OVERFLOW POOL WITH MOVABLE BOTTOM

• US 20190316373A1
• Filed: 11/14/2017
• Published: 10/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TechnoPool
• Original Assignee: TechnoPool
• Inventors: STOCK, Michel
• Granted Patent: US 10,844,620 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/065 Floors adjustable in height
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1227 Circumferential gutters

Abstract

A swimming pool including a movable bottom, side walls and a movable platform defining the bathing volume. The platform, actuated by a system, passes from a submerged position to a raised position in the air to close the bathing volume. A peripheral flow conduit, arranged at the periphery of the bathing volume and the side walls, has an upper mouth system and a lower mouth system communicating with the bathing volume. The pool has a main water tank containing water from the overflow, a secondary tank for collecting the overflow, a pump system linking buffer tanks and continuously supplying the overflow, and a water collection system. The water collection system extends the periphery of the bathing volume and passes from a low position when the platform is static to a high position when the platform moves, providing a peripheral anti-overflow barrier and constituting the upper mouth system.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. A pool with movable bottom and comprising:

side walls and a mobile platform defining between them the bathing volume of the pool, the platform being able to pass from at least one immersed bottom position to a raised position in the open air, closing the bathing volume,

a system for actuating said mobile platform to raise it or to lower it,

a peripheral circulation duct disposed at the periphery of the bathing volume and of said side walls, said circulation duct including an upper mouth system and a lower mouth system communicating with the bathing volume so as to allow, through the action of the mobile platform, water to circulate through said circulation duct, on either side of the mobile platform, from the upper mouth system to the lower mouth system during the ascent of said mobile platform, and from the lower mouth system to the upper mouth system during the descent of said mobile platform,

characterized in that said pool is an overflow pool comprising;

a main water tank containing the overflowing water from the bathing volume, receiving said side walls, the circulation duct and the mobile platform,

one or more secondary tanks for collecting overflowing water, with a buffer function, termed buffer tanks,

a pump system connecting the buffer tanks and continuously feeding the overflowing bathing volume with water from the buffer tanks,

and in which said pool comprises a water collector system extending at the periphery of the bathing volume and adapted to collect water overflowing at the periphery of the bathing volume, and in which said overflowing water collector system is mobile, at least in part, being able to pass;

from a bottom position in which the water collector system, on the one hand, constitutes an overflow defining the height of the overflow, receiving water when the pool functions in overflow mode, the then static mobile platform in at least one immersed bottom position, in a first state of said collector system allowing the collected water to flow to the buffer tank or tanks, and, on the other hand, constitutes a walking surface substantially at the level of the mobile platform then in the raised position closing the bathing volume, in particular in a second state of said collector system,

to a top position, situated above the level of the raised and closing position of the mobile platform, in which top position the water collector system constitutes an anti-overflow peripheral barrier during rising and descending movements of the mobile platform, in a third state of said collector system, and then constitutes the upper mouth system of the circulation circuit through which water enters during raising of the mobile platform or water exits during lowering of the mobile platform.

17. The pool as claimed in claim 16, in which said water circulation duct is a peripheral duct defined by the interior space of a double wall formed between a watertight exterior envelope of the pool defining the main water tank and said side walls internal to the watertight exterior envelope, said side walls being immersed to their full height at least during operation in overflow mode.

18. The pool as claimed in claim 17, in which the water collector system is situated outside the double wall forming the circulation duct, the pool having a peripheral curb covering the interior space of the double wall, said curb being intended to be walked on, and in which:

the upper surface of the curb is situated at the height of the walking surface of the water collector system in said bottom position of said collector system and so that the walking surfaces respectively belonging to the mobile platform in the raised closing position of the mobile platform, to the curb and to the collector system are extended with no discontinuity in level,

said curb is configured so that water overflowing from the bathing volume flows over the curb to the collector system during functioning of the pool in overflow mode or again during rising movements of the mobile platform.

19. The pool as claimed in claim 17, in which the buffer tanks are received at the periphery, outside the double wall forming the circulation duct, received in a hollow structure, the water collector system being situated vertically above the hollow structure, positioned laterally with respect to the circulation duct.

20. The pool as claimed in claim 19, in which the hollow structure, extending all around the periphery of the double wall forming the circulation duct, forming a plurality of vertical box sections, distributed along said periphery, said buffer tanks respectively received in said vertical box sections.

21. The pool as claimed in claim 20, in which a thermal insulation such as synthetic foam fills the voids of the hollow structure and insulates each buffer tank on the outside, the received insulation filling the interior space between the buffer tank and the interior walls of the box section.

22. The pool as claimed in claim 18, in which a sealing system provides the watertight closure between the mobile platform and the curb in said raised closing position of the mobile platform.

23. The pool as claimed in claim 18, in which the overflowing water collector system comprises:

a U-section water receiving gutter comprising a bottom wall and two projecting side walls extending on respective opposite sides of the bottom wall, defining an upper opening of the water receiving gutter, the interior side wall situated on the same side as the bathing volume including first, in particular lateral openings in communication with the circulation duct and second, in particular bottom openings in communication with the buffer tanks,

a substantially horizontal grille covering the upper opening of the water receiving gutter and the upper surface of which constitutes the walking surface,

a blocking and branch member inside the gutter and mobile relative to the gutter, being able to assume three positions;

a top first position in which the blocking and branch member blocks the grille in the bottom position of the water collector system then in said second state in which the mobile platform is in the raised position closing the pool,

a second position lower than the first position in which the blocking and branch member frees the openings of the grille, in the bottom position of the water collector system in which the mobile platform is static, in the immersed bottom position, allowing overflowing water to pass through the grille and drop into the water receiving gutter, the blocking and branch member blocking the first, in particular lateral openings of the gutter, the water collected in the gutter being evacuated via the second openings to the buffer tanks,

a third position higher than the first and second positions in which the blocking and branch member picks up and supports the grille above the level of the raised closing position of the platform, freeing the first openings of the water receiving gutter, constituting the top position of the water collector system, the blocking and branch member constituting in this top position said anti-overflow peripheral barrier, the water propelled by the movements of the platform flowing through said circulation duct, through the first openings of the water receiving gutter.

24. The pool as claimed in claim 23, comprising a blocking system inside the gutter closing the second opening when the collector system is in the top position and so that water flows through the first openings and opening the second openings in the first state of the collector system when the collector system is in the bottom position and so that the overflowing water collected in the gutter is directed to the buffer tanks.

25. The pool as claimed in claim 17, in which the system for actuating the platform comprises a plurality of actuators received in the double wall forming the circulation duct, each actuator comprising:

a substantially vertical motorized lead screw received in the double wall,

a nut fastened to a support projecting laterally from the mobile platform and cooperating with the lead screw.

26. The pool as claimed in claim 18, in which the overflowing water collector system comprises:

a U-section water receiving gutter comprising a bottom wall and two side walls extending on respective opposite sides of the bottom wall, the interior side wall situated on the same side as the bathing volume including first, in particular lateral openings in communication with the circulation duct and second, in particular bottom openings in communication with the buffer tanks,

a static part covering the gutter and forming a walking surface substantially at the level of the mobile platform then in the raised position closing the bathing volume, said static part defining said bottom position of said collector system, an interior space separating said static part from the curb forming an upper opening for the gutter,

a mobile part inside the gutter and mobile relative to the gutter and to said static part being able to assume three positions;

a blocking first position in which said mobile part blocks the interior space between the curb and said static part, the water collector system then in said second state for which the mobile platform is in the raised position closing the pool, the upper surface of the mobile part extending the walking surface of said static part,

a second position lower than the first position in which the mobile part opens the water receiving gutter, allowing overflowing water to drop into the water receiving gutter, in said bottom position of the water collection system then in the first state in which the mobile platform is static, in the immersed bottom position, the mobile part blocking the first, notably lateral openings of the gutter, water collected in the gutter being evacuated via the second openings to the buffer tanks,

a third position higher than the first and second positions in which said mobile part is arranged above the level of the raised position closing the platform, freeing the first openings of the water receiving gutter, forming the top position of the water collector system, said mobile part in this top position forming said anti-overflow peripheral barrier and said upper mouth system, the water propelled by the movements of the platform flowing through said circulation duct through first openings of the water receiving gutter.

27. The pool as claimed in claim 26, comprising at least one actuator with three stable positions respectively configured to control the mobile part in said first position, said second position and said third position.

28. The pool as claimed in claim 27, in which said actuator with three stable positions comprises:

an actuator rod fastened to the mobile part fastened to a cam mounted to pivot relative to the axis of the rod, said cam including cam lugs,

a fixed cylinder including sloping notches, including first notches receiving the cam lugs in said blocking first position of said mobile part and second notches, at a lower level than the first notches, receiving the cam lugs in said second position of said mobile part, said first notches and the second notches being alternately distributed around the periphery of the fixed cylinder,

a plunger coaxial with the fixed cylinder, received coaxially inside the fixed cylinder, configured to rise or to descend with no possibility of rotation about the axis of the fixed cylinder, having at its upper end a plurality of slopes,

a pneumatic balloon received in the fixed cylinder in the uninflated state in the first position and in the second position of the mobile part and in the inflated state to actuate the plunger upon said mobile part rising into the third position,

and in which said actuator is configured so that in each sequence of raising and lowering the plunger through the action of the pneumatic balloon the cam lugs then received in the first notches or alternatively said second notches are raised by the plunger, the slopes of the plunger bringing about after disengagement of the cam lugs from the first notches or alternatively the second notches the partial pivoting of the cam and the cam lugs, up until the descent of the plunger in which said partially pivoted lugs come to interengage with the second notches, or alternately said first notches, thereby achieving the passage from the second state to the first state of the water collector system, or vice-versa.

29. The pool as claimed in claim 19, in which, said pool including the main tank, the buffer tanks, the side walls, the circulation duct, the mobile platform, the actuator systems, the water collector system and the hollow structure constitutes a self-supporting one-piece assembly.

30. The pool as claimed in claim 16 buried so that the peripheral floor of the pool is substantially constructed at the height of the walking surface of said collector system in said bottom position of said collector system.