FR2852044A1 - Swimming pool access limiting device for young child, has system with mounting disposed in field of reception of directive signal emitted by another mounting to detect low height crossing above barrier when signal is interrupted - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a barrier (2) with sufficient height, and a detection system. The detection system has a mounting (4) disposed above an end of the barrier for emitting a directive signal (3) above the barrier towards another end of the barrier. A mounting (5) disposed above the other end in a field of reception of the signal detects a low height crossing above barrier when the signal is interrupted.

Description

Device to secure access to a swimming pool.

  The field of the invention is that of securing access to a swimming pool.

  A private swimming pool makes it possible to liven up the life of families as well by the possibilities of playing and learning to swim offered to children as by the possibilities of relaxing offered to adults.

  However, when children know little. or not 10 swimming are around the pool or at times of the year when it is best not to immerse, a fall of someone in the pool could affect the pleasant side of the use of the pool. There is a security problem.

  A known solution is to have a barrier to obstruct access to the pool. Criteria for the effectiveness of this obstacle may require that the barrier be high enough that it cannot be easily crossed. However, a sufficient height, close to the height of a man or at least clearly greater than the height of a child, is a source of dissatisfaction.

  This dissatisfaction can be due to simple concerns about the charm of using the pool. For example, a barrier 25 that is too high can affect the aesthetics. For example again, such a barrier can create a psychological separation between parents who, in order to relax, wish to bathe between adults by letting children play on the other side of the barrier.

  More worryingly, this dissatisfaction may be related to security itself. When adults bathe, the height of the barrier can hide their activity from children, which in itself is a source of danger outside the pool. If for some reason or other, a child ends up in the pool in the absence of an adult, for example because the access door to the enclosure delimited by the barrier has remained open or because the child has successfully open this door, the effect of a high barrier height, of beneficence risks becoming unhappy. On the one hand, the barrier risks hiding the presence of the child in the direct vicinity of or in the swimming pool and not intervening to avoid drowning. In order not to obscure the view, it is of course possible to provide a transparent or strongly perforated barrier such as a mesh. However, the need to go through the door to intervene can sometimes waste precious seconds to save a child.

  Other known solutions exist such as those of so-called perimeter alarm systems. In such systems, the physical barrier which was mentioned above, is replaced by a virtual barrier materialized by a visible or invisible light beam whose interruption by a passage of a living being such as a child or of such object. that a baby carriage triggers an alarm.

  Such systems offer many advantages. The light rays do not obscure the view either from the swimming pool or towards the swimming pool. When the light rays are placed at a low height, they can be easily crossed by an adult who straddles them without setting off the alarm to access the pool freely for his personal pleasure without having to go through a door or worry about cross the ray of light to rescue a child. The height of the light beam above the ground generally results from a compromise between a height low enough to prevent a child from passing below and high enough to prevent a child from stepping over it. However, although advantageous compared to physical barriers which must meet certain minimum height standards for safety reasons, such systems can still be a source of dissatisfaction.

  For example, when people want to bathe between adults to relax while letting children play away from the pool, it is true that a child who crosses the light beam would be alerted by the alarm to adults in or at proximity to the pelvis which could then intervene quickly with the child, but insistent movements of children towards the pelvis are not always compatible with a few moments of well-deserved rest from the parents, then regularly interrupted by repeated triggering of the alarm . 20 The child is not necessarily aware that he is getting too close to the swimming pool and a light ray is not always capable of making him aware of it, especially if he is outside the visible spectrum. The alarm generally needs to be acknowledged to stop. If, in order to be less disturbed by nuisance trips when the parents are present in the swimming pool, they are tempted to deactivate the alarm, they deprive themselves of the additional support for their vigilance provided by the alarm.

  Again, for example, it is true that a child crossing the light beam would be alerted to adults absorbed by other concerns than those of the pool. However, the light beam does not prevent a child from accessing the pool when playing on a field where there is a swimming pool. It would be a shame to prohibit the child from playing on the ground to avoid triggering the alarm. The light ray does not prevent a pram from wandering slowly in silence on a gently sloping ground to the pool after having happily raised the alarm while hoping that an adult can intervene quickly enough before 10 the pram does 'carries by its weight a baby it contains, at the bottom of the pelvis.

  The object of the invention is to propose a device which overcomes both the aforementioned drawbacks of a necessarily high barrier and the drawbacks of a perimeter alarm system with a light beam at low height above the ground.

  The object of the invention is a device for securing the access of young children to a swimming pool.

  This device is remarkable in that it includes: - a barrier of sufficient height to attract the attention of a child heading towards the swimming pool; - a system to detect a crossing at a low height above the barrier in order to signal if the child crosses the barrier.

  The barrier height does not need to exceed a few tens of centimeters to attract the attention of a child. In this order of magnitude, it constitutes a sufficient obstacle for a very young child not yet attracted to climbing and also sufficient to stop a rolling object such as a pram. The low height of the barrier does not harm the gaze of an adult over it. A possible crossing of the barrier by a child attracted by climbing is then detected by the system.

  An adult is not stopped by a detection at a low height above the barrier to cross it if necessary. In addition, the height just sufficient for the barrier to arouse the attention of a child, prevents an adult from having to go through a gate to intervene more quickly at any point in the pool by simply crossing the barrier, whether this provokes or 10 not an alarm.

  Different detection systems at low height above the barrier can be envisaged such as sensors placed all along the top of the barrier.

  It is however necessary to take care that a sufficient quantity of sensors does not have too much impact on the price of the device.

  More particularly, the system comprises: a first pad disposed above a first end of the barrier, arranged to emit a directive signal above the barrier towards a second end of the barrier; - A second stud disposed above the second end of the barrier in a field for receiving said directional signal, so as to detect crossing 25 when said directional signal is interrupted.

  The quantity of sensors is then limited to the ends of each barrier.

  In particular, the first pad comprises a transmitter of the directive signal and the second pad comprises a receiver of said directive signal.

  Advantageously, the first pad comprises a transmitter-receiver couple of the directional signal and the second pad comprises a reflector for returning the signal to the first pad.

  This further reduces the number of sensors required and the reflector does not cause prohibitive costs on the system.

  Different physical signal natures may be suitable such as ultrasound. The light rays 10 have the advantage of being able to be focused to obtain good directivity.

  In particular, said directional signal is a laser beam.

  Advantageously, the directional signal is an infrared ray.

  Infrared technology is less expensive than laser technology. The less directivity of the infrared rays avoids the difficulties of aligning the beam during installation and then the problems of misalignment over time.

  More particularly, the first pad and the second pad are adjustable at the same height above the barrier within a range of authorized heights.

  This allows the device to be adapted, for example, to the age of the children.

  Alternatively or in combination, the detection system comprises several first superposed studs and as many second superimposed studs at each end of the barrier.

  This allows for example to increase the chances of detection of crossing of the barrier.

  One or more barriers with detection system may suffice if it or they delimit a part of the ground where the swimming pool is located or even if there is a wall which already protects one or more sides of access to the swimming pool. If you want to be able to go around the pool without accessing it, the device includes as many barriers and detection systems as necessary to delimit a security perimeter around the pool.

  More generally, the detection system can be provided for any past or eminent crossing of the barrier.

  For example, the system comprises: a first pad disposed in the vicinity of a first end of the barrier, arranged to emit a directional signal along the barrier towards the vicinity of a second end of the barrier; a second stud disposed in the vicinity of the second end of the barrier in a field for receiving said directional signal, so as to detect the crossing 20 when said directional signal is interrupted.

  The invention will be better understood in the light of preferred embodiments, the description of which follows with reference to the appended drawings in which: - Figure 1 shows a swimming pool equipped with a device 25 according to the invention; - Figure 2 shows a swimming pool equipped with another device according to the invention; - Figure 3 a possible variant of mounting the safety device.

  In Figure 1, there is a swimming pool 1 consisting of a basin shown in perspective with a beach 6 which surrounds the basin. The horizontal and vertical scale ratios are different to facilitate representation on the drawing. We understand that the area of the pool is generally larger than that shown.

  In the device according to the invention shown here, there is a barrier 2 with a post 12 at a first end and a post 9 at a second end.

  The barrier 2 consists of conventional elements 10 such as panels flush with the ground and which rise to a height above the ground essentially sufficient to attract the attention of a child who is heading towards the swimming pool. A height of the order of thirty to sixty centimeters for the panels may be sufficient to constitute an obstacle for a young child in order to achieve this objective. The height can also be of the order of a meter, for example for older children. It is particularly advantageous to limit the height of the barrier so that an adult can easily cross it to avoid having to pass through an access door which can then be avoided. Nothing prevents the provision of a door to allow a child to access the swimming pool when authorized. The panels can be of small width and thin as shown in the figure, arranged perpendicular to the length of the barrier to allow to open the barrier between the panels and to deter escalation.

  The panels can also be of the order of one to two meters in length fixed one after the other in the direction of the length of the barrier. The elements of the barrier can be of wood, glass, metal, PVC or other materials usually used in the field.

  A first stud 4 is placed on the post 12 and a second stud 5 is placed on the post 9.

  The pad 4 contains a head which includes a signal transmitter directing to the pad 5. It is for example a laser transmitter or preferably an infrared transmitter. The signal is then a ray of light 3 which runs along the barrier 2 at a low height above the barrier so that a living being such as a child or a domestic animal cannot pass between the top of the barrier and the ray of light without interrupting the course of the ray. Provision may be made for the height of the shelf to be adjustable to take account of living things in the swimming pool environment. We can also provide that the pad 4 contains several superimposed heads each emitting a radius identical to the radius 3 and separated by a small space to be more sure of detecting a passage through one or more rays.

  Each head of the pad 4 can be of the simple transmitter type, in which case the pad 5 contains as many heads each in a receiving field of the radius 3 emitted by a head of the pad 4. The pads 4 and 5 are then electrically supplied by wire or wirelessly using batteries such as battery, solar or other source of electrical energy.

  Each head of the pad 4 can also be of the transceiver type such as for example a transponder, in which case the pad 5 simply contains a reflector 30 directed towards the pad 4. Only the pad 4 is then supplied electrically by wire or wirelessly by means batteries, solar or other source of electrical energy. The pad 5 does not then require an electrical supply.

  In FIG. 1, a barrier 14 similar 5 and connected to barrier 2 is observed, then a barrier 13 similar and connected to barrier 14 and finally a barrier 15 similar and connected to barrier 13 and to barrier 2 so as to delimit a security perimeter around the pool. It is understood that the number of barriers, here of four for a rectangular perimeter can be increased so as to delimit a perimeter of any shape with many sides going as far as approaching curved shapes.

  The barrier 14 extends from a first end 15 materialized by the post 9 to a second end materialized by a post 10. The barrier 13 extends from a first end materialized by the post 10 to a second end materialized by a post 11. The barrier 14 extends from a first end materialized by the post 11 to a second end materialized by the post 12.

  The post 10 is surmounted by a stud 7 of identical nature to that of one of the studs 4 or 5. The post 11 is surmounted by a stud 8 of identical nature to that of one of the studs 4 or 5 Many combinations of nature of the pads 4, 5, 7, 8 are possible.

  For example, each pad 4, 5, 7, 8 is equipped with a transmitter on a first face respectively towards the pad 5, 7, 8, 4 and a receiver on a second face 30 respectively towards the pad 8, 7, 5, 4. it

  For example again, the pads 4 and 7 are each equipped with a transmitter-receiver couple directed towards each of the pads 5 and 8. The pads 5 and 8 are then each equipped with a reflector directed towards the pad 4 and a 5 reflector directed towards the pad 7. Only the pads 4 and 7 are then electrically powered. In a particularly advantageous manner, the pad 5 is equipped with a reflector oriented along the bisector of the horizontal angle between the barriers 2 and 14. The pad 7 10 is equipped with a reflector oriented along the bisector of the horizontal angle between the barriers 14 and 13. The stud 8 is equipped with a reflector oriented along the bisector of the horizontal angle between the barriers 13 and 2. Thus, the ray 3 emitted from the pad 4, is reflected by the pad 15 5 in the direction of the pad 7, in turn reflected by the pad 7 in the direction of the pad 8 so as to be finally reflected by the pad 8 in the direction of the pad 4, so that radius 3 is reflected chi towards the pad 4 through the pad 5 passing through the pads 7 and 8. In this combination, only the pad 4 20 is electrically supplied with a transmitter directed towards the pad 5 and a receiver directed towards the pad 8.

  Each electrically powered pad is connected by wire or overhead carrier wave, to an alarm center not shown. The alarm center is of conventional type 25 with a siren or advantageously of the type described in patent application FR0208846 filed by the same applicant.

  The siren alarm is silent as long as each receiver of an electrically powered pad receives the beam emitted by another pad or by this same pad.

  When the beam is interrupted by crossing the barrier underlying it, the receiver no longer receiving the beam, triggers the alarm.

  Thus, the pads 4, 5, 7, 8 with the radius 3, 5 constitute a system for detecting a crossing at a low height above the barrier so as to signal whether a child, a domestic animal or possibly an adult, crosses the fence. The transmitter and receiver of each powered pad, is arranged so that the height above the barrier is low enough that the pet or child cannot slip between the barrier and the radius but also high enough that a bird landing on the barrier does not inadvertently trigger the alarm. The height of the transmitters and receivers in the studs can be adjusted so as to obtain a first radius about ten to twenty centimeters above the barrier. It is possible to superimpose pads so as to obtain additional radii spaced vertically from ten to twenty centimeters so as to create a virtual barrier, the height of which combined with the physical barrier gives a height which complies with certain safety standards.

  In FIG. 2, a swimming pool 1 is observed similar to that of FIG. 1 with a variant of the device according to the invention.

  A bar or plate 16 is mounted on the top of each barrier 2, 14, 13, 15 in direct contact with it, and over the entire length thereof.

  The bar or plate 16 contains, uniformly distributed over its entire length, weight sensors.

  We find at low prices on the market, weight sensors of the variable electrical resistance type according to a weight exerted on an object which contains them. These resistors are supplied electrically from a local box in communication with an alarm center not shown or directly from the alarm center.

  When a child climbs on the barrier with the risk of crossing it, its weight causes a variation in resistance so that a variation in current passing there or in voltage at these terminals is detected to trigger the alarm. This detection is adjustable in a weight range which corresponds to that of a child so that the weight, for example of a bird which lands on the barrier, does not inadvertently trigger the alarm.

  This makes it possible to reduce the low height mentioned above to zero without inadvertent triggering caused by small animals or light objects on the physical barrier.

  A possible light beam above the barrier to reinforce security, can then be of higher height to avoid an alarm triggering resulting from the passage of a small animal or a toy at the edge of the barrier.

  FIG. 3 shows a variant of the device presented with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  The pads 4, 5, 8 are not here specifically above the material barriers 2, 15 but simply alongside so that each signal emitted 3 between two pads 4 and 5, substantially follows each barrier 2 in the vicinity of one end in the vicinity of the other end.

  Thus, the material barrier 2, 15, avoids untimely triggering of alarms when a child 5 breaks the signal 3 by inadvertently crossing it. The signal 3 emitted between two studs provides additional security if a child passes from one side to the other of the barrier 2 in the absence of an adult.

  In FIG. 3, the detection system is on the area 6 of the swimming pool between the basin 1 and the material barriers 2, 15. It is necessary to study the distance which separates the detection system from the material barrier, for example large enough to prevent a child from jumping over it from the top of the material barrier 15 and to then provide an inhibition of the detection system when the child moves on the track 6 under the supervision of an adult. The detection system can also be at a short distance from the material barrier on the basin side but at a height sufficient to be triggered by any crossing of the barrier.

  The detection system can finally be near the barrier on the side opposite the basin to prevent an eminent crossing of the material barrier.

Claims (12)

claims:   1. Device for securing the access of young children to a swimming pool (1), characterized in that it comprises: - a barrier (2) of sufficient height to attract the attention of a child moving towards the swimming pool; - A system (3,4,5) for detecting a crossing of the barrier (2) so as to signal if the child crosses the barrier.   2. Device for securing the access of young children to a swimming pool (1), characterized in that it comprises: - a barrier (2) of sufficient height to attract the attention of a child moving towards the swimming pool ; a system (3,4,5) for detecting a crossing at a low height above the barrier (2) so as to signal if the child crosses the barrier.   3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said system comprises: - a first stud (4) disposed above a first end of the barrier (2), arranged to emit a directive signal (3) above the barrier to a second end of the barrier; a second stud (5) disposed above the second end of the barrier (2) in a field for receiving said directive signal (3), so as to detect the crossing when said directive signal (3) is interrupted.   4. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said system comprises: - a first stud (4) disposed in the vicinity of a first end of the barrier (2), arranged to emit a directive signal (3) along the barrier towards the vicinity of a second end of the barrier; a second stud (5) disposed in the vicinity of the second end of the barrier (2) in a field for receiving said directional signal (3), so as to detect the crossing when said directional signal (3) is interrupted.   5. Device according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the first pad (4) comprises a transmitter-receiver couple of said directional signal (3) and in that the second pad (5) comprises a reflector to return said signal to the first pad.   6. Device according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the first pad (4) comprises a transmitter of said directive signal (3) and in that the second pad (5) comprises a receiver of said directive signal .   7. Device according to one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that said directional signal (3) is an infrared ray.   8. Device according to one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that said directional signal (3) is a laser beam.   9. Device according to claim 3 and one of claims 4 to 8, characterized in that the first pad (4) and the second pad (5) are adjustable at the same height above the barrier within a range of authorized heights.   10. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the detection system 10 comprises several first superposed pads and as many second superposed pads at each end of the barrier.   11. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said system comprises weight sensors distributed uniformly on the top of the barrier.   12. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises as many 20 barriers and detection systems as necessary to delimit a security perimeter around the swimming pool.