A portable child's pool which is suitable for use outdoors is provided having a pool play area suitable for a child to wade or sit in which is surrounded by a second water-retaining unit through which a child user would pass before entering the pool play area, wherein dirt and debris picked up on the feet of the child would be removed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a child's play equipment and, more 
particularly, to a child's portable wading pool having a water-containing 
unit in which a child could sit or wade while playing surrounded by a 
water-containing unit of somewhat smaller dimensions through which the 
child must pass before entering the pool playing unit. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
There are many types of children's play equipment available for use 
out-of-doors, such as sandboxes, wading pools, climbing bars, swing sets 
and the like. They may be readily portable for use anywhere desired, or 
they may be readily assembled for use in one location but moving to 
another location would be difficult, or they may require permanent 
assembly and set up for use in one location. 
Generally, play equipment for very young children is preferably readily 
portable and easily assembled for use in any desired location while being 
of the type of construction which is sturdy enough to withstand harsh 
treatment both during use or storage. For example, a child's wading pool, 
wherein the pool unit is generally large enough for a child to play while 
sitting or wading in a small amount of water, is of the type that could be 
easily moved and used on a variety of outdoor surfaces, would be sturdy 
enough to hold the desired quantity of water and a playing child or 
children, could be handled and moved, preferably by one adult, and most 
advantageously, would require only limited storage space. 
Typically, a small, tub-like structure or the like fabricated from a 
self-supporting plastic or thin-wall metal, may be suitable for use as a 
portable wading pool or play area for a child. Generally, the activity of 
the child at play includes frequent ingress and egress from the "pool" 
area which results in rapid fouling of the water. Dirt, grass clippings 
and other such debris generally present in the area surrounding the "pool" 
would be picked up on the feet of the child and carried into the water 
where it would collect. Frequent replacement of the water is generally 
necessary to limit the amount of such debris and dirt that would 
accumulate in the area where the child would be playing or sitting. It 
would thus be desirable if simple means were provided for preventing, or 
greatly reducing, the accumulation of dirt and other debris in the play 
area of a child's outdoor play equipment such as a wading pool by cleaning 
such debris from the child's feet before entering such play area. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable child's 
wading and sitting pool which includes a water-retaining pool unit for 
playing, sitting and wading which is readily set up, moved and stored and 
which includes a device in which the feet of the child user would be 
cleaned before entering the pool play area. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a portable 
child's wading and sitting pool area which when set up on a variety of 
outdoor surfaces is surrounded by an area suitable for retaining a small 
portion of water through which a child user would pass before entering the 
pool play area. 
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a portable 
child's wading and sitting pool which is light in weight and sturdy and 
has a water-containing play area and a second, separate water-containing 
area surrounding the play area through which a child user would pass 
before entering the water-containing play area. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a portable child's wading 
and sitting pool which is light in weight, sturdy and is adaptable for 
setting up on outdoor surfaces having a water-containing play area and a 
second water-containing unit which is adaptable for surrounding the pool 
play area through which a child user would pass before entering the pool 
play area during use. 
Still another object is to provide a portable child's wading and sitting 
pool which is collapsible for easy storage and readily inflatable for use. 
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a portable 
child's pool adaptable for setting up on outdoor surfaces comprising a 
first water-retaining unit of a size suitable for a child's sitting and 
wading play area and a second water-retaining unit associated with, and 
preferably surrounding, said first water-retaining unit through which a 
child user would pass before entering said first water-retaining unit. 
In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a portable 
child's pool comprising a first water-retaining unit suitable for a 
child's sitting and wading play area having a flat bottom end and at least 
one circular, preferably inflatable, ring-shaped sidewall sealably secured 
on one side thereof to the flat bottom end and a second water retaining 
unit through which a child user would pass before entering said first unit 
having a flat bottom end extending outwardly from about the flat bottom 
end of said first water-retaining unit with at least one circular, 
preferably inflatable, ring-shaped sidewall sealably secured on one side 
thereof to the outer periphery of said flat bottom end in substantially 
concentric relationship to the circular ring-shaped side wall of said 
first water-retaining unit. 
The portable child's pool of the present invention may be readily set up 
for use on a variety of outdoor surfaces and can be conveniently moved to 
any desired location. When set up for use as a child's wading and sitting 
play area with the desired amount of water in the play area and in the 
surrounding water-retaining unit, the water in the surrounding unit serves 
to clean the feet of the child user before passing to the pool play area. 
Thus, dirt, clippings and other debris that may be picked up on the feet 
of the child from the surrounding are would not accumulate in the pool 
play area thereby reducing the need for frequent cleaning and replacement 
of the water. 
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent 
from the detailed description thereof taken in conjunction with the 
drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is predicated upon the discovery that portable play 
equipment for children such as a portable wading pool suitable for use 
outdoors, when provided with a second water-containing unit surrounding 
but separate from the water-containing pool play area, through which a 
child user passes before entering the pool play area affords convenient 
means for readily cleaning dirt and other debris from the feet of a child 
user, thus reducing the accumulation of dirt in the play area. 
Referring now to the drawings, where like reference numerals identify like 
parts, there is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 a portable child's pool, shown 
generally as 10, in accordance with the present invention. The child's 
pool 10 of the present invention comprises a wading and sitting pool play 
area 12 and a second water-containing area 14 which surrounds the pool 
play area 12 but is separate therefrom. 
The pool play area 12 has a bottom end 16 to one surface of which is 
sealably secured a circular sidewall 18. The bottom end 16 is formed of a 
sheet of an appropriate plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride which 
is thick and sturdy enough to support the weight of water desired and one 
or more children while disposed on a variety of outdoor surfaces, yet is, 
preferably, sufficiently flexible to permit folding for storage. 
The sidewall 18 defining the pool play area 12 is sealably secured by 
heat-sealing, adhesives or the like to one surface of the bottom end 16 by 
virtue of which the pool will retain a desired but generally small amount 
of water 28 in which a child user can wade or sit while playing. The 
sidewall 18 is formed of two or more continuous tubular rings 20 
contiguously sealably secured together to obtain the desired height of the 
play area. The tubular rings are formed of an appropriate flexible plastic 
material such as polyvinyl chloride, and can be permanently inflated or, 
preferably, be inflatable by air or the like when being set up for use. 
The second water containing area 14 has a bottom end 22 which is an 
extension of the sheet of plastic material forming the bottom end 16 of 
the pool play area 12, and surrounds the play area. Sealably secured by 
heat-sealing or the like to the surface of the bottom end 22 is a 
continuous circular tubular ring 24 made from an appropriate flexible 
plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride. The tubular ring 24 forms a 
sidewall 26 for the second water-containing unit 14 which is substantially 
concentric with the sidewall 18, and of a height suitable to retain a 
small amount of water 30, generally less than that used in the pool play 
area 12, but which is sufficient to clean the feet of a child user who may 
be passing through to the pool area. The cross-sectional diameter of 
tubular ring 24 may be the same or different from that of tubular rings 20 
and the ring can be permanently inflated or, preferably, inflatable by air 
or the like when being set up for use. 
The diameter of the concentric sidewall 26 is large enough to form a second 
water-retaining area 14 which is separate from the pool area within which 
the foot or feet of a child user can be conveniently placed to clean any 
dirt or debris therefrom before stepping into the pool play area 12. While 
the portable pool 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 shows that the pool play 
area 12 and associated second water-containing area 14 are combined as a 
single unit having two separate water-retaining areas, the pool play area 
12 and second area 14 can be fabricated as separate units which can be 
assembled for use in the associated relationship shown. 
In FIGS. 4 to 6 is illustrated an alternate embodiment of the invention 
wherein the child's pool 110 is combined in a "cup and saucer" type 
arrangement. The child's pool 110 comprises a wading and sitting pool play 
area 112 generally in a "cup-like" configuration with a separate 
"saucer-like" unit 114 combined therewith in a manner which provides a 
separate water-retaining area 114 surrounding the "pool". 
The "cup-like" pool play area 112 has a bottom end 116 and a circular 
sidewall 118 which can be molded as a water-retaining unit from an 
appropriate plastic material such as fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) or the 
like which is self-supporting and has the strength to support the weight 
of water and one or more children when used on a variety of outdoor 
surfaces The separate "saucer-like" water-retaining unit 114 can also be 
molded as a self-supporting unit from an appropriate material such as 
fiber-reinforced plastic or the like having a bottom end 122 around the 
periphery of which extends a sidewall 126. A circular ridge 132 extends 
inwardly from the bottom end 122 of the "saucer-like" unit to serve as a 
centering and/or retaining ridge for a "cup-like" pool 112 assembled 
therewith. 
In FIG. 7 there is illustrated another embodiment of the child's pool 210 
of the invention having a "cup-like" pool play area 212 and a separate 
"saucer-like" water retaining area 214 wherein a handle 234 is provided 
for the pool unit 212 so as to more closely resemble a tea cup. It would 
be evident to one skilled in the art that other known methods or materials 
can be used for manufacture of the portable child's pool of the invention 
and that additional child's play equipment such as toy boats, water 
pistols and the like may be provided in conjunction with the pool play 
equipment. Moreover, other portable outdoor play equipment for children 
having a separate water-retaining unit surrounding the play area through 
which a child user would pass, such as sandboxes and the, like would 
afford desirable advantages. 
Having thus described the invention in relation to the drawings hereof, it 
will be clear that modifications could be made in the preferred 
embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
Accordingly, it is not intended that the words used to describe the 
invention be limiting thereof nor should the drawings be considered so. It 
is intended that the invention be limited only by the scope of the 
appended claims.