FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a heat retaining cover for swimming pools and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The temperature of the water in an outdoor swimming pool can drop significantly during the night after the sun sets. Heat is generally lost by conduction from the pool water surface into the surrounding atmosphere. If the pool requires to be heated, during cooler days, the cost of reheating may be substantial. In order to retain heat, pool covers, which float on the pool water and cover the surface of the pool water may be used to reduce the amount of heat transferred from the surface of the pool water to the atmosphere. Since the cover is floatable on the pool water, the cover can be easily removed during the day when required for swimming purposes, and replaced on the pool water after swimming or in the evenings for heat retention purposes.

A common type of floatable pool cover generally consists of two plastic layers separated by air pockets. The air pockets in the cover provide floatability to the cover and insulation to reduce the amount of heat transferred by conduction from the pool water to the atmosphere, especially during the dark or night hours. However, the insulation properties of the pool are very poor and these pool covers do not prevent the majority of the heat radiation from the pool dissipating during the night. Generally, these prior art covers attempt to achieve two conflicting aims, namely allowing sunlight to pass through during the day and heat the water while also preventing heat from escaping during the day. For example, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,286,155; 6,317,902 and 6,637,046, disclose floatable pool covers where an upper layer of the cover has a dark color and a lower layer has a light reflective material applied to one of the surfaces thereof. This type of cover is a compromise and thus is not especially efficient in achieving either of its aims.

A further disadvantage of plastic type covers is their size and bulkiness which makes handling extremely difficult. The covers need to consist of a single unit to be effective and thus are heavy especially covers for standard and larger swimming pools. To cover and uncover a pool is time consuming and generally requires a great deal of manpower.

It would, thus be an advantage to provide a heat retaining pool cover which is relatively light and easy to handle while efficiently retaining the majority of the heat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention presents a heat retaining cover for swimming pools, which overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art. The cover is light and easy to handle and extremely efficient at retaining the majority of the heat. Energy costs are substantially reduced.

In an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a heat retaining cover for swimming pools, which includes a plurality of interlocking floatation panels, at least one pair of hinges attached to one edge of each adjacent interlocking floatation panel, at least one pair of hinges attached to the opposite edge of of the reverse face of each adjacent interlocking floatation panel, at least one aperture formed in each of the plurality of interlocking floatation panels and a length of flexible material threaded through each of the apertures, thereby allowing the plurality of interlocked plurality of interlocking floatation panels to be extended and retracted.

Furthermore, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the heat retaining cover further includes a second hinge having a second aperture formed therein, wherein the length of flexible material is threaded through each of the second apertures.

In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a heat retaining cover for swimming pools, which includes a plurality of interlocking floatation panels, at least one pair of hinges attached to one edge of each adjacent interlocking floatation panel, at least one pair of hinges attached to the opposite edge of the reverse face of each adjacent interlocking floatation panel, a second hinge having an aperture formed therein, the second edge attached to attached to one edge of each adjacent interlocking floatation panel and a length of flexible material threaded through the aperture of each second hinge, thereby allowing the plurality of interlocked plurality of interlocking floatation panels to be extended and retracted.

Furthermore, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, each panel is a material selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, polyethylene, and a mixture of polystyrene and polyethylene.

Furthermore, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of interlocking floatation panels are shaped to accommodate the contours of the pool being covered.

Additionally, there is provided a method for retaining heat in swimming pools. The method includes interlocking a plurality of floatation panels, each of the plurality of interlocking floatation panels having at least one aperture formed therein; and threading a length of flexible material through each of the apertures, thereby to allow the plurality of interlocked plurality of interlocking floatation panels to be extended and retracted. Each adjacent interlocking floatation panel has at least one pair of hinges attached to one edge thereof and the reverse face of each adjacent interlocking floatation panel has at least one pair of hinges attached to the opposite edge thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following description taken in conjunction with the appended drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic isometric view of a protective heat retaining cover, constructed and operative in accordance an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the heat retaining cover of Fig. 1 stacked together for storage purposes;

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the floatation panels of Fig. 1 , partially stacked and partially unpacked;

Fig. 4 is a top view of a swimming pool covered by sets of covers of Fig.

1 ; and

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a protective heat retaining cover, constructed and operative in accordance a further embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This present invention relates to a protective heat retaining cover suitable for any size of swimming pool, tub and spas, for example.

Reference is now made to Fig. 1 which is a schematic illustration of a protective heat retaining cover, generally designated 10, constructed and operative in accordance an embodiment of the invention.

The cover 10 comprises a plurality of floatation panels 12 which may be interlinked or connected together to create covers of different sizes. The floatation panels 12 may be formed from any suitable material which floats on water and which is preferably light in weight, such as polystyrene and polyethylene or a moldable copolymer comprising a mixture of polystyrene and polyethylene, for example. An exemplary floatation panel, suitable for swimming pools may be rectangular in shape, having dimensions of 1.9 m x 1.25m and a thickness of 2-3 cm.

In an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of floatation panels 12 may be connected together by means of a pair of hinges 14 connecting each consecutive pair of floatation panels 12, as shown in Fig. 1. The hinges 14 are attached to the floatation panels 12 on alternative faces of each consecutive pair so that a set of floatation panels 12 may be stacked in a 'concertina' fashion, as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, the reverse side of the hinges, indicated by screws 15 is visible on alternative faces of each consecutive pair of floatation panels 12.

The floatation panels 12 may be configured to any size to suit the pool being covered. For example, in an embodiment of the invention, a cover suitable for a standard swimming pool, having dimensions of 25 m long x 11 m wide approximately may be constructed from six sets of twenty floatation panels. Thus, each set of twenty floatation panels would cover a swimming lane 18, which is approximately 1.9m wide. Each set of twenty floatation panels may be placed alongside a second set without the need of tying each set to each other.

As shown in Fig. 4, the flotation devices 12 may be configured to fit any size and shape of pool 20. Non-rectangular shapes, including circular pool, for example, may be easily accommodated by cutting and shaping the flotation devices accordingly.

Each floatation panel 12 further comprises an aperture 16 formed adjacent one of the longitudinal edges. A cord 18 (or any a length of flexible material) is threaded through the apertures 16, as shown. Thus, as best seen in Fig. 3, the floatation panels 12 may be pulled together by pulling on the cord 18. For stacking purposes, the cord 18 may be suitably fastened. Conversely, by unfastening the cord 18, the set of floatation panels 12 may be controllably released to cover a section of the pool, as required.

It will be appreciated by persons knowledgeable in the art that the number of apertures and their size may be altered to suit the cover and the number and type of hinges may be varied, without deviating from the invention. Thus, for example, a pair of flotation devices may be connected together by spiral connectors, known in the art.

The cover 10 is easy to handle and relatively strong. In the example above, a set of 20 flotation devices linked together would weigh approximately 30 kg. Thus the pool could to be covered (and uncovered) manually and quickly without the need for any specialized machinery. Alternatively, the set of flotation devices may be folded and unfolded by winding the cord around a spool, for example. The spool may be turned manually or by any suitable mechanical device, known in the art.

When not in use, each set of interlinked flotation devices may be stacked, making for compact storage, as shown in Fig. 2.

Reference is now made to Fig. 5, which is a schematic illustration of a protective heat retaining cover, generally designated 50, constructed and operative in accordance an embodiment of the invention. Cover 50 is similar to protective heat retaining cover 10. Similar elements are similarly numbered.

The cover 50 comprises a plurality of floatation panels 12 which may be interlinked or connected together to create covers of different sizes. The floatation panels 12 may be formed from any suitable material which floats on water and which is preferably light in weight, such as polystyrene and polyurethane, for example. The plurality of floatation panels 12 may be connected together by means of a pair of hinges 14 connecting each consecutive pair of floatation panels 12, as shown in Fig. 6. The hinges 14 are attached to the floatation panels 12 on alternative faces of each consecutive pair so that a set of floatation panels 12 may be stacked in a 'concertina' fashion, as shown in Fig. 2. The reverse side of the hinges, indicated by screws 15 is visible on alternative faces of each consecutive pair of floatation panels 12.

Each floatation panel 12 further comprises a second hinge 30 having an aperture 32 formed therein. The second hinge 30 may be placed in between the pair of hinges 14 or alternatively on the opposite longitudinal edge. In one alternative, a cord 34 may be threaded through every aperture 32 of hinges 30, as shown, allowing the panels to be folded in a concertina fashion (similar to fig. 3). Alternatively, the cord 34 may be threaded through the aperture 32 every other hinge 30.

The cover 50 may be folded together and stacked as described with reference to cover 10 hereinabove.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited by what has been described hereinabove and that numerous modifications, all of which fall within the scope of the present invention, exist. Rather the scope of the invention is defined by the claims, which follow: