Pool Cover Sections Pivoting Over Waterfall Chute
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pool or spa covers with waterfall chutes face difficulties in easy seating and sealing due to bulky padding, which complicates maneuvering and alignment with the pool or spa edges.
Innovation Solution
A pool or spa cover with hinge-connected sections, featuring a locally cut-away portion to accommodate the chute, synthetic foam for sealing, and self-adjustable wedge-shaped pads for alignment, allowing one section to pivot downwardly while the other remains seated, ensuring smooth seating and sealing without compromising the waterfall effect.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pads or padding are attached to the underside of the cover to provide sealing, then sealing capability is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to bulky padding complicating maneuvering and alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is divided into multiple sections that can be maneuvered independently, with hinge connections allowing flexible positioning during installation. This segmentation enables easier alignment with the pool/spa edges while maintaining sealing capability through distributed sealing edges across multiple sections.
Solution Approach 2:
Padding or sealing elements are applied locally at specific edges and sections of the cover rather than uniformly across the entire cover. This localized approach provides sealing where needed (at the edges contacting the receptacle) while minimizing bulk and complexity in the overall structure, improving ease of maneuvering.
2Reliability
If the cover is configured to seal on the top of the side wall, then sealing is improved, but device complexity increases when accommodating waterfall chutes
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is segmented into multiple sections that can be independently positioned and sealed. This allows the cover to accommodate irregular features like waterfall chutes by enabling each section to be adjusted to its local geometry, maintaining sealing without requiring a complex custom-designed single-piece cover.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover incorporates hinge connections that allow sections to pivot and adjust dynamically during installation and operation. This dynamic capability enables the cover to adapt to the presence of waterfall chutes and other structural features, maintaining effective sealing while keeping the overall design relatively simple and modular.
3Ease of operation
If the cover sections are hinge connected to allow pivoting, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is divided into sections connected by hinges, allowing independent positioning of each section. This segmentation provides ease of operation during installation and adjustment while keeping each individual section simple in design, balancing operational ease with structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
Hinge connections provide dynamic adjustability, allowing cover sections to pivot into the correct positions during installation and to accommodate movements or expansions. This dynamic feature improves ease of operation while the hinge mechanism itself remains a relatively simple, well-established mechanical component.
Data Source
AI summary
A pool or spa cover adapted for use with a waterfall chute projecting from the top edge of a pool or spa water receptacle, comprising in combination, the cover having sections hinge connected to allow one section to pivot downwardly toward the waterfall chute while the other section remains peripherally seated on the receptacle, the one section having edge portions adapted to seat on receptacle edge portions at opposite sides of the chute, the one section locally configured to accommodate the cover to the chute as the cover pivots downwardly to seat on the pool or spa receptacle top edge.