Swimming Pool Shadow

Abstract

A rectangular shaped frame with attached canopy that provides shadow in a swimming pool, comprising: 2 parallel sides each with three tubes interconnected with four T-shaped parts; four perpendicular tubes that interconnect to the T-shaped parts to form the rectangle and three which go inside holes on the lateral sides of the frame; four legs that connect to the rectangular frame via T-shaped parts; four brackets that fasten each leg to the cement surrounding the swimming pool; a canopy; and one or more ties or straps for attaching the canopy to the frame.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a rectangular shaped frame with attached canopy that provides shadow to swimmers inside of a swimming pool allowing them to be able to enjoy the swimming pool at peak hours without having harmful exposure to the Sun's Ultra Violet Rays.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Although swimming was part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, it has been known since 2500 B.C. Swimming pools, on the other hand, did not become popular until the middle of the 19th century. As the sport grew in popularity many more swimming pools were built. Swimming pool have been intended for swimming, diving, recreational or other bathing activities that involve swimming, e.g. water exercise, play, or merely cooling off on hot days. Today, there are lots of talks of Skin Cancer due to long exposure to the sun's UV rays. A need is identified to design a device with the sole purpose of providing shade to swimmers in a swimming pool without the need to exit the said pool in the most difficult hours of sun exposure, which are between 10 AM and 3 PM.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a rectangular frame with attached canopy that crosses a swimming pool, with the purpose of offering swimmers shade while they are inside the pool.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a rectangular frame with attached canopy that can be assembled and disassembled for easy storage.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a rectangular frame with attached canopy that can be fastened to the cement surrounding the swimming pool or left unfastened, in order to make the frame movable to different areas of the swimming pool.

A preferred embodiment of this rectangular shaped frame invention with attached canopy that provides shadow in a swimming pool, comprises: 2 parallel sides each with three tubes interconnected with four T-shaped parts; four perpendicular tubes that interconnect to the T-shaped parts to form the rectangle and three which go inside holes on the lateral sides of the frame; four legs that connect to the rectangular frame via T-shaped parts; four brackets that fasten each leg to the cement surrounding the swimming pool; a canopy; and one or more ties or straps for attaching the canopy to the frame.

The entire ensemble of this swimming pool shadow is assembled and disassembled because it has been designed with materials that are manufactured separately and can be cut. There is no need for any special tools to build this swimming pool shadow. Because the swimming pool shadow can be disassembled, it can be placed in a box that can be transported to other places. By removing the 4 legs, the swimming pool shadow can be stored in a garage. This frame can be made with different materials: PVC (as shown), aluminum, steel, wood, or bamboo. Sizes of the swimming pool shadow can vary depending on the needs of the client and the size of the pools. Its main objective is to provide shade to swimmers and protect them from the sun's harmful Ultra Violet Rays allowing them more time in a swimming pool. I have observed that in between 10 AM and 3 PM, 80% of people with swimming pools do not enjoy their swimming pool because of the harmful effects of the sun's Ultraviolet Rays. Today, there are lots of talks of Skin Cancer due to long exposure to the sun's UV rays. I have wanted to resolve these 2 problems: 1) UV exposure and 2) not enjoying a swimming pool at peak hours in a beautiful sunny day. Considering the cost of swimming pools, I have resolved the problem of being able to enjoy the swimming pool at peak hours and not having to leave the facility seeking shade for protection against the sun's UV rays. I have asked various people the following question: If a swimming pool had shade, would you enjoy longer hours in it? All of them said yes and mentioned the importance of shade in a swimming pool. This is the reason for my invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and objects of the invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of the swimming pool shadow according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a second embodiment of the swimming pool shadow including a partial canopy because the canopy can also be fastened in parts and not entirely as shown by FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded isometric view of the complete assembly; including legs and base that attach the frame to the floor surrounding the pool.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the swimming pool shadow detailing the flexibility of the PVC product depicting the reason why the legs and base are needed.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial view of the right hand side of the swimming pool shadow alternatively showing that the end of its legs use end caps if it is chosen not to fasten the ends to the cement surrounding the pool.

FIG. 6A is an enlarged view of the swimming pool shadow's ends according to the present invention.

FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of one of the swimming pool shadow's legs according to the present invention.

FIG. 6C is an enlarged side view of one of the swimming pool shadow's ends (the part that receives the frame) according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of one of the swimming pool shadow's T-shaped parts according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of one of the swimming pool shadow's screws used in FIG. 6 according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of one of the swimming pool shadow's lateral pieces used in FIG. 5 according to the present invention showing that rope can be used instead of the plastic straps.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of one of the swimming pool shadow's T-shaped parts seen in FIG. 7 including a smaller tube (of the same style) to reinforce that union.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a rectangular shaped frame with attached canopy that that crosses a swimming pool with the purpose of providing shade to swimmers. The swimming pools shadow comprises: 2 parallel sides each with three tubes interconnected with four T-shaped parts; four perpendicular tubes that interconnect to the T-shaped parts to form the rectangle and three which go inside holes on the lateral sides of the frame; four legs that connect to the rectangular frame via T-shaped parts; four brackets that fasten each leg to the cement surrounding the swimming pool; a canopy; and one or more ties or straps for attaching the canopy to the frame.

FIG. 1 illustrates a rectangular shaped frame that connects all of its parts easily by T-shaped parts that are held together by screws with the exception of 3 parts that are smaller where they cross the lateral parts which enter holes that are found in the 6 lateral parts. The main component of this device is its canopy (or similar material) with the purpose of providing shade. This frame has 4 legs (2 on each side) that separate the frame from the water in the swimming pool.

FIG. 2 illustrates how the frame's laterals 2 are interconnected with the T-shaped parts 3 and the end legs 6 forming one side of the swimming pool shadow's frame. The other side is the exactly the same having the frame's laterals 2 interconnected with the T-shaped parts 3 and the end legs 6. These 2 laterals are interconnected to close the frame with 4 which go into the T-shaped parts 3 which are 4 pieces and are held together by screws 3B. Part 5 which is of the same material (PVC) are thinner and go into lateral 2 which has a hole 5A in the center of each of the pieces. Part 2A (FIG. 10) is a smaller tube that goes inside of the larger tube 2 and T-shaped parts 3 to reinforce the frame for flexibility. The T-shaped parts 3 are held together by screws 3B which enter 3A crossing 2 and 2A so the frame can close. Three pieces of canopy 1 are tied to 4 and 2 by a plastic strap 7 which enters metal rings 1A.

FIG. 1 shows an entire canopy 1 that crosses the length of the swimming pool shadow's frame held by the plastic straps 7 which go into 1A and hold the canopy to the laterals 2 and end pieces 4.

FIG. 5 shows how the legs 6 can have a different ending or end caps 6A, instead of the endings 8, 8A, 8B, 9, and 9A seen in FIG. 1, which are fastened to the cement. The reason for having the legs 6 finish with end caps 6A is a preference of the client who may want to have the swimming pool shadow have the ability to be picked up and moved to different areas of the swimming pool.

FIG. 6 shows the details of end piece 8 which has 8A that receives leg 6. This piece 8 has 4 holes where screws 9 go into. Screw 9 goes into 9A which goes inside of the concrete and can be unscrewed if the customer wants to place the part in another area of the swimming pool. Piece 8A has a screw 10 that holds leg 6 into its location.

FIG. 6B shows how one end of leg 6 enters piece 8A (which is soldered to piece 8) and the other end connects to the T-shaped part 3 which connects to part 4.

FIG. 6C shows how part 8 can be separated from the cement and allow part 9A to remain inside the cement which receives screw 9.

FIG. 8 is the screw that goes inside hole 8B of part 8 and is received by part 9A which is inside the cement.

FIG. 9 shows how the canopy 1 is held in place to part 2 by strap 7. Strap 7 can be substituted by rope 7A.

FIG. 7 is the T-shaped part 3 that goes into part 4 and lateral parts 2. Both of these parts 4 and 2 are held in place inside part 3 by a screw 3B that goes inside hole 3A.

FIG. 10 is a similar view to that of FIG. 7, showing an additional part 2A which is a smaller dimension tube than that of part 2. This tube crosses inside all of part 2 from one end to the other. This piece 2A reinforces the entire frame to make it more rigid.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1) This frame is rectangular and has 4 legs, 2 on each side. It crosses over a swimming pool. A canopy covers the superior part, covering all the length and width of the frame. The main objective is to provide shade to the people inside the swimming pool. It is easily assembled and disassembled without needing special tools.

2) 13 high resistant PVC parts make up the frame (10 are of the same width and 3 are thinner) comprising: 6 lateral parts (3 and 3 on each side connected by longitude and are parallel) crossed by 4 remaining parts making up the rectangle; and 3 thinner parts that go inside the frame for reinforcement.

3) All of these parts are fastened by connections of the same PVC material in T-shaped parts. At the end on the frame, 4 legs enter the 4 T-shaped parts.

4) All of the PVC material is secured by screws that make the frame more rigid.

5) The canopy is tied to the frame and held in place by metal rings that are sewn along the exterior border of said canopy.

6) This swimming pool shadow is movable or attachable to the side of the swimming pool. Attached: fastened to the side of the swimming pool (FIG. 6A). Moveable: having end caps on the end of the legs (FIG. 6B). In this case, the swimming pool shadow has to be reinforced with tensors not shown on the drawings.