Patent Application
20150292221
The disclosure relates to protective covering systems and more particularly pertains to a new protective covering system for providing enhanced protection to a bottom wall of a swimming pool.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a flexible liner configured for abutting an interior surface of a swimming pool. A panel is provided having a first surface, a second surface and a perimeter edge coupled to and extending between the first surface and the second surface. The second surface of the panel is coupled to and covers an outer surface of the liner wherein overlapping sections of the panel and the liner define a puncture-resistant cover for protecting the interior surface of the swimming pool against damage.
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 panel 26 is provided having a first surface 28, a second surface 30 and a perimeter edge 32 coupled to and extending between the first surface 28 and the second surface 30. The panel 26 is also constructed from a waterproof material, such as vinyl or the like. The second surface 30 of the panel 26 is coupled to the liner 12. In particular, an adhesive 44 is positioned on the second surface 30 of the panel 26 for removably coupling the panel 26 to the liner 12. The first surface 28 of the panel 26 has a plurality of perforations 38 positioned therein to prevent air from accumulating between the liner 12 and the panel 26. Indicia 40, such as logos or the like, may be positioned on the first surface 28 of the panel 26.
The panel 26 covers an outer surface 34 of the liner 12 wherein overlapping sections of the panel 26 and the liner 12 define a puncture-resistant cover 36 for protecting the interior surface 14 of the swimming pool 16 against damage. Because the puncture-resistant cover 36 comprises both the panel 26 and the liner 12, the puncture-resistant cover 36 is also made of the same waterproof material as both of the liner 12 and the panel 26. However, the puncture-resistant cover 36 is stronger than either of the liner 12 and panel 26 since the puncture-resistant cover 36 comprises a combination of the liner 12 and the panel 26 and therefore provides double-walled protection to the bottom wall 20 of the swimming pool 16 as opposed to a single wall of protection if just the liner 12 were used. The panel 26 may cover an entirety of the outer surface 34 of the bottom section 18 of the liner 12. The panel 26 may also cover an entirety of the outer surface 34 of the perimeter section 22 of the liner 12 so that the entire outer surface 34 of the liner 12 is protected against damage. The perimeter edge 32 may be annular or may have any other suitable shape to accommodate and cover an entirety of the bottom wall 20 of the swimming pool 16.
In use, the liner 12 is attached to a swimming pool 16 in a conventional manner such that the liner 12 covers the interior surface 14 of each of the bottom wall 20 and the peripheral wall 24 of the swimming pool 16. The swimming pool 16 must be drained before attaching the liner 12 thereto. The panel 26 is then attached to the outer surface 34 of the liner 12 using adhesive 44. The panel 26 covers the bottom section 18 of the liner 12 to provide reinforcement to the liner 12 and enhanced protection to the bottom wall 20 of the swimming pool 16. The liner 12 and the panel 26 can be used with a swimming pool 16 that is positioned either above or below a ground surface 46, as shown in
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.
