US3518705A

US3518705A - Above ground swimming pools

Info

Publication number: US3518705A
Application number: US726632A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard Cudney
Original assignee: Urb Products Corp
Current assignee: Urb Products Corp
Priority date: 1968-04-04
Filing date: 1968-04-04
Publication date: 1970-07-07
Anticipated expiration: 1987-07-07

Description

July 7 1970 R. CUDNEY 3,518,705

ABOVE GROUND SWIMMING POOLS Filed April 4, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR g (xv/4&0 (VOA/E) July 7, 1970 R. CUDNEY ABOVE GROUND SWIMMING POOLS .4 SheetsSheet .5

Filed April 1, 1968 0 oooooooooooa i} OOOOOO INVENTOR R/CH40 cup/vi) I W (F ATTOR EYE July 7, 1970 R. CUDNEY 3,518,705

ABOVE GROUND SWIMMING POOLS Filed April 4, 1968 .4 Sheets-Sheet 5 lam/7 4 90 (a0 4/5 July 7, 1970 R. CUDNEY ABQVE GROUND SWIMMING POOLS .4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April &, 1968 "ENEM United States Patent 3,518,705 ABOVE GROUND SWIMMING POOLS Richard Cudney, New York, N.Y., assignor to URB Products Corporation, Farmingdale, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 4, 1968, 'Ser. No. 726,632 Int. Cl. E04h 3/16 US. Cl. 4--172.21 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An above ground swimming pool comprising a flexible plastic liner disposed within a rigid frame and having a planar cross-sectional configuration which includes at least one generally arcuate section and having coupled thereto a pool deck. The deck is disposed at a height substantially equal to the top of the liner and includes an elongated center member which is fixed with respect to the pool and tangent to and abutting against a first portion of the pool periphery and at least one flap member pivotally coupled to one end of the elongated member and adapted to be brought in abutting relationship with other, adjacent portions of the pool periphery, thereby forming a continuous non-straight deck about said pool periphery portions.

Background of the invention Above ground swimming pools have gained great popularity in the last few years and are now available in a wide variety of depths, sizes and shapes including round and partially round configurations. Such pools are often provided with accessories such as pool decks, which may serve as diving boards or sitting or lounging areas and are designed to promote the same general esthetic impression usually associated with below ground pools. Since the water level of above ground pools often extends above the ground for a considerable height, it is most desirable that the deck surface also be located above the ground the same distance so as to facilitate entrance and egress to and from the pool. In many cases, the depth of the pool is quite large, often five feet or more, so that it is quite important, for safety sake, to maintain substantial abutment between the deck and pool frame to minimize the danger of a person falling off the deck or tripping or getting caught between the deck and pool.

Heretofore, accessories of the type described were generally custom fitted to a particular pool and hence were relatively expensive to manufacture and purchase. Thus, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a pool deck which is relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture and which may be conveniently adapted to accommodate a wide range of pool sizes and configurations.

Summary of the invention In accordance with the present invention, this and other beneficial objects and advantages are attained by providing an above ground swimming pool having a flexible liner disposed within a rigid frame and having a planar cross-sectional configuration which includes at least one arcuate portion with an adjustable deck adapted to be brought into a substantial abutting relation with the arcuate portion of the pool. The pool deck includes a support frame substantially equal in height to the depth of the pool and to which is mounted a first elongated floor member which is fixed with respect to the pool frame and substantially tangent to a first section of the arcuate portion. At least one elongated flap member extends from one end of the floor member and is pivotally connected thereto and adapted to be brought into an abutting relationship with a section of the arcuate portion which is adjacent the first section, thereby forming a continuous substantially abutting deck about the pool. Since the flap member is pivotally connected to the floor member, the angle between the two may be varied and, by changing this angle, a wide range of pool dimensions may be accommodated by a single deck size. The floor member and flap member may comprise a multiplicity of parallel elongated slats, each slat on the flap corresponding to and pivotally mounted with respect to a slat on the floor member.

Description of the drawings In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an above ground swimming pool provided with an adjustable deck section in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the deck end of the pool and includes in phantom a representation of a smaller pool and the method of adapting the deck to the smaller pool;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

Description of the preferred embodiment Reference is now made to the drawings, and in particular, to FIG. 1 wherein an above ground pool 10 embodying the improvements of the present invention is depicted. The pool 10 includes a continuous wall member 12 defining generally arcuate end portions separated by a straight-sided center portion. The arcuate end portions may be in the form of either intersecting or non-intersecting circular segments. Various materials are available from which the wall 12 may be constructed, but I prefer to use corrugated sheet steel or aluminum. Also, the wall may be formed from one integral sheet or from two or more joined sections.

A water impervious liner 14 is disposed about the pool interior and serves to contain the water 16 with which the pool is to be eventually filled. The liner 14 includes a wall section 18, the top of which depends from the top of the wall 12 and a base portion 20 adapted to rest on the pool site 22. A coaming 24 is provided which serves to secure the liner top to the pool wall. When the pool is set up, fill 26 in the form of peat moss, sand, etc., should be interposed between the bottom of the wall 12 and liner bottom 20 in the manner shown in FIGS. 3 through 6 so as to support the liner at the transition between the liner wall 18 and liner base 20.

Upper and

lower rails

28 and 30 are provided for the top and bottom of the pool side wall 12 and serves to finish off the side walls in an esthetically pleasing manner as well as to cover the relatively sharp upper wall edge which, if not covered, would present a potential hazard to those entering or leaving the pool. In this preferred embodiment, the upper rail 28 is comprised of a plurality of straight-sided sections 32 which overlie both the straight and arcuate side wall sections. This procedure facilitates both the manufacture and assembly of the pool and also provides a product which to some is more appealing than a pool having round rails. The upper rail 28, composed of straight-sided sections 32, also facilitates the coupling of the pool and deck in a manner to be described forthwith. Vertical bars 34 are spaced about the pool periphery between the upper and

lower rails

28 and 30 and serve to secure the one to the other.

Since the pool described in this preferred embodiment includes a noncircular planar cross-sectional configuration, the pool walls will have a natural tendency to deform when the pool is filled with water. This is due to the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the water on the walls. For this reason, buttress means 36 are required to counteract the hydrostatic forces. The buttresses 36 are provided on opposite sides of the pool along the straight sections 38 and 40. The buttress supporting the straight sections 40 is not visible in the drawings but is identical to that supporting section 38. The opposed buttresses are tied together by metal straps 42 and 43 which extend beneath the pool and serve to counteract any tendency of the pool to rotate in either direction under the influence of the hydrostatic forces when the pool is filled.

Moment plate 44 and ballast plate 46 are provided on the outside and inside of the pool and each buttress and cooperate with the tie straps 42 and 43 in preventing rotation of the pool.

The buttress itself consists of diagonal members 48 and 50 depending downwardly from a horizontal member 52 which extends between the vertical uprights 54 and 56. Additional diagonal members 58 and 60 depend from the uprights 54 and 56 themselves. The lower end of each diagonal member 48, 50, 58 and 60 is coupled to the moment plate 44. In addition, the lower ends of the extreme diagonal members 58 and 60 are coupled to base members 62 and 64 which extend toward the moment plate from the lower ends of the vertical members 54 and 56. Thus, the outward forces exerted on the straight section 38 of the wall 12 are directed through the members 48, 50, 58 and 60 through the moment plate 44 to the ground site upon which the pool is erected. An identically constructed buttress supports the straight section 40 located on the opposite side of the pool.

Reference is now made to the pool deck 66 which is located at one end of the pool 10. The deck includes a support structure comprised of uprights 68 extending from and coupled by L-shaped brackets 71 to horizontal base members 70 which rest upon the pool site. The uprights 68 are arranged in two perimeters, an inner perimeter proximal the end wall of the pool and an outer perimeter which defines the deck width and the ends of the deck.

The height of the uprights forming the inner perimeter is substantially equal to the height of the pool wall, thereby permitting unobstructed passage from the deck to the pool. The uprights forming the outer perimeter have portions 69 extending above the pool wall and may have coupled thereto safety rails 72 which serve to protect the pool users from accidental falls. In this preferred embodiment, the rails comprise heavy gauge rope strung between the uprights. A ladder 73 is provided as means by which bathers may gain access to the deck from outside the pool. A second ladder 75 extends into the pool from the deck.

Horizontal support member 74 extends between associated uprights on the inner and outer perimeters and the deck floor 76 rests upon the supporting members. In this regard, the deck floor 76 consists of three sections; a fixed intermediate or center section 100 and two end sections 102 and 104 pivotally mounted with respect to the center section. Both the center floor section 100 and the right and left end sections 102 and 104 respectively are formed from a multiplicity of slats or boards 78 secured at their ends to the horizontal support member 74. Additional support may be obtained from the horizontal members 77 upon which the slats freely rest without fasteners. The slats forming the center section 100 are fixed at their ends to horizontal supports 80 and 82 which extend between

uprights

84, 86, 88 and 90. The slats forming end sections 102 and 104 are also coupled to the horizontal support members 80 and 82. These end section slats are pivotally mounted to the horizontal supports 80 and 82 so that the end section may be pivoted by pivoting each individual slat about the fastener 92 which couples the end section slats to the support members 80 and 82. To facilitate this pivotal movement, the ends 99 of the slats forming the end section are rounded and a spacing is maintained between adjacent slats. The free ends 94 and 95 of the left and right end section slats are coupled to support members 96 and 98 respectively. Thus, after the center section of the deck is brought into abutting engagement with a first end portion 108 of the pool wall 12, the end sections 102 and 104 may also be brought into abutting relationship with those sections of the pool wall 110 and 112 adjacent the first section. In this regard, the straight sections 32 which are disposed along the top of the pool wall, permit complete abutment between the pool and deck. U-shaped clamps 114 secure the deck to the pool and prevent further motion of the deck once the deck is properly located with respect to the pool. As shown in FIG. 2, the disposition of the end sections 102 and 104 with regard to the center section may be varied through a wide range of angles so that one pool deck, produced in accordance with the present invention, may be used with a wide range of pool sizes.

It should be understood that modifications may be made in the illustrated and described embodiment of my invention without departing from the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. In an above-ground swimming pool of the type having a flexible liner disposed within a rigid frame and a planar cross-sectional configuration which includes at least one generally arcuate section, the improvement comprising a pool deck including vertical supporting means, a first elongated floor member fixed with respect to said frame and substantially tangent to said arcuate section and at least one elongated horizontal floor member extending from said fixed member and pivotally mounted with respect thereto and adapted to be brought into an abutting relationship with portions of said frame adjacent said arcuate section whereby to form a continuous, substantiallly abutting deck about said arcuate section of said poo 2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said support means support said deck at a height substantially equal to the top of said liner and said floor members comprise a plurality of slats extending outwardly from said frame, the innermost slat of each member being tangent to said frame.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said deck further comprises two floor members each extending outwardly from and pivotally mounted to the longitudinal ends of said elongated fixed floor member.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said rigid frame includes a multiplicity of straight sections disposed on top of said liner and generally describing said arcuate configuration.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said cross-sectional configuration includes two opposed arcuate sections separated by and connected to oppose straight sided sections.

6. An adjustable pool deck adapted to be used with an above-ground swimming pool of the type having a flexible liner disposed within a rigid frame including: support means, a first elongated floor member mounted on said support means and interposed between end fioor sections wherein said end floor sections are pivotally mounted to said support means with respect to said first fioor member whereby to enable said deck first fioor member and end floor sections to be brought into a substantially abutting relationship with adjacent sections of said pool, said support means supporting said deck at a height substantially equal to the top of the pool liner and said first floor member and end floor sections comprising a plurality of parallel slots, the slats of said end floor sections being pivotally mounted to said support 'means with respect to the slats of said first fioor member.

References Cited LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner 10 H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.