Poolvergnuegen

Hayward Industries, Inc.

Other

Poolvernguegen

Manuela Rief

Dieter J Rief

Rosemarie Rief

Hans Rainer Schlitzer

Benoit Joseph Renaud

Disclosed herein are a steering system for a suction cleaning device, a locomotion system for a pool cleaner, and a turbine for use in an automatic cleaner. The steering system includes a fluid driven turbine that rotates a cam gear that is interconnected with a cam wheel for directing a drive pinion. The drive pinion is positionable in a plurality of positions to drive a nose cone that steers the suction cleaning device. The locomotion system includes first and second A-frame arms that respectively engage first and second bearings about first and second eccentrics of a turbine. Rotation of the turbine causes the first and second A-frame arms to rotate back and forth driving associated walking pod assemblies. The turbine includes a turbine rotor and a plurality of vanes connected to the turbine rotor. The plurality of vanes including lateral edges having lateral open regions to facilitate debris-removing efficiency.

Swimming pool cleaner

A swimming pool cleaner of the type movable along an underwater pool surface to clean debris therefrom. The pool cleaner includes a body having a debris inlet and a debris outlet. A rigid debris-collection canister is secured to the body over the debris outlet to collect debris in the rigid canister and pass filtered water either back into the pool or to a remote suction system such that the collected debris remain at the pool-cleaner body for easy maintenance while allowing free flow of water through the rigid canister. The rigid canister is shaped to minimize obstructions to the pool cleaner movement in the pool by providing improved buoyancy and limiting entrapment of the cleaner by underwater pool structures. The cleaner body is adapted for securement of either a water-suction hose connected to a remote suction system or a venturi-line structure connected to a water-flow line fed by a remote pump such that the pool cleaner is interchangeably usable as a suction cleaner and as a pressure cleaner.

Swimming pool cleaner with a rigid debris canister

An automatic vacuum-relief apparatus for liquid suction systems includes a vessel defining a chamber filled with liquid in communication with a liquid flow line, a rotary shaft extending through the chamber to support a valve device adjacent to the liquid flow line and to move the valve device to open a relief-air flow channel to relieve increased suction caused by inlet blockage, and a piston on the rotary shaft responsive to suction increases within the liquid flow line and chamber to actuate shaft rotation. The valve device, chamber and relief-air flow channel are configured and arranged to cause a spurt of liquid from the chamber into the inlet while the valve device is moving from its isolating position toward its opening position upon inlet blockage, whereby the spurt of liquid pushes the blockage away from the inlet and the relief air reduces the suction. The valve includes a liquid-flow barrier secured with respect to the liquid flow line such that the barrier is in an open position allowing flow of liquid from the inlet to the outlet during normal operation and in a closed position isolating the inlet from the outlet in response to suction increases upon inlet blockage.

Automatic increased-suction relief apparatus

A swimming pool cleaner interchangeably usable as a suction cleaner and as a pressure cleaner. The cleaner is of the type movable along an underwater pool surface to clean debris therefrom, the pool cleaner including a body having a debris inlet and a debris outlet. The body is adapted at the debris outlet for securement of either a water-suction hose connected to a remote suction system or a debris-collection device entrapping debris and passing water therethrough back into the pool. A venturi-line structure is secured with respect to the body. The venturi-line structure includes a venturi-line inlet adapted for connection of a water-flow line fed by a remote pump and a venturi jet located at the debris inlet to cause accelerated flow substantially thereacross and into the body when the cleaner is used as a pressure cleaner. The body includes a debris-inlet adjuster configured to reduce the debris inlet to adapt the cleaner for use as a suction cleaner.

Convertible pressure/suction swimming pool cleaner

A four-wheel pool cleaner () motivated by water flow to move along a pool surface, and having: a body (); the four wheels rotatably mounted thereon and including two sets of two wheels () each, one wheel of each set on each side; a drive mechanism () in position to be moved by water flow and having a rotatable drive member (); a drive train extending to the first wheel set () and to the second wheel set (), to drive all four wheels. Preferred embodiments include: wheel-to-wheel drive links () along the side; a turbine () as drive mechanism; a pair of spaced wheelgears (), preferably integrally formed with the wheel, facilitating drive linkages and steering; a pair of end-to-end drive shafts () joined by a coupler (), one shaft end () being a ball joint allowing fore-and-aft movement of a drive-shaft distal end; a spring () and cam () for alternately moving that distal end between a driving position engaging one of the spaced wheelgears (), and a steering position engaging the other of the spaced wheelgears (); wheel treads () with radial fingers (), some () of longer length; and a segmented articulated skirt () to help enclose a plenum beneath the pool cleaner.

Four-wheel-drive automatic swimming pool cleaner

A swimming pool pressure cleaner ( ) of the type motivated by water flow through it having: a set of two wheels ( ) rotatably mounted to the body ( ); a turbine housing ( ) having a water-flow chamber ( ) with an inlet ( ) and an outlet ( ), the inlet held in proximity to the pool surface ( ); a vaned rotor ( ) rotatably mounted in the chamber; one or more one venturi jets ( ) secured to the body and oriented to direct water into the inlet to rotate the turbine and cause flow from the pool into the inlet; a drive member ( ) secured to the rotor and a drive train extending to the wheels for synchronous rotation on the pool surface; a cam ( ) rotatably secured to the body and driven by the rotor through reduction gearing ( ); and a linkage ( ) from the cam to one wheel ( ) to periodically interrupt the synchronous rotation of the wheels on the pool surface and change pool cleaner direction.

Swimming pool pressure cleaner with internal steering mechanism

An debris-capturing apparatus having a fluid-pervious wall, an attachment portion attachable to the outflow port of a pressure-cleaner device, and a collapsible inflow tube that is substantially opened and made erect by the inflow of fluid but otherwise axially collapsed and thereby closed so as to block reverse flow of debris through the outflow port. The erected inflow tube preferably has cross-sectional flow areas along its entire length approximating the cross-sectional flow area of the outflow port. The debris-capturing apparatus is preferably integrally formed such that the inflow tube is a turned-in extension of the attachment portion.

Debris-capturing apparatus for pressure cleaners

A domestic automatic swimming pool cleaner which randomly travels about and cleans the walls and bottom surfaces of a swimming pool includes two parallel or non-parallel impact tubes, the top ends of which are connected to a flexible suction hose which in turn is connected to the suction side of the pool's filter pump. The bottom ends of the tubes are served intermittent shots of water by a hinged self-starting flapper valve with an unrestricted upstream opening in the cleaner's pool surface contacting head. By the action of the valve alternately delivering pool water to the two tubes, kinetic forces are generated which move the automatic pool cleaner about the pool.

Pool cleaner with open-ended pin supported flapper valve

An automatic pool cleaner having a turbine including a housing having a flow chamber and chamber wall with inlet and outlet ports, a rotatably-mounted turbine rotor, and turbine vanes each having a proximal end connected to the rotor and a distal end movable with respect to the rotor between extended positions adjacent to the wall and retracted positions spaced from the wall and closer to the rotor to allow passage of debris pieces of substantial size through the turbine. Some preferred embodiments are: curved vanes; vanes pivotably mounted to the rotor; and an eccentric rotor mount within the turbine chamber. Pivotably-mounted vanes preferably have enlargements at their proximal ends which are freely insertable into cavities in the rotor; most preferably, each vane is symmetrical about a center line such that either end is able to serve as the proximal end in engagement with the rotor.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Rosa, CA, United States of America

Manuela Rief