Patent Publication Number: US-7716756-B2

Title: Site assembled pool

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of Invention 
   The present invention relates generally to swimming pools, and more particularly to pools having a flexible water containing liner composed of vinyl or the like surrounded by a support wall. 
   2. Description of Prior Art 
   Applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,266 describes a site-assembled swimming pool structure generally comprising a flexible liner supported by a surrounding wall of side-by-side wooden staves, wherein one vertical edge of each stave is convex and the other edge is concave. When the staves are arranged in side-by-side relation the convex edge of one stave nests in the concave edge of the adjacent stave. A plurality of cables pass entirely around the wall, and the cables are tensioned to urge the staves into tightly engaged relation. A downwardly facing U-shaped track member extends around the upper periphery of the wall and snugly engages the upper ends of the staves. The track member includes open channels formed on its opposing sides for releasably receiving bead portions of the pool liner (in the inwardly facing channel) and a removable cover (in the outwardly facing channel), respectively. 
   3. Objects and Advantages 
   In accordance with the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention provides a site assembled swimming pool including a liner and cover attachment mechanism that is more easily manipulated than the state of the art. 
   It is a further object and advantage of the present invention to provide a site assembled swimming pool that may be constructed in various sizes and shapes. 
   It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide a site assembled pool that may be leveled despite being positioned on an uneven surface. 
   It is an additional object and advantage of the present invention to provide a liner and cover attachment mechanism that includes aesthetically pleasing features incorporated therein. 
   Other objects and advantages of the present invention will in part be obvious and in part appear hereinafter. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In accordance with the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention provides a site assembled swimming pool comprising a plurality of upstanding wooden (or PVC or other material) staves arranged in side by side relation, a coping extending entirely around and in releasably secured relation to the rails that fasten the upper edges of the staves together, and a flexible liner and cover releasably secured to the coping. The wooden staves include opposing vertical edges one of which includes a modified tongue and the other of which includes a groove. When assembled, the tongue of one stave engages the groove of the adjacent stave, thereby interconnecting the two staves. The size of a pool constructed in accordance with the present invention can vary. The staves are arranged in panels consisting of a predetermined number of staves which are interconnected to one another to form a pool (or other water containing vessel such as a whirlpool) having a desired shape, such as oval, rectangular, or circular. In assembling the pool, a plurality of panels are interconnected to one another with rails and bolts. A flexible joint cover is inserted between adjacent panels to provide closure to the wall formed by the panels. To provide effective sealing and to avoid pinching the liner between adjacent panels, the preferred joint cover includes a medial portion extending between the adjacent panels, an outer face that is positioned in contacting relation to the outwardly facing surface of the panels, and an inner face that is positioned in contacting relation to the inwardly facing surface of the panels. Other embodiments of joint covers are envisioned and disclosed herein. 
   Metal rails extend along the upper and lower edges of the panels and include portions that extend beyond the side edges of the end staves. The rails are securely affixed to the staves via fastening elements, such as screws that pass through the rails and into the staves. The extension portions include holes formed therethrough that permit passage of a fastener, and the extension portions of rails mounted on adjacent panels are positioned such that the holes formed through the respective extensions axially align with one another. A bolt may then be placed through the aligned holes and fastened with a nut, thereby securely interconnecting adjacent panels. The bottom bolt permits vertical adjustments to be made to the rails, and hence to the panels, thereby permitting leveling of the pool&#39;s panels as the pool is constructed. 
   Once adjacent panels are securely interconnected, the flexible joint cover is inserted between the end staves. A generally U-shaped coping is then positioned on the upper edge of the upper rail member. The coping includes a pair of legs that define a space therebetween. The space is engaged by the outside edge/upper edges of the rail and securely interconnects the coping to the upper rail and panels. A channel is formed in the inwardly facing wall of the coping that is adapted to receive the bead portion of a flexible pool liner therein. A flange formed in the channel engages the tooth of the bead to prevent the bead from becoming accidentally dislodged from the channel. A second channel is formed in the upper surface of the coping for receiving the bead portion of a flexible pool cover. This second channel also includes a flange that engages the tooth formed on the cover&#39;s bead portion to prevent inadvertent dislodging of the cover. When a cover is not used on the pool, a removable cover strip lockingly engages the channel and lies flush with the top of the coping, thereby presenting a visually pleasing coping (the top of the coping appears unitary as the channel is hid by the cover strip.) In addition, third and fourth channels are formed in the inwardly and outwardly facing walls of the coping to receive aesthetic strips therein. The aesthetic strips could be, for example, extruded strips of colored plastic or fiber optic lighting that provide an illuminating strip. The aesthetic strips snap engage the channels. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is an interior perspective view of a portion of a pool&#39;s support walls; 
       FIG. 2  is an exterior perspective view of a portion of a pool&#39;s support walls; 
       FIG. 3A  is a cross-sectional plan view of a preferred embodiment of adjacent staves and a joint cover; 
       FIGS. 3B and 3C  are cross-sectional plan views of an alternate embodiment of the joint cover; 
       FIG. 3D  is a cross-sectional plan view of a second alternate embodiment of the joint cover; 
       FIG. 3E  is a cross-sectional plan view of a portion of adjacent staves illustrating the modified tongue and groove; 
       FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of the upper edges of adjacent panels of staves; 
       FIG. 5  is a partial perspective view of the lower edges of adjacent panels of staves, further illustrating the adjustable nature of the bolt interconnecting the two panels; 
       FIG. 6  is a partial perspective view of the upper edges of adjacent panels of staves and a coping positioned over one of the panel&#39;s upper edge and a joint cover disposed between the panels; 
       FIG. 7  is a partial perspective view of the coping and a pool liner interconnected thereto; 
       FIG. 8  is a partial perspective view of the coping and a pool liner and pool cover interconnected thereto; 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of stairs that may be incorporated into the pool of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the stairs taken along section line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 9 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, there is seen in  FIG. 1  a portion of a site assembled pool, designated generally by reference numeral  10 , comprising a plurality of staves  12  that form a support wall for the pool. As used herein, “pool” can refer to any water containing vessel, such as a swimming pool or whirlpool, for example. Staves  12  are conjoined in side by side relation to form panels  14 , and the panels are interconnected to one another to form the swimming pool&#39;s support wall. A conventional flexible liner  16  is interconnected to panels  14 , as will be described in greater detail hereinafter, to contain water in the pool, and a conventional flexible cover  18  can also be interconnected to panels  14  in a manner to be described hereinafter to provide a solar or weather cover for the pool. 
   Staves  12  include opposing vertical edges  20 ,  22  that include a modified tongue  24  and groove  26 , respectively (See  FIG. 3A ). In assembling panels  14 , staves  12  are arranged in side by side relation with tongue  24  of one stave engaging or nesting within groove  26  of an adjacent stave. Once the predetermined number of staves  12  are arranged in side by side relation to form panel  14 , an L-shaped top rail  28  is mounted over the top edges of the staves and an L-shaped bottom rail  30  is mounted to the bottom edges of staves  12 . Fasteners  32 ,  34 , such as the illustrated screws, pass through rails  28 ,  30 , respectively, and into staves  12 , thereby securely connecting the rails to the staves. 
   As previously mentioned and as illustrated in  FIGS. 3A ,  3 C, and  3 D, tongue  24  is modified in that its outwardly facing edge  25  is longer (length L) than its inwardly facing edge  27  (length l). With reference to  FIG. 3E , the reason for the offset is to provide a gap between the outer edge of adjacent staves  14  with a gap. Due to the potential crooking that occurs with wooden staves, if tongue  24  was conventional, there would be portions of the outer edges of adjacent staves  14  that would contact and other portions that did not contact groove  26 , thereby creating an aesthetically displeasing seam between adjacent seams. By providing a gap that cannot be closed due to the offset, the visual perception of adjacent boards will always be that the gap exists, even if the gap is slightly larger in certain regions of the staves than in others. 
   Top rails  28  and bottom rails  30  each include projecting portions  36 ,  38 , respectively, that extend outwardly beyond the end staves  12  in each panel  14 . Projecting portions  36 ,  38  each include a respective opening formed therethrough, and each extends in a plane slightly offset from the plane in which the edge of the rails extend. To interconnect a pair of panels  14  together, the openings of the projecting portions  36  and  38  of one panel  14  are axially aligned with the openings of the projecting portions  36  and  38  of those extending from the adjacent panel  14 . A bolt  44  or similar fastener is then passed through the aligned openings and secured with a nut  46 . Securing adjacent panels  14  together in this manner creates a gap  48  between the panels  14  that is approximately twice the width of one of the projecting portions  36 ,  38 . 
   The bolt  44  that passes through openings in the bottom projections  38  is vertically adjustable as illustrated by the arrow in  FIG. 5  via a nut  49  that may be threadably advanced along the length of bolt  44  beneath projections  38 . In addition, the head  51  of bottom bolt  44  is flat so that it may lie flat on a concrete block  53 . When each successive panel  14  is connected to an adjacent panel, the bottom bolts  44  interconnecting the panels can be vertically adjusted to ensure that they are level. By leveling each panel  14  during the construction phase, pool  10  will be level when complete, and blocks  53  do not have to be level relative to one another. 
   To eliminate gap  48  that exists between adjacent panels  14 , thereby preventing liner  16  from slipping therethrough, a joint cover  50  is used. Joint cover  50  includes a medial portion  52  that extends between adjacent panels  14 , an outer face  54  that conforms to and contacts the outer surface of the end staves  12  of adjacent panels  14 , and an inner face  56  that conforms to and contacts the inner surface of the end staves  12  of adjacent panels  14 . Joint cover  50  is preferably composed of a PVC or other semi-rigid plastic that permits its flexure around obstacles, but provides enough rigidity to effectively seal gap  48 . 
   An alternate embodiment of a joint cover  50 ′ is illustrated in  FIGS. 3B and 3C . Joint cover  50 ′ includes all the features of joint cover  50 , but further includes a series of flanges  58 ′,  60 ′, and  62 ′ extending from the opposing ends of outer face  54 ′ and medial portion  52 ′, respectively. Flanges  58 ′,  60 ′, and  62 ′ engage wooden boards  64 ′,  66 ′ that extend the length of staves  12  and cover the outwardly facing portions of joint cover  50 ′, thus creating as aesthetically pleasing exterior view of the pool  10 . 
   A further embodiment of joint cover  50  is illustrated in  FIG. 3D  with joint cover  56 ″. Joint cover  56 ″ is secured to and covers the gap between the inwardly facing surface of adjacent staves  12 . Unlike joint cover  50  and  56 ′, joint cover  56 ″ does not extend into the gap that exists between the adjacent staves. Instead, a pair of wooden boards  64 ″,  66 ″ are securely attached to the outwardly facing surface of respective ones of the adjacent staves  12 , with each board covering approximately half of the gap that exists between the staves. Screws  67 ″, or equivalent fastening elements, can be used to interconnect boards  64 ″,  66 ″ to staves  12 . As with boards  64 ′,  66 ′, boards  64 ″,  66 ″, create an aesthetically pleasing exterior view of the pool. 
   Once panels  14  are assembled with rails  28 ,  30 , a coping  65  is attached to the upper ends of rails  28  (and hence staves  12 .) Coping  65  includes a pair of legs  67 ,  68  held in spaced parallel relation to one another by a cross member  70  and that define a downwardly facing groove  72  therebetween. Leg  67  includes a narrow flange  74  extending inwardly therefrom. Coping  65  is attached to rails  28  by placing it over the rail with flange  74  snap engaging the bottom edge of rail  28 . Coping  65  is composed of PVC or an equivalent material that permits some flexure of the material while providing the necessary structural rigidity to achieve its purposes. 
   Coping  65  further includes a first channel  76  formed in its inwardly facing side surface and partially defined by cross member  70  (defining the bottom of the channel) and leg  68  (defining the leading edge of the channel). First channel  76  includes a narrow, upwardly extending flange  78  formed by leg  68  at its leading edge. Channel  76  is adapted to receive the bead portion of liner  16  therein with flange  78  preventing inadvertent dislodgement of the bead portion. 
   Coping  65  further includes a second channel  80  formed in its upper surface that includes a horizontally extending, narrow flange  82  formed along its forward edge. Channel  80  is adapted to receive the bead portion of cover  18  therein with flange  82  preventing inadvertent dislodgement of the bead. 
   A third channel  84  is formed in the upper surface of coping  68  adjacent to channel  80  (wall  86  dividing channel  80  from channel  84 ). Channel  84  removably receives a strip  87  therein. Strip  87  includes a downwardly extending leg  88  that engages channel  80  and pinches and retains cover  18  in secure position within channel  80 , or simply encloses the channel if no cover is in place. 
   Fourth and fifth channels  90 ,  92  are respectively, longitudinally formed along the opposing side edges of coping  68 . Channels  90 ,  92  receive ornamental strips  94 ,  96  therein, respectively. Strips  94 , 96  can be colored plastic, fiber optic lighting strips, or other ornamentally decorated strip. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , a set of stairs, generally designated by reference numeral  100 , can be incorporated into pool  10 . Stairs  100  include a series of three support walls  14  that define the space, typically rectangular, in which stairs  102  are positioned (it is within the scope of the present invention that more than three support wall may be needed depending on the shape and size of the stairs, and three is only used as exemplary of the invention.) Stairs  102  include reinforcing brackets  104  that fix them to a support stringer  106  that extends diagonally from the bottom-most stair to the rear support wall. An additional brace  108  extends diagonally from the base of the rear support wall  14  to the approximate middle of support stringer  106 . Support stringer  106  and brace  108  are necessary to support the weight and pressure created by the water filling pool  10 .