Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
  • B63B59/00—Hull protection specially adapted for vessels; Cleaning devices specially adapted for vessels
  • B63B59/06—Cleaning devices for hulls
  • B63B59/08—Cleaning devices for hulls of underwater surfaces while afloat
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
  • B63B59/00—Hull protection specially adapted for vessels; Cleaning devices specially adapted for vessels
  • B63B59/06—Cleaning devices for hulls
  • B63B59/08—Cleaning devices for hulls of underwater surfaces while afloat
  • B63B2059/082—Cleaning devices for hulls of underwater surfaces while afloat the devices being supported on arms or rods

Definitions

• the invention relates to a device for cleaning the outside of the hull of a boat, consisting of an elongated, flat and flexible buoyancy body with a handle attached to one end of the buoyancy body, wherein at least one cleaning agent is preferably arranged interchangeably on a flat side of the buoyancy body, on which the Cleaning agent opposite flat side of the buoyancy body is arranged a base plate provided with a connecting element and the buoyancy body and the stem are pivotally connected to one another via the connecting element.
• a cleaning device for the outside of the hull of a boat is known for example from DE-U-89 03 485.6.
• This consists of an elongated, flat buoyancy body, foamed plastic with enclosed air bubbles being provided as the material for the buoyancy body, which cause the buoyancy body to attempt to rise to the surface due to the buoyancy when immersed in water.
• a handle is attached to the flexible buoyancy body to guide the cleaning device.
• a cleaning agent is fastened by means of Velcro fasteners, the shape of which essentially corresponds to the shape of the buoyancy body.
• the hull outside of a boat lying below the water surface can be cleaned.
• a person dips the cleaning device into the water either from the boat or from an adjacent jetty and scrubs with the cleaning agent the fuselage on the outside. Since this is inclined downwards and since the buoyancy body tries to rise to the water surface, this buoyancy body presses the cleaning agent against the outside of the hull of the boat, so that the necessary contact pressure for the cleaning process is ensured.
• both the buoyancy body and the cleaning agent are flexible, they can essentially adapt to the contour of the outside of the hull of the boat, so that the cleaning element lies against the outside of the hull over the entire length.
• a disadvantage of this known cleaning device is that the handle is rigidly connected to the buoyancy body. Since the contour of the outside of the hull of a boat changes not only from the water's edge to the keel, i.e. in the vertical direction, but also from the stern to the bow of the ship, i.e. in the longitudinal direction of the ship, this rigid connection between the stick and the buoyancy body is not an exact guide of the detergent along the contour of the hull. Due to the lack of or inadequate guidance along the exact fuselage contour, complete and uniform cleaning of the fuselage outside is not possible with this known device.
• a boat cleaner with a pivotable connection between the handle and ' buoyancy body is known from US 3,010,420.
• this known device has, on the back facing away from the bristles of the brush serving as a cleaning agent, an elastic bag which serves as a buoyancy body and which, after being filled with air, provides the pressure force required for cleaning.
• a disadvantage of this known construction is that the brush provided with the inflated bag is difficult to press under water at the start of cleaning and the contact pressure is not variable.
• the invention is based on the object of improving a cleaning device of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that it can be used to trace the most varied body contours precisely, simply and with an always appropriate contact pressure.
• the solution to this problem is, according to the invention, characterized in that at least one body which can be filled with a gas, in particular air, is embedded in the material of the buoyancy body and that the body which can be filled with the gas is via a on the handle, in particular on the handle part of the handle, arranged inlet and outlet valve can be acted upon with the gas.
• the buoyancy body and the cleaning agent Due to this pivotable connection of the stem to the buoyancy body and thus also to the cleaning agent, it is possible that during the scrubbing movements carried out by the operating personnel, the buoyancy body and the cleaning agent create exactly on the respective outer contour of the boat hull, since the pivotable connection to the stem only as Guidance of the cleaning agent and the buoyancy body serves, but the position of the buoyancy body and cleaning agent to the outer contour of the boat hull can adjust freely due to the pivotable storage.
• the buoyancy force of the buoyancy body and thus the contact pressure on the boat hull is increased by the gas-fillable body in the buoyancy body, which significantly supports the natural buoyancy force of the buoyancy body.
• This body which can be filled with gas is particularly advantageously designed as an inflatable tube.
• the body which can be filled with gas can be manually inflated via the inlet and outlet valve.
• the invention proposes that a circumferential bead made of the material of the buoyancy body is formed on the flat side of the buoyancy body provided with the base plate.
• This circumferential bead increases the contact pressure of the cleaning device on the outer contour of the hull due to the increased buoyancy of the buoyancy body, but also prevents the base plate from coming into contact with the hull outer side of the boat during the scrubbing movement of the cleaning device, since the circumferential bead forms the lateral end of the buoyancy body.
• the body which can be filled with gas is advantageously arranged in the region of this circumferential bead.
• the connecting element is designed as a connection consisting of an essentially rigid rubber material, which is connected on the one hand to the base plate and on the other hand to the handle.
• This connection made of the stiff rubber material on the one hand enables a pivotable movement between the handle and the buoyancy body but on the other hand is so rigid that the buoyancy body and the cleaning agent can be controlled precisely via the handle.
• the rubber connection preferably allows the handle to be deflected from the rest position by approximately ⁇ 10 °.
• the stem is attached to the base plate at an angle to the buoyancy body, the angle between the stem and base plate being 5 ° to 10 °, preferably 7 °.
• the connecting element is designed as an articulated connection, in particular a ball joint.
• an articulation of the articulated connection is particularly simple and inexpensive and can be accomplished, for example, in that an articulated ball is formed on the articulated end of the stem, which can be inserted into a bearing shell formed on the base plate.
• the joint connection has two joint axes arranged at right angles to one another.
• Such an articulated connection can be designed, for example, as a universal or universal joint. Even with this double-articulated connection between the handle and the buoyancy body or cleaning agent, it is possible that the cleaning agent adapts exactly to any change in the contour of the boat contour.
• the double-joint design of the joint connection has the advantage that the buoyancy body and the cleaning agent can always be guided in the elongated orientation, whereas when using the plastic articulated also a rotation of the buoyancy body and the cleaning agent about the longitudinal axis of the stem is possible.
• the handle has at least one lockable swivel joint.
• This design of the swivel joint in the handle makes it possible to align the buoyancy body and the cleaning agent from the outset approximately parallel to the outer contour of the boat hull.
• a certain contact pressure can additionally be applied against the outside of the hull of the boat via the handle guided by the operating personnel.
• the handle can be telescoped and pulled apart. Because of this configuration, the device according to the invention is very easy to transport and can be stowed away easily even in the limited space available on board a boat.
• the handle is advantageously made of metal, in particular aluminum.
• the design of the handle made of aluminum has the additional advantage that aluminum is essentially resistant to sea water.
• the flexibility of the buoyancy body and thus the adaptation of the cleaning device to the contour of the outside of the fuselage during the cleaning process can be further improved according to the invention in that at least one tongue-forming slot is formed in the buoyancy body parallel to the flat sides from the front free end.
• the tongues of the buoyancy body thus shift relative to one another by the flat sides of the tongues lying against one another sliding against one another.
• the flexibility of the buoyancy body essentially depends only on the thickness of the individual tongues. Due to the slot formation in the buoyancy body, the cleaning behavior is thus improved overall by the better contour adaptation.
• the invention further proposes that on the surfaces facing one another the tongues guide elements are arranged.
• At least one groove is formed in one tongue and at least one bulge engaging in the groove is formed in the other tongue to form the guide elements.
• the bulge can be formed from the material of the respective tongue, or it can consist of a material inserted into the respective tongue, in particular rubber.
• the immersion of the cleaning device in the water and the movement of the cleaning device under water can be improved in that the front end of the buoyancy body and the cleaning device are rounded.
• the invention proposes that brushes which run transversely, are spaced apart from one another and protrude from the surface of the cleaning agent are incorporated into the cleaning agent.
• a cleaning agent provided with the brushes can be used in particular for cleaning boat hulls of motor boats in order to overlap and clean the profiling ribs running in the longitudinal direction of the boat hull.
• the brushes can be interchangeably inserted into the cleaning agent in order to be able to replace used brushes on the one hand and to use harder and softer brushes depending on the application.
• a sliding piece can be placed on the front end of the buoyancy body in the cleaning direction in order to be able to follow sharp contour transitions, such as for example in the transition from the fuselage to the sword.
• This slider advantageously has the shape of an asymmetrical see triangle, the angular position of the triangle with respect to the buoyancy body is adjustable.
• Figure 1 is a schematic view of the hull of a boat with a cleaning device according to the invention for cleaning the outside of the hull.
• FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of the cleaning device according to the invention
• FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the cleaning device according to the invention.
• Fig. 4 is a perspective view corresponding to Fig. 2, but showing a cleaning agent provided with brushes and
• Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the hull of a boat with a retractable sword.
• a hull 1 of a boat 2 is shown, wherein it can be seen that the outside of the hull 3 is curved approximately S-shaped.
• FIGS. 2 and 3 show a cleaning device 4, by means of which the outside of the hull 3 of the boat 2 can be cleaned.
• This cleaning device 4, shown enlarged in FIGS. 2 and 3, essentially consists of a buoyancy body 5 and a cleaning agent 7 which is interchangeably fastened to this buoyancy body 5 by means of Velcro fasteners 6.
• the buoyancy body 5 is essentially designed as an elongated, flat body and consists of foamed plastic with enclosed air po ren, so that the buoyancy body 5 has a low specific weight and thus a large buoyancy in the water.
• a slot 9 is formed in the middle from the front free end, through which the front part of the buoyancy body 5 is divided into two tongues 5 ′ and 5 ′′ illustrated embodiment approximately% of the length of the buoyancy body 5.
• the cleaning agent 7 is fastened by means of the Kiettver Every 6, which also has an elongated shape corresponds to the shape of the buoyancy body 5.
• the cleaning agent 7 is preferably formed by interconnected plastic fibers, which define a surface that is rough for the cleaning process.
• a base plate 10 for attaching a stem 11 On the upper flat side 8 of the buoyancy body 5, a base plate 10 for attaching a stem 11 is arranged.
• the connection of the stem 11 to the base plate 10 takes place via a connecting element 12, which enables a pivotable mounting of the stem 11 on the base plate 10, so that the buoyancy body 5 and the cleaning agent 7 are pivotally and rotatably connected to the stem 11 to itself to be able to adapt exactly to the contour of the outside of the hull 3 of the boat 2 during the cleaning process.
• the connecting element 12 is designed as a connection 13 consisting of an essentially rigid rubber material, which is connected on the one hand to the base plate 10 and on the other hand to the handle 11.
• This connection 13 which is preferably made of hard rubber, enables the handle 11 and base plate 10 to pivot relative to one another by approximately ⁇ 10 °.
• the connecting element 12 is designed as an articulated connection 14 with two articulated axes 15 arranged at right angles to one another, about which the buoyancy body 5 and the cleaning agent 7 can be pivoted in relation to the stem 11.
• the handle 11 has a lockable swivel joint 16, via which a rough alignment of the cleaning device 4 with respect to the Hull outside 3 of the boat 2 can be adjusted in relation to the handle 11.
• the handle 11 is designed to be telescopically slidable and pullable apart.
• the handle 11 has screw connections 17, by means of which the individual parts of the handle 11 can be fixed to one another.
• the telescopic design of the handle 11 has the advantage that the length of the handle 11 can be adjusted if necessary.
• FIGS. 2 and 4 show particularly advantageous configurations of the stem 11.
• this part is not designed as a rigid one-piece part.
• the multi-part design with the telescopic telescopic handle parts and the handle part 11a which makes up about a third of the length of the upper part of the handle, enables a balanced power ratio and good power transmission via the handle 11 to the rubber connector 13 and thus on the buoyancy body 5. In this way, the buoyancy body 5 can be moved stably and with an exact straight line along the contour of the boat hull.
• the formation of the lower part of the handle between the connection 13 and the pivot 16 is advantageously telescopic, so that the boat hull can also be cleaned to the lower end of the sword by means of suitable length adjustment of the handle 11 without bending or obliquely immersing the cleaning device 4. Likewise, this additional adjustability of the lower stem part enables exact cleaning of even very wide boats.
• the front end of the buoyancy body 5 shown in FIG. 3 and the cleaning agent 7 are rounded in order to make it easier for the cleaning device 4 to be immersed in the water and for the cleaning device to be guided more easily in the water.
• the front end of the embodiment according to FIG. 2 can also be rounded.
• FIG. 3 there is a circumferential bead 18 made of the material of the buoyancy body 5 on the upper flat side 8 of the buoyancy body 5 educated.
• the bulge 18 increases the mass of the material of the buoyancy body 5 and thus the contact pressure of the cleaning device 4 on the outside 3 of the fuselage.
• the bead 18 surrounds the base plate 10 for fixing the handle 11 on three sides, so that contact between the base plate 10 and the outside of the fuselage 3 can be excluded.
• the buoyancy of the buoyancy body 5 and thus the contact pressure on the boat hull can be further increased in that a body 19 which can be filled with a gas is embedded in the material of the buoyancy body 5, as can be seen from FIG. 3, this body 19 which can be filled with gas can be im Area of the bead 18 may be arranged.
• the body 19 is filled via a line 20 which ends at an inlet and outlet valve 21 on the handle part 11a of the handle 1. Via this inlet and outlet valve 21, the body 19 can, if necessary, for example in the case of very tight deposits, also be filled while working under water, for example by manual inflation with gas, in particular air. Likewise, the gas can be released again when such a large contact pressure is no longer required.
• the operator performs a scrubbing movement in order to remove algae, mussels and the like from the outside of the hull 3.
• the cleaning agent 7 Due to the buoyancy of the buoyant body 5, the cleaning agent 7 is pressed against the outside of the fuselage 3. Due to the flexibility of both the buoyancy body 5 and the cleaning agent 7 and the connection of the stem 11 and the buoyancy body 5 via the hinge connection 12, the cleaning agent 7 adapts exactly to the contour of the outside of the fuselage 3.
• the two tongues 5 ′ and 5 ′′ of the buoyancy body 5 also shift relative to one another, so that a further flexible adaptation to any hull shapes is possible. With a cleaning device 4 designed in this way, it is thus possible to easily remove the outside of the fuselage 3 of boats 2 with any hull shape to be cleaned thoroughly.
• the embodiment according to FIG. 2 are arranged on the mutually facing surfaces of the tongues 5 ', 5 "guide elements 22 which, in the exemplary embodiment shown, are formed by two grooves 23 in the tongue 5' and two corresponding bulges 24 engaging in the grooves 23 in the tongue 5".
• guide elements 22 By means of these guide elements 22, the tongues 5 ′ and 5 ′′ are fixed against one another to a limited extent without eliminating the flexibility caused by the slot 9.
• FIG. 4 shows a cleaning agent 7, in which is spaced apart, transversely running brushes 25 are incorporated, the bristles of which protrude above the surface of the cleaning agent 7.
• cleaning agents 7 are used in particular for cleaning boat hulls of motor boats, with the brushes 25 serving to overlap and clean the profiling ribs formed on motor boat hulls and running in the longitudinal direction.
• the brushes 25 can advantageously be used interchangeably in the cleaning agent 7 in order to be able to replace them, for example, in the event of wear.
• the transition from the hull 1 to the sword 26 represents a sharp contour transition, which the cleaning device 4, if at all, is very difficult and without constant cleaning contact can follow.
• a slider 27 can be placed on the front end of the buoyancy body 5 in the cleaning direction.
• the slider 27 has the shape of an asymmetrical triangle.
• the slider 27 is adjustable at the front end of the buoyancy body 5 so that a different angle of the asymmetrical triangle is always available.

Landscapes

• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
• Cleaning In General (AREA)
• Cleaning Implements For Floors, Carpets, Furniture, Walls, And The Like (AREA)
• Sealing Devices (AREA)
• Diaphragms And Bellows (AREA)
• Mechanical Treatment Of Semiconductor (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

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• 2000
  • 2000-03-22 DE DE10013997A patent/DE10013997A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-03-22 DE DE20023702U patent/DE20023702U1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 2001
  • 2001-03-21 EP EP01925495A patent/EP1265783B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2001-03-21 DE DE50113631T patent/DE50113631D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2001-03-21 ES ES01925495T patent/ES2301535T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2001-03-21 AT AT01925495T patent/ATE386681T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2001-03-21 AU AU2001252224A patent/AU2001252224A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-03-21 WO PCT/EP2001/003230 patent/WO2001070567A1/fr active IP Right Grant

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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