AU2017100584B4 - A portable aboveground pool and a method for manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract There is provided a pool comprising: a substantially rectangular metallic shipping container having at least a portion of an upper panel of the shipping container removed; a substantially rectangular waterproof container located within the shipping container, the waterproof container adapted for holding water for swimming therein; a staircase spanning between an opening in a side of the container at a lower end of the stairway and leading up therefrom for access to the waterproof container.

Description

A portable aboveground pool and a method for manufacture thereof

Field of the Invention [1] The present invention relates to a portable aboveground pool and a method for manufacture thereof.

Summary of the Disclosure [2] According to one aspect, there is provided a pool comprising: a substantially rectangular metallic shipping container having at least a portion of an upper panel of the shipping container removed; a substantially rectangular waterproof container located within the shipping container, the waterproof container adapted for holding water for swimming therein; a staircase spanning between an opening in a side of the container at a lower end of the stairway and leading up therefrom for access to the waterproof container.

[3] The pool may further comprise decking located adjacent the waterproof container and wherein the stairway leads up to the decking.

[4] The pool may further comprise a gate for closing the opening.

[5] A storage void a may be defined at least partially under the stairway and wherein the storage void is accessible by way of at least one existing end door of the shipping container.

[6] According to one aspect, there is provided a method for manufacturing a portable aboveground pool, the method comprising removing at least a portion of a top panel of a shipping container and inserting a breadthwise vertical partition into the shipping container so as to define a swimming pool area at one end of the shipping container.

[7] The method may further comprise removing upper portions of the walls of the shipping container to reduce the height of the aboveground pool.

[8] The method may further comprise providing a protective rim along the at least a portion of the upper edges of the walls of the shipping container.

[9] The method may further comprise inserting a waterproof membrane into the swimming pool area.

[10] The waterproof membrane may be shaped to conform substantially to the interior of the swimming pool area.

[11] The waterproof membrane may be substantially rigid.

[12] The waterproof membrane may be a fibreglass mould.

[13] The partition may be corrugated.

[14] The partition may be manufactured from at least a portion of the top panel.

2017100584 22 May 2017 [15] Removing at least a portion of the top panel may comprise removing substantially the entire top panel and wherein the method may further comprise fastening a deck adjacent the swimming pool area.

[16] The deck may be located substantially at an upper edge of the shipping container.

[17] The method may further comprise installing pool filtration equipment in the storage area.

[18] The method further comprising reticulating conduits between the pool filtration equipment and the swimming pool area.

[19] The method may further comprise providing an electrical power source for the pool filtration equipment.

[20] The electrical power source may comprise a generator stored within the storage area.

[21] The electrical power source may comprise a battery bank stored within the storage area.

[22] The electrical power source may further comprise a solar panel for charging the battery bank.

[23] The storage area may be located at the doors so as to allow access to the storage area via the doors.

[24] The method may further comprise installing ascending stairs passing through the storage area.

[25] The method may further comprise locating pool filtration equipment beneath the stairs.

[26] The ascending stairs are breathwise orientated.

[27] The method may further comprise removing a portion of a lateral wall of the shipping container adjacent the lower portion of the stairs to allow access to the stairs.

[28] The method may further comprise providing a gate adjacent the lower portion of the stairs.

[29] The gate may be manufactured from the portion of the lateral wall.

[30] According to another aspect, there is provided a shipping container manufactured in accordance with the method as described herein.

[31] Other aspects of the invention are also disclosed.

Brief Description of the Drawings [32] Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within the scope of the present invention, preferred embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[33] Figure 1 shows an aboveground pool in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and [34] Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the aboveground pool of Figure 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

2017100584 22 May 2017

Description of Embodiments [35] For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the disclosure.

[36] Before the structures, systems and associated methods relating to the portable aboveground pool and a method for manufacture thereof are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular configurations, process steps, and materials disclosed herein as such may vary somewhat. It is also to be understood that the terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting since the scope of the disclosure will be limited only by the claims and equivalents thereof.

[37] In describing and claiming the subject matter of the disclosure, the following terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out below.

[38] It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms a, an, and the include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[39] As used herein, the terms comprising, including, containing, characterised by, and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

[40] It should be noted in the following description that like or the same reference numerals in different embodiments denote the same or similar features.

[41] Turning now to figure 1, there is shown a constructed portable aboveground pool 1. As will become apparent from the ensuing description, the pool 1 is manufactured from a standard sized shipping container and therefore provides advantages in cost reduction, portability and the like.

[42] In embodiments, the pool 1 may be manufactured off site, including the installation of all necessary pool filtration equipment and the like for subsequent delivery. As can be seen from figure 1, the aboveground pool 1 has a swimming pool area 13, steps 7 to ascend into the swimming pool area, a deck 3 and access gate 9 selectively barring access to the stairs and other features as will be described in further detail below.

[43] Specifically, there will be described a method for manufacturing the portable aboveground pool 1 with reference to Figure 2.

2017100584 22 May 2017 [44] The method for manufacturing the portable aboveground pool 1 comprises removing at least a portion of a top panel of the shipping container 4 and inserting a breadth wise vertical partition 6 into the shipping container 4 so as to define the swimming pool area 13 at one end of the shipping container 4.

[45] In embodiments, where lower height is required, the method may comprise removing upper portions of the walls of the shipping container to reduce the height of the aboveground pool 1.

[46] In embodiments, the method may comprise providing a protective rim 12 along at least a portion of the upper edges of the walls of the shipping container 4. The protective rim 12 may be manufactured from wood, for example.

[47] In embodiments, the swimming pool area 13 may be sealed with sealant so as to make the swimming pool area 13 substantially watertight. However, in the embodiment shown in figure 2, the method further comprises inserting a waterproof membrane 2 into the swing pool area 13.

[48] As can be seen, the waterproof membrane 2 may be shaped to conform substantially to the interior of the swing pool area 13. In this manner, the watertight membrane 2 may comprise a height so as to reach the upper edges of the walls of the modified shipping container 4.

[49] In embodiments, the waterproof membrane 2 may be substantially rigid such as by being manufactured from a fibreglass mould. In this embodiment, the waterproof membrane 12 may be configured so as to define interior features such as interior steps and the like.

[50] In the embodiment shown in figure 2, the waterproof membrane 2 may be tapered towards the base. However, in other embodiment, the waterproof membrane 2 may be substantially cuboid having substantially vertical walls.

[51] In one embodiment, the partition 6 may be corrugated so as to substantially withstand the pressure exerted by the water contained within the membrane 2. In embodiments, the partition may be manufactured from at least a portion of the top panel given that typical shipping containers already comprise corrugated strengthened panels.

[52] Now, in one embodiment, removing the portion of the top panel may comprise removing only a portion of the top panel so as to expose the swimming pool area 13. In this manner, users may utilise the remaining portion of the top panel as the deck 3.

[53] However, in a preferred embodiment as shown in figure 2, substantially the entire top panel of the container 4 is removed. In this manner, the deck 3 maybe fastened adjacent the swimming pool area 3. In this manner, users may sit or stand on the deck and enter or exit the swimming pool area 13 from the deck 3. In embodiments the deck 3 may be manufactured from wood or other suitable material.

2017100584 22 May 2017 [54] Now, as can be seen, the partition 6 defines a storage area 5 opposite the swimming pool area 13. As such, the method may further comprise installing pool filtration equipment 8 in the storage area 5. In this manner, the pool 1 may be provided as a truly portable unit having an inbuilt filtration system negating the need to connect the pool 1 to external pool equipment or the like.

[55] The method may further comprise reticulating counduits between the pool filtration equipment 8 and the swimming pool area 13.

[56] In embodiments, the method may further comprise providing an electrical power source for the pool filtration equipment 8. In embodiments, the electric power source may comprise an internal combustion engine generators stored within the storage area 5. In another embodiment, the electric power source may comprise a battery bank such as one which is charged from solar panels which may be fastened to exterior surfaces of the swimming pool 1.

[57] As can be seen from figure 2, the shipping container 4 has doors 10. Furthermore, the storage area 5 is located at the doors 10 so as to allow access to the storage area 5 via the doors 10.

[58] The method may further comprise installing ascending stairs 7 passing through the storage area 5. As can be seen, the width of the deck 3 is shortened so as to meet the top edge of the stairs 7. Furthermore, as can be seen, in a preferred embodiment, the ascending stairs 7 are breadthwise orientated. Such may comprise removing a portion of the lateral wall of the shipping container adjacent the lower portion of the stairs 7 so as to allow access to the stairs 7. The method may further comprise providing a gate 9 adjacent the lower portion of the stairs. The gate 9 may be manufactured from the removed portion of the lateral wall.

[59] The gate 9 may be fastened by way of a hinge or slide mechanism. In this manner, to access the swimming pool area 13, the user would open the gate 9, ascend the stairs 7, stand on the deck 3 and then enter the swimming pool area 13 from the deck 3. In embodiment handrails may be provided to ease the transition from the deck 3 to the swimming pool area 13.

[60] In another embodiments, the stairs 7 may be accessed from the doors 10 of the shipping container such that the user opens the doors 10 to access the stairs 7. In this embodiment no lateral gate 9 is required.

[61] As alluded to above, the aboveground pool 1 manufactured in this way provides a portable aboveground pool 1 having advantages in portability (especially in being able to hoist the pool 1 utilising the standard shipping container fasteners 11), lower manufacturer cost, integrated pool filtration equipment and restricted access by way of access gate 9.

2017100584 22 May 2017

Interpretation

Embodiments:

[62] Reference throughout this specification to one embodiment or an embodiment means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases in one embodiment or in an embodiment in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments.

[63] Similarly it should be appreciated that in the above description of example embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

[64] Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

Different Instances of Objects [65] As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives first, second, third, etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

Specific Details [66] In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

2017100584 22 May 2017

Terminology [67] In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose.

Terms such as forward, rearward, radially, peripherally, upwardly, downwardly, and the like are used as words of convenience to provide reference points and are not to be construed as limiting terms.

Comprising and Including [68] In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word comprise or variations such as comprises or comprising are used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

[69] Any one of the terms: including or which includes or that includes as used herein is also an open term that also means including at least the elements/features that follow the term, but not excluding others. Thus, including is synonymous with and means comprising.

Scope of Invention [70] Thus, while there has been described what are believed to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention. For example, any formulas given above are merely representative of procedures that may be used. Functionality may be added or deleted from the block diagrams and operations may be interchanged among functional blocks. Steps may be added or deleted to methods described within the scope of the present invention.

[71] Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

Industrial Applicability [72] It is apparent from the above, that the arrangements described are applicable to the pool equipment industries.

Claims (5)

1. An above-ground pool comprising a modified shipping container and a waterproof container located therein for swimming, wherein the pool comprises stairs ascending from an opening through a side of the modified shipping container to access the waterproof container.

2. The above-ground pool as claimed in claim 1, further comprising decking adjacent the waterproof container and wherein the stairs lead up to the decking.

3. The above-ground pool as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a gate for closing the opening.

4. The above-ground pool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stairs define a storage void thereunderneath accessible by way of at least one end door of the shipping container.

5. The above-ground pool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the modified shipping container is a modified shipping container in that the modified shipping container comprises a base having shipping container fasteners at corners thereof.