Portable spa with integral bottom pan, interchangeable side skirt, and interlocking cover
AssigneeWatkins Manufacturing Corporation
InventorsJeffrey King Watkins, Walter Richard Cumiskey, Phillip Dudley Loizeaux
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A portable spa including a cover having two rigidly molded, interlocking halves, designed to conform with the contour of the rim of the spa. The rim includes a vertical extension which interfits with an extrusion used to attach an interchangeable decorative vinyl-covered skirt about the side surface of the spa. The spa structure is supported by an integral molded bottom pan, which provides an upper edge or rim against which the lower edge of the skirt is secured.
Claims29
For attachment about the side surface of a portable spa means for containing a body of water and having an outer perimeter, the apparatus comprising:
- a flexible plastic portable spa skirt means for conforming to the shape of said side surface for providing a decorative exterior surface and covering about said side surface, said plastic skirt means having a top horizontal edge, and a bottom horizontal edge, said top and bottom horizontal edges being parallel to one another;
- and
- first means located along said top horizontal edge and cooperating with the outer perimeter of said spa means for providing a snug fit of said top horizontal edge continuously about at least 95% of the outer perimeter of said spa means, said first means for providing a snug fit further facilitating manual attachment, detachment, and reattachment of said top horizontal edge about said outer perimeter;
- said flexible plastic skirt means being manually attachable about, removable from about, and reattachable about said outer perimeter a plurality of times by user manipulation, including user manipulation of said first means, after the spa means has been installed at a user site.
The apparatus of claim, 2 wherein said skirt means further has first and second ends, wherein said top and bottom horizontal edges and at least one of said first and second ends conform along their periphery to the shape of an elongated rectangle when said skirt means is laid out on a flat surface, and further including means for manually fastening together said first and second ends of said skirt means after said skirt means has been wrapped about said side surface.
The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said skirt means further has first and second ends, wherein said top and bottom horizontal edges and at least one of said first and second ends conform along their periphery to the shape of an elongated rectangle when said skirt means is laid out on a flat surface, and further including means for manually fastening together said first and second ends of said skirt means after said skirt means has been wrapped about said side surface.
For attachment about the side surface of a portable spa means for containing a body of water and having an outer perimeter, the apparatus comprising:
- a flexible plastic portable spa skirt means for conforming to the shape of said side surface for providing a decorative exterior surface and covering about said side surface, said plastic skirt means having a top horizontal edge, and a bottom horizontal edge, said top and bottom horizontal edges being parallel to one another;
- and
- first means located along said top horizontal edge and cooperating with the outer perimeter of said spa means for providing a snug fit of said top horizontal edge continuously about at least 98.7% of the outer perimeter of said spa means, said first means for providing a snug fit further facilitating manual attachment, detachment, and reattachment of said top horizontal edge about said outer perimeter;
- said flexible plastic skirt means being manually attachable about, removable from about, and reattachable about said outer perimeter a plurality of times by user manipulation, including user manipulation of said first means, after the spa means has been installed at a user site.
For attachment about the side surface of a portable spa means for containing a body of water and having an outer perimeter, the apparatus comprising:
- a flexible plastic portable spa skirt conforming to the shape of said side surface, said skirt having a decorative exterior surface for covering said side surface, a top horizontal edge, and a bottom horizontal edge, said top and bottom horizontal edges being parallel to one another, said skirt further having first and second ends, said top and bottom horizontal edges and at least one of said first and second ends conforming along their periphery to the shape of an elongated rectangle when said skirt is laid out on a flat surface;
- means for manually fastening together the first and second ends of said skirt;
- and
- means for providing a snug fit between said bottom horizontal edge and said spa means and thereafter releasing said snug fit, said means for providing a snug fit and means for manually fastening cooperating to facilitate manual attachment, detachment, and reattachment of said flexible plastic skirt about said outer perimeter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.