Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Submerged cleaners with ambient flow guides
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-27
2001-10-16
Spisich, Mark (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Submerged cleaners with ambient flow guides
C015S246000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06301737
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The field of the invention pertains to cleaning brushes. The invention relates more particularly to a pool brush attachment which is specially adapted to produce a hydrodynamic, transverse scrubbing force on a brush head portion of the pool brush when cleaning the surfaces of a water-filled pool.
Pool brushes have been utilized for cleaning algae, dirt, and debris accumulated on the walls and floor surfaces of pools. Pool brushes typically have a brush head portion transversely secured to a long pole or handle. However, due to the depth and span of most pools, it is oftentimes arduous and difficult to apply a transverse scrubbing force on the brush portion for proper and adequate cleaning of a pool surface. Moreover, the difficulty is greatly compounded because of the precarious nature of standing at the edge of a pool when cleaning.
To remedy this problem and facilitate cleaning of pool surfaces, various devices have been developed with hydrodynamic wings, planes, and other means to produce transverse thrust forces at the brush portion of a pool brush.
Many such prior art devices utilize a pivot mechanism which produces a hydrodynamic transverse force on a brush head during both the upward and downward strokes. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,243,576, 4,909,173, and 5,864,917, vane components are shown pivotally held on either the brush head or the elongated handle of a cleaning brush. Each of the vanes function to pivot about a pivot axis which is normal to the direction of motion when reciprocating between upward and downward strokes. And in particular, the vanes in all the aforementioned prior art patents pivot away from the direction of motion. However, forcing a pool brush against a wall during its upward return stroke is not necessarily a desirable feature for pool cleaning purposes. The upward return stroke does not accomplish the purpose of the brushing of the pool walls, i.e. to move dirt and debris down and away from the walls, and toward the drain at the bottom of the pool.
Additionally, prior art pool brush attachments have also utilized stationary or “fixed” attachment designs to produce transverse forces against the brush head. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,431, an attachment for a pool brush is shown having a hydrofoil with an upstanding fin fixedly connected to a base portion at approximately a right angle thereto. Flow apertures along the upstanding fin operate together with the angular configuration of the upstanding fin and base portion to produce a transverse force when the pool brush is pushed in a downward motion. Furthermore, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,402,413, a pool brush guide is shown having a force surface
40
fixedly extending from a guide surface
30
at a trailing end. Additionally a leading edge surface
32
, is fixedly connected to the guide surface
30
at a front edge
33
. Similar to the '431 patent, the configuration in the '413 patent also produces a transverse force on the brush portion when the pool brush is pushed in a downward motion without necessarily producing a transverse force during the upward stroke.
The disadvantage of the '431 and '413 patents (as well as the '576, '173, and '917 patents) is that their design configurations may not produce an adequate transverse force suitable for facilitated pool scrubbing. This is especially true for the '431 patent because water flow is not impeded or redirected in a direct manner against an attack, or otherwise direct contact, surface. The upstanding fin, notwithstanding its name, does not stand directly in the path of fluid flow to produce the transverse force. Moreover, while the pool brush guide in the '413 patent utilizes a force surface
40
to directly impede and redirect fluid flow for producing a transverse force, this design may not impede water sufficiently to produce the required transverse force to remove tough dirt and debris. This is also true for the pivotally angled vents of the '576, '173, and '917 patents. With these prior art attachments and devices, an exceedingly arduous amount of downward force may be necessary to exert a proportionally useful transverse scrubbing force against the pool surface.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and cost-effective hydrodynamic attachment to a cleaning brush, particularly a pool brush, capable of exerting a transverse force on a brush portion of the cleaning brush against a submerged surface when the brush is moved in a downward motion, for effectively and adequately scrubbing the submerged surface.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hydrodynamic attachment to a pool brush which is fixedly secured to the pool brush without any moving parts.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a simple, one-piece hydrodynamic attachment to a pool brush which is light weight and extremely durable in operation.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved pool brush having a hydrodynamic attachment capable of exerting a transverse force on a brush portion of the pool brush against a submerged pool surface, for effectively and adequately scrubbing the submerged pool surface.
The present invention is for a hydrodynamic attachment for use with a pool brush of the type having an elongated pole with a handle end and a brush end, and a brush head connected to the elongated pole at the brush end. Furthermore, the pool brush has scrubbing means extending from the brush end for cleaning a target surface of a pool. The hydrodynamic attachment has a base fin adapted to be connected by fastening means to the pool brush at the brush end opposite the scrubbing means. Additionally, the attachment has an outer fin connected to the base fin to form a scoop pocket having a generally C-shaped cross-section. The scoop pocket is capable of temporally trapping water when the elongated pole is pushed in a downward motion. In this manner the brush head is urged toward the target surface of the pool. Furthermore, the present invention is for an improved pool brush incorporating the hydrodynamic attachment discussed above.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2243576 (1941-05-01), Otto
patent: 3402413 (1968-09-01), Gibellina
patent: 4637087 (1987-01-01), Feinberg
patent: 4733427 (1988-03-01), Conrad
patent: 4742592 (1988-05-01), Addona, Sr.
patent: 4783868 (1988-11-01), O'Callaghan
patent: 4909173 (1990-03-01), Strong
patent: 4962558 (1990-10-01), Harrell, Jr.
patent: 5539947 (1996-07-01), Kiraly
patent: 5864917 (1999-02-01), Landsman
patent: 5983431 (1999-11-01), Meshulan
Averill, Jr. Edgar W.
Spisich Mark
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