Patent Description:
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to an inflatable pool having a massage function.

In inflatable massage pools or spa inflatable pools, a wave-making channel in the pool is generally inflated to a high pressure by means of an air pump, and the wave-making channel includes several holes therein to generate bubbles or water jets in the water, thereby achieving a massage effect.

In existing products, a wave-making channel is generally arranged on an inner wall of an inflatable pool or arranged at a junction of the inner wall and a pool bottom. No matter which arrangement manner is chosen for the wave-making channel, when an air chamber of the inflatable pool is inflated, the air chamber expands, causing the inner wall and the wave-making channel connected to the inner wall to deform sequentially, which may be detrimental to the generation of desired bubbles or water jet effect from the wave-making channel. Furthermore, edges of the multiple holes provided in the wave-making channel are continually pulled during the generation of bubbles or water jets, such that after long-term usage, undesired deformations or notches may appear at the edges of the holes, which is also detrimental to the generation of desired bubbles or water jet effect from the wave-making channel. If these holes are provided at the junction of the inner wall and the bottom of the inflatable pool, the undesired deformations or notches may cause ruptures at the junction.

<CIT> discloses an inflatable pool comprising: a pool wall; a pool bottom comprising an outer bottom sheet and an inner bottom sheet, wherein the pool wall and the pool bottom together define a fluid accommodation cavity; a strip comprising a lower edge connected to an outer annular portion of the outer bottom sheet and an upper edge connected to an outer annular portion of the inner bottom sheet; wherein an inner annular portion of the inner bottom sheet is connected to an inner annular portion of the outer bottom sheet, such that a bottom channel comprising a plurality of holes is defined by the strip, a portion of the inner bottom sheet between the outer annular portion of the inner bottom sheet and the inner annular portion of the inner bottom sheet, and a portion of the outer bottom sheet between the outer annular portion of the outer bottom sheet and the inner annular portion of the outer bottom sheet; wherein the bottom channel is in communication with the fluid accommodation cavity through the plurality of holes.

Example embodiments may address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and other disadvantages not described above. Also, example embodiments are not required to overcome the disadvantages described above and may not overcome any of the problems described above.

According to an aspect of an example embodiment, an inflatable pool comprises: a pool wall; a pool bottom comprising an outer bottom sheet and an inner bottom sheet, wherein the pool wall and the pool bottom together define a fluid accommodation cavity; an annular enclosing strip comprising a lower rim connected to an outer annular portion of the outer bottom sheet and an upper rim connected to an outer annular portion of the inner bottom sheet; wherein an inner annular portion of the inner bottom sheet is connected to an inner annular portion of the outer bottom sheet, such that a bottom channel is defined by the enclosing strip, a portion of the inner bottom sheet between the outer annular portion of the inner bottom sheet and the inner annular portion of the inner bottom sheet, and a portion of the outer bottom sheet between the outer annular portion of the outer bottom sheet and the inner annular portion of the outer bottom sheet; wherein a plurality of holes are formed through both the enclosing strip and the inner bottom sheet, in an overlapping region where the enclosing strip overlaps with the inner bottom sheet, and the bottom channel is in communication with the fluid accommodation cavity through the plurality of holes.

The pool may further comprise air inlet channel in fluid communication with the bottom channel and configured to supply pressurized air into the bottom channel.

The air inlet channel may comprise an air inlet pipe and an air inlet pocket comprising a first end connected to an opening in the bottom channel, and a second end comprising a fastener connected to the air inlet pipe.

The pool wall may comprise an inflatable chamber
The air inlet pipe may comprise a first end connected to the fastener and a second end configured to connect to an air pump; and the air inlet pipe traverses the inflatable chamber such that an airtightness of the inflatable chamber is maintained.

The pool may further comprise: an air inlet sleeve; wherein the pool wall comprises an inner side wall and an outer side wall, the inflatable chamber defined between the inner side wall and the outer side wall; and wherein a first end of the air inlet sleeve is connected to the inner side wall and a second end of the air inlet sleeve is connected to the outer side wall, the air inlet sleeve thereby defining defines a passage through which the air inlet pipe extends.

The pool may further comprise a porous elastic material is disposed within an accommodation space between the outer bottom sheet and the inner bottom sheet.

The inner bottom sheet may be sealed to the enclosing strip at edges of each of the plurality of holes.

The inner bottom sheet may be completely sealed to the enclosing strip over an entirety of the overlapping region.

According to an aspect of another example embodiment, an inflatable pool comprises: a pool wall; a pool bottom, wherein the pool wall and the pool bottom together define a fluid accommodation cavity, the pool bottom comprising a bottom sheet; a bottom channel sheet comprising an outer annular portion sealed to an outer annular portion of the bottom sheet and an inner annular portion sealed to an inner annular portion of the bottom sheet, such that a bottom annular channel is defined by the bottom sheet between the outer annular portion and the inner annular portion of the bottom channel sheet and the bottom sheet between the outer annular portion of the bottom sheet and the inner annular portion of the bottom sheet; wherein the annular bottom channel sheet comprises an overlapping region, between the outer annular portion of the bottom channel sheet and the inner annular portion of the bottom channel sheet, the overlapping region comprising at least a first sheet layer sealed to a second sheet layer; wherein a plurality of holes are formed through both the first sheet layer and the second sheet layer in the overlapping region; and wherein the bottom annular channel is in communication with the accommodation cavity via the plurality of holes.

The above and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of example embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. In this regard, the example embodiments may have different forms and may not be construed as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein.

It will be understood that the terms "include," "including", "comprise, and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It will be further understood that, although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections may not be limited by these terms.

Various terms are used to refer to particular system components. Different companies may refer to a component by different names - this document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function.

Matters of these example embodiments that are obvious to those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which these exemplary embodiments pertain may not be described here in detail.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, an inflatable massage pool <NUM> comprises a fluid accommodation cavity <NUM>. The fluid accommodation cavity <NUM> is, for example, used for accommodating fluid such as water, and the fluid accommodation cavity <NUM> is defined jointly by a pool wall <NUM> and a pool bottom <NUM>, wherein the pool wall <NUM> comprises an inflatable chamber <NUM>, and the pool bottom <NUM> comprises a bottom sheet which comprises an outer bottom sheet <NUM> and an inner bottom sheet <NUM>. As shown in conjunction with <FIG>, the inflatable chamber <NUM> is formed by connecting a top sheet <NUM>, an inner side sheet <NUM>, an outer side sheet <NUM> and the outer bottom sheet <NUM>, wherein an inner side wall and an outer side wall of the inflatable chamber <NUM> are respectively formed by the inner side sheet <NUM> and the outer side sheet <NUM>. The inflatable chamber <NUM> is further internally provided with tensioning structures <NUM>, with an inner side and outer side of each tensioning structure <NUM> being respectively connected to the inner side sheet <NUM> and the outer side sheet <NUM> so as to achieve a shaping effect during inflation of the inflatable chamber <NUM> and to form a decorative pattern on a visible surface of the inflatable massage pool <NUM>. The inner side wall <NUM> and the outer side wall <NUM> of the inflatable chamber <NUM> may be integrally formed. For example, the top sheet <NUM>, the inner side sheet <NUM> and the outer side sheet <NUM> may be integrally formed.

As shown in conjunction with <FIG>, the pool bottom <NUM> of the inflatable massage pool <NUM> is further provided with a bottom channel <NUM>, better defined as wave-making channel <NUM>. In a general terms, the pool bottom <NUM> in correspondence of the bottom channel <NUM> can be called as bottom channel sheet which comprising an outer annular portion sealed to an outer annular portion of the bottom sheet and an inner annular portion sealed to an inner annular portion of the bottom sheet, such that a bottom annular channel <NUM> is defined by the bottom sheet between the outer annular portion and the inner annular portion of the bottom channel sheet and the bottom sheet between the outer annular portion of the bottom sheet and the inner annular portion of the bottom sheet. The annular bottom channel sheet comprises an overlapping region <NUM>, between the outer annular portion of the bottom channel sheet and the inner annular portion of the bottom channel sheet, the overlapping region <NUM> comprising at least a first sheet layer sealed to a second sheet layer. A plurality of holes are formed through both the first sheet layer and the second sheet layer in the overlapping region; the bottom annular channel is in communication with the accommodation cavity via the plurality of holes.

Specifically, the bottom channel or wave-making channel <NUM> is formed by a strip <NUM> connected to the inner bottom sheet <NUM> and to the outer bottom sheet <NUM>. The strip <NUM> may be an enclosing strip formed in the shape of a ring. Alternately, the strip <NUM> may be substantially annular, but may be open or broken. The diameter of an outer periphery of the inner bottom sheet <NUM> is smaller than a diameter of an outer periphery of the outer bottom sheet <NUM>. A substantially central area of the inner bottom sheet <NUM> is connected to a substantially central area of the outer bottom sheet <NUM>. An outer annular portion <NUM>, or better defined an outer annular rim <NUM> of the inner bottom sheet <NUM>, disposed at or substantially at the outer periphery of the inner bottom sheet <NUM>, is connected to an upper edge or upper rim <NUM> of the strip <NUM>. An inner annular portion <NUM> or better defined an inner annular rim <NUM> of the inner bottom sheet <NUM> is disposed at a dimeter smaller than the diameter of the outer annular rim or outer annular portion <NUM> and is connected to an inner annular portion <NUM> of the outer bottom sheet <NUM>. A lower side or lower rim <NUM> of the strip <NUM> is connected to an outer annular portion <NUM> of the outer bottom sheet <NUM>, so as to form an annular bottom channel or annular wave-making channel <NUM> having, but not limited to one of a circular or other curved annular shape, a square annular shape, and a rectangular annular shape. Alternately, the annular wave-making channel <NUM> may be an open or broken annular/ring shape. Thus, the annular portion between the inner annular portion or inner annular rim <NUM> and the outer annular portion or outer annular rim <NUM> of the inner bottom sheet <NUM>, the strip <NUM>, and a corresponding annular portion of the bottom sheet <NUM>, comprised between the inner annular portion <NUM> and the outer annular portion <NUM> of the outer bottom sheet <NUM> are connected to each other to form the bottom channel or wave-making channel <NUM>.

For the arrangement of wave-making holes in fluid communication with the wave-making channel <NUM>, as shown with reference to <FIG>, the outer annular portion or outer annular rim <NUM> of the inner bottom sheet <NUM> is connected to the upper side or upper rim <NUM> of the strip <NUM> to form an overlapping region <NUM>, and the wave-making holes (not shown) are provided in the overlapping region <NUM>. The overlapping region <NUM> is a region where a portion of the outer annular rim <NUM> of the inner bottom sheet <NUM> overlaps with an upper portion or upper rim <NUM> of the strip <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>, and thus has a double-layer structure. The wave-making holes penetrate both layers of the double-layer structure and are pulled by the double-layer structure at the edges of the holes during aeration, ensuring that the wave-making holes will not be damaged after long-term use. The bottom channel or wave-making channel <NUM> is in fluid communication with the fluid accommodation cavity <NUM> via the wave-making holes so as to generate bubbles or jets in the fluid which is filled in the fluid accommodation cavity <NUM>.

With reference to an example embodiment shown in <FIG>, the bottom channel (or bottom annular channel) or wave-making channel <NUM> is in fluid communication with an air inlet channel marked with arrows P, and the air inlet channel is used for supplying pressurized air into the wave-making channel <NUM>. The air inlet channel comprises an air inlet pocket <NUM> and an air inlet pipe <NUM>; the wave-making channel or bottom channel (or bottom annular channel)<NUM> is in fluid communication with the air inlet pipe <NUM> through the air inlet pocket <NUM> located above the wave-making channel; one end of the air inlet pocket <NUM> is connected to an opening <NUM> in the wave-making channel <NUM>, and the other end of the air inlet pocket is provided with a fastener <NUM> connected to the air inlet pipe <NUM>. The opening <NUM> in the wave-making channel <NUM> can be formed when the air inlet pocket <NUM> is connected to the wave-making channel <NUM> (for example, the opening <NUM> is formed when the air inlet pocket <NUM> is welded by fusion to the wave-making channel <NUM>), or can be formed before the air inlet pocket <NUM> is connected to the wave-making channel <NUM>. The air inlet pocket <NUM> may be made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material, with one end thereof being welded to the wave-making channel <NUM>, and the other end thereof being attached to a fastener <NUM> by means of welding or direct injection molding. One end of the air inlet pipe <NUM> is connected to the fastener <NUM>, and the other end thereof is connected to an air pump (not shown). The air inlet pipe <NUM> may penetrate the inflatable chamber <NUM> in a manner that maintains the airtightness of the inflatable chamber <NUM>. The air inlet pipe <NUM> may, for example, pass through the inflatable chamber <NUM> and be connected to the air inlet pocket <NUM>, so as to achieve the aesthetic effect of a simple structure and the functional effect of preventing entanglement of the pipeline in the fluid accommodation cavity <NUM>.

The outer bottom sheet <NUM> of the wave-making channel <NUM> (otherwise called bottom channel or bottom annular channel) may be provided with an air inlet pocket in fluid communication with the wave-making channel <NUM>, and the air inlet pocket may be connected to the air inlet pipe located below the pool bottom <NUM> and outside the pool; or, in order to avoid any deterioration in the comfort of stepping on the pool bottom, the air inlet pipe may be directly placed in the fluid accommodation cavity <NUM> from above the pool and may be connected to the air inlet pocket <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

The air inlet pipe <NUM> may be constructed such as to not affect the airtightness of the inflatable chamber <NUM>, in addition to the air inlet pipe <NUM> itself being connected, in a sealed manner, to the inner side sheet <NUM> and the outer side sheet <NUM> which form the inner side wall and the outer side wall, as shown in <FIG>. The air inlet pipe <NUM> may be connected to the inflatable massage pool <NUM> via an air inlet sleeve <NUM>, and inner and outer ends of the air inlet sleeve <NUM> may be respectively connected to the inner side sheet <NUM> and the outer side sheet <NUM> in a sealed manner, the air inlet sleeve <NUM> defining a channel <NUM> for the air inlet pipe <NUM> to pass through. The air inlet pipe <NUM> may be a plastic pipe or a PVC pipe, the outer wall of the air inlet pipe <NUM> may be directly welded to the inner side sheet <NUM> and the outer side sheet <NUM> which may also be made of PVC material and connected to the fastener <NUM> of the air inlet pocket <NUM>. Alternately, the air inlet pipe <NUM> may pass through the channel <NUM> formed by the air inlet sleeve <NUM> and may then be connected to the inner side sheet <NUM> in a sealed manner, so as to ensure that the water in the fluid accommodation cavity <NUM> will not leak out. The air inlet sleeve <NUM> may be made of PVC material, with opposite ends thereof being welded to the inner side sheet <NUM> and the outer side sheet <NUM>. The arrangement of the air inlet sleeve <NUM> facilitates installation of the air inlet pipe <NUM>, and there may be a certain space for the air inlet pipe <NUM> to move in the channel <NUM> of the air inlet sleeve <NUM>, reducing the influence of the air inlet pipe <NUM> on the shape of the inflatable chamber <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the inflatable massage pool <NUM> may further comprise other pipelines such as a water inlet pipe or a water outlet pipe, and these pipelines may also be connected, via sleeves, to the inner side wall and the outer side wall which define the inflatable chamber. Pipelines which are adjacent to the air inlet pipe <NUM> and may share a same sleeve member.

As shown in conjunction with <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, an accommodation space <NUM> (<FIG>) may defined between the outer bottom sheet <NUM> and the inner bottom sheet <NUM>. The accommodation space <NUM> is demarcated by the junction of the inner annular rim <NUM> of the inner bottom sheet <NUM> and the outer bottom sheet <NUM> and may be internally provided with a porous elastic material <NUM>. The porous elastic material <NUM> may be any one or more of a number of materials including, but not limited to, an expanded polyethylene (EPE) material and a sponge material so as to provide a comfortable feeling for a foot stepping and to also provide thermal insulation.

According to one or more example embodiments, an inflatable massage pool comprising a wave-making channel that utilizes a pool bottom structure, may be made using a simple manufacturing process and this process and structure may be applicable to inflatable pools of any number of different shapes, compared to a wave-making channel provided on the side wall of the pool. Still further, the wave-making holes of the wave-making channel are arranged in the overlapping region of the sheets that form the wave-making channel, such that the whole wave-making channel is not likely to be damaged at the wave-making holes.

According to an example aspect, at edges of the wave-making holes, the inner bottom sheet <NUM> may completely abut the strip <NUM>, the abutting either completed before the wave-making holes are formed, or completed by means of fusion welding when the wave-making holes are formed, so as to prevent the inner bottom sheet <NUM> and the strip <NUM> from being separated from each other or delaminated at the wave-making holes, thereby ensuring that the wave-making holes provide a stable bubble effect or water jets.

According to another example aspect, the outer annular rim <NUM> of the inner bottom sheet <NUM> may completely abuts the strip <NUM> in the entire overlapping region <NUM>, for example, by means of welding to achieve complete connection, which may ensure the sealing at the junction, and also may enhance a strength of the overlapping region <NUM> as a whole.

It may be understood that the exemplary embodiments described herein may be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each exemplary embodiment may be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other exemplary embodiments.

Claim 1:
An inflatable pool comprising:
a pool wall (<NUM>);
a pool bottom (<NUM>) comprising an outer bottom sheet (<NUM>) and an inner bottom sheet (<NUM>), wherein the pool wall (<NUM>) and the pool bottom (<NUM>) together define a fluid accommodation cavity (<NUM>);
a strip (<NUM>) comprising a lower rim (<NUM>) connected to an outer annular portion (<NUM>) of the outer bottom sheet (<NUM>) and an upper rim (<NUM>) connected to an outer annular portion (<NUM>) of the inner bottom sheet (<NUM>);
wherein an inner annular portion (<NUM>) of the inner bottom sheet (<NUM>) is connected to an inner annular portion (<NUM>) of the outer bottom sheet (<NUM>), such that a bottom channel (<NUM>) is defined by the strip (<NUM>), a portion of the inner bottom sheet (<NUM>) between the outer annular portion (<NUM>) of the inner bottom sheet (<NUM>) and the inner annular portion (<NUM>) of the inner bottom sheet (<NUM>), and a portion of the outer bottom sheet (<NUM>) between the outer annular portion (<NUM>) of the outer bottom sheet (<NUM>) and the inner annular portion (<NUM>) of the outer bottom sheet (<NUM>);
wherein a plurality of holes are formed through both the strip (<NUM>) and the inner bottom sheet (<NUM>), in an overlapping region (<NUM>) where the strip (<NUM>) overlaps with the inner bottom sheet (<NUM>), and the bottom channel (<NUM>) is in communication with the fluid accommodation cavity (<NUM>) through the plurality of holes.