Patent Publication Number: US-11396759-B2

Title: Low profile circular drain with water stop for swimming pool

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/673,299, entitled “Low Profile Circular Drain with Water Stop for Swimming Pool,” filed Nov. 14, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/530,659, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,465,404, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/439,883, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,745,926, entitled “Low Profile Circular Drain With Water Stop For Swimming Pool,” which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/210,850, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,323,429, entitled “Low Profile Circular Drain With Water Stop For Swimming Pool,” which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/863,236, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,214,930, entitled “Low Profile Circular Drain With Water Stop For Swimming Pool,” which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/392,345, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,869,103, entitled “Low Profile Circular Drain With Water Stop For Swimming Pool,” which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/794,376, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,540,837, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/660,566 filed Jun. 15, 2012 entitled “Low Profile Circular Drain Covers,” and to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/734,267 filed Dec. 6, 2012 entitled “Channel Drain With Water Stop.” The contents of these applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Twin 7-Year Old Virginia Graham Baker was the granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker III. In June 2002 she became stuck to the hot tub drain and was unable to pull herself free and she drowned. After her tragic death the family lobbied Congress for a law to require anti-entrapment drain covers and other safety measures. As a result, The Virginia Graham Baker Pool &amp; Spa Safety Act (“VGB Act”) was enacted in December, 2007. 
     The 2007 VGB Act changed everything for those in business of providing swimming pool and spa suction outlets or drains. Among one of the ways of complying with the Act was separating two drains by more than three feet, such that a single individual could not likely block both drains with his or her body and become stuck. This also led to increased popularity of channel drains, rectangular and longer than three feet, which accomplished this objective but looked unsightly. 
     Even before the VGB Act, pool manufacturers were concerned about the aesthetic appearance of drains and were developing products and methods towards making drain covers more attractive. Among products available were small approx. 12 inch diameter round covers having a recessed upper surface forming a cavity to receive aggregate material matching the aggregate surface of the pool. Among disadvantages of this product were that the aggregate material was retained inside a portion of the cover itself, such that changing covers requires filling the new cover with matching new batch of the aggregate material. And also, these small drains are subject to being damaged by being kicked by swimmers and users of hot tubs. 
     Pool drains or sumps, as currently known in the art, generally comprise a plastic or fiberglass body including a chamber into which water flows from the pool as it gets recycled through the pool&#39;s pump and filter. The chamber includes an opening, or outlet port, that connects to a pipe extending to the pool pump and filter apparatus. Pipes are typically installed in gunite or shotcrete material forming the supporting walls of the pool. The terminal end of a pipe is then encased in plaster along with the drain to which it is connected. The plaster covers the gunite or shotcrete and serves as a barrier between water in the pool and the gunite or shotcrete. 
     As alluded to above, elongate channel sumps are popular in view of their compliance with the VGB Act, requiring swimming pool and spa sumps to prevent a person&#39;s body from covering the entire sump intake and becoming entrapped. Anti-entrapment channel sumps generally comply with the VGB Act by providing multiple intake ports, and being of a sufficient length that the ports cannot be simultaneously blocked, i.e., if one intake port is blocked, the other intake ports allow water to continue to flow into the pump and filtering system. 
     A problem with pool sumps, particularly elongated channel sumps, is that the plaster into which these large sumps are embedded forms cracks over time. One area most prone to form cracks is where the pool sump and plaster meet. Water may seep into the surrounding plaster and then down into the supporting walls of the pool causing damage. It therefore would be advantageous to provide a pool sump that helps prevent water from migrating down cracks as they form between the pool sump and the plaster surrounding it. 
     SUMMARY 
     A sump drain for connecting to a filtering system and embedding in the plaster floor of a swimming pool or spa includes an annular or ring-like shaped chamber having an inner sidewall with a diameter of at least about 18 inches and an outer sidewall, and an annular top opening between the sidewalls preferably about an inch wide. The chamber, preferably the inner sidewall, has a plurality of ports to radial conduits extending inwardly to a central hub for tying into the pool or spa filtering system, with the central hub operating as a clean out and having a removable cap. 
     The sump drain further preferably includes a circular grid, sized to cover the top opening and having a multiplicity of openings in it, or alternatively the drain may be configured to provide a narrow gap between inner and outer sidewalls and be used without a grid cover. The sump drain is configured such that upon installation plaster substantially fills the space between the chamber and the central hub; thereby the sump drain attractively blends in with the pool or spa floor. When the drain is installed the top opening is preferably substantially flush with the pool or spa floor, and being of sufficiently large size to be unblockable. 
     The sump drain preferably further includes channels both outboard and inboard from the chamber top opening, to help prevent water from passing through the plaster and into the shotcrete of the pool or spa. Installing the sump drain in a plaster floor of a swimming pool or spa for connection to a filtering system, includes the steps of providing the sump drain having the generally annular-shaped chamber with a diameter of at least about 18 inches and conduits which extend to the central hub; placing the sump drain in the floor of the pool or spa near the filtering system; connecting the central hub to the filtering system; and embedding the sump drain in the pool or spa including covering it with plaster between the annular chamber and the hub. Preferably prior to embedding the sump drain in the pool or spa, a temporary cover on the sump drain prevents plaster from getting inside the chamber. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment circular drain assembly. 
         FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of the preferred embodiment circular drain assembly. 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment circular drain assembly. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective exploded view of the preferred drain assembly with the temporary plaster cover. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the preferred drain assembly with the grid cover, and also showing the removability of the center cover. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the preferred drain installed into the surface of a pool with the plaster cover. 
         FIG. 7  is a section view taken from  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing the preferred drain with the grid cover installed in a pool. 
         FIG. 9  is a section view taken from  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged section view showing the grid cover installed and the water stop feature. 
         FIG. 11  is an enlarged section view showing the center cover installed and again the water stop feature. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the alternate embodiment circular drain assembly. 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the alternate drain installed in a pool. 
         FIG. 14  is section view taken from  FIG. 13 . 
         FIG. 15  is an enlarged portion of  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 16  is an enlarged section view of the water stop feature. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to drawing  FIGS. 1-11 , the low profile circular drain  10  or suction outlet or sump of the preferred embodiment is disclosed. As best shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the drain  10  has an annular ring-shaped body or chamber  12  although optionally the drain  10  may be other preferably rounded shapes such as oval or merely with rounded corners (not shown). The chamber  12  has an inner sidewall  14  having a diameter of about 18 inches (dimension D as labeled in  FIG. 7 ) and outer sidewall  16  having an outside diameter of about 21 inches, and the depth of the chamber from top to bottom is about 3.5 inches. The top side of the chamber  12  is generally open, forming an annular or ring-shaped space  18  between the sidewalls  14 ,  16 , which may be sized to receive a corresponding circular grid cover  22 . The grid cover  22  may include a large number (here there are about 150) rectangular, radial slots  24 . Optionally, the cover  22  may have other types of openings (not shown), most anything that allows water to pass through while stopping larger debris such as leaves. 
     The inner sidewall  16  has multiple openings or outlet ports  26  connecting to one or more conduits or pipes  28 . The conduits  28  extend radially inward to a central hub  30  that connects to the pump and filtering system  32  in the floor of the pool or spa. The hub  30  preferably has about a 2.5 inch inner diameter, and its length from the bottom of the chamber  12  to the end is about 2.5 inches. The top side of the hub  30  includes a cap  34  on which a manufacturer&#39;s logo, here ABC, may be displayed, and the cap  34  is removable for purposes of cleaning out the drain  10  should it become clogged with debris. It&#39;s held on by a pair of flat head Phillips screws  36  ( FIG. 5 ). 
     Next referring to  FIGS. 4-12 , installation of the drain  10  as well as further features may be described.  FIG. 4  shows a plastering cover  38  which is temporarily placed in the chamber  12  opening  18 , to keep plaster from getting into the chamber  12  when the drain  10  is being installed in the floor of a pool or spa. The plastering cover  38  preferably includes several, at least two thumb/index finger holds  40  for facilitating later removal of the plastering cover  36  once the drain  10  is embedded in the pool or spa.  FIG. 5  shows the grid cover  22  which is then added, held on by eight (8) screws  36 .  FIG. 6  shows the drain  10  being installed in the plaster surface  42  floor of a swimming pool or spa, with the plaster  42  covering up the temporary cover  38  and the center hub cap  34 . Optionally, it may also be installed vertically in a lower wall of a pool or spa (not shown).  FIG. 7  shows the top side opening  18  into which the plastering cover  34  fits, along with the hub cover  34  (also see  FIG. 12 ), being substantial flush with the plaster surface  42 .  FIG. 8  shows that there is a substantial amount of plaster  42 , as well as the underlying gunite or shotcrete material  44 , between the annular chamber  12  and the center hub  30 . With the drain  10  being installed in this fashion, it offers improved structural integrity in that any load from a swimmer&#39;s foot or occupant of a hot tub will impact only a small portion of the drain  10  and tend to be absorbed by the surrounding floor or wall of the pool or spa. 
       FIGS. 9, 10  shows the plastering cover  34  removed and replaced with the grid cover  22 . As indicated in  FIG. 5 , the grid cover is secured in place in the top opening  18  by several Phillips head screws  36 . Thus, the grid cover  22  and center cap  34  are the only parts of the drain  10  seen upon installation, and they blend into the plaster surface  42  of the floor of the pool or spa.  FIG. 11  shows the cover  22  is substantially flush with the surrounding plaster  42 , and as per  FIG. 12  the center hub cap  34  is similarly substantially flush with the plaster  42  floor. [ FIGS. 11, 12  also show water stops  50 ,  60  for stopping any water that intrudes between the sump  10  and plaster  42  into which the sump  10  is embedded. In the preferred embodiment the water stop  50 ,  60  is tray-shaped like a gutter or channel  52 ,  62  and extends around the sump  10  to collect water seeping into cracks between the sump  10  and the plaster  42 . The water stop  50  also serves to anchor the sump  10  in the plaster  42 . The gutter or channel  52  is located inboard the grid cover  22 , and the same channel  52  is built in around the hub cover  34 . A slightly differently configured water stop  60  is located outboard the grid cover  22 , as the gutter or channel  52  is molded into the chamber body  22  adjacent to the screws  36  which attach the cover  22 . Each water stop  50 ,  60  preferably includes a horizontal shelf  54  and a vertical wall  56 , again to catch water migrating between the sump  10  and the plaster  42  in which the sump  10  is installed. The vertical wall  56  may extend above and below the horizontal shelf  54 , providing an effective anchoring mechanism during sump  10  installation. 
     Now also referring to  FIGS. 13-16 , a second alternate embodiment  110  is discussed. This drain  110  has a round sump body  112 , and an inner leaf trapper ring  114  and an outer leaf trapper ring  116 . The leaf trapper rings  114 ,  116  are located concentric to each other and provide a narrow, circular gap  118  (d equals about 0.875 inches wide in  FIG. 16 ) for water to pass but small enough to prevent larger objects from passing such as leaves. As best seen in  FIGS. 15, 16 , the leaf trapper rings  114 ,  116  have upper surfaces  120 ,  122  which are substantially flat and approximately align with one another. This embodiment  110  may include a temporary plaster cover  36  as described above; it does not include the circular grid cover  22 . 
     The end result is a highly effective drain system flush with the surface of the pool, with plaster or other aggregate material having the same color and texture both inside and outside the concentric rings or circular grid. The drain has a nearly invisible, pleasing aesthetic appearance. The drain is a safe, VGB compliant drain, large enough to be unblockable by a single person. The drain is rugged, not susceptible to being easily damaged, and the water stop feature helps maintain the structural integrity of the surrounding plaster in the pool or spa floor for many years. 
     While the apparatus and method have been described in detail with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Thus, it is intended that the present description cover that modifications and variations of the apparatus and method provided, while it is only the appended claims and their equivalents which define the scope of the invention.