US3712313A

US3712313A - Pool cleaning apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3712313A
Application number: US00193713A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Koble; J Goettl
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-10-29
Filing date: 1971-10-29
Publication date: 1973-01-23
Anticipated expiration: 1990-01-23

Abstract

A pool cleaning apparatus wherein a manually movable weight means is disposable in various positions on the bottom of a swimming pool and a flexible water delivery conduit is coupled to the weight means and communicates with a rotary means having a passage therein which delivers water to a flexible sinuously movable pool cleaning tube; communicating with said passage means and coupled to said rotary means is a jet nozzle adapted to cause rotation of said rotary means about a generally vertical axis so that the pool cleaning tube coupled to said rotary means and communicating with the water delivery conduit may progressively move and be directed outwardly away from the vertical axis of the rotary means in various directions in accordance with the motivation of said rotary means by jet reaction force created thereon due to operation of the jet nozzle means coupled thereto. The disclosure further sets forth a disposition of the water delivery tube communicating with the rotary means and extending in a generally upward central relationship to the weight means with which said rotary means is coupled.

Description

Uited States Patent [191 Koble, Jr. et al.

[ 1 Jan. 23, 1973 POOL CLEANING APPARATUS [75] Inventors: Robert L. Koble, Jr.; John M.

Goettl, both of Phoenix, Ariz.

[73] Assignee: George J. Ghiz, Phoenix, Ariz. 22 Filed: Oct. 29, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 193,713

UNITED STATES PATENTS Pansini ..l5/l.7 X Vernon ..134/168 R Primary ExaminerEdward L. Roberts Att0rneyWilliam H. Dean [57] ABSTRACT A pool cleaning apparatus wherein a manually movable weight means is disposable in various positions on the bottom of a swimming pool and a flexible water delivery conduit is coupled to the weight means and communicates with a rotary means having a passage therein which delivers water to a flexible sinuously movable pool cleaning tube; communicating with said passage means and coupled to said rotary means is a jet nozzle adapted to cause rotation of said rotary means about a generally vertical axis so that the pool cleaning tube coupled to said rotary means and communicating with the water delivery conduit may progressively move and be directed outwardly away from the vertical axis of the rotary means in various directions in accordance with the motivation of said rotary means by jet reaction force created thereon due to operation of the jet nozzle means coupled thereto. The disclosure further sets forth a disposition of the water delivery tube communicating with the rotary means and extending in a generally upward central relationship to the weight means with which said rotary means is coupled.

8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDJAH23 ma 3712.313

SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTORS JOHN M. GOETTL ROBERT L. KOBLE JR. BY

PATENTED JAN 2 3 i975 SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTORS JOHN M. GOETTL ROBERT L. KOBLE JR.

W/QM

POOL CLEANING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Prior art pool cleaning apparatus such as disclosed in a prior application of Robert L. Koble, Jr. and John M. Goettl, Ser. No. 53468, filed July 9, I970, and now abandoned comprises a manually movable weight means which holds a water distributor in a fixed position frictionally on the bottom of a swimming pool and in accordance with this apparatus sinuously movable jet reactive and flexible pool cleaning tubes are coupled and held in stationary position relative to weight means of the distributor so that each pool cleaning tube of this prior art structure is always directed in a certain direction from the weight means and distributing structure, thus requiring several of the pool cleaning tubes extending in different directions for the purposes of covering efficiently an entire area surrounding the weight means and water distributor structure as disclosed in the aforementioned patent application. Such prior art structures, while they are very convenient and operate very efficiently, utilize a plurality of flexible pool cleaning tubes and accordingly the cost and main tenance of the plurality of tubes has been an economic consideration relative to the initial price of such apparatus as well as the continued operation thereof.

When a plurality of jet reaction pool cleaning tubes are utilized in accordance with the aforementioned patent application, the volume of water available for operating such pool cleaning apparatus must be divided through a plurality of such tubes since each sinuous tube is extended from the water distributor in a fixed direction and therefore several tubes are necessary to completely cover an area surrounding a central distributor when the distributor holds the ends of the jet tubes stationarily in connection therewith.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a weight means which may readily be manually moved to various locations on the bottom of a swimming pool and this weight means has sufficient magnitude frictionally to hold it in position and to thereby resist movement thereof in response to forces created by jet reaction pool cleaning tube means in connection with the weight means of the invention. The invention comprises a rotary means which receives water under pressure from a water delivery conduit in connection with the weight means and coupled to the rotary means is a flexible sinuously operated jet reactive pool cleaning tube and means is provided for rotating the rotary means so that a single pool cleaning tube may cover an area encompassing 360 around a generally vertical axis which is generally centered relative to the weight means. The rotary means is rotatably operated by force applied by efflux from a jet nozzle means in connection with the rotary means so that the pool cleaning tube coupled to the rotary means is constantly moved in various radially directed positions for 360 about a substantially vertical axis whereby maximum volume of water may be expelled through the pool cleaning tube and it may be of substantial magnitude so as to perform a substantial amount of work and so that it may be very active in a sinuous moving attitude responsive -to jet reaction caused by water under pressure issuing from the pool cleaning tube. Additionally, the invention provides for means to vary the pressure differential relative to a jet nozzle means communicating with the rotary means so that the jet nozzle means may vary the rotational speed of the rotary means and thereby vary the rotational support of the jet reactive pool cleaning tube means coupled to the rotary means and accordingly the mode of operation of the present invention may be varied in accordance with environmental conditions within a given swimming pool. The invention also comprises a generally vertical disposition of the water delivery conduit of the pool cleaning apparatus so as to provide for upward extension of water delivery conduit from a generally central area of the weight means of the invention and so as to allow the flexible water delivery conduit to extend upward and away from the bottom and sides of a swimming pool in such a relation as to avoid the possibility of the jet reaction pool cleaning tubes from tangling with the water delivery conduit. Additionally, the water delivery conduit as it extends substantially vertical and centrally above the weight means of the invention, provides convenient means for handling the pool cleaning apparatus of the invention both as to the placement thereof in a swimming pool and in an upright position on the bottom thereof, and as to the movement of the apparatus from one place to another so as to allow the operator to place the apparatus in the most advantageous position in a swimming pool.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved pool cleaning apparatus which embodies certain improvements over apparatus disclosed in said aforementioned patent application.

Another object of the invention is to provide a weight means adapted manually to be moved about into various positions on the bottom of a swimming pool and to have sufficient weight and friction with relation to the bottom of the pool to maintain itself in fixed relation to the pool side walls while a rotary means coupled to the weight means receives water under pressure through a delivery conduit and while a jet reactive pool cleaning tube coupled to the rotary means moves about a generally vertical axis as it moves sinuously and thus may be progressively directed in any one of many directions throughout 360 about a substantially vertical axis extending in a generally vertical direction near the central portion of the weight means. Another object of the invention is to provide a novel rotary means adapted to deliver water under pressure to a jet reactive pool cleaning tube and wherein a jet nozzled means coupled to the rotary means delivers water under pressure in a direction to cause jet reaction rotation of the rotary means so as to constantly move a connected portion of said pool cleaning tube about a vertical axis for 360 about said weight means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rotary means supporting and conveying water under pressure to a jet reactive flexible pool cleaning tube and wherein jet nozzle means is provided for rotating the rotary means and wherein valve means in the rotary means adjusts a pressure differential between water entering the rotary means and that issuing from jet nozzle means so as to vary the rotative rate of said rotary means about a vertical axis so as to vary the rate of a flexible pool cleaning tube connected to the rotary means and reacting sinuously in response to water under pressure passing therethrough from the rotary means.

Further objects and advantages of the invention may be apparent from the following specification, appended claims and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a swimming pool showing portions thereof broken away and in section, and illustrating pool cleaning apparatus of the present invention disposed in said swimming pool;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken from the line 22 of FIG. 1 showing structural details of the pool cleaning apparatus of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken from the line 33 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, pool cleaning apparatus of the invention comprises a weight means which is coupled to a water delivery conduit 12, as will be hereinafter described in detail. The weight means 10 as shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings, is provided with a lower surface means 14 adapted frictionally to rest on the bottom of a swimming pool as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings. The weight means 10 is generally circular in horizontal cross section as shown best in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, and the maximum horizontal dimensions of this weight means are equal to only a small fraction of the length or breadth of the swimming pool 15 so that the weight means 10 may be moved into various positions as desired in the pool 15 for efficiently cleaning the pool in accordance with its geometry and in accordance with the conditions thereof. The weight means 10 may be handled by the flexible water delivery conduit 12 as will be hereinafter described. The weight means 14 is provided with a hollow housing structure providing a cavity wherein weight material 16 is disposed. This material may be concrete or any other suitable material having a sufficient density in accordance with its volume to provide for substantial frictional engagement of the engaging surface 14 with the bottom of a swimming pool such as swimming pool 15 and the magnitude of the weight material 16 being such as to afford resistance to jet reaction forces imposed by sinuous action of a jet reactive pool cleaning tube 18 which receives water under pressure from the delivery circuit 12 as will be hereinafter described. Thus the weight means 10 is readily movable to various positions in the pool and has sufficient weight to hold itselfin a fixed preselected position without having this position changed by forces of the tube 18 as it responds to jet reaction of water passing therethrough and during sinuous movement of the pool cleaning tube 18 as will be hereinafter described in detail.

The housing of the weight means 10 is provided with an upper wall 20 having an upstanding tubular portion 22 to which a tubular distributor conduit 24 is secured. This distributor conduit 24 is provided with

water delivery openings

26 and 28 which are directed in opposite directions from the axis of the conduit 24. This conduit 24 is provided with a fitting 26 to which the flexible water delivery conduit 12 is secured in communication with the interior of the conduit 24 so as to deliver water under pressure thereinto.

A rotary means 30 is generally domeshaped and is provided with an opening 32 surrounding the fitting 26 of the conduit 24. The rotary means 30 is provided with a central hub 32 surrounding the water delivery conduit 24 and adapted to receive water under pressure from the

openings

26 and 28. The hub 32 is provided with annular

flexible walls

34 and 36 having respective openings 38 and 40 surrounding the outer side of the conduit 24 and flexing

seals

42 and 44 are coupled to the

flexible walls

34 and 36 respectively, the seal 42 bearing on a shoulder 46 of the conduit 24, while the seal 44 bears upon an upper surface 48 of the upper wall 20 of the housing of the weight means 10.

Accordingly, the hub 32 is free to rotate about the conduit 24 which is disposed in a generally vertical direction and substantially concentric with a vertical axis of rotation of said rotary means 30. The domeshaped structure of the rotary means 30 is coupled to the hub 32 by radially disposed water delivery passages provided by

tubular structures

50 and 52. integral with the hub 32 of the rotary means 30. These

tubular structures

50 and 52 are coupled to the dome-shaped structure of the rotary means 30 at its peripheral wall 54. The tubular structure 50 comprises a passage area 56 extending to a hollow fitting 58 at the perimeter 54, all as shown best in FIG. 3 of the drawings. Coupled to the fitting 58 is a hollow tubular extension 60 to which an inner end 62 of the jet reaction pool cleaning tube 18 is secured. This jet reaction pool cleaning tube 18 is preferably of flexible plastic and is provided with an open end 64 through which a jet of water may be issued to create not only jet reaction and sinuous movement of the-tube 18 but also to createa high speed flow of water which will clean the bottom of the pool and scour the foreign matter therefrom into suspension in the pool so that it may be carried away in the water passing to the filtering system utilized to clean water in the pool.

As shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, it will therefore be obvious that the pool cleaning tube 18 extends generally in a radial direction from a vertical axis about which the rotary means 30 rotates as it is supported on the stationary weight means 10.

The housing of the weight means 10 as well as that of the rotary means 30 and of the

tubular members

50 and 52 together with the hub 32 are all preferably made of plastic or other material suitable to a swimming pool environment.

Communicating with the tubular structure 52 is a jet nozzle 66. This jet nozzle 66, as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, is provided with an open end 68 directed in such a manner as to cause a jet of water to issue in the direction of an arrow 70 which direction is substantially tangential relative to the vertical axis about which the rotary means 30 rotates as hereinbefore described. Accordingly, this jet nozzle 66 tends to cause a jet reaction force tending to rotate the rotary means 30 in a direction of an arrow 72 as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings.

A butterfly valve 74 is disposed in the hollow tubular structure 50 and in the passage 56 therein, and this butterfly valve is rotatably mounted on a substantially vertical axis shaft 76 which extends upwardly through an opening 78 in the dome-shaped housing structure of the rotary means 30. The shaft 76 at its upper end is provided with a manually engageable adjustment knob 80 and a friction and tension spring 82 tends to hold this knob 80 in certain ad jlsted position so that when the butterfly valve 74 is adjusted by the shaft 76 to a relatively open or relatively closed position, a pressure differential is created or varied between the water passing through the pool cleaning tube 18 and that passing through the jet nozzle 68, thus as pressure in the jet nozzle 68 is varied its jet propulsion force is varied and thus the rate of rotation of the rotary means 30 about a vertical axis and in a direction of an arrow 72, is varied, and therefore the movement of the pool cleaning tube 18 about said vertical axis is varied, and thus the pool cleaning tube at its connection with the fitting 60 is moved in various directions through 360 around the vertical axis of the rotary means 30. It will be noted that the weight means is the only means of the invention which maintains the apparatus of the invention stationarily located in the bottom of the pool 15, and that the weight means 10 may be moved longitudinally or laterally or at any direction desired nearer the sides or the ends of the pool, depending upon the desire of the operator, and it will be further noted that the flexible water delivery conduit 12 extends generally in a vertical direction above a central area of the weight means so that the weight means is suspendingly handled by the water delivery conduit and that the water delivery conduit is disposed upwardly in a direction above the areas in which the pool cleaning tube 18 may operate so as to prevent entanglement thereof with the water delivery conduit 12.

In operation of the present invention, it will therefore be apparent that the rate of rotation of the rotary means may be varied and that a single pool cleaning tube 18 may be carried by the rotary means 30, and that such a single tube may receive full volume of flow from the water delivery conduit 12 with the exception of the small amount utilized by the jet nozzle 68 for rotating the rotary means 30 about a generally vertical axis.

It will be obvious that full flow of the water delivery conduit 12 is devoted to flow through a single pool cleaning tube 18. However, if desired, some of these tubes 18 may be secured to the rotary means 30 in a similar manner to that as disclosed in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings.

The use of a rotary means and a single jet reactive pool cleaning tube such as the tube 18 has many advantages in that the angular disposition of the pool cleaning tube is constantly changed with respect to a vertical axis as the rotary means 30 rotates about said vertical axis and further the magnitude and jet capacity of the tube 18 may be quite substantial as compared to the maximum delivery which may be made by any one of a plurality of pool cleaning tubes such as those dis closed in the aforementioned copending patent application.

lt will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

, l. A swimming pool cleaning apparatus comprising: a manually portable and readily movable weight means adapted to sink in water; said weight means having horizontally disposed structure, the maximum dimensions of which equal a small fraction of the length or breadth of a swimming pool; said weight means being adapted to be manually moved and temporarily located in various desired positions relative to the sides and ends of a swimming pool and on the bottom of said swimming pool; said weight means having supporting surface means adapted frictionally to engage the bottom of a swimming pool; said supporting surface means being the only means coupled to said weight means for holding said weight means stationarily on the bottom of a swimming pool; an elongated flexible jet reactive pool cleaning tube coupled to said weight means at a position so as to dispose almost the entire length of said tube near to the bottom of said pool; said pool cleaning tube having a major portion of said length thereof disposed for engagement with the bottom or sides of a pool when said weight means is supported on the bottom of said pool by said supporting surface means; a flexible water delivery conduit coupled to said weight means and adapted to contain water under pressure in communication with said jet reactive pool cleaning tube; said jet reactive pool cleaning tube communicating with said water delivery conduit and adapted to receive water under pressure therefrom; said jet reaction tube having a free and open jet end means substantially spaced from said weight means and adapted to issue a jet of water therefrom and to thereby cause sinuous movement of said pool cleaning tube relative to said weight means and relative to the bottom and sides of said swimming pool; said weight means being of sufficient magnitude to hold said supporting surface means down in frictionally engaged stationary relationship with the bottom of said pool so that said weight means resists jet reaction forces imposed by said jet reactive pool cleaning tube whereby said weight means remains stationary on the bottom of said pool while sinuous movement of said jet reactive pool cleaning tube continues to operate in a manually preselected area around said weight means for cleaning the bottom and sides of said pool; a rotary means rotatably mounted on said weight means about a generally vertical axis of rotation; said rotary means having a passage communicating with said water delivery conduit; said pool cleaning tube coupled to said rotary means and disposed in communication with said passage in said rotary means; whereby said rotary means may rotate about said vertical axis to allow disposition of said pool cleaning tube in various directions around said vertical axis of said rotary means.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein: said rotary means being disposed above said weight means.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein: jet propulsion means is coupled to said rotary means; said jet propulsion means having a jet nozzle communicating withsaid passage in said rotary means and adapted to deliver water under pressure from said passage; said jet nozzle disposed at an angle toa radial direction with respect to said verticalaxis so as to cause a jet propulsion force tending to rotate said rotary means about said vertical axis.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein: said water delivery conduit extends in an upward direction from and above a generally central area of said weight means to prevent said pool cleaning tube from tangling with said water delivery conduit'at any area close to the bottom or sides of said swimming pool.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4, wherein: said water delivery conduit is adapted suspendingly to hold said weight means in a generally upright position for facilitating manual movement of said weight means and for thus locating it on any one of various desired bottom areas of a swimming pool.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein: said rotary means is disposed above said weight means; jet propulsion means coupled to said rotary means; said jet propulsion means having a jet nozzle communicating with said passage in said rotary means and disposed to receive water under pressure from said passage; said jet nozzle disposed at an angle to a radial direction with respect to said vertical axis so as to cause jet propulsion force tending to rotate said rotary means about said vertical axis; said water delivery conduit extending in an upward direction from and above a generally central area of said weight means to prevent said pool cleaning tube from tangling with said water delivery conduit at any area close to the bottom or sides of said swimming pool; said water delivery conduit adapted suspendingly to hold said weight means in a generally upright position for facilitating manual movement of said'weight means and for thus locating it on any one of various desired bottom areas of a swimming pool.

7. The invention as defined in claim 3, wherein: valve means is coupled to said rotary means for adjusting flow from said water delivery conduit into said pool cleaning tube for varying pressure of water in said passage and relative to said jet propulsion means in order to vary the rate of rotation of said rotary means about said generally vertical axis.

8. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein: said water delivery conduit extends in an upward direction from and above a generally central area of said weight means to prevent said pool cleaning tube from tangling with said water delivery conduit at any area close to the bottom or sides of a swimming pool; said water delivery conduit adapted suspendingly to hold said weight means in a generally upright position for facilitating manual movement of said weight means and for thus locating it on any one of various desired bottom areas of a swimming pool.

Claims

1. A swimming pool cleaning apparatus comprising: a manually portable and readily movable weight means adapted to sink in water; said weight means having horizontally disposed structure, the maximum dimensions of which equal a small fraction of the length or breadth of a swimming pool; said weight means being adapted to be manually moved and temporarily located in various desired positions relative to the sides and ends of a swimming pool and on the bottom of said swimming pool; said weight means having supporting surface means adapted frictionally to engage the bottom of a swimming pool; said supporting surface means being the only means coupled to said weight means for holding said weight means stationarily on the bottom of a swimming pool; an elongated flexible jet reactive pool cleaning tube coupled to said weight means at a position so as to dispose almost the entire length of said tube near to the bottom of said pool; said pool cleaning tube having a major portion of said length thereof disposed for engagement with the bottom or sides of a pool when said weight means is supported on the bottom of said pool by said supporting surface means; a flexible water delivery conduit coupled to said weight means and adapted to contain water under pressure in communication with said jet reactive pool cleaning tube; said jet reactive pool cleaning tube communicating with said water delivery conduit and adapted to receive water under pressure therefrom; said jet reaction tube having a free and open jet end means substantially spaced from said weight means and adapted to issue a jet of water therefrom and to thereby cause sinuous movement of said pool cleaning tube relative to said weight means and relative to the bottom and sides of said swimming pool; said weight means being of sufficient magnitude to hold said supporting surface means down in frictionally engaged stationary relationship with the bottom of said pool so that said weight means Resists jet reaction forces imposed by said jet reactive pool cleaning tube whereby said weight means remains stationary on the bottom of said pool while sinuous movement of said jet reactive pool cleaning tube continues to operate in a manually preselected area around said weight means for cleaning the bottom and sides of said pool; a rotary means rotatably mounted on said weight means about a generally vertical axis of rotation; said rotary means having a passage communicating with said water delivery conduit; said pool cleaning tube coupled to said rotary means and disposed in communication with said passage in said rotary means; whereby said rotary means may rotate about said vertical axis to allow disposition of said pool cleaning tube in various directions around said vertical axis of said rotary means.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein: jet propulsion means is coupled to said rotary means; said jet propulsion means having a jet nozzle communicating with said passage in said rotary means and adapted to deliver water under pressure from said passage; said jet nozzle disposed at an angle to a radial direction with respect to said vertical axis so as to cause a jet propulsion force tending to rotate said rotary means about said vertical axis.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein: said water delivery conduit extends in an upward direction from and above a generally central area of said weight means to prevent said pool cleaning tube from tangling with said water delivery conduit at any area close to the bottom or sides of said swimming pool.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein: said rotary means is disposed above said weight means; jet propulsion means coupled to said rotary means; said jet propulsion means having a jet nozzle communicating with said passage in said rotary means and disposed to receive water under pressure from said passage; said jet nozzle disposed at an angle to a radial direction with respect to said vertical axis so as to cause jet propulsion force tending to rotate said rotary means about said vertical axis; said water delivery conduit extending in an upward direction from and above a generally central area of said weight means to prevent said pool cleaning tube from tangling with said water delivery conduit at any area close to the bottom or sides of said swimming pool; said water delivery conduit adapted suspendingly to hold said weight means in a generally upright position for facilitating manual movement of said weight means and for thus locating it on any one of various desired bottom areas of a swimming pool.