Abstract
A modular swimming pool with one or more swimming pool modules that each include a floor element, and a wall element connected to the floor element. The swimming pool modules by assembly define an internal pool space. The floor element and the wall element of a swimming pool module have reinforcement ribs and the reinforcement ribs of the wall element extend towards the floor element. The reinforcement ribs are spaced apart from each other and on the external surface form open chambers configured, when resting on a mounting surface, to be completely filled with a binder. The internal pool space in the area of the floor element has a wedge-like recess, forming a continuous duct area of the internal pool space, and the reinforcement ribs of the floor element are connected to an external surface of the recess, which faces away from the duct area, thereby restricting the open chambers.
Claims
1. A modular swimming pool, which comprises at least a first and a second swimming pool module, wherein each swimming pool module has a floor element as well as at least a wall element connected to the floor element, wherein the swimming pool modules by assembly define an internal pool space, wherein the floor element and the wall element of at least one swimming pool module have reinforcement ribs raising from the external surface on an external surface of the swimming pool module facing away from the internal pool space and wherein the reinforcement elements of the wall element, which are arranged spaced apart from each other at a distance, extend towards the floor element, wherein the reinforcement ribs are arranged spaced apart from each other at a distance and on the external surface form open chambers, which are configured, when the reinforcement ribs rest on an essentially flat mounting surface, to be completely filled with a binder, wherein the external surface of the floor element in the area of the reinforcement ribs thereof is essentially completely covered by the open chambers, wherein the internal pool space in the area of the floor element has at least one wedge-shaped recess, which forms a continuous duct area of the internal pool space, wherein the reinforcement ribs of the floor element are connected to an external surface of the recess, which faces away from the duct area, thereby restricting the open chambers.
2. A modular swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein the first swimming pool module has a technical facilities section separated by at least one wall element from the internal pool space, which comprises at least one cavity for a device for purification and circulation of the water in the internal pool space, wherein the external surfaces of at least one wall element of the first swimming pool module have reinforcement ribs.
3. A modular swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein the wall element has a spillway having an essentially U-shaped cross-section.
4. A modular swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein at least one wall element is connected to at least one support element, wherein the at least one support element is a carbon mesh, a glass mesh fabric or a reinforcement, wherein the space between the wall element and the support element is preferably filled with a binder.
5. A modular swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein at least one open chamber of the floor element has a closable opening within the recess to fill the open chamber with binder and to close the opening after filling.
6. A modular swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein the binders suitable for filling the chambers comprise a functional foam, wherein the functional foam is a polyurethane foam or a polyisocyanurate foam.
7. A modular swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein the swimming pool modules are made from glass fibre-reinforced plastics, carbon fibres or a plastic material of the group of the polyolefins, wherein the group of polyolefins is polypropylene or polyethylene.
8. A modular swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein the floor element and/or at least one wall element have an essentially curved gradient.
9. A modular swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein at least one open chamber of the floor element has at least one closable opening along the floor element to fill the open chamber with binder and to close the opening after filling.
10. A method for installing a modular swimming pool according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the following operations: excavating a pit in the soil for forming a mounting surface as well as applying a subbase on the pit floor; positioning two or more swimming pool modules on the mounting surface; joining the swimming pool modules; fixing the swimming pool on the mounting surface by completely filling the open chambers of the floor elements with binder; and filling the spaces between the pit and the external surface of the internal pool space with soil and/or with binder.
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the method, following the fixing of the swimming pool, comprises the following operations: arranging a laser beam within the internal pool space, wherein the marking means forms a marking line on the wall element, which is horizontally oriented in the area of the upper edge of a wall element; and cutting off the wall elements, using a mill, along the marking line for forming a pool water line, at which the wall elements end and transition into the spillway.
Description
(1) The invention is now explained in greater detail in reference to the drawings by way of embodiment examples.
(2) FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of a modular swimming pool according to an embodiment variant of the invention in the assembled state.
(3) FIG. 2 shows an isometric view of the underfloor of a modular swimming pool according to an embodiment variant of the invention.
(4) FIG. 3 shows an isometric sectional view of a swimming pool module of an installed modular swimming pool according to an embodiment variant of the invention.
(5) FIG. 4a shows a sectional illustration of an installed modular swimming pool having a spillway according to an embodiment variant of the invention, which is filled with water.
(6) FIG. 4b shows an enlargement of a wall area of the swimming pool of FIG. 4a.
(7) FIG. 5 shows another isometric view of a module of a modular swimming pool according to an embodiment variant of the invention.
(8) FIG. 6 shows an isometric view of a modular swimming pool according to a further embodiment variant of the invention in the assembled state.
(9) FIG. 7 shows an isometric view of the underfloor of a modular swimming pool according to a further embodiment variant of the invention.
(10) FIG. 8 shows an isometric view of a module of a modular swimming pool according to another embodiment variant of the invention.
(11) FIG. 1 shows a modular swimming pool 1 according to an embodiment variant of the invention, which has several swimming pool modules 2. Each swimming pool module 2 has a floor element 3 as well as at least a wall element 4, wherein the swimming pool modules 2 by assembly form an internal pool space 5, as is clearly visible in FIG. 1. The swimming pool modules 2 further have reinforcement ribs 6 at their external surface facing away from the internal pool space 5. These reinforcement ribs 6 raise from the external surface of the swimming pool modules 2 and are arranged spaced apart from each other at a distance, wherein the reinforcement ribs 6 extend along the wall elements 4 towards the floor elements 3 and the reinforcement ribs 6 of the floor elements 3 essentially completely pass through the floor elements 3, which will be discussed in further detail by way of FIG. 2. The reinforcement ribs 6 form open chambers 7 on the wall element 4 and the floor element 3, wherein the open chambers 7 of the floor elements 3 essentially completely cover the external surface of the floor element 3 and are configured to be completely filled with a binder 8 when resting on a mounting surface 9.
(12) The modular swimming pool 1 in FIG. 1 further has as a first swimming pool module 2 a technical facilities section 10, which is separated by a wall element 4 from the internal pool space 5 and has a cavity 11, which is suited to accommodate swimming pool associated devices such as pump and filter facilities. The technical facilities section 10, as depicted in FIG. 1, further may comprise according to an embodiment variant of the invention at least one splash water container 12. The external surfaces of at least one wall element 4 of the technical facilities section 10 further have reinforcement ribs 5 in order to configure the swimming pool module 2 in a mechanically stable manner.
(13) The embodiment depicted in FIG. 1 of the modular swimming pool 1 has a spillway 14 having a U-shaped cross-section, which enables returning the pool water into a filter cycle of the swimming pool 1 via the at least one splash water container 12, which may be positioned in the area of the technical facilities section 10.
(14) Furthermore, each floor element 3 has in the central area thereof a wedge-like recess 13, as is clearly visible in FIG. 1. This recess forms a continuous duct area of the internal pool space 5.
(15) FIG. 2 shows the lower side of the pool floor of a swimming element module 2 of a modular swimming pool 1 according to an embodiment variant of the invention. As is clearly visible, the reinforcement ribs 6 form open chambers 7 at the floor element 3 as well as at the wall element 4 of the swimming pool module 2. Furthermore, the reinforcement ribs 6 of the floor element 3, which form the open chambers 7, are connected to an external surface of the recess 13, which faces away from the duct area 13. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the open chambers 7 cover the external surface of the floor element 3 essentially completely and pass essentially completely through the floor element 3. In this way, it is possible, when the swimming pool module 2 rests on a mounting surface 9, to completely fill up the open chambers 7 of the floor element 3 with the binder 8, which is not depicted in the figure. The binders 8 envisaged for filling the chambers 7 comprise a functional foam, in particular a polyurethane foam. Hence, advantageously the requirement of a concrete base, as used with modular built-in swimming pools of prior art, is being dispensed with.
(16) FIG. 3 shows an isometric sectional view of a swimming pool module 2 of an installed modular swimming pool 1 according to an embodiment variant of the invention. The module 2 was positioned according to a method of the invention within the soil 15 on a mounting surface 9 and fixed thereat using binder 8, in particular polyurethane foam. The mounting surface 9 may have a subbase, which may comprise stone chips, foam glass, mineral mixtures with polyurethane binder or other suitable materials. In order to ensure evenness of the module 2 on the subsurface 9, support means, which may be configured as wedges and are not depicted in FIG. 3, may be placed underneath the modules 2. The wall element 4 of the module 2 is connected to a support element 16, which additionally to the reinforcement rib 8 reinforces the wall element 4 and provides the wall element 4 with additional stability and resilience against a pressure applied by water 17 and soil 15 in the assembled state of the swimming pool 1. The support element 16 may, for example, be configured as carbon mesh, glass mesh fabric or also as reinforcement. The space between the wall element 4 and the support element 16 is preferably filled with binder 8. The binders 8, which are envisaged for filling the space, also comprise a functional foam, in particular a polyurethane foam or a polyisocyanurate foam, which renders the construction more stable and resilient against external pressure and internal water pressure.
(17) FIG. 4a shows a sectional view of an installed swimming pool 1 having a spillway according to an embodiment variant of the invention, which is filled completely with water 17. Thereby, the water surface 18 constitutes a pool water line. According to the method of the invention a marking means is positioned following the fixing of the swimming pool 1 within the internal pool space 5 in such a way that the marking means, in particular a laser beam, which may, for example, be projected by a cross line laser, forms a marking line, which is oriented horizontally in the area of the upper edge of the internal pool space 5. Then the wall elements 4 of the swimming pool modules 2 are separated by a suitable cutting means, for example a mill, such that wall elements 4 will end along this pool water line of the water surface 18. In FIG. 4b it is clearly visible that the upper end of a pool wall, which is designated as pool head 21 and is formed by cutting off the wall element 4 using the cutting means, ends at the pool water line. By such creating an even spillway, the water 17 may enter via a cover 22 the spillway space 13 and, consequently, the splash container space 20 of the splash water container 12, from where it may then be returned into the water cycle of the swimming pool 1.
(18) FIG. 5 shows an isometric view of a segment of a modular swimming pool 1 according to an embodiment variant of the invention, wherein the wall element 4 as well as the spillway 14 of the swimming pool module 2 have a curved shaped. In this way, there is made possible an open geometry of the swimming pool 1. Thus, the entire swimming pool 1 may have an, for example, essentially oval or round shape, and also the floor elements 3 and/or the wall elements 4 of individual swimming pool modules 2 may have a curved shape, whereby there are enabled manifold variants of the pool design. Furthermore, by fabricating the individual swimming pool modules 2 from a plastic material, for example from polypropylene or polyethylene, the various shapes of the swimming pool modules 2 may be produced in the fabric by means of CNC milling methods in a simple and cost-efficient manner.
(19) FIG. 6 shows a modular swimming pool 1 according to another embodiment variant of the invention, which has several swimming pool modules 2. The open chambers 7 of the swimming pool modules 2 have, along the floor elements 3 as well as in the recess 13, a plurality of closable openings 23. By means of these closable openings 23, the open chambers 7 may be filled with binder 8, wherein the openings 23 will be closed after filling with the binder 8. Closing the openings 23 may, for example, be realized by welding the openings 23, wherein welding may be carried out, for example, by heating the front faces of the openings 23 and, consequently, grouting the front faces of the openings 23 using a closure.
(20) FIG. 7 shows a lower side of the pool floor of a swimming pool module 2 of a modular swimming pool 1 according to another embodiment variant of the invention. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the openings 23 may be situated at any location of the recess 13. There may be provided, for example, an opening 23, on the external surface, which faces away from the duct area, of the recess 13, which restricts the open chamber 7. Furthermore, there may, for example, be provided an opening 23 in a transverse recess 24 of the recess 13, which is oriented essentially perpendicularly to the recess 13 extending between the pool ends and connected therewith. In particular, the transition between the recess 13 and the transverse recess 24 may have a rounding or bevelling. An opening 23 provided in the transverse recess 24 may be used to supply the pool with fresh pool water or to discharge old dirty pool water from the internal pool space 5.
(21) FIG. 8 shows an isometric view of a segment of a modular swimming pool 1 according to another embodiment variant of the invention. The modules of the modular swimming pool 1 have, along the floor elements 3 as well as within the recess 13, a plurality of openings 23, by means of which binder 8 may be applied for completely filling the open chambers 7. Furthermore, the segment depicted in FIG. 8 of the modular swimming pool 1 has further transverse recesses, which also have openings 23, wherein the number of the openings 23 for completely filling the open chambers 7 with binder 7 will depend on the chamber size of the open chambers 7.
(22) According to another embodiment of the invention not depicted in the figures the modular swimming pool 1 is positioned above-ground on a mounting surface 9, wherein in this variant the wall elements 4 of the swimming pool modules 2 are configured preferably reinforced. In this way, the modular swimming pool 1 may better resist the water pressure onto its wall elements 4. The reinforcement of the wall elements 4 may, for example, be achieved by using materials having high strength and a high coefficient of elasticity, for example, glass fibre-reinforced plastic material or carbon fibres, and/or by using transverse ribs extending perpendicularly to their reinforcement ribs 6 and/or by foaming the chambers 7 thereof and/or by using the support elements 16 already described for FIG. 3.
(23) According to another embodiment variant of the invention not depicted in the figures the floor elements 3 have spacer feet, which are arranged outside of the area of the reinforcement ribs 6 of the floor elements 3 essentially covered by the chambers 7 for supporting the swimming pool 1. In this way, the stability and resilience of the modular swimming pool 1 is increased in floor areas outside of the open chambers 7.
(24) According to another embodiment variant of the invention not depicted in the figures the entire internal pool space of the modular swimming pool could also be formed by only one module, and there could, for example, only be provided one technical facilities section as a technical facilities module proper, which constitutes a second module of the modular swimming pool. Such a swimming pool module could be erected as an entity on a terrace of a house.
(25) According to another embodiment of the invention the open chambers 7 could be restricted instead of by the external surface of the recess 13 also by further reinforcement ribs extending transversally to the reinforcement ribs 6. It would also be possible to restrict the chambers 7 on all four sides by means of reinforcement ribs, whereby there would be developed in the floor element a closed chamber, the cavity of which could be filled towards the soil via one or several openings 23 within the floor element.
