The present general inventive concept relates to a fastener system, and, more particularly, to a fastener system for a swimming pool step assembly.
Many pool owners may discover that it would be preferable to have pool steps with which to enter and exit the pool in an easy and convenient fashion, rather than relying on a ladder. However, installing pool steps in an existing pool can be problematic for a number of reasons. For example, conventional construction techniques typically result in placing an entirely assembled set of steps in the pool, which is very cumbersome at least because of the size, weight, and general difficulty of moving such a structure. Therefore, it would be desirable to be able to add steps to a section of a pool by easily assembling the step assembly components in the pool. However, because of the overlapping nature of several of the components of the step assembly, bolting such components together during the building can also be problematic. Therefore, it would be desirable to be able to hold nuts for the bolts on the backside or underside of lower components so that a user can easily thread the bolds into the nuts without having to reach around and hold the nuts in place during assembly.
According to various example embodiments of the present general inventive concept, a nut retainer is provided that is securable to an underlying or back panel, such as a rear surface of a swimming pool step assembly, to secure the nut in place so that a user can thread a bolt into the nut without holding the nut in place. Also provided is a pool step assembly incorporating such a nut retainer, as well as a method of assembly as described herein.
Additional aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present general inventive concept.
The foregoing and/or other aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept may be achieved by providing a nut retaining device including a nut retainer body configured to receive a nut at least partially therein, and at least one extending member extending laterally away from a longitudinal axis of the nut retainer body and configured to abut a surface to prevent movement of the nut retainer body in at least one direction.
The foregoing and/or other aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept may also be achieved by providing a pool step system including a plurality of step members configured to have overlapping portions when assembled into steps, the overlapping portions including a plurality of upper layers and lower layers to be respectively fixed to one another, corresponding through holes formed in the upper layers and lower layers to receive a bolt to fix the upper and lower layers to one another, a plurality of raised slots formed on an underside of the lower layers proximate each of the through holes of the lower layers, a plurality of nut retaining devices each including a nut retainer body configured to receive a nut and prevent the nut from rotating inside the nut retainer body, a plurality of nuts respectively provided to the nut retaining devices, and a plurality of wings extending laterally from the nut retainer body and configured to be received in the raised slots to prevent movement of the nut retainer body, and a plurality of bolts configured to extend through the respective corresponding through holes and into the respective nuts to fix the upper and lower layers to one another. The through holes may be formed as countersinks. An inner surface of the nut retainer body that contacts the nut may be configured as a polygon. The raised slots may be integral portions of the lower layers. The raised slots may be closes at a top and at least one side thereof.
Other features and aspects may be apparent from the following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.
The following example embodiments are representative of example techniques and structures designed to carry out the objects of the present general inventive concept, but the present general inventive concept is not limited to these example embodiments. In the accompanying drawings and illustrations, the sizes and relative sizes, shapes, and qualities of lines, entities, and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. A wide variety of additional embodiments will be more readily understood and appreciated through the following detailed description of the example embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Reference will now be made to the example embodiments of the present general inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and illustrations. The example embodiments are described herein in order to explain the present general inventive concept by referring to the figures.
The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the structures and fabrication techniques described herein. Accordingly, various changes, modification, and equivalents of the structures and fabrication techniques described herein will be suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. The progression of fabrication operations described are merely examples, however, and the sequence type of operations is not limited to that set forth herein and may be changed as is known in the art, with the exception of operations necessarily occurring in a certain order. Also, description of well-known functions and constructions may be simplified and/or omitted for increased clarity and conciseness.
Note that spatially relative terms, such as “up,” “down,” “right,” “left,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over or rotated, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
According to various example embodiments of the present general inventive concept, a fastener system for a swimming pool step assembly is provided. In various example embodiments, a nut retainer is provided that is lockable to an underlying panel, lip, etc. of two structural components to be bolted together, such as rear surface of a swimming pool step assembly component, by a pair of wings extending from either side of the nut retainer. The wings may be receivable within a pair of slots formed in aforementioned rear surface of the swimming pool step assembly component(s), and once so received, the retainer holds a nut in place for a bolt to be received within a recessed hole formed in the overlying panel of lip of the swimming pool step assembly. With such an arrangement, several components that will be used to construct a pool step assembly may be easily taken into the pool and assembled at the site of installation by a single person. Various example embodiments of the present general inventive concept aid the user by holding the nut in place such that the user does not have to reach around and hold the nut with one hand while screwing in the bolt with the other hand. Also, by using indentations for the screw head to produce a countersink formation, the exterior of the step assembly can be relatively smooth. Such an assembly may be installed after removing the liner from the section of the pool at which the step assembly is located. In other example embodiments the step assembly may be assembled and then an additional liner may be fitted over the step assembly. While several of the example embodiments described herein are assemblies of different layers of a swimming pool step assembly, it is understood that the present general inventive concept may be utilized in several other assemblies in which a top (or overlying) layer is secured to a bottom (or underlying) layer with a bolt, screw, or similar adhering device that is threaded to a nut. Various example embodiments of the present general inventive concept provide a structure on the bottom surface in which the nut retaining device may be received, so that the nut in the nut retaining device is held in place by one or more corresponding through openings that receive a bolt therethrough to be secured by the nut.
In the example embodiment illustrated in
Various example embodiments of the present general inventive concept may provide a nut retaining device including a nut retainer body configured to receive a nut at least partially therein, and at least one extending member extending laterally away from a longitudinal axis of the nut retainer body and configured to abut a surface to prevent movement of the nut retainer body in at least one direction. The at least one extending member may include a plurality of wings extending laterally from the nut retainer body and configured to abut one or more surfaces to prevent lateral and rotational movement of the nut retainer body. The plurality of wings may include two flat wings extending in substantially opposite directions from one another. The nut retainer body may be configured prevent the nut from rotating inside the nut retainer body. The nut retainer body may be formed with a nut receiving portion having a plurality of flat sides to prevent the nut from rotating inside the nut retainer body. The nut retainer body may be formed with a plurality of flat gripping portions on a back side.
Various example embodiments of the present general inventive concept may provide a nut retaining device including a nut retainer body configured to receive a nut and prevent the nut from rotating inside the nut retainer body. and a plurality of wings extending laterally from the nut retainer body and configured to abut one or more surfaces to prevent movement of the nut retainer body.
Various example embodiments of the present general inventive concept may provide a pool step system including a plurality of step members configured to have overlapping portions when assembled into steps, the overlapping portions including a plurality of upper layers and lower layers to be respectively fixed to one another, corresponding through holes formed in the upper layers and lower layers to receive a bolt to fix the upper and lower layers to one another, a plurality of raised slots formed on an underside of the lower layers proximate each of the through holes of the lower layers, a plurality of nut retaining devices each including a nut retainer body configured to receive a nut and prevent the nut from rotating inside the nut retainer body, a plurality of nuts respectively provided to the nut retaining devices, and a plurality of wings extending laterally from the nut retainer body and configured to be received in the raised slots to prevent movement of the nut retainer body, and a plurality of bolts configured to extend through the respective corresponding through holes and into the respective nuts to fix the upper and lower layers to one another. The through holes may be formed as countersinks. An inner surface of the nut retainer body that contacts the nut may be configured as a polygon. The raised slots may be integral portions of the lower layers. The raised slots may be closes at a top and at least one side thereof. The raised slots may be formed to provide a friction fit to the wings of the nut retaining devices.
Numerous variations, modifications, and additional embodiments are possible, and accordingly, all such variations, modifications, and embodiments are to be regarded as being within the spirit and scope of the present general inventive concept. For example, regardless of the content of any portion of this application, unless clearly specified to the contrary, there is no requirement for the inclusion in any claim herein or of any application claiming priority hereto of any particular described or illustrated activity or element, any particular sequence of such activities, or any particular interrelationship of such elements. Moreover, any activity can be repeated, any activity can be performed by multiple entities, and/or any element can be duplicated.
It is noted that the simplified diagrams and drawings included in the present application do not illustrate all the various connections and assemblies of the various components, however, those skilled in the art will understand how to implement such connections and assemblies, based on the illustrated components, figures, and descriptions provided herein, using sound engineering judgment. Numerous variations, modification, and additional embodiments are possible, and, accordingly, all such variations, modifications, and embodiments are to be regarded as being within the spirit and scope of the present general inventive concept.
While the present general inventive concept has been illustrated by description of several example embodiments, and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the general inventive concept to such descriptions and illustrations. Instead, the descriptions, drawings, and claims herein are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive, and additional embodiments will readily appear to those skilled in the art upon reading the above description and drawings. Additional modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant's general inventive concept.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/807,895, filed on Feb. 20, 2019, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62807895 | Feb 2019 | US |