Device for winding and unwinding a flexible cover for a swimming pool

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for winding and unwinding a flexible cover (200) for a swimming pool above said swimming pool, comprising: - a central tubular bar (1), configured to be attached to a flexible cover (200) for a swimming pool, at a free end of said flexible cover (200), and - two wheels (3), located on either side of the central tubular bar (1), characterized in that each of the wheels (3) comprises a mechanical connector (31) connecting it to the central bar, at least one of which passes through one of the two wheels (3) and forms a power take-off for a mobile device (300) for assisting in winding the cover, allowing, when such a mobile device (300) for assisting in winding is engaged with the mechanical connector (31), the central tubular bar (1) to be rotated to wind or unwind the flexible cover (200) around said central tubular bar (200), and a freewheel mechanism (5) between the central bar (1) and each of the wheels (3), configured to decouple the rotation of said wheels and the rotation of the central bar in the winding direction of the cover and to couple the rotation of the central bar (1) and the wheels (3) in the unwinding direction.

Description

[0001] DEVICE FOR WINDING AND UNWINDING A FLEXIBLE COVER FOR

[0002] POOL

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The present invention relates to a device for rolling and unrolling a flexible cover for a swimming pool. The flexible covers make it possible to cover a swimming pool that is not in use, while preventing objects and debris such as dead leaves from falling into it.

[0005] PREVIOUS ART

[0006] Pool covers prevent objects or people from falling into a pool when it is not in use. These covers are advantageously flexible, with a canvas body reinforced with crossbars. Flexible covers are compact when rolled up, less expensive than rigid structures with shutters, and can be rolled up and unrolled using low-power electric motors.

[0007] Rail devices are known, into which crossbars slide to stiffen pool covers, or even sections of shutters forming a rigid cover. A motorized roller, located at one end of the pool, rolls the cover up and down. These rail devices are expensive and bulky.

[0008] Alternatively, there is the use of tow straps that replace the rails at a lower cost, but these straps must be stretched over the pool or integrated into a structure within it. The soft cover is then more difficult to remove completely.

[0009] Document FR3084095 describes a device without rails or return straps, with a mobile reel equipped with wheels, which overcomes some of the disadvantages of the devices described above. The device of FR3084095 comprises a structure spanning the pool to be covered, and wheels allowing said device to follow the front of the cover when it is rolled up or unrolled.

[0010] The wheels and the shaft around which the cover is wrapped are synchronized in rotation, and driven by a single motor.

[0011] The FR3084095 device is, however, heavy and difficult to handle, due to the presence of two follower assemblies on each side with wheels and a drive mechanism each. It must, for storage, be at least partially dismantled, otherwise it will be difficult to lift.

[0012] When stored, the device also takes up a lot of space. Therefore, there is a need for a flexible pool cover rolling and unrolling device that is compact, lightweight, and easy to handle. The device must also be easy to use and store, without taking up too much space when stored.

[0013] BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] To this end, the invention proposes a device for rolling up and unrolling a flexible swimming pool cover above said swimming pool, comprising:

[0015] - a central tubular bar, configured to be attached to a flexible swimming pool cover, at a free end of said flexible cover,

[0016] - two wheels, located on either side of the central tubular bar.

[0017] The two wheels span the pool. The device is characterized in that the wheels each have a mechanical connector to the central bar, at least one of which passes through one of the two wheels and forms a power take-off for a mobile device for assisting in rolling up the cover, allowing, when such a mobile device for assisting in rolling up is engaged with the mechanical connector, to rotate the central tubular bar to roll up or unroll the flexible cover around said central tubular bar.

[0018] The device further comprises a freewheel mechanism between the central bar and each of the wheels, configured to decouple the rotation of said wheels and the rotation of the central bar in the direction of rolling up the cover and to couple the rotation of the central bar and the wheels in the direction of unrolling.

[0019] The device thus obtained is compact, lightweight and easy to use. Said device may also include one or more of the following characteristics, taken alone or in combination.

[0020] The mechanical connector may be a central shaft configured to be attached to the central tubular bar rotationally secured to said central tubular bar when attached.

[0021] The wheels can be removable and the central tubular bar forms a transverse bar stiffening the cover once the wheels are removed.

[0022] Alternatively, the central tubular bar may have a removable connection to the flexible cover, so that the entire rolling and unrolling device can be separated from the flexible cover and can be removed once the flexible cover has been unrolled over the pool.

[0023] Alternatively, the wheels may comprise a connection to the central tubular bar with a pivot connection of longitudinal axis, which may be locked with the wheels in the rolling position, so that the central tubular bar may be placed on the ground once the pivot connection is released and the wheels are inclined. In particular, the wheels may be connected to a central shaft forming a mechanical connector insertable into the central bar and carrying the pivot connection, the central shaft being movable in translation relative to the central tubular bar between a position in which the pivot connection is inserted into the central tubular bar and locked, and a position in which the pivot connection is outside the central tubular bar and released.

[0024] Alternatively, the central shafts of the two wheels can be connected to each other by a pre-stressed flexible elastic band which, when the central shafts are aligned with the central tubular bar, brings the two central shafts together and keeps them inserted into said central tubular bar.

[0025] The power take-off of the mechanical connector may include a lateral recess on at least one of the outer sides of the wheels, configured to receive a complementary shaped protrusion of the mobile winding assistance device.

[0026] Said lateral withdrawal may in particular be of polygonal shape.

[0027] Finally, the invention also relates to a cover and unroller assembly for swimming pools, comprising:

[0028] - a soft cover,

[0029] - a motorized mobile device for assisting in rolling up the cover, having a power take-off by which it is configured to exert a torque for rolling up or unrolling the flexible cover, characterized in that it comprises a rolling and unrolling device as previously described, the power take-off of which is configured to engage with the power take-off of the motorized mobile device for assisting in rolling up the cover.

[0030] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0031] The present invention will be better understood by reading the description of the figures among which:

[0032] [Fig. 1] is a partial perspective view of a cover and a first embodiment of the invention with the wheels in place,

[0033] [Fig. 2] is a partial perspective view of the cover and embodiment of Fig. 1 with the wheels removed,

[0034] [Fig. 3] is a schematic representation of the wheels of the preceding figures,

[0035] [Fig. 4] is a partial perspective view of a cover and a second embodiment of the invention with the wheels in the raised position,

[0036] [Fig. 5] is a schematic representation of the wheels and their mechanical connector of the embodiment of Fig. 4, [Fig. 6] is a schematic representation of the wheels of an alternative to the embodiment of Fig. 4 in the engaged position,

[0037] [Fig. 7] is a schematic representation of the wheels of an alternative to the embodiment of Fig. 4 in the disengaged position,

[0038] [Fig. 8] is a partial perspective view of an embodiment provided with carriages on either side of the central tubular bar.

[0039] The embodiments shown are given as illustrative and non-limiting examples. Other embodiments are derivable from these by combination and variation. These embodiments are of course included in the subject of the invention.

[0040] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0041] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an assembly 100 composed of a cover 200, a motorized mobile device 300 for assisting in rolling up the cover 200, and a device 10 for rolling and unrolling the cover 200 above a swimming pool (not shown).

[0042] The rolling / unrolling movement is performed in the longitudinal direction. Gravity gives a vertical direction (considering the edge of the pool flat and horizontal). The third direction is considered transverse.

[0043] The winding and unwinding device 10 essentially comprises:

[0044] - a central tubular bar 1, hollow at least at its ends, and

[0045] - two wheels 3, located on either side of the central tubular bar.

[0046] Figure 2 shows the assembly 100 with the wheels 3 detached from the central tubular bar 1, and arranged next to the mobile device 300.

[0047] The central tubular bar 1 is in this particular embodiment a crossbar of the cover 200, and can thus be left in place once the cover 200 has been unrolled. The wheels 3 can be removed for this purpose.

[0048] According to a different embodiment, not shown, the central tubular bar 1 is connected to the cover 200 by means of straps, which pass through slots in the central tubular bar 1, and thus form a removable connection. The winding and unwinding device 10 as a whole can then be removed from the cover 200 once the latter is in place.

[0049] Alternatively, hooks on the central tubular bar 1 can engage with the straps or eyelets directly on the cover 200.

[0050] The other end of the cover 200 is fixed, for example to pitons or hooks secured to a rim of the swimming pool. The wheels 3, shown separately in FIG. 3, comprise a mechanical connector 31 to the central tubular bar 1, here a central shaft removably inserted into the central tubular bar 1, which rotates said central tubular bar 1 when it is itself rotated. The wheels 3 also comprise a wheel body 33, of circular shape and which bears against the ground. The wheel body 3 may in particular be provided with a skirt made of rubber-type material forming a tire or at least a high-friction skirt.

[0051] Alternatively, the central shaft may be attached to the central tubular bar 1, for example by forming a housing for one end of said central tubular bar 1, by pinching or being screwed to the central tubular bar 1 or by having a screw, pin or ratchet connection.

[0052] The central shaft forming a mechanical connector 31 is for example circular in shape, with a notch or a protrusion engaging with a corresponding protrusion or notch of the central tubular bar 1. Alternatively, the central shaft may be polygonal, square or hexagonal in particular, to secure the central shaft and the central tubular bar 1 in rotation.

[0053] The wheel on the right in Figure 3 has on its outer radial face a notch forming a power take-off 35, of square or more generally polygonal shape. The polygonal recess 35 cooperates with a correspondingly shaped protrusion of the mobile device 300, which transmits via the polygonal recess a torque to the central tubular bar 1. To do this, a shaft passes through the wheel 3, connecting the power take-off 35 to the mechanical connector 31, thus transmitting the actuation of the mobile device 300 to the central tubular bar 1.

[0054] The mobile device 300 is here an electric device, provided with a handle 301 and a handle 303, which allow the user to engage said mobile device 300 with the power take-off 35 without bending down, while following the rolling up of the cover 200. Other types of mobile devices 300 are however conceivable, for example a device with wheels itself, in particular free wheels rotating under the effect of being driven by the wheels 3 in power take-off.

[0055] Alternatively, the mobile device 300 can be driven by the user's force, with a crank system whose actuation is multiplied and transmitted to the power take-off 35.

[0056] A freewheel mechanism 5 is arranged between the mechanical connectors 31 and the wheel body 33, decoupling the rotation of the wheels 3 and the central bar 1 in the direction of winding the cover 200, and coupling the rotation of the central bar 1 and the wheels 3 in the direction of unwinding the cover 200.

[0057] Thus, in the winding direction, the central tubular bar 1 is driven by the mobile device 300. The cover 200 is wound around said central tubular bar 1, while driving the assembly formed by the mobile device 300 and the winding and unwinding device 10. The wheels then being free, the winding and unwinding device 10 is synchronized with the winding of the cover 200.

[0058] In the unwinding direction, the wheels 3, driven with the central tubular bar 1, slip, due to the smaller diameter of the wound cover reel 200. The wheels 3 are then driven, and due to their slippage, keep the cover 200 in tension while it is unwinding.

[0059] Thus, the wheels 3 can be driven during unwinding, while during winding they are in frictionless rolling. Wear of the parts is thus reduced.

[0060] Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment. In this alternative embodiment, the wheels 3 can be inclined about a longitudinal axis, so that, once the wheels 3 are inclined with their apex towards the inside of the cover 200, the central tubular bar 1, and therefore the free end of the cover 200, can be placed on the ground in order to completely close the swimming pool.

[0061] Figure 5 shows separately the wheels 3 of Figure 4, with their mechanical connectors 31 outside the central tubular bar 1.

[0062] Said mechanical connectors 31 have a pivot connection 37 in the middle of a central shaft, inserted at least partially in the central tubular bar 1. The pivot connection 37 can be locked with the wheels 3 in a rolling position, that is to say with the wheels vertical. The pivot connection 37 makes it possible to tilt the wheels 3 around a longitudinal axis to allow the central tubular bar 1 to be placed on the ground.

[0063] In the embodiment shown, the central shaft carrying the pivot connection 37 is movable in transverse translation in the central tubular bar 1. In particular, the central shaft can be inserted until the pivot connection 37 is inserted into the central tubular bar 1 and thus locked. By removing the central shaft from the central tubular bar 1, the pivot connection 37 is then released, which makes it possible to tilt the wheels 3.

[0064] Due to the presence of the freewheel mechanism 5, the pivot link 37 can freely rotate in one direction, and it is thus ensured that the axis of said pivot link 37 can be aligned with the longitudinal direction. If the friction is sufficiently low, this alignment will occur spontaneously in most cases once the pivot link 37 is released.

[0065] Figures 6 and 7 show a third embodiment, derived from the previous one.

[0066] In the embodiment of Figures 6 and 7, the wheels 3 are connected at the end of their mechanical connector 31, which is in the form of a rigid central shaft, by an elastic band 7.

[0067] The elastic 7 is flexible and prestressed. The elastic 7 pulls the wheels 3 away from each other towards the middle of the central tubular bar 1. In Figure 6, the central shaft forming a mechanical connector 31 is inserted into the central tubular bar 1 and the elastic 7 is in its state of least deformation. In Figure 7, the central shafts forming mechanical connectors 31 are removed from the central tubular bar 1, by traction from the user.

[0068] When the central shafts forming mechanical connectors 31 are removed, the wheels 3 can freely tilt due to the flexible nature of the elastic 7. Under its own weight, the central tubular bar 1 will then come to rest on the ground. To return the wheels 3 to the rolling position, the user only has to align the central shafts forming mechanical connectors 31 and the central tubular bar 1. The restoring force exerted by the elastic 7 will then pull said central shafts towards each other and therefore stabilize the wheels 3 in the rolling position.

[0069] Figure 8 shows another alternative embodiment of winding and unwinding device

[0070] 10.

[0071] In this embodiment, the central tubular bar 1 is connected on either side to two carriages

[0072] 11, each having two wheels 3, each with a drive wheel 30, mechanically connected via the free wheel 5 to the central tubular bar 1, and a follower wheel 32, free to rotate.

[0073] The trolley 11 on the right in figure 8 is shown with a solid external cover, the one on the left in figure 8 is shown with its external cover transparent, to reveal the wheels 3. The trolley 11 on the right is engaged with the mobile device 300.

[0074] The drive wheels 30 and follower wheels 32 are in particular aligned, and the carriages 11 cooperate with rails 40 which guide them in translation, in particular with rollers 41 rotating around a vertical axis which pinch the rails 40 on their lateral faces.

[0075] The drive wheels 30 and follower wheels 32 are thus offset laterally relative to the rails 40, and rest on the ground at the edge of the swimming pool. According to a variant, the drive wheels 30 and / or the follower wheels 32 may rest on the rails 40 in order to guide the carriages 11 in translation.

[0076] Other variants may include other additional follower wheels 32, in particular so that each carriage 11 is stable, for example with three follower wheels 32 and a drive wheel 30, each located at a corner of the carriage 11.

[0077] The carriages 11 can in particular form the mobile device 300, and be detachable from the central bar 1 or form with the central bar 1 a device 10 detachable from the cover 200, by having an electric motor integrated in the cover of one of the carriages 11.

[0078] The device of the invention makes it possible to reduce the size of the device for rolling up and unrolling the flexible cover 200, while being simple to use and to manufacture. It is also compact, and adapts to any pre-existing pool and can be easily stored in a covered space such as a shed or technical room with the flexible cover 200 rolled up or leaving it in place once unrolled.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Device for rolling up and unrolling a flexible cover (200) for a swimming pool above said swimming pool, comprising: - a central tubular bar (1), configured to be attached to a flexible cover (200) for a swimming pool, at a free end of said flexible cover (200), - two wheels (3), located on either side of the central tubular bar (1), characterized in that the wheels (3) each comprise a mechanical connector (31) to the central bar, at least one of which passes through one of the two wheels (3) and forms a power take-off for a mobile device (300) for assisting in rolling up the cover, allowing, when such a mobile device (300) for assisting in rolling up is engaged with the mechanical connector (31), to rotate the central tubular bar (1) to roll up or unroll the flexible cover (200) around said central tubular bar (1), and a freewheel mechanism (5) between the central tubular bar (1) and each of the wheels (3),configured to decouple the rotation of said wheels (3) and the rotation of the central tubular bar (1) in the direction of winding of the flexible cover (200) and to couple the rotation of the central tubular bar (1) and the wheels (3) in the direction of unwinding of the flexible cover (200)., 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the mechanical connector (31) is a central shaft configured to be attached to the central tubular bar (1) integral in rotation with said central tubular bar (1) when attached thereto.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the wheels are removable and in that the central tubular bar (10) forms a transverse bar stiffening the cover (200) once the wheels (3) are removed.

4. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the tubular bar (1) comprises a removable connection to the flexible cover (200), so as to be able to detach the winding and unwinding device (10) as a whole from the flexible cover (200) and allow its removal once the flexible cover (200) has been unrolled above the swimming pool.

5. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the wheels (3) have a connection to the central tubular bar (1) with a pivot connection (37) of longitudinal axis, which can be locked with the wheels (3) in the rolling position, so that the central tubular bar (1) can be placed on the ground once the pivot connection (37) is released.

6. Device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the wheels are connected to a central shaft forming a mechanical connector (31) insertable into the central bar and carrying the pivot connection (37), the central shaft being movable in translation relative to the central tubular bar (37) between a position in which the pivot connection (37) is inserted into the central tubular bar (1) and blocked, and a position in which the pivot connection (37) is outside the central tubular bar (1) and released.

7. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the central shafts of the two wheels are connected to each other by a pre-stressed flexible elastic band (7) which, when the central shafts are aligned with the central tubular bar (1), brings the two central shafts together and keeps them inserted in said central tubular bar (1).

8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the power take-off (35) of the mechanical connector (31) comprises a lateral recess on at least one of the outer sides of the wheels (3), configured to receive a protuberance of complementary shape of the mobile device (300) for assisting winding.

9. Device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the lateral withdrawal is of polygonal shape.

10. Cover and reel set for swimming pool, comprising: - a soft cover (200), - a motorized mobile device (300) for assisting in rolling up the cover (200), having a power take-off by which it is configured to exert a torque for rolling up or unrolling the flexible cover (200), characterized in that it comprises a winding and unwinding device (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, the power take-off (35) of which is configured to engage with the power take-off of the mobile device (300) for assisting in rolling up the cover (200).

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