Patent Application
20200149570
This application claims priority to Chinese Application Serial Number CN 201821860734.7, filed on Nov. 13, 2018, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention generally relates to above-ground pools. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a bracket pool having a joint assembly with a detachable storage tray.
The above-ground pool is a recreational product used in outdoor open spaces such as home courtyards and gardens. Above ground pools are popular at least partially because they are easily installable in a variety of locations and relatively inexpensive.
Presently, there are primarily two types of above-ground pools: bracket pools and inflatable pools. Although there are various types of bracket pools, the circular bracket pool is the most typical, which mainly comprises a series of horizontal side tubes, vertical supporting tubes (the direction of which is substantially vertical) and a pool body. The horizontal side tubes are successively connected by a connecting member to form a circular structure. The vertical supporting tubes support the circular structure to form a supporting frame, and the pool body is fixed on the supporting frame for containing water.
During use of above-ground pools, users often need to place personal objects, such as cups, food, towels, mobile phones, keys, etc., in close proximity to the pool such that the objects are readily accessible. Typically, storage spaces that are separate from the pool are utilized for storing such objects. Such storage spaces can be inconveniently located and thus render the objects not readily available. Although it is known to fix certain storage devices to the pool body, an additional fixing member is required to secure such storage devices, which complicates the structure of the storage devices and the pool body, and often provides a poor fixing arrangement. Furthermore, installation and disassembly of such storage devices can be tedious and complicated, and the manufacturing of same can be expensive and time consuming.
In order to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks in the prior art, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a joint assembly for a bracket pool with a detachable storage tray. The detachable storage tray is very convenient to install and disassemble, very stable in use, occupies little space, and can be quickly and inexpensively manufactured.
To this end, according to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a joint assembly for a bracket pool is provided. The joint assembly includes at least one receiving channel for receiving a supporting tube of the bracket pool. The joint assembly also includes an installation portion defining at least one coupling region. A detachable storage tray including a containing portion for storing objects and at least one connector is removably coupled to the at least one coupling region of the installation portion for removably connecting the detachable storage tray to the installation portion.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the coupling region of the installation portion includes at least one insertion hole, and the at least one connector of the detachable storage tray includes at least one pin removably inserted into the at least one insertion hole of the installation portion for removably connecting the detachable storage tray to the installation portion.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the at least one insertion hole comprises a pair of insertion holes, the at least one pin comprises a pair of pins, and the pair of pins are removably inserted into the pair of insertion holes.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the containing portion of the detachable storage tray comprises a cup holder having a circular shaped cross-section.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the containing portion of the detachable storage tray comprises a cup holder having a circular shaped cross-section and a plate extending outwardly from the cup holder.
According to another aspect of the disclosure the cup holder has a first depth in a vertical direction, the plate has a second depth in the vertical direction, and the first depth of the cup holder is greater than the second depth of the plate.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the detachable storage tray further includes an installation flange presenting the at least one connector, the containing portion has a wall, and a hanging portion extends from at least one of the installation flange and the wall.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the hanging portion comprises a post extending upwardly from the installation flange.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the wall of the containing portion defines a pair of recesses, and the hanging portion includes a tab defined by the wall and located between the pair of recesses.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the containing portion has a bottom surface defining an opening.
According to a second aspect of the disclosure, a bracket pool comprising a pool body and a pool bracket for supporting the pool body is provided. The pool bracket includes a plurality of horizontal supporting tubes coupled successively in a circumferential direction to form an annular structure. A plurality of vertical supporting tubes are fixed on the ground by a base and distributed in the circumferential direction to support the annular structure. A plurality of joint assemblies for coupling adjacent horizontal supporting tubes and for coupling each vertical supporting tube are located between the adjacent horizontal supporting tubes. Each joint assembly of the plurality of joint assemblies includes at least two receiving channels for receiving at least one of the horizontal supporting tubes and at least one of the vertical supporting tubes, an installation portion defining at least one coupling region, and a detachable storage tray including a containing portion for storing objects and at least one connector removably coupled to the at least one coupling region of the installation portion for removably connecting the detachable storage tray to the installation portion.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the coupling region of the installation portion includes at least one insertion hole, and the at least one connector of the detachable storage tray includes at least one pin removably inserted into the at least one insertion hole of the installation portion for removably connecting the detachable storage tray to the installation portion.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the at least one insertion hole comprises a pair of insertion holes, the at least one pin comprises a pair of pins, and the pair of pins are removably inserted into the pair of insertion holes.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the containing portion of the detachable storage tray comprises a cup holder having a circular shaped cross-section.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the containing portion of the detachable storage tray comprises a cup holder having a circular shaped cross-section and a plate extending outwardly from the cup holder.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the cup holder has a first depth in a vertical direction, the plate has a second depth in the vertical direction, and the first depth of the cup holder is greater than the second depth of the plate.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the detachable storage tray further includes an installation flange presenting the at least one connector, the containing portion has a wall, and a hanging portion extends from at least one of the installation flange and the wall.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the hanging portion comprises a post extending upwardly from the installation flange.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the wall of the containing portion defines a pair of recesses, and wherein the hanging portion includes a tab defined by the wall and located between the pair of recesses.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the containing portion has a bottom surface defining an opening.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, each joint assembly of the plurality of joint assemblies comprises a joint housing defining the at least two receiving channels, and the joint housing is made of a plastic material.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, a reinforcing layer is provided on an outer surface of the joint housing.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the reinforcing layer comprises a rattan structure.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the reinforcing rib extends from the outer surface of the joint housing.
The bracket pool and joint assembly thereof according to the present disclosure have many advantages, in particular:
By coupling the connector, such as a pin, of the detachable storage tray with the coupling region, such as an insertion hole, of the installation portion, the detachable storage tray can be conveniently and reliably installed on the installation portion, and thus does not occupy extra space.
The detachable storage tray and other components of the joint assembly can be made of a plastic material, thus allowing the detachable storage tray and other components to be manufactured in a simple manner while using little material, thereby providing reduced manufacturing costs.
The joint assembly has a simple structure such that it can be widely used in various types of bracket pools and may be quickly and easily manufactured.
The detachable storage tray has high practicability, with the containing portion being suitable for storing water cups, food, mobile phones, wallets and other personal objects, and with the hanging portion being suitable for hanging keys, towels and other objects.
Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
The implementation and use of the embodiments are discussed in detail below. However, it should be understood that the specific embodiments discussed only illustrate a specific way of implementing and using the present disclosure, rather than limiting the protection scope of the present disclosure.
It is noted that the drawings are not only used for the explanation and illustration of the present disclosure, but also for the limitation of the present disclosure if and when necessary.
In this specification, position terms such as “upward”, “downward”, “interior” and “exterior” are defined according to the normal use position of an above-ground pool.
Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, a bracket pool 10 constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is generally shown in
As shown in
As further shown in
As shown in
More particularly, as shown in
In the preferred embodiments shown in
In order to support the detachable storage tray 5, the T-shaped joint 13 includes an installation portion 135 extending from its outer surface away from the exterior of the bracket pool 10. The installation portion 135 is preferably positioned vertically at approximately the middle region 136 of the horizontal receiving channel 131 of the T-shaped joint 13 and covers the middle region 136 in the horizontal direction. The installation portion 135 is provided with at least one coupling region 1351 that is configured to be coupled with a connector 521 of the detachable storage tray 5. According to the preferred embodiments, the coupling region 1351 comprises at least one insertion hole 1351; the connector 521 comprises at least one pin 521; and the at least one pin 521 is configured to be inserted preferably in the vertical direction into the at least one insertion hole 1351. For example, in the illustrated preferred embodiment, there are two insertion holes 1351 with approximately rectangular cross-sections that are symmetrical to each other with respect to the middle region 136 of the horizontal receiving channel 131. The insertion holes 1351 preferably pass through a dimension of the installation portion 135 in the vertical direction. Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, there are two pins 521 with approximately rectangular cross sections. As shown in
Since the detachable storage tray 5 is installed on the outer side of the T-shaped joint 13 opposite the interior of the bracket pool, the edge of the installation flange 52 of the detachable storage tray 5 facing towards the T-shaped joint 13 preferably has a bending shape similar to that of the horizontal receiving channel 131 of the T-shaped joint 13.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the detachable storage tray 5 also includes a hanging portion 53 extending outward from the sidewall 55 of the containing portion 51 or from the edge of the installation flange 52. In the preferred embodiments shown in
More particularly, in the first variant shown in
The at least one circular cup holder 511 is located at one end of the containing portion 51 in the length direction, and the plate 512 extends outward from the edge of the cup holder 511. The cup holder 511 has a first depth D1 in the vertical direction from a top of the sidewall 55; the plate 512 has a second depth D2 in the vertical direction from a top of the sidewall 55; and the first depth D1 of the cup holder 511 is greater than the second depth D2 of the plate 512. Said another way, the cup holder 511 extends downwardly in the vertical direction to a greater extent than the plate 512. The diameter of the cup holder 511 is slightly greater than that of an ordinary water cup for placing a water cup or other objects with similar volume. The plate 512 can be used to store food, mobile phones, wallets and other objects.
In the second variant shown in
The cup holder 511 is located at a corner of the containing portion 51. The plate 512 extends outward from an edge of the cup holder 511. Like the embodiment of
In the third variant shown in
The cup holder 511 is located at one end of the containing portion 51 in an arc length direction. The plate 512 extends outwardly from the edge of the cup holder 511. Like the embodiments of
In the fourth variant shown in
The cup holder 511 is located at a corner of the containing portion 51, and the plate 512 extends outward from the edge of the cup holder 511. The cup holder 511 includes a cup holder wall 5111 that separates the cup holder 511 from the plate 512. Like the embodiments of
According to some preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in
According to some preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, the detachable storage tray 5 can be made of plastic material, thus allowing the detachable storage tray 5 to be manufactured in a simple manner while using little material, thereby providing reduced manufacturing costs.
In addition, according to some preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, the joint housing 129 of the T-shaped joint 13 can also be made of plastic material, thus allowing the joint housing 129 to be manufactured in a simple manner while using little material, thereby providing reduced manufacturing costs. In this case, in order to ensure the strength of the T-shaped joint 13, a reinforcing layer can be provided on the outer surface of the joint housing 129. As shown in
Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described while within the scope of the claimed invention. It is understood that all features described and of all embodiments can be combined with each other, so long as such combinations would not contradict one another.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201821860734.7 | Nov 2018 | CN | national |
