Pergola cleaning tool with blades

Abstract

The invention relates to a pergola blade cleaning tool (200) comprising an elongated body (1), with: - at the lower end of the elongated body (1) in the tool (100) use position, at least one handle (3) and connections (51) to a water and / or power supply, - at the upper end of the elongated body (1) in the tool (100) use position: * a cleaning member (7) and * a horizontal segment carrying, in a position offset laterally from the elongated body in the tool (100) use position, a support and guide element (73) which, when using the tool (100), rests on the upper edge of the pergola blade (200) to be cleaned and forms a guide to translate the tool (100) along the pergola blade (200).

Description

technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to the general field of pressurized water cleaning tools, brushes etc. arranged into a specific tool for cleaning hard-to-reach structures.

[0002] In particular, the present invention relates to the field of cleaning slatted pergolas, the slats of which may have a hollow section, gutters and slides at least partially undercut, while said slats are located at a significant height making their cleaning difficult. Previous techniques

[0003] The tools used for roof cleaning and similar applications are essentially high-pressure water tools (tens or even hundreds of bars) which come in the form of a gun with an elongated nozzle.

[0004] Water comes out of the end of the nozzle through a nozzle, possibly rotating to give a cone shape to the jet, and impacts the surface to be cleaned, which dissolves and carries away dirt, biofilms and soiling.

[0005] Louvered pergolas, also known as "bioclimatic" pergolas, feature louvers that allow the roof area to be opened or closed. By opening and closing the louvers at different times of day, the user can control sunlight and airflow in the space beneath the pergola, and therefore the temperature of that space.

[0006] This thermal regulation is particularly economical because it does not require active air conditioning.

[0007] The blades of these pergolas have an "S" shaped section with edges designed to interlock with the edge of the next blade, in particular to form a watertight surface when closed.

[0008] Even double-skinned blades, which are flatter over most of their surface, have lips and interlocking grooves.

[0009] This complex section, with its recesses and undercuts, makes cleaning it with a pressure washer difficult. In particular, effective cleaning requires spraying water from multiple angles, while the blade's elevated position prevents the user from aiming the pressure washer directly from the top of the blades without using a ladder or similar equipment.

[0010] Furthermore, the weight of pressurized water guns with electrical cables and hydraulic supply hoses is significant, and a user cleaning blades with such a gun at arm's length will therefore quickly become exhausted.

[0011] For example, US document 7,194,783 describes a tool suitable for cleaning blind slats, which is therefore not suitable for pergola slats.

[0012] There is therefore a need for a tool that allows for effective cleaning of pergola slats, is simple and not very tiring to use. Description of the invention

[0013] To meet this need, the invention proposes a pergola slat cleaning tool comprising an elongated body, with: at the lower end of the elongated body in the tool's operating position, at least one handle and connections to a water and / or power supply; at the upper end of the elongated body in the tool's operating position: * a cleaning element and * a horizontal segment carrying, in a laterally offset position relative to the elongated body in the tool's operating position, a support and guide element which, when using the tool, rests on the upper edge of the pergola blade to be cleaned and forms a guide to translate the tool along the pergola blade.

[0014] The tool then allows the cleaning device to be raised to the height of the pergola blades due to its elongated shape, with a handle at one end.

[0015] The support element allows the majority of the weight to rest on the pergola blades, thus relieving the user and making cleaning easier and less tiring.

[0016] The tool may also have one or more of the following characteristics, taken alone or in combination.

[0017] The elongated body of the tool may include a pole with, at its lower end in the operating position, a functional block carrying the handle(s) and the water and / or power supply components such as tanks, motors and compressors, the functional block being offset laterally from the pole under the support and guide element so that the center of gravity of the tool is located, in the operating position, close to the vertical of the support and guide element.

[0018] The vertical position of the tool is then stabilized, which further reduces the effort required to guide and suspend the tool from the pergola blades.

[0019] The support and guide element may include a roller, in particular in the shape of an hourglass or of two cones presenting their points, movable in rotation around a horizontal axis in the position of use of the tool.

[0020] The roller(s) then allow the tool to be translated along the blade with a non-slip bearing.

[0021] The cleaning unit may include at least one rotating brush, driven in rotation around a vertical axis in the tool's operating position, and means for injecting water at the level of the rotating brush.

[0022] The brush(s) then wash the pergola blade while the user moves the tool along it.

[0023] The cleaning unit may in particular be in the shape of a U open downwards in the position of use of the tool, with the support and guide element at the bottom of the U, and with two rotating brushes carried by the parallel arms of the U, and located, in the position of use of the tool, on either side of the pergola blade to be cleaned.

[0024] The brushes then wash both sides of the pergola at the same time.

[0025] As an alternative or in addition, the cleaning unit may include a pressurized water supply and in that the cleaning unit may include pressurized water emission nozzles, arranged in rows, directed towards areas to be cleaned on the pergola blades when using the tool.

[0026] Pressurized water, particularly high pressure, exceeding one hundred bars, then performs the washing, possibly in addition to or as an alternative to rotary brushes.

[0027] The nozzles can be arranged in a plurality of sets, each set of nozzles being connected to a separate pressurized water line, and the tool then includes a water distributor, supplying the pressurized water lines of each of the sets of nozzles in turn.

[0028] By supplying only a portion of the nozzles, insufficient pressure and / or flow rate are avoided.

[0029] The nozzles can then form a conical or fan-shaped jet when supplied with pressurized water, with the central axes of the cone or fan oriented inclined upwards for one set of nozzles and downwards for the other set of nozzles, presenting an angle of 10 to 60° with the horizontal in the tool's operating position.

[0030] The tool thus obtained may also include non-motorized brushes, the position of which along the cleaning element can be adjusted.

[0031] The tool may include a cone-shaped water recovery device around the elongated body, open at the top. Brief description of the figures

[0032] Other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the accompanying figures, among which: there figure 1 is a perspective view of the tool according to a particular embodiment of the invention, the figure 2 is a perspective representation of the tool of the figure 1 during use, the figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cleaning mechanism of the tool Figures 1 And 2 , there figure 4 is a side view representation of a second embodiment of the tool according to the invention in use, the figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the cleaning mechanism of the tool figure 4 , there figure 6is an exploded perspective view of a cleaning element of a third embodiment of a tool according to the invention, the figure 7 is a cross-sectional view at the height of the nozzles of the cleaning unit of the figure 6 , there figure 8 is a partial representation of the tool carrying the cleaning organ of the figures 6 And 7 during use, the figure 9 is a schematic representation of a water distributor for the cleaning unit of figures 6 to 8 , THE Figures 10 and 11 illustrate the operation of the water distributor of the figure 9 .

[0033] The examples are given for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. Other embodiments of the invention can easily be achieved by variations and combinations of the embodiments shown. The dimensions and proportions illustrated in the figures may differ from reality and may have been adjusted to facilitate understanding of the invention. Detailed description

[0034] There figure 1 is a schematic perspective representation of a first embodiment of tool 100 according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0035] The tool 100 comprises an elongated body 1, consisting of a pole, with at its lower end, in the position of use of the tool 100, a handle 3 and a functional block 5, comprising the fittings and supplies 51 for water, electricity and possibly soap of the tool 100, motor batteries etc.

[0036] At the other end of the elongated body 1, the upper end in the tool 100's operating position, the tool 100 includes a cleaning element 7, equipped, in the embodiment shown, with rotating brushes 71.

[0037] The tool 100 is used in the position where the pole is substantially vertical, with the cleaning element 7 pointing upwards.

[0038] There figure 2 shows tool 100 in use for washing 200 blades of a pergola. figure 3 exploded view shows the main components of the cleaning unit 7.

[0039] The cleaning unit 7 has a general inverted U shape, open downwards in the tool 100 operating position. The rotating brushes 71 are carried here by the parallel and vertical arms of the U, and rotate around vertical axes with the tool 100 in the operating position.

[0040] At the bottom of the U, on the horizontal segment in the tool 100 usage position and in a laterally offset position relative to the pole 3, there are two rollers 73, formed of a rotating central shaft and two cones presenting their tips.

[0041] An actuation transmission 75, forming the bottom of the U and carrying the rollers 73, transmits the motor torque of the brush 71 in the extension of the pole 3, connected to an electric motor in the functional block 5, to the brush 71 offset laterally with respect to said pole 3.

[0042] The rollers 73 are mobile in rotation around a horizontal axis in the position of use of the tool 100. They form a support and guide element in translation coming to rest against the upper edge of the blade 200 of the pergola being cleaned.

[0043] Thus, when the user cleans the pergola blade 200 using the tool 100, the weight of the tool 100 is supported by the blade 200 via the rollers 73 resting on its upper edge. The user is therefore relieved of the weight of the tool 100 and only has to apply the force necessary to move the tool 100 along the blade 200, this movement being further guided by the rollers 73.

[0044] In particular, the casters 73 can be motorized, and controlled for example by the same trigger that activates the cleaning device 7.

[0045] Alternatively, the 73 rollers can be replaced by one-piece hourglass-shaped or rotating "diabolo" elements, or even simply by an indented surface, with a coating allowing sliding along the upper edge of the 200 pergola blade being cleaned with less friction (for example, polytetrafluoroethylene PTFE).

[0046] Brushes 71 may in particular be brushes composed of a central tubular body, through which water possibly with added soap is injected into the brush 71, and forming a support for flexible strips of fabric, neoprene, polyurethane foam or equivalent, in order to minimize scratches on the blades 200.

[0047] As an alternative or in addition, water can be injected directly onto the blade, especially after the passage of the brushes 71, through a nozzle for rinsing.

[0048] Part of the tongues of the brushes 71 may in particular be longer than the rest, so that said longer tongues engage in recesses and gutters of the blades 200. More generally, the length of the tongues on the brush 71 can be adapted to the profile of the blades 200.

[0049] The functional block 5 is in particular partially offset from the pole 3, under the cleaning element 7, and in particular under the wheels 73, so that the center of gravity of the tool 100 is brought closer to the vertical of the wheels 73 and thus stabilize the vertical operating position of the tool 100 when it is attached to a pergola blade 200.

[0050] THE figures 4 And 5 show another embodiment of tool 100 for cleaning 200 blades of pergolas.

[0051] In this embodiment, the cleaning element 7 comprises a plurality of nozzles 77 for emitting pressurized water. The tool 100 is then provided with a connection 51 to a high-pressure water compressor, which supplies it with water at a high pressure on the order of several tens to hundreds of bars, typically 150 bars.

[0052] The nozzles 77 are arranged in rows and directed towards the areas to be cleaned on the blades 200. The cleaning of the pergola blades 200 is then done by water impacting the surface of the blades 200, without friction by means of rotating brushes 71 as previously described in the first embodiment.

[0053] The lower nozzles 77 are advantageously closable, so that when the pergola blade 200 is thin, making these lower nozzles 77 useless, they can be closed to increase the pressure available in the other nozzles 77.

[0054] In particular, the cleaning unit 7 has an inverted U-shaped frame 79 which carries the nozzles 77 and the support and guide element 73, here in the form of hourglass-shaped "diabolos" located in the horizontal segment of the frame 79.

[0055] The nozzles 77 can be, in particular, conical opening nozzles or rotary nozzles, which emit pressurized water in a conical jet, the jets of the nozzles 77 slightly overlapping in order to clean the entire surface of the pergola blades 200 with each pass. One nozzle 77 is located, in particular, at the horizontal segment, in the position of use of the tool 100, of the frame 79, and emits water onto the edge of the blade 200.

[0056] The nozzles 77 can in particular have an intermittent operation by pulsations in order to avoid pressure drops due to pressure losses or insufficient flow in the nozzles 77 furthest from the pressurized water supply.

[0057] The tool 100 also includes a cone-shaped water recovery device 9 around the pole 3, open at the top. The water emitted by the nozzles, having impacted the blades 200, flows into the water recovery device 9, which then shelters the user, and is discharged in a controlled manner through a water outlet 91, for example to a drain.

[0058] THE figures 6 , 7 And 8 demonstrate a different embodiment based on the use of 77 high-pressure water emitting nozzles. figure 6 is an exploded view of the main components of the cleaning unit 7, the figure 7 is a cross-sectional view in the transverse vertical plane at the level of the nozzles 77 of the cleaning unit 7 and the figure 8 shows the cleaning unit 7 in use in perspective in top view.

[0059] The nozzles 77 are arranged here in a single row, the cleaning element 7 being in the shape of a hook or inverted L, with the rollers 73 at the end of the free end of said cleaning element 7.

[0060] The nozzles 77 emit conical or fan-shaped jets with a central axis inclined, some downwards and others upwards, at an angle to the horizontal, considering the tool 100 in the position of use, of the order of 15 to 60°, in particular between 20 and 45°, and more particularly of the order of 30°.

[0061] The upward-facing nozzles 77 are connected to a first supply line, and the downward-facing nozzles 77 to a separate second supply line. Tool 100 includes a distributor (see in particular figures 9 and following) which selectively feeds one or the other of the two supply lines and thus separately activates each of the two sets of nozzles 77.

[0062] The cleaning unit 7 is provided with non-motorized brushes 81, which are inserted into a rail 83 on the side of the frame 79 forming the chassis of the cleaning unit 7.

[0063] The brushes 81 are thus translatable vertically along the frame 79, and can be placed at the height of gutters, grooves and undercuts of the blades 200. In particular, the bristles of the brushes 81 are inclined so as to engage in said gutters, grooves and undercuts.

[0064] The cleaning unit includes a hood 83 with flexible blade "curtains", or, alternatively, linear brushes, forming a barrier to projections, which can also be implemented.

[0065] In figure 8 is represented the water recovery device 9, which is formed like an inverted umbrella, with a square horizontal section.

[0066] THE figures 9and following illustrate a 300 water dispenser for the cleaning unit of the figures 6 to 8 especially.

[0067] There figure 9 is a schematic cross-sectional representation of the water distributor 300. The water distributor has a Y-shaped water inlet 301, which splits into two pipes, each pipe being fitted with a non-return valve 303.

[0068] The two pipes are connected on one side each to a pressure tank 305 containing a compressible fluid compressed by the water pressure, and on the other side each to a chamber of a bicameral space 307.

[0069] The bicameral space 307 is separated into two chambers by a membrane 309, connected at its center to a tubular slide 311 shaped like an hourglass. The tubular slide 311 is notably free to move in rectilinear translation between two extreme lateral positions, with two flat seals on either side of the membrane which, when the tubular slide 311 is in its extreme position, respectively block a water outlet 313 of one of the two chambers of the bicameral space 307.

[0070] The area accessible to water is hatched with fine hatching in figure 9 .

[0071] THE Figures 10 and 11 illustrate the tilting of the tubular mobile 311 and the operation of the water distributor 300.

[0072] In the complete absence of pressure, the compression of the membrane 309 displaces the tubular element 311 into one of the extreme positions, or close to it. The pressure increase caused by the injection of water then brings said tubular element 311 into the extreme position if it has not spontaneously adopted one.

[0073] In operation, when one of the nozzle sets 77 emits its jet of pressurized water, the pressure in the two pipes is balanced, and as long as it is in balance, the tubular mobile 311 remains in the extreme position adopted.

[0074] When the user releases the trigger and momentarily cuts off the pressurized water supply, the pipe that is not blocked by the tubular mobile 311 empties through the water outlet 313 and through the nozzles 77, which reduces the pressure in it.

[0075] There Figure 10This illustrates the configuration immediately after the trigger is released, cutting off the pressurized water supply. The tubular actuator 311 is in its far left position. Figure 10 This blocks the pipe on the left. The water at the inlet of the left chamber of the bicameral space 307 is at a higher pressure than that at the inlet of the right chamber. Two arrows of different sizes and thicknesses indicate this pressure difference.

[0076] The pressure drop in the chamber on the right due to the water being drained at outlet 313 of said chamber disrupts the pressure equilibrium between the two chambers, causing the tubular unit to tilt to the other extreme position on the right, as shown in figure 11 .

[0077] The chamber to the left of the bicameral space 307 is then opened, and pressurized water is then emitted from the nozzles 77 of the other assembly, connected to this newly opened chamber on the left.

[0078] By interrupting the water supply again, for example by momentarily releasing the trigger of tool 100, the opposite situation is created, which will reopen the chamber on the right. Figures 10 and 11 .

[0079] Switching between the two sets of nozzles 77, for example one set of nozzles 77 with upward jet and the other downward jet, is done by simply momentarily releasing the trigger of tool 100, without a dedicated button.

[0080] Furthermore, the tilting action is purely mechanical, requiring no energy input other than the pressure of the water injected into tool 100, with moving parts in translation and minimal impact. This ensures reliable tilting while the distributor 300 is easy to assemble.

[0081] The tool 100 according to the invention is practical to use, it allows efficient cleaning of the 200 blades of pergolas, in particular of 200 blades with complex profile, with hollows, gutters and undercuts.

Claims

1. Tool (100) for cleaning pergola blades (200) comprising an elongated body (1), with: - at the lower end of the elongated body (1) in the tool (100) operating position, at least one handle (3) and connections (51) to a water and / or power supply, - at the upper end of the elongated body (1) in the tool (100) operating position: * a cleaning member (7) and * a horizontal segment carrying, in a position offset laterally from the elongated body in the tool (100) operating position, a support and guide element (73) which, when using the tool (100), rests on the upper edge of the pergola blade (200) to be cleaned and forms a guide for translating the tool (100) along the pergola blade (200).

2. Tool according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe elongated body (1) of the tool (100) includes a pole with at its lower end in the position of use, a functional block (5) carrying the handle(s) (3) and the water and / or power supply components such as tanks, motors and compressors, the functional block (5) being offset laterally from the pole (1) under the support and guide element (73) so that the center of gravity of the tool is located, in the position of use, close to the vertical of the support and guide element (73).

3. Tool according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the support and guide element (73) includes a roller, in particular in the shape of an hourglass or of two cones presenting their points, movable in rotation around a horizontal axis in the position of use of the tool (100).

4. Tool according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in thatthe cleaning unit (7) includes at least one rotating brush (71), driven in rotation around a vertical axis in the tool (100) operating position, and means for injecting water at the level of the rotating brush (71).

5. Tool according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the cleaning member (7) is U-shaped, open downwards in the tool (100) operating position, with the support and guide element (73) at the bottom of the U, and in that It includes two rotating brushes (71) carried by the parallel arms of the U, and located, in the tool (100) use position, on either side of the pergola blade (200) to be cleaned.

6. Tool according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that It includes a pressurized water supply and in thatthe cleaning unit (7) has pressurized water emission nozzles (77) arranged in rows, directed towards areas to be cleaned of the pergola blades (200) when using the tool (100).

7. Tool according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the nozzles (77) are arranged in a plurality of sets, each set of nozzles being connected to a separate pressurized water line (313), and in that It includes a water distributor (300), supplying in turn the pressurized water lines of each of the sets of nozzles (77).

8. Tool according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the nozzles (77) form a conical or fan-shaped jet when supplied with pressurized water, with central axes of the cone or fan oriented inclined for one set of nozzles (77) upwards and for the other set of nozzles (77) downwards, presenting an angle of 10 to 60° with the horizontal in the tool (100) operating position.

9. Tool according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that It also includes non-motorized brushes (81), the position of which along the cleaning element (7) can be adjusted.

10. Tool according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes a cone-shaped water recovery device (9) around the elongated body (1), open at the top.

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