Patent Application
20230228452
This invention relates to swimming pools. More particularly, it relates to a heater device for a swimming pool.
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as a freestanding construction or as part of a building or other larger structure) and may be found as a feature aboard ocean-liners and cruise ships. In-ground pools are most commonly constructed from materials such as concrete, natural stone, metal, plastic, or fiberglass, and can be of a custom size and shape or built to a standardized size, the largest of which is the Olympic-size swimming pool.
Many health clubs, fitness centers, and private clubs have pools used mostly for exercise or recreation. It is common for municipalities of every size to provide pools for public use. Many of these municipal pools are outdoor pools but indoor pools can also be found in buildings such as leisure centers. Hotels may have pools available for their guests to use at their own leisure. Pools as a feature in hotels are more common in tourist areas or near convention centers. Educational facilities such as high schools and universities sometimes have pools for physical education classes, recreational activities, leisure, and competitive athletics such as swimming teams. Hot tubs and spas are pools filled with water that is heated and then used for relaxation or hydrotherapy. Specially designed swimming pools are also used for diving, water sports, and physical therapy, as well as for the training of lifeguards and astronauts. Swimming pools most commonly use chlorinated water or salt water and may be heated or unheated.
Very few leisure time activities rival that of spending a warm summer day in a swimming pool. Those who have a backyard swimming pool are able to enjoy the relaxation and health benefits that are derived from swimming in the comfort of their own backyard. Of course, such swimming is only truly enjoyable when the water in the swimming pool is a warm, comfortable temperature. Those in the northern climates are able to enjoy warm water temperatures only for a few weeks during the warmest summer months unless one has the luxury of a swimming pool heater.
Unfortunately, such heaters suffer from many drawbacks that keep many from owning one. First, the heaters are expensive to own and operate. Second, the heaters are complicated to use and hard to maintain. Third, the heaters require the skills of a complex team to properly install. Finally, the heaters still take a long time to heat up the water unless they are left on continuously, which then becomes a cost consideration for the owner.
Accordingly, and in light of the foregoing, there is a need for a device by which a swimming pool swimming pool water can be heated in a speedy and cost-effective manner. The device should further be easy for a person to install and maintain.
The phrases “in one embodiment,” “in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” and the like are used repeatedly. Such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “having,” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise. Such terms do not generally signify a closed list.
“Above,” “adhesive,” “affixing,” “any,” “around,” “both,” “bottom,” “by,” “comprising,” “consistent,” “customized,” “enclosing,” “friction,” “in,” “labeled,” “lower,” “magnetic,” “marked,” “new,” “nominal,” “not,” “of,” “other,” “outside,” “outwardly,” “particular,” “permanently,” “preventing,” “raised,” “respectively,” “reversibly,” “round,” “square,” “substantial,” “supporting,” “surrounded,” “surrounding,” “threaded,” “to,” “top,” “using,” “wherein,” “with,” or other such descriptors herein are used in their normal yes-or-no sense, not as terms of degree, unless context dictates otherwise.
Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the drawings. While embodiments are described in connection with the drawings and related descriptions, there is no intent to limit the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents. In alternate embodiments, additional devices, or combinations of illustrated devices, may be added to, or combined, without limiting the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein.
Referring to
The pool heater device 100 has a canister 200, a device carrier 400 and a fuel source 500. The canister 200 of the pool heater device 100 preferably has a rectangular shape, however other shapes are hereby contemplated, such as, but not limited to, square, square, oblong, round, etc. The canister 200 of the pool heater device 100 is preferably made of a sheet metal material, but other materials are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, steel, aluminum, poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), etc.
The device carrier 400 is preferably a dolly, however other types of carriers are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, flat cart, wheel barrel, etc. The pool heater device 100 is preferably portable, however, it is hereby contemplated that the pool heater device 100 may be static in location such that it may be coupled to a permanent or semi-permanent structure. The pool heater device 100 is preferably storable, however it is hereby contemplated that the pool heater device 100 may be stationed in a permanent location such that it is not storable.
The canister 200 has a front 210, a back 240, a first side 250, a second side 260, a top 270, a bottom 280 and an interior 300. The back 240 has a coupler 241. The coupler 241 is useful for coupling the canister 200 to the device carrier 400. The first side 250 and the second side 260 are substantially similar and thus the first side 250 of the canister 200 will be described but one of skill in the art would recognize that the second side 260 is identical in description to the first side 250 of the canister.
The first side 250 has a plurality of slots 251. The plurality of slots 251 are preferably substantially equally spaced. The plurality of slots 251 are useful for providing air flow through the canister 200 such that air is accessible for heating of the water.
The front 210 of the canister 200 has a plurality of actuators 212, 213, 214 and an opening 215. A first of the actuators 212 is preferably a fuel source controller such that the pool heater device 100 may be switched between a propane fuel source and an electrical fuel source. A second of the actuators 213 is preferably a fuel controller such that the amount of fuel consumed by the pool heater device 200 is controlled. A third of the actuators 214 provides a starter control, such that the pool heater device 100 is either turned on or turned off by the third of the actuators 214 and thus actuates opening of a fuel source to the pool heater device 100. The opening 215 provides a manual starter, such as a long lighter, to actuate the heating of the fuel, if propane or other flammable fuel.
When the fuel source is electrical current, the back 240 has an electrical cord 243 which provides electrical current from an electrical outlet 242. When the fuel is propane, a propane tank 600 is coupled through the bottom 260 of the canister 200 to provide propane by a propane fuel line 601.
The electrical cord 243 is preferably coupled to an electric capable heating element (not shown), as well known in the industry, to provide the heat for heating water. The propane fuel line 601 couples the propane tank 600 to a dispersing means for propane fuel for heating water.
The second side 260 has a first water line 261 and a second water line 262. The first water line 261 is for receiving water from an external source such as a water pump in a swimming pool. The second water line 261 is for the egress of water stored and heated in the interior 300 of the canister 200 to a receiving apparatus such as a swimming pool.
In
The water tank 310 of the interior 300 of the canister 200 is preferably for holding and receiving water from a swimming pool via the first water line 261. The water is heated to preferably seventy Celsius (70 C.), however other temperatures are hereby contemplated such as but not limited to, sixty-five Celsius (65 C.), seventy-five Celsius (75 C.), etc. Once the water has been heated to the desired temperature and pressure is increased in the water tank 310, the pressure forces the water to exit through the second water line 262 and is returned to the swimming pool or other water retention area as heated water. Thus, for a swimming pool, the water is kept at approximately 70 C. for comfort particularly during those months, such as winter, when the air is significantly cooler than 70 C.
Further in
Moving now to
A swimming pool 900 has a container 901. The container 901 has water 902 and a step-ladder 903.
The pool heater device 100 is ported to a location of the swimming pool 900. The first water line 261 with the immersible water pump (not shown) is coupled to the canister 200 of the pool heater device 100 and is placed into the water 902 of the swimming pool 900.
The second water line 262 is coupled to the canister 200 of the pool heater device 100 and placed into the water 902 of the swimming device 900. The water 901 of the swimming pool 900 is drawn into the canister 200 of the pool heater device 100 and is heated. The water 902 once heated to 70 C. is returned to the swimming pool 900 for a comfortable and enjoyable leisure.
In the numbered clauses below, specific combinations of aspects and embodiments are articulated in a shorthand form such that (1) according to respective embodiments, for each instance in which a “component” or other such identifiers appear to be introduced (with “a” or “an,” e.g.) more than once in a given chain of clauses, such designations may either identify the same entity or distinct entities; and (2) what might be called “dependent” clauses below may or may not incorporate, in respective embodiments, the features of “independent” clauses to which they refer or other features described above.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing specific exemplary processes and/or devices and/or technologies are representative of more general processes and/or devices and/or technologies taught elsewhere herein, such as in the claims filed herewith and/or elsewhere in the present application.
The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments or combined with or interchanged with the features of other embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
