EP1112425A1

EP1112425A1 - Method and device for assembling components for water retention tanks, such as swimming pools for example

Info

Publication number: EP1112425A1
Application number: EP99942946A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Francois Contrino; Robert Jean Hugel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-09-10
Filing date: 1999-09-09
Publication date: 2001-07-04
Anticipated expiration: 2019-09-09
Also published as: DE69915847T2; ATE262632T1; DE69915847T8; FR2783267A1; FR2783267B1; ES2219057T3; DE69915847D1; EP1112425B1; US6367099B1; WO2000015927A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for assembling components for water retention tanks, such as swimming pools for example, characterised in that it consists in: producing parts or elements of the pool or shell (1) with one edge (7) oriented outwards, over at least part of their periphery, and outer structural elements (2, 3a, 3b, 4) with a groove (8) oriented inwards; providing a sealing joint (9) at the bottom of said groove; and engaging therein the adjacent outer edges (7) of two contiguous shell elements (1), such that they are urged to rest on said joint (9), under the pressure of water introduced in the pool thereby assembling the set of shell (1) elements, and thus producing the junction of said shell (1) parts or elements and sealing said junction.

Description

Method and device for assembling components of water retention basins, such as swimming pools for example.

The present invention relates to a method and a device for assembling prefabricated components of water retention basins, such as swimming pools or swimming pools, for example. It also relates to water retention basins such as swimming pools resulting from the implementation of this method and of this assembly device.

To date, numerous methods and systems have been proposed for producing underground, semi-underground or above-ground swimming pools, using prefabricated elements assembled by means of various connecting devices, removable or not.

For example, document FR-2 726 527 describes a removable swimming pool made up of a plurality of elements molded by a rotational molding process and assembled by means of bolts and seals crossed by the rods of said bolts. To avoid injury, a chute covers the assembly ribs and the fixing means.

The disadvantages of such a construction are in particular:

- the need to have a perfectly flat receiving surface or to prepare such a surface before mounting the basin;

- the obligation to use a large number of assembly members (threaded rods and nuts) and adequate tools for tightening the latter;

- a relatively long assembly time;

- the difficulty of dismantling which may result from corrosion of the assembly members due to their prolonged immersion in water;

- the presence of dangerous reliefs inside the pool.

Document EP-0 799 952A describes a system for assembling prefabricated panels for the production of a swimming pool partition, according to which each panel consists of a plate whose two opposite vertical edges are folded on the same side of the panel to form wings; the assembly of these panels is carried out by means of two rectilinear profiles, that is to say a first profile having a cross section in the shape of C, which is intended to come to cover the adjacent wings of two contiguous panels, and a second profile which is intended to come to engage in the first profile and between the two adjacent wings of these two panels, and stiffening means for locking in position, the two wings between the two profiles.

Such a method of mounting a swimming pool wall is very difficult to implement. Indeed, the assembly elements having to be put in place by longitudinal sliding and having to operate by wedging effect, they must be force-fitted, using a mallet or other tool.

For the same reasons, the dismantling of a wall produced in this way is, if not impossible, at least extremely difficult. On the other hand, the solidity of such an assembly is very random, so that document EP-0 799 952 provides for a stiffening of the partition by means of reinforcing legs.

Finally, the aforementioned document provides for the use of a flexible tarpaulin or envelope to produce the bottom and the waterproof covering of the vertical walls of the swimming pool, which implies having a tarpaulin exactly manufactured for this purpose, subject to tearing. , difficult to set up and requiring the preparation of a strictly flat ground.

In document WO 91/09 192, a swimming pool mounted above the ground is described comprising:

- An annular reinforcement generally consisting of a base element, a set of vertical elements or spaced uprights mounted in the base element and surmounted by a peripheral crown which rests on the top of the uprights;

- a vertical wall based on sheet metal which extends over the entire inner periphery of the annular reinforcement; - a flexible sheet to form the bottom and a tight lining of the peripheral wall.

The annular frame is made up of complex elements and the different component parts of the pool are difficult to set up and assemble. In addition, its installation is only possible on a strictly flat ground, which implies that one has such a flat ground or that one must prepare it before mounting. On the other hand, the work described in document WO 91/09 192 has the aforementioned drawbacks of the water retention basins produced using a tarpaulin.

The invention proposes to remedy the drawbacks and inadequacies of water retention basins, such as removable pools intended to be mounted above the ground, for example.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a device for assembling elements constituting a water retention basin, such as a swimming pool, comprising a plurality of parts or elements of basin or hull comprising on at least one part of their periphery, a rim oriented in the direction of the exterior, and a plurality of external reinforcement elements provided, in their face which is intended to be oriented towards the interior of the hull, with a groove in the bottom of which is housed a compressible seal, the width of this groove being at least twice the thickness of said flange, so that the contiguous flanges of two adjoining parts or shell elements can be pressed into said groove, by compressing the seal, thereby achieving the junction of said shell elements and the sealing of this junction.

According to the method of leaktight assembly of elements constituting water retention basins of the invention, parts or elements of basin or hull are produced, with a rim oriented in the direction of the outside, on at least part of their periphery, and external reinforcement elements with a groove in their face called to be oriented towards the inside of the shell, there is a compressible seal in the bottom of this groove and it is engaged in the latter , the adjoining external edges of two adjoining parts or shell elements, so as to come to rest on said joint, under the pressure of the water introduced into the basin resulting from the assembly of all the shell elements, thereby achieving the junction of said parts or fractions of the pelvis and the sealing of this junction.

Thanks to the characteristic arrangements of the device and of the method of the invention, it is possible to install water retention basins such as swimming pools for individuals or for communities, quickly, using simple and robust elements, without the use of assembly elements such as bolts or the like, assembly can be carried out easily, without any tools, by only two people. In fact, the shell elements are not assembled to each other, strictly speaking, but simply juxtaposed.

Another important advantage of the method and the device of the invention is that the hull is obtained by the weight of the hull elements and, above all, by the pressure of the water on the internal face of said hull elements under the effect of which the seal housed in the structural elements is compressed.

The device and method of the invention allow the realization of permanent or seasonal water retention basins; they make it possible to avoid recourse to large and specialized external means, for the installation of such basins, and the easy and rapid disassembly of the latter, for example for wintering. The various components of disassembled pools can be stored in a reduced storage volume.

In addition, this device and this method do not impose any particular shape and dimensions of the pool, so that in the application to the production of swimming pools, in particular, various shapes and dimensions of swimming pools are conceivable.

According to another very important characteristic arrangement of the invention, the frame or supporting structure comprises pillars or posts arranged to be able to bear on the ground, and crosspieces, these pillars and crosspieces being dimensioned and arranged so that after assembly, the bottom of the water retention basin is arranged, after assembly, above and at a distance from the ground, with the possibility of recovering the land in its initial state or substantially in their initial state, after dismantling the basins. Thanks to this arrangement, it is possible to mount swimming pools having a variable depth.

According to another characteristic arrangement, the pillars or vertical carriers are equipped with length adjusting means, and / or wedging means making it possible to adjust, with great precision, the horizontality of the surface return chutes which can equip the upper edge. basins.

Thanks to this arrangement, the water retention basins can be mounted on flat or uneven terrain, flat or inclined, in their natural state or with grass.

The aims, characteristics and advantages above and others still will emerge more clearly from the description which follows and from the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the method and the sealed assembly device of components of water retention basins according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in longitudinal section of a swimming pool produced according to the invention, considered along line A-A in FIG. 3.

Figure 3 is a plan view and in section along line B-B of Figure 2, of this pool.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of one of the corners of the pool.

FIG. 5 is a view on a larger scale and in half-section along the line C-C of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a detail view, on a larger scale and in section along the line D-D of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a detail view, on a larger scale and in section along the line EE in FIG. 2. Reference is made to said drawings to describe an interesting example, although in no way limiting, of implementation of the method and of the device for assembling elements constituting water retention basins, according to the invention.

The invention relates, in general, to a water retention basin, the uses of which can be various (reserve of water for fighting fires, drinkers, aquaculture tanks, etc.), but a particularly interesting application is the realization of removable pools which is more particularly referred to in the following description.

The swimming pool according to the invention mainly consists of:

- a shell made up of a plurality of parts or shell elements 1, and;

- an external framework or supporting structure made up of a plurality of structural elements comprising, for example, pillars 2, horizontal crosspieces 3a, and, advantageously, creeping crosspieces 3b and struts 4, these three kinds of elements which can be executed individually and connected in a removable manner, by means of suitable assembly members, or, in certain cases, made in one piece.

According to the example illustrated, the pool consists of two alignments of five elements 1 A, 1 B, 1 C, 1 D, 1 E, arranged on either side of its longitudinal axis; in this case, all the shell elements are peripheral elements.

For example, a swimming pool of this kind can have a length of 10 m, a width of 5 m and a depth which can vary from 1 m to 2 m.

The peripheral elements include a bottom portion 5 and a side wall portion 6 and can be made of any rigid plastic material and by any suitable molding process.

According to a first characteristic arrangement of the invention, the shell parts or elements 1 comprise, on at least part of their periphery, a flange 7 oriented towards the outside of the shell, while the structural elements 2, 3a, 3b, 4, are provided, in their face called to be oriented towards the interior of the shell, a groove 8 in the bottom of which is housed, preferably and advantageously, a seal 9, and said shell elements 1 are assembled by joining their edges 7 and pushing the joined edges of the elements adjoining shell in the groove 8 of said structural elements 2, 3a, 3b, 4.

The grooves 8 advantageously have a width equal to at least twice the thickness of the flanges 7, so that two adjoining flanges can be inserted and accommodated without significant play in said grooves. On the other hand, the edges 7 have a width barely less than the depth of the grooves 8, so that when the shell elements are in place, the free edge of said edges rests on the seals 9 by compressing them, while that the external face of the shell elements 1 is in abutment against the internal face of the structural elements 2, 3a, 3b, 4.

The seals 9 can be made of any suitable rubber or other elastomer. The shell elements 1 are preferably provided with stiffeners constituted by ribs 10 which are provided with the external faces of said shell elements. In this case, the structural elements 2, 3, 4a, 4b comprise, on their face facing outwards, transverse notches 11 for the embedding of said ribs.

An advantage of swimming pools according to the invention is that they can have a variable depth from one end to the other.

According to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, by way of example only, the swimming pool shell consists of the following shell elements, on either side of its longitudinal axis, and from its left end to its right end:

- A corner shell element 1A comprising two portions of perpendicular vertical walls 6a, 6b and two bottom portions 5a, 5b forming an obtuse angle with said side walls and also between them;

a first lateral shell element 1B comprising a vertical wall portion 6c and two inclined bottom portions 5c, 5d, the first bottom portion 5c being attached to the vertical wall 6c at an obtuse angle with the latter, while the second bottom portion 5d is attached to the first with which it forms also an obtuse angle; the inclined walls 5b, 5d of the shell elements 1A, 1B form, between them, an obtuse angle;

a second intermediate lateral shell element 1C comprising a vertical wall portion 6d and two inclined bottom portions 5e, 5f, the first of these bottom portions being attached to the vertical wall 6d at an obtuse angle with the latter, while the second is attached to the first with which it also forms an obtuse angle; the inclined walls 5d, 5f, shell elements 1B, 1C, are arranged in the same oblique plane; the bottom portions of the shell elements 1A, 1B, 1C constitute a pit, the lowest point of which corresponds to the junction line of the inclined bottom portions 5b, 5d of the shell elements 1A, 1B, respectively.

- a third intermediate lateral shell element 1D comprising a vertical lateral wall portion 6e and a horizontal bottom wall 5g;

- A corner element 1 E comprising two vertical side wall portions 6f, 6g arranged perpendicularly and a horizontal bottom portion 5h, connected to the base of said side wall portions.

According to this embodiment, the bottom walls 5a-5b, 5c-5d, 5e-5f, shell elements 1A, 1B, 1C, respectively, extend below the level in which the walls of bottom 5g, 5h, shell elements 1D, 1E, respectively, so that the shell constituting the swimming pool or other water retention basin, has a variable depth, from one end to the other of said swimming pool or basin .

As indicated above, the structural elements include pillars 2 and horizontal crosspieces 3a. On the other hand, given the fact that one of the objects of the invention is the possibility of making swimming pools having a variable depth, the pillars can have different heights depending on their location in the mounting of the bearing structure and the structural elements also include creeping crossbeams 3b and struts 4 intended to support the inclined portions of the bottom wall of the hull. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, the pillars 2 comprise, on the one hand, pillars 2a arranged at the periphery and outside of the shell 1 and, on the other hand, pillars 2b placed inside of the area delimited by the periphery of the shell and below the latter. The pillars 2a disposed at the periphery of the shell have a height determined so as to rise to the upper edge of the shell 1 and the base of the latter is placed at a distance from the ground. On the other hand, the pillars 2b arranged inside the area delimited by the surface of the shell, have a much smaller height, which varies according to the conformation of the bottom of the latter, and the location said pillars.

The pillars or vertical carriers 2 can be equipped with length adjustment means.

The pillars 2 are advantageously provided with feet 12, for example constituted by a metal base, and, at least some of them are preferably provided with a screw jack 13 or other wedging device making it possible to adjust, with great precision, horizontality or slight inclination of the upper edges of the pelvis, as indicated in the rest of this presentation.

The horizontal crosspieces 3a are placed on brackets 14 fixed on the pillars 2 and positioned between the cheeks 15.

As shown in Figure 4, the top of the pillars 2b intended to be placed under the shell, has two notches or perpendicular slots 16 for the insertion of the edges of the angles of four juxtaposed shell elements.

The creeping crossbeams 3b and the struts 4 have varying lengths depending on their location under the hull. The struts 4 are, for example, fixed, by means of their opposite ends and by means of pins 17 or other suitable assembly members, to the pillars 2a and to the crosspieces 3.

One thus realizes a triangulation of the elements 2a, 3a and 4 of the supporting structure which opposes the horizontal thrust of the water.

The pillars 2, the crosspieces 3a, the creeping crosspieces 3b and the struts 4 can be made of stainless steel or aluminum, or, preferably, of improved wood such as glue-laminate widely used in the building industry, for the manufacture of light, non-deformable and extremely resistant load-bearing elements. The vertical walls of at least some of the peripheral shell elements 1 end, in the upper part, with a hollow profile 18, for example of rectangular section, this hollow profile forming a longitudinal trough and weir; it has, for this purpose, a longitudinal slot 19 in its internal wall. The surface return ducts 18 are shaped or arranged so that their bottom is slightly inclined, so as to allow recycling of the water by skimming the surface of the water body.

The screw jacks 13 or other adjustment systems equipping the feet 12 of the pillars 2a, allow a fine vertical setting of the latter, so that the skimming by the return surface chutes 18 is perfect over the entire surface of the plane. water.

On the upper part of the pillars arranged on the outside and on the periphery of the hull, brackets are fixed, preferably removably, using any suitable assembly members (pins, bolts, etc.). 20 on which is fixed a rigid horizontal structure 21.

This flat structure can be formed directly by elements such as floor elements capable of forming a range, or shaped to receive slabs of suitable material capable of constituting this range surrounding the upper part of the hull.

The peripheral area 21 thus produced forms a belt which surrounds the upper part of the structure and contributes to ensuring its non-deformability.

A railing 22 is removably mounted along the outer edge of the peripheral area 21.

We have previously described a very advantageous application of the invention to the production of above-ground pools; it is however obvious that the invention can also be implemented for the production of buried or semi-buried swimming pools or water retention basins. In this case, the external framework elements are not necessarily load-bearing elements and the elements of said external framework can be devoid of feet.

Claims

1.- Method of assembling constituent elements of water retention basins, such as swimming pools for example, characterized in that parts or elements of basin or hull (1) are produced with an oriented rim (7) towards the outside, on at least part of their periphery, and external structural elements (2, 3a, 3b, 4) with a groove (8) oriented inwards, there is a seal (9) in the bottom of this groove, and there is engaged, in the latter, the adjoining external edges (7) of two contiguous shell elements (1), so as to come to bear on said seal, under the pressure of the water introduced into the basin resulting from the assembly of all of the shell elements, thereby achieving the junction of said parts or shell elements and the sealing of this junction.

2.- Device for assembling components of water retention basins, such as swimming pools for example, consisting of:

- a shell made up of a plurality of parts or shell elements (1);

- an external framework or supporting structure made up of a plurality of structural elements (2, 3a, 3b, 4);

characterized in that the shell elements (1) have, on at least part of their periphery, a flange (7) oriented towards the outside, while the structural elements (2, 3a, 3b, 4) are provided, in their face called to be oriented towards the inside of the shell (1) with a groove (8) in the bottom of which is housed a seal (9), the width of this groove being equal at least twice the thickness of said edge, so that the joined edges

(7) of two adjoining shell elements (1) can be pressed into said groove and compress the seal (9), thereby achieving the assembly of said shell elements and the sealing of this junction.

3.- assembly method according to claim 1, characterized in that the support and the assembly of the corners of the shell elements (1) arranged inside the perimeter of the latter, are carried out by means of pillars (2b ) comprising, at their apex, perpendicular notches (16) into which the edges (7) of the angles of four juxtaposed shell elements are inserted.

4.- assembly device according to claim 2, characterized in that it comprises pillars (2b) whose top is provided with two perpendicular notches (16) in which are engaged the edges (7) of the angles of four elements of juxtaposed hulls (1).

5.- water retention basin, such as swimming pool for example, characterized in that it is carried out by the implementation of the method according to any one of claims 1 or 3, and / or using the assembly device according to one of claims 2 or 4.

6.- water retention basin, such as swimming pool for example, according to claim 5, characterized in that the external structural elements comprise pillars (2a) arranged outside the hull (1) and crosspieces (3) arranged under the latter which is thus installed above and at a distance from the ground

(S).

7.- water retention basin such as swimming pool for example, according to one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that the bottom walls (5a-5b, 5c-5d, 5e- 5f) shell elements (1A, 1B, 1C) of a part of the basin, extend below the level in which the bottom walls (5g-5h) are located of the shell elements (1 D, 1 E) of the remaining part of said basin, so that the latter has a variable depth, from one end to the other.

8.- water retention basin such as swimming pool for example, according to one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that it comprises struts (4) connecting the external pillars (2a) and the horizontal crosspieces (3a ), so as to achieve a triangulation which opposes the horizontal thrust of the water.

Water retention basin, such as a swimming pool for example, according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that at least certain pillars (2a, 2b) of the carrying structure are provided with an adjustable foot ( 12, 13).

10.- water retention basin, such as swimming pool for example, according to any one of claims 5 to 9, characterized in that the top of the vertical walls (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g ) at least some of the peripheral shell elements (1A, 1 B, 1 C, 1 D, 1 E) is provided with at least one longitudinal surface return chute (18), for example provided with a slot longitudinal skimming (19).

11. A water retention basin, such as a swimming pool for example, according to any one of claims 5 to 10, characterized in that it comprises a peripheral area (20-21) surrounding the upper part of the hull, after assembly thereof, so as to form a belt surrounding the upper part of the structure.