BE1018498A3 - DEVICE FOR COVERING A SURFACE. - Google Patents

Abstract

Device (1) for covering a surface (3) comprising a drum (2) mounted for rotation capable of winding a blanket (10), said drum (2) being mounted on a longitudinal translation mechanism, said longitudinal translation mechanism comprising (a) rails placed on either side of said surface (3), at least one of said rails (6) comprising a rack (7); and (b) at least one toothed pinion (9) meshing with said rack (7) and whose rotation allows longitudinal translation of the drum (2); characterized in that, the longitudinal translation mechanism is such as to allow transverse movement of the toothed pinion (9), and / or of the rack (7), and / or of the rail (6), allowing automatic adjustment the alignment between the toothed pinion (9) and the corresponding rack (7).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a device for covering a surface, which is easy to implement and best meets the requirements of the application concerned.

Technological background

Covers are applied to surfaces for reasons that depend on the nature of these surfaces.

Thus, in the case of a pool such as a pool the cover can prevent pollution by leaves or animals, can save energy, water and reagents and can or should ensure the safety of people especially children. In a desalination or other fluid treatment tank, a blanket prevents dilution of liquid due to rain or excessive evaporation due to heat.

When it comes to a sports field such as an outdoor clay or turf tennis court, a blanket protects it from the elements, especially intermittent rain.

In addition, a vehicle body is covered in particular to ensure the stability of the load to the depression caused by the movement of the vehicle and protect it against the weather.

Blankets are also used as blinds for greenhouses, conservatories or vehicle windows to prevent overheating indoors, and as sun protection for awnings.

In all cases, an economic cover device is generally sought that makes it easy to cover and uncover easily, safely, reproducibly and quickly, and requiring a minimum of human intervention.

A first absolutely basic device used in the case of a swimming pool includes an inflatable blanket or not that is unrolled, spreads and manually fixed on the edges of the pool. This type of device is illustrated for example in US 6,691,334, GB 2 379 163 and FR 2 652 373. It is clear that here given the handling and storage, only pools of relatively small size are concerned.

For larger surfaces can be used to cover devices further having a drum attached to one of the transverse ends of the surface to be protected. The cover is manually unfolded by pulling from the drum to cover the surface. The weight and dimensions of the cover require the intervention of several people to put it in place properly. The cover is removed by wrapping it around the drum by rotation: the blanket then withdraws from the surface by sliding on it. The rotation of the drum to remove the cover is done manually or by means of an electric motor having sufficient power to pull the cover fully extended. It should be noted that an easy deployment of the cover, especially in the case of a swimming pool, contributes to its safety, because a painful manipulation would hinder its use.

In the present application, the terms "longitudinal" "transverse" and their derivatives refer respectively to the direction of movement of the drum and the direction of the axis of revolution thereof.

In order to suppress human intervention (fully) automatic devices have been proposed; the cover is wrapped around a motorized drum allowing its removal, the drum being attached to one of the transverse ends of the surface to be protected. The cover is deployed by pulling it by its apparent end with automatic traction means of the rack or chain type or traction cable with or without return pulley, the cover possibly being guided by slides arranged on the longitudinal ends of the surface to cover; the blanket then slides on the surface by covering it. Similarly, when removing the cover, it slides on the surface to be covered by wrapping around the drum. This automatic covering device is illustrated in particular in the documents US 3,574,979, CB 2,199,741, US 2005/0097834, CA 2,11 5,11 3, US 2001/0023506, US 5,930,848, US 4,001,900 and and on the website www. aquatop.be.

The cover devices where the drum is attached to one of the transverse ends of the surface to be protected mentioned above have the major drawback of sliding the blanket which is dragged on the surface to be protected during its deployment and its withdrawal. which causes its premature wear as well as a higher work due to the friction thus generated.

In order to overcome this disadvantage, a new type of drum cover device has been developed, the motorized or manual drum being now mounted on a longitudinal translation mechanism. This moves the drum over the surface to be covered, which literally allows the blanket to be "laid" on the surface when it is unfolded, by simultaneously unrolling it from the drum during its longitudinal movement, and then lifting it when of its withdrawal, by winding it simultaneously on the drum. The cover does not slip on the surface either during its deployment or during its withdrawal. The cover device also includes a cover attachment system at a transverse end of the surface to be covered so that translation and rotation of the drum causes the cover to unwind or roll up over the surface to be covered. .

Examples of automatic devices of this type are disclosed for example in the documents WO2005 / 026473, FR 2 900 951, DE 2 257 231, FR 2 893 651, FR 2 789 425, FR 2 803 769, FR 2 743 502, EP 1,719,858, and on the website www.kimbav.fr. Moreover, a completely manual variant of the drum mounted in longitudinal translation is illustrated in the documents WO2007 / 036625 and US 4,195,370.

In order to reproducibly control the trajectory of the longitudinal translation of the drum during deployments and withdrawals of the cover, the longitudinal translation mechanism generally comprises parallel rails arranged on either side of the surface to be covered along which moves the drum by means of wheels or any other means of translation. It is therefore essential to ensure alignment between the translation means and the rails, otherwise the system would lock. This is particularly noticeable in the case where the translation of the drum is activated by the rotation of a toothed gear meshing in a rack placed on or near the rails. Now, the distance between the rails as well as the length of the structure supporting the drum can vary considerably with time as a function of the temperature, movement of the rails, deformation of the structure by wear or beating, etc.

Indeed, the surface to be covered can be important as in the case of a swimming pool or sports field, and the drum can have a length of up to 10 m or more, and can be subject to variations significant temperature between day and night, in summer and winter, resulting in variations in length of the structure supporting the drum that can be important. In addition, the periphery of the surface to be covered is not necessarily stable; for example in the case of sports fields or swimming pools, the rails can be placed on earth (grass, gravel) or wooden coping, which move with time. As it is not possible to maintain the parallelism of the rails by the use of sleepers that cross the sports field or pool, the parallelism of the rails is often difficult or impossible to ensure in the long term.

There remains therefore a problem to be solved to ensure the long-term operation of the automated covering systems of a surface comprising guide rails.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is in particular to provide a device for covering a surface which is easy to implement and ensuring its proper functioning independently of external parameters such as the thermal expansion of the elements constituting it, the loss of parallelism of the rails, etc.

The invention is as defined in the main claims. Preferred variants are defined in the dependent claims. The present invention relates to a device for covering a surface comprising a rotationally mounted drum adapted to wind or unroll a cover, said drum being mounted on a longitudinal translation mechanism, said longitudinal translation mechanism comprising (a) rails placed on on either side of said surface, at least one of said rails comprising a rack; and (b) at least one toothed gear meshing in said rack and whose rotation allows the longitudinal translation of the drum;

Characterized in that the longitudinal translation mechanism is such as to allow transverse movement of the toothed gear, and / or the rack and / or the rail, allowing the automatic adjustment of the alignment between the toothed gear and the corresponding rack.

According to a preferred embodiment, the covering device is suitable for covering a multitude of surfaces such as, for example, a basin filled or not with a liquid such as a swimming pool, a retention basin, a treatment basin or a desalination basin. waters; a sports field, such as a tennis or cricket ground; a body of a vehicle such as a truck or a truck trailer; a glazed area such as a greenhouse, a winter garden or a vehicle window (train, bus etc.).

To automatically adjust the alignment between the pinion and the rack according to the lateral deviations of the pinion, for example by expansion of the structure supporting the drum, or the rack, for example by movement of the base on which the rails are fixed There are several possible solutions: (a) The rails and the rack or racks are fixed and at least one pinion which meshes in a rack can freely move transversely for a distance along the axis on which it is mounted, correcting the lateral deviations of the pinion / rack alignment; (b) The rails and the pinion (s) are stationary and the rack or racks are movably mounted on the rails so as to allow them to move transversely relative to the rails; the rack or racks can thus follow the rectilinear trajectory imposed by the pinion fixed rigidly to its axis of rotation; (c) The pinion is fixed on its axis and the rack or racks are fixed rigidly to the rails, which are movably mounted on supports fixed to the periphery of the surface so as to allow said rails transverse movement relative to said supports; the rails -and thus the rack or racks-can thus follow the rectilinear trajectory imposed by the pinion fixed rigidly to its axis of rotation; or (d) A combination of the solutions (a) to (c) above, where several of the elements of the system have a degree of freedom in the direction transverse to the rails.

Once at least one of the pinions, racks, or rails have a degree of freedom in the transverse direction to allow adjusting the lateral deviations of the alignment between the pinion and the rack, it is advantageously made use of a centering shoe, which is, on the one hand, integral in longitudinal translation with the drum and, on the other hand, fitting into one of the rails and enveloping the corresponding rack, so as to be able to move freely along said rail and further comprising a longitudinal opening partially enclosing the pinion gear.

Especially, but not exclusively, in the case of large areas, it is advantageous to mount the drum on a carriage and / or provide a motor to ensure the longitudinal translation of the drum.

Brief description of the figures

These aspects as well as other aspects of the invention will be clarified in the detailed description of particular embodiments of the invention, reference being made to the figures, in which:

Fig.1 is an overall perspective view of a moving drum surface and the rails extending on either side of the surface;

Fig.2 is a perspective view of a rail mounted on a support attached to the periphery of a surface so as to allow said rail transverse movement relative to said support;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a variant of the invention showing a toothed pinion meshing in a rack through a centering shoe;

Fig.4 is a perspective view of a centralizer shoe fitting into a rail;

Fig.5 shows a cross section of a centralizer shoe fitting into a rail and wrapping the rack with (a) little or no clearance between the shoe and the rail and (b) a certain clearance between the shoe and the rail .

Fig.6 perspective view of a carriage whose one end is mounted on hinges.

Detailed description of particular embodiments

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic covering device (1) of a surface (3) according to the invention comprises a cover (10) for protecting said surface (3). The device (1) makes it possible to cover in particular surfaces defined by the contour of a water basin such as a swimming pool, water treatment pond, sewage treatment plant, retention basin, water treatment station, desalinization etc. However, the invention can be implemented in any field requiring the coverage of a surface, such as a clay tennis court or lawn, a vehicle body, a greenhouse glass surface, vehicle window such as train or bus, or winter garden, etc. In general terms, therefore, the term "surface" is understood to mean any zone delimited by a perimeter.

The device (1) comprises a drum (2) having a length at least equal to the width of the cover (10), the width of which must be of sufficient width and length to cover the entire surface to be protected (3) when it is deployed. The drum (2) is mounted on a longitudinal translation mechanism comprising rails (6) placed on either side of said surface (3). The drum (2) has two directions of rotation: the first direction of rotation allowing it to unroll the cover (10) to deploy it and cover the surface to be protected (3), and the second direction of rotation allowing it to wind the cover (10) to remove it and give access to said surface (3).

The longitudinal translation of the drum is ensured by the rotation of a pinion gear (9) meshing in a rack (7) placed on or near a rail (6). The rotation of the pinion can be carried out manually with for example a crank or via a motor connected to the pinion shaft.

The device (1) further comprises a fastening system (8) located at a transverse end of the surface to be covered and allowing the unwinding / winding of the cover over the surface to be covered (3) during the translation and the rotation of the drum (2). Any type of fastening system known and suitable for the requirements of constraints and security according to the application can be used for this purpose. For example, the fastening system (8) may comprise a plurality of straps integral with the apparent transverse end of the cover (10), said straps being for example provided with anchoring hooks which are fixed on the transverse part of the outline delimiting the surface to be covered (3). Alternatively, it is possible to provide the end to be fixed with a covering of eyelets which are fixed to the transverse edge of the surface by means of a series of studs, screws, a cable or any other means. . These anchoring means keep immobilized the apparent transverse end of the cover (10) which allows to generate on it a longitudinal traction and unroll it if necessary without motor when the drum (2) moves to cover the surface (3).

The cover can be in any material suitable for the application in question: synthetic or natural textile materials, polymeric films, polymer slats, metal or wood, etc. It can be transparent, opaque or translucent and can form a barrier to fluids or on the contrary be porous, or even include meshes such as in a net.

Longitudinal tension may be applied to the cover during deployment simply by ensuring that the unwinding speed of the cover by the rotation of the drum is less than the longitudinal translation speed of the drum, or by means of a brake or a spring in the rotation system of the drum, either by a differentiated motorized control of the movements of rotation and translation of the drum. If these two speeds are synchronous, the cover will be deployed without other tensions than those generated by its own weight in the case of the cover of a surface comprising a cavity such as a swimming pool.

The cover may further be provided with drainage means allowing the evacuation of any fluid having deposited on its surface thereby facilitating handling.

The device (1) object of the invention is remarkable in that it makes it possible to automatically correct any lateral deviation between the rails and the pinions caused either by a variation of the span of the drum or a carriage supporting it by dilation thermal, or by a loss of parallelism of the rails caused by a sudden one by a movement of the base on which they are fixed (for example if the rails are placed on the ground or inserted in a wooden structure, two bases which are prompt movements over time that may be important).

The deviations of the alignment between a pinion and the rack in which it meshes may be of the order of a few millimeters to several centimeters depending on the applications. The larger the surface to be covered and the base on which the rails are laid is prompt for dimensional variations, the more these deviations can be significant. For example, in the case of swimming pools, where the drum may be 10 m wide or more, and where the rails, which are often laid on earth or wooden floor, are subject to significant constraints by the weight of the cover that overhangs the pool cavity, misalignments up to 50 to 100 mm or more, are not exceptional and can be corrected by the device object of the present invention. For smaller surfaces, such as window blinds, can be of the order of 5 to 10 mm, or 20 mm for large windows.

As indicated in the summary of the invention above, the automatic adjustment of the alignment between the pinion and the rack is possible by ensuring a degree of freedom in the direction transverse to the rails of at least one of the following elements: (a) the pinion (9) (see Figure 3), (b) the rack (7) (see Figure 5 (b)), or (c) the rails (6) (see Figure 2) or, of course, (d) any combination of these three options.

The alignment between the pinion and the rack is advantageously adjusted by means of a centralizer shoe (20), which is, on the one hand, integral in longitudinal translation with the drum (2) and, on the other hand, interlocking with one of the rails (6) and enveloping the corresponding rack (7) so as to be able to move freely along said rail and further comprising a longitudinal opening (23) partially enclosing the toothed pinion (9). In all cases it is preferable that the shoe has little or no play with the pinion (9) and with the rack (7) to ensure the best alignment between these two elements. By "little or no play" is meant that the tolerance between these parts allows their free rotation or sliding, but does not allow a substantial transverse movement. The clearance between the centralizer shoe (20) and the rail (6) in which it fits, however, depends on the variant selected from the solutions (a) to (d) above.

In the case (a) where the lateral deviations of the pinion / rack alignment are corrected by the transverse displacement of the pinion along its axis of rotation, it is preferable that there is little or no clearance (Si) between the centering shoe and the rail, thus allowing the shoe to force the pinion to follow the path of the rail and the rack (see Figure 5 (a)). The same applies to case (c) where the rails are movably mounted on supports fixed at the periphery of the surface so that the shoe imposes on the rail the rectilinear trajectory dictated by the pinion which is fixed on its axis. rotation.

In the case (b), on the other hand, where the racks are movably mounted on the rails so as to allow them to move transversely relative to the rails, it is essential to allow a lateral play (S2) between the centralizer and the rail to allow the first to impose on the rack the straight path of the pinion (see Figure 5 (b)). If the shoe had little or no play with the rail, the rack could not correct the lateral deviations of its alignment with the pinion.

Especially, but not exclusively, in the case of large areas, it is advantageous to mount the drum on a carriage (21). The carriage comprises a structure of metal beams, composite or otherwise, which supports different elements such as the drum (2), the centralizer shoe (20) and the toothed pinion (9) placed in the longitudinal opening (23) of the shoe and , if applicable, a motor connected to the axis of rotation of the pinion gear.

In the case (a) where the lateral deviations of the pinion / rack alignment are corrected by the transverse displacement of the pinion along its axis of rotation it is important that the carriage allows this movement of the pinion. The simplest solution is to size the truck according to the extreme outer position of the pinion or gears. However, this has the disadvantage of oversizing the system which is not desirable from an aesthetic point of view in the case for example of swimming pools, nor from the technical point of view in the case for example of truck loads. An alternative solution is to fix the centralizer shoe at one end of the carriage connected to the remainder of the carriage structure pat a system of hinges (22) (see Figure 6) and / or telescopic tubes (not shown) allowing the shoe to follow the transverse deviations of the rail in which it is fitted. For example, the shaft of rotation of the pinion itself can be telescopic so as never to exceed the structure of the carriage and conferring at the same time the pinion a degree of freedom in the direction transverse to the rails in accordance with a preferred variant of the present invention.

The geometry of the rails (6) and racks (7) may vary according to the applications. In Figures 2 to 6 a geometry considered particularly advantageous is shown. The rails consist of a "C" profile having an opening (14) outwardly on one of their faces and comprising wings partially closing on either side said opening (14) leaving enough space to accommodate the pinion (9) and, if appropriate, the shoe (20). The rack (7) is placed "inside" the profile, facing the opening (14) to allow the pinion (9) to come into mesh. In the case where a centralizer shoe (20) is used, it fits into the profile of the rail as shown in Figure 5, wrapping the rack (7) and the pinion (9) thus ensuring alignment. The geometry of the systems shown in Figure 5 allows to join the drum or the carriage on which it is mounted to the rails thus preventing any risk of derailment. The geometry illustrated in the figures has the advantage of being embedded in the base forming the perimeter of the surface (3) to be covered thus allowing to have no projecting part. If this is not necessary, other geometries are also possible, for example a rail (6) consisting of a substantially "T" profile with a shoe (20) enveloping the horizontal bar of the "T" " or more simply a profile "C" as shown in the figures, but whose opening is partially closed by only one, not two, fins. It can be seen that many rail geometries are possible and are not restrictive of the present invention.

In cases where the rack is "inside" of a profile forming the rail, as illustrated in the Figures, the covering device of the invention may comprise for each rail a system comprising a closing strip. rail that fits into the rail and thus closes its opening, as the winding of the cover on the drum. This band is intended to avoid, for example in the case of an outdoor pool, a bather does not hurt the contact with the rails. In addition, the closure of the rails by said strip when the pool is discovered ensures the cleanliness of the rails and racks.

The shoe (20) may further be provided with brushes at each of its ends to clean any dust or debris deposited on the rack (7) downstream of the pinion (9).

Finally, while the longitudinal translation mechanism can be operated manually, it comprises according to another embodiment at least one motor to at least partially automate the system, which is particularly advantageous in the case of a large size blanket relatively large. For swimming pools, for example, security depends on it because harsh manipulations would quickly deter users from deploying the blanket whenever necessary.

In the case where the longitudinal translation of the drum is not actuated by a pinion fitting into a rack, but for example by automatic traction means of the chain or traction cable type with or without return pulley, the same principle can be used to ensure alignment between the guide rails of the drum and wheels or bearings along the rails via or without a guide shoe.

Claims (12)

1. Device (1) for covering a surface (B) comprising a rotationally mounted drum (2) capable of winding or unrolling a blanket (10), said drum (2) being mounted on a longitudinal translation mechanism, said longitudinal translation mechanism comprising (a) rails placed on either side of said surface (3), at least one of said rails (6) comprising a rack (7); and (b) at least one toothed pinion (9) meshing in said rack (7) and whose rotation allows the longitudinal translation of the drum (2); characterized in that the longitudinal translation mechanism is such as to allow transverse movement of the toothed gear (9), and / or the rack (7), and / or the rail (6), allowing the automatic adjustment alignment between the pinion gear (9) and the corresponding rack (7). 2. Device according to claim 1, wherein at least one toothed pinion (9) is free to move transversely for a distance along the axis on which it is mounted. 3. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rack (7) is mounted on the rail (6) so as to allow it to move transversely relative to the rail. 4. Device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein at least one rail (6) is mounted on a support fixed to the periphery of the surface (3) so as to allow said rail a transverse movement relative to said support. 5. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a centralizer shoe (20) integral in longitudinal translation with the drum (2) and fitting into one of the rails (6) provided with a rack (7). , so as to be able to move freely along said rail and further comprising a longitudinal opening (23) partially enclosing the toothed pinion (9). 6. Device according to claim 5, wherein the transverse play between the centralizer shoe (20) and the rail (6) is determined according to that: (a) the toothed pinion (9) follows the lateral deviations imposed by the path of the rail (6) and rack (7) fixed according to claim 2, (b) the rack (7) and / or the rail (6) follow the rectilinear trajectory imposed by the toothed pinion (9) independently of the respective lateral deviations of the rail ( 6) or the support on which the rail is mounted according to claims 3 or 4, or (c) a combination of both. 7. Cover device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said longitudinal translation mechanism comprises a carriage (21) mounted on said rails (6) and connected to the rack system (7). 8. Device according to claims 2, 5 and 7, wherein a centering shoe (20) is mounted on one end of the carriage (21), said end being connected to the rest of the carriage structure pat a system of hinges (22). and / or telescopic tubes allowing the shoe (20) to follow the transverse deviations of the rail in which it is fitted. 9. Covering device according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the rails (6) each consist of a profile having an opening (14) to the outside on one of its faces and comprising closing wings partially on either side of said opening (14), said wings allowing to fit the centering shoe (20) in said rail. 12. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the surface to be covered (3) is selected from a pool filled or not with a liquid such as a swimming pool, a retention basin, treatment or desalination of waters; a sports field, such as a tennis or cricket ground; a vehicle body, a glass surface such as a greenhouse, or a winter garden. 3. Cover device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the longitudinal translation mechanism further comprises at least one motor. Cover device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the amplitude of the transverse movement of the toothed pinion (9) and / or of the rack (7) and / or of the rail (6) is between 5 and 100 mm, preferably between 5 and 50 mm, preferably between 5 and 20 mm.