EP1849932B1 - Swimming pool covering device - Google Patents

Abstract

The installation has a winding mechanism with a floating cover winding around a winding roller (13) which is driven by a motor. The mechanism is fixed on a fixation device comprising a fixation base (1) which is fixed on a vertical wall of an edge of a swimming pool, and a bearing support (2) fixed on the base. The base comprises a horizontal positioning cut for the support, permitting to adjust the position of the mechanism to the winding diameter of an immersed cover.

Description

Object of the invention

The present invention relates to a swimming pool cover installation intended to be immersed. The installation has a universal attachment device to the vertical wall of the pool edge with horizontal and vertical adjustment ranges for the various elements of the installation.

State of the art

The craze for pool covers in recent years is mainly due to concerns about child safety, energy loss, evaporation and pond hygiene. Modern shutter-type floating covers are designed to withstand the repeated passage of a 100-kg person. Historically, these pool covers were above-ground installations, so they were placed by the pool and took up a lot of space . Gradually, we then began to build compartments attached to the pool to accommodate said covers and their winding mechanism which was technically heavy to achieve and should be expected from the design of the basin. This type of compartment is for example disclosed in the documents DE 2938496A1 and DE 3116830A1

However, changes in legislation, particularly in France, forced pool owners to provide a security system on existing facilities and not to constrain the presence of an unsightly box outside the pool, the trend has gradually evolved to almost invisible covers that can be immersed. This type of pool cover is for example disclosed in the documents FR 2508525 , FR 2698399 and FR 2719622 .

The document FR 2698399 discloses the features of the preamble of claim 1.

A key element of a pool cover installation intended to be submerged is the attachment of the winding mechanism which must meet many constraints.

Various devices for attaching pool cover winding mechanisms have endeavored to develop fastening systems that make it impossible to perforate the cover or inner pocket of the pool (called "liner" by the person skilled in the art and subsequently of the presentation). These mechanisms are "suspended" by a support on the horizontal edge of the pool and are usually covered by slabs (margins) forming the rounded edge of the pool. Such supports are for example disclosed in the document FR 2719622 . The disadvantage of this type of support is the obligation to "break" the cement margins when you want to remove the support a posteriori. The document FR 2874046 overcomes this difficulty by providing a two-piece support for separately removing the bearing support. This system, however, does not allow a change in horizontal or vertical position of the support mechanism and has insufficient rigidity under certain circumstances.

The supports suspended at the horizontal edge of the pool obviously have the advantage of not requiring the piercing of the liner and allow the removal of the winding mechanism without having to remove the supports.

However, the problem of piercing the liner should no longer be overestimated at present, because the skilled person has sealing materials for good sealing provided to fix the fastener once and for all.

Supports suspended on the horizontal edge of the pool (without attachment to the wall) as those disclosed in FR 2719622 However, they suffer from a certain mechanical fragility. They often prove to be unable to withstand the very strong buoyancy force applied to the supports when the fixing mechanism is not fixed to the pool wall. It then tends to twist and lift the edges, even when screwed to the horizontal part of the edge.

In addition, to meet the latest safety requirements, it was necessary to gradually increase the buoyancy of pool covers, which obviously resulted in a sharp increase in the strength of Archimedes exerted on the rolls of underwater covers. Given the volume of water displaced, the strength of Archimedes can be estimated at around 600 kg for a medium sized pool (10m). These forces are exerted on the supports and tend to lift them. Moreover, this force also tends to deform the lateral bearing supports.

There was therefore a real demand for a pool cover installation with an Archimedean force-resistant fastening system generated by these new high buoyancy covers. Ideally, the fastening system should allow for some adjustment modularity with both horizontal adjustment ranges for bearing support and vertical for beam supports and for which it It was not necessary to remove the mounting bracket to adjust certain distances, this being fixed once and for all, which prevents the liner from being damaged.

Goals of the invention

The present invention attempts to solve the problems described in the state of the art by disclosing a swimming pool cover installation, intended to be immersed, having an improved fixing device allowing a very rigid attachment to the walls of the pool that does not fear no deformation due to the force of Archimedes.

The invention nevertheless retains the advantages of installations of the state of the art by allowing in particular the extraction of pool cover rollers without having to remove the fasteners on the walls. The system therefore has an adjustment modularity independent of one element with respect to the other.

A further object of the invention is to provide an installation providing a fastening system with a positioning range for the winding mechanism relative to the rear edge of the pool depending on the winding diameter of the cover (horizontal adjustment of the lateral bearing support) as well as a vertical positioning range of the grating support beam.

Finally, the invention also has a function of vertically adjusting a lateral support of a partition wall

Summary and characteristic elements of the invention

The present invention discloses a pool cover installation intended to be immersed, comprising a winding mechanism with a floating cover winding around a winding roller, said winding roller being driven by a motor placed therein, said winding mechanism being fixed to a winding device; fastener comprising a fixing base intended to be fixed on the vertical wall of the edge of the pool and a bearing support fixed on said fixing base, characterized in that said fixing base comprises a horizontal positioning range for said bearing support for adjusting the position of said winding mechanism to the winding diameter of the submerged cover.

• la plage de positionnement horizontal sur ladite base de fixation comporte un ensemble de trous taraudés d'ajustement ;
• ladite base de fixation comporte en outre une plage de positionnement vertical pour un support de poutrelle permettant d'ajuster le niveau de la poutrelle au niveau supérieur des margelles de la piscine ;
• la plage de positionnement vertical comporte un ensemble de trous taraudés d'ajustement ;
• l'installation comporte en outre une cloison de séparation entre le mécanisme d'enroulement et l'espace libre de la piscine, ladite cloison étant fixée à la paroi de la piscine par un support latéral , lui-même logé partiellement dans une encoche présente dans la base de fixation latérale, ladite encoche permettant l'ajustement vertical dudit support latéral de la cloison de séparation ;
• ladite paroi de séparation est posée sur des pieds permettant le flux et le reflux de l'eau entre le compartiment du mécanisme d'enroulement et l'espace libre de la piscine ;
• ladite couverture immergée comporte des lamelles flottantes articulées entre elles ;
• ledit support de palier est relié au support latéral de la cloison de séparation par un raidisseur permettant de rigidifier l'installation ;
• ledit support de palier comporte un embossage pour écarter la couverture du bord de la piscine.

According to particular embodiments, the invention comprises one or more of the following characteristics.

• the horizontal positioning range on said fixing base comprises a set of tapped adjustment holes;
• said fixing base further comprises a vertical positioning range for a beam support for adjusting the level of the beam at the upper level of the pool edges;
• the vertical positioning range comprises a set of tapped adjustment holes;
• the installation further comprises a partition between the winding mechanism and the free space of the pool, said partition being fixed to the pool wall by a lateral support, itself partially housed in a notch present in the lateral fixing base, said notch allowing the vertical adjustment of said lateral support of the partition wall;
• said partition wall is placed on feet allowing the flow and the reflux of the water between the compartment of the winding mechanism and the free space of the pool;
• said immersed cover comprises floating slats hinged together;
• said bearing support is connected to the lateral support of the partition wall by a stiffener to stiffen the installation;
• said bearing support has an embossing to spread the pool edge cover.

Brief description of the figures

The Figure 1A is a perspective view of the pool cover installation according to the invention with its improved fixing device without partition and without grating. The Figure 1B represents a detail view of the fixing device.

The figure 2 is a perspective view of the pool cover installation according to the invention with its improved fixing device, with partition wall 4 and its lateral support 3 and a stiffener 8. The grating 7 is also shown in this figure .

The figure 3 is a perspective view of the detail of the lateral attachment base 1 with its vertical and horizontal positioning ranges 16 and 17 and the perforations 10 corresponding to different lengths of pool covers.

The figure 4 is a perspective view of the detail of the lateral fixing base with the support of the beam 6 and the bearing lateral support 2.

The figure 5 represents a sectional view of the fastening device of the winding mechanism on the wall of the pool with the position of the liner and the position of the lip.

The figure 6 represents a perspective view of a tool for setting up the winding mechanism 15.

Detailed description of the invention

There is a real difficulty of coordination between pool builders and roofing manufacturers especially for the development of the edges of the pool which often has to wait for the arrival of the installation of the pool cover to complete the laying of the curbs especially when the fasteners are suspended on the upper edge of the pool. This often requires the development of a space below the curbs.

The present invention therefore meets an expectation by presenting a swimming pool cover installation intended to be immersed which comprises a fixing device which is a true universal placement kit for fixing the assembly in any adjustable position in according to the requirements of the pool. The fixing device of the installation is fixed on the vertical wall of the pool essentially above the water line. Special sealing products make it possible not to jeopardize the tightness of the liner, which is generally a PVC tarpaulin, especially since the sealing work is initially done only on a fastening base 1 which will never be removed and on which will be fixed all the other elements.

The different lengths of pool require different lengths of covers resulting in different winding diameters and therefore a need to be able to adapt the position of the winding axis of the cover relative to the support beam of the grating. This adaptation is done with the possibility of positioning the bearing support 2 on the basis of Fixing 1 which has threaded holes for attaching covers of 8 m, 10 m, 12 m, 15 m ... So just send the base 1 at the swimming pool which will be the only part to fix and seal during the construction of the pool and its surroundings.

The fixing device of the installation according to the invention allows not only to adjust the distance between the winding axis of the cover 13 and the axis of the support beam 12 of the grating. It also allows a vertical adjustment of the position of the beam support 6 in order to adjust the top of the beam 12 with the top of the lip 14.

For safety issues as well, the location of the submerged pool cover is often compartmentalized using a partition wall 4 also immersed in an existing pool. This partition wall requires the presence of a lateral support 3 which must be adjustable depending on the depth of the pool. The fixing base 1 provides for this purpose a notch 9 for a positioning range of ten centimeters.

It is also necessary to adjust the opening of the partition wall to prevent a child from entering the roll-up compartment of the cover, this also requires an adjustment of the side support of the partition 3. This support is also fixed to the base support 1 by one or more screws.

The partition wall is also provided with feet 19 allowing a flow and backflow of water from the cover compartment to the free space of the pool at ground level to facilitate cleaning (vacuuming) and maintenance of the pool.

To stiffen the entire fastening system, it is possible to provide a stiffener 8 connecting the lateral support of the partition wall 3 to the lateral bearing support 2.

The winding mechanism of the cover, which generally comprises a hollow tube with a motor inside, can reach a weight of the order of 100 KG and therefore requires a positioning tool 11 which is shown in FIGS. Figures 5 and 6 . This tool greatly facilitates the installation of the installation.

The bearing support 2 comprises an embossing allowing to slightly separate the floating cover from the edge of the pool which avoids the attachment of it during winding and unwinding operations. This embossing may have a thickness greater than or equal to 1 cm

Legend

1. 1. Fastening base with positioning ranges 16 and 17.
2. 2. Bearing support.
3. 3. Support of the partition wall (rod).
4. 4. Partition wall between the winding mechanism compartment and the free space of the pool.
5. 5. Pool cover rolled up.
6. 6. Grid support of the grating.
7. 7. Caillebottis.
8. 8. Stiffener
9. 9. Notch in fixing base 1.
10. 10. Position perforations.
11. 11. Tool for setting up the winding mechanism.
12. 12. Joist supporting the grating.
13. 13. Winding roll of the cover.
14. 14. Margelle.
15. 15. Pool cover winding mechanism.
16. 16. Horizontal positioning range for the bearing support.
17. 17. Vertical positioning range for the grating support of the grating 6
18. 18. Engine.
19. 19. Feet of partition wall 4.
20. 20. Tapped holes for adjustment.
21. 21. Embossing the bearing bracket

Claims (9)

1. Swimming pool cover equipment intended to be immersed, comprising a winding mechanism (15) with a floating cover winding around a winding roller (13), said winding roller being driven by a motor (18) positioned within the roller, said winding mechanism (15) being fixed to a fixation device comprising a fixation base (1) intended to be fixed on the vertical wall of an edge of the swimming pool and a bearing support (2) fixed on said fixation base (1), characterized in that said fixation base (1) comprises a horizontal positioning range (16) for said bearing support (2) that permits to adjust the position of said winding mechanism (15) to the winding diameter of the immersed cover.
2. Swimming pool cover equipment as in Claim 1, characterized in that the horizontal positioning range (16) on said fixation base (1) comprises a series of screwed adjustment holes (20).
3. Swimming pool cover equipment as in Claim 1, characterized in that said fixation base (1) also comprises a vertical positioning range (17) for a beam support (6) to permit to adjust the level of the beam (12) to the top level of the border tiles (14) of the swimming pool.
4. Swimming pool cover equipment as in Claim 3, characterized in that the vertical positioning range (17) comprises a series of screwed adjustment holes (20).
5. Swimming pool cover equipment as in Claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises a partition wall between the winding mechanism (15) and the free space of the swimming pool, said partition wall being fixed to the wall of the swimming pool by a side support (3), which is itself set partly into a notch (9) located in the side fixation base (1), said notch permitting the vertical adjustment of said side support of the partition wall (3).
6. Swimming pool cover equipment as in Claim 1, characterized in that said partition wall is placed on feet (19) that allow the water to flow back and forth between the compartment of the winding mechanism and the free space of the swimming pool.
7. Swimming pool cover equipment as in Claim 1, characterized in that said immersed cover comprises floating section strips jointed to each other.
8. Swimming pool cover equipment as in Claim 1, characterized in that said bearing support (2) is connected to the side support of the separating partition (3) by a stiffening support (8) that allows the swimming pool cover equipment to be stiffened.
9. Swimming pool cover equipment as in Claim 1, characterized in that said bearing support (2) comprises a ridge (21) to move the cover apart from the edge of the swimming pool.

Images