current lines, shown in broken lines on the figure 4 , which pass near the blades of the propeller 23, and can therefore cause a accumulation of bulky debris, such as leaves, between the propeller 23 and the motor 21, as is the case with vacuum cleaners of the prior art.

In order to counter the occurrence of such an accumulation of debris, the suction pump 20 is provided with a central deflector 25, positioned between the motor 21 and the propeller 23, preventing the voluminous debris sucked from piling up. below said propeller. Preferably, the central deflector 25 is integral with the propeller 23 and is animated by the same rotational movement as the latter in order to expel the voluminous debris sucked towards the periphery of the suction duct 12.

The central deflector 25, according to the exemplary embodiment of figures 4 and 6 , is in the form of a disc, or ring, placed coaxially with the propeller 23 and extending radially over a radius sufficient for the voluminous debris sucked up to bypass the blades of the rotating propeller 23 and pass close by of the walls of the suction duct 12 without impeding the rotation of said propeller. On the other hand, the radius of the central deflector 25 must be smaller than that of the propeller 23 so that the suction is established in the suction duct 12.

The central deflector may nevertheless have a different shape and dimensions in alternative embodiments not shown. For example, the central deflector may have a convexity, or a specific curvature, to facilitate the evacuation of bulky debris towards the periphery of the suction duct.

The central deflector may, in addition to a circular planar upper wall forming a screen below the propeller, comprise a frustoconical side wall converging towards the motor 21 from the edge of the planar wall, thus facilitating the evacuation of bulky debris towards the periphery. of the propeller 23. The frustoconical wall can be slightly curved for more efficiency. In the case of a central deflector with a non-circular upper wall, in the form of a square for example, the side wall has a pyramidal shape, for example, each of the faces of which is associated with one side of the square.

When the central deflector comprises a side evacuation wall as described above, it is no longer necessary for said deflector to be coupled in rotation to the propeller, and said side wall may be integral with a housing 22 of the motor 21, or even manufactured in one piece with said housing.

In view of the description given of the central deflector, it should be noted that other variant embodiments can be trivially considered and that the main aspect of the invention lies in the presence of an obstacle between the engine and the propeller. which prevents the accumulation of bulky debris at this precise location and therefore the clogging of the suction pump.

The suction head 100 can be fitted to a vacuum brush via the sleeve 30 which can receive a handle of said brush by clipping or by any other rapid fixing means. For better handling, the sleeve 30 is articulated on the body 10 and can pivot in a plane perpendicular to the plane of movement of the suction head and parallel to the direction of movement of said head.

The displacement of the suction head 100 is for example carried out by running elements such as wheels or rollers 60.

Incidentally, the suction head 100 includes other equipment such as a charging adapter 150 for the battery.

The suction head thus described finds direct application in vacuum cleaners for swimming pools.

Claims (11)

Suction head (100), intended for submersible use in the water of an artificial pond, comprising a body (10), provided with a suction duct (12), and a suction pump (20 ), placed inside the suction duct and comprising an electric motor (21) coupled to a propeller (23), the rotation of the propeller producing a suction along the suction duct between a suction mouth (111) and an upper opening (122) of said duct, characterized in that it comprises a central deflector (25) placed between the motor (21) and the propeller (23) so as to prevent bulky debris from s' accumulate below said propeller. Suction head according to claim 1, in which the central deflector (25) is integral with the propeller (23) and is driven by the same rotational movement as said propeller, for better evacuation of bulky debris towards the periphery of the suction line (12). Suction head according to claim 1, in which the central deflector (25) is integral with a motor unit (22) containing the motor (21). A suction head according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the central deflector (25) is coaxial with an axis of rotation of the propeller (23). A suction head according to claim 1, wherein the central deflector (25) has a planar shape extended radially over a radius smaller than the radius of the propeller (23). Suction head according to claim 5, in which the central deflector (25) is a disc through which a motor shaft (21) passes. A suction head according to claim 1, wherein the central deflector (25) has a curved shape. A suction head according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the central deflector (25) has an upper wall, placed between the motor (21) and the propeller (23), and a side wall converging towards said motor. Suction head according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the upper opening (122) is delimited by an annular edge (121) of the suction duct (12) adapted to cooperate with a flexible container for collecting debris bulky such as a bag or a net. Suction head according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a sleeve (30) adapted to receive a handle of a vacuum cleaner brush, and an electric battery (40) supplying the suction pump (20). Vacuum cleaner for cleaning swimming pool floors, characterized in that it is equipped with a suction head (100) according to one of claims 1 to 10.

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