US20050198728A1

US20050198728A1 - Wading pool retrofittable to a main pool

Info

Publication number: US20050198728A1
Application number: US11/078,797
Authority: US
Inventors: Paul Valiquette
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-03-11
Filing date: 2005-03-11
Publication date: 2005-09-15

Abstract

A wading pool retrofittable to a main pool, the wading pool being for containing water. The wading pool includes a plumbing system for providing the water and a water basin for receiving the water provided by the plumbing system. The water basin is defined by first and second side walls, a back wall and a front wall. The first and second side walls, the back wall and the front wall each have a respective height. The height of the front wall is substantially smaller than the height of the back wall and than the height of the first and second side walls. The wading pool is located such as to allow water to outflow from the front wall into the main pool.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to wading pools. More specifically, to a wading pool retrofittable onto a main pool.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wading or accessory pools for in-ground or above-ground main pools are known in the art. However, wading or accessory pools are usually integrally built with the main pool. Therefore, if there is an existing main pool, it is often very hard or impossible to add an accessory or wading pool to the main pool. Furthermore, when the wading pool is fitted to the main pool, it is often impossible to disassemble the wading pool for moving or maintenance thereof.
In addition, accessory pools for residential use are typically relatively deep and are mainly used as whirlpools. While helping a user to relax, whirlpools do not allow tanning as the user is covered in water. Also, whirlpools require that young children in the whirlpool be under constant adult supervision.
Against this background there exists a need in the industry to provide a novel wading pool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known devices now present in the prior art, the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide objects and advantages which are:
To provide a wading pool retrofittable to a main pool.
To provide a wading pool that is very shallow to allow for tanning.
To provide a wading pool assemblable in kit form.
To provide a wading pool which can be quickly installed to a main pool.
To provide a wading pool which discharges its water as a waterfall into the main pool and as such, acts as an intermediary for the normal water circulation circuit of a pool.
To provide a wading pool that can be manufactured economically.
To attain these ends, the present invention generally comprises a wading pool retrofittable to a main pool, the wading pool being for containing water. The wading pool includes a plumbing system for providing the water and a water basin for receiving the water provided by the plumbing system. The plumbing system is an extension of the existing plumbing system of an existing pool in that it reroutes the usual water feed so that it passes first into the wading pool and from the wading pool, excess water will fall into the existing pool. The water basin is defined by first and second side walls, a back wall and a front wall. The first and second side walls, the back wall and the front wall each have a respective height. The height of the front wall is substantially lower than the height of the back wall and of the first and second side walls. The wading pool is located such as to allow water to outflow from the front wall into the main pool.
In a specific example of implementation, the water basin is configured such that the water contained therein is shallower than 15 centimeters.
Advantageously, the wading pool can be added to an existing main pool and can also be easily removed. In addition, the wading pool is relatively shallow and therefore allows a user to sunbathe. Furthermore, the shallowness of the wading pool makes the wading pool very safe. Finally, water flowing over the front wall into the main pool creates a waterfall. Such a waterfall presents a strong aesthetic appeal to many pool users, and the sound of water falling into the main pool can also provide a calming sensation.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 Perspective view of the wading pool in context.
FIG. 2 Top view of the frame.
FIG. 3 Perspective view of the wading pool.
FIG. 4 Top view of the frame structure for the benches.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a wading pool (10) retrofittable to a main pool (12). The wading pool (10) includes a water basin (14) part, a bench (16) structure, decorative panels (18), and a privacy wall (20). The decorative panels (18), and the privacy wall (20) are mechanically attached to the bench (16), and the bench (16) structure surrounds the water basin (14) so that the bench (16) along with the decorative panels (18), and the privacy wall (20) create a monolithic entity large and heavy enough to settle in a given place once assembled. To facilitate on-site assembly, the bench (16) along with the decorative panels (18), and the privacy wall (20) have been factory pre-cut and prepared with predrilled holes and adapted hardware so as to provide a kit that is easily assemblable by a weekend handyman. Additionally, the kit can include stairs (64) and a ramp (66). A lighting system could also be part of the available options.
The wading pool (10) is positioned slightly higher than the main pool (12) so as to provide a waterfall coming from over a front wall (30) which is lower than side walls (24) and (26) and a back wall (28).
The water basin (14) includes a base (22), side walls (24, 26), a back wall (28) and a front wall. All walls (24, 26, 28) extend upwardly from the base (22).
The water basin (14) is obviously designed to hold water and that impermeable characteristic can be obtained by two means, either by a flexible elastomer type material place to line the base (22) and walls (24, 26, 28) of the water basin (14) to which it is adhering to by way of adhesive means or the water basin (14) can be intrinsically impermeable if made of a waterproof material such as would be the case with fiberglas. Such waterproof types of construction and materials are well known in the art and will therefore not be described in further details herein.
FIGS. 1 and 3 show, the decorative panels (18) and the bench (16) surround the base (22) and the side walls (24, 26) as well as the back wall (28). The privacy wall (20) extends upwardly from the water basin (14) and provides both privacy and a decorative element. In the wading pool (10), the privacy wall (20) has a plurality of privacy panels (21) attached to columns (23). The exact shape of the privacy wall (20) is not critical to the invention and many types of privacy walls (20) can be used without detracting from the invention. Also, although only one privacy wall (20) is shown on FIG. 1, the wading pool 10 can include more than one privacy wall (20).
The decorative panels (18), the bench (16) and the privacy wall (20) can be made of wood or of any other suitable material. Such panels, benches and walls are well known in the art and will therefore not be further described.
The bench (16) is located above the water basin (14) and overlaps over the water basin so as to cover the water inlet (47) and the drain. All the decorative panels (18), as well as the bench (16) and the privacy wall (20) are made of wood. However, the reader skilled in the art will appreciate any other suitable material could be used as long as it can withstand water and outside weather if the wading pool is located outdoors.
The plumbing system includes a water inlet (47), and a water outlet (50). The water inlet (47) is connected to a filtration system (not shown) of the main pool (12). Alternatively, the water inlet (47) is connected to an independent filtration system. Methods and devices to connect an inlet to an existing water filtration system are known in the art and therefore will not be further described hereinbelow. The water inlet (47) comes in through the base (20) and uses any of a variety of commercially available nozzles, some of those nozzles even comprise a built-in lighting source. The water outlet (50) is merely a plugged hole taht is unplugged for drainage purposes such as when closing down the pool in the fall or for maintenance. The water flow coming from the water inlet (47) is selected to provide a predetermined discharge of water which will results in a waterfall flowing over the front wall (28).
The reader skilled in the art will appreciate that a lighting system is optional and can take many alternative forms.
Finally, the wading pool (10) can include an optional heating system (not shown in the drawings). The heating system is of a type well known in art and heats the water that is to be fed through the inlet (47). The heating system can be included into the wading pool (10) or, alternatively, if such a heating system is available for the main pool (12), the water flowing to the inlet (47) can pass through the heating system of the main pool (12) before reaching the inlet (47). The heating system can be switched on and off.
In a specific example of implementation, the wading pool (10) is provided to customers in the form of a kit including all the components of the wading pool (10) and an instruction booklet including assembly instructions for the wading pool (10). The components of the wading pool (10) can be either permanently assembled or releasably assembled. In this last case, the wading pool (10) can be easily disassembled for maintenance or when the user moves from a house to another one, for example.
In operation, the wading pool (10) has water coming through the water inlet (47), fills the basin (14), when the water level in the basin (14) reaches an upper limit of the front wall (30), water flows over and into the main pool (12).
Typically, the water level in the wading pool (10) is between 5 and 15 centimetres high. However, many other water levels are within the scope of the invention. In a specific example of implementation, the water level in the wading pool (10) is substantially equal to 10 centimetres. This water level allows a user to suntan within the wading pool (10). In addition to allowing the waterfall effect of the water falling into the main pool (12), the front wall (30) allows a user to rest a head on top of the front wall (3)0 while laying on the back in the water basin (14).
In a specific example of implementation, the water basin (14) is between 1 and 3 meters wide and between 1 and 3 meters long. However, other widths and lengths are within the scope of the invention.
The reader skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations to the wading pool (10) can be made without detracting from the spirit of the invention. For example, the wading pool (10) could be used with an above-ground pool. In that case, the wading pool (10) needs to be supported by a structure such that the wading pool (10) is higher than a wall of the above-ground pool. The supporting structure can optionally be surrounded be walls such as to provide a storage area for a user.
Although the wading pool (10) is substantially rectangular, the wading pool can take any shape, such as a circular shape, an oval shape and a polygonal shape, among others. In addition, all the components of the wading pool can be made of any suitable material, such as a polymer, for example.
In a variant not shown in the drawings, decorative panels provided over the main pool (12) extend into the main pool (12), thereby providing guidance for the positioning of the wading pool (10) with respect to the main pool (12).
In addition, the wading pool (10) can be provided with additional nozzles to allow the creation of a spa-type wading pool, while nozzles perpendicular to the base (22) allow the creation of fountains.
As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A wading pool retrofittable to a main pool comprising:

a water basin part, a bench part, decorative panels, and a privacy wall;

said bench part having a structure surrounding said water basin so that said bench with said decorative panels, and said privacy wall creating a monolithic entity large and heavy enough to settle in a given place once assembled;

said water basin having a base, side walls, a back wall, and a front wall extending upwardly from said base;

a water inlet and a drain;

means to connect said water inlet to an existing pool plumbing system.

2. A wading pool retrofittable to a main pool having the following method of operation:

water coming through a water inlet fills a basin, when the water level in said basin reaches an upper limit of a front wall, water flows over and into a pool.

3. A wading pool retrofittable to a main pool as in claim 1 wherein:

said privacy wall having a plurality of privacy panels attached to columns.

4. A wading pool retrofittable to a main pool as in claim 1 wherein:

water level in the wading pool is between 5 and 15 centimetres high.