US3039122A - Hydraulic suction head for cleaning water reservoirs - Google Patents

Description

June 19, 1962 c. E. BIRDSALL 3,039,122

HYDRAULIC SUCTION HEAD FOR CLEANING WATER RESERVOIRS Filed May 16, 1960 1 N VE NTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,039,122 HYDRAULKC SUCTION HEAD FOR CLEANING WATER RESERVOIRS Clarence E. Birdsall, Rte. 2, Box 2747, Loomis, Calif.

Filed May 16, 1960, Ser. No. 29,526 1 Claim. (Cl. 15-1.7)

This invention is directed to, and it is a major object to provide, a novel hydraulic suction head for cleaning under-water surfaces--such 'as the botto. of a water reservoir, and which may be a swimming pool, settling tank, or the like.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a hydraulic suction head which includes an internally mounted but depending brush adapted to sweep the underwater surface being cleaned; the head being formed so that the brush is not disposed in the infiowing water, and which would tend to clog such brush with dirt, algae, debris, etc. carried by such infiowing water.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a practical, reliable, and durable hydraulic suction head for cleaning water reservoir, and one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claim.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the hydraulic suction head.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevation, mainly in section and partly broken away.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross section on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

Referring now more particularly to th drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, the novel hydraulic suction head comprises an elongated, downwardly opening, transversely extending suction housing, indicated generally at 1; such housing, which is closed at the ends, including a front wall 2, a rear Wall 3, a central top portion 4, and outwardly and downwardly sloping top portions 5 which extend from the central top portion 4 to the ends of said housing 1.

At the ends thereof the suction housing 1 is formed with upstanding cages 6, each having a wheel 7 journaled therein; the wheels 7 extending below the cages 6 for engagement with the under-water surface being cleaned. Such wheels also support the suction housing 1 so that the open bottom thereof runs adjacent but in clearance relation to such surface.

An elongated handle 8 extends at an upward and rearward angle from the back of the suction housing 1 centrally of its ends; such handle being adjustably secured between transversely spaced quadrants 9 fixed on and projecting from the rear wall 3.

An elongated, inverted, U-shaped channel 10' extends in the suction housing 1 from end to end thereof and in symmetrically spaced relation between the front wall 2 and rear wall 3; such downwardly opening channel terminating at the bottom in the same horizontal plane as the bottom of the suction housing 1.

The U-shaped channel 10 is of constant height from end to end thereof, and the end portions of such channel extend through the downwardly and outwardly inclined sloping portions 5 of the suction housing 1, as clearly shown in FIG. 1. The adjacent wall of the wheel cages 6 form end closures for both the housing 1 and the channel 10all in rigid unitary relation.

As the U-shaped channel It is much narrower from wall to wall in a front to rear direction than the housing 1, and as such channel 10 occupies. a symmetrical position in such housing, there is formed-in the latter-intake throats 11 on both sides of said channel. Additionally, the height of channel 10 is less than the maximum height of housing 1 so that the throats 11 merge above channel 10 below the central top portion 4 of said housing. A

5 neck 12 is mounted on and upstands from such central top portion 4 of the housing 1, being in communication with the latter and serving the purpose hereinafter described.

A relatively thin but full-length bristle brush 13 is disposed in the channel 10, the brush including a longitudinal supporting rigid back 14 in which the bristles at their upper ends are clamped, and which is considerably narrower than the channel 10, as clearly shown in FIG. 3. This back above the bristles provides a longitudinal passage for the reception of a horizontal rod 15 in fitting and transversely swingable relation, and which rod extends in the channel 10 from end to end thereof adjacent but short of its top. The rod 15 slidably projects through and is supported adjacent its ends in the ends of the channel 10 and the housing 1, as shown in FIG. 2, so that said rod may be readily engaged and withdrawn from the brush by longitudinal movement of the rod in one direction. The brush is thus removably mounted for to and fro swinging movement in channelltl, and such brush is dimensioned so that it depends below the bottom of the housing 1 a distance sufiicient to ride on and sweep the under-water surface 16 being cleaned.

When the suction head is being drawn in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3, the brush occupies the position shown in such figure, but when the head is reversed and moved in. the other direction, the brush likewise reverses in its position. In other words, the brush always engages the under-water surface 16 with a dragging and thus most effective sweeping action.

A debris trap, indicated generally at 17, is disposed directly above the neck 12, and such trap includes a cylindrical container 18 having a top 19 and a bottom 20. The container 18 is threaded to the bottom 20 as shown, and to the end that such container 18 may be detached for the purpose of cleaning out debris which accumulates therein.

A vertical tube 21 extends centrally through the bottom 20, projecting both above and below the same. The downwardly projecting portion of the tube 21 is threaded into the neck 12, while the upwardly projecting portion of said tube terminates at its upper end in container 18 a substantial distance from the top 19.

Within the container 18 the upwardly projecting portion of tube 21 is fitted with an umbrella grid, indicated at 22. The umbrella grid .22 comprises a plurality of inverted, substantially half-circle deflector fingers 23 fixed at their inner ends to a common center point 2.4. From the center point 24 the deflector fingers 2&3 radiate a distance greater than the radius of neck 12 and certain of such fingers terminate above the upper end of said tube 21. However, a number of the fingers include downwardly extending shanks 25 which are fixed at their lower ends to the outside of the tube 21 so as to support the umbrella grid 22.

The top 19 of the debris trap 17 is formed with an upstanding neck 26 which communicates with the interior of container 18. The neck :26 is coupled to a hydraulic suction hose 27 by means of a fitting 28. The suction hose 27 leads to, and is connected with, a suction pump (not shown).

In use of the above described hydraulic suction head it is worked back and forth on the under-water surface 16 by means of the handle 8, and during such operation water is drawn into and flows upwardly through the intake throats 11, thence passes into the central part of the housing 1 directly below the top portion 4, and next flows upwardly through neck '12 and tube 21 into the debris trap 17. As the water so flows, dirt, algae, and other debris, as swept from the surface 16 by the brush 16, is entrained in and carried with such Water into the debris trap 17, and from whence the water is drawn out through the suction hose 27.

As the water passes through the debris trap 17, any rocks, metallic pieces, or the like which are of a size to cause possible damage to the suction pump are caught by the untbrella grid 22' and deflected downwardly in the container 18, coming to rest on the bottom 20; this for the reason that the velocity in the container 18 is less than in the hose 27.

:By reason of the fact that the brush 13 is carried in the channel 10, and through which no water flows, the chance of the brush 13 being fouled with dirt, algae, or debris is greatly minimized; substantially all of such maerial being carried aboutor flowing upwardly outside of the channel in the intake throats 1-1.

The described suction head provides a very eflioient device for the cleaning of an under-water surface in a reservoir, and a device which can be readily and conveniently manipulated by the operator standing at the edge of the reservoir and working the suction head by means of the elognated handle 8. Further, the debris trap 17 has substantial utility as a safety device to prevent suction pump damage.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as will substantially fulfill the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do 4 not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired: r

A suction head comprising an elongated downwardly opening suction housing, said housing being closed at its ends and having front and rear walls, a central horizontal top wall portion and outwardly and downwardly inclined top wall portions extending between the central portion and said ends, a suction conduit connected in communication with said central top wall portion, and an elongated downwardly opening straight-topped brush-containing channel mounted in the housing intermediate the front and rear walls and in spaced relation thereto; the top of the channel being spaced below the central top portion of the housing but above the lower ends of said inclined top wall portions, and the end portions of the channel extending to the ends of the housing through the corresponding inclined top wall portions of the housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 928,982 Kindel July 27, 1909 1,099,560 Matchette June 9, 1914 1,363,860 Fetters et al Dec. 28, 1920 1,516,359 Tideman Nov. 18, 1924 1,884,044 'Martinet Oct. 25, 1932 1,970,290 Ernzer Aug. 14, 1934 1,971,493 Leathers Aug. 28, 1934 2,141,811 Everson Dec. 27, 1938 2,617,138 Brown et al Nov. 11, 1952 2,669,358 Young Feb. 16, 1954 2,900,084 Zabel Aug. 18, 1959

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