Patent ID: 6298513
Filing Date: 2001-10-09
Classification: E04H

Abstract:
In a pool cleaning apparatus for automatically cleaning a pool's underwater surfaces, the pool cleaning apparatus including (a) a cleaning head having an opening adapted for releasable engagement with the surface to be cleaned; (b) a pair of suction tubes connected to the cleaning head; (c) a passageway connecting the opening to the pair of suction tubes; (d) a flapper valve within the passageway and adapted for reciprocation between the pair of suction tubes for alternately transferring in flowing liquid to one or the other of the suction tubes, the flapper valve having an upstream end spaced from the opening and a downstream end adjacent to the suction tubes, the passageway having an upstream portion extending from the opening to the upstream end of the flapper valve and the flapper valve having a thickness, the improvement comprising:the downstream end of the flapper valve is hingedly connected to the cleaner head at a position between the suction tubes; andthe upstream portion of the passageway is substantially unrestricted in that along its entire length between the opening and the upstream end of the flapper valve, the upstream portion has a width greater than the thickness of the flapper valve,whereby debris of substantial size freely enters and is removed by the pool cleaning apparatus.