Abstract:
A pool cleaner debris bag comprising a body having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end coupled to the pool cleaner to receive debris from the pool ejected by the cleaner into the bag, and a float positioned in the bag.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to the field of automatic swimming pool cleaners, and in particular to a bag designed to collect the refuse and debris from the pool cleaner during operation of the unit. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Automatic swimming pool cleaners for cleaning the floor and sidewalls of a swimming pool are well known. 
     There are generally four types of pool cleaners in the pool cleaning market: pressure or return side cleaners; suction cleaners; electric cleaners and in-floor cleaners. 
     Pressure or return side cleaners use a debris bag to collect debris in the pool. Water from a pump is fed into the cleaner to sweep and collect debris into the bag carried by the cleaner. This means that the bag itself has a weight, buoyancy, and a weight factor that changes when debris is collected in the bag. The cleaner must be able to traverse the entire pool without being toppled. Weight is added to the bag when debris is collected in the bag, changing the weight of the bag as the cleaner moves in the pool. In addition, when empty the bag may topple over to one side, and various methods of attaching the bag to the water supply have heretofore been used to ensure the bag remains upright so as not to impair performance of the cleaner. 
     In a pressure cleaner, the influx of water into the cleaner affects the manner in which the cleaner acts under water. The buoyancy of objects is also a significant consideration in developing pressure cleaners and is affected by the component in the cleaner and the water inflow and action of the water within the cleaner. 
     One particular type of known automatic pressure cleaner having four wheels is shown and described in co-pending U.S. Patent Ser. No. 08/741,957, and another three-wheel version in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,822,754, 3,936,899, and 4,558,479. 
     FIG. 1 shows, by way of example, a first embodiment of an automatic swimming pool cleaner  10 , such as that shown in U.S. Ser. No. 08/741,957, suitable for use with the present invention. Cleaner  10  includes a frame  12  on which a housing, consisting of an upper housing shell  14  and a lower housing shell  16 , is mounted. An open suction mast  18  for vacuuming debris from beneath the cleaner  10  extends through an opening  20 , generally in the middle of the upper housing shell  14 , and a collection bag  22  is attached to the suction mast, over a flapper valve  24  positioned on the upper end of the suction mast, to collect the debris. A pair of opposing jets, located inside the suction mast  18  near its inlet at the bottom of the cleaner  10 , induce a flow of water upwardly through the suction mast and into the collection bag  22  in well-known manner. When the cleaner  10  is operating, the force of the water pushes open the flapper valve  24 ; when the cleaner ceases operating, the flapper valve closes by virtue of gravity to keep the debris in the collection bag  22  from failing back into the swimming pool through the open suction mast  18 . 
     Although not shown in FIG. 1, the bag  22  may be coupled to line  32  by a loop of material in order to keep the bag in the position generally shown in FIG.  1 . Nevertheless, the bag may still have a tendency to flop over to one side or another. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved debris bag adapted for submerged travel in a pool with a pool cleaner. The present invention fulfills these and other needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly, and in general terms, the invention comprises a pool cleaner debris bag comprising a body having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end coupled to the pool cleaner to receive debris from the pool ejected by the cleaner into the bag, and a float positioned in the bag. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be described with respect to the particular embodiments thereof. Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent with reference to the specification and drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an automatic swimming pool cleaner of the present invention, with a portion of the collection bag shown in phantom for purposes of illustration. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of a bag in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bag of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 2 shows a plan view and FIG. 3 a perspective view of a debris bag in accordance with the present invention. Bag  100  is substantially constructed of a porous material  110  which is chosen such that it is sufficiently porous to allow water or other liquid to pass therethrough relatively easily, while restricting the flow of most debris collected by pool sweeps and pool cleaners. The main portion of pool sweep bag  110  is constructed of a single piece of porous material  110  which is folded along the left side  112  and seamed and sewn together to form a vertical form  113  along right side  114 . It should be noted that vertical seam  114  could be constructed to allow opening or closing thereof, however in this embodiment, vertical seam  114  is sewn and horizontal seam  120  constructed with velcro closures to allow opening thereof to remove debris. 
     Seam  120  is positioned at a top portion  122  of pool bag  100 . Seam  120  is constructed by utilizing a velcro hook-type material or equivalent and a velcro loop-like material or equivalent to facilitate opening and closing thereof. Top portion  120  includes a strap  124  positioned to allow an individual to remove bag  100  from the pool sweep or cleaner by simply inserting a finger through the strap  124  and lifting. At bottom portion  130 , a snout portion  132  is provided. A bottom seam  134  is shown in FIG. 2 constructed of a folded, sewn layer of the porous material. In FIG. 3, snout portion  132  is shown as mounted in a coupling  140  to allow bag  100  to be easily coupled to and decoupled from the pool sweep or pool cleaner. 
     Also shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, is a float unit  150  secured adjacent to the top portion  120  and left side  112  of bag  100 . Bag  100  may optionally include a second loop  142  to allow the bag to be coupled to the feed hose  32  of the cleaner such as that shown in FIG.  1 . In one embodiment, float  150  is secured to bag  100  by a loop of suitable waterproof material  152  (such as plastic) which is itself sewn into seam  122  at upper portion  120  of bag  100 . Float  150  may be comprised of any suitably buoyant material, or constructed as an air-filled float, in accordance with the present invention. In one embodiment, a particularly desirable float material comprises a closed-cell foam material which has a buoyance sufficient to support bag  100  under water in pool cleaning applications. In general, left side  112  comprises the portion of the bag which is furthest away from feed hose  32  and therefore not secured thereto. In alternative embodiments, the float may be positioned at alternative locations in the bag, depending on the shape of the bag and construction of the cleaner. It should be recognized that it would be relatively easy to empirically determine optimal placement of the float in the bag depending upon the shape of the bag and the manner in which the bag is coupled to the cleaner. All such various embodiments utilizing a buoyant float within a debris bag are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention. The various alternative types of bags and the number of placements which might occur therein are well too numerous to enumerate. 
     In addition, innumerable materials may be utilized as the float material of float  150 . A closed-cell material is desirable since it can be punctured as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 by a securing strap  152  without generally affecting the buoyancy of float  150 . However, any number of suitable buoyant materials may be utilized so long as the buoyancy is sufficient to support the weight of the bag under water. Moreover, the size of the float may vary in accordance with the particular application, and again is easily empirically determined. All such various embodiments are contemplated as being within the scope of the present invention. 
     While the foregoing description of the invention has been shown as an exemplary embodiment using specific terms, the description is presented for illustrative purposes and it is Applicant&#39;s intention that changes and variations may be made without departure from the spirit or scope of the following claims.