Illumination – Light source and modifier – Condition responsive
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-27
2001-03-27
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Light source and modifier
Condition responsive
C362S089000, C362S091000, C362S158000, C362S223000, C362S399000, C362S109000, C015S001700, C015S324000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06206547
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
The invention relates to a light source for submersible swimming pool cleaners.
BACKGROUND
Swimming pool cleaners equipped with an electric power supply for operating the drive motor and/or pump(s) have been used to clean pools for decades. However, it has not been the practice to equip such pool cleaners with a light source to illuminate the surface being cleaned or areas remote from the moving cleaner. It would be desirable to provide a source of light that illuminates the whole pool and to provide illumination visible from areas such as the pool deck or patio adjacent the pool.
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an automatic pool cleaner with a light source that will illuminate the pool.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a light-emitting handle for a pool cleaner that provides a high-level of illumination by employing one or more electric light sources that are located above the top of the cleaner's housing and can transmit light in a 360° pattern about the axis of the handle.
A further object of the invention is to provide light source on an automatic pool cleaner as a safety feature that will alert potential bathers that the electrically-powered appliance is operating in the pool.
Another object of the invention to provide an electrically powered light-emitting handle that is shock and impact resistant and safe to operate in a pool that may be occupied by swimmers and bathers.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a light-emitting handle as either original equipment or as a replacement part, that is of rugged construction and that can be economically manufactured for use on a variety of different models of powered pool cleaners.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a method of providing a moving source of submerged light for illuminating the interior of a swimming pool during hours of darkness.
A further object of the invention is to provide a light-emitting element that comprises a replacement part for existing handle assemblies of the type that are attached to the opposite sides of the pool cleaner housing of pool cleaners that are presently being used in the art.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a source of illumination that can be removed from, and activated independently of the pool cleaning apparatus to illuminate the submerged area of a pool.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
As most broadly contemplated, the above objects and additional advantages are realized by the invention which comprises an electrically-powered light source that is securely mounted on, or above the exterior of the housing of a swimming pool cleaner so that the light source illuminates a generally spherical space above and 360° around the pool cleaner. The light source is contained in a transparent hollow receptacle fabricated from an impact-resistant, rigid, light transmitting material. The hollow receptacle has at least one opening providing access to it interior. The electrically-powered light source, comprised of one or more lamps, is secured in the interior of the receptacle and appropriate conductors, e.g. wires, are attached to the light source, as through a socket and/or any other necessary electronic circuitry or devices required to provide the requisite power to the lamps. The free ends of the conductors extend outside of the receptacle. The receptacle is then sealed to make it water-tight, the conductor extending through the seal. The receptacle containing the light source is then secured to the pool cleaner housing and the free ends of the conductors are connected, e.g., via a quick-release plug located on the interior of the housing to a source of power, so that when the pool cleaner is activated, the light source is illuminated.
In an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, a handle for a pool cleaner is provided in which the handle's horizonal griping member comprises a transparent or translucent annular tube in which is axially mounted an electrically-powered light source, the ends of the tube being provided with a waterproof seal where they are joined to the handle brackets. In a preferred embodiment, the tube is transparent and is fabricated from a polymer that has high impact resistance and that is also resistant to UV discoloration and to the degradation by water treatment chemicals customarily employed in swimming pools.
The light source can be one or more lamps or bulbs, preferably of a tubular configuration, since that shape will provide the maximum illumination along the length of the tube of the handle, and also will permit a plurality of light sources to be assembled in a generally parallel array along the interior of the tube. In a further preferred embodiment, the light source is comprised of an array of fluorescent tubes of the folded type that have a socket at one end, the opposite ends being free. The free ends are supported by a resilient or other shock-absorbing material that is secured in the interior of the transparent tube.
The power supply for the light source is conveniently obtained by tapping a separate conductive feed from a pump or motor on the interior of the pool cleaner's housing, and passing the conductor through the housing and the handle's mounting bracket to the interior of the tube where it is connected directly to the lamp socket, or optionally, through a transformer or other electronic voltage control device. In the embodiment employing fluorescent tubes, the low voltage (usually 12 volts) used to power the motor and/or pump(s) will have to be increased to power the fluorescent lights. The electrical conductors or wires can be conveniently sealed in place with a pliable waterproof epoxy or other self-hardening polymeric compound that is pressed into the open ends of the tube to provide the waterproof seal. Alternatively, molded plastic or synthetic rubber seals can be fitted into one or both ends of the transparent tube, and either sealed permanently in place, or made removable so that the components on the interior of the tube can be accessed for servicing.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the sections of the transparent tube that are not immediately adjacent to the light source are lined, coated, covered, or otherwise masked with an opaque material so that the various elements in the interior of the transparent tube, other than the light source, are not readily visible through the transparent tube.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2640146 (1953-05-01), Smith
patent: 5197797 (1993-03-01), Jaksich
patent: 5351355 (1994-10-01), Chiniara
patent: 5450299 (1995-09-01), Lepre
patent: 5775797 (1998-07-01), Henstra
Abelman ,Frayne & Schwab
Aqua Products Inc.
O'Shea Sandra
Zeade Ben Fraud
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