SWIMMING POOL HAVING A COVER, WHEREBY THE AIR LOCATED INSIDE THE COVER CAN BE CONDITIONED

Abstract

A swimming pool having a cover is provided, wherein the air located inside the cover can be conditioned. In order to achieve conditions corresponding to high altitude training, the air space inside the cover is connected to an air generator, by way of which the composition of the air can be adjusted and/or changed.

Description

This nonprovisional application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/AT2010/000007, which was filed on Jan. 12, 2010, and which claims priority to Austrian Patent Application No. GM 19/2009, which was filed in Austria on Jan. 14, 2009, and which are both herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a swimming pool having a cover, whereby the air located inside the cover can be conditioned.

2. Description of the Background Art

In a conventional design, a closed swimming pool is provided with heating convectors and with an air dehumidifier. In this known design, the air humidity is set by means of a hygrometer such that the atmosphere feels pleasant for the person in the swimming pool. This means that at lower temperatures the sensation of cold is not increased by the higher humidity, or that an increased perception of mugginess does not occur at high temperatures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a swimming pool in which an athlete can be offered different training conditions owing to the conditioned air.

According to an embodiment of the invention, this object is achieved in that an air space inside the cover is connected to an air generator which can be used to set or change the air composition.

As a result, swimmers can be spared fitness training in high-altitude training camps, because the air composition, particularly the ratio of oxygen to nitrogen, can be adjusted to any desired altitude owing to the air generator.

To reduce the air space and thereby to achieve a smaller volume of air to be conditioned, the cover can be tightly connected to the swimming pool edge.

Further, to increase training and to set the training conditions, the swimming pool, provided with the cover, can be formed as a counter-current swimming channel, by which in addition to the air composition, the swimming intensity can also be easily adjusted to the specific athlete in training.

The air space can also be connected to a low-pressure generator, by which, in addition to the air composition, the air pressure can be adjusted to the desired altitude training conditions.

The swimming pool can be constructed on a trailer, approved for road traffic, together with the associated auxiliary equipment, by means of which it can be transported to the specifically required places for training or demonstration purposes, whereby the swimming pool on the trailer can be ready for use immediately after it is filled with water.

Finally, the cover and the air generator can be adapted to an existing swimming pool and installed, which makes possible a subsequent conversion of an existing swimming pool.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1. shows the swimming pool in a longitudinal/vertical section;

FIG. 2. is a plan view of the swimming pool with the cover removed; and

FIG. 3 shows a cross-vertical section taken along line III-III in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A swimming pool is designated by 1, which is provided with a cover 2. 3 is an air generator, which is connected via a supply line 4 and a removal line 5 to air space 6 of cover 2. The swimming space is designated by 7 in which the water is circulated via a circulation channel 8 by a turbine 9 and thus serves as a counter-current swimming facility for the swimmer. The seal between swimming pool 1 and cover 2 is designated by 10.

In a manner that is not shown, air space 6 can be connected in addition to a low-pressure generator as well, to change the air pressure predominating in air space 6.

The air composition in air generator 3 can be set and controlled so that the nitrogen to oxygen ratio therein corresponds to the ratio prevailing at an altitude of 2500-3000 m. This corresponds to training facilities at a higher altitude, which are typically used by swimmers as well as other competitive athletes for training to improve performance. In addition, the air pressure can also be reduced somewhat, namely to the value corresponding to the air composition. Suitable training conditions can be created overall thereby without expensive and time-consuming traveling being necessary for the athlete.

The dimensions of the swimming pool of the invention can be selected thereby so that it can be constructed on customary freight trailers and transported on regular streets without a special permit. The training facility can thereby be made available to swimming clubs or the like at short notice for some time, whereby the athletes can prepare for relevant sporting events. After the rental period has expired, the trailer with the swimming pool and cover is then taken to another location, where swimmers from other clubs can train.

The counter-current turbine naturally can be controlled in a conventional manner and can be tailored to the physical conditions of the swimmer.

The air generator, the circulation turbine, and optionally also a low-pressure generator can be controlled by means of a central computer, in which the personal data of the specific swimmer are stored, so that a training workload stored for the swimmer can be run through automatically.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A swimming pool comprising a cover, whereby air located inside the cover is conditionable, wherein the swimming pool is a counter-current swimming channel, wherein air space within the cover is connectable to an air generator via which the air composition is settable or changable, and wherein the cover is tightly connectable to a swimming pool edge.

2. The swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein the air space is connectable to a low-pressure generator.

3. The swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein the swimming pool is constructed on a trailer, approved for street traffic, together with associated auxiliary equipment.

4. The swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein the cover and the air generator are adapted to an existing swimming pool and installed.