US2464358A - Water-borne swimming pool - Google Patents

Description

3 Sheets-,Sheet l March 15, 1949. K. H. STEHR WATERBORNE SWIMMING Pool.

Filed Nov. 7, 1944 u Av nbdi@ ffm" March 15, 1949. K.A H. sTl-:HR 2,464,358

WATERBORNE SWIMMING POOL Filed Nov. 7, 1944 s sheets-sheet s Patented Mar. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES OFFICE 7 Claims.

Thisv invention relates to an improvediiexible waterborne carrier and has for an object to pro'- vide a waterbornefcarrier which is supportedby a plurality of floats connected. together by exzible resilient meansv so that the: relationship of the oats to each other may he changed when different forces are applied. to. the. several iioats so` that the carrier may adapt itself to difterent. conditions of loading and support.`

Another object is to provideV a'. waterborne carrier so constructed and arranged. that it may be distorted by normal exterior forces, such as; eccentric loads and/or Waves, toconorm in part toA the diierential action of such forces.

Another object is to provide a waterborne: `car-- rier comprising a plurality of. floats connected together by resilient means. suchas. a deck or an apron surrounding a. swimming` pool.

Another object is to provide. such a resilient waterborne carrier comprising. aplurality of rowsof oats, all of said oatsi being .connected by means of a flexible deck or aproIrsaid floats being separated both longitudinally and transversely tok permit displacementthereof relative toeach` other whether the lexure occurs longitudinallyor transversely.

Another object is to` prov-idea landing oats,

swimming floats,- and swimming pools embody-y ing a plurality of oats .connectedzonly by rersilient means.

A further object is to provide a swimmingiioat supported by floats connected only by resilient.

means, the sides of the swimming compartmenty being formed o non-rigid material so. as not yto interfere with the flexing ofy the structure result'- ing from waves or eccentric loading.

. Another object is` to provide such a swimming'.` pool having a rigid personnel-supporting oor so-v specification as illustrated. by the. accompanying;

drawingsillustrative of the invention, in which drawings:

Figs. 1, and 1A illustratevschernatcally respectively a rigid carrier and a flexible resilientcar rieruniformly loaded in calm water;

Figs. 2 and. 2A illustrate respectively the sameA carriers in` calm water', showing the combined.

Fig. 6 illustrates. av practical application of they invention' in the form ofa swimming pool shownv inelevation;

Fig. 'l is a plan View of the device of Fig. 6, certain parts beingcut away;

Fig. 8 is an elevation of a modified form of swimming pool. embodying the invention;

Fig.. 9 is a plan view of the form of Fig. 8, certainparts beingzshownbroken away;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along.v the line .Ill-l0- of Fig.r 9; looking in the direction indicated` by the: arrows.

Heretofore it has been the usual practice in; designing waterborne. carriers such as ships.. landing oats, swimming floats, and swimming pools, to; provide maximum rigidity so that the carrier or vessel will be distorted as little as pos'- sible byl theA application of differential external forces, such as the forces developed by waves and. eccentric loading. To this end, adequate longitudinal, and transverse bracing was introduced. added to the. weight ofv the vehicle andv in accordance with the discoveries of the applicant,l introduced certain disadvantagesfrom the stand point; of stability; The applicant has discovered that byvr securing buoyancy by means of a plu*- v rality of, oats and connecting said iioats byy relatively exible resilient means, important advantages cany be. attained. These advantages will become. apparent from: a. study of Figs. 1 t0 5 i1.- lustrating a rigidly constructed. float-type carrier l under various4v conditions and the. corresponding.`

Figs. 1A to 5A illustrating a exible resilient. carrier made in accordance with applicants invention under the same conditions.

ln Figs. 1 to 5, il indicates a plurality of floats shown for convenience as cylindrical in crosssection. They are shown connected together by links l2 and connected by struts i3 with a deck I4. Furthermore, diagonal braces i5 are provided, as shown, to form a truss structure giving maximum rigidity to the structure supported by the floats.

Figs. lA to 5A show applicants invention schematically in which a plurality of floats 2l are connected by struts 23 to a flexible resilient deck 2li. The deck is intentionally made flexible and no braces are provided. For this reason and because the floats are spaced so that they do not interfere when they move toward each other, the entire structure is permitted to .be distorted in response to differential forces acting thereupon. It is to be understood that there may be a plurality of rows of floats H and 2l, in which event, the structure of Figs. lA to 5A will have ilexibility, not only longitudinally of the carrier but also transversely. However, a consideration of the longitudinal ilexibility will be sufficient to illustrate the invention.

There is no substantial difference between the situation as shown in Figs. 1 and 1A. The water is shown as calm and the loading is uniform and of such an amount that the floats are submerged to their centers, the loading comprising the weight of the structure itself plus a uniformly distributed applied load. A difference in action becomes apparent however under the conditions shown in Figs. 2 and 2A. In these cases the loading includes for purposes of illustration a weight P which applies an eccentric load near one of the carrier. In the case of the rigid carrier, Fig. 2, the two rearmost floats have completely left the water and therefore are no longer capable of adding any buoyancy to the carrier. Their lifting effect must be taken by the other floats, four of which are shown fully submerged, and the other a little less than one-half. This carrier is entirely unstable and will capsize under the action of load P. This is apparent from the fact that further depression of the forward end will not result in displacement of more water. Downward motion of the first four floats will not add to buoyancy, so that the inescapable result is that the structure will continue to move in a clockwise direction and will capsize.

However, in the flexible resilient construction,

as shown in Fig. 2A, the flexibility permits the,

rearmost floats to remain in the water and therefore to provide at least a part of the buoyancy. None of the floats is completely out of the water. Further depression of the forward part of the carrier would result in submerging more of the floats, and therefore increase the displacement. Therefore a point of stability is reached and capsizing does not occur.

The results depicted in Figs. 2 and 2A have been proved by experiment. Rigid and resilient structures of the saine weight have been built and loaded as indicated. With a certain eccentric loading P the flexible structure assumed the shape shown in Fig. 2A. The structure did not capsize but was capable of supporting additional weight. The rigid structure, on the other hand, capsized when loaded eccentrically in the same manner and to the same extent. Mathematical' analysis shows the same result. While the analysis is rather difficult and complicated it shows that the resilient carrier, as loaded in Fig. 2A, still has a positive righting moment whereas the rigid structures has no righting moment whatever and will therefore capsize.

This characteristic of applicants flexible resilient carrier is very important in boat landing floats, swimming floats, and floating swimming pools. In the case of rigid structures, if the users of such floats or swimming pools are attracted to one end or one side thereof capsizing may readily take place before the users can move back to the higher parts thereof and thus restore the righting moment. This may result in submerging the occupants and possibly causing loss of life. In the case, however, of applicants flexible resilient structure sufficient stability remains t0 assure the safety of the occupants. In the case of the flexible structure, the deck at its loaded end assumes a larger angle relative to the horizontal with relatively small eccentric loading. This slope serves as a warning to users and causes them to move toward the other end of the structure long before capsizing could possibly take place.

The flexible construction also has important advantages in rough water. Thus, in the hugging condition shown in Figs. 3 and 3A, the rigid structure is balanced on the tip of a wave, the two end floats being completely out of the water and the three middle floats being almost entirely submerged, whereas the second and sixth floats are each about one-eighth submerged. It is obvious that a slight advance of the wave will cause the structure to oscillate violently about its medial horizontal transverse axis. This sudden acceleration adds greatly to the discomfort of passengers thereon and may be sumcient to cause submergence of one end and capsizing. On the other hand, as is shown in Fig. 3A, the flexible carrier will adapt itself to a large extent to the profile of the wave. The end floats are still in the water, being raised only slightly due to the reaction of the resilient deck, but they still contribute greatly to the displacement and therefore to the buoyancy. As the wave passes on, there is no violent pitching of the carrier which readily accommodates itself to the change of the wave form by which it is supported at the moment. There is therefore no tendency toward capsizing as the wave moves forward.

A similar advantageous result of the resilient structure in the sagging condition is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 4A. The rigid structure of Fig. 4 cannot accommodate itself to the wave form so that the end floats are completely submerged and the middle floats carry no load. The load they would normally carry must therefore be carried by the other floats. It will be seen that the ends of the deck are even with the water. As the wave progresses there would be little tendency for the end to lift since the end float is already completely submerged. The wave would therefore pass over the deck and possibly wash away its occupants or cargo. On the other hand, the ilexble resilient carrier, as shown in Fig. 4A, will substantially adapt itself to the wave form. The end floats are submerged only partly and as the wave progresses, the buoyancy of the end float is suilicient to lift the carrier and prevent swamping.

It will be further noted that the flexible carrier provides a greater freeboard in each instance. Thus, in Fig. 3, there is very little freeboard near the center of the rigid carrier whereas the correspondingFig. 3A shows substantiallyI 5. almost. normal. freeboard at'. thatpoint .ofthe-Eem ible carrier. Similarly, Fig. 4 shows zero free'.- board at both ends whereas Fig.. 4A shows. only" a very slight diminution. ofthe freeboard.

Further advantages. willv occur in, landing. op'- erations, as appears from Figs. 5` and 5A. If thel rigid carrier .of Fig. 5 is. groundedon; a beach, as, shown, it'v will be tilted aboutaxed point, cans.- lng. the rear iloat to be. entirelyF submerged'. It. is difficult to lift such a carrier further ontorthe.. beach since itis necessary to. lift halfffof the weight of the carrier.v However, a. flexible `resillient, carrier, asv shown; in Fig. 5A, will reactdifferently. Due to the flexing of the deck 24, only a portion of the forward part of the carrier need be,v lifted, the other part. thereof being supportedl by the buoyancy of the. floats.

Attention is now directed to Figs. 6 to 10 showing. a practical. application of the characteristics outlined generally in the schematic. illustrations. described above.. Said gures 'illustrate two modified forms of floating. swimmingl pool. Such pools are used in lakesv and rivers .where the. bottom.- due to rocks or mud-1,. is unsuitable. for swimming. In some cases such pools. are necessary to keep sharks, barracuda, and other dangerous water life, away from the swimmers.

Such pools are usually anchored near the shoreand properly moored in place, being connected to the shore also 'by a gangplank or thev like..

In said gures, the numeral 3l,- indicates. aplurality of floats which mayv be. of` any form. but... as illustrated, are cylindrical and are. pivotally supported so that they may serve as rollers when the structure is to be beached. These floats. are

supported by struts 32, which.v are preferably three in number (see Fig. 10). Passing. through holes in the lower ends of said struts is a shaftx33.l which serves as a trunnion. The upper endsofs the respective struts 32 are bolted as; by bolts. 33 to a corresponding number of resilient -stringers 3.4. These are preferably cut away, as. shown at. 3,5, to receive the floor boards 36. It will benotedA that in this form of construction only the` stringers 311 resist bending, of the structure. These are made of such material and dimensions.- as to give the desired resiliency to the deck structure made up of said stringers and the floor boards 3B. Referring to Figs. 6 and '7,4 therearel two; of these deck structures forming the sides of. the swimming pool there shown whereas two shorter similar structures are bolted theretol as` by bolts 31, indicated in dotted lines in.. Fig; 7.. These bolts are removed when the structure is. to be disassembled and stored. The longitudinal deck structures may therefore be beached, during; which .operation the floats ac-t as rollers to facili.- tate moving of the structure. It will be noted that in the form shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the axes. of the rollers 3| forming part of the end deck. structure are at right angles to theaxes oftherollers 3,! in the longitudinal deck structure. This permits the end pieces to be drawn out-ofl the water lengthwise.

On the: other hand, in the form shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the floats 3l located under the ends of the swimming pool there shown have. their axes parallel to the axes of the float 3l located under the. side deck structure. This form of constructionis contemplated where the swimming pool is to be beached and drawn from the water as a unitv rather than after disassembly as is contemplated in the form shown in Figs. Gand 7.v

Referring now more particularlyvto the.form of. Figs. 6 and 7, it will be noted thatvthis form intended: for:-

by good swimmers; The. depth.. ls such that the. user would never stand on the` bottom. Thabottom Ml may therefore. be; made of canvas, netting.. orv other flexible material.l attached as; by lacing. 4,1: .to` a rectangular. fra-maf 4:2; which .may be .formed with lateral extensions:- 43 to the. ends.` of which. are' attached. supporting.; lines.l 44 theupper ends. of which may. be. attached: to bits'. 45. By adjusting the. length. or?. the lines; 44,. thel location of. the bottom. 40. may beyareduasr desired.v The sides of the pool aref: preferably enclosedf by; flexible. material madein. part, atV least-,.of netting. In. the form sl1own,.the. sides. are comprised of. netsections 66; with which. arel shown.v interspersed. canvas sections 41., the. netting and'. canvas; being connected by lacing.l ropes. 4.8.. The. upper .ends of the side pieces are:` supported. from the.v inner. Stringer 34 as by eyes: tfastenedintothe.- bottom edges thereof. The.-

. bottom edges of. thesidefmembers llcand 4.1 may,I

if desired, be securedito the rectangular frame.; 4:21. butit. is preferredaas. shownin Figs. 6 arl-dr?,A not, to,= secure them thereto but to have them. pass. on thev outside- Aof said rectangular member and held. tautv by a. plurality of weights. 5.61. To.v secure the sides. 46, 41: close to the rectangular` frame 42, bars 5I. are preferably provided secured to the rectangularframe E2. The slot between the. rectangular framelll and' the. bars 5l. serves to. receive the sides. 46; 4l... By. means of. this construction, the bottomI dll may be raised anatA lowered.. as desired, while the sides remain taut', dueto theactionof the Weights 5B.

It. will be. seen that the four deck structures.- described forma. Walk or platform around the. pool. In order: to prevent. users falling off the outer edge of the platform, axseries of stanchions. 55. are preferably provided attached to the outer' stringers 3'4. These stanchions areconnectedv by a plurality of life-lines made of rope, cable, chain, or other material. It will be noted that these are arranged rather loosely so as not. to. in.- terfere with. the flexing of. the structure so that.. the structuremayv bend in. the direction indicated'. in Figs. 2A. and. 3A, where required. As shown inFigs.. 6` and 7, a; diving. platform may be pro vided for; Thismay comprise standards 66 carrying aY platform 6l surrounded by a railing 62 and serving as a support for a diving boardA G3.. A stair or ladder E54V is provided to give access tov theplatform.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate a modified form of swimming pool which may be either a separate. structure, as shown, or may be attached to the end. of the structure shown in Figs. 6 and '7. The swimming pool of Figs. 8 and 9 is intended for. non-swimmers. In. this form, the users weight is at: times supported on the oor of the pool which. therefore is made rigid. Such a floor may comprise. longitudinal joists 'i6 to which are attached :door boards 1I. forming the ifoor of the pool. In the form shown, seven joists are employed. Fourv ofthesev are formed with extensions 73A on each. end, through which extensions the floor is sup-- ported by meansV of cables 12 attached to eyes v'I3l attached tothe ends of the extensions MA. In the form shown, four such cables are used at. each end. These cables pass over pulleys or sheaves 14 located directly above the eyes i3 (Fig. 9) and then run horizontally under the floor boards 36 and thence over a pulley or pulleys 'l5 at. the extreme edge of the deck structureands. thence upwardly to a winch 16. One such winchis provided at each end of the pool so that by adjusting the respective Winches the depth ci the pool may be varied as desired to accomm' date the age and skill of the users.

It will be noted that although the floor 10, Il is formed rigidly it is connected to the deck structure only near its ends so that the rigidity of the floor does not in any way interfere with the flexing of the deck structure. It is, of course, to be understood that stanchions 55 and life-lines 55 (not shown) would also be provided. The sides may be formed as in the form shown in Figs. 6 and 7, viz., by means of net sections 46 and canvas sections 4l held in place against the sides of the oor as by means of rods 5l between which and the edge of the iioor the side members are arranged. The extensions '10A of the floor joists must extend through the end members of the side enclosure. This is best accomplished by having the juncture between adjacent sections arranged in line with the extensions '10A so that the iioor may be raised and lowered without invice may be disassembled but, if preferred, re-

moval may be accomplished without disassembly. To do this, the winches 16 are operated to raise the oor as high as possible, this being sufficiently high to bring the bottom edges of the joists l0 above the bottom edges of the rollers 3|. The entire structure may therefore be drawn bodily up a suitable beach, the weight being supported upon the floats 3l which serve as wheels during this operation.

It is clear that the invention may also nd application as a swimming oat, boat landing float, yliie raft, or as a lighter for transporting cargo, and other uses thereof will be apparent.

It will be noted that the constructions shown A;

and described will serve admirably to accomplish the objects stated above. It is to be understood, however, that the constructions disclosed above are intended merely as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting as various modifications therein may be made without departing from the invention as dened by a proper interpretation of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

l. A vafaterborne swimming pool comprising a plurality of floats, a flexible resilient deck member supported by said oats, a supporting member carried by each of said floats and connected to said flexible resilient member, said flexible resilient member serving as the only connection between the iioat supports, means forming a swimming enclosure comprising side walls and a oor having edges, supporting means for said floor connected to said deck member for supporting said door at various distances below said deck member, coniining rods spaced from the edges of said iioor so as to provide slots around said edges, said side walls being formed of iiexible material and provided with weights for holding said side walls taut, said walls passing through said slots formed between the floor and said confining rods, so that said floor and walls form an enclosed swimming compartment.

2. A waterborne swimming pool comprising a plurality of floats, a flexible resilient deck member supported by said fioats, a supporting member carried by each of said floats and connected to said flexible resilient member, said flexible resilient member serving as the only connection between the floats, means forming a swimming enclosure comprising bottom and side walls, said bottom comprising a rigid structure supported from the flexible resilient deck only by flexible supporting means so as not to interfere with the flexibility of the deck.

3. A waterborne swimming pool comprising a plurality of floats, a flexible resilient deck member supported by said floats, a supporting member carried by each of said floats and connected t0 said flexible resilient member, said exible resilient member serving as the only connection between the floats, means forming a swimming enclosure comprising flexible side walls and a bottom, said bottom comprising a rigid floor structure including joists having extensions beyond the floor area and extending through slits in the eXible side walls, and flexible supporting cables attached to said extensions, whereby said floor structure is connected to the deck in such a manner as not to interfere with the flexibility of the deck.

4. A waterborne swimming pool comprising a plurality of noa-ts which are normally only partly submerged, a deck member supported by said oats, a supporting member carried by each of said floats and connected to said deck member, means forming a swimming enclosure comprising bottom and side walls, said side walls being exible and said bottom comprising a rigid structure supported from the deck, together with means for lifting said floor to a point where it is all above the lowermost parts of said floats so that the structure may be withdrawn from the water and stored while resting on said floats.

5. A device in accordance with cl-aim 4 in which the floats are horizontal cylinders axially journaled to said supporting members so that they may serve as wheels while the structure is withdrawn from the water.

6. A waterborne swimming pool comprising a plurality of iioats, a supporting member carried by each of said floats and each connected to a deck member supported by said floats, said oats being of such buoyancy as to be normally partly submerged, said connecting deck member being flexibly resilient to such an extent as to yield substantially to the action of waves upon the floats and also to the eect of changes in the extent and location of live loads, said supporting members being connected to said deck member only at isolated parts so as not to interfere with the flexibility of the deck, said deck member being formed with an opening adapted to accommodate a swimming enclosure comprising flexible side 'walls and a bottom, said bottom being connected to the deck member only by flexible supporting means so as not to interfere with the flexibility of the deck.

'7. A waterborne swimming pool comprising a deck member supported by floats, said deck member being so formed as to surround an open area, means forming a swimming enclosure located in said open area comprising side walls and a door having edges, supporting means for said floor connected to said deck member for supporting said floor at various distances below said deck member,

confining rods spaced from the edges of said iioor'- so as to provide slots around said edges, said side said deck member and provided with weights at.

9 their bottom edges for holding said side Walls taut, Number said Walls passing through said slots formed be- 1,662,683 tween the io-or and said conning rods, so that 1,718,006 said floor and Walls form an enclosed swimming 1,925,175 compartment. 5 1,994,640 KORD H. STEHR. 2,013,635 2,016,456 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent: m Numgeoe UNITED STATES PATENTS 9,855 Number Name Date ml 175.019 Borgfeidt Mar. 21, 1876 l ogz 1,054,505 Butters Feb. 25, 1913 15 Name Date Porter Mar. 13, 1928 Reno June 18, 1929 Day Sept. 5, 1933 Giliasso Mar. 19, 1935 Seranowioz Sept. 3, 1935 Russell Oct. 8, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Italy 1876 Great Britain Apr. 24, 1911 Germany June 2, 1896 Germany 1900 Germany Feb. 13, 1918

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