Pool cleaning robot with bypass mechanism

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10378229-B2
Application number	US-201414445082-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 29, 2014
Priority date	Sep 8, 2013
Publication date	Aug 13, 2019
Grant date	Aug 13, 2019

Abstract

A cleaning robot may be provided and may include a housing comprising at least one inlet and an outlet; a filtering unit for filtering fluid; a bypass mechanism for bypassing the filtering unit; and a fluid suction unit that is arranged to direct towards the outlet fluid that (a) passes through the at least one inlet and (b) passes through at least one out of the filtering unit and the bypass mechanism.

First claim

We claim:

1. A cleaning robot comprising: a housing comprising at least one inlet and an outlet; a filtering unit, located within the housing, for filtering fluid; a bypass mechanism for bypassing the filtering unit; and a fluid suction unit that is arranged to direct towards the outlet fluid that (a) passes through the at least one inlet and (b) passes through at least one of the filtering unit and the bypass mechanism.

2. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the bypass mechanism is arranged to allow fluid to pass through the bypass mechanism when the cleaning robot is tilted by at least a predefined tilt angle.

3. The cleaning robot according to claim 2 wherein predefined tilt angle ranges between 70 and 110 degrees.

4. The cleaning robot according to claim 2 wherein predefined tilt angle is 90 degrees.

5. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein a degree of openness of the bypass mechanism is responsive to a tilt angle of the cleaning robot.

6. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the bypass mechanism comprises a door; wherein the door is movable between (a) a closed position in which the door prevents fluid to exit the bypass mechanism and flow towards the fluid suction unit, and (b) an open position in which the door allows fluid to exit from the bypass mechanism and flow towards the fluid suction unit.

7. The cleaning robot according to claim 6 wherein the door is pivotally coupled to a rotation axis and wherein the door rotates between the closed position and the open position.

8. The cleaning robot according to claim 7 wherein the door is coupled to a weight.

9. The cleaning robot according to claim 8 wherein the weight is connected to a door at a location that is near a lower end of the door and wherein the rotation axis is located near an upper end of the door.

10. The cleaning robot according to claim 7 wherein the door is connected to a lever that is pivotally coupled to a rotation axis.

11. The cleaning robot according to claim 7 wherein the door is connected to a hinge that is pivotally coupled to a first rotation axis thereby allowing the door to pivot about the first rotation axis.

12. The cleaning robot according to claim 11 wherein the door is coupled to a lever that is pivotally coupled to a second rotation axis; wherein the lever is arranged to limit a pivoting of the door about the first rotation axis.

13. The cleaning robot according to claim 12 wherein the lever is connected to a weight.

14. The cleaning robot according to claim 12 wherein the weight is arranged to slide across the door when the door moves between the close position and the open position.

15. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the bypass mechanism is arranged to be opened in response to a suction level developed within an internal space formed in the housing.

16. The cleaning robot according to claim 15 wherein the bypass mechanism comprises a bypass mechanism inlet, a bypass mechanism outlet and a sealing element; wherein the sealing element is arranged to be moved between (a) a closed position in which the sealing element prevents fluid to exit the bypass mechanism and flow towards the fluid suction unit, and (b) an open position in which the sealing element allows fluid to exit from the bypass mechanism and flow towards the fluid suction unit.

17. The cleaning robot according to claim 15 wherein the bypass mechanism comprises a spring that induces the sealing element to move towards the close position.

18. The cleaning robot according to claim 17 wherein when the suction level developed within an internal space of the housing exceeds a suction threshold the sealing element is moved towards the open position.

19. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the bypass mechanism is arranged to be opened in response to an intensity of flow of fluid at a point that is upstream to the filtering unit.

20. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the bypass mechanism is arranged to be opened in response to an intensity of flow of fluid at a point that is downstream to the filtering unit.

21. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the bypass mechanism is arranged to be opened in response to a rotational speed of a hydraulic movement mechanism of the cleaning robot.

22. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 further comprising a sensor;
wherein the sensor is arranged to detect an occurrence of a bypass related event and wherein the bypass mechanism is arranged to respond to the occurrence of the bypass related event.

23. The cleaning robot according to claim 22 wherein the bypass mechanism comprises a motor that is arranged to affect an openness level of the bypass mechanism in response to the occurrence of the bypass related event.

24. The cleaning robot according to claim 22 wherein the sensor is a robot tilt angle sensor.

25. The cleaning robot according to claim 22 wherein the sensor is a suction sensor.

26. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the at least one inlet comprises a bypass mechanism inlet and a filtering unit inlet.

27. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the at least one inlet comprises multiple bypass mechanism inlets and a filtering unit inlet.

28. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the bypass mechanism is closer to a sidewall of the housing than the filtering unit.

29. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the bypass mechanism is connected to a sidewall of the housing.

30. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 wherein the bypass mechanism extends outside a sidewall of the housing.

31. The cleaning robot according to claim 1 comprising at least one additional bypass mechanism; wherein the bypass mechanism and the at least one additional bypass mechanism form a plurality of bypass mechanisms.

32. The cleaning robot according to claim 31 wherein at least two bypass mechanisms of the plurality of bypass mechanisms differ from each other.

33. The cleaning robot according to claim 31 wherein at least two bypass mechanism of the plurality of bypass mechanisms differ from each other by a triggering event that triggers an opening of the bypass mechanism.

34. The cleaning robot according to claim 31 wherein at least two bypass mechanisms of the plurality of bypass mechanisms operate independently from each other.

35. The cleaning robot according to claim 31 wherein a first bypass mechanism of the plurality of bypass mechanisms is responsive to an openness level of another bypass mechanism of the plurality of bypass mechanisms.

36. The cleaning robot according to claim 31 wherein an opening of first bypass mechanism of the plurality of bypass mechanisms eases an opening of another bypass mechanism of the plurality of bypass mechanisms.

37. The cleaning robot according to claim 31 wherein an opening of first bypass mechanism of the plurality of bypass mechanisms increases a difficulty of an opening of another bypass mechanism of the plurality of bypass mechanisms.

38. The cleaning robot according to claim 31 wherein a first bypass mechanism of the plurality of bypass mechanisms is arranged to be opened in response to a tilt level of

Assignees

• Maytronics Ltd

Inventors

• Ben Dov Boaz
• Golan Oded

Classifications

• E04H4/1663 Primary

  the propulsion resulting from an intermittent interruption of the waterflow through the cleaner · CPC title

• E04H4/1654 Primary

  Self-propelled cleaners · CPC title