Patent Description:
It is known that the use of swimming pools is increasing, both the larger ones installed within sports parks or public or private sports areas, hotels, etc., as well as the smaller pools installed in neighboring communities or even for private use of a single house.

As a consequence of this, demands regarding cleanliness, convenience, safety and comfort are also increasing. Thus, said requirement also extends as regards devices for suction and filtering of the water from the surface or, in other words, from the sheet of water that is in the upper part.

These suction and filtering devices are commonly known as "skimmers".

As has been pointed out, these suction and filtering devices have a very important suction and retention function for residues, although their main function is to suck the water from the surface of the pool for filtration.

These suction and filtering devices are formed, in a general and schematic way, by a hollow body in the shape of an L inclined or tilted where in its vertical branch of greater length, which is embedded or housed in the wall that surrounds the swimming pool, a suction pump is located and, in the horizontal branch, with access to the swimming pool basin, the suction nozzle through which the water to be filtered passes.

In addition, at an intermediate point of the pathway between the end of the horizontal branch where the swimming pool water enters and the lower end of the vertical branch through which it is sucked out by the pump, a basket-shaped filter is placed to collect the objects and dirt that had been sucked in such as hair, leaves, etc..

In this way, the water extracted from the swimming pool and treated in the filtration system, will be sent back to the basin through another conduit after conditioning and/or treatment.

These suction and filtering devices are widely known today and the assembly and joining of their different plastic components is carried out in the factory, generally using the friction welding technique to ensure that these components are strongly welded and joined together.

In particular, the aforementioned suction and filtering devices or skimmers are usually intended for both prefabricated pools (among which are, for example, polyester, panel or liner), and concrete pools.

Thus, in the assembly process, in addition to other parts, the main body must also be joined, depending on whether they are intended to be installed in polyester pools or standard pools, to an adapter flange for the first case, or to the corresponding extensions depending on the separation from the edge of the pool to the skimmer housing in both cases.

However, although this assembly of the components in the factory guarantees their correct assembly before handing it over to the installer, it has the disadvantage that the transport of the suction and filtering devices already assembled in the polyester pools is expensive and cumbersome due to their dimensions, which may be considerable depending on the type of pool where they are installed. In addition, its dimensions and particular shape make it especially vulnerable when being subject to blows during transport.

Finally, the fact that in swimming pools it is necessary to define in advance what dimensions the area should have, it makes it necessary to have specific measurements of the place where it is to be installed, which is sometimes a problem.

Document <CIT> discloses a swimming pool skimmer comprising two independent parts connected together with a swivel connection. The skimmer has a part or a loophole presenting a symmetry axis. Another part has a body with upper and lower chambers having cylindrical walls presenting another symmetry axis. The parts are fixed together in an orientable manner along angular positions in which inclination between the axes varies from <NUM> degrees to specific degrees when the former axis has the inclination with respect to the horizontal varying from zero to maximum alpha angle above the horizontal, where the latter axis is vertical. A sealed groove receives an elastomer adhesive bead to seal the parts.

Document <CIT> discloses a skimmer for a swimming pool, with a skimmer housing which has at least one water outlet and a float neck which can be attached to a swimming pool wall made of steel, aluminum or a plastic, in particular polyester, and through which water or extracted water is fed into the skimmer housing and from there into at least one water drain.

Document <CIT> discloses a dirt trap for swimming pools, which can be connected to a pump which contains a suction inlet and a pressure outlet and has a housing which can be attached to the side wall of the swimming pool. The housing is provided with an inlet chamber having an inlet opening extending through the side wall for water to flow from the water surface to the inlet chamber, a fluid connection from the inlet chamber to the pump inlet, a pressure chamber separate from the inlet chamber and having an outlet nozzle extending through the side wall below the inlet opening, and fluid communication between the pump outlet and the pressure chamber whereby there is a flow of water exiting the nozzle opposite and below the flow of water for inducing a flow of water.

Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to provide a suction and filtering device for swimming pools and a procedure for its installation that, in polyester pools, may allow the transport of the device at least partially disassembled and that, in general, regardless of the type of pools to which it is directed, may allow the installer himself to carry out the assembly of the components on site in the pool at the site where it is finally installed.

The aforementioned drawbacks are solved by means of the suction and filtering device and the installation procedure of the invention, presenting other advantages that will be described below.

According to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a suction and filtering device for swimming pools comprising a main body and an additional element, which are joined together by means of a fixing element, wherein the main body and the additional element comprise retention means for maintaining the relative position between the main body and the additional element during their joining by the fixing element.

According to the invention, the retention means comprise a complementary projection and groove, the fixing element being positioned in the groove.

Preferably, said projection comprises a flange at one of its ends.

Furthermore, said projection may comprise a hole for the introduction of a fixing element.

Advantageously, the fixing element is glue or adhesive.

According to two alternative embodiments, the additional element is an adapter flange or an extender.

According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a procedure for the installation of a suction and filtering device for swimming pools, comprising the following steps:.

According to the invention, the fixing element is placed in a groove made in the main body. Preferably, by placing the additional element in its mounting position a projection thereof is inserted into the groove of the main body.

With the suction and filtering device according to the present invention and its installation procedure, no external component is needed, except the fixing element, such as adhesive or glue, to keep the two parts in permanent contact until the fixing element is cured.

In this way, the user or the installer herself/himself is allowed to carry out the final action of fixing the two parts, representing very significant savings in terms of packaging, logistics and production costs.

For a better understanding of what has been stated, some drawings are attached in which, schematically and only as a non-limiting example, a practical case of embodiment is represented.

First of all, it should be noted that the suction and filtering device for swimming pools is known in the swimming pool sector by "skimmer".

<FIG> show a first embodiment of the suction and filtering device for swimming pools according to the present invention, in particular, specially designed for use in polyester swimming pools.

The device according to the present invention comprises a main body (<NUM>) and an additional element (<NUM>), which in this embodiment is an adapter flange.

According to the present invention, the main body (<NUM>) and the additional element (<NUM>) are provided separately to the user or installer, their joining being made at the time of installation, as will be described below.

For joining the main body (<NUM>) and the additional element (<NUM>) retention means are used, formed by a complementary projection (<NUM>) and groove (<NUM>), and a fixing element, such as adhesive or glue (not represented in the figures).

Said complementary projection (<NUM>) and groove (<NUM>) are preferably located on the perimeter of the main body (<NUM>) and of the additional element (<NUM>), thus being their perimeter joining.

According to the embodiment shown, the projection (<NUM>) is located on the additional element (<NUM>) and the groove (<NUM>) is located on the main body (<NUM>).

The installation procedure of the suction and filtering device for swimming pools according to the present invention is as follows.

Firstly, the fixing element is placed in the main body (<NUM>), in particular, in the groove (<NUM>), and then the additional element (<NUM>) is placed in contact with the main body (<NUM>), so that the projection (<NUM>) is inserted into the groove (<NUM>).

This position is maintained without the aid of any additional element for the fixing element to cure, definitively fixing the main body (<NUM>) and the additional element (<NUM>) to each other.

Finally, the assembly formed by the main body (<NUM>) and the additional element (<NUM>), already fixed to each other, is placed in the position for use in the pool.

As can be seen in <FIG>, the suction and filtering device according to the present invention is mounted on a wall (<NUM>) of a swimming pool, and for this a fixing element (<NUM>) is used, such as a screw, which passes through said wall (<NUM>) and is inserted into a hole (<NUM>) made in the projection (<NUM>) of the additional element (<NUM>).

In addition, some sealing gaskets (<NUM>) are placed between the wall (<NUM>) of the pool and the additional element (<NUM>), and between the wall (<NUM>) and a trim (<NUM>), which is placed on the inside of the pool.

As can be seen in these figures, the adapter flange has an inclination, for example, of <NUM> degrees, to adapt to the construction needs of polyester pools, which for manufacturing / storage reasons need to have a certain inclination on their side faces.

<FIG> show a second embodiment of the suction and filtering device according to the present invention, in this case specially designed for use in so-called standard or panel pools.

For the sake of simplicity, in this second embodiment the same reference numerals are used as in the first embodiment to identify the same or equivalent elements.

According to this embodiment, the suction and filtering device also comprises a main body (<NUM>) and an additional element (<NUM>), which in this case is an extender, which are provided to the user or installer separately, being joined during installation of the pool, as in the previous embodiment.

It also comprises retention means formed by a complementary projection (<NUM>) and groove (<NUM>).

In this embodiment, unlike the previous embodiment, the projection (<NUM>) comprises a flange (<NUM>) at its distal end, that is, the end furthest from the additional element (<NUM>) to better retain or maintain this additional element (<NUM>) in its mounting position with the main body (<NUM>).

The installation procedure of the suction and filtering device of this embodiment is the same as that described above since the fixing element is also placed in the groove (<NUM>) and the additional element (<NUM>) is placed in contact with the main body. (<NUM>), the projection (<NUM>) being inserted into the groove (<NUM>), the main body (<NUM>) being fixed with the additional element (<NUM>) when the fixing element is cured.

Claim 1:
Suction and filtering device for swimming pools, comprising a main body (<NUM>) and an additional element (<NUM>), which are joined together by a fixing element, wherein the main body (<NUM>) and the additional element (<NUM>) comprise retention means (<NUM>, <NUM>) to maintain the relative position between the main body (<NUM>) and the additional element (<NUM>) during their joining by means of the fixing element; said suction and filtering device being characterized in that the retention means comprise a complementary projection (<NUM>) and groove (<NUM>), the fixing element being placed in the groove (<NUM>).