Water basin shell

Abstract

Title: Water Basin Shell The invention relates to a water basin shell (100), comprising: - a base (110), - a peripheral rim (120) extending from the base (110), and - a peripheral edge (130) extending outwards from the shell (100), and having a thickness (EP), characterized in that the peripheral edge (120) has at least one cavity (134) locally reducing the thickness (EP) of the peripheral edge (130) to form a receiving area for a liquid material intended to form coping stones (M). Figure for the abstract: Fig. 1

Description

Title of the invention: Water basin shell Scope of the invention

[0001] The field of the invention is that of the design and manufacture of aquatic equipment.

[0002] More particularly, the invention relates to a shell for a water basin.

[0003] The invention finds a particular application for the construction of swimming pools.

[0004] Hereafter, the terms water basin or swimming pool will be used interchangeably to refer to the same element. State of the art

[0005] Water basins, such as swimming pools, can be manufactured from shells obtained by molding and placed in a hole dug in the ground.

[0006] These shells have the advantage of being mass-produced, which helps to reduce the cost of swimming pools.

[0007] Conventionally, a hull comprises a bottom and a peripheral belt extending from the bottom. The peripheral belt and the bottom define a receptacle intended to receive water.

[0008] Furthermore, the shell includes a peripheral rim extending from a free edge of the peripheral belt outwards from the receptacle, said peripheral rim forming a shoulder with the peripheral belt. The peripheral rim has a lower face facing the bottom of the shell and an upper face opposite the lower face.

[0009] The peripheral border has a dual role.

[0010] In a first role, the peripheral rim helps to limit the sinking of the shell into the ground by forming a bearing surface on the ground by its lower face.

[0011] In a second role, the peripheral border makes it easier to finish around the pool, in particular by installing coping stones that surround the pool by being glued to the top face.

[0012] The coping stones, generally stones or tiles, are arranged around the hull flush with the ground and form a "trim" to conceal the peripheral edge of the hull which has a rough and generally unattractive appearance.

[0013] For the creation of a swimming pool, a hole is dug in the ground and the shell is transported from its place of production or distribution to its place of installation by road.

[0014] Once in place in the hole, the shell is connected to all functional equipment, such as water inlets and outlets, as well as lighting and water treatment equipment.

[0015] A possible earth-filling step around the hull can be carried out before proceeding to a finishing step during which the coping stones are put in place.

[0016] The finishing stage is lengthy and may require special expertise.

[0017] Indeed, stone cutting or tile cutting steps may be necessary to ensure a beautiful aesthetic appearance for the pool once completed.

[0018] Furthermore, the installation of the coping stones requires certain specific conditions, including dry, or almost dry, weather with minimum temperatures to allow the glue to adhere and dry, and a predetermined drying time during which the pool cannot be filled with water and / or used.

[0019] Finally, the worker installing the coping stones must ensure the correct orientation and alignment of the coping stones to guarantee a smooth appearance of the edge of the pool, i.e. avoid differences in height between the coping stones which can create roughness in which the feet of a pool user can get caught, risking causing them to fall into the water or even injure themselves. Objectives of the invention

[0020] The invention aims, in particular, to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.

[0021] More specifically, the invention aims to provide a casing that allows for simple installation and offers a finish equal to or superior to existing solutions.

[0022] The invention also aims to provide such a simple shell to manufacture. Description of the invention

[0023] These objectives, as well as others that will appear subsequently, are achieved thanks to the invention which relates to a shell for a water basin, comprising: - a bottom, - a peripheral belt extending from the bottom, and - a peripheral border extending outwards from the hull from a free edge of the peripheral belt to an extreme edge, the peripheral border having a thickness measured between a lower face turned towards the bottom of the hull and an upper face opposite the lower face, characterized in that the peripheral border has at least one cavity opening onto the upper face, said cavity locally reducing the thickness of the peripheral border to form a receiving area for a liquid material intended to form coping stones by hardening by drying.

[0024] The cavity thus allows a resin, filled or unfilled, to be poured to create coping stones replacing traditional stone coping stones, for example.

[0025] In other words, a liquid material can be poured into the cavity or each cavity to form a coping. By liquid material is understood to mean any material that can be poured into a cavity, regardless of its viscosity. By way of illustrative and non-limiting example, a liquid material could be concrete, resin, rubber, etc.

[0026] It is therefore not necessary to use skilled labor for cutting and laying coping stones as is the case for known methods.

[0027] The installation time of the basin, for example a swimming pool, is therefore reduced compared to known solutions.

[0028] In addition, the use of a liquid material to form the coping stones ensures greater personalization of the pool compared to the use of stones since said liquid material can be filled or not, colored or not, undergo post-treatment or not, in a faster and lower cost compared to known methods.

[0029] In addition, the cost of installing a pool comprising a shell according to the invention is reduced by the presence of at least one cavity since the finishing can be done without skilled labor and with a low additional cost of customization for example.

[0030] Finally, since the drying time of a liquid material is less than the drying and complete hardening time of a stone adhesive, the use of the basin comprising a shell according to the invention may be faster for its owner compared to the implementation of known solutions.

[0031] According to an advantageous aspect, the peripheral border comprises a single cavity, said cavity extending over the entire peripheral border.

[0032] The single cavity offers the possibility of creating a single resin coping, for example.

[0033] Thus, this facilitates the installation process of the basin.

[0034] According to another advantageous aspect, the peripheral border comprises a plurality of cavities arranged along the peripheral border.

[0035] The presence of a plurality of cavities makes it possible to create a plurality of coping stones forming an aesthetic border around the basin.

[0036] In addition, this allows a pattern to be created between the different coping stones cast in the cavities to further personalize the basin.

[0037] According to another advantageous aspect, the cavities are spaced two by two at a distance d between 1.5 cm and 4.5 cm.

[0038] Such a distance between two cavities allows a stream to form between the coping stones poured into the cavities.

[0039] Thus, this prevents water from stagnating on the coping stones poured into the cavities, which then ensures rapid drying of the coping stones, giving increased safety to the pool since there is no risk of slipping on a puddle of water stagnating on or between the coping stones.

[0040] According to another advantageous aspect, the cavity or each cavity has a depth of between 30% and 90% of the thickness of the peripheral border.

[0041] Such a range of cavity depths makes it possible to create cast coping stones offering a good compromise between mechanical resistance and low thickness.

[0042] A low thickness then promotes the speed of drying of the cast coping stones, and also the low cost of the basin comprising a shell according to the invention, compared to the solutions of the prior art.

[0043] According to another advantageous aspect, the cavity or each cavity has a width between 70% and 90% of an extent of the peripheral border measured between the free edge and the extremal edge.

[0044] According to another advantageous aspect, the cavity or each cavity has a height between 30 cm and 120 cm.

[0045] Such width and height make it possible to create coping stones comprising sizes offering a beautiful visual appearance.

[0046] According to another advantageous aspect, the shell is made of a plastic material.

[0047] Such a material offers significant mechanical resistance over time while being lightweight to facilitate transport and handling of the hull during its installation on site.

[0048] According to another advantageous aspect, the cavity or each cavity contains a rim formed by a liquid material which has hardened upon drying.

[0049] Thus, a swimming pool can be installed quickly on site since the coping stones can be made at the production site of the shell, which allows the delivery of a "ready-to-use" shell straight from the factory.

[0050] The invention also relates to a method for installing a water basin comprising a shell as previously described, the method comprising the following steps: - place the said shell in a pre-dug hole, and - to pour a liquid material into the cavity or cavities of said hull to form coping stones.

[0051] Such a process makes it possible to obtain a water basin similar to those of known solutions, for a lower cost and installation time. Figures

[0052] Other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, given by way of illustrative and non-limiting examples, and the accompanying drawings described below.

[0053] [Fig-1] The [Fig.1] is a schematic top perspective representation of a shell according to the invention, for basin, according to a first embodiment.

[0054] [Fig.2] Fig.2 is a schematic cross-sectional representation of a detail of the hull according to the invention, according to the section plane II-II of [Fig.1].

[0055] [Fig.3] Fig.3 is a schematic top-view representation of a detail of the hull according to the invention, according to a second embodiment. Detailed description of the invention

[0056] With reference to [Fig.1], a 100 shell for a water basin is illustrated.

[0057] The 100 shell is specifically intended to be used as a swimming pool.

[0058] The shell 100 comprises: - a 110 fund, - a 120 mm peripheral belt, and - a peripheral border 130.

[0059] The peripheral belt 120 extending from the bottom 110 and defining with the latter a receptacle intended to contain water.

[0060] To this end, the peripheral belt 120 forms the lateral walls of the hull. More precisely, the peripheral belt 120 is in the form of a closed loop encircling the bottom 110 and defining the contours of the hull 100. The peripheral belt 120 can be formed of a single wall or a plurality of walls. When it has a single wall, the peripheral belt 120 then has an elliptical shape, for example, circular or oval. On the other hand, when it has a plurality of walls, the peripheral belt 120 then has a polygonal shape, for example, square, rectangular, heptagonal, octagonal, etc. Alternatively, the peripheral belt 120 can have both flat and curved walls.

[0061] In addition, the peripheral belt 120 has an inner face 121 turned towards the inside of the shell 100, i.e. towards the inside of the receptacle.

[0062] The peripheral border 130 extends outwards from the hull from a free edge 122 of the peripheral belt 120.

[0063] The peripheral border 130 extends to an extreme border 131.

[0064] With reference to [Fig.2], the peripheral rim 130 has a thickness Ep measured between a lower face 132 turned towards the bottom 110 of the hull 100 and a upper face 133 opposite the lower face 132.

[0065] Furthermore, the peripheral border 130 has at least one cavity 134.

[0066] The cavity or each cavity 134 opens onto the upper face 133.

[0067] As illustrated by [Fig.2], the cavity 134 locally reduces the thickness Ep of the peripheral border 130. Each cavity 134 thus forms a receiving area for a liquid material intended to form coping stones by hardening through drying.

[0068] As explained below, a liquid material can be poured into the cavity or each cavity 134 to form a coping. A liquid material is understood to mean any material that can be poured into a cavity, regardless of its viscosity. By way of illustrative and non-limiting example, a liquid material could be concrete, resin, rubber, etc.

[0069] According to a first embodiment illustrated by [Fig.1], the peripheral border 130 comprises a single cavity 134. In this case, the cavity 134 extends over the entire peripheral border 130.

[0070] In other words, the cavity 134 follows the contour defined by the peripheral border 130 and thus forms a closed loop.

[0071] According to a second embodiment, as illustrated by [Fig.3], the peripheral border 130 comprises a plurality of cavities 134 arranged along the peripheral border 130. In this case, each cavity 134 extends over only a portion of the peripheral border 130.

[0072] In other words, the peripheral border 130 has a plurality of cavities 134 aligned with each other along the peripheral border 130.

[0073] With reference to [Fig.3], the cavities 134 are spaced two by two at a distance d between 1.5 cm and 4.5 cm.

[0074] Preferably, the cavity or each cavity 134 has the following dimensions.

[0075] The cavity or each cavity 134 has a depth between 30% and 30% of the thickness Ep of the peripheral border 130.

[0076] By way of guide and not limitation, an optimal depth for each cavity 134 is between 0.5 cm and 3 cm.

[0077] The cavity or each cavity 134 has a width L between 70% and 90% of an extent E of the peripheral border 130 measured between the free edge 122 and the extremal edge 131.

[0078] As an indication and not a limitation, an optimal width for each cavity 134 is 15 cm.

[0079] According to the second embodiment, each cavity 134 has a height H between 30 cm and 120 cm.

[0080] As an indication and not a limitation, an optimal height for each cavity 134 is between 50 cm and 100 cm.

[0081] In addition, to facilitate its handling, in particular by keeping its weight down, the shell 100 is made of a plastic material.

[0082] According to one aspect, when manufactured, the hull 100 can be customized by the creation of M coping stones.

[0083] For this purpose, a liquid material is poured into the cavity or each cavity 134, said material hardening upon drying to form said coping stones M once dry.

[0084] By way of illustrative and non-limiting example, the liquid material is a resin that can be filled with fibers or stones. Furthermore, the resin can be colored, and the fibers or stones can be cut to present light-reflecting faces to create a natural shimmer for the coping stones M. Filling the resin with fibers, stones, or any other element also provides mechanical reinforcement for the coping stones M.

[0085] In addition, the coping stones M may have a rough surface condition so as to avoid water retention which could form slippery puddles, and thus allow the grip of users' feet.

[0086] In operation, the hull 100 is installed in a hole provided for this purpose and connected to the various networks specific to its use, such as a water network and an electrical network.

[0087] Once connected to the various networks, the hull 100 is held in the hole by refloating said hole if necessary.

[0088] When empty, the cavities 134 of the hull 100 can then be filled with a liquid material to form the coping stones M.

[0089] For example, the cavities 134 can receive a coloured or colourless resin allowing the coping stones M to be formed by drying and hardening.

[0090] According to certain customization requirements, the cavities 134 can be pre-filled, at least partially, with solid elements, prior to pouring the liquid material.

[0091] This also allows for the mechanical reinforcement of the resulting M coping stones.

[0092] Whether the coping stones are produced at the shell 100 production site or at the installation site, the use of a liquid material allows for autonomous leveling of the material, facilitating its distribution in the cavity 134 and providing a desired surface finish without requiring any special qualifications from the workers producing the M coping stones.

[0093] The shell 100 and the installation process just described make it possible to obtain a water basin, for example a swimming pool, at lower costs compared to known solutions while presenting a similar or even superior quality of finish in some cases.

[0094] In addition, the use of a liquid material, for example a resin, offers the possibility of increased personalization compared to known solutions.

Claims

Demands

1. A water basin shell (100) comprising: - a bottom (110), - a peripheral band (120) extending from the bottom (110), and - a peripheral rim (130) extending outwards from the shell (100) from a free edge (122) of the peripheral band (120) to an extreme edge (131), the peripheral rim (130) having a thickness (EP) measured between a lower face (132) facing the bottom (110) of the shell (100) and an upper face (133) opposite the lower face (132), characterized in that the peripheral rim (120) has at least one cavity (134) opening onto the upper face (133), said cavity (134) locally reducing the thickness (EP) of the peripheral rim (130) to form a receiving area for a liquid material intended to form coping stones (M) by hardening through drying.

2. Shell (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the peripheral rim (130) comprises a single cavity (134), said cavity (134) extending over the entire peripheral rim (130).

3. Shell (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the peripheral rim (130) comprises a plurality of cavities (134) arranged along the peripheral rim (130).

4. Shell (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the cavities (134) are spaced two by two at a distance (d) between 1.5 cm and 4.5 cm.

5. Shell (100) according to claim 3 or claim 4, characterized in that each cavity (134) has a height (H) between 30 cm and 120 cm.

6. Shell (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cavity or each cavity (134) has a depth (P) between 30% and 90% of the thickness (EP) of the peripheral rim (130).

7. Shell (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cavity or each cavity (134) has a width (L) between 70% and 90% of an extent of the peripheral edge (130) measured between the free edge (122) and the extremal edge (131).

8. Shell (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made of a plastic material.

9. Shell (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cavity or each cavity (134) contains a rim (M) formed by a liquid material that has hardened upon drying.

10. Method of installing a water basin comprising a shell (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the method being characterized in that it comprises the following steps: - placing said shell (100) in a previously dug hole, and - pouring a liquid material into the cavity or each cavity (134) of said shell (100) to form coping stones (M).

Images