Swimming pool circulation and cleaning system

Abstract

A swimming pool circulation and cleaning system includes a first zone with a plurality of stationary wall inlet nozzles and a second zone with a plurality of pop-up nozzles. The stationary wall inlet nozzles are strategically located in the walls of the swimming pool. Each stationary wall inlet nozzle comprises several tangential openings for directing the forced water flows downwardly towards the pool floor. The pop-up nozzles are strategically located in the pool floor to work in conjunction with the stationary wall inlet nozzles to continue the water flow from the stationary wall inlet nozzles in a direction towards the main pool drain. The pop-up nozzles may be non-rotating or rotating only about 90 degrees. A water recirculation system can be operated to re-circulate and deliver the swimming pool water either sequentially or simultaneously to the stationary wall inlet nozzles and the floor pop-up nozzles.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/464,685, filed Mar. 8, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a swimming pool circulation and cleaning system. More particularly, the invention provides an improved swimming pool system for circulating the water and for cleaning the water and the swimming pool.

2. Description of Related Art

Swimming pool circulation systems typically consist of water return lines that return the water to the surface area of the swimming pool. Self-cleaning swimming pool systems have been developed over the years utilizing “pop-up” floor heads, whereby the pop-up heads rotate as they are raised, thereby constantly pushing the water, dirt, and debris in random directions, which essentially keeps the dirt and debris in suspension in the water until they are removed by either the pool skimmers or by the main drain of the pool water circulation system. These pop-up floor heads may rotate either 180 degrees or 360 degrees.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,840 discloses a cleaning system for swimming pools. The cleaning system has several active drains 30 located on the bottom wall 14 of the swimming pool 10 that cooperate with banks of directional nozzles 74 mounted in the side walls that direct a flow of water down the side wall of the swimming pool. The directional nozzles 74 dislodge debris from the side and bottom walls which is swept toward and received by the floor drains 30, thus cleaning the pool. Directional nozzles 74 can be employed to direct water across the surface of walls 12 to dislodge and remove loose algae, sediment or other debris there from. For some applications, directional nozzles 74 are made to sweep cyclically through an arc of side wall 12 to direct water at pressure over the whole arc. The active floor drains 30 have a grid cover that admits larger debris and allows the use of mobile pool cleaners. The active floor drains 30 are connected to in-deck, fine mesh canister filters to remove medium and large size debris before it reaches the water pump and the pool filtration system. Stationary cleaning units 72 are located in the steps 20 and seat 22 of swimming pool 10. Stationary cleaning units 72 include a housing 80 positioned within the gunite 82 of the surface and with a top of housing 80 being flush with an upper surface thereof. Located within housing 80 is a hollow body 84 having one or more tangential openings 86 therein. Upon receipt of water through return line 76, body 84 will be forced upwardly by the force of the water until a flange 88 engages a portion 90 of housing 80. Water exiting through tangential openings 86 imparts a rotary motion to body 84. A circular water pattern is thus created about head 72 immediately adjacent the surface thereabout which will dislodge and force away any debris or sediment thereon thus cleaning the surface. With an appropriate number of heads 72, a set of steps 20, a seat 22 or the like may be cleaned.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,045,829 discloses a self-cleaning system designed to direct the flow of water, dirt, and debris down the walls, to the floor, and then along the floor and towards the main drain for removal. Further pool cleaning and/or circulating devices, apparatuses, and/or systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,486,623; 3,506,489; 3,521,304; 4,114,206; 4,188,673; 4,212,088; 5,135,579; 6,280,639; and 7,344,639 and in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2004/0182427.

A number of these cleaning systems of the prior art require that the flow rate of each nozzle or group of nozzles be uniform or the same.

There is a need to provide an improved swimming pool circulation and cleaning system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides this need. The invention provides an improved swimming pool system which efficiently circulates the water and which cleans the water and the swimming pool.

The swimming pool system of the invention comprises two zones. A first zone, Zone A, comprises a plurality of stationary wall inlet nozzles which use re-circulated pool water, and a second zone, Zone B, comprises a plurality of floor return pop-up nozzles which also use re-circulated pool water. The stationary wall inlet nozzles of Zone A are generally in alignment relative to each other in a row around the walls of the swimming pool and are directed downwardly toward the bottom of the pool. The floor return pop-up nozzles are generally in alignment relative to each other in a row along the floor of the swimming pool and are directed toward the main drain of the swimming pool. In some embodiments, more than one row of stationary wall inlet nozzles of Zone A and/or more than one row of floor return pop-up nozzles may be provided. The stationary wall inlet nozzles of Zone A are operated to act as a primary water circulation/re-circulation system, and are strategically positioned in the walls of the swimming pool. Each of these stationary wall inlet nozzles of Zone A comprises a plurality of tangential openings in the lower two quadrants of the nozzle head when the stationary wall inlet nozzle is positioned in the wall of the swimming pool for delivering several forced water flows downwardly along the wall of the pool and onto the floor of the swimming pool.

With regard to Zone B, the plurality of floor return pop-up nozzles are strategically positioned in the floor of the pool and work in conjunction with the stationary wall inlet nozzles to continue the direction of the flow of the water with the dirt and debris towards the main pool drain. These floor return pop-up nozzles differ from those of the prior art in that in an embodiment of the invention, these pop-up nozzles are non-rotating. These floor return pop-up nozzles comprise at least one tangential opening to provide a forced water flow which works in conjunction with the forced water flows of the nozzles of Zone A to force the water with the dirt and debris downwardly along the floor of the pool in the direction towards the main pool drain. In another embodiment of the invention, the floor return pop-up nozzles are rotating nozzles. In this instance, the rotation of the return pop-up nozzles would not be greater than about 90 degrees.

In an embodiment of the invention, the swimming pool system comprises a variable speed pump, which allows the stationary wall nozzles and the floor return pop-up nozzles to run at their optimal capacity without excess water pressure compared to the pumps used in the circulating and/or cleaning systems of the prior art. The use of a variable speed pump in the system of the invention not only results in lower water pressure required to be delivered to the nozzles, but also allows for a relatively lower water flow rate and less electrical energy expended compared to the pumps generally used in the swimming pool circulation and cleaning systems of the prior art.

The nozzles of Zones A and B could be operated simultaneously or they could be operated sequentially. For a sequential operation of the nozzles of Zone A and B, the stationary wall nozzles of Zone A could run about 75% of the time for a water circulation and cleaning process and then be discontinued with the pop-up floor return nozzles of Zone B then being operated the last 25% of the time for the water circulation and cleaning process. For a simultaneous operation of the nozzles of Zones A and B, the stationary wall nozzles of Zone A could run about 100% of the time for a water circulation and cleaning process with the nozzles of Zone B operating in conjunction with the nozzles of Zone A the last 25% of the time of the process. The nozzles of Zones A and B could both be operated simultaneously at 100% of the time of the water circulation and cleaning process. Thus, for the water circulation and cleaning process of the invention, several methods for operating the nozzles of Zones A and B are available. Operation of the nozzles of Zones A and B is accomplished via a water recirculation system comprising water delivery conduits connected to the nozzles, a water return conduit connected to the main drain, at least one variable speed pump, a valve device which may be either a water distribution valve or a standard valve, and a filter system.

These and other aspects of the invention will be better appreciated and understood when the following description is read in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partly broken away perspective view schematically showing a swimming pool employing the circulation and cleaning system of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a stationary wall inlet nozzle of Zone A of the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevation sectional view of the stationary wall inlet nozzle of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a floor return pop-up nozzle of Zone B of the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the floor return pop-up nozzle taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, swimming pool 10 comprises the swimming pool circulation and cleaning system of the present invention. The system involves the combination of a first zone, Zone A, which comprises a plurality of stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 for circulating and re-circulating the water, and a second zone, Zone B, which comprises a plurality of floor return pop-up nozzles 20 for circulating and re-circulating the water. Zone A is strategically located in all four walls 13 and Zone B is strategically located in floor 16 of swimming pool 10.

The first zone, Zone A, is intended to be operated to act as the primary circulation and re-circulation system. Zone A comprises a plurality of stationary wall inlet nozzles, one of which is shown at reference numeral 12 in FIGS. 2 and 3. With regard to FIGS. 2 and 3, stationary wall inlet nozzle 12 comprises a hollow head 15, a flange 17 and a threaded body 19 for securely engaging nozzle 12 in a threaded wall fitting (not shown) in wall 13 of swimming pool 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, hollow head 15 comprises a plurality of tangential openings 14a for delivering a forced flow of water as shown at reference number 14 in FIG. 1. Still referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, each stationary wall inlet nozzle 12 further comprises a conduit 21 which extends the entire length of threaded body 19 for receiving and delivering a forced flow of water into hollow head 15 and out through tangential openings 14a of hollow head 15.

In FIG. 2, stationary wall inlet nozzle 12 has six tangential openings 14a arranged in two quadrants of the hollow head 15. When stationary wall inlet nozzle 12 is threaded into its respective threaded fitting in wall 13, flange 17 abuts against wall 13 and stationary wall inlet nozzle 12 preferably is positioned so that the tangential openings 14a are arranged in the lower half or in the lower two quadrants of hollow head 15 in a fan-like fashion as shown in FIG. 2. In this positioning of nozzles 12, the forced water flows 14 from tangential openings 14a are delivered downwardly alongside wall 13 as shown in FIG. 1 for circulating the water and for cleaning the water and the pool.

Referring again to FIG. 1, stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 are generally arranged in alignment relative to each other in a row around all four walls 13 of swimming pool 10 and directed downwardly towards the bottom of pool 10; and floor return pop-up nozzles 20 are generally arranged in alignment relative to each other in a single row directed towards the main drain 18. Even though two such floor return pop-up nozzles 20 are shown in FIG. 1, it is to be appreciated that additional floor return pop-up nozzles 20 may be provided in this single row of FIG. 1. Also, additional rows of floor return pop-up nozzles 20 may be strategically provided in floor 16 and constructed and arranged to work in conjunction with the stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 in walls 13 to force the flow of water with dirt and debris towards and down into main drain 18 as indicated by the several enlarged arrows pointing away from the stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 and toward the main floor drain 18 in FIG. 1.

Still referring to FIG. 1, stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 of Zone A are strategically positioned in all four walls 13 of swimming pool 10. Because stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 are stationary they are considerably more economical than the pop-up, rotating head type nozzles employed around the walls of a swimming pool in some prior art pool systems. As disclosed herein above, each stationary wall inlet nozzle 12 comprises a plurality of tangential openings 14a for delivery a forced water flow 14.

The benefits of the type and location of stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 is three-fold. Firstly, the forced water flow 14 from tangential openings 14a of stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 carries any dirt, debris or sediment with it towards the bottom of swimming pool 10 and ultimately toward the main drain 18. Secondly, the forced water flow 14 from tangential openings 14a of stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 forces and carries the purified water, i.e. pool water which has been processed through the filtering system of the invention and which has been chlorinated, down into the lower portion of swimming pool 10. It is common practice to apply chlorine to the water surface area of the swimming pool. This chlorinated water along the water surface is generally more susceptible to dissipation due to exposure to sunlight and other natural elements, such as wind. In the invention, the forced water flows 14 from tangential openings 14a of stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 force and carry the chlorinated water existing along the surface of the water down into the pool, thereby extending the chlorination effect of the swimming pool water. Thirdly, it is a natural phenomenon that heat rises. Heated water along the water surface of the swimming pool is more readily dissipated by the weather conditions, such as evaporation and/or wind. In the invention, the forced water flows 14 from the tangential openings 14a of stationary wall inlet nozzles 12 force and carry the heated water, which is either naturally heated or fuel heated, down towards the pool floor 16. The natural phenomenon of heat rising facilitates a more uniform heating of the pool water thereby providing a more comfortable swimming environment as a result of the system of the invention.

The second zone, Zone B, comprises a plurality of pop-up nozzles, one of which is shown at reference numeral 20 in FIGS. 4 and 5. With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, pop-up nozzle 20 is a non-rotating pop-up nozzle. Pop-up nozzle 20 comprises a pop-up head 22, a concentric collar member 24, a nozzle housing 26 which includes a conduit 26a, and a key (not shown) for preventing pop-up head 22 from rotating. Pop-up head 22 is retained in nozzle housing 26 via concentric collar member 24, which, in turn is secured to a concentric ledge 28 of nozzle housing 26 via a plurality of screw fasteners 30. Pop-up head 22 moves up and down within nozzle housing 26 by the delivery and removal of the re-circulated water. When water is not being delivered into conduit 26a of pop-up nozzle 20, then pop-up head 22 remains flush with the swimming pool floor 16 or moves downwardly into pool floor 16. Referring to FIG. 5, pop-up head 22 has a cross-sectional L-shaped configuration. When water is delivered into conduit 26a of pop-up nozzle 20, pop-up head 22 is moved upwardly with the concentric lower portion of pop-up head 22 engaging the lower surface of concentric collar member 24. Referring to FIG. 4, pop-up head 22 comprises two tangential openings 22a each delivering a forced water flow.

With reference to FIG. 1, pop-up nozzles 20 are strategically located in the pool floor 16 so that they can continue the direction of the flow of water created by the forced water flows 14 from nozzles 12 of Zone A towards the main pool drain 18. Pop-up nozzles 20 are fixed, that is, they do not rotate. However, pop-up nozzles 20 are positioned in floor 16 so that their tangential openings 22a are positioned to face towards the main drain 18. An example of a non-rotatable pop-up nozzle which may be suitable for the invention is a PCC fixed nozzle, Part Number 004552502401 available from Paramount Pool and Spa Products, a division of Paramount Leisure Industries, Inc. These non-rotatable pop-up nozzles 20 differ from the pop-up nozzles of the prior art in that the pop-up nozzles of the prior art generally rotate. Pop-up nozzles 20 of Zone B ensure that the dirt and debris in the water flow continue to be moved towards the main pool drain 18 as shown by the enlarged arrows generating from nozzles 20 (FIG. 1).

In general, the rotatable pop-up nozzles of the prior art may rotate 180 or 360 degrees. This causes the dirt and debris to be re-suspended in the pool water and requires the use of a surface skimmer and/or the main drain to remove the re-suspended dirt and/or debris particles. In a further embodiment of the invention, nozzles 20 of Zone B are rotating nozzles. However, these rotating nozzles would be structured to not rotate any greater than about 90 degrees allowing for the continuation of the water flow towards the main drain 18.

Referring again to FIG. 1, operation of nozzles 12 of Zone A and nozzles 20 of Zone B preferably is accomplished via a water recirculation system 34 comprising water delivery conduits 36 connected to nozzles 12 and water delivery conduits 37 connected to nozzles 20, a water return conduit 40 connected to main drain 18, a variable speed pump 42, a valve device 44, and a filter system 46. Valve device 44 is shown in FIG. 1 with dotted lines to water delivery conduits 36 of nozzles 12 and water delivery conduit 37 of nozzles 20 to indicate that valve device 44 is located in close proximity to conduits 36 and 37 for delivering water thereto. Valve device 44 may be a water distribution valve which may include a valve actuator or valve device 44 may be a standard valve which may include a valve actuator. A water distribution valve may be used if more than two zones of nozzles are employed in pool 10. A standard valve may be used if water is being distributed to either Zone A or Zone B or to both Zones A and B. If Recirculation system 34 operates in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. That is, water from main drain 18 is suctioned into the recirculation system 34, is filtered, and then is returned to the pool 10 via the water delivery conduits 36, 37 to nozzles 12 and 20. The variable speed pump 42 may have 2, 3 or 4 speeds. An example of a variable speed pump which may be suitable for the recirculation system 34 of the invention is a Jandy ePump, Part Number JEP1.5, available from Zodiac Pool Systems, Inc. An example of a water distribution valve which may be suitable in the invention is a PCC water valve, available from Paramount Pool and Spa Products, a division of Paramount Leisure Industries, Inc. An example of a filter system which may be suitable for the invention is a diatomaceous earth filter, Part Number DEV48, available from Zodiac Pool Systems, Inc. An example of a valve actuator which may be suitable in the invention is a Jandy valve actuator, Part Number 4424, available from Zodiac Pool Systems, Inc.

The invention comprises a variable speed pump 42 (FIG. 1) for delivering pressurized water to nozzles 12 of Zone A and nozzles 20 of Zone B. A variable speed pump allows for the different nozzle zones A and B of swimming pool 10 to be utilized at different water flow rates. This means that nozzles 12 of Zone A may be operated at different water pressures which, in general, would be a fraction of the pressure required for the pop-up nozzles of the prior art which are generally positioned in the walls of the swimming pool, thereby now allowing a swimming pool to be designed to comply with impending new laws contemplated in the swimming pool industry. Additionally, pop-up nozzles 20 of Zone B may be utilized as necessary in order to augment the water circulation system of Zone A, thereby resulting in a more efficient water circulation and water and pool cleaning system. Prior art pool water circulation and cleaning systems only allow for one or the other type of system, that is, these other systems only provide a circulation system or a cleaning system and not both.

As disclosed herein above, the re-circulated water is distributed to the stationary wall return nozzles 12 and the pop-up floor head nozzles 20 by means of either a water distribution valve or a standard valve, allowing for a lower flow rate and a smaller sized pump to be utilized, thereby complying with the new laws recently adopted in Florida and California for recirculation pumps.

In addition to an efficient system and method for removing dirt and debris from swimming pool 10, the system and method of the present invention also allows for a more efficient means of chemically treating and heating the pool water. Returning the chemicals to water return nozzles 12 and nozzles 20 which direct the flow of the water throughout the pool will provide a more effective distribution of the chemicals and will help to eliminate “dead spots”, which can be defined as areas where no water or a limited amount of water flows thereby resulting in the formation of algae and/or the accumulation of dirt and/or debris. Likewise, returning newly heated water, including solar heated surface water, to return nozzles 12 that direct the flow of water towards the floor 16 of the pool 10, utilizes the natural method of heat rising to increase the efficiency of the heating process, as was explained herein above.

Even though pop-up nozzles 12 of Zone A have been described as being non-rotating nozzles, in some embodiments nozzles 12 may be rotating nozzles; however, rotation will not be greater than about 90 degrees. Additionally, in larger swimming pools, it may be necessary to utilize additional water valves to create multiple sub-zones within each Zone A and B. A predetermined number of nozzles 12 in walls 13 may be operated in Zone A and a predetermined number of nozzles 20 in floor 16 may be operated in Zone B.

The nozzles of Zones A and B could be operated simultaneously or they could be operated sequentially. In an embodiment of the invention, for a sequential operation of the nozzles of Zone A and B, the stationary wall nozzles of Zone A would run about 75% of the time for a water circulation and cleaning process and then be discontinued with the pop-up floor return nozzles of Zone B then running the last 25% of the water circulation and cleaning process. In a further embodiment of the invention, for a simultaneous operation of the nozzles of Zones A and B, stationary wall nozzles of Zone A would run about 100% of the time for a water circulation and cleaning process with the nozzles of Zone B only running about 25% of the process. In a still further embodiment of the invention, both nozzles of Zone A and B can be operated simultaneously during the entire water circulation and cleaning process. It is apparent that several operational procedures of the nozzles of Zone A and Zone B via the valve device 44 and the variable speed pump 42 are available for the water circulation and cleaning process of the invention.

Since a variable speed pump is used in the system 34 of the invention, the nozzles 12 of Zone A and the nozzles 20 of Zone B can be operated at a lower water pressure, a lower flow rate and less electrical energy compared to the nozzles employed in the circulating and/or cleaning systems of the prior art. Additionally, nozzles 12 and 20 are substantially less expensive to manufacture, resulting in a more reasonable expense for the consumer compared to the nozzles of the prior art, such as rotating pop-up nozzles which generally rotate greater than 90 degrees, i.e. 180 to 360 degrees, and which prior art rotating nozzles generally are located along the swimming pool walls or floor.

While the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment of the figure, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating there from. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as come within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A swimming pool circulation and cleaning system, comprising:

at least a first zone located in the wall of a swimming pool and comprising a plurality of stationary wall inlet nozzles, each stationary wall inlet nozzle including at least one tangential opening for delivering a forced water flow in a downward direction toward the pool floor; and

at least a second zone located in the floor of the swimming pool and comprising a plurality of pop-up nozzles, each pop-up nozzle having at least one tangential opening for delivering a forced water flow along the floor to continue the direction of the forced water flow from each wall inlet nozzle towards the main pool drain.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a water recirculation system for selectively operating the stationary wall inlet nozzles of the first zone and the pop-up nozzles of the second zone in a sequential manner or in a simultaneous manner.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the water recirculation system comprises a variable speed pump and a valve device for operating the stationary wall inlet nozzles and the pop-up nozzles in a sequential or simultaneous manner.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the water recirculation system comprises a variable speed pump and a water distribution valve for operating the stationary wall inlet nozzles and the pop-up nozzles in a sequential or simultaneous manner.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the pop-up nozzles are non-rotating pop-up nozzles.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the pop-up nozzles are rotating pop-nozzles.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the rotating pop-up nozzles rotate at about 90 degrees or less.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least the first zone of stationary wall inlet nozzles comprises at least one row of stationary wall inlet nozzles around the wall of the swimming pool.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least the second zone of pop-up nozzles comprises at least one row of pop-up nozzles along the floor of the swimming pool.

10. A method for circulating water and cleaning a swimming pool, comprising:

strategically locating at least a first zone in the walls of the swimming pool comprising a plurality of stationary wall inlet nozzles, each stationary wall inlet nozzle including at least one tangential opening for delivering a forced water flow in a downward direction toward the pool floor;

strategically locating at least a second zone in the floor of the swimming pool comprising a plurality of pop-up nozzles, each pop-up nozzle having at least one tangential opening for delivering a forced water flow along the floor to continue the direction of the forced water flow from each stationary wall inlet nozzle towards the main pool drain;

providing a water recirculation system in association with the stationary wall inlet nozzles of the first zone and the pop-up nozzles of the second zone; and

selectively operating the water recirculation system for supplying water to the stationary wall inlet nozzles and to the pop-up nozzles either sequentially or simultaneously.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

providing non-rotating pop-up nozzles in the second zone.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

providing rotating pop-up nozzles in the second zone.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the rotating pop-up nozzles rotate no greater than 90 degrees.

14. The method of claim 10, the steps further comprising:

providing at least one row of the stationary wall inlet nozzles around the walls of the swimming pool.

15. The method of claim 10, the steps further comprising:

providing at least one row of the pop-up nozzles along the floor of the swimming pool.