FR2671826A1 - Method of producing a peripheral drainage channel (chute) by overflow of water into the small-thickness rim of a constant-level hydrotherapy pool, and pool thus produced - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to constant-level hydrotherapy pools in which the water is drained by overflow into a channel of the upper rim. The present invention relates more particularly to the case of pools in which the rim is of small width or thickness, for example of the order of some ten centimetres. According to the invention, the rim is shaped as a "U" oriented downwards, the sides (wings) of which are joined together by a wall which is inclined from the outside towards the inside of the pool, making a top edge and a bottom edge for overflow of the water level and in that the peripheral channel is shaped as one or more longitudinal sections with one or more nozzles and in that it is inserted and locked in place in the "U" of the rim from underneath, since the inclined wall is cutout from the top of the channel.

Description

 The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a peripheral discharge chute by overflowing water in the thin rim of a hydrotherapy basin at constant level and basin thus produced.

 The present invention also relates to the chute thus produced and the basin which is provided with it.

 The invention applies to all containers such as: basins, baths, swimming pools, spas, pediluves, maniluves and all containers that can be used for therapeutic, aesthetic, veterinary, fitness, sporting, recreational and other uses industrial, where it is interesting to achieve a constant water circulation with a constant water level.

In this type of tank, the evacuated water is filtered after or before passing through a buffer tank and then reinjected into the tank. This technique is known in swimming pools or spas in which the manufacturing techniques where the dimensions of the coping allow such chutes to be easily produced.

 In the case of pools such as spas produced in a known manner by thermoforming a plastic plate, this operation simultaneously carrying out the pool, its coping and its chute, it is easy because of the width of the coping to give the latter by thermoforming the adapted configuration producing a hollow trough with location on either side of the trough in the coping, of bearing surfaces, of a grid with removable elements to facilitate cleaning.

Such a chute is produced in the mass of the sheet during thermoforming, the width of the coping, of the order of twenty centimeters allowing the folds of the sheet, the section of which is very thick, to conform the chute and the surfaces lateral support thereon and which are produced below the level of the upper edge of the coping.

 In the case of basins concerned by the invention, the width of the rim or coping is of the order of ten centimeters.

With a thick thickness of thermoforming sheet, it is not possible to make the successive curves from the upper edge to the support surface, then from the latter to the chute, to form the chute with the depth necessary to the admission of the desired amount of water to obtain a constant level, then simultaneously realize on the other side the curves of the chute towards the bearing surface and from this towards the lower edge over which passes the water discharged.

 The present invention aims to provide a solution to this problem.

To this end, according to the invention, the rim of the basin is folded by thermoforming into a "U" open downwards, the vertical wings, one of which being the wall of the basin, are joined by an inclined wall. from outside to inside to form a high edge and a low edge over which the water passes, the chute made in any suitable way is introduced into the U-shaped rim, or from below, the inclined wall being cut later, either from above, the inclined wall being cut previously on successive portions of the periphery of the basin.

 According to a preferred embodiment of the invention after folding, constituting the inverted "U" edge of the basin, the internal walls of the "U" receive a reinforcement produced by a layer of resin, then the chute is put in place and is poured into a layer of resin.

 According to another embodiment of the invention, the chute has a bottom inclined towards the water discharge orifice.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear on reading the following description of embodiments of the invention given by way of non-limiting examples and illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which - Figure 1 is a sectional view of a coping with chute of the prior art, - Figure 2 is a sectional view of a basin edge with chute according to the invention, - Figure 3 is a plan view of the grid 6 , - Figure 4 is a view of the contour of a basin with
partial representation of the grid 6.

In Figure 1 is shown schematically a coping of a hydrotherapy basin according to the prior art.

This very wide coping includes an outer edge 1 above which the water level comes, a first bearing surface 2, a chute 3, a second bearing surface 4 and an inner edge 5 over which passes the water level, edge 5 being lower than edge 1.

 A grid 6 is removably arranged transversely to the chute on the bearing surfaces 2 and 4.

The production of the profile of this coping according to the prior art causes dimensional constraints, in particular when this coping is produced simultaneously with the basin according to the technique of thermoforming a sheet of a synthetic material.

It is indeed imperative according to this technique which realizes a stretching and a thinning of the sheet to use a sheet of thickness of five to six millimeters whose folding can be done only according to sufficiently ample curvatures.

This gives copings whose width is around twenty centimeters from the outer wall 7.

This is not a problem when making large pools such as swimming pools or spas.

 The problem is completely different when you want to make smaller pools in which it is desired that the rim has a width of the order of ten centimeters.

 The solution proposed in Figure 2 solves the problem.

According to the invention, the production method consists in producing the basin by thermoforming from a sheet of synthetic material.

The thickness of the sheet before thermoforming is five to six millimeters so that it can undergo the deformations and stretching generated by thermoforming.

 According to the invention, the peripheral edge of the sheet is shaped into a "U" oriented downwards.

The vertical internal wing 9 of the "U" constitutes the wall of the basin.

The outer wing 10 is substantially parallel to the previous one.

The wings 9/10 are joined by a wall 11 inclined from the outside to the inside.

The top of the inclined wall defines the upper edge 12 of the basin.

The base 13 of the inclined wall defines the lower edge over which the water level passes.

 According to the invention, the chute 14 is made in one or more sections.

According to a preferred embodiment, the peripheral trough is a single piece conforming to the contour of the basin with a nozzle 15 on which the discharge connects to a pump and / or a treatment unit, and / or a buffer tank.

 The nozzle 15 is the lowest point of the chute which is inclined, its high point being represented by the dotted line 18.

This slope of the chute improves the flow of water.

 According to the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 2 prior to the establishment of the chute which is carried out from below the rim.

The internal "U" faces of the wings 9/10 receive a layer 16 of a reinforcing coating.

This layer 16 is produced up to the corners of the edges 13 and 14 of the inclined wall 11 but not on the latter.

 The neck is then put in place and it is blocked by an additional layer 17 of coating which may be a polyester resin reinforced or not with glass fibers.

The upper wall 11 of the rim of the basin is then cut back from the edges 12 and 13 vertically from the walls of the chute.

This cut is shown diagrammatically by the dotted lines 19 in FIG. 4.

A grid of suitable size can then be fitted into the peripheral opening produced.

The cutout 19 has the effect of separating the wing 10 from the wing 9 which, however, remain connected by the chute 14.

 It is also conceivable that the trough 14 is made in several non-contiguous sections on the periphery of the rim of the basin, each section having its own nozzle in this case, an example of which is shown in FIG. 3, the trough is provided with flanges 19 which top the walls 10 and 9, the chute being threaded from above.

 It is also conceivable without departing from the scope of the invention that the sheet used for thermoforming the basin be shaped so as to produce only the wall 9, that the chute 14 is attached laterally to the external face of the wall 9 and that a wall 10 is attached to the chute.

 In Figure 3 is shown in plan view the grid 6 which consists of sections 6A hung together by any known means.

 The same grid 6 is reproduced in partial view in FIG. 4 and in dotted lines around the entire periphery of the basin represented by this view.

 Part of the overflow water downpipe (s); may be transparent and thus receive equipment allowing the emission of ultra-violet rays in order to ensure sterilization or any other type of radiation such as, for example, microwaves.

 Part of the overflow water downpipe (s); may be fitted with a venturi-type tubing used to make a hydro-gaseous mixture (the gas in question will be constituted by ozonized air produced by a lamp generator).

This equipment will also provide a sterilizing action.

Claims (7)

CLAIMS:  1. Method for producing a peripheral water evacuation chute by overflowing into the thin rim of a basin, bath, swimming pool, spa, footbath, maniluvium, and all containers that can be used for therapeutic or aesthetic purposes , veterinary, fitness, sporting, fun and industrial uses, at constant level, characterized in that - the peripheral rim of the pelvis is shaped like a "U" oriented downwards, the vertical wings of which are joined by a wall inclined from the outside to the inside of the basin, - the peripheral trough is shaped into one or more longitudinal sections with one or more nozzles on which one or more pipes for discharging water to the circuit, - the peripheral chute is inserted and blocked in the "U" of the edge.  2. Method according to claim 1 for producing a peripheral water evacuation chute in the thin rim of a hydrotherapy basin at constant level characterized in that the chute in one or more sections is introduced into the "U" forming the rim from below and that it is locked there in position.  3. Method according to claim 1 for producing a peripheral water evacuation chute in the thin rim of a hydrotherapy basin at constant level, characterized in that the chute in one or more sections is introduced into the rim from above, one or more longitudinal openings being formed in the upper wall of the rim inclined from the outside to the inside.  4. Method according to claims 1 and 2 for producing a peripheral water discharge chute in the thin rim of a hydrotherapy basin at constant level characterized in that the basin and its rim are produced by thermoforming of a sheet of synthetic material, that after the thermoforming operation, the vertical flanges of the rim receive a reinforcing layer of a synthetic material, that the chute is introduced between said wings and that it is blocked therein by a additional layer of synthetic material then that the inclined upper wall of the rim is cut above the chute, leaving an opening which will receive a grid.  5. Method according to claim 1 and any one of the preceding claims for producing a peripheral water discharge chute in the thin rim of a hydrotherapy basin characterized in that the inclined upper wall of the rim has as many openings as the chute comprises sections independent of each other.  6. Method according to claim 1 and the preceding claim characterized in that the chute introduced from above covers the upper wall of the rim.  7. Hydrotherapy basin at constant level of water by overflow characterized in that the chute is formed in the thin rim of said basin by shaping it into a "U" open downwards by double folding , that the chute is introduced into said basin from below, that it is blocked there and that the inclined upper wall of the rim is cut above the chute.