Spas which typically reside below ground, and hot tubs which typically reside above ground, are popular recreational feature in many homes. These devices include a system for filtering and heating the water. However, unlike their swimming pool counter part, spas and hot tubs are usually not equipped with a bottom cleaning system such as a manual or automatic vacuum. As such, over time debris can collect at the bottom of the spa or hot tub. Since the spa and hot tub do not have a vacuum system, the removal of such debris can be both troublesome and time consuming. Small, portable vacuums have been developed to solve this problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,980 discloses a device for selectively cleaning debris from the bottom of a liquid pool. The device has a chamber having a water intake tube having an inlet end and extends through the lower end of the chamber and terminates in an outlet end which has a one-way valve mounted thereon. The lower end of the chamber has an opening for dumping water from the chamber. A valve is provided for blocking the opening by the water pressure of the pool and a filtering means is provided for filtering debris from the water before being dumped through the opening. An ambient air intake tube is connected to the upper end of the chamber and has an opening whereby ambient air can be trapped in the chamber by the operator.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds