Swimming pool overflow device and method

Abstract

A pool overflow device controls water level in a swimming pool. The swimming pool includes an interior wall having an upper end. An overflow port passes through the interior wall at an elevation below the upper end of the interior wall. A drain member has a drain passage therethrough in fluid communication with the overflow port for passing fluid from the pool. One embodiment of the device comprises a 90-degree elbow having a first port, a second port, and a flow passage for passing water between the first and second port. The elbow rotatably mates with a tubular segment about an axis of rotation passing through the first port. The second port is radially spaced from the axis of rotation. The body may be selectively rotated to adjust the elevation of the second port, and thus to control the elevation at which water passes from the pool through the overflow port.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The invention relates to a pool overflow device for preventing pool overflow. In particular, the invention relates to a device for adjusting the level at which water will discharge from the pool through an overflow port. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] A conventional swimming pool has an interior wall for retaining pool water. The interior wall is generally concave, extending upwardly to an upper end of the interior wall. The upper end of the interior wall typically intersects a deck or coping. An overflow port is commonly included in the interior wall at some elevation below the upper end. When the water level in the pool reaches the overflow port, water from the pool passes through the overflow port into an overflow passage that exits to a drain or reservoir. The overflow port thereby prevents the water level in the pool from rising to the upper end and “overflowing” from the pool over the edge. [0003] A number of factors may raise water level in a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The pool overflow device controls the water level in a swimming pool by using a rotating body with two ports and a sealed flowpath between them. The device can be attached to the pool's interior wall or the overflow line using a connecting member with a flange and gasket. The device allows for adjustment of the water level in the pool through the overflow port."

Problems solved by technology

Rain, for example, may fall in unpredictable quantities.

Likewise, a garden hose used to fill the pool may be left on inadvertently.

In other circumstances, however, it is undesirable for water to drain through the overflow port.

For example, when people get in and use the pool, the volume of their bodies displaces water and raises the water level.

Additionally, people often place objects in the pool, such as floatation devices or even pets who like to swim, and doing so increases the volumetric displacement.

When the people and objects exit the pool, water may have drained through the overflow port, and the water level has been undesirably lowered.

The volumetric displacement caused during such normal use is typically not sufficient to raise the water level to the edge of the pool, and it is therefore unnecessary to pass water through the overflow port.

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