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US 10,124,867 B2Granted
Flexible rotary brush hub
AssigneesAdi Ringer, Simon Edward Smith
InventorSimon Edward Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rotary cleaning apparatus for underwater cleaning including a housing, a battery, a motor and a flexible hub system. The flexible hub system includes a toroidal brush system coupled to a circular centrifugal pump assembly. The flexible hub system includes a flexible hub allowing the flexible hub system to bend out of plane. When the flexible hub system is rotated underwater at a curved surface, the brush system cleans the surface while the suction of the centrifugal pump assembly flexes the flexible hub system to evenly contact the surface.
Claims21
A flexible hub system arranged about a rotational axis, comprising:
- a disk-shaped impeller plate centered on the rotational axis and including a central impeller hole, a plurality of discharge outlets proximate to an outer edge of the impeller plate, and a plurality of radial impeller vanes located on a lower face of the impeller plate;
- a generally dome-shaped volute centered on the rotational axis and including a central volute hole, the volute coupled to the lower face of the impeller plate such that the vanes are interposed between the volute and the impeller plate;
- a disk-shaped flexible hub coupled to the impeller plate and covering the central impeller hole, wherein the flexible hub is comprised of a flexible material;
- a drive shaft centered on the rotational axis and coupled to the flexible hub and extending upward, whereby rotation of the drive shaft rotates the impeller plate around the rotational axis;
- and
- a toroidal brush removably coupled to a lower face of the volute proximate to an outer edge of the volute, whereby upon submerging of the flexible hub system in a fluid and rotation of the flexible hub system around the rotational axis the brush is rotated and fluid is drawn into the central volute hole and is discharged out the discharge outlets, whereby suction is created, whereby when the brush is placed at least near to a surface the suction flexes the flexible hub, whereby the brush is contoured to the surface while rotating.
3 more elements
A rotary brush apparatus, comprising:
- a housing;
- a battery coupled to the housing;
- a motor coupled to the housing and electrically coupled to the battery, the motor providing rotation about a rotational axis;
- and
- a flexible hub system rotationally coupled to and powered by the motor, the flexible hub system arranged about the rotational axis and comprising:
- a disk-shaped impeller plate centered on the rotational axis and including a central impeller hole, a plurality of discharge outlets proximate to an outer edge of the impeller plate, and a plurality of radial impeller vanes located on a lower face of the impeller plate;
- a generally dome-shaped volute centered on the rotational axis and including a central volute hole, the volute coupled to the lower face of the impeller plate such that the vanes are interposed between the volute and the impeller plate;
- a disk-shaped flexible hub coupled to the impeller plate and covering the central impeller hole, wherein the flexible hub is comprised of a flexible material;
- a drive shaft centered on the rotational axis and coupled to the flexible hub and extending upward to and coupled to the motor, whereby rotation of motor rotates the impeller plate around the rotational axis;
- and
- a toroidal brush coupled to a lower face of the volute proximate to an outer edge of the volute, whereby upon submerging of the flexible hub system in a fluid and rotation of the flexible hub system around the rotational axis the brush is rotated and fluid is drawn into the central volute hole and is discharged out the discharge outlets, whereby suction is created, whereby when the brush is placed at least near to a surface the suction flexes the flexible hub, whereby the brush is contoured to the surface while rotating.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.