FR2862327A1 - Water circulation unit for swimming pool, has guiding region to symmetrically guide water around common axis, and convergent, where distance between ejector water outlet and convergent downstream section is preset times convergent length - Google Patents

Abstract

The unit has a convergent with a symmetry axis merging with ejection axis of an ejector (142) to form a common axis for the unit. A distance between water outlet of the ejector and a downstream section of the convergent is preset times the length of the convergent. A guiding region located upstream of an upstream section of the convergent symmetrically guides the water around the common axis during the ejector operation. An independent claim is also included for a filtration and maintenance unit.

Description

2862327 1

  The invention relates to a pool cleaning broom.

  We already know, for the cleaning of swimming pools, on the one hand robots and on the other hand brooms. A "robot" is a cleaning device that can operate without the presence of any operator, and sweeps a device moved by an operator. A robot differs from a broom in that it comprises a displacement device for allowing it to move to the bottom of a pool.

  A cleaning broom, sometimes called a "leaf picker", has a body with a long handle, usually telescopic, handled by an operator from the edge. Such a broom comprises a body having a lower part close to the bottom, a suction device, having a pressurized water inlet and a vertical duct extending perpendicularly from the center of the body and delimiting, at the bottom part, an inlet of water and, at the upper part, a water outlet, and a filter bag attached to the upper part and intended to receive the contaminating material, essentially sheets.

  A cleaning robot has a body with wheels. The wheels are driven by a motor device so that they move the body on a pool floor, with the possibility of changing direction to the limits of the bottom. The body comprises a suction device, having a pressurized water inlet and a vertical duct, sometimes in the form of venturi, at the lower part of which the water under pressure is introduced so that it causes the circulation of a upward flow of water from the pool to a filter bag that is attached to the top of the venturi or venturi. Such a robot further comprises a cleaning accessory formed of a flexible tube provided with bodies intended to rub against the bottom of the pool to detach the contaminating materials.

  Existing pool installations create, for the supply of pressurized water from a cleaning robot or mop, and sometimes other accessories, a moderately powerful water stream order of 2 m 3 / h at a pressure of 2 to 3 bar).

  2862327 2 A broom has all this power, of the order of 100 W, for the only suction function. A robot also has this same power, but in a robot, this stream of water is distributed in substantially equal amounts between the propulsion functions of the robot, creating an updraft in the vertical pipe, and driving of the cleaning accessory. It is thus conceivable that the function of creating an updraft does not have a great power. For this reason, cleaning a swimming pool requires many hours of operation of the robot, and for this reason it is often done at night. Since the robot's water supply requires the operation of at least one pump, a noise problem can arise. Especially, this low power of the updraft does not detach the contaminant that cling firmly to the bottom of the pool, so the cleaning accessory is needed.

  It is therefore conceivable that a cleaning broom has advantages of simplicity, efficiency and speed compared to a robot. However, known brushes pose a number of problems.

  First, known brooms do not have good stability. In order not to tire the operator unduly, their body must be relatively light. As soon as the filter bag, which is in the up position, begins to fill with sheets, they tend to tilt the bag to one side and their weight tends to tip the filter bag on that side. Even if the weight of the materials collected is small, the filter bag tends to tilt the broom on the side to which the bag is deported. If this tendency to tilt is oriented in the axis of the telescopic handle of the broom, it is sufficient for the operator a moderate effort to compensate for the effect observed. However, if the bag tends to tilt laterally relative to the axis of the handle, the operator must exert on the handle torsion forces increasingly important, and undergoes significant fatigue. Some telescopic handles also do not allow the application of such a torque, although the broom must be out of the pool very frequently to empty the bag.

  Another disadvantage of these brooms is that when the bottom of the pool has a concavity, they tend to rely on their central part on this concavity, and significant efforts are then required to dislodge the broom. Pool bottoms often have such concavities, especially at transitions between different parts of the pool bottom having different depths.

  Another disadvantage of these brushes is that they include a simple conduit for the formation of the upstream cleaning water stream, and their cleaning effect is not very powerful.

  The object of the invention is to provide a broom which has great power, high mobility and high stability.

  The great power is obtained thanks to several characteristics which are firstly the great extent on which a fast flow of water circulates on the bottom of the swimming pool, this fast flow of water being obtained by the formation of a thin layer of liquid to the lower surface of the brush, secondly the use of a venturi which greatly increases the yield of water flow that can be obtained, and thirdly the formation of a peripheral skirt which delimits the action zone of the powerful current formed.

  The high mobility is obtained by using wheels arranged so that they avoid direct contact of the body 30 with the bottom of the pool on a concavity.

  The high stability is obtained by lowering the center of gravity of the broom due to the accumulation of contaminant collected at a low location of the blade, either directly on the base of the body or near the bottom of the duct.

  More specifically, the invention relates to a swimming pool cleaning broom, of the type which comprises a body having a base, whose lower surface is intended to be placed on a pool bottom, and a conduit which passes through the base and which has an axis substantially perpendicular to the lower surface of the base, a lower inlet and an upper outlet, a water supply tube under pressure from a nozzle oriented so that it projects an updraft of water into the conduit, a filter bag surrounding the upper portion of the conduit, and a nozzle for attaching a handle to the body. According to the invention, the bag is attached to the body at the lower part thereof.

  Preferably, the bag is fixed either to the base or to the duct near the base.

  The filter bag preferably has orifices of dimension greater than 40 μm, and preferably of the order of 60 μm. Preferably, the filter bag then has an air exhaust valve at its upper part.

  In one embodiment, the lower surface has two substantially parallel sides that are provided with wheels. Preferably, the wheels are arranged in two parallel lines, and each line comprises at least three wheels.

  Preferably, the base has a quadrilateral shape and the wheel lines are arranged on two opposite sides.

  For reasons of stability and efficiency, the height of the venturi between the inlet and the water outlet is preferably of the same order of magnitude as the dimensions of the lower surface of the base.

  According to a very advantageous characteristic, the space between the edges of the base and the entrance of the conduit to the lower surface has a large extent and a low height.

  Preferably, the edges of the lower surface of the base are provided with a skirt, for example formed by a flexible flap or bristles.

  In all embodiments, it is advantageous for the duct to form a venturi.

  In an exemplary embodiment, the blade carries a pool cleaning agitator.

  Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be better understood on reading the following description of the embodiments given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a partial cross-section of FIG. a swimming pool broom according to the invention; Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view of the body of the blade of Figure 1; and FIG. 3 is a perspective view from above of the blade of FIG. 1.

  Figures 1 to 3 show different views of an embodiment of a pool cleaning mop according to the invention.

  The broom essentially comprises a body 10 and a bag 12, appearing more clearly in FIG.

  The body comprises a base 14 and a conduit 16 perpendicular to the base 14. The base 14 has wheels 18 in the form of two rows of three wheels in the embodiment shown. A skirt 20, for example formed of a rubber or an elastomer, but which may also be formed of bristles, is disposed at the entire lower periphery of the base 14. The conduit 16 has an inlet 22 at the of the lower surface of the base and an outlet 24 at its upper part. The duct 16 is preferably formed by two frustoconical portions and a central cylindrical portion 26 which delimit a venturi.

  A tube 28 terminates at the inlet 22 by a nozzle 30 for projecting an upward flow of water under pressure, transmitted by an inlet connection 32. The connection 32 is intended to be connected by a flexible tube to a pressurized water intake usually placed at the edge of the pool and giving a flow rate of the order of 2 m3 / h at a pressure of 2 to 3 bar.

  At its upper part, the base has a collar 36 for retaining a retaining cord 34 placed at the opening of the broom filter bag 12.

  FIG. 3 also shows an end piece 38 comprising an articulated rod 40 enabling the connection of a telescopic handle.

  Finally, it should be noted the presence of a valve 42 at the top of the filter bag 12.

  It will be noted in FIGS. 1 and 2 that the base 14 delimits, with the surface on which the brush rests, a space of small height and large extent (see the substantial base surface surrounding the inlet 22 in FIG. ). It is also noted that the skirt 20 leaves a small space only for the passage of water between the base and the bottom of the pool.

  Since the entire flow of water under pressure (2 m3 / h at a pressure of 2 to 3 bar) is transmitted to the nozzle 30, and that it is placed in a venturi, the suction effect created by the venturi is very important. The water flow sucked by the venturi must first flow in the space of low height and large extent formed between the lower surface of the base and the bottom of the pool before reaching the conduit. As this space has a low height, the water flows with great speed and therefore has a significant cleaning effect. This effect is further reinforced at the edges of the broom since the skirt delimits a locally very small space and therefore causes an acceleration of the water which then takes a high kinetic energy on the bottom of the pool.

  This very powerful suction effect is easily demonstrated: the removal of several kilograms of earth thrown at the bottom of a pool requires only a few tens of seconds, and the device allows the suction of stones of several tens of grams.

  Another characteristic of the cleaning brush shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is its high mobility. The wheels 18 are mounted on ball bearings, preferably stainless, and as they are arranged on two lines (oriented parallel to the direction of the telescopic handle attached to the rod 40 of the tip 38), the base does not come directly in contact with a concavity, because the wheels in the middle of each line come into contact with the concavities and allow easy movement.

  A very important characteristic of the blade shown in Figures 1 to 3 is its high stability. Although the body is made of lightweight plastic and has a low weight, as the filter bag 12 is secured by a cord 34 of its lower opening around a flange 36 of the body base, the contaminating materials sucked, essentially leaves, when they escape through the outlet 24, fall around the conduit 16 and accumulate on the base all around it. As the outlet water flow is upwardly oriented, it tends to center the upper portion of the bag, so that leaves and other waste can fall all the way around the conduit on the base. The weight of the collected contaminants is therefore a kind of ballast that increases the stability of the broom. In practice, the accumulation of contaminating materials can reach the height of the outlet 24.

  Another advantageous feature of the invention is that the filter bag 12 is preferably formed of a fabric having mesh sizes larger than 40 μm and preferably of the order of 60 μm. Such a size of mesh ensures the retention of even small contaminants, such as small particles of soil, and thus allows to ensure quickly the cleanliness of the pool. These meshes are however so small that the air can not escape from the bag through the fabric; so fine mesh fabric can not be used with a known broom. According to the invention, the filter bag 12, when formed of such a fabric, comprises a valve 42 for exhausting air.

  Although this feature has not been shown, the brush may also comprise, in known manner, a cleaning accessory in the form of a flexible tube provided with members intended to rub against the bottom of the pool to separate the strongly hung material. Such an accessory can be easily mounted at the connector 32 or at another location of the tube 28. However, this accessory is not generally necessary, unless the pool has been abandoned for a very long time without undergoing any cleaning. so that particularly resistant dirt may have adhered to the bottom of the pool.

  Although the base has been described with a flange 36 intended to retain the cord 34 of the opening of the filter bag 12, the flange may be placed on the duct near the inlet, so that the contaminating materials constitute a ballast.

  Of course, various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art brushes that have just been described by way of non-limiting example without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

  A swimming pool cleaning brush, of the type comprising a body (10) having a base (14), the bottom surface of which is to be placed on a pool floor, and a conduit (16) which passes through the base (14) and having an axis substantially perpendicular to the lower surface of the base (14), a lower inlet (22) and an upper outlet (24), a tube (28) for supplying water under pressure of a nozzle (30) oriented to project an upward flow of water into the conduit (16), and a tip (38) for attaching a handle to the body, and a filter bag (12) surrounding the portion upper duct (16), characterized in that the bag (12) is fixed to the body (10) at the lower part thereof.   2. Broom according to claim 1, characterized in that the bag (12) is fixed to the base (14).   3. Brush according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the filter bag (12) has orifices of size greater than 40 pm, and preferably of the order of 60 pm.   4. Broom according to claim 3, characterized in that the filter bag (12) has a valve (42) for discharging air at its upper part.   Brush according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower surface of the base (14) has two substantially parallel sides which are provided with wheels (18).   6. Broom according to claim 5, characterized in that the wheels (18) are arranged in two parallel lines, and each line comprises at least three wheels.   7. Broom according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the space between the edges of the base (14) and the inlet (22) of the conduit (16) to the lower surface has a significant extent and a low height.   8. Broom according to claim 7, characterized in that the edges of the lower surface of the base (14) are provided with a skirt (20).   2862327 10 9. Broom according to claim 8, characterized in that the skirt (20) is formed by a member selected from a flexible flap and bristles.   10. Broom according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the duct (16) forms a venturi.