Water-retaining recreational structure for swimming pools and the like

Claim 1

IN A WATER-RETAINING RECREATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE TYPE HAVING A LINER MEMBER OF FLEXIBLE, RELATIVELY WATERPROOF SHEET MATERIAL PROVIDING A BOTTOM WALL PORTION AND A SIDE WALL PORTION EXTENDING ABOUT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID BOTTOM WALL PORTION, THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF A FRAME ASSEMBLY FOR SUPPORTING SAID LINER MEMBER AND HAVING A RELATIVELY RIGID, GENERALLY VERTICAL SUPPORT PANEL EXTENDING ABOUT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID LINEAR SIDE WALL PORTION AND CLOSELY ADJACENT THERETO TO PROVIDE A RELATIVELY RIGID HORIZONTAL SUPPORT; A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED HORIZONTAL SUPPORT MEMBERS EXTENDING IN END-TO-END RELATIONSHIP ABOUT SAID LINER MEMBER, SAID HORIZONTAL SUPPORT MEMBERS HAVING SPACED SIDE, OUTER AND INNER WALL PORTIONS AND GENERALLY ALIGNED SLOTS IN SAID INNER WALL PORTIONS HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING THEREALONG AND SNUGLY RECEIVING ONE HORIZONTAL EDGE PORTION OF SAID SUPPORT PANEL FOR ALIGNING SAID EDGE PORTION AND LIMITING TRANSVERSE MOVEMENT THEREOF; A PLURALITY OF LOCKING MEMBERS HAVING AN INNER WALL PORTION, HORIZONTALLY SPACED SIDE WALL PORTIONS AND AN OUTER WALL PORTION EXTENDING THEREBETWEEN, SAID SIDE WALL PORTIONS EXTENDING VERTICALLY INWARDLY OF SAID FRAME ASSEMBLY FROM SAID OUTER WALL PORTION, EACH OF SAID LOCKING MEMBERS TELESCOPICALLY RECEIVING AND HOLDING IN ALIGNMENT THE END PORTIONS OF A PAIR OF ADJACENT HORIZONTAL SUPPORT MEMBERS WITHIN SAID LOCKING MEMBER SIDE WALL PORTIONS, AND HAVING A CHANNEL IN THE INNER WALL PORTION RECEIVING ONE HORIZONTAL EDGE PORTION OF SAID SUPPORT PANEL; AND A PLURALITY OF VERTICAL SUPPORT MEMBERS EXTENDING VERTICALLY INWARDLY OF SAID FRAME ASSEMBLY FROM SAID LOCKING MEMBERS, HAVING AN OUTER WALL PORTION SPACED FROM SAID SUPPORT PANEL AND SIDE WALL PORTIONS EXTENDING TOWARD SAID SIDE WALL PANEL, SAID INNER WALL PORTIONS OF SAID LOCKING MEMBERS AND SAID END PORTIONS OF SAID HORIZONTAL SUPPORT MEMBERS HAVING COOPERATING SEATING APERTURES THEREIN RECEIVING THE END PORTIONS OF SAID VERTICAL SUPPORT MEMBERS, SAID VERTICAL SUPPORT MEMBERS BEING ENGAGED WITH SAID LOCKING MEMBERS TO PREVENT SUBSTANTIAL RELATIVE MOVEMENT THEREBETWEEN, SAID END PORTIONS OF SAID ADJACENT HORIZONTAL SUPPORT MEMBERS WITH SAID LOCKING MEMBERS BEING SNUGLY INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID LOCKING MEMBER OUTER WALL PORTIONS AND ONE END OF SAID VERTICAL SUPPORT MEMBERS, SAID ADJACENT HORIZONAL SUPPORT MEMBERS BEING ENGAGED WITH SAID VERTICAL SUPPORT MEMBERS WITHIN SAID LOCKING MEMBERS TO PERMIT LIMITED RELATIVE HORIZONTAL TELESCOPIC MOVEMENT THEREBETWEEN IN ASSEMBLY AND TO PREVENT SAID ADJACENT HORIZONTAL SUPPORT MEMBERS FROM SLIDING PERIPHERALLY AWAY FROM SAID LOCKING MEMBERS.