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(11) | EP 1 236 846 A3 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Swimming pool cover having reduced friction during slidable movement |
| (57) A swimming pool cover for extension over and retraction from a swimming pool and
where the cover may engage a portion of the deck surrounding the swimming pool during
movement thereof. The swimming pool cover comprises a flexible fabric sheet of the
type capable of being spooled or rolled and capable of being unrolled to extend over
a swimming pool. The swimming pool cover is comprised of a sheet having a top surface
and a bottom surface with the bottom surface extending over and potentially in contact
with the upper surface of the water in the swimming pool. In order to reduce frictional
effects between the bottom surface of the swimming pool cover and the upper surface
of the deck, the swimming pool cover is provided with a surface configuration which
is roughened to substantially reduce surface area contact of the sheet with the deck
of the swimming pool. In this way, frictional effects between the cover and the deck
are reduced during movement thereof. The bottom surface configuration may adopt any
of a variety of forms, including ribs formed on the bottom surface of the sheet, a
mesh screen-like substrate secured to the bottom surface of the sheet, or a plurality
of projections similar to those of an artificial turf secured to the bottom surface
of the sheet, etc. |