This disclosure generally relates to drains for artificial bodies of water, and in particular, channel drain assemblies for swimming pools and the like.
Artificial bodies of water (e.g., swimming pools, spas) can include channel drains that provide a flow path to a pumping system that circulates the water. Channel drains typically have an elongated body with elongated openings and grating that can be installed on the pool floor. However, the linear configuration of channel drains may not be aesthetically compatible with the surrounding of certain pool floors. A need exists for channel drains that can blend in with different surroundings of water features.
The systems, methods and devices described herein have innovative aspects, no single one of which is indispensable or solely responsible for their desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the present disclosure, some of the advantageous features will now be summarized.
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to apparatuses and methods for safe, aesthetically-appealing drains for artificial bodies of water (e.g., swimming pools, spas). Some of the apparatuses described herein comprise an elongate channel drain assembly that blends in with the surrounding surface into which the drain is mounted. In some aspects, the drain assembly provides flexibility in the configuration of the drain openings. In some embodiments, the drain assembly provides a one piece structure that seals onto a sump and allows the drain openings to be selected from one or more circular, slotted, or other shaped drain openings. In some embodiments, the drain assembly provides a single sump and a single drain cover configured to resemble multiple drain covers when installed in a pool. In some embodiments, the drain assembly includes an interchangeable drain cover that can allow the appearance of the drain assembly to be changed (e.g., tailored to fit the appearance of the surrounding water feature). In some embodiments, the single drain cover that is mounted onto the sump can be selected from a group of single drain covers that includes a first single drain cover having a first arrangement of inlet openings and a second single drain cover having a second arrangement of inlet openings. A user can install the first or the second single drain cover onto the sump. The first single drain cover can be attached to the sump and installed into the water feature to give the appearance that the water feature has a first arrangement of multiple drains (e.g., two spaced apart circular drains). The second single drain cover can be attached to the sump and installed into the water feature to give the appearance that the water feature has a second arrangement of multiple drains (e.g., two spaced apart slotted drains). In some aspects, the drain assembly includes a single sump and a single drain cover that are attached together to enclose a single open chamber that extends under the entire length of the drain cover. The single open chamber can receive directly water inflow from each of the two or more inlet openings that are disposed on the single drain cover.
In some aspects, the single drain cover can include an access opening that is sufficiently large to allow service access to the enclosed internal space of the drain assembly. The cross-sectional area of the access opening can be larger than the cross-sectional area of the inlet openings of the single drain cover. The drain assembly can include an access opening cover that covers the access opening such that the appearance of the access opening blends in with the surrounding floor of the water feature. In some embodiments, the access opening cover includes a flow inlet opening that provides a flow path for water to pass through the access opening cover to reach the common open chamber that extends under the single drain cover and is enclosed by the singled drain cover and the single sump. In some aspects, the drain assembly includes features (e.g., spaced apart inlet openings) that reduce dangerous suction forces that can entrap or injure a swimmer.
Any of the features, components, or details of any of the arrangements or embodiments disclosed in this application, including without limitation any of the drain embodiments and any of the methods of draining liquid from a body of water disclosed below, are interchangeably combinable with any other features, components, or details of any of the arrangements or embodiments disclosed herein to form new arrangements and embodiments.
Throughout the drawings, reference numbers can be reused to indicate general correspondence between reference elements. The drawings are provided to illustrate example embodiments described herein and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.
Embodiments of systems, components and methods of assembly and manufacture will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals refer to like or similar elements throughout. Although several embodiments, examples and illustrations are disclosed below, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the inventions described herein extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments, examples and illustrations, and can include other uses of the inventions and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. The terminology used in the description presented herein is not intended to be interpreted in any limited or restrictive manner simply because it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the inventions. In addition, embodiments of the inventions can comprise several novel features and no single feature is solely responsible for its desirable attributes or is essential to practicing the inventions herein described.
Certain terminology may be used in the following description for the purpose of reference only, and thus are not intended to be limiting. For example, terms such as “above” and “below” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. Terms such as “front,” “back,” “left,” “right,” “rear,” and “side” describe the orientation and/or location of portions of the components or elements within a consistent but arbitrary frame of reference which is made clear by reference to the text and the associated drawings describing the components or elements under discussion. Moreover, terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” and so on may be used to describe separate components. Such terminology may include the words specifically mentioned above, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.
Artificial bodies of water, such as pools, spas, fountains, ornamental ponds, utility ponds and the like, typically have filter systems that allow the water in the body of water to be filtered and cleaned. Channel drains allow inlet suction forces of the drain to be distributed over an elongate area thereby can reduce the likelihood of a swimmer being entrapped by the drain. In some aspects, channel drains can provide an elongate slotted opening that can be more effective at drawing debris (e.g., leaves) into the drain compared to a circular opening.
The elongate appearance of channel drains can be unsightly and can disrupt the aesthetic appeal of the artificial body of water. The drain assembly of the present disclosure provides a channel drain assembly that allows the visual appearance of the drain inlet to be tailored to the features of the water feature into which the drain assembly is installed. The present drain assembly can include an access opening that allows service access to the enclosed space of the drain assembly. In some embodiments, the access opening has a cross-sectional area sufficiently large to allow the drain to be serviced (e.g., clear debris entrapped within the elongate open chamber enclosed by the single drain cover and the single sump). In some arrangements, the cross-sectional area of the access opening is larger than the cross-sectional area of the flow inlet openings of the single drain cover. In some embodiments, the drain assembly includes an access opening cover adapted to receive plaster such that the access opening cover conceals the presence of the access opening. In some embodiments, the access opening cover includes a flow inlet that allows water to flow through the access opening cover to reach the single open chamber that is enclosed by the single drain cover and the single sump.
In some aspects, the present disclosure is directed to a drain assembly that aesthetically blends in with a surrounding surface. In some aspects, the drain assembly of the present disclosure allows for the redesign of the appearance of the drain openings into any desired configuration. For example, the drain assembly can allow the drain openings to be configured as an arrangement of spaced apart openings that can have a circular shape, a slotted shape, or other shapes that are desired. As discussed, drains can also be dangerous and can create suction forces that can entrap a swimmer's hair, clothing, or skin, causing injury or drowning. Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a drain assembly that avoids the creation of dangerous suction forces.
As shown in
With continued reference to
The sump 102 can include a plurality of anchoring features 118 that allow the drain cover 106 to be attached to the sump 102. The drain cover 106 can form a seal with the sump 102, blocking water flow through the interface between the drain cover 106 and the sump 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the sump 102 includes anchoring features 118 in the form of threaded holes that align with corresponding through holes 120 on the drain cover 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the drain cover 106 can be attached to the sump 102 by passing a screw (not shown) through the through hole 120 of the drain cover 106 and securing the screw into the threaded hole of the anchoring feature 118 of the sump 102. In some embodiments, the drain cover 106 can be attached to the sump 102 using an adhesive (e.g., glue) or by welding (e.g., sonic welding).
As shown in
With continued reference to
Water can be blocked from flowing through the access opening 122 by an access opening cover126 that seats over the access opening 122. In some embodiments, the access opening 122 can be sized to receive the access opening cover 126. The access opening cover 126 can be adapted to receive plaster 128 in a portion of the access opening cover 126, while other portions of the access opening cover 126 remain free of plaster such that water can flow through the plaster-free portions of the access opening cover 126 to reach the enclosed space between the sump 102 and the drain cover 106. As shown in
As discussed herein, the inlet opening 124 can be adapted to receive an inlet cover 130. The inlet cover 130 can include a central portion that is adapted to receive plaster 128 and a peripheral portion that is adapted to remain plaster free, as described herein. The plaster 128 applied to the inlet cover 130 can be substantially co-planar with, and can match the appearance of, the plaster 128 that is applied to the central surface 105 of the drain cover 106 and/or the plaster 128 that is applied to the access opening cover 126. The inlet cover 130 can have an annular opening 134 that surrounds the plaster 128, as shown in
As shown in
The access opening 122 can provide a pathway for access to the elongate internal space 103 of the drain assembly 100. In some embodiments, the access opening 122 can be removed from the drain cover 106 to provide access to the internal components of the drain assembly 100 (e.g., the baffles 104) and to the drain pipe (not shown) to which the outflow port 108 is connected. The cross-sectional area of the access opening 122 can be larger than the cross-sectional area of the inlet opening 124. In some embodiments, the cross-sectional area of the access opening 122 is sized to allow the baffle 104 to be removed from the elongate internal space 103 of the sump 102 through the access opening 122. As shown in
The drain assembly 100 can be installed by securing the outflow port 108 to a drain (not shown). The sump 102 can be embedded in concrete or mortar surrounding the drain. The baffles 104 can be placed into the sump 102 and positioned over the outflow port 108. The drain cover 106 can be installed onto the sump 102 by a fastener that passes through the through hole 120 of the drain cover 106 and is secured to the corresponding anchoring feature 118 of the sump 102. Plaster can be applied to the central surface 105 of the drain cover 106 to bury the drain cover 106. The plaster applied to the central surface 105 can be flush with the plaster of a surrounding surface. The access opening cover 126 and the inlet covers 130 can be attached to the drain cover 106. Plaster can be applied to the top surfaces of the access opening cover 126 and the inlet covers 130. The plaster applied to the top surfaces of the access opening cover 126 and the inlet covers 130 can be substantially co-planar with, and can match the appearance of, the plaster applied to the central surface 105 of the drain cover 106. The plaster applied to the top surfaces of the access opening cover 126 and the inlet covers 130 can be flush with the plaster applied to the central surface 105 of the drain cover 106. If access to the drain is required, the access opening cover 126 can be removed from the drain cover 106 and replaced onto the drain cover 106 after the task requiring access to the drain is completed.
It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may be made to the herein-described embodiments, the elements of which are to be understood as being among other acceptable examples. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. Moreover, as should be apparent, the features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed herein may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.
Moreover, the following terminology may have been used herein. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “about” or “approximately” means that quantities, dimensions, sizes, formulations, parameters, shapes and other characteristics need not be exact, but may be approximated and/or larger or smaller, as desired, reflecting acceptable tolerances, conversion factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like and other factors known to those of skill in the art. The term “substantially” means that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide. Furthermore, where the terms “and” and “or” are used in conjunction with a list of items, they are to be interpreted broadly, in that any one or more of the listed items may be used alone or in combination with other listed items.
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