The invention of the present application relates to a lane rope float to be installed in a swimming pool or the like.
Various types of lane rope floats have been known, and, for example, the lane rope float disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes, as illustrated in
A plurality of the lane rope floats are installed along the rope R in a pool, as illustrated in
However, outer ends 11a of the left and right blades 11 of the lane rope float are gradually inclined toward the outer circumferential surface of the outer float 6, as illustrated in
So, in view of the above problem, the invention of the present application provides a lane rope float having higher wave absorbing performance than before.
In order to solve the above problem, a lane rope float according to claim 1 of the invention of the present application is one that is attached to a rope via a tubular portion and divides lanes of a pool, and the lane rope float is characterized by: including a plurality of blades that protrude from a side surface of the tubular portion in parallel with the rope, and a wall surface portion that is coupled to side end portions of the blades to cover the blades, in which in an outer end portion of the lane rope float from the center of the tubular portion to the wall surface portion, at least ½ of the range from the center of the tubular portion to the wall surface portion is formed along a vertical plane perpendicular to the tubular portion.
According to the above characteristic, when a plurality of the lane rope floats are attached to a rope, the outer end portions, facing each other, of the adjacent lane rope floats are extremely close to each other in a state of being parallel with each other within at least ½ of the range from the center of the tubular portion to the wall surface portion. As a result, the gap between the adjacent lane rope floats becomes remarkably smaller as compared with the big gap between the lane rope floats of conventional technologies. According to the lane rope float of the invention of the present application, the gap is remarkably small, and hence the waves created by a swimmer in each lane are hardly allowed to pass to the adjacent lane, whereby wave absorbing performance is more improved than before.
Further, a lane rope float according to claim 2 of the invention of the present application is one that is attached to a rope via a tubular portion and divides lanes of a pool, and the lane rope float is characterized by: including a plurality of blades that protrude from a side surface of the tubular portion in parallel with the rope, and a wall surface portion that is coupled to side end portions of the blades to cover the blades, in which in an outer end portion of the lane rope float from the side surface of the tubular portion to the wall surface portion, at least ½ of the range from the side surface of the tubular portion to the wall surface portion is formed along a vertical plane perpendicular to the tubular portion.
According to the above characteristic, when a plurality of the lane rope floats are attached to a rope, the outer end portions, facing each other, of the adjacent lane rope floats are extremely close to each other in a state of being parallel with each other within at least ½ of the range from the side surface of the tubular portion to the wall surface portion. As a result, the gap between the adjacent lane rope floats becomes remarkably smaller as compared with the big gap between the lane rope floats of conventional technologies. According to the lane rope float of the invention of the present application, the gap is remarkably small, and hence the waves created by a swimmer in each lane are hardly allowed to pass to the adjacent lane, whereby wave absorbing performance is more improved than before.
Furthermore, a lane rope float according to claim 3 of the invention of the present application is one that is attached to a rope via a tubular portion and divides lanes of a pool, and the lane rope float is characterized by: including a plurality of blades that protrude from a side surface of the tubular portion in parallel with the rope, and a wall surface portion that is coupled to side end portions of the blades to cover the blades, in which in one outer end portion of the lane rope float from the side surface of the tubular portion to the wall surface portion, at least ½ of the range from the side surface of the tubular portion to the wall surface portion is formed into a convex shape or a concave shape, and the other outer end portion of the lane rope float is formed into a concave shape or a convex shape so as to correspond to the convex shape or the concave shape of the one outer end portion.
According to the above characteristic, when a plurality of the lane rope floats are attached to a rope, an outer end portion of one of the adjacent lane rope floats and an outer end portion of the other lane rope float are extremely close to each other in a state of being parallel with each other while keeping a predetermined distance between them, within at least ½ of the range from the side surface of the tubular portion to the wall surface portion. As a result, the gap between the adjacent lane rope floats becomes remarkably smaller as compared with the big gap between the lane rope floats of conventional technologies. According to the lane rope float of the invention of the present application, the gap is remarkably small, and hence the waves created by a swimmer in each lane are hardly allowed to pass to the adjacent lane, whereby wave absorbing performance is more improved than before.
Still furthermore, a lane rope float according to claim 4 of the invention of the present application is characterized with a protrusion protruding outward formed in the outer end portion.
According to the above characterization, when a plurality of the lane rope floats are attached to a rope, the protrusion first comes into contact with the outer end portion of the adjacent lane rope float even if the adjacent lane rope floats collide with each other by being shaken with waves, and hence the adjacent outer end portions can be prevented from being caught with each other.
Still furthermore, a lane rope float according to claim 5 of the invention of the present application is characterized by being configured to have a specific gravity of 0.4 to 0.6 such that when the lane rope float is attached to a rope installed in a pool, two blades, lined up in a straight line around the tubular portion, can be located at a height substantially the same as a water surface of the pool.
According to the above characteristic, when the lane rope float is installed such that two blades, lined up in a straight line around the tubular portion, are located at a height substantially the same as the water surface, a lower half of the lane rope float just sinks in water, and hence wave absorbing performance is improved.
Still furthermore, a lane rope float according to claim 6 of the invention of the present application is characterized by being configured to have a specific gravity of 0.4 to 0.6 such that when the lane rope float is attached to a rope installed in a pool, a portion of the lane rope float, above the tubular portion, can be located above the water surface of the pool.
According to the above characteristic, when a portion of the lane rope float, above the tubular portion, is located above the water surface, an approximately lower half of the lane rope float sinks in water, and hence wave absorbing performance is improved.
Still furthermore, a lane rope float according to claim 7 of the invention of the present application is characterized with the blade formed to be gradually thicker from the tubular portion to the wall surface portion.
According to the above characteristic, a moment of inertia of an outermost portion of the lane rope float becomes large, and hence when the lane rope float swings around a rope by wave power, the lane rope float has to use a lot of wave energy, whereby wave absorbing performance is improved that much.
Still furthermore, a lane rope float according to claim 8 of the invention of the present application is characterized with the wall surface portion formed to be thicker than the blade.
According to the above characteristic, a moment of inertia of an outermost portion of the lane rope float becomes large, and hence when the lane rope float swings around a rope by wave power, the lane rope float has to use a lot of wave energy, whereby wave absorbing performance is improved that much.
Still furthermore, a lane rope float according to claim 9 of the invention of the present application is characterized by being configured such that when a plurality of the lane rope floats are continuously attached to a rope, a void ratio among the lane rope floats within the range of 1 m inside view is 5% or less.
According to the above characteristic, the waves created by a swimmer in each lane are hardly allowed to pass to the adjacent lane by making the void ratio 5% or less, and hence wave absorbing performance is more improved than before.
According to the lane rope float of the invention of the present application, wave absorbing performance is higher than before.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention of the present application will be described with reference to drawings.
First, a lane rope float 100 according to a first embodiment of the invention of the present application is illustrated in
This lane rope float 100 includes: a tubular portion 110 having a long cylindrical shape that is located at the center of the lane rope float 100 and through which a rope R can be inserted; a plurality of blades 120 that protrude from a side surface 111 of the tubular portion 110 in parallel with the rope R; and a wall surface portion 130 that is coupled to side end portions 121 of the blades 120 to cover the blades 120.
The wall surface portion 130 between the adjacent blades 120 is formed obliquely. Openings 140 are formed on both sides of the portion formed obliquely, and waves traveling from the side enter the inside of the lane rope float 100 from the opening 140. Further, a protruding plate 150 parallel with the rope R is formed on an inner surface of the blade 120 so as to protrude from the surface. Since the waves that have entered from the opening 140 collide with the protruding plates 150, turbulent flows are more likely to occur in the lane rope float 100.
As illustrated in
Furthermore, the outer end 122 of the blade 120 includes: a linear along-end portion 123 that extends along a vertical plane V2 perpendicular to a central axis V1 of the tubular portion 110 and extends in parallel with the vertical plane V2; and an inclined portion 124 that is inclined from the along-end portion 123 toward the position of the inner circumferential surface of the wall surface portion 130. The inclined portion 124 functions such that when a plurality of the lane rope floats 100 are attached to the rope R to be used, as described later, the wall surface portions 130 of the adjacent lane rope floats 100 or side ends of the outer end portions 170 are prevented from being caught with each other.
When it is assumed that the length of the outer end portion 170 between the center of the tubular portion 110 and the wall surface portion 130 is L1, a length L2 between the center of the tubular portion 110 and the end portion of the along-end portion 123 is at least ½ of the length L1 or more. That is, in the outer end portion 170 of the lane rope float 100, at least ½ of the range from the center of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 is formed along the vertical plane V2 perpendicular to the tubular portion 110.
The fact that in the outer end portion 170 of the lane rope float 100, at least ½ of the range from the center of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 is formed along the vertical plane V2 includes not only the case where even if the outer end 112 of the tubular portion 110 slightly protrudes, the entirety of at least ½ of the range from the center of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 extends linearly along the vertical plane V2, as illustrated in
In the outer end portion 170 of the lane rope float 100, the range formed along the vertical plane V2 can be appropriately changed within the range from ½ of the length L1 between the center of the tubular portion 110 and the wall surface portion 130 to a length equal to the length L1. For example, ⅔ of the range from the center of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 may be formed along the vertical plane V2. When the range formed along the vertical plane V2 is set to ½ of the length L1, the along-end portion 123 should be shortened such that the length L2 between the center of the tubular portion 110 and the end portion of the along-end portion 123 is equal to ½ of the length L1. When the range formed along the vertical plane V2 is set to a length equal to the length L1, the along-end portion 123 should be extended to the position of the outer circumferential surface of the wall surface portion 130 by eliminating the inclined portion 124.
In the outer end portion 170 of the lane rope float 100 of the invention of the present application, the range from the center of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 has been described so far; however, in addition to that, the lane rope float 100 of the invention of the present application also has a characteristic about the range from the side surface 111 of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130, which will be described below.
First, when it is assumed that the length of the outer end portion 170 between the side surface 111 of the tubular portion 110 and the wall surface portion 130 is L3, a length L4 of the along-end portion 123 is at least ½ of the length L3 or more. That is, in the outer end portion 170 of the lane rope float 100, at least ½ of the range from the side surface 111 of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 is formed along the vertical plane V2 perpendicular to the tubular portion 110.
The fact that in the outer end portion 170 of the lane rope float 100, at least ½ of the range from the side surface 111 of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 is formed along the vertical plane V2 includes not only the case where the entirety of at least ½ of the range from the side surface 111 of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 extends linearly along the vertical plane V2, as illustrated in
In the outer end portion 170 of the lane rope float 100, the range formed along the vertical plane V2 can be appropriately changed within the range from ½ of the length L3 between the side surface 111 of the tubular portion 110 and the wall surface portion 130 to a length equal to the length L3. For example, ⅔ of the range from the side surface 111 of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 may be formed along the vertical plane V2. When the range formed along the vertical plane V2 is set to ½ of the length L3, the along-end portion 123 should be shortened such that the length L4 of the along-end portion 123 is equal to ½ of the length L3. When the range formed along the vertical plane V2 is set to a length equal to the length L3, the along-end portion 123 should be extended to the position of the outer circumferential surface of the wall surface portion 130 by eliminating the inclined portion 124.
As illustrated in
The entire lane rope float 100 is integrally molded by injection molding a foamable synthetic resin in order to make it float on water, and as the synthetic resin, polypropylene, polyethylene, etc., can be adopted. In performing the injection molding, a melted synthetic resin is poured into a metal mold shaped like the lane rope float 100 from the side of the outer end 112 of the tubular portion 110.
Next, a state in which a plurality of the lane rope floats 100 are attached to the rope R will be described with reference to
The rope R is first inserted through the tubular portion 110 of each lane rope float 100, as illustrated in
In each outer end portion 170, at least ½ of the range from the center of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 is formed along the vertical plane V2, or at least ½ of the range from the side surface 111 of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130 is formed along the vertical plane V2, as illustrated in
In the outer end portion 170 of the lane rope float 100 illustrated in
Since the lane rope float 100 is used by being floated on water surface, the adjacent lane rope floats 100 may move inward together by the waves created on water surface (see the arrows illustrated in
In the lane rope float 100 of the invention of the present application illustrated in
In the lane rope float 100 of the invention of the present application illustrated in
Next, the wave absorbing performance of the lane rope float 100 of the invention of the present application will be described by showing numerical values, with reference to
Herein, the range within 1 m (meter) in side view means an area S1 of the quadrangle that is, in the side view illustrated in
In the area S1 of the quadrangle, spaces not occupied by the lane rope floats 100, that is, gaps exist. Specifically, the gap Y exists between the adjacent lane rope floats 100, and in each of the lane rope floats 100 at both ends, a gap Z exists between the outer end portion 170 of the lane rope float 100 and the straight line L6.
Therefore, when it is assumed that an area obtained by totaling all the gaps Y and all the gaps Z is S2, the ratio of the area S2 to the area S1 of the quadrangle is the void ratio among the lane rope floats within the range of 1 m (meter) inside view. This void ratio (%) is derived by dividing the area S2 with the area S1 and then by multiplying with 100, that is, derived by the calculation formula of void ratio (%)=(S2/S1)×100.
In the lane rope float 100 of the invention of the present application, the outer end portions 170 of the lane rope floats 100, facing each other, are extremely close to each other in a state of being parallel with each other within at least ½ of the range from the center of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130, or within at least ½ of the range from the side surface 111 of the tubular portion 110 to the wall surface portion 130. As a result, the gap Y between the adjacent lane rope floats 100 becomes remarkably smaller as compared with the big gap X (see
Therefore, the void ratio among the lane rope floats within the range of 1 m (meter) inside view, as illustrated in
However, when a configuration, in which the void ratio among the lane rope floats within the range of 1 m (meter) inside view can be set to 5% or less, is adopted, the height of the outer end 112 of the tubular portion 110, the length L4 of the along-end portion 123, and the length and inclination angle of the inclined portion 124 can be arbitrarily set. For example, when the height of the outer end 112 is made smaller, the gap Y becomes further smaller, and hence the void ratio becomes further smaller. Also, when the inclination angle of the inclined portion 124 to the along-end portion 123 is made smaller (i.e., when the inclined portion 124 is brought closer to the vertical plane V2), the gap Y becomes further smaller, and hence the void ratio becomes further smaller.
Next, an action, in which the lane rope float 100 floating on a water surface W of a pool absorbs waves, will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
When the lane rope float 100 is installed such that the two blades 120, lined up in a straight line around the tubular portion 110, are located at substantially the same height as the water surface W, as illustrated particularly in
The fact that the two blades 120, lined up in a straight line around the tubular portion 110, are located at a height substantially the same as the water surface W includes not only the case where the blades 120 are located on the same plane as the water surface W, but also the case where the blades 120 are located slightly up and down from the water surface W.
Also, in order to install the lane rope float 100 such that the two blades 120, lined up in a straight line around the tubular portion 110, are located at a height substantially the same as the water surface W, as illustrated in
So far, the characteristic that in the lane rope float 100 of the invention of the present application, the two blades 120, lined up in a line around the tubular portion 110, are located at a height substantially the same as the water surface W has been described, but in addition to that, the lane rope float 100 of the invention of the present application has the characteristic that the portion above the tubular portion 110 is located above the water surface W, and hence the characteristic will be described below.
When a portion O (see the portion illustrated in gray in
Also, in order to install the lane rope float 100 such that the portion O of the lane rope float 100, above the tubular portion 110, is located above the water surface W, as illustrated in
In the lane rope float 100 illustrated in
Although various types of lane rope floats are known in the world, good wave absorbing performance is not generally obtained, when in the state of being attached to the rope installed in a pool, the lane rope floats sink too much in water or float too much above the water surface. So, a plurality of characteristics A to C for obtaining good wave absorbing performance have been found in the present application. The respective following characteristics come into effect individually, but may be adopted in combination. As long as any one of the characteristics A to C is included, the configuration of the lane rope float is not particularly limited, and the existing lane rope floats may be adopted in addition to the lane rope floats 100 of the present application.
Specifically, the characteristic A relates to an installation structure of a lane rope float including at its center a tubular portion, in which the lane rope float, including two blades lined up in a straight line around the tubular portion, is installed such that in a state in which the lane rope float is attached to a rope installed in a pool via the tubular portion, the blades can be located at a height substantially the same as the water surface of the pool.
Next, the characteristic B relates to an installation structure of a lane rope float including at its center a tubular portion, in which the lane rope float is installed such that in a state in which the lane rope float is attached to a rope installed in a pool via the tubular portion, a portion of the lane rope float, above the tubular portion, can be located above the water surface of the pool.
Next, the characteristic C relates to a lane rope float, in which the specific gravity of the lane rope float is set to the range of 0.4 to 0.6, and more preferably to the range of 0.5 to 0.6.
In the lane rope float including any one of the characteristics A to C or its installation structure, the upper half of the lane rope float floats above the water surface and the lower half sinks in water, and hence waves do not easily move over the lane rope float and further consumption of the rotational energy of the lane rope float becomes large, whereby high wave absorbing performance can be obtained.
Next, a lane rope float 100A of a first variation of the lane rope float 100 will be described with reference to
First, the protrusion 180A is formed to protrude outward from the surface of an outer end 122A of a blade 120A, as illustrated in
The protrusion 180A is formed in the outer end 122A of the blade 120A, but it may be formed in an outer end 112A of a tubular portion 110A. The height of the protrusion 180A is set to be several mm (millimeters) or less.
Next, a lane rope float 100B of a second variation of the lane rope float 100 will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
Since the blade 120B is formed to be gradually thicker from the tubular portion 110B toward the wall surface portion 130B, the moment of inertia of the outermost portion of the lane rope float 100B becomes large. Then, when the lane rope float 100B swings around the rope R by wave power, the lane rope float 100B should use a lot of wave energy, whereby wave absorbing performance is improved that much.
Next, a lane rope float 100C of a third variation of the lane rope float 100 will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
Since the wall surface portion 130C is formed such that the thickness is larger than that of the blade 120C, the moment of inertia of the outermost portion of the lane rope float 100C becomes large. Then, when the lane rope float 100C swings around the rope R by wave power, the lane rope float should use a lot of wave energy, whereby wave absorbing performance is improved that much.
Next, a lane rope float 100D according to a second embodiment of the invention of the present application will be described with reference to
In the one outer end portion 170Da of the lane rope float 100D, part of a blade 120Da constitutes a convex-shaped portion 123Da having a convex shape, as illustrated in
On the other hand, in the other outer end portion 170db of the lane rope float 100D, part of a blade 120db constitutes a concave-shaped portion 123db having a concave shape. The concave-shaped portion 123db has a corresponding shape to match the convex-shaped portion 123Da. When it is assumed that in the outer end portion 170db, the length between the side surface 111D of the tubular portion 110D and the wall surface portion 130D is L7, a length L8 of the concave-shaped portion 123db is at least ½ of the length L7 or more. That is, in the outer end portion 170db of the lane rope float 100D, at least ½ of the range from the side surface 111D of the tubular portion 110D to the wall surface portion 130D is concave-shaped.
Therefore, when a plurality of the lane rope floats 100D are attached to the rope R, the convex-shaped portion 123Da of the outer end portion 170Da of one of the adjacent lane rope floats 100D and the concave-shaped portion 123db of the outer end portion 170db of the other lane rope float 100D are lined up to face each other while keeping a predetermined distance, as illustrated in
In the one outer end portion 170Da and the other outer end portion 170db of the lane rope float 100D, the range formed into a convex shape or a concave shape can be appropriately changed within the range from ½ of the length L7 between the side surface 111D of the tubular portion 110D and the wall surface portion 130D to a length equal to the length L7. In the one outer end portion 170Da and the other outer end portion 170db, for example, ⅔ of the range from the side surface 111D of the tubular portion 110D to the wall surface portion 130D may be formed into a convex shape or a concave shape (as described later, ⅔ of the range may be formed into a concave-convex shape including a plurality of concavities and convexities). When the range formed into a convex shape or a concave shape is set to ½ of the length L7, the convex-shaped portion 123Da and the concave-shaped portion 123db should be shortened such that the length L8 of the convex-shaped portion 123Da and the concave-shaped portion 123db is equal to ½ of the length L7. When the range formed into a convex shape or a concave shape is set to a length equal to the length L7, the convex-shaped portion 123Da and the concave-shaped portion 123db should be extended to the wall surface portion 130D by eliminating an end portion 124Da and an end portion 124db. In the lane rope float 100D illustrated in
The lane rope float of the invention of the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and combinations are possible within the scope of the claims and the scope of the embodiments, and these modifications and combinations are also included within the scope of the right.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2017-110023 | Jun 2017 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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3786521 | Walket | Jan 1974 | A |
4048677 | Kajlich | Sep 1977 | A |
4052755 | Baker | Oct 1977 | A |
4616369 | Rademacher | Oct 1986 | A |
5520562 | Eddy | May 1996 | A |
11560729 | Hayashi et al. | Jan 2023 | B2 |
20200199900 | Hayashi et al. | Jun 2020 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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2784506 | May 2006 | CN |
S55139000 | Oct 1980 | JP |
S6115920 | May 1986 | JP |
H03058500 | Jun 1991 | JP |
08071260 | Mar 1996 | JP |
H0871260 | Mar 1996 | JP |
3029377 | Sep 1996 | JP |
9721889 | Jun 1997 | WO |
Entry |
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Machine Translation of CN 2784506 Y retrieved on Apr. 7, 2023 (Year: 2023). |
International Search Report dated Aug. 14, 2018, in International patent application No. PCT/JP2018/021102, 2 pages. |
Non-Final Office Action dated May 25, 2022, in U.S. Appl. No. 16/615,368 of Hidetoshi Hayashi, filed Nov. 20, 2019, 17 pages. |
Notice of Allowance dated Sep. 16, 2022, in U.S. Appl. No. 16/615,368 of Hidetoshi Hayashi, filed Nov. 20, 2019, 8 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20230112683 A1 | Apr 2023 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16615368 | US | |
Child | 18079253 | US |