Patent Application
20250109602
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure relates to debris guard devices and more particularly pertains to a new debris guard device for inhibiting debris from entering a pool skimmer. The device includes a debris guard that is foraminous and which has a top portion and a bottom portion forming an angle with a top portion. The device includes an elastomeric band attached to the debris guard and a hook attached to the elastomeric band which is attachable to a basket in the pool skimmer for retaining the debris guard over the intake.
The prior art relates to debris guard devices including a variety of debris guards for pool skimmers that are structured as a basket and a variety of debris guards that has structural elements that engages an intake of a pool skimmer and a planar screen to cover the intake. In no instance does the prior art disclose a foraminous debris guard that has a top portion and a bottom portion angling away from the top portion to ensure continual water flow into the intake and an elastomeric band that engages a basket in the intake for retaining the debris guard over the intake.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a debris guard that is foraminous to pass water through the debris guard. The debris guard has a bottom portion that is oriented at an angle with a top portion. The debris guard is positionable against an intake of a pool skimmer to inhibit debris from entering the pool skimmer. The bottom portion is submerged when the debris guard is positioned to cover the intake to facilitate water to continuously flow into the intake. An elastomeric band is attached to the debris guard and a hook is attached to the elastomeric band. The hook is engageable to a basket located in the pool skimmer for retaining the debris guard on the intake of the pool skimmer.
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
The debris guard 12 has a border 26 which has a plurality of vertical members 28 each extending between and being perpendicularly oriented with each of a top member 30 and a bottom member 31. Each of the vertical members 28 has a bend 32 which defines a top portion 33 of the vertical members 28 forming an angle with a bottom portion 35 of the vertical members 28. The top portion 33 of each of the pair of vertical members 28 intersects the top member 30 and the bottom portion 35 of each of the pair of vertical members 28 intersects the bottom member 31. The bend 32 in each of the vertical members 28 is positioned closer to the bottom member 31 than the top member 30. Additionally, the vertical members 28 are evenly spaced apart from each other and are distributed along a full length of the top member 30 and the bottom member 31.
The debris guard 12 has a pair of panels 34 that are each positioned in a respective one of a pair of openings 36 defined between the plurality of vertical members 28. Each of the pair of panels 34 has a perimeter edge 38 that is attached to a bounding edge 40 of the respective opening 36. Additionally, each of the pair of panels 34 has a bend 42 that is aligned with the bend 32 in each of the plurality of vertical members 28. Each of the panels 34 is foraminous and the debris guard 12 has an engagement loop 44 which curves away from a rearwardly facing surface 46 of a middle one of the plurality of vertical members 48. The engagement loop 44 is centrally positioned between the top member 30 and the bend 32 in the middle vertical member 48.
An elastomeric band 50 is attached to the debris guard 12 thereby facilitating the elastomeric band 50 to be extended into the intake 22 of the pool skimmer 24. The elastomeric band 50 has a first end 52 and a second end 54 and the elastomeric band 50 extends through the engagement loop 44 on the rearwardly facing surface 46 of the middle vertical member 48. The elastomeric band 50 has a head 56 that is coupled to the first end 52 of the elastomeric band 50. The head 56 has a diameter that is greater than a diameter of the engagement loop 44 thereby inhibiting the first end 52 from being pulled through the engagement loop 44. A hook 58 is attached to the elastomeric band 50 and the hook 58 is engageable to a basket 60 located in the pool skimmer 24 for retaining the debris guard 12 on the perimeter wall 18 of the swimming pool 20. The hook 58 is disposed on the second end 54 of the elastomeric band 50 and the hook 58 has a distal end 62. Additionally, the hook 58 is curved such that the distal end 62 is directed toward the second end 54 of the elastomeric band 50.
In use, the elastomeric band 50 is extended into the intake 22 of the pool skimmer 24 and the hook 58 is attached to the basket 60. In this way the debris guard 12 is retained against the perimeter wall 18 of the swimming pool 20 such that the top portion 16 covers the intake 22 and the bottom portion 14 is submerged. In this way the top portion 16 inhibits debris 25 floating in the swimming pool 20 from entering the intake 22 of the pool skimmer 24. Furthermore, the bottom portion 14 angles away from the perimeter wall 18 to ensure that water can continually flow between the bottom portion 14 and the perimeter wall 18. Furthermore, the angle of the bottom portion 14 inhibits the debris 25 from passing below the bottom portion 14 and entering the intake 22. The hook 58 can be detached from the basket 60 at any time to facilitate the debris guard 12 to be removed for cleaning debris 25 from the debris guard 12.
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, device 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.
