EASILY ASSEMBLED AND DISASSEMBLED ABOVE GROUND POOL

Abstract

An above ground pool is provided. The above ground pool includes an annular base, an annular enclosing wall, a waterproof liner, a plurality of vertical pillars, at least one pair of horizontal support members, and at least one pair of oblique support members. The annular base has ends connected to each other to form a closed loop structure and has a plurality of upward-facing grooves. The annular enclosing wall is flexible in a horizontal direction and rigid in a vertical direction and a lower edge of the wall is disposed in the upward-facing grooves. The waterproof liner is disposed on an inner side of the annular enclosing wall and located above the annular base, where an upper edge of the waterproof liner is folded over an upper edge of the annular enclosing wall to form a container for holding water.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese Application No. 201420139048.6, entitled “EASILY ASSEMBLED AND DISASSEMBLED ABOVE GROUND POOL,” filed on Mar. 26, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to above ground pools, and more specifically, to an easily assembled and disassembled above ground pool.

2. Background

Household detachable above ground pools are very popular in foreign countries. Due to convenience in installation and storage, the above ground pools are popular with consumers.

There are many types of above ground pools, among which a very common type of round above ground pool is generally the same as the folded net pool disclosed in Chinese Utility Model Patent No. 01261329, entitled “Improved structure of dish-like folded net pool.” This kind of above ground pool is made of a flexible reinforced polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyurethane (PU) cloth, which consists of a pool bottom sheet, and an enclosing sheet or pool wall connected to an outer edge of the pool bottom sheet. An upper edge of the pool wall includes an inflatable ring, and the pool wall is inclined inwardly from bottom-to-top so that the pool forms an open container in the form of a frustum increasing from top to bottom, where the height of the pool gradually increases when the pool is filled with water. U.S. Pat. No. D480817 discloses a pool having similar structure to the pool described above, except that the shape of this pool is oval, and that two sides of the pool are provided with oblique supporting steel tubes to define and maintain the shape of the pool.

A second common type of above ground pool is a frame pool. An example of a frame pool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,643,858, entitled “Prefabricated Swimming Pool.” This ground pool is also made of a flexible reinforced PVC or PU cloth, which includes a pool bottom, and a pool wall connected to an outer edge of the pool bottom that extends upward from bottom-to-top. However, the entire pool is supported by a support frame formed by steel tubes connected to one another.

U.S. Pat. No. D427693, entitled “Swimming Pool Frame Structure,” discloses a rectangular frame pool. However, there are some shortcomings with the above-mentioned ground pool. First, the exterior of the pool wall is exposed without any protection. Therefore, the pool wall may be easily damaged by the piercing of a sharp object, and thus the service life is relatively short.

Second, the structure of the above ground pool is not stable enough, such that significant shaking of the pool will occur during use by a user. Third, the aesthetics of the above ground pool is not very appeasing.

A third type of above ground pool is a half-sunk above ground pool. That is, a part of the pool is above the ground, and the rest part of the pool is below the ground. This pool generally includes a frame, an enclosing plate, and a waterproof liner, where the frame and enclosing plate are made of steel or wood. This structure requires the installer to dig a pit with a shape and dimensions corresponding to the pool, prior to installing the pool in the pit. The drawbacks of this kind of pool lie in that first, the installation process is relatively complex and time-consuming and, second, digging into the ground may destroy the user's lawn.

Thus, a need therefore exists for an above ground pool that overcomes the disadvantages found in currently known above ground pools, yet is easy to assemble and disassemble.

SUMMARY

A technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an easily assembled and disassembled above ground pool which ensures a stable structure of the pool.

A further technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an easily assembled and disassembled above ground pool that prevents the lawn on which the pool is placed from being destroyed when the pool is being installed thereon.

Another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an easily assembled and disassembled above ground pool which allows the pool to be assembled or dissembled simple and fast.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, an easily assembled and disassembled above ground pool is provided according to the present invention. In one example of the present invention, the above ground pool has long sides and short sides. The above ground pool further includes an annular base, an annular enclosing wall, a waterproof liner, a plurality of vertical pillars, at least a pair of horizontal support members and at least a pair of oblique support members.

The annular base has ends connected to each other to form a closed loop. The annular base includes a plurality of upward-facing grooves. The annular enclosing wall may be flexible in a horizontal direction, and rigid in a vertical direction. A lower edge of the annular enclosing wall may be disposed in the plurality of upward-facing grooves such that the annular enclosing wall is shaped to be adapted to the annular base. The lower edge of the annular enclosing wall includes has at least a pair of notches symmetrically arranged along the direction of the long sides.

The waterproof liner is disposed on an inner side of the annular enclosing wall and is located above the plane in which the annular base is located. An upper edge of the waterproof liner is folded over onto an upper edge of the annular enclosing wall to form a container capable of holding water.

The plurality of vertical pillars each are disposed on an outer side of the annular enclosing wall and are spaced apart from each other. The at least a pair of horizontal support members may be disposed below the lower edge of the annular enclosing wall and positioned corresponding to the at least a pair of notches. The horizontal support members are connected to one or more pairs of the plurality of vertical pillars. The at least a pair of oblique support members are disposed between the horizontal support members and the vertical pillars connected thereto.

In some implementations, the above ground pool further includes at least one slot-shaped clamping strip. The least one slot-shaped clamping strip may be clamped above the upper edge of the annular enclosing wall to fix the upper edge of the waterproof liner to the upper edge of the annular enclosing wall.

In some implementations, the annular base includes a plurality of guide rails with upward-facing grooves, wherein every two adjacent guide rails are connected together via a guide rail connector in an interference fit to form an end-to-end closed annulus.

In some implementations, a plurality of vertical pillar bases correspondingly connected to the vertical pillars are provided below the annular base. The top of each of the vertical pillars is provided with a vertical pillar top cover correspondingly connected thereto.

In other implementations, the above ground pool may further include a plurality of top plates. The plurality of top plates are circumferentially arranged above the upper edge of the annular enclosing wall. The top plates include at least two sides that are fixed to the vertical pillar top covers via fasteners and cover the slot-shaped clamping strips.

In other implementations, the above ground pool may further include a plurality of sets of protective covers. Each of the plurality of sets of protective covers may be located between two adjacent top plates such that an end joint of the top plates is clamped and fixed therein and covered thereby.

In some implementations, the horizontal support members each extend toward the inside of the annular enclosing wall by a certain distance, and a rigid connecting band is provided between two horizontal support members of each pair of the horizontal support members.

In some implementations, the above ground pool may further include at least a pair of protective shields. Each of protective shield may be located on the inner side of the annular enclosing wall to cover the part of the horizontal support members that extends into the interior of the annular enclosing wall.

In some implementations, the guide rails may be constructed of steel, aluminum alloy or plastic. In other implementations, the slot-shaped clamping stripes may be constructed of steel, aluminum alloy or plastic.

In some implementations, the annular enclosing wall may be constructed of a steel plate with a rustproof coating or an aluminum alloy plate. In some implementations, the waterproof liner may be made of PVC cloth or PU cloth.

Compared with existing above ground pools, the present invention provides several advantages. For example, according to the present invention, the lower edge of the annular enclosing wall is provided with at least a pair of notches, such that the bottom of the horizontal support members is flush with the lower edge of the annular enclosing wall. This feature not only maintains the structural stability of the pool, but it also avoids the problem of destroying the lawn when a conventional above ground pool is being installed. This feature also makes disassembling and installation of the pool more convenient.

The present invention overcomes the problems of existing above ground pools by providing an above ground pool that is robust and durable, has a stable structure, and can be installed on a lawn, a cement floor, or other locations with different conditions. Thus, the above ground pool of the present invention is ideal for home users. In addition, the above ground pool of the present invention is also easy to install, convenient to store, simple to manufacture, and relatively inexpensive to make.

Other devices, apparatus, systems, methods, features and advantages of the disclosure will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features, properties and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompany drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one example of an implementation of an above ground pool according to teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the above ground pool illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the above ground pool illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the above ground pool illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a front perspective assembly view showing an annular base, vertical pillars, horizontal support members, oblique support members and a connecting band of an above ground pool according to an implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective partial assembly view of the annular base of the above ground pool illustrated FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective assembly view illustrating one example of an annular enclosing wall of an above ground pool according to an implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective partial assembly view of the annular enclosing wall of the above ground pool illustrated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a partial assembly view illustrating one example of a slot-shaped clamping strip and a waterproof liner of an above ground pool according to an implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a partial assembly view illustrating one example of a vertical pillar base of an above ground pool according to an implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective partial assembly view illustrating how the vertical pillars, vertical pillar bases, and a vertical pillar bottom cover of the above ground pool are assembled together according to an implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an exploded partial assembly view illustrating how the top plates of an above ground pool are installed according to an implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view illustrating how a protective cover is installed over the top plates of the above ground pool illustrated in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a partial perspective view showing a protective cover installed over the top plates of the above ground pool illustrated in FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with particular embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Further details are provided in the following description in order for the present invention to be fully understood. However, the present invention can be implemented in various ways other than those described herein. A person skilled in the art can make similar analogies and modifications according to practical applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and therefore the contents of the particular embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting to the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one example of an implementation of an above ground pool 100 according to teachings of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the above ground pool 100, FIG. 3 is a front view of the above ground pool 100, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the above ground pool 100. It should be noted that these and the following drawings are merely used as examples, and are not necessarily drawn to scale, and should not be construed as limiting to the actually claimed scope of protection of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the above ground pool 100, having long longitudinal sides and short lateral sides, generally includes an annular base 101, an annular enclosing wall 103, a plurality of vertical pillars 105, a waterproof liner 109, horizontal support members 111, and oblique support members 113. The annular base 101 comprises a first base member and a second base member, each base member having free ends that complement and connect to each other to form a closed loop. The first and second base members each include a plurality of upward-facing grooves (not shown) for receiving bottom portions of the annular enclosing wall 103.

The annular enclosing wall 103 is flexible in a horizontal direction and rigid in a vertical direction. The annular enclosing wall 103 includes a lower edge adapted to fit within the plurality of upward-facing grooves of the annular base 101 such that the annular enclosing wall 103 corresponds in the shape to the annular base 101. The lower edge of the annular enclosing wall 103 is symmetrically provided with at least a pair of notches 119 (FIG. 7) along the direction of the longitudinal or long sides.

The waterproof liner 109 is disposed on an inner side of the annular enclosing wall 103. An upper edge of the waterproof liner 109 may be folded over onto an upper edge of the annular enclosing wall 103 to form a container or pool capable of holding water. The waterproof liner 109 may be constructed of a flexible cloth such as PVC or PU. The bottom of the waterproof liner 109 may be shaped and dimensioned to correspond to the shape and dimensions of the annular enclosing wall 103. The bottom of the waterproof liner 109 is adapted to cover the entire inner side of the annular enclosing wall 103 and a bottom face within the annular enclosing wall 103, thereby forming the container capable of holding water inside the annular enclosing wall 103.

The vertical pillars 105 are secured to an outer side of the annular enclosing wall 103 and positioned in spaced relation about the perimeter of the annular enclosing wall 103. At least a pair of horizontal support members 111 is disposed below the lower edge of the annular enclosing wall 103 and is positioned at a location corresponding to the at least a pair of notches 119. The horizontal support members 111 are coupled to one or more pairs of the plurality of vertical pillars 105. At least a pair of oblique support members 113 is coupled between the horizontal support members 111 and the vertical pillars 105 to support annular enclosing wall 103.

In the example implementation shown, the above ground pool 100 further includes a plurality of top plates 107 and a plurality of protective covers 115. The top plates 107 are circumferentially arranged above an upper edge of the annular enclosing wall 103 and cover slot-shaped clamping strips 121 (FIG. 9) affixed to the upper edge of the annular enclosing wall 103. The protective covers 115 are respectively located between two adjacent top plates 107, as best shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, and are respectively fixed to a top end of a corresponding vertical pillars 105 such that each end of a top plate 107 is covered by the protective covers 115.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating how the annular base 101, vertical pillars 105, horizontal support members 111, oblique support members 113, and a connecting band 112 are all assembled together to form a support structure of the above ground pool 100. FIG. 6 is a front perspective partial assembly view of the annular base 101 of the above ground pool 100. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the annular base 101 is composed of a plurality of arcuate-shaped guide rails 117 having upward-facing grooves 118 formed therein. The guide rails 117 are connected together in series to form a closed loop, as shown in FIG. 5. Adjacent guide rails 117 are connected together by a guide rail connector 129 which utilizes an interference fit to form an end-to-end closed annulus. The guide rails 117 may be constructed from steel, aluminum alloy, plastic, or any other suitable material. The annular base 101 further includes a plurality of vertical pillar bases 123 positioned in spaced relation about the annular base 101 perimeter. The location of the vertical pillar bases 123 correspond to location of the vertical pillars 105, along the exterior of the annular enclosing wall 103.

Turning again to FIG. 5, the horizontal support members 111 respectively extend inwardly toward the inside of the annular enclosing wall 103 by a certain distance. A rigid connecting band 112 may be coupled between the two horizontal support members 111 to provide additional support to the support structure. As shown in FIG. 5, in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2, the above ground pool 100 may further include at least a pair of protective shields 114 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Each protective shields 114 may be located within the interior of the annular enclosing wall 103 to cover a portion of the horizontal support members 111 extending into the interior of the annular enclosing wall 103 (i.e., the portion of the horizontal support members 111 coupled to the connecting band 112).

FIG. 7 is a perspective assembly view illustrating the annular enclosing wall 103 of the above ground pool 100 with the top plate 107 removed. FIG. 8 is a schematic partially assembled view of the annular enclosing wall of the easily assembled and disassembled above ground pool according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the annular enclosing wall 103 is a generally rectangular plate that is flexible in the horizontal direction and rigid in the vertical direction. The lower edge of the annular enclosing wall 103 may be embedded into the upward-facing grooves 118 of the annular bases 101. The annular enclosing wall 103 further has two free ends that may be fixedly connected via fasteners, latches, or other fastening means to enclose the structure, as shown in FIG. 8. The annular enclosing wall 103 may be constructed a steel plate with a rustproof coating, a metallic plate such as an aluminum alloy plate, or any other suitable means. In implementations where the annular enclosing wall 103 is constructed of metal, the metal sheet may be vertically corrugated to improve the rigidity of the annular enclosing wall 103 in the vertical direction.

As required by assembling of the horizontal support members 111, at least a pair of notches 119 may be formed along the lower edge of the annular enclosing wall 103 at positions corresponding to the horizontal support members 111. The notches 119 may be constructed to dimensions corresponding to the dimensions of the horizontal support members 111, such that the horizontal support members 111 may extend into the interior of the annular enclosing wall 103 through the notches 119.

FIG. 9 is a partial assembly view illustrating one example of a slot-shaped clamping strip 121 and a waterproof liner 109 of the above ground pool 100. As shown, the upper edge of the waterproof liner 109 may be folded over an upper edge of the annular enclosing wall 103. At least one slot-shaped clamping strip 121 may be clamped onto the upper edge of the annular enclosing wall 103 to clip and fix the upper edge of the waterproof liner 109 to the annular enclosing wall 103. The clamping strip 121 may constructed from steel, aluminum alloy, plastic, or any other suitable material. In some implementations, a plastic clamping strip 121 is preferred.

It is well known that after a substantially elliptical above ground pool is fully filled with water, both long sides thereof tend to bend outwardly and deform. In order to prevent deformation, supporting forces on both long (i.e., longitudinal) sides of the pool should be increased, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7. In one example, the two long sides of the above ground pool 100 may each include, in the middle part thereof, a pair of horizontal support members 111 and oblique support members 113 that are coupled to the vertical pillars 105. The long sides of the above ground pool 100 may be reinforced by fixing the vertical pillars 105 onto the horizontal support members 111, and fixing opposite ends of the oblique support members 113 respectively to the vertical pillars 105 and the horizontal support members 111. The horizontal support members 111, the oblique support members 113, and the vertical pillars 105 may be constructed of steel, aluminum alloy, or any other suitable material having sufficient mechanical strength.

The horizontal support members 111 are adapted to pass through the notches 119 of the lower edge of the annular enclosing wall 103 (FIG. 7) and intersect the annular enclosing wall 103. As such, the bottom of the horizontal support members 111 may be flush with the bottom of the annular base 101. Such a structure allows the pool to be installed directly on a lawn without requiring a hole to be dug into the lawn to bury the horizontal support members 111 below the ground. In addition, the pool may also be installed on a hard surface, such as a hardwood or cement floor.

The number of the horizontal support members 111 and oblique support members 113 used on opposite sides of the pool may be determined based on the total length of the pool. For example, a pool having longer long sides may have an increased number of horizontal support members 111 and oblique support members 113. In principle, the number of the horizontal support members 111 and oblique support members 113 should be the same on both sides of the pool to provide symmetrical structural support.

FIG. 10 is a partial assembly view illustrating one example of a vertical pillar base of the above ground pool 100. FIG. 11 is a perspective partial assembly view illustrating how the vertical pillars 105, vertical pillar bases 123, and vertical pillar bottom covers of the above ground pool 100 are assembled together according to an implementation of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the vertical pillars 105 are columnar members having a generally arcuate horizontal cross section. A plurality of vertical pillar bases 123 are provided below the annular base 101 and are connected to corresponding vertical pillars 105. The top of each vertical pillar 105 may have a vertical pillar top cover 125 correspondingly connected thereto. The vertical pillars 105, the vertical pillar bases 123, and the vertical pillar bottom covers may be constructed of steel, aluminum alloy, or any other suitable material having sufficient mechanical strength.

FIG. 12 is a schematic assembled view of top plates of an easily assembled and disassembled above ground pool according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13 is an exploded schematic view of the installation of a protective cover of the easily assembled and disassembled above ground pool according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 12; and FIG. 14 is a schematic view of the installed protective cover of the easily assembled and disassembled above ground pool according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 12 is an exploded partial assembly view illustrating how the top plates 107 of the above ground pool 100 are installed atop the annular enclosing wall 103. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view illustrating how a protective cover 115 is installed over the top plates 107 of the above ground pool 100. FIG. 14 is a partial perspective view showing the protective cover 115 installed over the top plates 107 of the above ground pool 100.

As shown in FIG. 12, the top plates 107 are circumferentially arranged above the upper edge of the annular enclosing wall 103. The top plates 107 are fixed at each of its ends to the vertical pillar top covers 125 of the vertical pillars 105 via fasteners, such as screws, bolts or the like. The top plates 107 are installed over the slot-shaped clamping strips 121.

Turning now to FIGS. 13 and 14, a protective cover 115 is provided in between every corresponding pair of top plates 107, above the upper edge of the annular enclosing wall 103. As a result, there are multiple sets of protective covers 115 disposed about the perimeter of the annular enclosing wall 103. Each set of protective covers 115 includes an upper cover and a lower cover such that a corresponding end the adjacent top plates 107 is clamped and fixed therein and covered thereby, thus avoiding exposure of the end faces of the top plates 107.

According to certain implementations of the present invention, the lower edge of the annular enclosing wall includes at least a pair of notches such that the bottom of the horizontal support members is flush with the lower edge of the annular enclosing wall, thereby not only maintaining the structural stability of the pool, but also avoiding the drawback of having to damage the lawn when a conventional above ground pool is installed and, additionally, making the detaching and installation of the pool more convenient.

The present invention overcomes the problems present in existing above ground pools by providing an above ground pool that is robust and durable, has a stable structure, and can be installed on a lawn, a cement floor or other locations with different conditions. Thus, above ground pools according to the teachings of the present invention is ideal for home users. In addition, above ground pools according to teachings of the present invention are also easy to install, convenient to store, simple to manufacture, and relatively inexpensive to make.

In general, terms such as “coupled to,” and “configured for coupling to,” and “secured to,” and “configured for securing to” and “in communication with” (for example, a first component is “coupled to” or “is configured for coupling to” or is “configured for securing to” or is “in communication with” a second component) are used herein to indicate a structural, functional, mechanical, electrical, signal, optical, magnetic, electromagnetic, ionic or fluidic relationship between two or more components or elements. As such, the fact that one component is said to be in communication with a second component is not intended to exclude the possibility that additional components may be present between, and/or operatively associated or engaged with, the first and second components.

The present invention has been described above in connection with the example implementations which, however, are not intended to be limiting to the scope of the present invention, and any person skilled in the art could make possible changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, while example implementations herein describe an above ground pool having an elongated construction, above ground pools of the present invention may include a square, circular, oval, polygon, or any other geometric shaped construction. Hence, any alteration, equivalent change and modification which are made to the above-mentioned example in accordance with the technical substance of the present invention and without departing from the spirit of the present invention, would fall within the scope of protection defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An above ground pool, comprising: an annular base having ends connected to each other to form a closed loop, the annular base having a plurality of upward-facing grooves;an annular enclosing wall being flexible in a horizontal direction and rigid in a vertical direction, the annular enclosed wall having a lower edge disposed in the plurality of upward-facing grooves such that the annular enclosing wall is adapted to conform to the shape of the annular base, the lower edge of the annular enclosing wall having at least a pair of notches symmetrically disposed along a side of the pool;a waterproof liner disposed on an inner side of the annular enclosing wall and positioned above a horizontal plane in which the annular base is located, the waterproof liner having an upper edge that is folded over an upper edge of the annular enclosing wall to form a container capable of holding water;a plurality of vertical pillars disposed about an outer side of the annular enclosing wall, the vertical pillars being spaced apart from each other;at least one pair of horizontal support members disposed below the lower edge of the annular enclosing wall and positioned in corresponding relation to the at least one pair of notches, the horizontal support members being coupled to one or more pairs of the vertical pillars; andat least one pair of oblique support members wherein each oblique support member is coupled at one end to a corresponding horizontal support member and coupled at an opposite end to a corresponding vertical pillar.

2. The above ground pool of claim 1, further comprising at least one slot-shaped clamping strip clamped onto the upper edge of the annular enclosing wall to fix the upper edge of said waterproof liner to the upper edge of said annular enclosing wall.

3. The above ground pool of claim 2, wherein the annular base includes a plurality of guide rails having upward-facing grooves, and wherein every pair of adjacent guide rails are coupled together via a guide rail connector to form an end-to-end closed annulus.

4. The above ground pool of claim 3, wherein a plurality of vertical pillar bases are coupled to corresponding vertical pillars, the vertical pillar bases being positioned below the annular base, a top portion of each vertical pillars having a vertical pillar top cover correspondingly connected thereto.

5. The above ground pool of claim 4, further comprising a plurality of top plates circumferentially arranged above the upper edge of the annular enclosing wall, the top plates each having opposite ends fixed to the vertical pillar top covers via fasteners, the top plates being disposed above the slot-shaped clamping strips such as to cover the slot-shaped clamping strips.

6. The above ground pool of claim 5, further comprising a plurality of sets of protective covers, each set being located in between two adjacent top plates such that each end of the top plates is clamped and affixed therein and covered thereby.

7. The above ground pool of claim 6, wherein the horizontal support members respectively extend inward toward the interior of the annular enclosing wall by a certain distance, a rigid connecting band is provided between the two horizontal support members to provide the pool additional structural support.

8. The above ground pool of claim 7, further comprising at least one pair of protective shields, each protective shield being located on the inner side of the annular enclosing wall, each protective shield covering the portion of the horizontal support members extending into the interior of the annular enclosing wall.

9. The above ground pool of claim 8, wherein the guide rails are constructed of steel, aluminum alloy, or plastic.

10. The above ground pool of claim 8, wherein the slot-shaped clamping stripes are constructed of steel, aluminum alloy, or plastic.

11. The above ground pool of claim 8, wherein the annular enclosing wall comprises a steel plate with a rustproof coating, or an aluminum alloy plate.

12. The above ground pool of claim 8, wherein the waterproof liner is constructed from a sheet of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polyurethane (PU).