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(11) | EP 1 586 724 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Surround for swimming pools |
| (57) Surround for collapsible swimming pools, preferably made of wood and whose purpose
is to improve the aesthetic appearance of collapsible swimming pools in such a way
that they have a more pleasant appearance and integrate better into the garden or
other place of use. The surround is made up mainly of panels, reinforcing parts and
decking, and it is easy to manufacture and install, requiring only screwing together
by wood screws or similar items for the latter. |
Technical field
[0001] The invention relates to a surround which is placed around a collapsible, dismountable or removable swimming pool, chiefly for decorative purposes.
Prior art
[0002] As is already known, collapsible swimming pools are undergoing an important upsurge in popularity, parallel to the aesthetic and functional improvements which are being achieved in these swimming pools with the passage of time. Consequently, the idea that collapsible swimming pools are a lower quality product than built-in swimming pools is losing validity.
[0003] Even though the aesthetic appearance of the swimming pools has improved, it has been demonstrated that the colour and the materials used in them might prove to be somewhat cold for their users and owners, thereby affecting their satisfaction with the product. It must be taken into account that it is still a general practice to install these swimming pools standing on the ground, i.e. not embedded or sunk into the ground, and usually in the open air and in gardens or green areas, and that in these environments the generally plastic or metallic materials and the usually bright colours of collapsible swimming pools are very especially noticeable.
[0004] Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to provide a design of a surround for collapsible swimming pools which is easy to install and has a pleasant aesthetic appearance, and which achieves greater integration of collapsible swimming pools into the environment where they are used.
Detailed description of the invention
[0005] In order to achieve this objective, a surround for swimming pools is defined, preferably made of wood, which is installed around the exterior of the swimming pool and connected to it, and which is made up of fundamentally flat vertical panels which are joined to each other at angles so that the final shape of the surround is polygonal.
[0006] The surround comprises two types of panels: on the one hand, a simple panel without any important cavities or holes and, on the other hand, a complex panel provided with cavities or holes to enable connection of the pump and other items linked to the swimming pool which require a means of communication between the interior part of the swimming pool and the exterior.
[0007] The panels are preferably produced by means of boards or laths (i.e. strips of wood) assembled to each other. All the laths are preferably the same width, although some of them might be of a different width, such as in the case of the top board on the panel, the bottom board in the panel, or others.
[0008] The assembly between the boards in each panel is strengthened by fixing at least two frame or support pieces, one at each side of the panel, on its inner side or side which is closer to the swimming pool, although further frame pieces might be added on this said inner side or even on the outer side. The frame pieces protrude from the panel and due to this they also provide an additional surface to which other parts can be fixed.
[0009] On the upper part of its outer side or side farther from the swimming pool, the panels have at least one reinforcing part, which protrudes outwards and due to this it also provides an additional surface to which other parts can be fixed.
[0010] The outer edges of the connection between panels are covered, protected and embellished by an angle-shaped part, or part that comprises two flat portions that form a certain angle between them. This part has the same height as that of the panels, so as to protect the complete edge and, as is logical, it is produced with an angle very similar to the angle formed by the panels.
[0011] Some horizontal parts, known as "decking", are fixed above the panels, and so called because they provide a flat support surface where the user can lie, sit, etc. The decking is composed of fundamentally flat parts with rounded outer edges and, in the preferred method of production of the invention, are composed of two sections, inner decking and outer decking, in which the inner decking is a part which is fixed from the panel towards the interior and the outer decking a part which is fixed from the panel towards the exterior. The decking has edges produced with the appropriate inclination or angle so that the resulting shape of the connection of adjacent pieces of decking follows the profile of the swimming pool. In addition, the area of connection between adjacent pieces of decking coincides in the plan view with the area of connection between adjacent panels.
[0012] The connection area between pieces of decking is protected, reinforced and embellished by means of a trim, which can be a flat part in a very simple method of production of the invention, although it can be produced in several shapes in practice.
[0013] With regard to the way of making the connection between parts, most of the connections are made by means of wood screws or some other easily inserted fixing system. In order to do this, parts such as the trim, the angle-shaped part and the decking are provided with holes, into which the wood screws can be screwed or the fixing systems inserted.
[0014] More specifically, the angle-shaped part is screwed or fixed to the panels, the decking is fixed to the frame pieces, panels and reinforcing parts, and the trim is fixed to the decking.
Description of the drawings
[0015] The details of the preferred method of production of the invention can be appreciated in the figures in the accompanying figures, which do not seek to be restrictive as regards the scope of the invention:
- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a part of the swimming pool surround in accordance with the invention, with some parts in breakdown form.
- Figure 2-A and Figure 2-B show two perspective views of a simple panel, seen from the exterior and the interior of the surround respectively.
- Figure 3-A and Figure 3-B show two perspective views of a complex panel, seen from the exterior and the interior of the surround respectively
- Figure 4 shows a perspective view of some inner decking and some outer decking.
[0016] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of one part of the preferred method of production of the swimming pool surround in accordance with the invention. In this figure it can be seen how the surround (1) is formed by the connection, at an angle, of a series of panels (2, 3), which are installed so that they, surround, coat or cover all or part of the outside of the perimeter of the swimming pool. Two types of panels are included in this surround (1): a simple panel (2) and a complex panel (3). The simple panel (2) does not have any kind of important cavity or hole, whereas the complex panel (3) is provided with some cavities or holes (11, 12) to enable connection of the pump and other items linked to the swimming pool which require a means of communication between the interior part of the swimming pool and the exterior.
[0017] The panels (2, 3) are provided with certain reinforcing elements, in the way of some frame pieces (9) at the ends of their inner sides or sides closer to the swimming pool, and some on the upper part of their outer side. In addition to providing robustness to the surround (9), both the frame pieces (9) and the reinforcing parts (10) provide and are used as connection surfaces to which other parts can be fixed, as can be observed in the figure.
[0018] The outer connection edges between panels (2, 3) are covered, protected and embellished by means of an angle-shaped part (4). This part is of the same height as that of the panels (2, 3) so as to protect the entire edge. Moreover, as is logical, the part is produced with an angle (15) very similar to the angle formed by the panels (2, 3).
[0019] The decking (5, 5') is fixed on top of the panels (2, 3), with each piece of decking in the case of the figure being made of two separate parts: an inner decking (6, 6') and an outer decking (7, 7'). As can be appreciated in the figure, the decking (5, 5'), like the other elements of the surround (1), have ends which are produced with the appropriate inclination or angle so that the resulting shape of the connection of adjacent pieces of decking follows the profile of the swimming pool.
[0020] The connection between adjacent inner and outer decking sections (6, 7, 6', 7') is protected, reinforced and embellished by the trim (8).
[0021] As can be observed in the drawing, the parts such as the trim (8), the angle-shaped part (4) and the decking (5, 5') are provided with the necessary holes (13) to carry out their connection to the corresponding elements by means of wood screws or some other kind of fixing system (14). The location of these holes (13) and the correct placement of the fixing systems (14) enable the angle-shaped part (4) to be fixed to the panels (2, 3), the decking (5, 5') to be fixed to the frame pieces (9), the panels (2, 3) and the reinforcing parts (10), and the trim (8) to be fixed to the decking (5, 5').
[0022] In Figures 2-A and 2-B, two perspective views of a simple panel (2) are shown, with the first of these being a view from the exterior of the surround in accordance with the invention, while the second of them is a view of the panel from the interior of the surround. In both figures it can be clearly appreciated that the simple panel is made up of a set of boards (17) of a certain size which are suitably assembled to each other, whose connection when assembled is reinforced throughout the entire height of the simple panel (2) by the two frame pieces (9). Moreover, the reinforcing parts (10) can be seen on the panels.
[0023] In Figures 3-A and 3-B, two perspective views of a complex panel (3) are shown, with the first of these being a view from the exterior of the surround in accordance with the invention, while the second of them is a view of the panel from the interior of the surround. As with the simple panel (2) in Figures 2-A and 2-B, the complex panel is made up of boards (17) assembled together, onto which some frame pieces (9) and reinforcing parts (10) are fixed. However, in this case the boards are cut in such a way that cavities or holes (11, 12) for the swimming pool pump and other similar items are provided in the complex panel (3).
1. Surround for swimming pools, which is characterised by comprising:
- some fundamentally flat vertical boards connected to each other by means of angle-shaped parts so that the resulting shape of the surround is polygonal,
- at least one frame piece fixed to each side end of each panel, on its inner side or side which is closer to the swimming pool, in which the frame pieces protrude from the panel and provide an additional surface to which other parts can be fixed,
- at least one reinforcing part fixed to each panel, on the upper part of its outer side or side farther from the swimming pool, in which the reinforcing part protrudes outwards and thereby provides an additional surface to which other parts can be fixed,
- some decking or fundamentally flat horizontal parts fixed on top of the panels in such a way that the area of connection between adjacent sections of decking coincided in the plan view with the area of connection between adjacent panels
- a trim in order to reinforce and embellish the area of connection between adjacent sections of decking.
2. Surround for swimming pools, in accordance with claim 1, which is characterised in that the decking is fixed to the frame pieces, panels and reinforcing parts.
3. Surround for swimming pools, in accordance with claim 1, which is characterised in that the trim is fixed to the decking.
4. Surround for swimming pools, in accordance with claim 1, which is characterised in that one, all or some of the connections between parts are carried out by means of wood
screws or some other kind of fixing system, and that the parts into which the wood
screws or other fixing system are applied are provided with holes into which the wood
screws are screwed or the fixing systems inserted.
5. Surround for swimming pools, in accordance with claim 1, which is characterised in that each decking comprises two sections, inner decking and outer decking, in which the
inner decking is fixed from the panel towards the interior and the outer decking is
fixed from the panel towards the exterior.
6. Surround for swimming pools, in accordance with claim 1, which is characterised in that the outer edges of the decking are rounded.
7. Surround for swimming pools, in accordance with claim 1, which is characterised in that the vertical panels comprise two type of panels: on the one hand, a simple panel
without any important cavities or holes and, on the other hand, a complex panel provided
with one or more cavities or holes to enable connection of the pump and other items
linked to the swimming pool.
8. Surround for swimming pools, in accordance with claim 1, which is characterised in that the panels are produced by means of boards of the same or different widths which
are assembled to each other.
9. Surround for swimming pools, in accordance with claim 1, which is characterised in that each panel can have frame pieces on its outer side or reinforcing parts on its inner
side.
10. Surround for swimming pools, in accordance with claim 1, which is characterised in that one, all or some of the parts that make up the surround are made of wood.