AU598736B2

AU598736B2 - Swimming pool cover

Info

Publication number: AU598736B2
Application number: AU58319/86A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Mark Graeme Whitty
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1985-06-04
Filing date: 1986-06-03
Publication date: 1990-07-05
Anticipated expiration: 2006-06-03
Also published as: AU5831986A

Description

ii -~-;--i-jliiiii;CL;i;ii i~i:_-iil i 59 8 7 3 6oo, Form PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: :5 g 3 67 18'6 Application Number: Lodged: o o o

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Complet o. S.o. Priority: e e Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: -_jejjts rmadCAe 14; 3ection 49 anid is corvCct to.

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Related Art: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT MARK GRAEME WHITTY Name of Applicant: I tL e Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service:Care of 22 BAY STREET, NAROOMA, N.S.W. 2546.

MARK GRAEME WHITTY PAUL F. KILDEA, PATENT AND TRADE MARK ATTORNEY, 19 LOGAN STREET, NARRABUNDAH, A.C.T. 2604.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: SWIMMING POOL COVER The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:-* SNote: The description is to be typed in double spacing, pica type face, in an area not exceeding 250 mm in depth and 160 mm in width, on tough white paper of good quality and it is to be inserted inside this form.

14599/7 8-L Printed by C. J. THOMPSON, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra r IA I

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2 The invention relates to improvements in swimming pools and, in particular, the invention provides a cover for a swimming pool which makes the pool safer and serves as protection against the ingress of dirt, leaves and other debris.

There are many swimming pools including public pools, pools at community establishments such as schools, hotels, motels, units, etc. and private pools. Some are indoor; most are outdoor. At all swimming pools there is a risk of drowning or injury.

Many houses have their own swimming pool and the number of such pools is increasing rapidly. A swimming pool in the grounds surrounding a house greatly increases the value of the property and is very convenient for swimming education and as a source of recreation end exercise.

However, there are drawbacks mainly because such pools are often unattended for long periods. During periods of inactivity, regular cleaning is often overlooked. In addition, a backyard pool is a potential danger because it is always possible that somebody, even a trespasser, could fall into the pool with perhaps fatal results. Another drawback is that a swimming pool takes up a large area of the grounds of a house and that area is not useable when the swimming pool is not in use.

There have been various proposals to make a swimming pool safer. One proposal is to surround the pool with a fence -3-I and provide a gate with child-proof locks. That is only partially successful due to the ability of children, even small children, to climb over the fence or operate the double locking which is usually provided on the gates.

A second proposal is to provide a swimming pool with an alarm. For example, one alarm is intended to be operated by surface ripples on the water. This has the difficulty of differentiating between ripples caused by wind or falling debris or other small objects with the ripple caused by a child or other non-swimmer falling into the pool.

4 V Another proposal is to make a swimming pool with a cover for use when the pool is not in use. Prior covers do not completely isolate the water. Thus a child may creep under the cover. Rainwater may enter the pool and that upsets the chemical balance of the pool water. Rainwater flowing into the pool may carry dirt and other debris which may pollute the pool water. Algae and bacteria still grow in the swimming pool making it desirable to treat the water throughout the winter months when the pool is not normally in use.

Furthermore, covers are generally inconvenient to place in position and dismantle and there is usually a storage space problem with the dismantled cover, with the result that a pool is often left uncovered.

It has been proposed to provide a cover which is movable between a covering position and a submerged position adjacent the pool floor. Such covers are usually apertured and spaced 2 i:, 4 from the side walls of the pool and therefore suffer similar disadvantages to those referred to above. In one case, moving parts between the cover and the side walls of the pool were proposed but that did not result in complete isolation of the pool water.

Despite these various proposals, there are still drownings, particularly in backyard swimming pools. This indicates the need for something better than what has been proposed.

It is an object of the invention to provide a swimming pool i0 cover which will make a swimming pool safer that existing facilities and, when the cover is in place, make drowning impossible.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a cover for a swimming pool which is easy to place in position and retract, which does not introduce a storage problem and makes the area occupied by the pool usable for other activities when the pool is not in use.

t t It is a further object of the invention to provide a swimming pool cover which will minimize cleaning problems.

According to the invention, a swimming pool comprises side walls, a floor and a hollow, substantially rigid, imperforate cover which is movable between a submerged position adjacent the floor and a covering position floating on the surface of the water, the interior of the cover being connectable to a 5 source of gas so that the cover may be made buoyant and float to the surface of the water, said cover being formed at its periphary with a sealing surface which, when the cover is in its covering position, abuts a mating sealing surface formed around the edge of the pool so as to completely isolate the water, but when the cover is below its covering position, peripheral edges thereof are spaced from the side walls so that water may pass therebetween as the cover is raised or lowered.

1iC Preferably, the edge of the pool is provided with a tapered lip and the top surface of the cover is bevelled or tapered at the upper edge thereof so as to provide a good mating abutment between the floating cover and the edge of the pool.

To improve sealing, one or both of the mating surfaces may include resilient means.

Preferably, the hollow cover is connected to a source of air.

Air may be passed into the submerged cover until it becomes buoyant and floats to the durface of the water. The cover can be easily submerged by removing air from the hollow cover.

2 Preferably, the cover is formed of strong material so that, when in its covering position, it may act as a patio, path, floor, court, etc. For this reason, when so positioned, the cover and pool surrounds should form a continuous planar surface without any footing obstacles.

6 IOne embodiment of the invention will be described in relation to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a vertical sectional view of an inground swimming pool.

The drawings show a swimming pool 1 constructed in an excavation in ground 2. The ground surface surrounding the pool is provided with any known type of finish 3 such as tiling, concreting, decking, etc.

The surface edge of the pool is provided with a lip 4, which preferably has a tapered surface 5 which projects inwardly 3 from the sides of the pool. Preferably, the lip 4 is removably retained on the pool surrounds.

A hollow cover 6 is provided and in the drawings the cover 6 is shown in its covering position on the surface of the water and, additionally, in its submerged position. In its covering %I position, cover 6 is shown spaced from the tapered surface for the sake of clarity. In practice, the corresponding surfaces firmly abut. By passing air into the interior of cover 6, it becomes buoyant and it may be raised from its submerged position and to its covering position. The positions can be reversed by removing air from the interior of the floating cover 6. The movement of air into cover 6 and out from cover 6 may be powered by any suitable means such as the normal pool pump. On its underside, cover 6 may have means to space it from the floor of the pool to prevent Ssuction therebetween.

7 The cover 6 is substantially rigid being made of strong nondeformable material so that when the cover 6 is in its floating position its surface in association with the pool surrounds, can become a patio, court, etc. One suitable material is fibreglass which may be reinforced so that the shape of cover 6 does not deform. When below the covering position, clearance between cover 6 and the sides of the pool is sufficient to ensure that cover 6 moves upwardly and downwardly with ease and allows water to pass quickly from 1C one side of cover 6 to the other.

The top edge of cover 6 is tapered so that, when the cover is in its covering position, its tapered surface makes a firm mating abutment with tapered surface 5 of lip 4. One or both of the mating surfaces may include resilient means,

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IiT such as a resilient layer, to improve sealing. The tapered mating surfaces help to stabilise the floating cover 6 as 9 ownward pressure at A is counterbalanced by the retaining lip at B. Thus, the cover is retained rigidly in position even when supporting the weight of one or more persons although the weight may be distributed unevenly over the cover. The usual pool equipment and the pressurising equipment for the cover should be located remotely so as to leave the cover and pool surrounds unencumbered.

Connections such as hoses, valves, etc. may preferably be located underground.

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I In addition, the pool water is completely isolated. Not tt ~only is there no chance of a child creeping under the cover 6, it also seals the pool from the ingress of rain and S debris, etc. Because the pool water is isolated from rain- S° water, dirt, light, etc., the growth of algae and bacteria beneath floating cover 6 is eliminated or at least minimised.

Therefore, with floating cover 6 in place, water maintenance is minimised and the pool may be left for long periods without the necessity for some form of water treatment.

Although the tapered edge of cover 6 minimises the danger to swimmers when the cover 6 is in a submerged position, an intermediate member may be provided to completely cover the gap between cover 6 in its submerged condition and the pool side walls. This is desirable when the cover is held between its extreme positions to form a wading pool for small children. The intermediate member would be removed Sbefore the cover is moved to its floating position.

"I _t_ The sides of the pool may have a number of recesses one above the other to provide steps for descending into the pool or ascending out of the pool. A hand rail may be formed in the side wall adjacent the steps. Similarly, recesses at various depths may be provided to form safety rests for swimmers. In a further embodiment a removable ladder and/or hand rail may be provided.

A pool with sloping sides may be provided with a cover which rests on the pool floor in its submerged position. By selecting an appropriate size lip, firm contact between the lip and the floating cover and complete isolation of the pool water are obtained.

If ever it is required to do so, the cover may be removed from the pool after firstly dismantling the removable lip.

In the embodiment described with reference to the drawings, a one-piece cover is described. That form of construction is particularly suitable for smaller pools. For larger pools, the cover may be formed of two or more parts. The parts may be separate and may be moved independently or may be joined as by pivotting. The parts are provided with mating surfaces so that, when the cover is in its covering position, the joints do not allow the passage of water therebetween. Preferably, one or both adjoining surfaces are resilient.

A safe pool cover is provided with the additional advantages of low water maintenance and the provision of a useful Io patio area in the winter months. Various changes and modifications will readily be suggested by a person skilled in the art. For example, a similar cover could be provided for an above ground pool as well as for existing pools.

Special modifications may be required for particular pools which include, for examnple, steps extending into the pool.

In such cases the movable cover may require extensions which may be separate or joined by pivotting, sliding, etc. The broad teachings of the invention can be adopted in special cases of this type. These changes and modifications all fall within the broad concept of the invention.

Claims

2. A swimming pool as claimed in Claim i, wherein the top edge of the cover is provided with a tapered surface which, when the cover is in its covering position, abuts with a mating surface on an inwardly projecting lip extending around the edge of the pool.
3. A swimming pool as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said inwardly projecting lip is removable from the edge of the pool. T C')04 12
4. A swimming pool as claimed in Claim i, 2 or 3, wherein at least one of the mating sealing surfaces includes resilient means to improve sealing. A swimming pool according to any preceding Claim, wherein the interior of the hollow cover is connected to a source of air so that it may be made buoyant and float to the surface of the water and wherein the air is removable to permit the cover to sink to its submerged position adjacent the pool floor.
6. A swimming pool as claimed in any preceding Claim, wherein the bottom surface of the cover is provided with S means to space the cover from the floor of the pool to prevent suction therebetween.
7. A swimming pool as claimed in Claim 5, including means Sto hold the cover at a position intermediate its extreme positions.
8. A swimming pool as claimed in any preceding Claim, wherein the cover is formed from more than one part, adjacent parts being provided with mating sealing surfaces.
9. A swimming pool as claimed in any preceding Claim, wherein the cover is made of a strong material and that, in its floating position, it forms a continuous planar surface with the surrounds of the pool. I C~ -a i I- -~wr 13 A swimming pool substantially as described illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawing. and DATED this 12th. day of APRIL 1990. t MARK GRAEME WHITTY By His Patent Attorney PAUL F. KILDEA I i