DE10013997A1 - Cleaning device for cleaning outside of stern of boat has baseplate on flat side of drive body opposite cleaning tool - Google Patents

Abstract

The cleaning device includes a long flexible drive body (5) with a rod (11) on one end. There is a cleaning tool (7) on the flat side (8) of the drive body. A baseplate (10) with a connecting element is fitted to the flat side of the drive body opposite the cleaning tool. The drive body and rod are pivoted to each other by a connecting element (12).

Description

The invention relates to a device for cleaning the outside of the fuselage Bootes, consisting of an elongated, flat and flexibly trained Buoyancy body with a stem attached to one end of the buoyancy body, wherein at least one cleaning agent on a flat side of the buoyancy body is preferably arranged interchangeably.

Such 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 one elongated, flat buoyancy body, being the material for the buoyancy body foamed plastic is provided with enclosed air bubbles that cause the buoyancy body when immersed in water due to the Buoyancy tries to rise to the surface. To lead the The cleaning device is a handle on the flexible buoyancy body attached. On one flat side of the buoyancy means is Velcro fasteners attached a detergent, the shape of which is essentially the Shape of the buoyancy corresponds.

By means of such a cleaning device, the under Water surface lying hull outside of a boat can be cleaned. To For this purpose, a person either dives off the boat or from one neighboring web from the cleaning device into the water and scrub with the outside of the fuselage. Since this is weird is inclined downwards and since the buoyancy body to the water surface tries to climb, this float presses the detergent against the  Outside of the hull of the boat, so that the necessary contact pressure for the cleaning process is guaranteed. In addition, since both The buoyancy body and the cleaning agent can be flexible this essentially corresponds to the contour of the hull outside of the boat adjust so that the cleaning element along the entire length Fuselage outside lies. This can be done by a scrubbing movement deposits adhering to the outside of the fuselage, such as algae or Mussels are removed.

A disadvantage of this known cleaning device is that the handle is rigid with the buoyancy body is connected. Since the contour of the outside of the fuselage is one 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 changes, is with this rigid connection between the stem and the buoyancy none exact guidance of the cleaning agent along the contour of the boat hull possible. Due to the missing or inadequate guidance along the exact Hull contour is a complete and even cleaning of the Fuselage outside not possible with this known device.

Based on this, the invention is based on the object To improve cleaning device of the type mentioned in such a way that with the various trunk contours are traced exactly can.

The solution to this problem is according to the invention characterized in that on the opposite of the detergent Flat side of the buoyancy body provided with a connecting element Base plate is arranged and that the buoyancy body and the stem on the Connecting element are pivotally connected to each other.

Through this pivotable connection of the stem to the buoyancy body and thus also to the cleaning agent, it is possible that in the case of the Operating personnel perform scrubbing movements on the buoyancy body and the cleaning agent exactly on the respective outer contour of the boat hull put on, because the pivotable connection to the handle only as a guide of the  Detergent and the buoyancy serves, the location of the buoyancy body and detergent for the outer contour of the boat hull but due to the can freely adjust pivotable storage.

According to a first preferred embodiment of the invention Connector as one made of a substantially rigid rubber material existing connection formed on the one hand with the base plate and on the other hand is connected to the stem. This connection from the stiff On the one hand, rubber material enables a swiveling movement between Stem and buoyancy body on the other hand is so rigid that the Have the buoyancy body and the cleaning agent precisely controlled via the handle. The Rubber connection preferably allows a deflection of the stem from the Rest position of approximately ± 10 °.

To move the buoyancy body directly into a position against the hull bring, it is further proposed that the stem over the connection attached to the base plate at an angle to the buoyancy body, the angle between the handle and the base plate being 5 ° to 10 °, preferably 7 °, is.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, the connecting element formed as a joint connection, in particular a ball joint. Such Forming the joint is particularly simple and inexpensive can be accomplished, for example, in that at the joint end of the stem, a joint ball is formed, which in a on the base plate trained bearing shell can be used.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, the articulated connection two joint axes arranged at right angles to each other. Such Articulated connection can, for example, be designed as a universal or universal joint his. Also with this double articulated connection of stem and Buoyancy or cleaning agents, it is possible that the Adapts cleaning agent exactly to any change in contour of the boat contour. Compared to the ball joint, the double-jointed design of the Articulated joint the advantage that the buoyancy body and the cleaning agent  can always be guided in the elongated orientation, whereas in the use of the ball joint also a twisting of the buoyancy body and of the detergent around the longitudinal axis of the stem is possible.

Furthermore, the invention proposes that on the base plate provided flat side of the buoyancy body a circumferential bead from the Material of the buoyancy body is formed. This circumferential bead increases to the contact pressure due to the increased buoyancy of the buoyancy body the cleaning device to the outer contour of the hull, continues but also prevents the base plate during the scrubbing movement of the Cleaning device comes into contact with the outside of the hull of the boat because the circumferential bead forms the lateral end of the buoyancy body.

The buoyancy of the buoyancy body and thus the contact pressure on the Boat hull can be further reinforced by the fact that in the material of the Buoyancy body at least one that can be filled with a gas, in particular air Body is embedded. This is particularly advantageously fillable with gas Body designed as an inflatable tube.

When using one with a circumferential bead The body which can be filled with gas is advantageously buoyant in the region this circumferential bead arranged. Filling this body with the gas preferably takes place via a on the handle and in particular on the handle part of the handle arranged inlet and outlet valve. According to a practical embodiment of the Invention can be filled with gas body via the inlet and outlet valve be inflated manually.

To the contact force generated by the buoyancy body on the outside of the fuselage of the boat, according to a preferred embodiment, the Invention proposed that the handle has at least one lockable swivel having. This design of the swivel in the handle makes it possible to The float and the cleaning agent are roughly parallel from the start Align to the outer contour of the boat hull. Thus, over that of the Operating staff guided the handle against a certain contact pressure the hull outside of the boat can be applied.  

Furthermore, it is proposed with the invention that the handle is telescopic can be pushed into one another and pulled apart. Because of this configuration the device according to the invention is very easy to transport and also in the limited space on board a boat easily stowed.

The handle is advantageously made of metal, in particular aluminum. The In addition to the weight advantage, the aluminum handle has this advantage Light metal has the added benefit that aluminum is essentially is seawater resistant.

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 According to the invention, the cleaning process can be further improved by that in the buoyancy body parallel to the flat sides from the front free end at least one tongue-forming slot is formed. In the event of a change in bending of the buoyancy body thus shift the tongues of the buoyancy body against each other by the abutting flat sides of the tongues slide against each other. This depends on the flexibility of the buoyancy body in the essentially only depend on the thickness of the individual tongues. Through the Slit formation in the buoyancy body is thus the better overall Contour adjustment improves cleaning behavior.

In order to prevent the tongues formed in the buoyancy body from becoming so move far against each other that the tongue provided with the base plate no longer apply pressure to the tongue provided with the cleaning agent can, it is further proposed with the invention that on each other facing surfaces of the tongues guide elements are arranged.

According to a practical embodiment of the invention, the Guide elements in one tongue at least one groove and in the other Tongue at least one bulge engaging in the groove.

The bulge can be formed from the material of the respective tongue be, or from a material inserted into the respective tongue, especially rubber.  

Immersing the cleaning device in the water and moving the cleaning device under water can be improved in that rounded the front end of the buoyancy body and the cleaning device are trained.

According to a further embodiment, the invention proposes that in the detergent transverse, spaced and Brushes protruding from the surface of the cleaning agent are incorporated are. Such a cleaning agent provided with the brushes can in particular used for cleaning boat hulls from motor boats to the in To overlap the profiling ribs running in the longitudinal direction of the boat hull and clean. Advantageously, the brushes are interchangeable with that Cleaning agents can be used to replace used brushes can and on the other hand, depending on the application, harder and softer To be able to use brushes.

Finally, the invention proposes that in Cleaning direction front end of the buoyancy body a slider can be placed is to make sharp contour transitions, such as the fuselage transition Sword to follow. This slider advantageously has the Shape of an asymmetrical triangle, the angular position of the triangle with respect of the buoyancy body is adjustable.

Further features and advantages of the invention result from the following Description of the accompanying drawing, in which three embodiments cleaning device according to the invention are shown schematically. In the Drawing shows:

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 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the cleaning device of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the cleaning device of 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.

In Fig. 1 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.

Furthermore, the picture is shown in FIG. 1 can be seen a cleaning device 4, by means of which the body 3 can be cleaned outside of the boat. 2 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 formed as an elongated, flat body and consists of foamed plastic with enclosed air pores, so that the buoyancy body 5 has a low specific weight and thus a large buoyancy in the water. Parallel to the two flat sides 8 of the buoyancy body 5 , 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 ". The length of the slot 9 is The illustrated embodiment is approximately ¾ the length of the buoyancy body 5 .

On the lower flat side 8 of the buoyancy body 5 , the cleaning agent 7 is fastened by means of the Velcro fasteners 6 , which also has an elongated shape and 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.

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 connected to the stem 11 so as to be pivotable and rotatable to be able to adapt exactly to the contour of the outside of the hull 3 of the boat 2 during the cleaning process.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, 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 °.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, 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 .

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the handle 11 has a lockable swivel joint 16 , by means of which a rough alignment of the cleaning device 4 with respect to the hull outside 3 of the boat 2 in relation to the handle 11 can be set. In order to be able to easily transport the cleaning device 4 , the handle 11 is designed to be telescopically slidable and pullable apart. For this purpose, the handle 11 has screw connections 17 , by means of which the individual parts of the handle 11 can be fixed to one another. In addition to the simple transport of the cleaning device 4 , the telescopic design of the handle 11 has the advantage that the length of the handle 11 can be adjusted if necessary.

The exemplary embodiments in FIGS. 2 and 4 show particularly advantageous configurations of the handle 11 . In order to prevent the upper handle part from swinging and bending, ie above the swivel joint 16 , this part is not designed as a rigid one-piece part. The multi-part design with the via the screw connection 17 telescopingly nestable stem parts, as well as the grip part 11 a, which makes up approximately one third of the length of the upper shaft part, enables a balanced force ratio and a good transmission of force via the handle 11 on 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 enable the cleaning device 4 to be more easily immersed in the water and the cleaning device to be guided more easily in the water. Of course, the front end of the embodiment according to FIG. 2 can also be rounded.

As further 3 can be seen from Fig., Of the buoyant body 5 is formed a circumferential bead 18 of the material of the buoyant body 5 on the upper flat side. 8 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. In addition, 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 buoyant 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 buoyant body 5 . As seen from Fig. 3, this can be filled with gas body 19 can be arranged in the region of the bead 18. In the illustrated embodiments, the body 19 is filled via a line 20 , which ends at an inlet and outlet valve 21 on the handle part 11 a of the stem 11 . 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.

To clean the outside of the hull 3 of the boat 2 below the water surface, the operator performs a scrubbing movement in order to remove algae, mussels and the like from the outside of the hull 3 . 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 . According to displace the radius of curvature of the hull skin section 3, additionally the two tongues 5 'and 5 "of the buoyant body 5 against each other, whereby a more flexible adaptation to any hull shapes is possible. With a thus designed cleaning device 4, it is thus possible in a simple manner, the fuselage outer sides 3 of boats 2 with any hull shape to be cleaned thoroughly.

In order to prevent the two tongues 5 ', 5 "from moving so far against one another that the tongue 5 ' provided with the base plate 10 can no longer exert pressure on the other tongue 5 ", in the embodiment according to FIG mutually facing surfaces of the tongues 5 ', 5 "are arranged 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 ". By means of these guide elements 22 , the tongues 5 ′ and 5 ″ are fixed against one another in a limited manner without eliminating the flexibility caused by the slot 9 .

While the smoother in the pictures Fig. Boat cleaner 2 and 3 with the flat fleece-like cleaning means 7, in particular for cleaning boat hulls are suitable, such as those used in sailing yachts, 4 shows the figure Fig., A cleaning means 7, in which spaced, transversely running brushes 25 are incorporated, the bristles of which protrude above the surface of the cleaning agent 7 . Such 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.

Fig. 5 shows, finally, the hull 1 of a boat with a retractable sword 26th As can be seen in the figure, the transition from the fuselage 1 to the sword 26 represents a sharp contour transition, which the cleaning device 4 can follow, if at all, only with great difficulty and without constant cleaning contact. In order to remedy this disadvantage, a slider 27 can be placed on the front end of the buoyancy body 5 in the cleaning direction. In the illustrated embodiment, the slider 27 has the shape of an asymmetrical triangle. To adapt to different transition angles, 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.

Reference list

1

hull

2

boat

3rd

Outside of the fuselage

4

Cleaning device

5

Buoyancy body

5

' Tongue

5

" Tongue

6

Velcro fastener

7

cleaning supplies

8th

Flat side

9

slot

10th

Base plate

11

stalk

11

a grip part

12th

Fastener

13

Connection

14

Articulated connection

15

Hinge axis

16

Swivel

17th

Screw connection

18th

bead

19th

body

20th

management

21

Inlet and outlet valve

22

Guide element

23

Groove

24th

Bulge

25th

brush

26

sword

27

Slider

Claims (28)

1. Device for cleaning the outside of the hull ( 3 ) of a boat ( 2 ), consisting of an elongated, flat and flexibly designed buoyancy body ( 5 ) with a stem ( 11 ) attached to one end of the buoyancy body ( 5 ), wherein on a flat side ( 8 ) of the buoyancy body ( 5 ) at least one cleaning agent ( 7 ) is preferably arranged interchangeably, characterized in that on the flat side ( 8 ) of the buoyancy body ( 5 ) opposite the cleaning agent ( 7 ) a base plate ( 10 ) provided with a connecting element ( 12 ) ) is arranged and that the buoyancy body ( 5 ) and the stem ( 11 ) are pivotally connected to one another via the connecting element. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting element ( 12 ) is formed from a substantially rigid rubber material connection ( 13 ) which is connected on the one hand to the base plate ( 10 ) and on the other hand to the stem ( 11 ) is. 3. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the handle ( 11 ) via the connection ( 13 ) relative to the buoyancy body ( 5 ) is attached at an angle to the base plate ( 10 ). 4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the bending between the base plate ( 10 ) and stem ( 11 ) is 5 ° to 10 °, preferably 7 °. 5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting element ( 12 ) is designed as an articulated connection ( 14 ). 6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the articulated connection ( 14 ) is a ball joint. 7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that a joint ball is formed on the joint-side end of the stem ( 11 ) which can be inserted into a bearing shell formed on the base plate ( 10 ). 8. The device according to claim 7, characterized in that the articulated connection ( 14 ) has two articulated axes ( 15 ) arranged at right angles to one another. 9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that the articulated connection ( 14 ) is designed as a universal joint. 10. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the buoyant body (5) there is formed a circumferential bead (18) from the material of the buoyant body (5) on the provided with the base plate (10) flat side (8) . 11. Device according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that in the material of the buoyancy body ( 5 ) at least one with a gas, in particular air, fillable body ( 19 ) is embedded. 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that the gas-fillable body ( 19 ) is designed as an inflatable hose. 13. The apparatus of claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the gas-fillable body ( 19 ) is arranged in the region of the circumferential bead ( 18 ). 14. The device according to at least one of claims 11 to 12, characterized in that the gas-fillable body ( 19 ) via a on the stem ( 11 ), in particular on the handle part ( 11 a) of the stem ( 11 ), arranged inlet and outlet valve ( 21 ) can be charged with the gas. 15. The apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that the gas-fillable body ( 19 ) via the inlet and outlet valve ( 21 ) can be manually inflated. 16. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the handle ( 11 ) has at least one lockable swivel joint ( 16 ). 17. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the handle ( 11 ) can be telescopically pushed into one another and pulled apart. 18. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the handle ( 11 ) consists of metal, in particular aluminum. 19. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that in the buoyancy body ( 5 ) parallel to the flat sides ( 8 ) from the front free end at least one tongue ( 5 'and 5 ") forming slot ( 9 ) is formed . 20. The apparatus according to claim 19, characterized in that on the mutually facing surfaces of the tongues ( 5 'and 5 ") guide elements ( 22 ) are arranged. 21. The apparatus according to claim 20, characterized in that for forming the guide elements ( 22 ) in one of the tongues ( 5 ', 5 ") at least one groove ( 23 ) and on the other tongue ( 5 ', 5 ") at least one in the groove ( 23 ) engaging bulge ( 24 ) is formed. 22. The apparatus according to claim 21, characterized in that the at least one bulge ( 24 ) is formed from the material of the respective tongue ( 5 ', 5 "). 23. The device according to claim 21, characterized in that the at least one bulge ( 24 ) consists of a material, preferably rubber, used in the respective tongue ( 5 ', 5 "). 24. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 23, characterized in that the front end of the buoyancy body ( 5 ) and the cleaning agent ( 7 ) are rounded. 25. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 24, characterized in that in the cleaning agent ( 7 ) a plurality of spaced apart, transverse and projecting over the surface of the cleaning agent brushes ( 25 ) are incorporated. 26. The apparatus according to claim 25, characterized in that the brushes ( 25 ) can be used interchangeably in the cleaning agent ( 7 ). 27. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 26, characterized in that on the front end of the buoyancy body ( 5 ) a slider ( 27 ) can be placed to adapt to sharp contour transitions. 28. The apparatus according to claim 27, characterized in that the slider ( 27 ) has the shape of an asymmetrical triangle and can be fixed in different positions on the buoyancy body ( 5 ).