The invention herein disclosed relates to drains for pools, ponds, and spas. More particularly it relates to a device and method for providing a drain cover which provides anti-siphon characteristics above the drain cover to protect users of swimming pools and spas and provides improved fluid flow characteristics of fluid having traversed the drain cover and entering the underlying drain.
Conventional pools, spas, ponds, and similar artificial water holders are conventionally formed with a drain opening on their bottoms at the lowest point on the bottom surface. Generally, these drain openings communicate through the cement or gunite or other material forming the pool or spa and connect the interior of the pool or spa with an underlying conduit into which water may be drained or is communicated to the filtration system to keep the water clean. Typically water communicated through the drain opening will be pumped through a filter and back into the pool or spa through return lines which communicate therein.
The constant circulation of water through the drain opening or openings in the bottom of the pool or spa tends to create a suctional vortex adjacent to these drains. In order to prevent injury or worse yet, drowning, most plumbing and safety codes require that such drains are conventionally overlaid with a cover that substantially eliminates this vortex action.
Unfortunately, most such covers tend to be utilitarian and not pleasing to the eye. In order to meed conventional plumbing and building and other applicable code requirements for vortex prevention, anti-vortex drains and covers have been developed which feature water flow characteristics that also tend to substantially eliminate the suction and vortex formation above the mounted drain cover. However, the structures which provide the vortex elimination in existing drain covers also impede water flow into the underlying drain below the drain cover once the water has traversed the drain cover.
Consequently, because of the great attention paid to eliminate water suction and vortexing adjacent to pool and spa drains, water flow in the drain itself continues to be impeded thereby requiring additional pumping of the fluid with increased energy use resulting in reduced efficiency of the system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,586 (Wright) teaches a drain cover that is engageable over a drain opening that provides an overriding top surface that allows the user to adhere surface material thereon to match the surrounding surface. However, Wright's device is designed to break up water flow through the cover into many small linear flows substantially perpendicular to the center axis of the drain. This is typical of conventional drain covers which reduce suction and vortexing, inherently impeding water flow into and through the aperture opening of the underlying drain. As noted above, this decreases efficiency of the fluid flow and filtering system of the pool or spa resulting in increased energy use.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,758 (Jacuzzi) discloses a similar anti-vortex type cover which prevents the suction and vortexing that could injure or harm swimmers. However, Jacuzzi too lacks any provision to enhance the fluid flow once it has traversed the drain cover.
As such, there is an ongoing need for a pool and spa drain cover which is engageable over the conventional drain opening communicating with the bottom of a pool or spa and prevents suction and vortexing of water that might injure or harm users and swimmers. Such a device should, however, in addition to substantially eliminating the suction and vortexing above the cover, enhance fluid flow once past the cover, to thereby enhance the fluid flow into the drain aperture and onto the filtering system. Such a device should also be adapted for easy engagement to new pool and spa construction, or as a retrofit to the millions of installed pool drains in the USA and throughout the world to thereby decrease energy use through enhanced fluid flow generated by the drain cover itself.
With respect to the above description, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components or steps set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The various apparatus and methods of the invention are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art once they review this disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other devices, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed device. It is important, therefore, that the objects and claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction and methodology insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further objectives of this invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.
The device herein disclosed and described provides an anti-vortex drain cover adapted to engage the drain opening communicating with the bottom of a pool or spa or other water holding component which has a drain and/or filtering system attached. Above the top surface of the device all safety requirements for suction and vortex elimination are met by the dissection of fluid flow into smaller linear flows to provide a safe environment for users of the pool or spa or other contained water body.
The drain cover is provided with a base having a circumference adapted to engage the attaching ring or other engaging mount that interfaces between the drain cover and the underlying drain below the plaster or gunite or fiberglass surface that defines most pools and spas.
A planar top component having a top surface and a lower surface is engaged to a mounting base by a plurality of ribs communicating between the top component and the base. In between the ribs are defined a plurality of passages which allow for water or fluid flow therebetween, to communicate with the cavity formed below the planar top component and above the underlying drain of the pool or spa and onto the filtering system. Breaking up the fluid flow traversing the cover by employing this plurality of blades creates a plurality of small liner fluid flows through the cover and into the cavity below the top component and above the underlying drain. These small liner flows thereby prevent the formation of a fluid vortex and suctional area adjacent to the top surface of the cover and the surrounding pool or spa surface when the device is operatively engaged to the drain.
In the cavity under the top planar component and behind the ribs are positioned a plurality of straight and angled or preferably curved blades, vanes or fins, (hereinafter blades) depending on the construction and alignment with the incoming water streams. The blades are formed in a first preferred embodiment as part of the top planar component and project away from the lower surface of the top planar component toward the underlying drain. The blades radiate from a generally central portion of the bottom surface and curve to their distal ends adjacent to the passages formed between the ribs supporting the top component above the base. These blades engage and coerce the many small individual fluid flows past the ribs from the individual passages between the ribs to a vortex or cyclonic flow of the fluid, to thereby provide a means to induce a vortex to the aggregate fluid flow resulting from the total individual fluid flows from all the individual passages. The fluid flow into the drain as such has an efficiency inducing vortex imparted to it, while the fluid flow above the drain cover still has the safety factor of anti-vortex and suction components.
In a first preferred mode of the device, the top component is injection molded or otherwise formed in a unitary structure with the blades projecting from the bottom surface toward the underlying drain in a manner where each pair of blades at their distal ends is adjacent to two or three individual passages defined by the ribs. Thus, the two or three individualized and linear fluid flows through the passages between the ribs are induced to be become a portion of the total aggregate fluid flow vortex. This rotational vortex fluid flow is induced by the blades radiating from the center of the bottom surface of the drain cover. Of course more blades can be employed to channelize fewer individual, or each, of the individual passages between the ribs, and such is anticipated. Experimentation has found that a fluid vortex is generated to increase fluid flow in the underlying drain using the current preferred mode and also saves material for the injection molding process by using fewer blades. Of course more or fewer blades might also be employed so long as they generate a vortex style flow in the fluid flowing into the cavity below the top planar surface and past the ribs supporting it.
Still further, the blades projecting from the bottom surface of the top component also provide means to reinforce the central area of the top component from fracture. This is especially important when the device is employed in a pool or spa where users might kick or stand on the cover during use and a crack or other structural failure could have drastic consequences.
A second preferred embodiment is also provided as either a retrofit to existing drains to induce a vortex fluid flow dynamic to fluid having traversed past the ribs supporting the top surface of the cover. This embodiment features a planar insert adapted for mounting above the underlying drain and below the overlying drain cover. A plurality of projecting tabs provide a means to hold the insert in position; however, other means can be used to position it properly in a sandwiched engagement. In this embodiment, the central area of the insert would have blades projecting away from the generally smooth planar surface in a similar manner as noted above with each pair of blades, at their distal ends, being adjacent to one or more individual passages defined by the ribs. Thus, the individualized linear fluid flows through the passages between the ribs are induced by the blades to become a portion of the total aggregate fluid flow flowing in a vortex. Of course more blades can be employed to channelize fewer individual fluid flows through the small passages between the ribs, and such is anticipated. Further, while the blades of the insert project upward away from the underlying drain in this preferred mode of the device, they would also work if projecting downward from the lower surface of the insert so long as the distal ends of the blades are aligned to capture and coerce the individual fluid flows coming from the passages between the ribs.
An object of this invention is to provide a drain cover for a pool or spa or fountain that substantially eliminates suction and vortexing above the cover when installed with water flowing through it to protect bathers.
Another object of this invention is to provide a drain cover that employs a series of axis-traverse blades positioned below the top surface of the drain cover and behind its supporting ribs which induce a vortex to the fluid once safely past the drain cover.
An additional object of this invention is the provision of such a drain cover that induces such a vortex to increase fluid flow efficiency by imparting a cyclonic rotation to it in the underlying drain and filter system to save energy.
A still further object of this invention is the provision of such a drain cover with a finned bottom surface to provide additional strength to the cover itself to resist cracking and failure during use.
These together with other objects and advantages which become subsequently apparent reside in the details of the construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.
Referring now to the drawings,
As noted, the constant circulation of water through the drain opening 12 or openings in the bottom of the pool or spa tends to create a suctional vortex adjacent to these drains. In order to prevent injury or worse yet, drowning, most plumbing and construction codes require that such drains are conventionally overlaid with a drain cover 14 that substantially eliminates this vortex or suction that can hold swimmers underwater.
The drain cover 14 generally has a top component 15 having a top surface 16 and a lower surface 18 engaged to a mounting base 20 by a plurality of ribs 22 communicating between the top component 15 and the base 20. In between the ribs 22 are defined a plurality of passages 24 which allow for water or fluid flow therebetween, to communicate with the cavity 26 formed below the planar top component 15 and above the underlying drain 12 or drain aperture of the pool or spa. The plurality of ribs 22 creates a plurality of small liner fluid flows through the passages 24 and into the cavity 26 below the top component 15 and above the underlying drain, and thereby prevents the formation of a fluid vortex and suctional area adjacent to the top surface of the cover 14 as noted.
In all preferred embodiments of the device 10, a plurality of blades 28 are operatively positioned in the cavity 26 under the top planar component 15 with their distal ends adjacent to and behind the ribs 22 defining the passages 24. Those skilled in the art will realize the blades may be radial and angled, backwards curving, or forwards curving, or of other configuration depending on the alignment with the incoming water streams from the passages 24 and vortex desired and the vertical placement between the drain 12 and the top component 15. Consequently, any placement of blades 28 and the angling and curving thereof which provides a means to create a fluid vortex or cyclonic flow from incoming fluid from the passages 24, is anticipated within the scope of this invention.
The blades 28 are formed in a first preferred embodiment as part of the top planar component 15 and project away from the lower surface 18 of the top planar component 15 toward the underlying drain 12. As depicted, the blades 28 radiate from a generally central portion of the cavity 26 and curve to their distal ends adjacent to the passages 24 formed between the ribs 22. The blades 28 thus provide means to coerce the many small individual linear fluid flows from individual passages 24 to impart a vortex fluid flow to the aggregate flow of fluid resulting from the total individual fluid flows of the passages 24. Fluid flow into the drain 12 from the cavity 26 has an efficiency-inducing vortex or cyclonic flow imparted to it.
In a particularly preferred mode of the device 10 of
A second preferred embodiment of the device is provided as either a retrofit to existing drains such as in
There is seen in
The components of
In a retrofit, as a method of accomplishing this task the user would take the appropriate vortex inducing component having the plurality of blades 28 extending away from a surface of a planar component 15 with the blades 28 having first ends adjacent to a central area and distal ends positioned to terminate adjacent to one or preferably on both sides of a plurality of the 24 fluid passages. The spacing of the paired distal ends would be appropriate to coerce one or preferably a plurality of the individual linear flows through fluid passages 24 into a single vortex or cyclonic flow of the total aggregate fluid flow form all the passages 24, to the underlying drain. The existing drain cover 14 would be dismounted and the vortex inducing component engaged to be situated between the underlying drain 12 and the drain cover 14 with the distal ends of the blades 28 aligned to corral the individual linear fluid flows from the passages 24. The drain cover would then be remounted. The vortex inducing component would of course be adapted to the mounting and the blades 28 appropriately shaped to the size of the drain cover 14 being improved. For standard sized drains this can be done easily on a mass scale where the devices are adapted to fit the standard drain and cover engagements and the length and number of blades 28 forming pathways for the fluid flows from the passages 24 made appropriate to the task. The overriding concern being positioning the distal ends of the blades 28 to properly encounter and coerce fluid flows through the passages 24 into the vortex communicated to the underlying drain.
Further as noted above, the number of blades 28 can be adjusted to form the number of pathways between the distal ends of the blades 28 to direct the number of individual fluid flows from respective passages 28. Currently between two and four individual flows works very well, but depending on the size of the passages 24 and other factors, the number of individual flows from individual passages 24 intercepted could be changed.
Although the invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments thereof, it should be realized that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. While the invention as shown in the drawings and described in detail herein discloses arrangements of elements of particular construction and configuration for illustrating preferred embodiments of structure and method of operation of the present invention, it is to be understood, however, that elements of different construction and configuration and other arrangements thereof, other than those illustrated and described, may be employed in accordance with the spirit of this invention. Any and all such changes, alternations and modifications as would occur to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of this invention as broadly defined in the appended claims.
Further, the purpose of the attached abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.