US20140310867A1

US20140310867A1 - Overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device

Info

Publication number: US20140310867A1
Application number: US14/001,796
Authority: US
Inventors: Marco Aurelio Lopes Souza
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-02-28
Filing date: 2011-12-23
Publication date: 2014-10-23
Also published as: BRPI1100257A2; BRPI1100257B1; WO2012116420A1

Abstract

Overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device consists of a hard (1) overlay for the physical and thermal protection of pools (2), working is isolation at the bottom as a structured slab with ironmongery properly spaced, made largely by styrofoam (3) using concrete (C) as the binding element, which makes its density very close to that of water, being equipped with a tubular device (4) that can be emptied and filled with water from the pool itself, using the vacuum and (5) and recess system (6) on the outside of if, thereby allowing the buoyancy of the overlay (1) inside the pool (2).

Description

This application for Patent of Invention of an unprecedented overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device, notably an overlay built in concrete and styrofoam in a proportion that gives it a similar density to water whose buoyancy occurs thanks to a tubular device, which when filled with water keeps it at the bottom and when empty raises the overlay, which becomes a physical and thermal protection for the waterline by positioning it at the border level.
Pool protection is used for numerous purposes, but the main is to form a barrier to prevent children, animals, insects, or even more unsuspecting adults from falling into the water. Another feature of these protections is to avoid water contamination by (leaves, dirt/sand). Finally, the protection also serves as thermal insulation in order to keep the temperature of the water in a nice range when shutting down the swimming pool heater, as well as prevent the incidence of solar rays from speeding up the evaporation of conservation elements, such as, for example, chlorine.
Corroborating and summarizing the statements above, in addition to the safety, protection also results in other benefits, with emphasis on the economy in pool maintenance, temperature decrease compensation during the night, in which protection reduces the heat loss, causing it to increase the period you can use the pool and reducing the spending with heating.
Several types of cover for pools are known, and each meets different needs. Winter, solar and safety covers are similar, differing only in the purposes indicated by their own names, because the winter cover is made of material of greater durability, because it will be used for a longer period of time. In turn, the solar are thinner, thus allowing the sun's rays to penetrate and heat the water, causing the water to evaporate. The safety cover is made of tougher material and has less flexibility. Another cover very used and very different from the already mentioned above is the telescopic cover, which is made of mobile panels and allows the swimming pool to be used all year round.
The current state of the art anticipates the patent document MU 8500133-3 “Floating Mat Type Pool Cover”, which consists of comfortable mats with physical, chemical and floating resistance, capable of being applied in two or more situations without belonging to the inconvenient parts set in the area of use, with the purpose of covering the pool during idle times in an easy and fast operation.
The patent document cited as state of the art partially solves the problems related to the pool coverage, but concerning one of its main uses (protection against falls) it fails as it isn't a floating mat, and because it has no structure that supports the weight on the same, and if a child walk on the same mat he/she will immediately sink.
The PI 0002225-0 “Modular Cover for Pools and Related” consists of at least two non-flat modules, in longitudinal and transverse profiles, lightweight, resistant and anticorrosive protection, upon which are supported and set out the elements highly resistant to the action of time and impacts; high transparency; thermal insulation and lightness effect. Each module is supported directly and/or indirectly along the pool side borders, completely covering it through a fastening system that allows the sliding of the modules, overlapping each other.
Despite the physical and thermal protection function, the constructiveness of this product occupies the external area (adjacent to the border) to its fastening, and can interfere in the movement of people causing them to stumble or even fall.
Aware of the state of the art, gaps and constraints, after studies and researches, the inventor, expert in the field, created the present overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device, which consists of an overlay working parallel to the bottom of the pool in an area little less than it, and when out of use rises to the level of the border through the emptying of a tubular reservoir, which when filled with water from the pool itself goes to opposite direction until it is parallel to the bottom, since the overlay is built with concrete and styrofoam in a proportion such that its density is very close to that of water, so that only with the offset of the volume of water contained in the device is possible to promote its buoyancy, conforming a half when high, to avoid water contamination with dirt, also serving as a thermal insulator and enabling the movement of people on the same.
In this sense, the invention has as main purpose the protection of the pool when it is not in use, to avoid the accumulation of dirt, the visit of unwanted domestic animals, birds, insects, keeping the chemical properties of water for longer, allowing savings in maintenance and heating due to the excellent thermal insulation coefficient arising out of styrofoam used in its manufacture. Regarding safety, the overlay proves to be hard/resistant, providing tranquility in places with potential risk of accidents, such as places with children.
Constructively, the overlay works alone at the bottom of the pool, such as precast slabs, with the difference that it is mostly made of styrofoam, so that the set keeps its specific weight very close to water's. The pool should be built more deeply in order to compensate for the height of overlay, so that when the pool is in use the overlay (at the bottom) does not reduce the useful height of the pool itself. In turn, the edges of the overlay feature a projection that prevents water on the same from flowing into the pool, and the rainwater is drained through a drain located above the overlay, which directs it to the sewer when opening a valve. This drain also works as connection point to the suction hose when the overlay is at the bottom, for emptying the water reservoir when the same need to be raised. The lowering is accomplished by connecting the hose to the external point of the return pipe.
In short, the overlay pled herein features the following main advantages:

- Safety;
- Reduced cleaning;
- Practicality;
- Heating for a longer;
- Maintenance savings;
- Chlorine saving;
- Ideal pH maintenance;
- Power saving;
- Aesthetic improvement;
- Floor as useful area when high.

To better explain the invention, below are provided the drawings that represent it in an illustrative and non-exhaustive way.

FIG. 1: Sectional top view of the overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device;

FIG. 2: Sectional elevation view of the overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device on the surface;

FIG. 3: Sectional elevation view of the overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device at the bottom;

FIG. 4: Perspective view of the overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device in use.

The overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device consists of an overlay (1) for physical and thermal protection of pools (2), working in isolation at the bottom as a structured slab with ironmongery properly spaced, filled predominantly with styrofoam (3), using concrete (C) as the binding element, which makes its density very close to that of water, being equipped with a tubular device (4) can be emptied and filled with water from the pool itself, using the vacuum system (5) and return (6) located on the outside of it, thereby allowing the buoyancy of the overlay (1) inside the pool (2).
More particularly, the overlay (1) pled herein consists of a flat structure and border (7) with specific weight very close to that of water, which is largely made in styrofoam slabs (3) and concrete (C) as binding element, working in isolation at the bottom of the pool itself (2). The buoyancy of the overlay (1) occurs thanks to a “lung” conformed by a tubular device (4) forming a reservoir strategically located in relation to the surface of the overlay (1), which can be emptied or filled with water (A) from the pool itself, respectively through an external point (8) on the suction pipe (5) or through a second external point (9) connected the return pipe (6) of the filter system through a hose (M). Therefore, once the tubular device is full (4), the specific weight of the overlay (1) becomes greater than that of water, which leads it to the bottom. On the other hand, when the tubular device is empty (4), the density of the overlay (1) is less than that of water and takes it up. That is when it works as a protection. Adjacent to the tubular device (4), there is a window (10) covered with grill (11), which allows you to access the pipe and the recess (12) at the bottom of the pool, which aims to accommodate the drain (13) hose and the vent (14) hose that prevents the formation of vacuum in the hydraulic circuit. A drain (15) is installed in the overlay (1) above the tubular device (4) to drain any water on it, as, for example, rainwater, which is directed to the sewer network before passing inside the device, through a valve (17), without any contact with the pool water. The drain (15) will also serve as the interconnection point (8) of vacuum for emptying the tubular device (4), when it needs to be elevated. The overlay's (1) perimeter was designed in a border shape (16) and prevents the water accumulated on the surface from flowing to the inside of the pool. In turn, when the pool is not in use you can aspire not only the water from the tubular device (4), but also the water on the surface of the overlay (1) so that it will withstand a weight of at least 30 kg/m2, a condition in which people can walk on the same.

Claims

The claimed is:

1) Overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device, wherein it is a flat structure and border (7) made by styrofoam slabs (3) and concrete (C), which makes its specific weight very close to that of water; on the surface of the overlay there is a tubular device (4) forming a reservoir, which can be emptied or filled with water from the pool itself, respectively through an external point (8) on the suction pipe (5) or on a second external point (9) connected to the return pipe (6) of the filter system; adjacent to the tubular device (4) there is a window (10) covered with grill (11), which allows you to access the pipe and the recess (12) at the bottom of the pool, which accommodates the supplying (13) and drain (14) hose; a drain (15) is installed in the overlay (1) above the tubular device (4) to drain water to sewage network through a valve (17) and connect the suction pipe (8) and return (9) to the tubular device (4).