GB1571794A

GB1571794A - Swimming pools

Info

Publication number: GB1571794A
Application number: GB4826375A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: ANITT Ltd AG
Current assignee: ANITT Ltd AG
Priority date: 1976-11-26
Filing date: 1976-11-26
Publication date: 1980-07-16

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN SWIMMING POOLS (71) We, A. G. ANITT LIMITED, a British Company of 112 Crescent Road, Reading, Berkshire, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to swimming pools and to a method of constructing swimming pools. In particular, the present invention is concerned with prefabricated swimming pools of which both the floors and walls are made of panels which can be packaged for transportation to the site where they are installed either in framing on the ground surface or in holes excavated in the ground.

With such pre-fabricated swimming pools it is essential that the joints between the panels be watertight and that the panels be sufficiently light in weight to enable the panels to be handled by workmen to assemble the pool. In one type of swimming pool known to the Applicants the wall and floor panels are made of rigid polyurethane foam which are joined together by means of bolts passing through the flanges of butt joints outside the pool, the flanges having a sealant therebetween. In order to enable workmen to bolt the flanges of the floor panels together these must be supported above the ground or bottom of the hole and in the latter case the size of the hole has to be large enough to provide access for the workmen to bolt the wall panels to each other and to the floor panels.The initial excavation of the large hole, bolting of the panels and the back filling required for the large space between the wall panels and ground considerably increases the amount of time taken to construct the pool and thus the cost.

Also, the moulding process for the polyurethane side panels results in the smooth surface of the panels facing outwards and the rough sides inwards necessitating finishing treatment such as painting of the inside surfaces of the panels to guard against inter alia the adherence of dirt and the growth of vegetation thereon. Furthermore, it has been found that the polyurethane foam tends to degrade in a relatively short time resulting in leakage at the joints.

The present invention has for an object to provide a pre-fabricated swimming pool which is cheaper to manufacture and which can be installed in a far shorter time than the known swimming pools mentioned previously.

To this end the invention consists in a swimming pool of the type comprising floor and wall panels and which comprises a floor and a wall made of a plurality of prefabricated floor and wall panels respectively which are of glass reinforced plastics and which have inner and outer surfaces, said floor panels having complementary lap joint portions of which adjacent ones are disposed in overlapping relationship said wall panels also having complementary lap joint portions of which adjacent ones are disposed in overlapping relationship, said floor and wall panels having further complementary lap joint portions of which adjacent ones are disposed in overlapping relationship, and means securing each of said overlapping complementary lap joint portions of adjacent panels sealingly together from the inner surfaces of the panels, thereby joining said floor panels to one another and joining said wall panels to one another and to said floor panels, whereby said swimming pool has an inner surface which is constituted by the inner surfaces of said joined-together floor and wall panels.

The lap joint portions enable the panels to be bonded together by means of a suitable adhesive/sealant applied between the joint surfaces during assembly of the swimming pool, and enable the panels to be joined together permanently from inside the pool as by rivets which extend through the joint surfaces thereby ensuring water tight joints and avoiding having to excavate large holes.

Moreover, the overlapping lap joint portions enable the panels to be assembled with the smooth surface of the glass reinforced plastics facing inwards and thereby avoiding the need for further finishing of the inside of the pool and since the rough surfaces of the panels face outwards the back filling can key some what to the outside of the pool.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lap joint portions between the floor and wall panels comprise means for locating the wall panels relative to the floor panels, preferably in a position in which the lap joint portions of the wall panels are disposed intermediate the lap joint portions between the floor panels, thereby reducing further the time in assembling the pool.

In order to guard against sideways movements of the pool, when in use, preferably there are secured to the wall panels a plurality of stabilizing or supporting members which project outwardly of the wall panels and which are buried in the back filling surrounding the pool.

Advantageously the floor and wall panels are of modular construction requiring only a few basic shapes of panel no matter what the size of the pool, thereby further simplifying manufacture and assembly. Since there are relatively few basic components manufacturing and assembly costs are reduced so the panels can readily be sold in a package as a kit of parts.

Accordingly, from another aspect the invention consists in a kit of parts for use in constructing any of the swimming pools defined above.

From a further aspect, the invention consists in a method of constructing a swimming pool of the type comprising floor and wall panels, said method comprising employing a plurality of prefabricated floor panels and wall panels which are of glass reinforced plastics which have inner and outer surfaces and which have lap joint portions for disposing in overlapping relationship each with at least one complementary lap joint portion of at least one adjacent panel, disposing said floor panels adjacent to one another with adjacent ones of their complementary lap joint portions in overlapping relationship whilst securing said lap joint portions sealingly together from the inner surfaces of said panels thereby to join said floor panels together to form the floor of the swimming pool, and disposing said wall panels adjacent to said floor panels and adjacent to one another with adjacent ones of their complementary lap joint portions in overlapping relationship whilst securing said lap joint portions sealingly together from the inner surfaces of said wall and floor panels thereby to join said wall panels to said floor panels and to one another to form the wall of the swimming pool.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of a swimming pool, constructed in accordance with this invention, assembled in a hole in the ground, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the swimming pool of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an exploded view in perspective of floor and wall panels of the swimming pool, Fig. 4 is a cross-section along the line IV IV of Fig. 1, showing the manner in which the floor panels are joined together, Fig. 5 is a cross-section along the line V V of Fig. 2 showing the manner in which the wall panels are joined to the floor panels, Fig. 6 is a cross-section along the line VI VI of Fig S, Fig. 7 is a cross-section along the line VII VII of Fig. 2 showing the manner in which the side panels are joined together, and Fig. 8 is a section along the line VIII- VIII of Fig. 1, with part broken away.

Referring to the drawings, a pre-fabricated swimming pool, generally indicated at 1, is of generally rectangular configuration and is shown assembled in a hole 2 in the ground 3, the size of the hole 2 being indicated by the wavy line 4 in Fig. 1. The swimming pool comprises a floor 5 which depending on the nature of the sub-soil rests on a sand or sand and cement back filling 6 and has a shallow-end portion Sa, a deep-end portion 5b and a sloping portion Sc interconnecting the portions 5a and 5b.

The floor 5 consists of eight separate floor panels 7 moulded from fibre-glass (glass reinforced plastics) of which the panels 7a are of the same size and shape and the end panels 7b and 7c have curved portions to accommodate to engage complementary portions on wall panels to be described. The floor panels 7 are joined together with the aid of lap joints generally indicated at 8 in a manner to be more fully described.

The wall 9 of the swimming pool is formed of separate wall panels 10 also moulded from fibre-glass and including side and end wall panels 10a of the same size and shape, arcuate in cross-section corner wall panels lOb of the same size and a stairwall panel 10c. The wall panels 10 are joined together and to the floor panels 7 with the aid of lap joints generally indicated at 11 and 12 respectively. The wall panels 10 preferably have one or more recesses such as 13 (Fig. 3) moulded therein to take hand rail brackets or filter outlets. The wall panels 10 have outwardly projecting portions 14 at their upper ends which are supported by foam gussets 15 (Fig. 8) and which together form a substantially horizontal surround 16 to the pool. Preferably, as shown in Fig. 3, the surround 16 is provided with a non-slip surface as indicated at 17. By virtue of the lap joints 8, 11 and 12, the smooth and rough surfaces of the floor and wall panels resulting from the known fibre-glass moulding techniques form the inner and outer surfaces respectively of the pool.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, the lap joints 8 between adjacent floor panels 7 each comprises respective solid flange portions 19 and 20 which are offset with respect to the outer and inner surfaces respectively of the panels 7 and which are flush with each other to provide the pool with a flat bottom. Two spaced strips 21 are selfadhesive sealant which may be sold under the Trade Name "Scotch Seal mastic strip no.

5313", or may be that sold under the Trade Name "Kwikstik" run the full length of the joint 8 between the flange portions 19 and 20 to bond the floor panels 7 together. Preferably, as shown a gap 22 is left between the free edge 23 of the flange portion 19 and the adjacent panel 7 for a sealant strip 24 which may be of the type sold under the Registered Trade Mark "Dow Corning 781". Pop rivets such as 25 extend through holes 26 in the flange portions 19 and 20 between the sealant strips 21 to secure the floor panels permanently together and rivets and holes are sealed by plastics sealing caps 27. By means of the sealing strips 21 and 24 compressed by the rivets 25, and the sealing caps, a water tight seal is provided between the floor panels.The lower flange portion 20 has a depending rib 28 providing reinforcing for the floor panels along the lap joint 8 and receiving anchor pins 29 to be driven into the sub-soil or wooden battens used in levelling the back filling 6 to secure each floor panel and thus the entire floor 5 to the ground.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3 and 7, the lap joints 11 between the wall panels comprise solid, offset flange portions 30, 31 of which the former has a free edge 32 and the joints are sealed and the flange portions rivetted together in a similar manner to the lap joints 8 between the floor panels 7. In contrast to the lap joint 8, however, the reinforcing rib 28 has one part 33 of a metal wall reinforcing angle member 34 embedded therein and extending for the length of the joint 11, so that the rivets 25 also extend through holes 26a in the part 33 and ridge 28 to permanently secure the wall panels 10 together.The other part 35 of the angle member 34 which is preferably of aluminium projects outwardly of the wall 9 and, in the region of the lap joint 12 between the wall and floor panels is recessed as indicated at 36 (Fig. 8) to accommodate an upstanding flange portion 37 forming one part of the lap joint 12 (Figs. 5 and 6). The flange portions 37 are disposed at opposite ends respectively of the floor panels 7a whereas the floor panels 7b and 7c each have one flange portion 37 which extends around the outwardly facing periphery thereof, as will be appreciated from Fig. 3.

The lap joints 12 each comprise the upstanding flange portions 37 and the lower ends 38 (Fig. 3) of the wall panels 10 which engage with the flanges so that the lap joints 8 between the floor panels are covered by the wall panels as will be apparent from Fig. 3 to further improve watertightness. In the region of the lap joints 12 the sealing strips 21 of the joints 8 are extended (not shown) up the upstanding portions and the floor panels are riveted between the sealing strips by the rivets 25 extending through holes 26 (Fig. 3) in the flange portions of adjacent floor panels 7 to the flange portions 37. Between the lap joints 8 and 11 the lower end portions 38 of the wall panels 10 are also secured to the flange portions 37 by the rivets 25 passing through holes 26.A sealing strip 39a preferably of the type sold under the Registered Trade Mark "Dow Corning 781" and as shown at 39a in Fig. 5 extends around the junction between the wall panels and base panels to ensure that the joint is watertight.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3, -5 and 6, intermediate the opposite sides of the floor panels 7 the solid upstanding flange portions 37 are projecting outwardly to define recesses or pockets 39 which engage with the ribs 28 of the wall panels to locate the wall panels 10 relative to the floor panels 7. In the region of the recesses 39 the upstanding portions 37 are reinforced by metal angle members 41, preferably of aluminium, embedded in the portions 37 and in the bottom part of the floor panels 7 where indicated at 42 in Fig. 5. Rivets 25 extend through holes 26 in the flange portions 30, 31 of the wall panels between the sealing strips 21, holes 26a in the parts 33 of the angle members 34 and through holes 26b in the angle members 41 to secure the wall panels permanently to the floor panels.

In order to stabilize the assembled swimming pool in the ground to guard against side ways movements thereof, metal angle members 43, preferably of aluminium are bolted as indicated at 44 to the parts 35 of the angle members 34, and outwardly projecting metal support members 45 preferably of aluminium are also bolted to the angle member parts 35 and are provided with anchor pins 46 to secure them in the ground. The metal angle members which are cut and splayed in two directions as illustrated and the support members 45 are all buried in the ground.

The swimming pool described is assembled, preferably in the following manner. The floor panel 7b and an adjacent floor panel 7a are placed on the back filling 6 in the bottom of the hole 2 in the ground which has been previously excavated, for example as shown in Fig. 3 and the floor panel 7b is secured to the ground or wooden battens in the backfilling by the anchor pins 29. Then the two sealant 21 strips are laid along the flange portion 20 to occupy the positions shown in Fig.

4 and the adjacent floor panel 7a is moved in the direction of the arrow 47 so that the flange portion 19 overlies the flange portion 20 and the sealant strips 21 to bond the two floor panels together. A row of holes 26 is then drilled through the flange portions 19 and 20 and the pop rivets 25 are inserted in the holes using a suitable rivetting thereby to permanently secure the floor panels together.

The plastics sealing caps are then inserted into the pop rivets and the sealant strip 24 is placed in the gap 22. The remaining Soor panels are assembled in a similar manner.

The key members 43 are then bolted to the reinforcing angle members 34 using a suitable spanner, the strips 21 of sealant are laid upon the flange portion 31 of the wall panel 10a which is then located with its rib 28 in the recess 39 by being moved first in the direction of the arrows 48 and then in the direction of arrow 49 as indicated in Fig. 3 and the next adjacent wall panel 10a is then located with its flange portion 30 against the sealant strips 21. The lower ends 38 of the wall panels resting on the floor panels 7b and 7a. Rows of holes 26 are drilled through the flange portions and reinforcing the lower ends 38 of the wall portions and flange portions 37 and the wall panels are permanently secured to each other to the floor portion by the rivetting operation described previously.The remaining wall panels are assembled to the floor portion in a similar manner and then the sealant strip 39a is positioned. The support members 45 are bolted to the angle members 34 having first previously excavated the soil to the depth indicated at 50 in Figure 2 and the anchor pins are driven into the soil. The space 51 between the wall panels and hole wall is then filled with sand, sand and cement or soil according to the nature of the sub soil and the support members 45 are buried in the ground up to the level of the undersurface of the surround 16 to complete the construction of the swimming pool. The swimming pool is then ready for connection to water supply and drain and to suitable filtration plant and, if desired, heating equipment, which have not been described in detail since they do not form part of this invention.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, to construct larger swimming pools, there may be two rows of separate floor panels with lap joints between the rows. The corners of the walls may be straight or angled instead of arcuate and the stair wall panel may be incorporated in one of the longer side walls instead of the shorter side walls. Furthermore the swimming pool could be of square or circular shape. Although, the strips 21 are described as being of self adhesive sealant mastic they could be replaced by sealant strips which do not comprise adhesive. The described swimming pool can also be constructed on a ground or other suitable surface on which it is supported by conventional forms of framing.

In some instances in the case where the self adhesive sealant or other suitable bonding material is used to join the panels together the joins may be of sufficient permanency to dispense with the rivets or other securing means so that the panels are joined together from inside the pool means of the lap joints with bonding material only. The floor panels and the wall panels 10a and the flat portions of the stair panel 10c and treads are preferably, (as shown) fibre glass moulded around an inner core of, for example hardboard such as pegboard which acts as a reinforcing and reduces the amount of resin required. The stair may also be reinforced at the back by foam.

The swimming pool described being of modular construction can be assembled in a simple, rapid and watertight manner using a minimum of tools, namely suitable drill, spanner and rivetting tool.

Instead of the two sealing beads 21 a single wider strip of sealing mastic may be used for example that which is sold under the Trade Name "KWIKSTIK" and which is about 2 inches wide, about 3mm. thick and is selfadhesive on both sides. In this case the rivets 25 extend through the wider mastic strips.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A swimming pool of the type comprising floor and wall panels and which comprises a floor and wall made of a plurality of prefabricated floor and wall panels respectively which are of glass reinforced plastics and which have inner and outer surfaces, said floor panels having complementary lap joint portions of which adjacent ones are disposed in overlapping relationship, said wall panels also having complementary lap joint portions of which adjacent ones are disposed in overlapping relationship, said floor and wall panels having further complementary lap joint portions of which adjacent ones are disposed in overlapping relationship, and means securing each of said overlapping complementary lap joint portions of adjacent panels sealingly together from the inner surfaces of the panels, thereby joining said floor panels to one another and joining said wall panels to one another and to said floor panels, whereby said swimming pool has an inner surface which is constituted by the inner surfaces of said joined-together floor and wall panels.

2. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 1, and including a bonding sealant material between each of said overlapping complementary lap joint portions.

3. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 1, wherein said securing means includes one or two strips of sealing material between each of said overlapping lap joint portions, and rivets extending through said lap joint portions, said rivets extending through said one sealing strip or being located between said strips of sealing material.

4. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 3,

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. portion 19 overlies the flange portion 20 and the sealant strips 21 to bond the two floor panels together. A row of holes 26 is then drilled through the flange portions 19 and 20 and the pop rivets 25 are inserted in the holes using a suitable rivetting thereby to permanently secure the floor panels together. The plastics sealing caps are then inserted into the pop rivets and the sealant strip 24 is placed in the gap 22. The remaining Soor panels are assembled in a similar manner. The key members 43 are then bolted to the reinforcing angle members 34 using a suitable spanner, the strips 21 of sealant are laid upon the flange portion 31 of the wall panel 10a which is then located with its rib 28 in the recess 39 by being moved first in the direction of the arrows 48 and then in the direction of arrow 49 as indicated in Fig. 3 and the next adjacent wall panel 10a is then located with its flange portion 30 against the sealant strips 21. The lower ends 38 of the wall panels resting on the floor panels 7b and 7a. Rows of holes 26 are drilled through the flange portions and reinforcing the lower ends 38 of the wall portions and flange portions 37 and the wall panels are permanently secured to each other to the floor portion by the rivetting operation described previously.The remaining wall panels are assembled to the floor portion in a similar manner and then the sealant strip 39a is positioned. The support members 45 are bolted to the angle members 34 having first previously excavated the soil to the depth indicated at 50 in Figure 2 and the anchor pins are driven into the soil. The space 51 between the wall panels and hole wall is then filled with sand, sand and cement or soil according to the nature of the sub soil and the support members 45 are buried in the ground up to the level of the undersurface of the surround 16 to complete the construction of the swimming pool. The swimming pool is then ready for connection to water supply and drain and to suitable filtration plant and, if desired, heating equipment, which have not been described in detail since they do not form part of this invention. Various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, to construct larger swimming pools, there may be two rows of separate floor panels with lap joints between the rows. The corners of the walls may be straight or angled instead of arcuate and the stair wall panel may be incorporated in one of the longer side walls instead of the shorter side walls. Furthermore the swimming pool could be of square or circular shape. Although, the strips 21 are described as being of self adhesive sealant mastic they could be replaced by sealant strips which do not comprise adhesive. The described swimming pool can also be constructed on a ground or other suitable surface on which it is supported by conventional forms of framing. In some instances in the case where the self adhesive sealant or other suitable bonding material is used to join the panels together the joins may be of sufficient permanency to dispense with the rivets or other securing means so that the panels are joined together from inside the pool means of the lap joints with bonding material only. The floor panels and the wall panels 10a and the flat portions of the stair panel 10c and treads are preferably, (as shown) fibre glass moulded around an inner core of, for example hardboard such as pegboard which acts as a reinforcing and reduces the amount of resin required. The stair may also be reinforced at the back by foam. The swimming pool described being of modular construction can be assembled in a simple, rapid and watertight manner using a minimum of tools, namely suitable drill, spanner and rivetting tool. Instead of the two sealing beads 21 a single wider strip of sealing mastic may be used for example that which is sold under the Trade Name "KWIKSTIK" and which is about 2 inches wide, about 3mm. thick and is selfadhesive on both sides. In this case the rivets 25 extend through the wider mastic strips. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A swimming pool of the type comprising floor and wall panels and which comprises a floor and wall made of a plurality of prefabricated floor and wall panels respectively which are of glass reinforced plastics and which have inner and outer surfaces, said floor panels having complementary lap joint portions of which adjacent ones are disposed in overlapping relationship, said wall panels also having complementary lap joint portions of which adjacent ones are disposed in overlapping relationship, said floor and wall panels having further complementary lap joint portions of which adjacent ones are disposed in overlapping relationship, and means securing each of said overlapping complementary lap joint portions of adjacent panels sealingly together from the inner surfaces of the panels, thereby joining said floor panels to one another and joining said wall panels to one another and to said floor panels, whereby said swimming pool has an inner surface which is constituted by the inner surfaces of said joined-together floor and wall panels.

4. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 3,

wherein the rivets are pop-rivets which are sealed by a sealing cap.

5. A swimming pool as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a sealing material seals the region between a free edge of each inner lap joint portion and an adjacent panel part.

6. A swimming pool as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the overlapping lap joint portions between the adjacent floor panels and between the adjacent walls panels each lie within the plane of the associated panel and are offset from one wall thereof such that the inner surfaces of the respective floor panels and the respective wall panels are flush with one another.

7. A swimming pool as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein one of each of the overlapping lap joint portions between the adjacent wall and floor panels which is the outer of said lap joint portions up strands from the associated floor panel.

8. A swimming pool as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the overlapping lap joint portions between the wall and floor panels include means for locating the wall panels relative to the floor panels to facilitate assembly of the pool.

9. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 8, wherein the locating means locate the wall panels in a position in which the lap joint portions between the wall panels are disposed intermediate the lap joint portions between the floor panels.

10. A swimming pool as claimed in either of claims 8 or 9, as appendant to claim 8, wherein the locating means includes recesses in the upstanding outer lap joint portions.

11. A swimming pool as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each outer one of said overlapping lap joint portions comprises a reinforcement.

12. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 11, wherein anchor pins extend through the reinforcement of each outer overlapping lap joint portion between the adjacent floor panels and into the underlying surface to secure the swimming pool thereto.

13. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 11 or 12, wherein the reinforcements of the outer overlapping lap joint portions between the wall panels and between the floor and wall panels, each includes a metal member.

14. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 13, wherein the metal reinforcement members of the overlapping lap joint portions between the wall panels each have a part which projects outwardly from the associated wall panel, there being pool stabilizing or supporting members secured to the outwardly projecting parts and buried in the ground surrounding the pool.

15. A swimming pool as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the inner surfaces of the panels are smooth and the outer surfaces of the panel are relatively rough.

16. A swimming pool substantially as here inbef ore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A kit of parts from which a swimming pool as claimed in any preceding claim may be constructed.

18. A method of constructing a swimming pool of the type comprising floor and wall panels, said method comprising employing a plurality of prefabricated floor panels and wall panels which are of glass reinforced plastics, which have inner and outer surfaces and which have lap joint portions for disposing in overlapping relationship each with at least one complementary lap joint portion of at least one adjacent panel, disposing said floor panels adjacent to one another with adjacent ones of their complementary lap joint portions in overlapping relationship whilst securing said lap joint portions sealingly together from the inner surfaces of said panels thereby to join said floor panels together to form the floor of the swimming pool, and disposing said wall panels adjacent to said floor panels and adjacent to one another with adjacent ones of their complementary lap joint portions in overlapping relationship whilst securing said lap joint portions sealingly together from the inner surfaces of said wall and floor panels thereby to join said wall panels to said floor panels and to one another to form the wall of the swimming pool.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18, including anchoring the outer lap joint portions of the floor panels to the underlying surface.

20. A method as claimed in claim 18 or 19, including bonding the complementary lap joint portions together to secure the panels to one another and provide a seal therebetween.

21. A method as claimed in claim 18 or 19, including interposing one or two strips of sealant material between each of said overlapping complementary lap joint portions in spaced apart relation and riveting through said one strip or between the two spaced strips of sealant material from the inner surfaces of the panels to secure the panels together.

22. A method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the rivets are pop-rivets and including sealing said rivets.

23. A method as claimed in claim 21 or 22, wherein said sealant material is an adhesive bonding material.

24. A method as claimed in any of claims 18 to 23, including sealing the region between the free edges of the inner overlapping lap joint portions and the adjacent panel parts.

25. A method of constructing a swimming pool, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.