Abstract:
The present invention describes an apparatus and teaches a method for removing particulate matter from a plurality of vessels. Examples of these vessels include aquariums, spas, fountains and pools. An ordinary hand held power drill motor is connected via a drill motor pump to a pick-up head containing a pair of hoses. Upon activation, a first hose applies suction to the pick-up head drawing both water and particulate into a chamber. The water continues through to a pump mounted in a housing, through the pump and out the discharge hose while the particulate is trapped within the chamber by a filter for later removal.

Description:
This non-provisional utility patent application claims the benefit of provisional application No. 60/646,179 filed Jan. 24, 2005. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
     The subject of this invention relates to the cleaning of large particulates from ponds, pools, aquariums and the like. More specifically, the disclosed invention teaches a novel portable, drill operated suction device that can be configured to clean large particulates from a number of small to medium sized vessels. The disclosed invention may be powered by an ordinary hand-held drill motor, either AC or battery operated. While the primary use of the disclosed invention is removal of particulates from spas, a series of interchangeable wands permits the device to be used for cleaning other vessels such as aquariums. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Ponds, pools, spas (or the more modern term “hot tubs”) and aquariums have been in use for millennia. From the earliest recorded history to the present, humans have enjoyed the presence of water and the environments that are associated with water. Vessels of varying size from very small to very large have been used for a wide range of aesthetic and utilitarian purposes. 
     One problem has plagued vessels of all sizes: keeping particulates out of the water contained. The problem is worse for outdoor, unprotected vessels such as pools or hot tubs, but even indoor installations such as aquariums or fountains suffer from particulate contamination. Keeping these particulates out of the vessel is an ongoing and difficult proposition. 
     Contemporary solutions for cleaning some of the vessel types exist. For example, there are numerous examples of pool cleaners; some are automatic and some are manual, but all work on generally the same principle. Regardless of the exact implementation, all share a common need for connection to some source of motive power and each contains a filter/trap combination to capture the particulates. Solutions for other vessel types exist as well, for example spa cleaners. These also require some source of motive power and use the filter/trap cleaning methodology. 
     Aquariums present a special case since the gravel that lines the bottom of many aquariums appear as particulate matter to many vacuum type cleaning systems. The problem is compounded by restricted space and the presence of aquatic species. Existing methods include pump and filter mechanisms and others, but are useful only for aquariums and the walls forming the vessel. 
     What would be desirable would be a method and apparatus that was adaptable to all vessel types. Further, it would be desirable that the device be portable, contain its own source of power, and be easy to use and to configure. The present invention provides these and other advantages as discussed in detail below. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention describes an apparatus and teaches a method for removing particulate matter from a plurality of vessels. Examples of these vessels include aquariums, spas, fountains and pools. An ordinary hand held power drill motor is connected via a drill motor pump to a pick-up head containing a pair of hoses. Upon activation, a first hose applies suction to the pick-up head drawing both water and particulate into a chamber. The water continues through to a pump mounted in a housing, through the pump and out the discharge hose while the particulate is trapped within the chamber by a filter for later removal. 
     The apparatus of the present invention is comprised of a commonly available hand held electric drill motor, a pump housing unit containing a pump connected to the drill motor by a flexible drive shaft, and a plurality of different interchangeable wand units. Both battery operated and AC connected hand drills may be used. The chuck of the drill motor is connected to the flexible drive shaft in the customary manner. The flexible drive shaft is in turn connected to the load shaft of the pump by means of a collar and set screw. 
     Various special purpose wands may be attached to the control unit. Each of the wands contains a multi-chambered pick-up head and an extension. The length of the extension is dependent upon the purpose of the wand. By way of example, but not meant as a limitation, a relatively short extension of 12 inches may be used to clean the particulate from a fountain or aquarium while a 36 inch extension may be used to clean the particulate from the bottom of a spa. 
     The pick-up head is comprised of two chambers: a removable lower chamber and an upper fixed chamber. The lower removable chamber has an inlet valve that operates in a manner that allows particulate matter to be sucked in through an opening in one end of the lower chamber when suction is applied at the opposite end of the lower chamber. When suction is not present the valve closes, trapping the particulate within the lower chamber. 
     The upper fixed chamber is comprised of two sub-chambers separated by a baffle. The input sub-chamber has a filter at one end and a suction port disposed on the baffle at the opposite end. A suction hose completely fills the suction port such that under suction conditions water is drawn into the lower sub-chamber via the filter and into the suction hose. The upper sub-chamber is comprised of the opposite side of the baffle on one end and two hose ports on the opposite end. One hose port is used as a suction hose, with the hose transiting the upper sub-baffle and entering the suction port on the baffle. The other hose port is used to accommodate the discharge hose. The upper sub-chamber also has a discharge port disposed on the circumference of the upper sub-chamber wall above the baffle. 
     In operation the method of the present invention applies suction to the suction hose when the user activates the trigger mechanism of the drill motor. The source of the suction is the pump contained within the housing. The suction causes the inlet valve on one end of the lower sub-chamber to open allowing water to be drawn into the lower sub-chamber of the pick-up head. Any particulate matter proximate to the pick-up head will be pulled into the lower sub-chamber and will attempt to enter the suction hose. However, the filter attached to one end of the upper sub-chamber will allow water to pass but will block the particulate matter, thereby trapping the particulate matter inside the lower sub-chamber. 
     The water drawn in through the inlet valve transits the suction hose to the inlet side of the pump contained within the pump housing unit. The pump operates in the conventional manner causing the water to be discharged on the outlet side of the pump. A discharge hose carries the water from the outlet side of the pump to the upper sub-chamber of the pick-up head. Once the water enters the upper sub-chamber it exits via the discharge port disposed on the wall of the upper sub-chamber. 
     The method and apparatus of the present invention offer several advantages over the prior art. Among these are multiple uses, ease of operation and portability. As well as these advantages, the present invention has other advantages discussed in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and figures attached. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1 : is a view of one embodiment of the present invention configured for use in cleaning particulates from a spa. 
         FIG. 2 : provides details of the pick-up head and particulate matter trap mechanism of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3 : provides the details of the hand held pump housing unit of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4 : shows the detail of the pick-up head during cleaning operation of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5 : shows the removal of the lower sub-chamber of the present invention with particulate trapped after a typical cleaning operation. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As described briefly above, the apparatus of the present invention is comprised of a common drill motor, a pump housing unit and a pick-up head connected to the pump housing unit by a wand of varying length.  FIG. 1  shows one embodiment  10  of the apparatus suited for cleaning spas. As can be seen, the drill motor  100  is connected to the pump housing unit  300  via a flexible drive shaft  200 . The pick-up head  350  connects to the pump housing unit  300  by means of a wand  320 . 
     Pump housing unit  300  is further equipped with a handle  310 . Handle  310  allows the user to grasp the pump housing unit  300  in one hand while operating the drill motor  100  with the other. The handle  310  provides the user with the ability to direct the pick-up head  350  in any desired direction to capture particulate matter. 
     Pump housing unit  300  connects to pick-up head  350  via wand assembly  320 . A pair of hoses (not shown) are routed within wand assembly  320 . One of the hoses is an inlet hose and the other an outlet hose. The wand assembly  320  and pick-up head  350  combine to form special purpose attachments for accomplishing a plurality of tasks. For example, but not in the way of limitation, one hose/pick-up head assembly may be attached to the pump housing unit  300  to be used for cleaning particulates from a fountain while another hose/pick-up head assembly may be used to clean a spa. The hose/pick-up head assembly attaches to pump housing unit  300  using a “quick connect” type connector of the customary type known in the art. For example, in one embodiment, the quick connectors used are FFC35 series from Colder Products Company, St. Paul, Minn. Note that these connectors are not shown since they have no direct bearing on the invention, however it will be understood that the lack of a detailed description is not to be read as a limitation on the invention. 
     As detailed further below, pick-up head  350  is comprised of a number of components including upper and lower chambers, inlet valve  370 , filter  360  and discharge hole  355 . Each of these will be described in conjunction with  FIG. 2  below. However, by way of a general description, the lower chamber of the pick-up head  350  is detachable allowing the user to change filter screen sizes and to remove any collected particulates. 
     Looking at  FIG. 2  the pick-up head  350  is shown in greater detail. Pick-up head  350  is comprised of two main sections: lower chamber  352  and upper chamber  351 . Lower chamber  352  mates with the upper chamber  351  by a thread mechanism. Inlet valve  370  is hinged at the inlet end of the lower chamber and is the particulate trap. As described below, under the influence of the pump, the inlet valve  370  opens and allows water containing particulate matter to enter the lower chamber  352 . When the pump is not operating the inlet valve closes trapping the particulate inside the lower chamber  352 . 
     Upper chamber  351  is divided into two sub-chambers by a central baffle. The lower of the two sub-chambers, referred to as the inlet sub-chamber, mates via a threaded mechanism to lower chamber  352 . At the input end of the inlet sub-chamber a particulate filter  360  is affixed in such a way that when the lower chamber  352  is separated from the upper chamber  351  by unscrewing the threaded mechanism the particulate filter screen  360  remains in place. This enables any trapped particulate matter to be emptied from the lower chamber  352 . One benefit of the present invention is that the coarseness of the filter screen  360  may be changed to adapt to different tasks. 
     The central baffle has a single hole in it through which is disposed a suction hose  220 . The hole and suction hose  220  are dimensioned relative to each other in a way that causes a seal to be formed between the inlet sub-chamber and the discharge sub-chamber above it. Suction hose  220  is connected to the inlet side of the pump located in the pump housing unit  300  described briefly above and in detail in conjunction with  FIG. 3  below. Also contained in the discharge sub-chamber is a discharge hole  355  located at a position on the outer circumference of upper chamber  351  and above the central baffle. Water emerging from the discharge side of the pump located in the pump housing unit  300  is transferred via discharge hose  210  and forced to exit the pick-up head via discharge hole  355 . In this way a complete path for incoming and outgoing water is provided, thus one advantage of the present invention is that no water is consumed from the vessel being cleaned, alleviating the need for replacing conditioned water in the vessel. Pick-up head  350  is sealably connected to wand  320  in such a way as to relieve any strain on suction and discharge hoses  220  and  210  respectively. 
       FIG. 3  provides the detail of pump housing unit  300 . Pump housing unit  300  is comprised of a case  305  containing pump  325 , a handle  310  (shown as a dashed line for clarity,) and the necessary hoses and connectors to mate with the wand  320  and flexible drive shaft  200 . The flexible drive shaft  200  is connected to pump  325  in such a way that when the trigger of the drill motor  100  is depressed by a user, the shaft of the pump  325  turns. In an exemplary embodiment, flexible drive shaft  200  is a 17106 from Vermont American, Mount Prospect, Ill. and the pump is a Jabsco 17250-003 from ITT Industries, White Plains, N.Y. Other drill motor pumps from other manufacturers could be used without departing from the spirit of the invention, thus the use of this particular drill pump should not be read as a limitation on the scope of the invention. Suction hose  220  and discharge hose  210  connect to the pump  325  in the customary manner. 
     Handle  310  is constructed so that a user can grip pump housing unit  300  in one hand and operate the trigger of the drill motor  100  using the other hand. The drill motor  100  may be of the battery operated or AC operated type. In an exemplary embodiment, the drill motor  100  is a ⅜ inch variable speed 7144 Type I from Black &amp; Decker Inc., Raleigh, N.C., however, as will be recognized, any drill motor may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
     As shown in this exemplary embodiment of the present invention, pump housing  305  is a simple aluminum box. However, it will be recognized that the pump housing  305  could be made in any shape and from any material without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, for example, the pump housing  305  could be made from plastic and be of the clamshell type. Further, handle  310  could be an integral part of the pump housing  305 , thus it is not necessary that the handle be a separate part as shown. 
     Operation of the present invention is discussed in conjunction with  FIGS. 4 and 5  below. It will be understood that the drill motor  100  discussed in detail above is connected to the pump  325  via the flexible drive shaft  200 , and that the pick-up head  350  is connected to pump  325  inlet and outlet via hoses  220  and  210  respectively and each of the several components are operating properly. That is, when a user depresses the trigger on the drill motor  100  the pump  325  operates due to rotation of the drill motor chuck causing a suction to be created at the input to the pick-up head  350 . 
     Supposing that a user wishes to remove particulate matter form the bottom of a spa, the pick-up  350  head of  FIG. 4  is attached to a wand  320  (partially shown) and is immersed in the spa in close proximity to the particulate to be removed. The user depresses the trigger of the drill motor  100  which causes the pump ( 325  of  FIG. 3 ) to operate due to rotation of the drill motor chuck which is transferred to the pump shaft via flexible drive shaft  200  of  FIG. 1 . Suction is created in suction hose  220  which creates a low pressure area in the lower cavity  354  of the upper chamber  351 . Since filter  360  is transparent to this low pressure, it is felt on the top of inlet valve  370 , which opens in response. A water flow W 1  enters cavity  358  in the lower chamber  352  and, as a direct effect, the particulate matter  500  is pulled along into lower chamber cavity  358 . 
     Water flow W 2  passes through filter  360 , enters suction hose  220 , passes through the pump  325  in the pump housing unit ( 300  of  FIG. 3 ) and returns to the upper cavity  353  of the upper chamber  351  via discharge hose  210 . Baffle  356  acts as a barrier to the discharge water flow W 3 , forcing it to exit the cavity  353  via discharge hole  355 , returning the now cleaned water to the vessel it was initially removed from. However, while the filter  360  is permeable to water, it will not allow particulate A to pass. Instead, it is reflected off of the lower surface of filter  360  and becomes trapped inside cavity  358  of the lower chamber  352 . 
     As long as the trigger of drill motor  100  is depressed there will exist a water flow W 2  into the pump  325  and a discharge flow W 3  out of the pump  325  in the pump housing unit  300 . In turn a water flow W 1  will exist at the inlet valve  370 . Any particulate matter that attempts to exit cavity  358  will encounter the incoming water flow W 1  and again be carried toward the filter  360 . Any particulate matter in close proximity to the input of the pick-up head  350  will thus be swept into the cavity  358  and remain there as long as water flow W 1  exists. At the moment the trigger of drill motor  100  is released, inlet valve  370  closes due to lack of water flow W 1 . All particulate matter that has been swept into cavity  358  of lower chamber  352  is thus trapped. It cannot permeate the filter  360  and it cannot escape past closed inlet valve  370 . 
     Looking now at  FIG. 5 , a view of the pick-up head  350  with the lower chamber  352  and the upper chamber  351  separated is shown. The user has released the trigger of the drill motor  100  causing the inlet valve  370  to drop to the closed position. Particulate matter  500  has dropped to the bottom of lower chamber  352  since no upward water flow, such as water flow W 1  in  FIG. 4 , is present to keep the particulate matter  500  suspended in the incoming water stream. After removing the pick-up head from the vessel being cleaned, the user unscrews the lower chamber  352  from the upper chamber  351  using threaded interface  365 . Filter  360  remains in place in the upper chamber  351  because the filter has an interference fit with the inner diameter of the upper chamber  351 . In a preferred embodiment the interference fit is formed through the use of a rubber seal, but other interference fits could be used thus the use of the rubber seal should not be read as a limitation on the scope of the invention. Once the lower chamber  352  has been separated from the upper chamber  351  the user may easily remove the particulate matter by dumping and/or rinsing. 
     One advantage of the present invention is that the filter may be easily removed for cleaning or for changing to a different size as might be required to pick up smaller (or larger) particulate matter. When used in combination with different special purpose wand/pick-up head combinations, the apparatus of the present invention is capable of being used for a plurality of different cleaning problems. By way of example, but not as a limitation, a smaller filter grid might be used in conjunction with a short wand/pick-up head to clean relatively small particulates from the sides or bottom of an aquarium. In the same way, a larger filter grid with a medium sized wand/pick-up head might be used to clean a fountain or small pool. 
     A second advantage of the present invention is that no water is consumed from the vessel being cleaned, alleviating the need for replacing conditioned water in the vessel. This is crucial for such situations as saltwater aquariums or spas that require balanced pH. While some prior art devices use a suction cleaning method, they deposit the water in the suction hose to the ground or surroundings. This necessarily means that new water must be added to replace that which was lost. Since the new water is very likely not pH balanced, the chemical balancing operation will have to be completed. 
     A third advantage of the present invention is the use of commercially available common drill motors for motive power. Virtually any drill motor may be used as long as the chuck mechanism may be properly connected to the flexible drive shaft. This allows a user to use existing equipment to accomplish a variety of cleaning tasks by simply changing the filter screen and/or wand length. 
     A fourth advantage of the present invention is that the pump is located in the control unit. Thus simply by changing the wand/pick-up head combination, different tasks may be accomplished using a single control unit. In this way the user achieves a gain in both economic and utilitarian terms. 
     A fifth advantage of the present invention is the elimination of the need to waterproof the control mechanism. Since the pump is contained within the hand held pump housing unit, no liquid from the vessel to be cleaned gets onto the control unit.