Apparatus and methods for forming deck edging for swimming pools
Apparatus is provided for constructing edging for a deck of a swimming pool having a retractable pool cover, wherein an elongated track for the pool cover is attached to a wall of the swimming pool. The apparatus comprises a form member shaped to form the edging, and a support member adapted to removably couple to the elongated track and the form member. A method is provided for constructing edging for a deck of a swimming pool having a retractable pool cover, wherein an elongated track for the pool cover is attached to a wall of the swimming pool, comprising removably coupling a support member to the elongated track, and removably coupling a form member, shaped to form the edging, to the support member.
The present disclosure relates to swimming pools, and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods for forming deck edging for swimming pools.
BACKGROUNDSwimming pools are commonly covered to prevent debris from entering the pool, to preserve chemical treatments in the water and to heat the pool in the case of a solar cover. An automatic pool cover provides convenience for a user by allowing the cover to be easily extended over the pool during periods of non-use, and retracted during periods of use. Typically, automatic pool covers utilize a track assembly built into the walls for guiding the cover and the leading edge bar of the cover as it traverses the pool.
In forming the coping and edging around the perimeter of pools it is useful to employ a mechanism in or attached to the pool walls that will provide uniformity in the coping and that can be easily installed and removed. Current forms are typically made of disposable materials, such as styrofoam, wood forms or other such materials. Such forms might be attached to the pool by two-sided tape or other temporary means, making the forms susceptible to being damaged during removal. Consequently, the new forms have to be used for each installation.
In a copending patent application, U.S. Ser. No. 10/290,548, reusable deck edging forms are described, such as the deck edge forming structure 10 shown in
One problem encountered with the structure shown in
In one implementation, apparatus is provided for constructing edging for a deck of a swimming pool having a retractable pool cover, wherein an elongated track for the pool cover is attached to a wall of the swimming pool. The apparatus comprises a form member shaped to form the edging, and a support member adapted to removably couple to the elongated track and the form member.
In another implementation, a method is provided for constructing edging for a deck of a swimming pool having a retractable pool cover, wherein an elongated track for the pool cover is attached to a wall of the swimming pool, comprising removably coupling a support member to the elongated track, and removably coupling a form member, shaped to form the edging, to the support member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the disclosure will be better understood by reference to the following description of an implementation of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings; wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplification set out herein illustrates one implementation of the disclosure, in one form, and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
Track mating portion 53 of support member 52 is mated with support mating portion 55 of track 54. Track 54 and support member 52 are secured together by a spacer 62 wedged into the main channel 64 of track 54. Spacer 62 may be an elongated piece, such as a piece of wood, or it may be a plurality of thin spacers placed at spaced positions along the elongated track 54.
Although not shown in
The foregoing implementations have several advantages, including the following. The form members that are used to form the deck of the swimming pool may be removed before the deck edging has hardened, thereby enabling the application of various designs on the edging. The support member remains in place to support the deck edging until it is completely hardened, thereby enabling the fabrication of aggressive deck edging shapes, such as those shown in FIGS. 4A-C. Moreover, the used of a support member enables the removal of form members in a horizontal direction so that the hardening deck edging will not be disturbed.
Although the above implementations are representative of the present disclosure, other implementations will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of this specification and the appended claims, or from a practice of the implementations of the disclosed disclosure. It is intended that the specification and implementations therein be considered as exemplary only, with the present disclosure being defined by the claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. Apparatus for constructing edging for a deck of a swimming pool having a retractable pool cover, wherein an elongated track for the pool cover is attached to a wall of the swimming pool, comprising:
- (a) a form member shaped to form the edging, and
- (b) a support member adapted to be removably coupled to the form member and to removably couple the form member to the elongated track.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the form member includes a portion adapted to removably couple to the support member.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the portion of the form member includes structure to mate with structure on the support member.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support member has a first portion adapted to removably couple to the elongated guide track, and a second portion adapted to removably couple to the form member.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the first portion of the support member includes structure to mate with structure on the elongated guide track.
6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the second portion of the support member includes structure to mate with structure on the form member.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a coupling member for removably coupling the form member to the support member.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the coupling member is adapted to removably secure the structure on the form member in a mating relationship to the structure of the second portion of the support member.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the form member includes a alignment member thereon for aligning and coupling the form member to adjacent form members.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the alignment member is a channel formed to accept a splice member for aligning and coupling the form member to the adjacent form members.
11. Apparatus for constructing edging for a deck of a swimming pool having a retractable pool cover, wherein an elongated track is attached to a wall of the swimming pool for coupling to a guide member for the pool cover, comprising:
- a form member shaped to form the edging, and
- a support member having a first portion adapted to removably mate to the elongated guide track, and having second portion adapted to removably mate to the form member.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the form member includes a portion adapted to removably mate to the second portion of the support member.
13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first portion of the support member includes track mating structure to mate with structure on the elongated track.
14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second portion of the support member includes form mating structure to mate with structure on the form member.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 1, further comprising a coupling member for removably securing the form member to the support member in a mating relationship.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the coupling member is a removable clamp.
17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the form member has a support member mating structure on a bottom portion of the form member adapted to mate with the support member.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the second portion of the support member has a form member mating structure on a top portion of the support member to mate with the support member mating structure.
19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first portion of the support member includes a track mating structure to mate with a support member mating structure on the elongated track.
20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the form member is removably secured to the support member so that it may be removed from the support member before the edging has hardened without damaging the edging.
21. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the form member is shaped to form a cantilevered shaped edging.
22. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the form member is shaped to form a bull-nose shaped edging.
23. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the form member is shaped to form an inclined shaped edging.
24. A method for constructing edging for a deck of a swimming pool having a retractable pool cover, wherein an elongated track for the pool cover is attached to a wall of the swimming pool, comprising:
- (a) removably coupling a support member to the elongated track, and
- (b) removably coupling a form member, shaped to form the edging, to the support member.
25. The method of claim 24, further comprising removably mating the form member to the support member.
26. The method of claim 24, further comprising removably mating a first portion on the support member to the elongated track, and removably mating a second portion on the support member to the form member.
27. The method of claim 24, further comprising coupling the form member and the support member with a removable coupling member.
28. The method of claim 24, further comprising removably coupling the form member with adjacent form members.
29. The method of claim 24, wherein the form member is mated to the support member, so as to be removed after the edging is formed.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the form member is mated to the support member, so as to be removed before the edging has hardened.
31. A method for constructing edging for a deck of a swimming pool having a retractable pool cover, wherein an elongated track is attached to a wall of the swimming pool for coupling to a guide member for the pool cover, comprising:
- (a) removably mating a first portion of a support member to an elongated track, and
- (b) removably mating a second portion of the support member to a form member shaped to form the edging.
32. The method of claim 31, comprising removably mating the second portion of the support member to a support member mating structure on the form member.
33. The method of claim 31, comprising removably mating the first portion of the support member to a mating structure on the elongated track.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 3, 2003
Publication Date: May 5, 2005
Inventor: Lanny Smith (Alpine, UT)
Application Number: 10/700,714