Safety suction outlet for pools
AssigneeBaker Hydro, Inc.
InventorsWilliam O. Baker, Charles S. Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An outlet drain designed to provide a safety environment to the users of pools, especially therapeutic or spa type pools. A series of channels extend radially outward from the central drain aperture in the pool. The suction created in the pool system draws the water through the channels and into the central drain sump. The diameter of the channels is sufficient that a person's body adjacent the drain area will not cause blockage which would otherwise create a suction on the person's body. The overall design of the pool system provides for the automatic cleansing of the bottom surface of the pool, preventing an accumulation of dirt particles adjacent the drain area.
Claims16
A safety suction outlet for a pool comprising:
- a drain aperture in the bottom of said pool;
- and
- means for extending the pool water outlet area for flow into said drain aperture to include an area on said bottom of said pool much larger than said aperture, said extending means being sufficiently large to virtually eliminate the possibility that a person of normal size could block a sufficient portion of the outlet area to create a heavy suction on said person when said person is positioned on said outlet area.
A safety suction outlet for use in a pool, said safety suction outlet comprising:
- a drain unit situated in the bottom of said pool, said drain unit having an upper edge forming an aperture in said bottom of said pool,
- a series of channels extending radially outward from said aperture,
- an anti-vortex plate positioned over said drain unit covering said aperture, the bottoms of said channels adjacent said aperture being lower than said anti-vortex plate;
- and
- an outlet pipe in liquid communication with said drain unit, said outlet pipe receiving water from said pool throught said series of channels, said series of channels providing a large outlet area of water for entry into said drain unit resulting in the elimination of the creation of a holding suction on a person's body when positioned on said outlet area.
A safety suction outlet unit for insertion in the main outlet aperture of a pool, said unit comprising:
- a cup section positioned within said aperture;
- a radially extending flange connected to the upper portion of said cup section and resting on the bottom of said pool;
- a series of channels formed in said flange, said channels in liquid communication with said cup section and extending radially sufficiently far to avoid blockage by a person of normal size sitting thereon;
- and
- a cover plate positioned over said cup section, said cover plate encouraging the flow of water from said pool into said cup section to follow said series of channels.
A pool in combination with a self-cleaning suction outlet, said combination comprising:
- a drain aperture in the bottom of said pool,
- a series of channels located on the bottom of said pool and extending out from said aperture, said channels being open at the top and in liquid communication with said drain aperture,
- an outlet pipe in liquid communication with said drain aperture to receive water from said pool, the greatest portion of water to said aperture moving through said channels to reduce the accumulation of dirt in said channels;
- and
- an inlet pipe on said pool, said inlet pipe directing incoming water in a generally circular direction over said series of channels, said circular moving water causing any dirt accumulated between said channels to be moved into said channels causing said pool bottom to remain clean.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.