Swimming pool with an adjustable intermediate floor

Abstract: New drive system swimming pool with an adjustable intermediate floor which has its own buoyancy, at the underside of which intermediate floor cables are fastened, which cables run by means of pulleys on the pool bottom to a hydraulic movement mechanism, with the aid of which the intermediate floor can be pulled under the water surface and held there, while the hydraulic cylinder(s) (10) of the hydraulic movement mechanism is (are) arranged sealed and slidable through a vertical wall (12) of the pool near its bottom, the piston rod (14) being fixed outside the pool, and the end of the hydraulic cylinder which projects into the pool bearing a pulley head (8) for the cable(s).

Description: The present invention relates to a swimming pool with an adjustable intermediate floor which has its own buoyancy, at the underside of which intermediate floor cables are fixed, running by means of pulleys on the pool bottom to a hydraulic movement mechanism, with the aid of which the intermediate floor can be pulled under the water surface and held there, of which cables the cables connected to the end areas of the intermediate floor can be paid out individually in full. Such a swimming pool is described in Dutch Patent Specification 146570, assigned to Applicants and in DE-A- 1942522. Although in this patent a winch is mentioned as the cable winder, Applicants in practice successfully used a hydraulic movement mechanism. In the case of these known swimming pools the pulley head was accommodated on the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder of the hydraulic movement mechanism in a dry room next to the swimming pools, and the cables were conveyed from the pool via an upward running water-filled cable duct to said room (the so-called technical room). In view of the great pulling force in the cables, the pulley heads and the cylinders must be firmly anchored. The object of the present invention is to simplify the drive for the adjustable intermediate floor in a swimming pool of the known type described above. According to the invention, the hydraulic cylinder(s) of the hydraulic movement mechanism is (are) fitted sealed and slidable through a vertical wall of the pool near its bottom, the end of the piston rod being fixed at the outside of the pool, and the end of the hydraulic cylinder which projects into the pool bearing a pulley head for the cable(s). The proposed design has the advantages over the design in Dutch Patent Specification 146570 that it requires much less space, it is safer because no cables run into the technical room, fewer parts are needed, fewer structural arrangements are needed and, finally, a separate pulley bearing above the water level is no longer needed. Furthermore, for maintenance of the cylinder and piston arrangement, the cylinder can be left in place without the need for fundamental measures for the protection of the pool It is preferable if the hydraulic cylinder is of the type in which from the fixing point outside the pool the piston rod is provided with two longitudinal channels opening out in front of and behind the piston in the cylinder. Since the end of the cylinder projects into the pool, no swimming water can penetrate into the cylinder, nor can pollution of the water by hydraulic fluid occur. The invention will now be explained in greater detail with reference to the drawing, which shows schematically an embodiment of the drive for an adjustable intermediate floor of the swimming pool according to the invention. Fig. 1 is a top view of a part of a swimming pool; Fig. 2 is a vertical section along the line II-II in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section along the line III-III in Figure 2. Fig. 1 shows a swimming pool in top view, with an adjustable floor 1, comprising hollow structural parts, indicated by 2 and 3, for example made of reinforced plastic, which are filled with a rigid foamed plastic with a low specific weight. Thus, this floor 1 has its own buoyancy. Cables are fastened at positions 4 and 5 at the underside of the intermediate floor 1. These cables run from the intermediate floor vertically downwards to cable pulleys (not shown) on the pool bottom (11 in fig. 2) and then parallel to said bottom to the drive means, which is shown in Figures 2 and 3. Fig. 2 and 3 show a section of a part of the bottom 11 of the pool and the vertical side wall 12. As shown in Fig. 2 and 3, the drive means comprise a multiple pulley head 8 for two or more cables. This multiple pulley head is located within the pool. It can be seen in Fig. 2 how a steel cable 6 is passed around a pulley of this multiple pulley head and the cable end 7 is fixed elsewhere. This multiple pulley head 8 is hinged at 9 to the end of a hydraulic cylinder 10. The hydraulic cylinder 10 is passed by means of a stuffing box 13 in a watertight manner through the vertical side wall 12 of the pool. Outside the pool, the piston rod 14 is fixed at 15 to a supporting structure 16 fitted on the pool wall. The cylinder 10 with piston rod 14 is of the type in which from the fixing point 15 the piston rod 14 is provided with two longitudinal channels (not shown) opening out in front of and behind the piston (not shown) within the cylinder 10. By feeding one of these channels with a drive medium, such as hydraulic pressure, and using the other channel as an exhaust channel, the piston can be moved within the cylinder 10. Connecting nipples 17, 18 are fitted on the piston rod 14 for connection with a pressure source. Due to the fact that the hydraulic cylinder is conveyed in a watertight manner by the stuffing box 13 through the vertical pool wall 12, there is no risk of hydraulic fluid or lubricants escaping into the pool water, nor can swimming water penetrate into the drive mechanism.

Claims: Swimming pool with an adjustable intermediate floor which has its own buoyancy, at the underside of which intermediate floor cables are fixed, running by means of pulleys on the pool bottom to a hydraulic movement mechanism, with the aid of which the intermediate floor can be pulled under the water surface and held there, of which cables the cables connected to the end areas of the intermediate floor can be paid out individually in full, characterised in that the hydraulic cylinder(s) of the hydraulic movement mechanism is (are) fitted sealed and slidable through a vertical wall of the pool near its bottom, the end of the piston rod being fixed at the outside of the pool, and the end of the hydraulic cylinder which projects into the pool bearing a pulley head for the cable(s). Swimming pool with adjustable intermediate floor according to Claim 1, characterised in that the cylinder is of the type in which from the fixing point outside the pool the piston rod is provided with two longitudinal channels opening out in front of and behind the piston in the cylinder.

Inventors: BERHOUT JOHANNES HENDRIKUS, BOS JAN, BERHOUT, JOHANNES HENDRIKUS, BOS, JAN
Applicants: POLYMARIN BV, POLYMARIN B.V.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: E04H4
IPC codes: E04H4