Researchers Submit Patent Application, “Pool Cleaning Systems”, for Approval (USPTO 20200018085)

2020 JAN 30 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Washington, D.C., NewsRx journalists report that a patent application by the inventors Lopez, Chris (Miramar, FL); Afanador, Alvis (Miami, FL), filed on June 28, 2019, was made available online on January 16, 2020.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Many methods and systems have been used unsuccessfully attempting to provide pool cleaning staff with the adequate tools, systems, and methods to effectively clean pools without exposing personnel to potential chronic injuries. Several devices and methods have unsuccessfully been created to rectify the problem of effectively cleaning pool surfaces and of pool maintenance personnel suffering from chronic pain. These devices, systems and methods have not been reliable or effective.

“The development of large complexes, such as condominiums, recreational parks, water parks, private residential communities, and assisted living communities have resulted in larger, intricately designed pools for large communities. Further, as the expanding variations of offerings of private pools with intricate designs, including water falls, walk-in portions, fashion trending steps, perimeter shapes including curvatures of different radii, the inclusion of water slides, and wave making devices have resulted in pools having unique shapes, curves, steps of various angles, and surfaces which are positioned at various angles and degrees from horizontal. These pool surfaces provide a challenge in keeping them clean. Past methods, apparatus, and systems have been unsuccessful, time consuming, costly, and ineffective.

“Throughout most of the pool industry, pool cleaning and maintenance requires personnel to engage with systems, apparatus, and methods to manually clean pools and pool area surfaces. Because of the manual nature of cleaning evolutions and due to the different pool surfaces and pool area surfaces, effective cleaning of these surfaces is not achieved with the pool cleaning equipment previously available. These prior pool cleaning and maintenance efforts result in more cleaning evolutions, ineffective cleaning, more expense, and diminished customer satisfaction.

“Due to the manual nature of cleaning pools and pool surfaces and the complexity of pool surfaces and pool surface areas, personnel expose themselves to repeated physical movement when carrying out their maintenance activities which over time may cause chronic pain and musculoskeletal damage. In the pool industry, most pool maintenance and pool cleaning personnel find themselves incapable of continuing within their profession due to chronic pain and discomfort, just after several years of work. Much of this pain and discomfort is due to the fact that current pool cleaning and maintenance methods, apparatus, and systems expose the pool cleaning personnel to awkward physical positions and unnatural physical movements when attempting to clean and maintain pool surfaces and pool area surfaces that have unique angles, unique structures, non-perpendicular intersections, and surfaces composed of different materials. These conditions are taxing on personnel, result in increased medical expenses, and bog down our Medicaid and Medicare systems because of chronic injuries to pool cleaning professionals.

“Cleaning underwater pool surfaces requires a pool cleaning professional to manually maneuver a pool cleaning device onto the pool surfaces and apply pressure with a brush, with a pumice stone, or chemically clean the surface with an attachment. These cleaning evolutions often require personnel to bend their back in an awkward position in order to properly brush the pool walls and to contact the appropriate surfaces. Because many of the surfaces are curved, angled away in many different angles from horizontal, and include steps, waterfalls, water slides, or wave machines, cleaning of these surfaces requires even more difficult physical movement and positioning that is not ergonomically friendly for personnel cleaning the pool. Over a period of time these physical movements and positions could cause physical problems for pool cleaning personnel.

“Accordingly, there is an established need for a cleaning system which solves at least one of the aforementioned problems. Further, there is an established need for a pool cleaning system which provides an ergonomically friendly system, apparatus, and/or method to clean pool surfaces and pool area surfaces in an efficient, effective, and time sensitive fashion, reduce operating costs, is reusable, reduces waste, provides all personnel with the tools, devices, apparatus, and systems to clean pool surfaces and pool surface areas in accordance with specific standards.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “According to an aspect of the present invention, a pool cleaning system is provided. The system includes a pool pole. The system also includes an angled attachment device configured to connect to an end of the pool pole. The system additionally includes specialty tools structured to connect to an end of the angled attachment device.

“According to another aspect, of the present invention, a pool cleaning apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a pool pole. The apparatus also includes an angled attachment device configured to connect to an end of the pool pole. The apparatus additionally includes specialty tools structured to connect to an end of the angled attachment device.

“According to yet another aspect, a method for cleaning pools is provided. The method includes attaching an angled attachment device to an end of a pool handle. The method also includes attaching a specialty tool to an end of the angled attachment device. Further, the method includes cleaning a pool surface and/or a pool surface area with the specialty tool connected to an end of the angled attachment device.

“In an embodiment, the pool cleaning system can include an angled attachment device, the device structured to include mating holes for attachments configured at 90 degrees around a circumference of the device.

“In another embodiment, the pool cleaning system can also include an angled attachment device, the device including another set of mating holes offset from the other mating holes arranged such that angled attachment device can engage with specialty tools at 45-degree increments around a circumference of the angled attachment device.

“In yet another embodiment, the pool cleaning system can include an angled attachment device, the device including angles 85.degree., 75.degree., 60.degree., 30.degree., 20.degree., 15.degree., and 5 degrees from a centerline of a pool pole and/or any angle in between.

“In an aspect, the pool cleaning system can include beveled and angled specialty tools, the specialty tools configured to allow pool cleaning to occur with nearly expended surface areas on portions of the specialty devices, thereby extending the working life of the specialty tools.

“In another aspect, the pool cleaning system can also include various handles on a proximal and/or distal end of the pool pole.

“In yet another aspect, the pool cleaning system can include angled attachment devices, the devices including materials such as, but not limited to, plastic, polyvinyl chloride, composites, ceramics, metals, and/or fiberglass.

“In an aspect, the pool cleaning system can include specialty tools, the tools configured to connect with an angled attachment device at angles at 15, 30, and/or 45-degree increments from centerline of the attachment device in all axes.

“In another aspect, the pool cleaning system can also include rotating and/or reciprocating brushes, the brushes powered by water pressure, air pressure, and/or electric power.

“In yet another aspect, the pool cleaning system can include chemical feed systems.

“In an embodiment, the pool cleaning system can include rubber coated grips.

“In another embodiment, the pool cleaning system can also include handles, the handles configured to be offset from each other.

“In yet another embodiment, the pool cleaning system can include straight and/or curved handles.

“In an aspect, the pool cleaning system can include a reinforced section, the section including materials including, but not limited to, plastic, polyvinyl chloride, polymers, composites, ceramics, metals, and/or fiberglass. The reinforced section configured to provide adequate structural support to the angled attachment device for manual pool surface and pool surface area cleaning.

“In another aspect, the pool cleaning system can also include a reinforced section, the section including materials with spring memory.

“In yet another aspect, the pool cleaning system can also include a reinforced section on one, two, three, or four sides of an angled attachment device.

“In an embodiment, the pool cleaning system can include a reinforced section on an angled attachment device on 10.degree., 45.degree., 90, 180, 270.degree., 360.degree. and/or any degree in between around a circumference of the angled attachment device.

“In another aspect, the pool cleaning system can also include cobweb brush cleaners, the cleaners configured to clean screens.

“In yet another aspect, the pool cleaning system can include a pressure wash attachment.

“In an aspect, the pool cleaning system can include specialty tools configured to clean gutters.

“In another aspect, the pool cleaning system can also include stain removal tools.

“In yet another aspect, the pool cleaning system can include pumice stones configured to connect to an angled attachment device at including angles 85.degree., 75.degree., 60.degree., 30.degree., 20.degree., 15.degree., and 5.degree. and any angle in between from a centerline of the angled attachment device.

“In an embodiment, the pool cleaning system can include an acid washing assembly.

“In another embodiment, the pool cleaning system can include an angled attachment device configured to mate with standard pool pole attachment methods, including but not limited to, mating holes, pegs, spring loaded nubs, and/or clips.

“In yet another embodiment, the pool cleaning system can also include specialty tools including, but not limited to, straight and/or round brushes, circular and/or oval skimmer nets, automatic and/or manual vacuum attachments, and/or electric powered stain removal systems.

“In an aspect, the pool cleaning system can include a reinforced section on an angled attachment device, the section including shapes, but not limited to, rectangular, square, oval, circular, and/or trapezoidal.

“In another aspect, the pool cleaning system can also include angled attachment devices, the devices including angles of 5.degree., 30.degree., 45.degree., 90.degree., 135.degree., 175.degree. and/or any angle in between.

“In yet another aspect, the pool cleaning system can include a chemical feed assembly, the chemical feed assembly configured to deploy chemical proportional to an area needing to be cleaned and because of the assembly’s attachment to an angled attachment device, minimizes excessive delivery of chemical thereby increasing the life cycle of pool surfaces and pool area surfaces.

“In an embodiment, the pool cleaning system can include adjustable mechanisms designed to configure an angled attachment device to include angles of 5.degree., 30.degree., 45.degree., 90.degree., 135.degree., 175.degree. and/or any angle in between without the need to remove and/or change components.

“These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A pool cleaning system comprising: a pool pole; an angled attachment device configured to connect to an end of the pool pole; and a plurality of specialty tools structured to connect to an end of the angled attachment device.

“2. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the angled attachment device further comprises a reinforced section positionable on the angled attachment device.

“3. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the pool pole further comprises a curved component.

“4. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the pool pole further comprises handles.

“5. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the angled attachment device includes mating holes, the mating holes configured to connect to specialty tools at a plurality of angles.

“6. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the specialty tools include chemical feed systems, electric powered devices, hydraulically powered devices, and/or pneumatically powered systems.

“7. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the pool pole further comprises curved components attached to a proximal and/or distal end of the pool pole.

“8. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the pool pole further comprises angled components connected to a proximal and/or distal end of the pool pole.

“9. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the angled attachment device further comprises a reinforced section, the reinforced section including materials with spring memory.

“10. A pool cleaning apparatus comprising: a pool pole; an angled attachment device configured to connect to an end of the pool pole; and specialty tools structured to connect to another end of the angled attachment device.

“11. The apparatus as recited in claim 10 wherein the angled attachment device further comprises a reinforced section positionable on the angled attachment device.

“12. The apparatus as recited in claim 10 wherein the pool pole further comprises a curved component.

“13. The apparatus as recited in claim 10 wherein the pool pole further comprises handles.

“14. The apparatus as recited in claim 10 wherein the angled attachment device includes mating holes, the mating holes configured to connect to specialty tools at a plurality of angles.

“15. The apparatus as recited in claim 10 wherein the specialty tools include chemical feed systems, electric powered devices, hydraulically powered devices, and/or pneumatically powered systems.

“16. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the pool pole further comprises curved components attached to a proximal and/or distal end of the pool pole.

“17. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the pool pole further comprises angled components connected to a proximal and/or distal end of the pool pole.

“18. The system as recited in claim 10 wherein the angled attachment device further comprises a reinforced section, the reinforced section including materials with spring memory.

“19. A method for cleaning pools comprising: attaching an angled attachment device to an end of a pool handle; attaching a specialty tool to an end of the angled attachment device; and cleaning a pool surface and/or a pool surface area with the specialty tool connected to another end of the angled attachment device.

“20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the cleaning a pool surface and/or pool surface area with the specialty tools includes chemical feed systems, electric powered devices, hydraulically powered devices, and/or pneumatically powered systems.”

For additional information on this patent application, see: Lopez, Chris; Afanador, Alvis. Pool Cleaning Systems. Filed June 28, 2019 and posted January 16, 2020. Patent URL: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220200018085%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20200018085&RS=DN/20200018085

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