Swimming Pool Coping With Integrated Tile Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional swimming pool copings lack aesthetic designs and fail to provide a finished look, particularly for vinyl pools, due to high failure rates of adhered decorative materials like tile, which diminishes the pool's appearance and perceived value.
Innovation Solution
A swimming pool coping system with a main body, horizontal, and vertical extensions that supports decorative tiles and a vinyl liner, allowing for easy installation and replacement, while providing a sleek profile and enhanced aesthetics through integrated lighting and secure attachment mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If decorative materials like tile are adhered directly to a pool liner, then aesthetic design is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to high failure rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a coping structure as an intermediary component between the pool liner and decorative materials. The coping includes a main body with a front face that receives decorative materials and a back end that attaches to the pool wall, eliminating direct adhesion to the liner. This mediator structure provides mechanical support and a stable mounting surface for tiles and other decorative elements, resolving the reliability issue while preserving aesthetic design capabilities.
2Shape
If adhered decorative materials are used, then aesthetic design is improved, but visibility and perceived value deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The coping structure creates a new spatial dimension by extending horizontally from the pool wall with a front face that protrudes outward. This dimensional change positions decorative materials in a more visible location, away from the pool liner surface, enhancing their visibility and aesthetic impact while maintaining structural integrity.
3Ease of manufacture
If a simple pool structure is used, then manufacturing ease is improved, but adaptability deteriorates due to lack of aesthetic variety
Solution Approach 1:
The coping is designed as a segmented modular structure with distinct components: a main body, horizontal extensions, and vertical extensions. This segmentation allows for standardized manufacturing of the basic coping unit while enabling extensive aesthetic customization through different tile arrangements, colors, and designs on the front face, thus maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The coping structure serves multiple functions: it provides structural support for the pool edge, creates a mounting surface for decorative materials, enables lighting integration through cavities, and facilitates liner attachment. This multi-functionality allows a single standardized component to achieve both manufacturing simplicity and aesthetic versatility through configurable surface treatments and accessory integrations.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, a swimming pool coping having an upper end, a lower end, a front end, and a back end, the coping includes a main body extending from the upper end toward the lower end, a horizontal extension attached to the back end of the main body and being perpendicular thereto, and at least one vertical extension parallel with the main body and spaced away from the main body.