Patent Application
20250129626
The disclosure relates to pool filtration systems and more particularly pertains to a new pool filtration system for filtering foreign matter such as leaves and other debris from a swimming pool.
The prior art discloses several examples of pool filtration systems which use a return hose that whips around within a swimming pool to circulate a volume of water held by the swimming pool. But the prior art fails to describe such an apparatus which provides a weight on a distal end of the return hose with respect to a pump such that the distal end of the return hose is maintained below a top side of the volume of water without being retained only to a bottom side of the volume of water during operation of the pump. Such an apparatus increases the ability of such a filtration system to circulate all areas of the volume of water through a filtration means.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a swimming pool which is configured for containing a volume of water. A skimmer is positioned in the swimming pool and comprises a container and a barrier filter. The container has a base wall and a perimeter wall, wherein the perimeter wall is coupled to and extends upwardly from the base wall. The base wall and the perimeter wall define a cavity therein, and a top edge of the perimeter wall defines an opening to the cavity. The container has an aperture extending therethrough into the cavity. The barrier filter is mounted in the container. The barrier filter is water permeable and is positioned such that water passing into the cavity through the opening and out of the cavity through the aperture must pass through the barrier filter.
A pump is in fluid communication with the aperture of the skimmer and is configured for drawing water from the volume of water through the container of the skimmer. A return hose is in fluid communication with the pump, and a distal end of the return hose with respect to the pump is open. The distal end of the return hose is positioned in the swimming pool and is configured for urging the water from the skimmer mount and into the volume of water through the distal end of the return hose. The return hose has a size and a mass such that the pump is configured to urge the water through the return hose at a flow rate sufficient to cause the return hose to move in a random whipping fashion. A weight is mounted to the return hose adjacent to the distal end. The weight is configured to maintain the distal end below the top side of the volume of water without retaining the distal end only to a bottom side of the volume of water during operation of the pump.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A mount 34 is coupled to the container 18 and the swimming pool 12 and secures the container 18 at a distance below a rim 36 of the swimming pool 12. The mount 34 is configured to position the top edge 26 of the perimeter wall 22 of the container 18 below and proximate to a top side 38 of the volume 14 of water 13 such that the water 13 passes over the top edge 26 of the perimeter wall 22 and through the opening 28 into the cavity 24. The skimmer 16 is positioned in this manner to receive water 13 into the cavity 24 from near the top side 38 of the volume 14 of water 13, which often includes foreign matter that floats on top of the volume 14 of water 13. This positioning is similar to what is conventionally known.
The mount 34 comprises a telescopic member 42 and an attachment member 44, wherein the telescopic member 42 is coupled to and extends between the attachment member 44 and the container 18. The attachment member 44 is attached to the rim 36 of the swimming pool 12 and comprises a clamp 46. The telescopic member 42 is alternately extendable and retractable relative to the attachment member 44 to adjust the distance below the rim 36 of the swimming pool 12.
A pump 48 is in fluid communication with the aperture 30 of the skimmer 16 and is configured for drawing water 13 from the volume 14 of water 13 through the container 18 of the skimmer 16. A return hose 50 is in fluid communication with the pump 48, and a distal end 52 of the return hose 50 with respect to the pump 48 is open. The distal end 52 of the return hose 50 is positioned in the swimming pool 12. The pump 48 is configured for urging the water 13 from the skimmer 16 mount 34 and into the volume 14 of water 13 through the distal end 52 of the return hose 50. The return hose 50 has a size and a mass such that the pump 48 is configured to urge the water 13 through the return hose 50 at a flow rate sufficient to cause the return hose 50 to move in a random whipping fashion. This random whipping fashion aids in circulating the volume 14 of water 13. Whereas, in other circulation methods, some portions of the volume 14 of water 13 may circulate poorly by being positioned distantly from a flow of water 13 or by being caught in a vortex.
A weight 54 is mounted to the return hose 50 adjacent to the distal end 52 and is configured to maintain the distal end 52 below the top side 38 of the volume 14 of water 13 without retaining the distal end 52 only to a bottom side 40 of the volume 14 of water 13 during operation of the pump 48. In this manner, the weight 54 is tuned with respect to the flow rate so that the distal end 52 of the return hose 50 moves vertically when the pump 48 urges the water 13 through the return hose 50 at the flow rate.
An inlet hose 56 is coupled to the skimmer 16 and the pump 48 such that the pump 48 is in fluid communication with the aperture 30 of the skimmer 16 via the inlet hose 56. A pair of hose mounts 58 is mounted to the swimming pool 12 and an associated one of the inlet hose 56 and the return hose 50. Each hose mount 58 of the pair of hose mounts 58 comprises a pool engagement member 60 that is positioned on the rim 36 of the swimming pool 12 and a hose engagement member 62 that positioned on a middle portion of the associated one of the inlet hose 56 and the return hose 50. The pool engagement member 60 comprises a clamp 64, and the hose engagement member 62 comprises a C-shaped clip 66.
In use, the pump 48 is activated to urge water 13 at the flow rate. Water 13 is thus urged through the skimmer 16, filtering through the barrier filter 32, and to the pump 48. Water 13 continues to be urged by the pump 48 through the return hose 50 and out of the distal end 52 of the return hose 50. The flow of the water 13 through the return hose 50 causes the return hose 50 to move in the random whipping fashion, and the weight 54 facilitates the distal end 52 moving vertically within the volume 14 of water 13. The water 13 circulates in this fashion to filter foreign matter from the volume 14 of water 13.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
