Swimming pool drain

Abstract

A sump for a swimming pool or spa includes a grate having an elongated slot for inflow of water at a low velocity high flow rate. A housing of relatively large capacity includes an outlet for conveying water to an oversized suction line to maintain the low velocity high flow rate to the junction with a conventionally sized standard suction line in fluid communication with a suction pump. A bypass line in fluid communication with the water in the pool or spa discharges water into the housing when the slot is sufficiently covered to prevent satisfying the flow rate into the suction line demanded by the pump and thereby prevent a level of suction at the slot sufficient to entrap clothing or a body part of a swimmer against the grate. The grate, a frame supporting the grate on the housing and the housing are devoid of elements that might cause entanglement of hair drawn into the sump. A hydrostatic valve may be coupled with the housing at locations of a pool or spa where the ground water level is sufficiently high to cause flotation of the pool or spa when partially filled or empty.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is related to the swimming pool drain disclosed in U.S. patent application entitled “POOL FLOOR DRAIN ASSEMBLY FOR A SUCTION-ACTIVATED WATER CIRCULATION SYSTEM”, assigned Ser. No. 10 / 144,899 and filed May 14, 2002, which application is incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to drains for swimming pools and, more particularly to drains that will not permit entrapment of persons, their clothing or their hair thereagainst. [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] Most swimming pools and spas, whether of concrete / gunite, fiberglass or having a vinyl liner above ground or in ground, include a drain at the lowest point. The purpose of the drain is to provide an outlet for flow of water from the swimming pool to the suction side of a pump. The outflow of the pump is passed through a filter to remove entrained matter. The filte...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] A swimming pool or spa sump having a housing and a grate is provided which has low velocity, high volume waterflow into the suction line in fluid communication with a suction pump. The grate includes a single relatively large sized aperture or slot sufficient to permit debris to pass therethrough and generally preclude more than partial insertion of a swimmer's fingers or toes. The housing downstream of the grate is relatively large sized and includes a large sized outlet in communication with an oversized suction pipe ultimately connected to a conventionally sized suction line. An inlet to the sump is in fluid communication with a bypass line extending from, for example, an opening in the sidewall of the swimming pool or spa to provide an alternate flow path into the sump in the unlikely event the grate were to be sufficiently covered by a body part or clothing of a person to impede flow into the sump sufficient to accommodate the rate of outflow through the suction line. For locations having a high level of ground water, a hydrostatic tube may be incorporated to permit flow of ground water into the swimming pool and prevent an empty or near empty swimming pool from floating.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a sump and grate attendant a drain for a swimming pool or spa that will permit easy withdrawal of an article of clothing or hair that may be drawn into the sump through the grate.

[0015] A further object of the present invention is to provide a sump and grate adaptable for use in a concrete / gunite pool or spa, a fiberglass pool or spa or a vinyl lined pool or spa.

[0017] A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method for preventing the suction attendant the drain of a swimming pool or spa from entrapping a person against the drain.

Problems solved by technology

Such high suction force creates a potentially severe health hazard to a user of the pool or spa.

Particularly children and those persons physically enfeebled may not have the requisite strength or capability to overcome the suction force acting upon them; as a result, they are likely to drown.

For persons with long full hair, the hair is readily drawn into the swimming pool / spa drain and may twist upon itself beneath the drain cover to the extent that extraction becomes impossible.

The potential consequences of both clothing and hair becoming entrapped by the drain in a swimming pool or spa may be fatal.

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