DEVICE FOR REGULATING THE FLOW OF A SKIMMER IN A POOL WITH A FALLS EFFECT

Abstract

A device for regulating flow provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool, particularly a swimming pool, the skimmer including a peripheral frame (16) and providing a window (14), characterized in that it includes a base having a negative floatability and a flap having a positive floatability, articulated relative to the base, the whole having a positive floatability so that the upper edge of the flap is even with the surface of the water.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a device for regulating the flow of a skimmer in a pool, particularly a swimming pool, to create a falls effect and an acceleration of the surface current.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Devices are known that make it possible to create a falls effect in a skimmer. Skimmers are water outlet mouths that open onto the pool and that are located at the level of the surface of the water. These mouths are connected to the water treatment system of the swimming pool so as, on the one hand, to remove floating bodies by suction, and, on the other hand, to make the water that is skimmed off and suctioned by a pump pass through a water treatment device, for example having salt or having chlorine.

This treatment and this operation are performed according to a programming set up by the person responsible for the pool.

For debris and other foreign bodies like sand, to clean the inside surfaces of the pool, a vacuum cleaner is provided that circulates at the bottom of the water.

For the surface debris, such as leaves, it is possible to perform a manual collection of the leaves by means of a scoop net, but the tedious nature of such an operation is immediately understood.

To ensure a draining of the leaves on the surface of a pool, one solution consists in creating a surface current from the skimmers.

That is how the United States patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,483 describes a device that is attached to the inside of a mouth of at least one skimmer of a swimming pool. This device is stationary and partially blocks the opening of said skimmer by a flap. This flap is mounted to pivot on a base fastened to the skimmer on the façcade, leaving a passage in the upper part, located under the surface of the water so that a falls effect is produced with a strong surface flow and not over the water height of the opening of the skimmer. This patent covers more particularly an arrangement with a hinged flap. With the pump, therefore, a constant volume of water is suctioned that is linked to the capacity of the pump but a volume only skimmed off at the surface so that a favorable surface current is created that has a tendency to lead the floating materials toward said skimmer.

It is found that the problem of the device of this document of the prior art is that it is stationary relative to the skimmer and does not follow the surface of the water whose level is seen to vary regularly.

Also, as soon as the water level decreases in the pool, as soon as this level is below the pivoting flaps, there no longer is any water that flows into the skimmer, and the pump can be damaged.

French patent FR 2 736 344 is also known, which describes an arrangement with a façade that is mobile in vertical translation because it is mounted in rails added in a stationary manner to the skimmer. Floats ensure the maintaining of the façade at right angles to the surface of the water.

As soon as the suction of the pump is brought to bear, the suctioned water falls through an opening located under the surface of the water so as to obtain a falls effect and a suction of the volume of water linked to the capacity of the pump but suctioned only at the surface so that a suction current on the surface is created.

There is no regulating flap, so that the falls effect is limited, determined and constant. Moreover, the dirt is not retained in the skimmer when the pump is stopped.

The patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,167, which describes a skimmer arrangement incorporating slides in which a floating lower flap is provided with teeth that can work with a rack located in said slides, can also be cited. Stops prevent said lower flap from disengaging from the slides.

A floating upper flap is hinged and can rock in a limited range by a return spring.

It is understood that as soon as there is the least force backward, the flap is going to be locked in height, not allowing an adjustment in height.

Also, this device uses slides with all of the drawbacks connected with a mechanical device, namely the presence of a leaf and other foreign bodies that can become jammed in the rack.

Also, such an arrangement necessitates modifying the skimmer that is present or providing a specific skimmer from the beginning.

Such a purely mechanical system is not satisfactory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention is to remedy the problems of the prior art by creating a surface suction current of a pool from a skimmer, but without necessitating modifying the skimmer, while being adaptable to the surface of the water, making possible an industrial production, allowing an immediate and very simple installation not requiring any adaptation of the skimmer, making possible a removal that is both instantaneous and simple, creating an optimized suction current and retaining the impurities inside the skimmer in normal operation without suction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The device according to this invention is now described in detail with regard to the drawings that are attached to illustrate said invention, these drawings comprising figures, these figures showing:

FIG. 1: a view in perspective of the device according to this invention, in an isolated fashion,

FIG. 2: a view in perspective of the device according to this invention, before installation, presented in front of a skimmer,

FIG. 3: a view of the device in place on the skimmer of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4: a view in vertical section of the mounting of FIG. 3, in standby position,

FIG. 5: a view of the adaptability of said device to the variations of the surface of the water,

FIGS. 6A to 6D: the operational block diagram of the device according to this invention,

FIG. 7: a variant for retaining of the device according to this invention, eliminating the tabs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1, the device according to this invention has been shown adapted to work with a skimmer of a pool.

This device comprises a base 10, with a width greater than that of the skimmer 12 on which it must be placed.

The skimmer 12 has a window 14 that is the opening itself and a peripheral frame 16 that is held against the wall of the pool, particularly to ensure the seal when a liner is present. This frame 16 penetrates into the opening while creating an interior peripheral projection 18.

The height of this base 10 is approximately that of the skimmer 12 with which it must work.

The base 10 has a front face AV and a rear face AR. The rear face is the one that is intended to be pressed against the skimmer, and the front face looks out at the pool.

This base 10 has a flap 20, articulated relative to the base and above said base, around a hinge 22. This flap 20 is articulated to pivot relative to the base, preferably toward a face of said base, in this case toward the rear face AR of said base as will be explained below.

The width of the flap 10 is less than the width of the window 14 of the skimmer 12, so as to be able to pivot within it.

The flap 20 also comprises fastening means 24 that can be removed from the device according to the invention relative to the skimmer. These removable fastening means 24 take the shape of flexible, elastic tabs 26 that can be locked behind the interior peripheral projection 18 of the skimmer by simple snapping-in. The width between the ends of the tabs is at least equal to that of the window 14.

The base 10 consists of a material having a negative floatability, and the flap 20 consists of a material having a positive floatability.

The complete device floats; i.e., the floatability of the flap ensures the taking-up of the negative floatability of the base.

Thus, the base 10 is suspended with the floating flap 20.

The upper edge of the flap 12 is thus even with the surface of the water, preferably slightly below, on the order of a few millimeters, with the base 10 then constituting a hinged keel.

As shown in FIG. 2, the device is presented in front of the window of the skimmer, and the removable fastening means 24, which are integral with the flap 20, are inserted into the window 14 of the skimmer 12. In the embodiment shown, the flexible tabs 26 are hooked behind the projection 18 of the frame 16 of the skimmer 12. They make possible a movement in vertical translation, in height, and limit any movement in horizontal translation and therefore any untimely disengagement of the device.

This is what is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The device is therefore held by the removable fastening means 24 of the flap. The base 10 is suspended from the flap 20, and the top of the flap is even with the surface by its upper edge.

In this position, as shown in FIG. 5, depending on the height of the water in the pool, the device can follow the surface of the water because it is in no way immobilized in translation, by any slide; it is entirely floating.

No means for guiding in translation proves necessary because the tabs ensure the holding of the device in front of the window.

Removable fastening means 24 ensure the holding of the device in front of the window of the skimmer without any pressure, the base remaining free, only held in front of the window by its negative floatability.

The lower edge of the base 10 is located below the lower edge of the window and therefore of the frame.

As shown in FIG. 5, the device leaves free the upper part of the window, and in static operation, the floating dirt that passes over the flap of the device is then held in the skimmer by said flap, preventing any return to the pool.

The water of the pool is located in front of the device; behind the device, the flap is slightly inclined rearward since its removable fastening point is in the rear of the frame of the window, a frame that is located in the plane of the wall of the pool.

The pool is equipped with a pump of a system for recirculation and treatment of the water of said pool, and this in a well-known way. The pump suctions the water at the bottom of the skimmer, which is equipped with a filter so as to retain the foreign bodies that have passed through the window of the skimmer, and directs this pumped water to the treatment means, not shown, before a return to the pool.

The device reacts in the following way when the pump is put into operation.

In FIG. 6A, when the pump is operating, it suctions water at the bottom of the skimmer and creates a current. The current thus created is sufficient to flatten the base 10 against the frame, and the more the skimmer empties, the more the water pressure of the pool is exerted on the base and flattens it against the frame.

The base is thus immobilized by the pressure of the water against the frame of the skimmer, by simple flattening.

Consequently, simultaneously and proportionally to the reduction of the height of water in the skimmer, behind the base, the flap rocks rearward to take a position near the horizontal since—no longer having water—it can no longer be kept vertical by floating, see FIG. 6B.

The water of the pool passes over the flap because the surface of the water is at the level of the upper edge of the flap when it is in the raised position.

A waterfall effect is therefore obtained, behind the base, of a significant volume of water skimmed off at the surface, which results in creating a strong surface current, see FIG. 6C. Leaves and other floating impurities are suctioned and led toward the basket filter of the skimmer that retains them.

As soon as the pump is stopped, water again fills the skimmer, and the flap 20 resumes floating, the flap blocks the dirt inside the skimmer, the base becomes detached from the frame of the skimmer against which it is no longer flattened, and the device is held by removable fastening means 24, namely the tabs, ready for a new sequence, see FIG. 6D.

If the user wishes to remove the device, it is enough for him to exert a pulling force on the device, approximately perpendicular to the wall of the pool and to the plane of the window to remove said device, the tabs bending to allow this removal.

Advantageously, the base can be made of a material with a density that is just slightly greater than that of the water but able to be filled with water so that there is no floatability caused by trapped air.

As for the flap, it is advantageously made from the same material whose empty spaces are filled with a material having a positive floatability coefficient such as closed-cell foam.

The material to produce the different elements that make it up can be that which is used for the manufacture of swimming pool curtain wall sheets that are known to be perfectly suited in mechanical strength and in resistance to ultraviolet rays and to treatment agents such as sodium chloride or chlorine.

In the particular embodiment considered, the hinge 22 is advantageously continuous over the entire width of the flap in the form of a flexible blade of polymer material. This blade is about the width of the flap and has a height of several millimeters, in one manufactured piece with the base and working with the lower edge of the flap.

This arrangement thus does not rely on any metal element that can corrode.

According to a variant embodiment of removable fastening means 24 with tabs, a stop 24-1 is provided that can be self-sticking and that is intended to be fastened inside the skimmer. This stop, for example made of an elastomer, is stuck on the interior, horizontal, upper face of the frame of the skimmer.

Thus, when the device according to the invention is put into place, it suffices to slip the flap 20 behind the stop 24-1 by pushing the unit into the water over the height of said stop or a few millimeters.

Then, in normal operation, without suction, the unit is secured; so long as the base 10 is held flat, the flap can rock backward, the stop being useless, as before. This involves a rigorous management of the water height, which is generally the case, suitable sensors making possible a precise regulation.

This stop shows a simplified way of making fastening means 24 removable, allowing still more freedom since there is no longer contact, with that of the tabs, already at a minimum, being eliminated.

Claims

1. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool, particularly a swimming pool, said skimmer comprising a peripheral frame (16) and providing a window (14), characterized in that it comprises a base (10) having a negative floatability and a flap (20) having a positive floatability, articulated relative to said base, the unit having a positive floatability so that the upper edge of the flap (20) is even with the surface of the water.

2. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 1, wherein the articulation comprises a hinge (22).

3. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 2, wherein the hinge (22) is a flexible blade made of polymer material, of the width of the flap (20), fastened on one of its edges to the base (10) and on the other of its edges to the lower edge of the flap (12).

4. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 1, wherein the flap has a width less than that of the window (14) of the skimmer (12).

5. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 1, wherein it comprises means (24) for removable fastening to the skimmer (12).

6. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 5, wherein, in the case where said skimmer comprises a frame (16) with an interior peripheral projection (18), the means (24) for removable fastening to the skimmer (12) comprise flexible, elastic tabs (26) that are integral with the flap (20), that can be locked behind said interior peripheral projection (18) by simple snapping-in, the width between the ends of said tabs being at least equal to that of the window (14).

7. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 5, wherein the means (24) for removable fastening to the skimmer (12) comprise a stop (24-1) intended to be fastened to the interior, horizontal, upper face of the frame of said skimmer.

8. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 2, wherein the hinge (22) is continuous over the entire width of the flap in the form of a flexible blade made of polymer material.

9. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 2, wherein it comprises means (24) for removable fastening to the skimmer (12).

10. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 3, wherein it comprises means (24) for removable fastening to the skimmer (12).

11. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 4, wherein it comprises means (24) for removable fastening to the skimmer (12).

12. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 3, wherein the hinge (22) is continuous over the entire width of the flap in the form of a flexible blade made of polymer material.

13. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 4, wherein the hinge (22) is continuous over the entire width of the flap in the form of a flexible blade made of polymer material.

14. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 5, wherein the hinge (22) is continuous over the entire width of the flap in the form of a flexible blade made of polymer material.

15. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 6, wherein the hinge (22) is continuous over the entire width of the flap in the form of a flexible blade made of polymer material.

16. Device for regulating the flow that is provided to work with a skimmer (12) in a pool according to claim 7, wherein the hinge (22) is continuous over the entire width of the flap in the form of a flexible blade made of polymer material.