This application claims priority to the following Chinese patent applications, the disclosures of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety:
The present disclosure relates to a ladder for a water enclosure (e.g., a swimming pool), more particularly a ladder with an active protection mechanism.
Swimming is a very popular sport and fitness exercise. With the continuous improvement of people's living quality and enhanced fitness awareness, swimming has become a more common activity. As such, above ground swimming pools are more prevalent, and a pool ladder is necessary to facilitate entry into and exit from such swimming pools.
For example, after inflation of an inflatable pool, a barrier exists between the interior and exterior areas of the pool. In certain cases, the barrier is significantly tall, and a ladder is needed for entering and exiting the pool over the barrier. Most of the commercially available ladders are of herringbone configuration—with one side of the ladder outside the pool and the other side of the ladder inside the pool.
The present disclosure provides a pool ladder with an active protection mechanism. The ladder provides a switch positioned at a significant height from the ground such that children cannot easily reach the switch. When actuated, the switch unlocks a protective door for the ladder and the ladder can be moved open to access the steps. As such, the ladder can effectively prevent children from unlocking the protective door and accessing the pool.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a safety ladder is provided. The safety ladder includes: a pair of uprights; at least one step spanning a gap between the pair of uprights; a protective door pivotally coupled to one of the pair of uprights and configured for movement between a ladder configuration when the protective door is opened and the at least one step is accessible and a safety configuration when the protective door is closed and the at least one step is at least partially inaccessible; a spring coupled to the protective door, the spring applying a biasing force on the protective door to bias the protective door into the safety configuration; and a damper coupled to the protective door acting to delay closure by opposing the biasing force acting on the protective door.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a safety ladder apparatus includes: a water enclosure; and a safety ladder having an inside pool portion positioned within the water enclosure and an outside pool portion positioned outside the water enclosure, the outside pool portion including: a pair of uprights defining a gap therebetween; a plurality of steps spanning the gap, the plurality of steps including a bottom-most step located closest to the ground; and a protective door configured for movement relative to the plurality of steps between a ladder configuration when the protective door is opened and a safety configuration when the protective door is closed, a lower end of the protective door being elevated above the ground and located adjacent to the bottom-most step.
According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a safety ladder apparatus includes: a water enclosure; a safety ladder including a pair of uprights defining a gap therebetween with at least one step spanning the gap; the safety ladder having an inside pool portion positioned within the water enclosure and an outside pool portion positioned outside the water enclosure; the outside pool portion including: a protective door coupled to the pair of uprights; a support base coupled to each upright and the protective door at a bottom surface of the protective door, the support base providing a surface about which the protective door can rotate to transition between a ladder configuration when the protective door is opened and the at least one step is accessible and a safety configuration when the protective door is closed and the protective door covers the at least one step; a spring coupled to the protective door, the spring applying a biasing force onto the protective door to bias the protective door to the safety configuration; and a damper coupled to the protective door acting to delay closure by opposing the biasing force acting on the protective door.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, which are described below. The embodiments disclosed below are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise form disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize their teachings. It will be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. The invention includes any alterations and further modifications in the illustrative devices and described methods and further applications of the principles of the invention which would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
As shown in
Protective door assembly 2 includes a door panel 20 surrounded by a lower door frame 21 and an upper door frame 25 such that some or all steps 5 on outside pool portion 11B of pool ladder 10 are substantially covered when pool ladder 10 is in a safety configuration as discussed below. Providing a lower door frame 21 and an upper door frame 25 that are separable from one another may facilitate compact storage of protective door assembly 2, but it is also within the scope of the present disclosure to provide a single door frame around door panel 20. Door panel 20 may have a solid or partially open (e.g., mesh) construction. The lower end of the protective door assembly 2 may be positioned at or below the height of the bottom-most step 5 and elevated above the ground. In this manner, the protective door assembly 2 may prevent use of the bottom-most step 5 and may avoid interference with the ground.
Protective door assembly 2 further includes an automatic door closing mechanism 24 that is coupled to an upper surface of the lower door frame 21. Lower door frame 21, upper door frame 25, and automatic door closing mechanism 24 are pivotally connected to one side of a stationary door module 23 along one of uprights, illustratively the left upright 1A, on the outside pool portion 11B. The hinged connection enables door assembly 2 to pivot about the upright 1A and transition between a safety configuration in which steps 5 are inaccessible to a user (e.g., a child) and a ladder configuration in which steps 5 are accessible to the user. Along the right upright 1B opposite of the hinged connection between protective door assembly 2 and the left upright 1A, there is a cassette 231 which can house a snap joint 32 of self-lock switch 3 as discussed below.
Self-lock switch 3 includes a movable bar 31 (
Door closing mechanism 24 of protective door assembly 2 (
Torsion spring 242 may have a first working end 242A coupled to the pivotable door panel 20 and a second working end 242B coupled to the stationary door module 23. Thus, when door closing mechanism 24 is assembled onto protective door assembly 2, torsion spring 242 links door panel 20 and stationary door module 23 together. In one embodiment, the first working end 242A of torsion spring 242 is coupled to the pivotable door panel 20 via base 243 that travels with lower door frame 21 of the pivotable door panel 20, and second working end 242B of torsion spring 242 is coupled to the stationary door module 23 via a top cover 223 of a door frame set 22, which is described further below. Torsion spring 242 stores energy when door panel 20 is open in the ladder configuration and releases energy as door panel 20 closes to the safety configuration.
Similar to torsion spring 242, damper 241 may have a first portion 241A coupled to the pivotable door panel 20 and a second portion 241B coupled to the stationary door module 23. In one embodiment, the first portion 241A of damper 241 is keyed into the lower door frame 21 of the pivotable door panel 20, and second portion 241B of damper 241 is coupled to the stationary door module 23 via a top cover 223 of a door frame set 22, which is described further below. Between the first and second portions 241A, 241B, damper 241 may include a pressure chamber (not shown) that resists rotation, thereby slowing rotation of door panel 20 relative to door module 23. In certain embodiments, damper 241 may slow the closure of door panel 20 to about 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, or more.
When installed onto the outside pool portion 11B of ladder body 1, pivotable door panel 20 is coupled to ladder body 1 and a door frame set 22. The illustrative door frame set 22 is coupled to stationary door module 23 such that door frame set 22 is supported entirely by ladder body 1, not the ground. Thus, ladder body 1 and protective door assembly 2 have a compact profile. Door frame set 22 includes a left pillar 221 positioned adjacent to left upright 1A, a right pillar 222 positioned adjacent to right upright 1B, a top cover 223 of the left pillar 221, a top cover 224 of the right pillar 222, and a support base 225. A lower end of both the left pillar 221 and the right pillar 222 are each inserted into the support base 225 of door frame set 22 and fastened as shown in at least
As shown in
Once bar 31 is released as shown in
Furthermore, as bar 31 moves downwardly and protective door assembly 2 closes, snap joint 32 moves toward cassette 231. When snap joint 32 presses against cassette 231, snap joint 32 moves slightly upward along its curved outer surface 322 (as shown in
Protective covering 4 includes a protecting jacket 41 and a compression spring 42. Protecting jacket 41 covers bar 31 such that bar 31 is fully within protecting jacket 41 when pool ladder 100 is in the safety configuration. In operation, protecting jacket 41 moves in accordance with the movement of compression spring 42. In the default, safety configuration, protecting jacket 41 is urged upward under the action of the compression spring 42 to conceal bar 31 substantially or entirely, at least the gripping area of bar 31.
To move pool ladder 100 from the safety configuration to the ladder configuration, two actions are needed. First, protecting jacket 41 is moved downward against the compression spring 42 such that the upper part of bar 31 protrudes from the protecting jacket 41. Once exposed, bar 31 can be actuated (e.g. pulled/lifted upwards) to unlock protective door 2 after which, a user can push pivotable door panel 20 to open protective door 2.
As shown in
Pool ladder 300 includes a protective door 305 (
Mobile gate 351 of the protective door 305 has a size that spans and covers a substantial area of outside pool portion 302 where steps 322 are covered in the safety configuration. Gate 351 is pivotally coupled to one of uprights 321, illustratively the left upright 321A, on outside pool portion 302. Pivoting of gate 351 occurs via a pivot seat 323 positioned along an upper end of upright 321A. The lower end of second portion 302 includes a lateral bar 324 resting on the ground and connecting uprights 321A and 321B together on outside pool portion 302. A pair of support bases 325, 325′ is located at or near the bottom-most step 322 and is supported by the lateral bar 324. Support base 325 provides support for the lower end of mobile gate 351 and also provides a pivoting surface upon which gate 351 can pivot when transitioning between a ladder configuration and a safety configuration. Support base 325′ provides support for the other end of gate 351 by providing an area upon which the other end of gate 351 can rest when gate 351 is in the safety configuration. In this manner, the lower end of mobile gate 351 may be located at or near the bottom-most step 322 and elevated above the ground.
Gate 351 further includes an automatic reset mechanism 352 positioned at pivot seat 323 on the side of gate 351 that pivots during operation. Automatic reset mechanism 352 includes a rotating damper 521 and a torsion spring 522 where the rotating damper 521 serves as the pivoting shaft of mobile gate 351.
Lock device 353 is coaxial with automatic reset mechanism 352 and coupled to pivot seat 323. Lock device 353 includes a lock sleeve 531, a support shaft 532 within lock sleeve 531, a spring 533 wrapped around support shaft 532, and a rotating shaft connected to the rotating damper 521. Lock sleeve 531 includes a lock catch 5311 that can movably fit into a lock groove 232 of pivot seat 323.
To prevent injury while rotating mobile gate 351, a protection cover 354 is provided along both edges of mobile gate 351 on uprights 321A, B of outside pool portion 302 as shown in at least
As shown in
When a force is no longer applied onto mobile gate 351, mobile gate 351 will return to the safety configuration by a biasing force applied by torsion spring 522. Damper 521 reduces the amount of biasing force applied onto mobile gate 351 by absorbing a portion of the biasing force of torsion spring 522. In this way, the speed at which mobile gate 351 closes is reduced thereby preventing sudden transitions from the ladder configuration to the safety configuration. Once mobile gate returns to the safety configuration, lock catch 5311 of the lock sleeve 531 engages and fits within lock groove 232 under the biasing force of lock spring 533 such that mobile gate 351 is locked and steps 322 are not easily accessible, as shown in
When exiting water enclosure 310, lock device 353 needs to be actuated as described above to unlock mobile gate 351. Then, gate 351 can be rotated as described above to access steps 322 and allow successful egress from water enclosure 310. Upon release of mobile gate 351, automatic reset mechanism 352 will return mobile gate 351 to its safety configuration where mobile gate 351 will lock into place.
Referring now to
In one embodiment, protective doors 2, 305, 405, and 405′, of ladders 10, 300 and 400 are removably coupled to the ladders. As such, protective doors 2, 305, 405, and 405′ can be dismounted from ladders 10, 300, 400, which is convenient for storage purposes. Furthermore, protective doors 2, 305, 405, and 405′ can be modular such that a user can purchase any one protective doors 2, 305, 405, 405′ to install onto a pool ladder. In an alternate embodiment, protective doors 2, 305, 405, 405′ can be integrally formed with ladders 10, 300,400.
While this invention has been described as having exemplary designs, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201510839694.2 | Nov 2015 | CN | national |
201630102616.X | Mar 2016 | CN | national |
201620431610.1 | May 2016 | CN | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15362619 | Nov 2016 | US |
Child | 16252335 | US |