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AssigneeFlorida Institute of Technology
InventorsGeoffrey Swain, Michael Harper, Melissa Tribou, Harrison Arthur Gardner, Caglar Erdogan
Estimating the term…
A rotating grooming brush comprising a brush hub having grooming elements and shroud elements, and method for grooming a surface having an unwanted material thereon. The elements extend from the brush hub and may be positioned near its outer periphery. The elements may be grooming elements forming an array and shroud elements forming a shroud array. A rigid or elastomeric shroud extending from the brush hub surface may optionally be included about the edge of the brush hub, to the outside of the grooming elements. Rotation of the grooming attachment brush causes a low pressure region to build in the central area of the brush. This low pressure region creates a resulting force that forcefully attracts the grooming attachment brush to the surface to be groomed. The resulting force is controlled by the diameter of the brush hub, arrangement, of the elements and the speed of rotation.
A grooming brush for removing biofouling from a surface, comprising:
A method for removing biofouling from a surface to be groomed without damaging a coating on the surface to be groomed, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Characterised by the type of cleaning tool: brushes
Arrangements of the bristles in the brush body: position or arrangement of bristles in relation to surface of the brush body, e.g. inclined, in…
Brushes with driven brush bodies or carriers: disc-shaped brush bodies
Using rotary cleaning members: rotating about an axis orthogonal to the surface
About 8 years 10 months of term left · ends 4 Sep 2035 (estimated)
Not applicable.
The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for removing unwanted materials such as silts, slimes and incipient biofouling from surfaces in marine and freshwater environments and for maintaining fouling control coatings in an active condition. Such systems and methods apply to, among other things, ship hull grooming. More specifically, the system and method of the invention apply to a grooming brush for use in ship hull grooming and a method of using a grooming attachment brush for grooming. The surface to be groomed may be, for example and not by way of limitation, a surface of a hull of a ship. Such ship hull surfaces may comprise a fouling control surface, such as a coating, upon which the early stages of biofouling may be occurring. The grooming brush, or a plurality of grooming brushes, of the invention may be attached to a device to rotate them as described herein. In some instances the brushes may be attached to a system for motivating them across a ships hull, for example, with the use of a remotely piloted vehicle.
Navy ships spend a significant amount of time at port and accumulate biofouling that increases the ship's drag and fuel consumption. One of the current practices is to wait until hard fouling becomes established and to remove the fouling from the hull by diver-operated cleaning vehicles. These use stiff brushes that may damage the ship's protective coating that is intended to protect the ship's hull. A proactive approach to controlling fouling, called grooming, may also be used. Grooming utilizes softer brushes than the systems used to remove hard fouling, and cleans the surfaces of ship hulls at a frequency that removes incipient fouling and maintains the coating surface in a smooth and clean condition.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the invention, depicting the grooming brush placed against a surface to be groomed, causing the grooming elements of the invention to contact the surface to be groomed, and depicting the rotation of the brush applying a grooming force between the grooming elements and the unwanted material, which may be, for example, silt, slimes and incipient biofouling, causing the unwanted material to be removed from the surface to be groomed.
FIG. 2 is a cross section of an embodiment of a grooming brush 100 of the invention, showing a substantially enclosed volume C created by the surface to be groomed 104, the grooming element array formed by the plurality of grooming elements 001, and the first surface 003 of brush hub 006.
In the figures, like callouts refer to like elements.
The following documentation provides a detailed description of embodiments of the invention.
As used herein, “groom” means to apply a force to a surface from which it is desired to remove incipient biofouling or other unwanted materials, including lightly adhered unwanted materials, which may be any material, organic or inorganic.