By Richard K. Cacioppo, Sr. J.D

In 2004, a battery-powered hand-held pool and spa cleaner was patented by New Jersey’s Guy Erlich. This device uses an onboard, high-quality, nickel-metal hydride rechargeable battery and houses a filter and impeller attached to an electric motor within its body. Key features of this design include ease of maintenance and portability, as the cleaner does not require hoses, power cords or booster pumps to operate.

Read the full article: The evolution of pool cleaners

By Richard K. Cacioppo, Sr. J.D

During this decade, major turning points were achieved for all three main types of cleaners (suction-side, pressure-side and robotic). In terms of robotics, numerous powered pool cleaner patent applications, dating back to 1967, were submitted, leading to the 1971 patent for a complex electric pool cleaning machine.

This device used numerous sensors, levers and shafts to collect debris in an onboard bag. Although the debris bag was not contained within the body of the device, it may be the first to truly qualify as an electric robotic cleaner.

The progenitor for many of today’s pressure-side cleaners likely evolved from a design that was patented in 1974 by Melvyn L. Henkin, a resident of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. It was to become perhaps the most famous of all pool cleaners, the Polaris. The cleaner’s three-wheel configuration, combined with Venturi action, allowed the unit to easily move along the pool floor, collecting debris in its filter bag along the way.

Read the full article: The evolution of pool cleaners

By Richard K. Cacioppo, Sr. J.D

Progression of the pool cleaner continued when, in 1960, a patent application for a pool cleaner resembling a hand-held floor polisher was submitted. Although the device was patented three years later, this cleaner does not appear to have had any commercial impact.

This development period also witnessed what is quite possibly the precursor to today’s robotic electric pool cleaners, the Aqua Queen by AquaVac Systems in West Palm Beach, Fla., in the early 1960s. Said to weigh more than 18 kg (40 lbs), this bulky automated device used a self-contained pump, motor and filter system to vacuum the pool as it travelled from wall to wall. No patent was discovered to have been applied for or issued to this machine.

Read the full article: The evolution of pool cleaners

By Richard K. Cacioppo, Sr. J.D

Three key developments occurred during this decade. The first, in 1953, was the invention of a device that resembled a typical upright vacuum cleaner. In addition to being inexpensive to manufacturer, the cleaner’s primary claim to fame was its light weight and ease of handling. It was also suction-side driven, could be operated via a standard garden hose and did not require outside electrical power.

Another key development occurred in 1955 when a patent was filed for a ‘submarine suction cleaner.’ This is possibly the most referenced antecedent device in later patents, as it operated in much the same way as a robotic pool cleaner. It was designed to navigate the pool floor and even had its own self-contained suction motor. Technically, this cleaner comprised a pump, which filtered discharged water and sediment out of the pool. Where filtering equipment was available, the water from the discharge hose could be filtered and returned to the pool.

Read the full article: The evolution of pool cleaners