Patent Application
20210164251
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The present invention relates to swimming pool covers for aboveground swimming pools. More specifically, the present invention is an inflatable swimming pool cover designed to safely cover an aboveground swimming pool during winter and prevent ice formation on the water surface that could damage the pool itself.
Swimming pools in many parts of the United States are used only during the warmest months of the year, and then are covered and “winterized” to protect the pool and water during the colder months. The cover keeps the water clean by sealing out leaves and dirt, and also by preventing algae growth in the spring when the water is too cold for swimming, but warm enough for algae to grow. The volume of water in the pool is also maintained by preventing snow and precipitation from entering the pool and reducing surface evaporation.
Management of ice formation in the pool is another significant winter challenge for pool owners. For an inground pool, the pool cover is tightly stretched across the pool surface and affixed to hooks along the pool's edge, such that the cover is held above the surface of the water of the pool. For an aboveground pool, the pool cover is draped across the top surface of the pool and water, and then secured around the edges or walls of the pool. The cover sits directly on top of and in contact with the water surface. When temperatures stay below freezing, ice forming in the pool outwardly exerts force on the walls of the pool and against the cover, potentially damaging both. To allow for ice expansion, it is important to create an air space between the cover and the water surface of an aboveground pool. Pool pillows, inflated air pillows that float on the top surface of the pool, are used to create this air space and are ideally positioned in a centralized location in the pool prior to installation of the pool cover. The pool pillows are positioned in the pool by weights tied to pool pillows that then hang down, somewhat like a ship's anchor. As the pool water freezes, the ice expands inwards towards the pillow's space instead of against the pool walls, and damage to the pool walls and to the cover is thus avoided.
A known problem with the floating pool pillow is that it must be inflated prior to installation of the cover, positioned in the center of the pool, and the position maintained by anchors attached to the pool pillow as the pool cover is pulled over the pillow and secured. The anchors, however, fail to maintain the pool pillow's ideal position in the center of the pool when the cover is installed. Pool covers are large and bulky and installing the cover over the floating pillow invariably repositions the pool pillow away from the ideal central location. The puffy pillow also makes cover installation and removal difficult, because the large, bulky cover must be pulled over a large, floating hump in the pool, rather than be allowed to slide or unfold over a flat surface. There is also no way to position an uninflated pool pillow in the pool and then inflate it after cover installation, and no way to similarly deflate the pool pillow prior to cover removal. Rather, a pool owner pre-inflates the pool pillow, positions it in the pool, and then struggles during cover installation to not tug the cover so much that it repositions the pool pillow too far from the optimal position. Pool owners may use one pool pillow or multiple pillows, and some pool pillow manufacturers recommend using multiple pillows, despite that more pillows often means more difficulty maintaining pillow position and further complicates pulling the large cover over more floating obstacles.
What is needed is a pool cover with a single integrated inflatable pillow that speeds up cover installation and removal while ensuring optimal pillow placement on the pool, and in a form that is durable, easy to use, and easy to inflate and deflate.
A pool cover for an aboveground swimming pool comprising a cover body having a top side with a centrally located inflatable and deflatable integral pocket for holding a quantity of air, the quantity of air entering and exiting the integral pocket through an adjustable air valve formed in the pocket. The pool cover and the integral pocket are sized and shaped to correspond with standardized sizes and shapes of aboveground swimming pools. A perimeter shape of the integral pocket is typically square or rectangular, with the integral pocket heat welded to the top surface of the pool cover body. The cover body is typically made of vinyl PVC knife-coated material, and the integral pocket may be made of a same or different material.
The adjustable air valve is typically formed so as to be compatible with a coupler of a motorized air pump so as to allow quick inflating and deflating of the integrated pocket.
The features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the subsequent detailed description presented in connection with accompanying drawings, in which:
The following is a list of reference labels used in the drawings to label components of different embodiments of the invention, and the names of the indicated components.
An inflatable pool cover according to the invention 10 is shown in the Figures as a waterproof material, typically vinyl PVC knife-coated material, having a top side 16 and a bottom side 14, and formed with an integral inflatable balloon or inflatable pocket or pocket 20 measuring between about 6 to (10) feet across a largest diameter for use with a pool cover for a circular pool, where the circular pool sizes range from 18 to 33 feet. The cover 10 has a cover body with a top side 16 and a bottom side 14, with the pocket 20 secured to the top side 16 only by way of a heat welded seam 24. For an 18-22 foot pool, the pocket 20 for a corresponding appropriately sized cover 10 is approximately 6 (foot by 6 foot square), for a 24 foot pool, the pocket 20 is about 8 foot by 8 foot square, and so on, up to a 10 foot square pocket for a 33 foot pool cover. Oval pools have similarly sized pockets that are correspondingly shaped and sized to fit those pool shapes, and the pocket would typically be more rectangular-shaped. The pocket 20 replaces a prior art weighted pillow, where the pillow has a weight or anchor affixed thereto, or plurality of prior art pillows that are currently used. The pocket 20, when inflated, performs a same function as the prior art pillow or plurality of pillows by raising a centermost portion of the cover 10 off of a water surface and thereby creating an air space between the centermost portion of the cover 10 and the surface of the water. The pocket 20, despite being welded to the top side 16 of the cover only, when inflated extends both outwards from the top side 16 and the bottom side 14, lifting the cover 10 off the surface of the water generally around the welded seam of the pocket and particularly around corners of the pocket 20. The pocket 20 in shown in the Figures as a square, and when inflated, angles between approximately 8 to 10 inches are formed around the welded seam 24 of the pocket 20. In
The pocket 20 is further formed with an air valve 18 having a cap or lid 18a and a base 18b, the base 18b secured around an opening formed into the pocket 20, the base 18b having an air intake hole or other structure that allows air to be pumped into the pocket 20 and secured with the lid 18a, and then by opening the lid 18a, allowing the air to escape the pocket 20 via the base 18b intake hole. Ideally, the base 18b is designed so as to be compatible with a prior art air pump fitting to allow a manual or electric pump to be secured to the base 18b to conveniently inflate the pocket 20. The air valve 18 is formed on the top side 16 so as to allow easier access to the air valve 18 and to prevent ice damage to the air valve 18 as is potentially the case if installed on the bottom side 14.
To install the cover 10, the cover 10 is typically unfolded and laid flat on a ground surface adjacent the pool 30, as shown in
The cover 10 is shown installed on an aboveground pool 30, shown in
As previously mentioned, the inventor believes that vinyl PVC knife-coated material is suitable for his cover 10, as it is strong, waterproof, and capable of withstanding weathering. Typically, both the pocket and the cover body are made of a same material, although it is possible that the materials could differ. While vinyl PVC knife-coated material is best for this application, other suitable materials do exist and can be used so long as they are durable, waterproof, and capable of withstanding the elements. . The inventor believes a permanently affixed pocket is more convenient than using the individual pillows of the prior art, and his invention provides a reliable and convenient way for a single cover with a single integrated pillow to winterize and protect an aboveground pool, eliminating the struggle and cost of separate covers and pillows, and eliminating the need for multiple pillows. The inventor's cover 10, being perfectly flat because it is deflatable, is easy and fast to install, remove, and store.
It is to be understood that the above-described invention and embodiments are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Reference is made to and priority claimed from U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/742,535, filed on Oct. 8, 2018, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62742535 | Oct 2018 | US |
