Abstract:
A pool filter bag for use with a pool cleaner comprising an enclosure formed of a flexible panel substantially water-permeable material having a water inlet opening adaptable to be fitted to the outlet of the pool cleaner for receiving water passing therefrom, a divider seam interconnecting portions of the enclosure material at the water inlet opening and extending from the water inlet opening interiorly of the enclosure to define a water flow chamber and a debris collection chamber, wherein the debris collection chamber includes exaggerated lateral expansion portions for improved water flow characteristics and increased volumetric collection of debris passing from the water flow chamber

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/765,822 filed Feb. 7, 2006 under 35 U.S.C. 119(e). The drawings and disclosure of U.S. Application 60/765,822 are hereby incorporated by reference as though set forth in full. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention generally relates to improvements in debris collection bags for use with pool cleaning devices and more particularly relates to an improved collection bag having lateral expansion portions.  
         [0004]     2. Related Art  
         [0005]     Residential and commercial swimming pools and spas include water filtration systems designed for removing dirt and debris from the pool water. Typically, filtration systems direct pool water through a cleaner, which holds a porous filter bag for trapping any sediment and debris, while discharging the filtered water.  
         [0006]     During a pool cleaning process, the pool water and debris flow from the cleaner outlet to a pool filter bag. In a typical bag, the debris often gets trapped at the narrow opening of bag obstructing further flow of the pool water and debris, and thus decreasing the bag capacity for the collection of the debris.  
         [0007]     Therefore, there remains a need in the art for an efficient pool vacuum filter bag that avoids accumulation of debris in undesired places and overcomes the significant problems found in the conventional systems described above.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     The present invention provides a pool filter bag for use with pool cleaners, which are commonly used to clean the bottom of swimming pools, spas and the like, and to remove debris therefrom. The invention provides a pool filter bag having expanded lateral portions, which substantially improves the debris filtering and collection performances.  
         [0009]     The inventive pool filter bag is adapted for use with a pool cleaner having a water discharge mast. The filter bag is constructed of a water-permeable bag material to an enclosure with a water inlet opening adaptable to be fitted to the mast or outlet of the pool cleaner for receiving water passing through it. The filter bag has a divider seam, which interconnects portions of the bag material extending from the water inlet opening to the interior the enclosure to provide for a water flow chamber and a debris collection chamber. The debris collection chamber has expanded lateral sides for the increased volumetric collection of debris passing from the water flow chamber. At the same time, the expansion sections also improve the flow of the water through the bag by allowing debris settlement at the debris collection chamber thereby reducing flow restriction through the water flow path.  
         [0010]     Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and operation, may be gleaned in part by study of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a partially expanded pool filter bag;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the pool filter bag;  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the partially expanded pool filter bag;  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a back view of the partially expanded pool filter bag;  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of a cutting template for the fabric for the pool filter bag;  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the pool filter bag;  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  is a plan view of a cutting template for the fabric for the alternative embodiment of the pool filter bag;  
         [0019]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of a clamp for securing the pool filter bag onto a pool cleaner mast; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 9  is an alternative clamp for securing the pool filter bag onto a pool cleaner mast. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the partially expanded pool filter bag generally indicated as  10 .  FIG. 2  is a side view of the pool filter bag  10 .  
         [0022]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the pool filter bag  10  is adaptable for use with a pool cleaner having a water discharge mast (not shown). The filter bag  10  comprises an enclosure, which is made of a flexible panel substantially constructed of a water-permeable material. To facilitate understanding of the present invention, references are made to the leading periphery  12 , the upper periphery  14 , trailing or rear periphery  16 , and the lower periphery  18  of the filter bag, as shown in the drawings.  
         [0023]     In the embodiment as shown, the filter bag  10  is formed of two similarly or substantially identically shaped layers of a mesh material arranged to overlay each other and sewn together by stitches or seams as will be described in more detail below. A stitch divider  20  is provided, which fastens the layers of the enclosure material extending from stitch joint  22  at a lower periphery of the filter bag to approximately mid-section of the enclosure and dividing the enclosure into a water flow chamber  30  and a debris collection chamber  40 .  
         [0024]     The filter bag  10  incorporates a collar  50  disposed at the lower periphery  18  of the filter bag  10  and having an inlet opening  52  to receive water flow from the pool cleaner (not shown). Collar  50  is selectively dimensioned to fit the discharge outlet or mast of the pool cleaner. Collar  50  comprises a generally rectangular panel material having an upper periphery  54 , a lower periphery  56  and two lateral end portions. The end portions are selectively fastened along the two end portions by stitches  58  to form a cylindrical collar and provide a collar tab  60 . Collar  50  can be securely fitted to the mast of a pool cleaner by using a clamp or a compression ring such as those shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . The tab portion  60  is formed to facilitate collar installation to the discharge mast of the pool cleaner. In the embodiments of the present invention, collar  50  is made of vinyl plastic material Other materials can be used, as known in the art.  
         [0025]     Collar  50  is attached to the filter bag  10  along its upper periphery  54  to the inlet opening  32  of the water flow chamber  30  with collar stitches  62 . In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , collar stitches  62  is run along the lower periphery  18  at the inlet opening  32  of the water flow chamber and meets at the stitch joint  22  where collar stitches  58  also meet.  
         [0026]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the water flow chamber  30  has an inflow opening  32  in fluid communication with collar  50 . The water flow chamber  30  has a top seam  28 , which forms an upper periphery of the water flow chamber  30 , which is also bordered by leading periphery  12  and the stitch divider  20 . The stitch divider  20  channels the debris-entrained water from the water flow chamber  30  to the debris collection chamber  40 . The debris collecting chamber  40  is defined by the top seam  28 , the stitch divider  20 , the trailing periphery  16  and the lower periphery  18  of filter bag  10 .  
         [0027]     As debris-entrained water passes from the pool cleaner through the collar  50  and the water flow chamber  30 , debris is trapped and collected in the debris collection chamber  40 . The debris collection chamber  40  is provided with exaggerated lateral portions or side pockets  62  for improved water flow performance and debris collection capacity. Each side pockets  62  has an upper surface  64  and a lower surface  66  as defined by a common ridge  68 , which is articulated to extend laterally outward to the sides of the filter bag, as shown in  FIGS. 1-4 .  
         [0028]     In the embodiments of the present invention, the side pockets  62  may assume a shape such as a cone, tetrahedron, ovoid, or other geometric shapes. The configuration and shape of the side pockets  62  can vary. In the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1-7 , for example, side pockets  62  are formed by providing extra fabric materials in the upper surfaces  64  and lower surfaces  66 . The use of such extra fabric materials is illustrated in  FIG. 5  where the filter bag panel material  70  is formed substantially of a symmetric pattern with side portions  72  and  74 . These side portions further incorporate extended lower peripheral portions  76  and  78  selectively dimensioned and configured to provide for the exaggerated lateral side portions of the debris collection chamber.  
         [0029]      FIG. 5  is a top view of a flat cutting template for the fabric material  70  of the embodiment of the pool filter bag as referenced above. In the illustrated embodiment, the water flow chamber  30  and the debris collecting chamber  40  are formed from a fabric panel cut along the side edges of the template. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the fabric panel  70  has left panel portion  72  and right panel portion  74 . The left panel portion  72  and right panel portion  74  each have extended lateral portions  76  and  78  respectively. The left panel and right panel portions are generally symmetric about a median line  80  connecting points  92  and  93  on the panel. The left and right panel portions are cut along various edge configurations. For the left panel  72 , top edge  82 L extends in a curvilinear fashion from the median line  80  to an upper corner  94 L where it extends as edge  84 L to a lower corner  95 L. From this corner, the extended lateral left portion  76  is formed and defined by the side edge  86 L, between corners  95 L and  96 L, and edge  88 L between corners  96 L and  97 L. From corner  97 L, the lower periphery  18  of the filter bag  10  is formed by cutting along line  90 L.  
         [0030]     The right side panel is cut in a similar fashion. Top edge  82 R extends in a curvilinear fashion from point  93  on the median line  80  to an upper corner  94 R where it drops as an edge  84 R to a lower corner  95 R. From this corner, the extended lateral right portion  78  is formed and defined by the side edge  86 R, between corners  95 R and  96 R, and side edge  88 R between corners  96 R and  97 R. Likewise, the cut along line  90 R forms the lower periphery  18  of the filter bag  10 .  
         [0031]     In construction, the fabric panel  70  is folded along median line  80  whereby one of the side panels is layered over the other side portion panel. In this arrangement, edges  82 L and  82 R are aligned and sewn together (where points  93 ,  94 L and  94 R are now aligned), which forms the leading edge  12  extending from a lower corner  24  to the upper rear corner  25  of the filter bag  10 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . Similarly, side edges  88 L and  88 R are aligned and sewn together. The extended portions  76  and  78  are then collected and tucked such that side edge  86 L is aligned with side edge  84 L, both of which are then stitched together. In a similar fashion side edge  86 R is aligned with and stitched to side edge  84 R. These stitches extend from corners  95 L and  95 R respectively along the line edges  84 L and  84 R to meet at the stitch joint  22  as shown in  FIG. 1  and  4 . As applied, the extended side portions  76  and  78  are urged to bulge, providing the extra volume for debris collection in the exaggerated side pockets.  
         [0032]     Between stitch joint  22  and the leading edge  12 , an opening is formed to accommodate collar  50 . The edges are selectively dimensioned such that collar  50  is fitted between the edge fabric of  84 L and  86 R to ensure that debris-entrained water entering inlet  52  of the collar will be directed to the water flow chamber only and without escape. Collar  50  is placed and secured to the panel materials to the edges by stitches or other suitable means.  
         [0033]     For improved fluid flow and debris collection performance, lengths of stitches or spines  67  are selectively applied onto the surfaces of the side pockets. Spines  67  increase the stiffness of the panel material on the side pockets  62 , which articulate the expansion side pockets laterally and define the shape of the side pockets in application. As shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the lengths of stitches or spines  67  extend from joint  22  rearwardly along the lateral sides of the debris collecting chamber  40  and end at tips  69 . In one construction of the embodiment, the exaggerated side portions forms a pair of wing pockets The stitching is done during the manufacture of the filter bag where the fabric material is collected and sewn together. As will be discussed in more detail below, in an alternative embodiment of the present invention, stitches  67  may extend from the lower periphery  18  to the top periphery  18  along the fabric surfaces of the collection chamber  40 . Instead stitching, the expansion seams can also be formed by thermally treating each of the sides of the debris collecting chamber  40  until a pouch is formed on each side of the chamber  40 .  
         [0034]     A closure  103  on the trailing periphery  16  of the filter bag is fastened to the filter bag  10  along peripheral edge portions  88 L and  88 R of the panel material to enable access to the interior of the filter bag. Closure  103  extends from the top rear corner to the lower rear corner of the rear peripheral. Closure  103  can be constructed of hook-and-loop-type material to facilitate easy access to the interior of the filter bag. An example of the hook-and-loop-type material is a Velcro® material. A strip of Velcro® material can be affixed to the opposite internal sides of the closure  103 . When the Velcro™ strips, are brought together, they are connected to engage with each other to form the relatively firm. For access to the interior portion of the enclosure, the strips are pulled away from each other to allow for an easy access to the interior of the bag  10  and removal of debris from it.  
         [0035]     As provided above, collar  50  is adapted to be coupled to the mast of the pool cleaner to enable fluid communication between the water discharge and the water flow chamber  30 . From the pool cleaner, water carrying the debris flows into the water flow chamber  30 . As the inflow passes though the water flow chamber  30  into the debris collection chamber  40 , the sides of the debris collection chamber  40  expand due to the water flow and the settling of the debris. This causes the side pockets  62  to expand while the debris is disbursed. With increased filtering surfaces provided to the side pockets, fluid flow through the fabric material is reduced in speed whereby the debris carried by the water is settled easily toward the lower and side portions of the debris collection chamber  40  while filtered water can pass through the bag material with reduced instances of obstruction.  
         [0036]      FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment first described above, and like reference numerals have been used for like parts. In this embodiment, added material is provided to the filter bag  110  for the expansion side pockets, which further increases their debris collection capacity. Instead of providing a spine or length of stitches to pre-shape the side pockets, the surface contour of filter bag  100  is free to accommodate the flow condition, which may change due to the speed, volume and the content of the water flow. In the alternative embodiment, the lower periphery of the filter bag  110  is selectively dimensioned and sewn to maximize the debris collection capacity.  
         [0037]     As in the embodiment first described above, the filter bag  110  of this alternative embodiment is formed of two substantially identically shaped layers of a mesh material as shown by the exemplary fabric shown in  FIG. 7 . A stitch divider  20  is provided, which fastens the layers of the enclosure material extending from stitch joint  22  at a lower periphery of the filter bag to approximately mid-section of the enclosure and dividing the enclosure into a water flow chamber  30  and a debris collection chamber  40 .  
         [0038]     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the fabric panel  70  has left panel portion  72  and right panel portion  74 . The left panel portion  72  and right panel portion  74  have extended lateral portions  76  and  78  respectively. In the embodiment of  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the extended lateral portions  76  and  78  are provided with additional fabric material.  
         [0039]     In construction, the fabric panel  70  is folded along median line  80  whereby one of the side portion panels is layered on the other side portion. In this arrangement, edges  82 L and  82 R are aligned and sewn to form the leading edge extending from location  24  to the upper rear corner  25  as shown in  FIG. 6 . Similarly, side edges  86 L,  86 R,  88 L and  88 R are aligned and sewn together such that corners  95 L,  95 R,  97 L and  97 R form the stitch joint  22 . The extended portions  76  and  78  are then collected and tucked such that side edge  89 L is aligned and stitched together with side edge  89 R. As applied, the extended side portions  76  and  78  are articulated to bulge, providing the extra volume in the exaggerated side pockets. As in the first embodiment, a collar  50  is affixed to the opening defined by edges  84 L and  84 R and closure material is provided on the rear edge portions of the filter bag for emptying the debris collected.  
         [0040]     In the alternative embodiment, the peripheral edges of the fabric panels can be selectively dimensioned to provide various capacities for the flow performance and debris collection while the filter bag is both aesthetically pleasing and easy to produce. For example, edges  86 L ( 86 R) and edges  88 L ( 88 R) are approximately in length, which provides a simplistic appearance in construction. By changing the lengths of lines  86 L(R),  88  L(R),  89  L(R) and  90  L(R), one can provide for different shapes and volumes for the filter bag.  
         [0041]     Optionally lengths of stitches can be provided from the lower periphery of the filter bag toward the upper rear corner of the filter bag  110 , providing a diagonal spine to articulate the surface contour of the expansion pockets. The diagonal spine can generally follows the imaginary line  110  as shown in  FIG. 7 , which approximates the orientation of the ridge  106  as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0042]     In application, the filter bag of the present invention can be mounted onto the discharge outlet or mast of the pool cleaner.  FIGS. 8 and 9  shows two examples of clamps which can be used to secure the collar  50  to the mast (not shown). Each of the exemplary clamps comprises a flexible strip of material, either pre-stressed or spring-loaded for the application of force to the collar.  
         [0043]     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the clamp  120  comprises a strip of spring-like material which is shaped in the form of a prong having opposite wavering sections. Clamp  120  has a bridge  122  for use as a handle. The wavering sections include two pairs of opposite arcuate sections  124  and  128 , each of which defines the spaces  129  and  131  respectively. Spaces  129  and  131  are different in sizes to accommodate the dimensions (diameters) of the pool cleaner mast. At the distal portions  130  of the clamp, the strip material is open to facilitate the seating of the clamp against the collar when installed on the pool cleaner mast. Depending on its dimension, the mast can be fitted in either space  129  or  131  and secured by the spring-loaded clamp. Distal portions  130  is spaced apart in close proximity to ensure that the clamp will not be dislodged easily from the collar once installed.  
         [0044]      FIG. 9  shows a variation of the clamping device, which can also be used to secure the filter bag onto the mast. Clamp  140  comprises a clip, which is constructed of a strip of spring-loaded material. Clamp  140  includes pair of opposite spaced-apart arms defining a space where the collar and the mast can be fined. The arms have distal end portions  142  having restrictions  144  to facilitate the seating of the clamp against the collar when installed on the pool cleaner mast.  
         [0045]     As previously described, in the embodiments of the present invention, the filter bag comprises exaggerated side portions or side pockets, which provide improved filtering performance and debris collection capacity. The description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, the porous material can be substantially porous or just partially porous. The examples of the porous materials include a variety of permeable materials and fabrics, such as, mesh materials, plastic materials with openings, woven fabrics, etc. Moreover, the debris collecting chamber (especially the bottom of the chamber) does not have to be made out of the porous material. For example, the bottom of the chamber can be made out of a non-porous or even non-permeable material. In the embodiments of the present invention, the filter bags (excluding the collar  50 ) are selectively constructed from a one-piece construction. Alternatively to the one-piece construction, the filter bag can be formed from a plurality of fabric panels stitched, molded or fused together to form the shapes and configurations substantially similar to those of the template depicted in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 7 .  
         [0046]     Thus, it is to be understood that the description and drawings presented herein represent a presently preferred embodiment of the invention and are therefore representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention. It is further understood that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments that may become obvious to those skilled in the art and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly limited by nothing other than the appended claims.