US3840118A

US3840118A - Swimming pool sweeping system

Info

Publication number: US3840118A
Application number: US00256567A
Authority: US
Inventors: W Whitmore
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-05-24
Filing date: 1972-05-24
Publication date: 1974-10-08
Anticipated expiration: 1991-10-08

Abstract

Two lower rails extend along the bottom of the pool at either side while two upper rails extend along the top of the pool at either side, to guide cables that run along the rails. A net that extends along the width of the pool has a bottom part attached to the cables in the lower rails and a top part attached to the cables in the top rails, so that when a winch pulls the cables the net is swept from one end of the pool to the other to capture any object in the pool. A sensor for detecting unauthorized entry into the pool activates the winch to sweep out a child that might have fallen into the pool.

Description

lJnited States Patent [191 [111 3,840,118 Whitmore Oct. 8, 1974 SWIMMING POOL SWEEPING SYSTEM Primary ExaminerJohn Adee [76] Inventor: William 0. Whitmore, 1733 Ocean Ammey, firm-Samuel Lmdenberg Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90404 221 Filed: May 24, 1972 ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 256,567 Two lower rails extend along the bottom of the pool at either side while two upper rails extend along the top of the pool at either side, to guide cables that run 2% 'i 210/85 210/ i d g gg along the rails. A net that extends along the width of gi i 259 the pool has a bottom part attached to the cables in 1 d o earch 0 84 the lower rails and a top part attached to the cables in 1 /2 9 the top rails, so that when a winch pulls the cables the 56 R f d net is swept from one end of the pool to the other to 1 e erences capture any object in the pool. A sensor for detecting UNITEDSTATES PATENTS unauthorized entryinto the pool activates the winch 2,367,997 l/l945 Chambras 210/169 X to sweep out a child that might have fallen into the 3,063,077 ll/l962 Pansini 210/169 X L 3,689,408 9/1972 Edmiston et al 210/169 7 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTEU 8 74 SHEET 1 BF 4 PATENTED BET 81974 SHEET 2 (IF 4 1 SWIMMING POOL SWEEPING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for use in swimming pools and the like.

The danger of children accidentally or intentionally entering an unattended swimming pool and drowning, is well recognized as a major hazard of swimming pools. In many situations it is impractical to use high fences or immovable pool covers to prevent entry whenever the pool is unattended. Alarms are available to detect SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a pool sweeping system is provided which can rescue a child who makes an unauthorized entry into the pool. This system includes a net that extends across the width of the pool and which extends from the bottom to the top of the pool. Whenthe system is activated and an unauthorized entry is detected, the net is swept from the deep end of the pool to the shallow end, and is raised to the top of the water to capture and pull out any large object in the pool, such as a child. The net is pulled by four cables that run along four rails, including twobottom rails that extend along opposite sides of the pool at the bottom, and two upper rails that extend along opposite sides of the pool at the top. A winch at the shallow end of the pool pulls all FIG. 7 is a sectional end view of a rail and runner of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of another embodiment of the invention, which utilizes a vacuum cleaner apparatuswhich sweeps along the bottom of the pool;

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of another embodiment of the vacuum cleaner apparatus;

FIG. 11 is a simplified plan view of the vacuum cleaner apparatus of FIG. 10 showing how it can be utilized to sweep a non-rectangular pool;

four cables to pull the net across the pool. At the shallow end of the pool, the lower rails extend upwardly to the top of the pool, so that after the net has swept the pool, it lifts any object to the top of the water. The sweeping mechanism can be utilized to carry vacuum heads along the bottom of the pool to clean it, such a cleaning operation also being useful to provide a periodic check of operation of the rescuing apparatus.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in theappended claims. The invention will best be understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawmgs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of pool sweeping appara tus constructed in accordance with the invention, shown during a sweeping operation;

FIG. 2 is a simplified front elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, shown prior to operation of the sweeping apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a partial view of the apparatus of FIG. 2, shown during an early stage of the sweeping operation;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the apparatus near the end of the sweeping operation;

FIG. 5 is a view of the apparatus of FIG. 2, shown at the end of the sweeping operation;

FIG. 6 is a partial view of the winch apparatus of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a simplified block diagram showing the circuitry for operating the deploying winch apparatus of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a simplified block diagram and perspective view of the circuitry and rewinding winch apparatus of the system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 14 is a partial sectional side view of step cleaning apparatus in a sweeping system constructed in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 illustrates a swimming pool 10 of rectangular shape, with a deep end 12 and shallow end 14. A sweep system is installed in the pool for dragging out a person who enters the pool when the system is activated. The sweep apparatus includes a main net 16 which can sweep across the pool from the deep end 12 to the shallow end 14, picking up any large object such as a person, to carry him to-the shallow end of the pool and to lift him to the top of the water at the shallow end. The main net is towedacross the pool by four cables that lie in four rails or

tracks

18, 20, 22 and 24 that extend along the length of the pool. When an unauthorized entry into the pool is detected, a winch apparatus 26 at the shallow end of the pool winds up the cables to tow the main net 16 across the pool. Two detector systems are utilized to detect an unauthorized entry into the pool. One of them includes a microphone or similar transducer 28 that detects a characteristic noise in the water when a person falls into the pool or otherwise creates a splash. Another detector is of the photoelectric type, which includes a lamp apparatus 30 that shines a beam of light, three mirrors 32 spaced about the pool for directing the light beam around the periphery of the pool, and a photoelectric cell 34 for detecting interruptions of the beam, which are created when a person enters the pool. An activating switch 36 which is located on a control console 38, can be operated to activate the sweep system when the pool will not be used, or to deactivate the sweep system during normal use; If desired, the switch 36 may include a key operated lock to prevent older children from deactivating the system without permission.

FIG. 2 illustrates the system prior to activation, when the main net 16 is held in a storage region 40 at the deep end of the pool. The lower end of the mainnet extends between runners 42 that move along the

bottom rails

18, 20. The upper end of the main net 16 is attached to other runners 44 that move along the

upper rails

22, 24. When the sweep system is energized, the four cables extending through the four tracks are pulled, so that all of the

runners

42, 44 are deployed from the storage area.

FIG. 2 illustrates the configuration of the sweep system a short time after activation, wherein the

runners

42, 44 have moved a small distance from their initial position. The storage region includes a largely vertical wall 46 that extends down to a position near the bottom of the pool. The upper track includes an initial portion 22a that extends downwardly inside the storage wall and under it, and a second portion 22b that extends up to the top of the pool, the following regions of the upper track 22 lying near the top of the pool. As the winch apparatus operates, the

runners

42, 44 pull the main net 16 from the storage area into the swimming region of the pool and hold it so it extends across the width of the pool and from the bottom to the top of the pool.

As the winch apparatus 26 continues to pull the cables and runners attached to them, the main net 16 moves through the pool, capturing anyone lying in the pool and dragging him toward the shallow end. FIG. 1 illustrates the system at about the middle point of its sweeping operation, while FIG. 4 illustrates the system near the end of a sweeping operation. The terminal portion 18x of each lower rail extends upwardly at the shallow end of the pool. As a result, the bottom 16b of the main net is pulled to the top of the pool at the shallow end. If a child has been captured by the main net 16, he will therefore be lifted near or above the surface of the water. If the child is unconscious or is too small to stand safely even in the shallow end of the pool, he can still be rescued. FIG. illustrates the sweep apparatus at the end of the sweeping operation. It may be noted that the portion 47 of the terminal lower track portion 18x lies a distance above the surface of the water, and that the lower runners 42 stop at this highest portion. This permits the net to hold a child largely out of the water, even though the net droops somewhat between the

runners

42, 44 on the lower and upper tracks. In order to minimize the amount of net drooping, the upper runner 44 is towed no further than the position shown in FIG. 4, at which position the upper runners abut stops 48 positioned along the upper tracks.

In addition to the main net 16, an auxiliary net 50 is provided which extends behind the main net. The auxiliary net 50 may be provided if it is desired to have a net extending over substantially the entire pool surface at the end of the sweeping operation. The auxiliary net has a front end tied to the top of the main net 16 and to the same runners 44 that carry the top of the main net. The rear end of the auxiliary net is held on another pair of runners 52 that also move along the upper tracks, and which are towed by the cables that run along the upper tracks. At the end of a sweep operation, the net 50 is held tensioned so that all of it lies near the top of the pool.

FIG. 6 illustrates the winch apparatus 26 which tows four

cables

58, 60, 62, 64 that extend through the four

tracks

18, 20, 22, 24, respectively. The winch apparatus includes a gear head motor 66 whose output shaft 68 is connected to two

cable drums

70, 72. When the output shaft 68 turns in the direction of arrow 74, the drums wind the

cables

58, 60 so that the lower end of the main net is towed across the pool. Another gear head motor 76 is also provided which has an output shaft 78 connected to two

drums

80, 82 that can wind the

cables

62, 64 that extend along the upper tracks, to

tow the upper portions of the main net across the pool FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a portion of one track 22, the cable 62 that runs through it, and the runner 44 that connects the cable to the net 16. The track 22 is tubular, except for a slot at the side that faces the main net 16. The runner 44 includes a body 92 that is fixed to the cable 62 and to a main line 16L of the main net, and also includes a pair of

rollers

94, 96 rotatedly mounted on the body 92 for rolling along the inside of the track.

FIG. 12 is a simplified view of a portion of the control circuit of the sweeping system. When the system is energized and a child crosses the light beam which surrounds the perimeter of the pool, the photo cell 34 generates a pulse, that is amplified by an amplifier 100. Similarly, when a splash occurs in the pool, the transducer 28 generates a pulse which is amplified by another amplifier 102. The pulse from either

amplifier

100 or 102 enters an input 104 of a siren and emergency light apparatus 106 to turn it on and notify persons in the area of the unauthorized entry into the pool. The pulse from either amplifier also enters the ON terminal 108 of a first latching relay 110. The latching relay then closes to allow current to flow from a power line 112 to the motor 66 that tows the cables such as cable 64. The motor continues operating until a switching runner 112 that is attached to the cable 60 operates a switch 114. The switch 114 then delivers a pulse to the off input 116 of the first latching relay to open it and terminate energization of the motor 66. The switching runner 112 is located so that the motor 68 is deenergized only after the bottom of the main net has reached its final position. In a similar manner, the pulse from the photocell or

transducer amplifiers

100, 102 also enters the ON terminal 118 of a second latching relay 120 which closes to being energization of the other motor 76 that winds the cables such as cable 64, that extend through the upper tracks. After the upper cables have been towed to their final positions, a switch runner 122 on the upper cable 64 operates a switch 124 that sends a pulse to the off terminal 126 of the second latching relay 120 to turn it off and de-energize the motor 76.

The on-off switch 36 which controls the apparatus has an output that can enter the activating input 128 of the siren 106, and which also can enter the activating

terminals

130, 132 of the latching

relays

110, 120. Until the switch 36 is turned on, the siren 106 will not operate and the latching

relays

110, 120 will remain open regardless of any pulses that enter their ON terminals, 108, 118. It should be understood that the circuit is shown only in a highly simplified form for better clarity, switching and activating apparatus for systems of this type being well known.

After a sweep of the pool by the sweeping system, it is necessary to withdraw the main and auxiliary nets back into the storage area. FIG. 13 is a simplified illustration of a retracting winch mechanism 130 which withdraws the nets back into the storage area. The mechanism includes an upper cable rewind motor 132 whose output shaft 134 drives a pair of

drums

136, 138 that rewind the

cables

62, 64 that extend along the upper tracks. When an operator presses a button to close a rewind switch 140, a pulse is delivered to the ON terminal 142 of a latching relay 144, closing the relay and allowing power to flow from the power line 112 to the motor 132 to energize it. As the motor shaft 134 turns, a pinion 146 on it slowly turns a gear 148 that turns a cam 150. After the upper rewind drums have turned sufficiently to completely withdraw the upper part of the nets back intothe storage area, a switch 152 that rides on the cam will close and deliver a pulse to the off terminal 154 of the latching relay 144 to open it and de-energize the motor 132. A similar apparatus is employed to pull back the lower cables, this other system including a lower rewind motor 160 that can be energized through another latching relay 162 to turn drums that rewind the lower cables to pull back the lower portions of the nets into the storage area.

A sweep apparatus can be used for additional functions besides rescuing a child. The apparatus that slowly sweeps across the pool can be utilized for facilitating pool maintenance, as by including dispensers for dispensing chlorine to keep the pool water evenly chlorinated or to sweep the bottom of the pool. FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the invention, wherein a group of vacuum heads 170, 172, 174, etc., are towed along the bottom of the pool by the cables such as cable 58 that also drag the bottom of the main net 16. The vacuum heads are attached to a common vacuum line 176 that extends across the pool and which connects to a flexible hose 178. The hose 178 extends to the storage area where it is connected to a vacuum pump, (not shown). The vacuum heads are positioned so they do not interfere with deployment of the main net 16 for catching a child who .falls into the pool. By mounting the vacuum apparatus to move with the net through the pool, the towing apparatus is utilized to facilitate pool maintenance. The vacuum apparatus may be operated only once in awhile, and it serves to check the operation of the system to make sure that it will properly operate in an emergency to sweep a child from the pool.

FIG. illustrates another vacuum apparatus which is designed to facilitate sweeping of a pool of irregular shape. The apparatus includes a series of parallelogram structures 180 that extend across the pool and which are held to brackets 182 that are tied to the lower cables such as cable 58. The parallelogram supports 180 hold vacuum heads 184, 186, 188, etc., and a flexible hose 190 that connects the heads to a vacuum pump. As shown in FIG. 11, when the vacuum apparatus is at a narrow portion of the pool, the vacuum heads overlap one another considerably. However, when the apparatus has reached a wider portion of the pool, the parallelograms extend to reach completely across the width of the pool while the vacuum heads overlap one another only a small amount. The vacuum heads will vacuum all regions of the pool including the widest regions, and yet can be accomodated in a narrow region of the pool.

The main net 16 can be attached to the parallelograms 180, so that the bottom of the net can always be held close to the bottom of the pool even though the net would normally be very slack at narrower regions of the pool. Of course, the parallelogram structures are useful even where no vacuum cleaner is employed. Larger objects than those which can be picked up by a vacuum head can be lifted into the net by deflectors 192 at the leading edge of the net.

FIG. 14 illustrates a step sweeper apparatus 200 for sweeping off the

steps

202, 204 at the shallow end of the pool. The apparatus includes brush members 206,

208, 210 that are moved by solenoid mechanisms 212 to sweep the dirt off the steps. The brushes are moved in sequence so that dirt on the steps is progressively moved to lower steps and then to a region 214. The

lower tracks such as track 216 are positioned to carry the vacuum heads past the region 214 where they can pick up the dirt, and then along a path that is clear of the steps.

Thus, the invention provides apparatus for sweeping a pool in an automatic manner. The apparatus can tow a net across the pool to drag out a child who makes an unauthorized entry into the pool so as to reduce the danger of drowning, and also can be utilized to aid in maintenance of the pool. The apparatus can be operated rapidly and with little effort on the part of the operator, and can be rapidly returned to its original position for normal use of the pool.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art and consequently it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.

What is claimed is: 1. Pool and sweeping apparatus comprising: a pool defining opposite sides and opposite ends; two upper rails extending along opposite sides of the pool, said rails located near the top of the pool along most of their lengths; V

two lower rails extending along opposite sides of the pool and located near the bottom of the pool along most of their lengths; runner means engaged with said rails to move therealong; cable means extending along said rails and attached to said runner means; i winch means engaged with said cable means to pull it; and sweep means extending across said pool and attached to said runner means so that it is pulled from one end of the pool to the other when said winch means is operated. 2. The apparatus described in claim 1 including: detector means for sensing the entrance of a person into said pool,.and means coupling said detector means to said winch means to start it. 3. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein: said sweep means includes a net extending between runner means on each of said upper rails and each of said lower rails. 4. The apparatus described in claim -1 wherein: said sweep means includes a plurality of vacuum heads at substantially the same level as said lower rails for vacuuming the bottom of the pool. 5. The apparatus described in claim 4 wherein: said sweep means includes an expandable support extending across said pool to follow variations in pool width, and said vacuum heads are spaced along said'support and overlap one another so that the entire width of the pool is vacuumed even along the widest part of the pool. 6. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein: said pool has a deep end and an opposite shallow end, and said winch means pulls said net from said deep end to said shallow end. 7. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein:

said pool has deep and shallow ends and said winch I means pulls said cables towards said shallow end;

and said lower rails extend upwardly to a position at least near the top of the pool at said shallow end.

Claims

1. Pool and sweeping apparatus comprising: a pool defining opposite sides and opposite ends; two upper rails extending along opposite sides of the pool, said rails located near the top of the pool along most of their lengths; two lower rails extending along opposite sides of the pool and located near the bottom of the pool along most of their lengths; runner means engaged with said rails to move therealong; cable means extending along said rails and attached to said runner means; winch means engaged with said cable means to pull it; and sweep means extending across said pool and attached to said runner means so that it is pulled from one end of the pool to the other when said winch means is operated.

2. The apparatus described in claim 1 including: detector means for sensing the entrance of a person into said pool, and means coupling said detector means to said winch means to start it.

3. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein: said sweep means includes a net extending between runner means on each of said upper rails and each of said lower rails.

4. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein: said sweep means includes a plurality of vacuum heads at substantially the same level as said lower rails for vacuuming the bottom of the pool.

5. The apparatus described in claim 4 wherein: said sweep means includes an expandable support extending across said pool to follow variations in pool width, and said vacuum heads are spaced along said support and overlap one another so that the entire width of the pool is vacuumed even along the widest part of the pool.

6. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein: said pool has a deep end and an opposite shallow end, and said winch means pulls said net from said deep end to said shallow end.

7. The apparatus described in claim 1 wherein: said pool has deep and shallow ends and said winch means pulls said cables towards said shallow end; and said lower rails extend upwardly to a position at least near the top of the pool at said shallow end.