Variable Compliance Hose for Automatic Pool Cleaner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automatic pool cleaners of the suction kind face inefficiencies in movement and flow due to uniform hose contraction and expansion, leading to reduced movement and increased frequency of flow interruptions, which affect cleaning effectiveness and hose longevity.
Innovation Solution
A method and hose design that intensify contraction and expansion in an upstream compliant hose section adjacent the pool cleaner head, while attenuating these effects in a downstream less compliant section, reducing the frequency of flow interruptions and increasing the hose's responsiveness to negative pressure pulses, thereby enhancing movement and flow efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a uniform hose is used throughout its length, then the hose structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the movement of the pool cleaner head is reduced and flow interruptions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hose is designed with different compliance characteristics at different locations: the upstream portion (first hose section) is made more compliant than the downstream portion (second hose section). This local differentiation allows the upstream section to intensify contraction and expansion during negative pressure pulses, enhancing head movement, while the downstream section provides structural stability. The patent specifies that the first hose section has different material properties or construction features compared to the second section, creating localized functional zones within the hose assembly.
2Productivity
If flow is continuously maintained through the pool cleaner head, then cleaning operation is stable, but the pool cleaner head does not move along the surface effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes periodic flow interruption through the flow interruption mechanism in the pool cleaner head. During operation, the flow is cyclically interrupted to create negative pressure pulses that travel through the hose, causing contraction and expansion that propels the head along the surface. The patent describes this as a cyclic process where flow is maintained during cleaning and periodically interrupted for movement, with the hose design ensuring that negative pressure pulses are intensified in the upstream section to enhance movement while maintaining overall system reliability.
3Productivity
If the hose is made highly resilient throughout, then the hose responds strongly to negative pressure pulses, but flow interruptions occur more frequently and the hose durability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The hose assembly divides resilience functionally: the first hose section (upstream) is made more compliant and resilient to intensify contraction and expansion responses to negative pressure pulses, enhancing movement effectiveness. The second hose section (downstream) is made less compliant and more durable to provide structural stability and reduce overall flow interruptions. This localized differentiation optimizes both responsiveness and durability by placing high-resilience material only where needed for pulse response, rather than throughout the entire hose length.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances the movement of the pool cleaner head by 10-30% and reduces flow interruption frequency by 2-15%, leading to improved cleaning efficiency and increased hose durability.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient hose interconnecting an inlet through the pad with a suction inlet of a pump... Water flowing along the hose has momentum due to mass and flow speed. Thus, when the flow is interrupted, an area of negative pressure is created in the hose and, because of the cyclic nature of the flow interruption, the negative pressure occurrences are presented as negative pressure pulses. At the occurrence of each negative pressure pulse, over pressure externally of the hose causes contraction and thus a shortening of the hose
Data Source
AI summary
Automatic pool cleaners and associated hoses are detailed. Hoses may contract and expand in use and include sections of differing compliancies. Such contractions and expansions may be intensified in more compliant portions and attenuated in less compliant portions. Also discussed are positive locking mechanisms for adjacent hose sections.