Patent Publication Number: US-11639608-B2

Title: Device for heating the water of an above-ground pool, such as an above-ground spa pool or a swimming pool

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims benefit under 35 USC § 371 of PCT Application No. PCT/EP2020/052489 entitled DEVICE FOR HEATING THE WATER OF AN ABOVE-GROUND POOL, SUCH AS AN ABOVE-GROUND SPA POOL OR A SWIMMING POOL, filed on Jan. 31, 2020 by inventors Jean-Christophe Fillot and Maxime Desvignes. PCT Application No. PCT/EP2020/052489 claims priority of French Patent Application No. 19 01562, filed on Feb. 15, 2019. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a device for heating the water of an above-ground swimming pool. It also relates to a bathing facility comprising such a heating device. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to above-ground swimming pools, which covers, inter alia, whirlpools, non-underground spas, self-supporting above-ground pools and above-ground pools with supports. Regardless of their design, these above-ground swimming pools have an enclosure, intended to contain water and large enough for one or more adults to bathe in it by immersing their body in the water, at least partially. This enclosure is above ground, that is, it rises from the ground, without being buried or being buried marginally at its base, which further requires the user(s) to step over the edge of the side wall of the enclosure to enter or exit the pool, this done either by stepping over the side wall of the enclosure or by using a staircase, small ladder, footstool, stepladder or similar equipment, juxtaposed to the outside face of the side wall of the enclosure. 
     Moreover, these above-ground swimming pools are equipped with a hydraulic circuit that allows the water contained in the enclosure to be circulated outside of the latter in order to treat it before returning it to the enclosure, the treatment or treatments implemented capable of being of various kinds, depending on the pool form design: for example, in the case of a spa or a whirlpool, these treatments may be water filtration and then a mix of water and pressurized air to deliver a water bubble jet into the enclosure; in the case of a swimming pool, these treatments may be filtration and then chemical treatment of the water. In all cases, the water circulation in the hydraulic circuit is driven by a pump of this circuit, generally electric. 
     In order to heat the water in the above-ground pool, it is known to use an air-water heat pump, which is connected to the hydraulic circuit of the pool and which allows the heat to be transferred from the air to the water circulating in the hydraulic circuit. Such a heat pump is efficient, functioning better than heating resistance electrical systems. However, it is bulky and difficult to integrate in the immediate vicinity of above-ground pools without affecting their aesthetics, which is not an option for luxury or well-being facilities, such as spas or whirlpools. Of course, the heat pump can be moved away from the above-ground pool, for example, to conceal it from the pool, but this is detrimental to the efficiency and operating costs of the heat pump. 
     In a field away from of above-ground swimming pools, namely the field of in-ground pools, EP 0 599 666 discloses a technical unit for an in-ground pool. This technical unit is intended to be arranged adjacent to an in-ground swimming pool, resting on the base of this swimming pool and including a waterproof partition that forms part of the side wall of the swimming pool. This watertight partition is provided with one or more portholes or glass windows, which allow a person, standing inside a cavity of the technical unit, to observe the interior of the pool, as if underwater. Inside the cavity of the technical unit, one or more stairs are arranged, the steps of which are immersed in the water of the pool and which allow a user to enter the interior of the pool by progressively descending as the user advances from the side of the technical unit, opposite to the watertight partition, to this watertight partition. Therefore, even under the artificial assumption that this technical unit would be associated with an above-ground pool, this technical unit would not allow a user standing on the ground outside the pool to easily access the interior of the pool, since the aforementioned staircase(s) are turned the “wrong way”. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The purpose of the present invention is to provide a heating device for an above-ground swimming pool, which is both aesthetically pleasing and convenient to us while being efficient and easy to install. 
     To this end, the object of the invention is a device for heating the water of an above-ground swimming pool, such as a spa or an above-ground pool, this heating device as comprising:
         a frame which has:
           a base which is intended to rest on the ground when the heating device is in use,   a rear face, which rises from the base and which is adapted to rest against the pool when in use;   a front face, which rises from the base, being opposite to the rear face, and   an upper face, which connects the rear and front faces and which generally has a stepped shape, having at least two levels, which, in use, are at different respective heights and the highest level of which opens onto the rear face while the other level or levels are distributed substantially uniformly between the base and the highest level, so that, in use, a user can access the pool by walking successively on the levels of the stepped shape by ascending these levels from the ground to enter the pool and descending these levels to the ground to exit the pool,   
           an air-water heat pump, which is adapted to transfer heat from the air to the water of the pool, the heat pump being arranged in an internal volume of the frame, which is defined between the base and the rear, front and upper faces, and through which air from outside the frame circulates, and   connection members for connecting to the pool, adapted both to supply water of the pool from outside the frame to the heat pump and to return the water heated by the heat pump to the outside of the frame to supply the pool.       

     Thus, the idea behind the invention is to seek to use an air-water heat pump to heat the water of the above-ground pool efficiently by placing this heat pump in a stepped frame, allowing the user to access the pool by climbing on it as if on a stepladder or stair steps. To this end, the frame has a stepped upper face with several levels, typically two or three levels, which follow each other at regularly increasing heights between a front surface of the frame, facing away from the pool, and a rear surface of the frame, juxtaposed against the outer wall of the pool. Moreover, the frame defines an internal volume under its stepped upper face, inside which the heat pump is arranged and through which air from outside the frame circulates: the heat pump is thus aesthetically concealed, while being operational in the immediate vicinity of the pool, which limits pressure losses and facilitates the connection between the heat pump and the pool by ad hoc members to be connected to the heating device according to the invention. Advantageously, of course, the heating device according to the invention is removable with respect to the pool, the members to be connected then provided reversible. 
     In practice, the step-shaped upper face of the frame can have very varied geometric and dimensional specifics, as long as this upper face allows the user to walk successively on the levels of the stepped shape, in the manner of climbing up and down a staircase, in order to easily access the water of the pool, to enter inside the enclosure thereof from the ground outside the pool, and then to leave the enclosure and return to the ground outside the pool. Thus, the stepped shape may resemble stair treads, a stepladder, the rungs of an inclined ladder, etc. 
     Similarly, the heating device according to the invention can be used with all types of above-ground pools, such as those discussed above. The invention has a particular application to spas, for which the use of a staircase with a few steps is very common: the invention makes it possible to easily associate an air-water heat pump with an existing spa, without substantially modifying the latter or further encumbering its periphery, since it is sufficient to replace the traditional staircase by the heating device according to the invention and to connect this heating device to the spa, to the hydraulic circuit of the spa in particular. 
     According to additional advantageous features of the heating device according to the invention:
         two or three levels are provided for the stepped shape of the upper side of the frame.   the heat pump is arranged substantially vertically in line with a portion of the upper side of the frame, located at the highest level of the stepped shape.   the connection members are arranged through the rear side of the frame.   the frame includes perforated walls for letting air pass between the outside of the frame and the internal volume of the frame; the perforated walls include at least a first perforated wall arranged on the front face of the frame and/or on part(s) of the upper face of the frame, which are located between two consecutive levels of the stepped shape; and the perforated walls also include at least a second perforated wall arranged on one and/or the other of side faces of the frame.   the heat pump includes a fan adapted to drive into the internal volume of the frame some air whose heat is transferred to the water of the pool by the heat pump, the fan being configured both to bring air from the outside of the frame into the internal volume of the frame via the first perforated wall or walls, and to discharge air from the internal volume of the frame to the outside of the frame via the second perforated wall or walls.   the frame includes stair steps which constitute the levels of the stepped shape of the upper face of the frame.   the frame also includes risers, which are respectively associated with the stair steps and which integrate the first perforated wall or walls.       

     It is also an object of the invention to provide a bathing facility, comprising:
         an above-ground pool comprising an enclosure, intended to contain water for bathing therein, and a hydraulic circuit adapted to suck in the water contained in the enclosure, to treat the water thus sucked in, and to return the water thus treated to the enclosure, and   a heating device as defined above, the rear face of the frame of which is adjoined to the outer face of a side wall of the enclosure, and the heat pump of which is connected to the hydraulic circuit in such a way that water circulating in this hydraulic circuit is sent to the heat pump in order to be heated therein before being returned to the hydraulic circuit. Advantageously, the above-ground pool of this facility is a spa.       

    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be better understood from the following description, given only by way of example and made with reference to the drawings in which: 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic perspective view of a bathing facility comprising a heating device according to the invention; and 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic section according to plane II of  FIG.  1   . 
     
    
    
       FIGS.  1  and  2    show a bathing facility comprising a surface spa  1  and a device  2  for heating the water of the spa  1 . 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     The spa  1  comprises an enclosure  3  that contains water for bathing in, when the spa  1  is in use. Depending on the size of the enclosure  3 , one or more adults can thus immerse their bodies in the water contained by the enclosure  3 . 
     The design of the enclosure  3  is not limitative. The enclosure  3  can be self-supporting, by being at least partially inflatable for example, or it can incorporate a supporting structure that holds a tank or an enclosure containing the water of the spa. In all cases, the enclosure  3  is above-ground, that is, when the spa  1  is in use, the enclosure  3  rises upward from the ground by resting directly on the latter, without being underground or else marginally underground at the base of the enclosure  3 . Thus, the side wall of the enclosure  3  protrudes from the ground, over a height of several tens of centimeters. 
     The spa  1  also includes a hydraulic circuit  4  schematically represented in  FIG.  2   . In this  FIG.  2   , the hydraulic circuit  4  is integrated into the thickness of the wall of the enclosure  3 , but this schematic arrangement is not limitative and other arrangements, known in the field, can be envisaged. In any case, the hydraulic circuit  4  is designed to form a loop for the circulation of the water contained in the enclosure  3 , this loop being closed on the inside of this enclosure: the hydraulic circuit  4  thus allows the water contained in the enclosure  3  to be sucked in, the water thus sucked in to be treated, and then to return the water thus treated into the enclosure  3 , as indicated by the water circulation arrows C 1 . To this end, in the example of embodiment considered here, the hydraulic circuit  4  comprises:
         a pump  5 , in particular with electric motorization, which is designed to drive the water in the hydraulic circuit  4  from the upstream end thereof to the downstream end of the hydraulic circuit, these two ends opening out inside the enclosure  3 ,   a filter  6 , which retains impurities of the water passing through it,   delivery nozzles  7 , which are arranged at the downstream end of the hydraulic circuit  4  and which reintroduce the water flowing in the hydraulic circuit  4  into the enclosure  3 , in the form of bubble jets, for example, by mixing, through the delivery nozzles, the water flowing in the hydraulic circuit  4  with air injected from outside the enclosure  3 , and   pipes  8  connecting the upstream end of the hydraulic circuit  4 , the filter  6 , the pump  5  and the delivery nozzles  7  to each other.       

     The specifics of the hydraulic circuit  4  are not limitative as long as this hydraulic circuit ensures the circulation of water in a closed loop in the enclosure  3 , between the upstream and downstream ends of the hydraulic circuit. In particular, in addition to and/or replacing the filtration operated by the filter  6 , one or more other treatments of the water circulating in the hydraulic circuit  4  can be implemented by ad hoc equipment integrated into the hydraulic circuit. Similarly, the delivery nozzles  7  envisaged above can be replaced by other delivery elements according to the effects desired for the reintroduction of the water flow in the enclosure  3 , as is well known in the field of spas. 
     The heating device  2  includes a frame  10  which, as is clearly visible in  FIGS.  1  and  2   , gives the heating device  2  an external appearance similar to that of a staircase with a few steps, in this case three steps, for the example considered here. 
     More specifically, the frame  10  includes a base  11  which, as is clearly visible in  FIG.  2   , rests directly on the ground outside the spa  1  when the heater and the bathing facility more generally are in use. The frame  10  has a rear face  12  and a front face  13 , each of which rises from the base  11  and is opposite each other, being located at opposite ends of the base  11 . In use, the rear face  12  of the frame  10  is designed to abut the outer face of the side wall of the enclosure  3 , by being flush against that side wall or slightly spaced from that side wall. 
     Overhanging its base  11 , the frame  10  has an upper face  14 , which connects the rear  12  and front  13  faces to each other and which has is step-shaped overall, typically here as a staircase. This stepped shape has several levels which, when the heating device  2  is in use, are located at different respective heights with respect to the ground and which are distributed in a substantially regular manner along the vertical, that is, along a direction perpendicular to the ground: in the example embodiment considered here, the stepped shape of the upper face  14  thus has three levels, namely a lowest level, N 1 , an intermediate level, N 2  and a highest level, N 3 . The highest level N 3  opens onto the rear face  12  of the frame  10  and the other levels N 1  and N 2  are distributed in a substantially regular manner between the highest level N 3  and the base  11 , with the lowest level N 1  opening onto the front face  13 . In practice, the vertical spacing between levels N 1 , N 2  and N 3  is intended to be constant, to within a few clearances, or, more generally, substantially constant, for example to within 10%: in any case, this spacing must allow a user to be able to walk successively on the levels N 1 , N 2  and N 3  as if going up and down a staircase. 
     Of course, the frame  10  is designed to support the weight of a user standing on any of the levels N 1 , N 2  and N 3 . According to a convenient embodiment, implemented in the example embodiment considered in the Figures, the frame  10  has stair steps  15 . 1 ,  15 . 2  and  15 . 3  that constitute the levels N 1 , N 2  and N 3  respectively and which are supported by structural parts of the frame  10 , not detailed in the Figures. The material(s) constituting the stair steps  15 . 1 ,  15 . 2  and  15 . 3 , as well as constituting the aforementioned structural parts are not limitative, as long as sufficient mechanical resistance is guaranteed for a user to be able to go up and down on these steps. Similarly, the depth of the stair steps  15 . 1 ,  15 . 2  and  15 . 3 , that is their dimension in a horizontal direction connecting the rear faces  12  and the front faces  13 , is not limitative, as long as the user can place a sufficient part of his foot on each of these steps when he walks successively on the levels N 1 , N 2  and N 3 , as illustrated in  FIG.  1   . This being the case, according to an advantageous arrangement which is implemented in the example of embodiment considered in the Figures, the depth of stair step  15 . 3  may be deeper than the other stair steps  15 . 1  and  15 . 2 : more generally, the part of the upper surface  14  of the frame  10  located at the highest level N 3  advantageously has a greater depth than the parts of this upper surface  14  located at the other levels, which is safer for the user, giving him/her a greater surface area on which to place his/her feet when standing on the highest level N 3 . 
     In any case, the frame  10  defines an internal volume V 10  which, as clearly visible in  FIG.  2   , is defined between the base  11  and the rear  12 , front  13  and upper  14  faces, and which, as clearly visible in  FIG.  12   , is also defined by two lateral faces  17  of the frame  10 , each of which extends from the base  11  to the upper  14  face and which are opposite each other. This internal volume V 10  thus corresponds to a cavity defined inside the frame  10 , inside which air from outside the frame  10  can circulate. 
     To control the conditions of air circulation through the frame  10 , the latter advantageously comprises perforated walls  18 A and  18 B which allow air to pass between the outside of the frame  10  and the internal volume V 10 . As clearly visible on  FIGS.  1  and  2   , the perforated walls  18 A are arranged on the front face  13  of the frame and on the parts of the upper face  14  of the frame, located between the consecutive levels N 1  and N 2  and between the consecutive levels N 2  and N 3 . In the example embodiment considered here, these perforated walls  18 A are integrated to risers  16 . 1 ,  16 . 2  and  16 . 3 , which are respectively associated to the stair steps  15 . 1 ,  15 . 2  and  15 . 3 . The perforated walls  18 B are arranged on the lateral faces  17  of the frame  10 , as shown in  FIG.  1   . The relevance of the respective arrangements of the perforated walls  18 A and the perforated walls  18 B will appear a little further on. In any case, the constitution of the perforated walls  18 A and  18 B is not limitative and may be chosen from among grids, bars, grid walls, perforated plates, etc. 
     The heating device  2  also includes a heat pump  20 . This heat pump  20  is an air-water heat pump, allowing the heat from the air, passing through the heat pump, to be transferred to the water also passing through this heat pump. Within the heating device  2 , when in use, the heat pump  20  is adapted to transfer the heat from the ambient air to the water in the spa  1 . 
     As is clearly visible in  FIG.  2   , the heat pump  20  is arranged within the frame  10 , that is, within the internal volume V 10  of this frame. According to an advantageous convenient arrangement, implemented in the example considered in  FIG.  2   , the heat pump  20  is arranged, entirely or at least essentially, only in a part of the internal volume V 10 , namely vertically above the stair step  15 . 1 , that is, more generally, vertically in line with a part of the upper surface  14  of the frame  10 , which is located at the highest level N 3  of the stepped shape: this arrangement of the heat pump  20  in the internal volume V 10  makes it possible to position the heat pump  20  in the immediate vicinity of the rear face  12  of the frame  10  and thus as close as possible to the spa  1  when the heating device  2  is in use within the bathing facility, while taking advantage of the fact that the distance between the base  11  and the highest level N 3  is at its maximum compared to the other levels N 1  and N 2 , as well as, if necessary, taking advantage of the fact that the depth of the part of the upper side  14  located at the highest level N 3  can made greater than that of the parts of this upper side  14  located at the other levels N 1  and N 2 . 
     The embodiment of the heat pump  20  is not limitative, as long as this heat pump  20  transfers the heat of the air coming from the outside of the frame and circulating through the internal volume V 10  to the water of the spa  1 . To this end, in a manner known per se, the heat pump  20  includes components allowing for a thermodynamic transfer of heat from the air, circulating through the internal volume V 10 , to the water that comes from the spa  1  and that is returned to the spa  1 , once heated by the heat pump  20 . As schematically shown in  FIG.  2   , the aforementioned components of the heat pump  20  may thus include:
         a condenser  21 , in which a refrigerant from the heat pump  20  releases its heat to the water in the spa  1 , circulating through said condenser,   an expansion valve  22 , which reduces the pressure of the refrigerant that has changed from a gas to a liquid in the condenser  21 ,   an evaporator  23 , which takes heat from the air circulating in the internal volume V 10  to vaporize the refrigerant circulating in this evaporator, and   a compressor  24 , which raises the pressure and the temperature of the gaseous refrigerant by compressing it, by members of its actuation by a motorization, typically electric.       

     In addition, the heat pump  20  advantageously includes a fan  25  which, when actuated by motorization, typically electric, turns on itself and thus drives the air in the internal volume V 10 , forcing the circulation of this air through the evaporator  23 . This fan  25  is configured, by its arrangement and structure in particular, to direct the air circulation through the frame  10 , on the one hand by causing air to enter from outside the frame  10  to inside the internal volume V 10  via the perforated walls  18 A, as indicated by the arrows F 1  in  FIGS.  1  and  2   , and, on the other hand, by expelling air from the internal volume V 10  to the outside of the frame  10  via the perforated walls  18 B, as indicated by the arrows F 2  on  FIG.  1   . In this way, the cooled air that has flowed through the heat pump  20  is discharged from the heating device  10  through the side faces  17  of the frame  10 , without being sent directly onto the user standing on the levels N 1 , N 2  and N 3  of the stepped shape of the upper face  14  of the frame. 
     The heating device  2  further includes connecting pipes  31  and  32 , shown schematically in  FIG.  2   , which allow the heating device  2  to be connected to the spa  1 . The connecting pipe  31  is adapted to bring water of the spa  1  from outside the frame  10  to the heat pump  20 , being connected to the hydraulic circuit  4 , typically to one of the pipes  8  of this hydraulic circuit. The connecting pipe  32  is adapted to return the water heated by the heat pump  20  to the outside of the frame  10  to supply the spa  1 , being connected to the hydraulic circuit  4 , typically to one of the pipes  8 . Of course, the connection pipes  31  and  32  are only a non-limitative example for connection members  30  of the heating device  2  allowing the latter to connect to the spa  1 , advantageously in a removable way, to allow the heating device  2  to be installed and removed at will with respect to the spa  1 . In any case, the connection of these connection members  30  to the spa  1  is advantageously made on the hydraulic circuit  4  of the latter so that, under the effect of the water drive in this hydraulic circuit  4 , typically by the pump  5 , the water circulates in the connection members  30  and in the heat pump  20 , as indicated by the arrows C 2  on  FIG.  2   . Of course, the connection members  30  include fittings and valves allowing their connection to the hydraulic circuit  4 . 
     It is understood that, due to their function, the connection members  30  necessarily extend between the inside and the outside of the frame  10 , passing through the base  11  and/or one of the rear  12 , front  13 , upper  14  and side  17  faces. In particular, the corresponding arrangement of the connection members  30  may be dependent on the structure of the heat pump  20  and/or the configuration of the hydraulic circuit  4 . That said, according to a particularly advantageous embodiment, implemented in the example embodiment considered here, the connection members  30  are arranged through the rear side  12  of the frame  10 : as is clearly visible in  FIG.  2   , the connection pipes  31  and  32  thus pass through the rear side  12  of the frame  10 . In this way, the hydraulic connection between the heating device  2  and the spa  1  is particularly discreet, while being efficient, in particular by limiting the pressure losses and heat losses for the water circulating between the heat pump  20  and the hydraulic circuit  4 . 
     When the heating device  2  is in use and connected to the spa  1 , as in  FIGS.  1  and  2   , the heat pump  20  is concealed inside the frame  10 . The user can access the spa  1  by walking successively on the levels N 1 , N 2  and N 3  of the stepped shape of the upper side  14  of the frame  10 : thus, when the user wants to enter the interior of the enclosure  3  of the spa  1 , (s)he goes up the upper face  14  of the frame  10 , as if climbing a staircase; when the user wants to exit the enclosure  3 , he goes up, from the interior of the enclosure  3 , on the highest level N 3  of the upper face  14  of the frame  10 , and then descends to the ground by walking successively on level N 2  and level N 1 , as if descending stairs. In addition, the spa water is heated by the heat pump  20 . In practice, the control of the heat pump  20  by the user, in particular the adjustment of its setpoint temperature, can either be done directly at the control system level of the heating device  2 , typically electronic, via a dedicated interface which is carried by the frame  10  or transmitted remotely, or be provided through an interface of the spa  1  by members of the interconnection between the control system of the spa  1  and the control system of the heating device  2 . 
     Various arrangements and variants of the bathing facility  1  described so far, in particular its heating device  2 , are also conceivable. By way of example:
         the number of levels of the step-shaped upper face  14  of the frame  10  is not limited to three, as in the example considered in the Figures; in particular, two levels are sufficient, but more than three levels is conceivable; in practice, the number of levels is related to the height of the side wall of the enclosure  3  relative to the ground, so that, for most bathing facilities, this number of levels is preferably two or three;   although arranged in the internal volume V 10  of the frame  10 , the heat pump  20  can advantageously be raised with respect to the ground, typically by a few tens of millimeters, thus making it possible to control the flow of condensates produced by the heat pump  20 , in particular by sending these condensates into a drainage circuit equipping the spa  1 ;   for facility and maintenance, one or more accesses to the internal volume V 10  of the frame  10  can be provided by making certain external parts of the frame  10  removable, in particular at the level of one and/or the other of the lateral faces  17 ;   the electrical supply of the heat pump  20  can be provided either through the spa  1  or autonomously;   rather than the heating device  2  being connected to the hydraulic circuit  4  of the spa  1  and benefiting from water driving through its heat pump  20  by the pump  5  of this hydraulic circuit, the heating device  2  can be connected to the spa  1  in such a way that its connection members  30  open directly into the enclosure  3  of the spa  1 , that is, without water, sent from the enclosure  3  of the spa  1  to the heat pump  20  and then sent back from the latter to the interior of the enclosure  3 , transiting through the hydraulic circuit  4 ; in this case, a pump to drive the water between the enclosure  3  and the heat pump  20  is then necessary, advantageously being integrated into the heating device  2 , in particular housed inside the frame  10 , in particular in the internal volume V 10  of the latter; and/or   as mentioned at the beginning of this document, the spa  1  described with respect to the Figures is only an example of an above-ground swimming pool with which the heating device  2  can be used.