Combination swimming pool filter, surface skimmer and water level control device

Claim 2

A filter unit for a swimming pool comprising: a. a vertically positioned container of generally tubular form having water ingress means at one end communicating with the surface water level of said pool and water egress means at the other end coupled to a pump for drawing water from said pool through said container, b. a debris basket in said container following said water ingress means for collecting leaves, twigs, bugs and other large scale debris, c. a layer of fine sand material in said container following said debris basket, said layer being of sufficient thickness to trap minute impurities carried in the water passing through said unit, and d. a removable basket having a foraminous bottom of mesh size finer than that of said sand material, said basket being positioned in said sand layer and containing therein the upper portion of said sand layer.

Claim 3

The filter unit of claim 1 further provided with an additional water ingress means in said container positioned between said debris basket and said sand layer and coupled to a water drain in the bottom of said pool so that water from said pool bottom is also drawn through said filter unit.

Claim 4

The filter unit of claim 2 further characterized in that a cover plate member is positioned in said container between said debris basket and said additional water ingress means and is provided with flow control means for adjusting the amount of water drawn from said pool surface through said filter unit by said pump.

Claim 5

The filter unit of claim 3 wherein said cover plate member is in the form of a circular disk of solid material in watertight sealing engagement with the interior wall surface of said filter container and said flow control means is in the form of a plurality of variable-diameter apertures in said cover plate member.

Claim 6

The filter unit of claim 4 wherein said filter unit is adapted for vacuum-cleaning operation by closing off all but one of said apertures in said cover plate member and connecting a Vacuum-cleaning hose accessory to the other of said apertures.

Claim 7

The filter unit of claim 1 further provided with a weir of buoyant material pivotably mounted in said water ingress means for skimming the surface of said pool water drawn into said unit.

Claim 8

The filter unit of claim 1 further characterized in that a compartment is formed on the vertical wall surface of said container having a passageway communicating with the surface water level of said pool, said compartment containing (a) a float valve means controlling the addition of water to the pool from a water supply source, said float valve automatically opening to permit the flow of water therethrough when the pool level drops below a predetermined minimum threshold, and (b) an overflow device coupled to a discharge line for draining away water from the pool when the pool level reaches a predetermined maximum threshold.

Claim 9

The filter unit of claim 7 wherein an apertured plate is interposed in said passageway connecting said compartment to said filter container for the purposes of both preventing the entry of debris into said compartment and dampening wave oscillations in water entering said compartment.

Claim 10

The filter unit of claim 1 further characterized in that said sand layer is comprised of two strata of differing mesh size, the first stratum, a portion of which is contained inside said basket, having a particle size substantially smaller than the second stratum of sand material which is located beneath said basket.

Claim 11

The filter unit of claim 9 further characterized in that said water egress means is in the form an underdrain element embedded in said second sand stratum and having apertures therein for extracting water from said filter container which are of smaller size than the particles comprising said second sand stratum, but of greater size than the particles comprising said first sand stratum.

Claim 12

The filter unit of claim 1 wherein the foraminous bottom of said basket is comprised of a sheet of wire screening of the prescribed mesh size.

Claim 13

The filter unit of claim 11 wherein said basket containing the upper portion of said sand layer is further characterized in that it is of generally squat cylindrical form and the sidewall which rises above said foraminous bottom is nonpervious from said bottom to the normal level of said sand material therein and above said normal sand level said sidewall is perforated with a plurality of apertures so as to permit the draining of water radially from said basket when it is withdrawn from said filter unit.

Claim 14

The filter unit of claim 1 further characterized in that a cover plate member is positioned in said container between said debris basket and said sand layer and is provided with flow control means therein for adjusting the amount of water drawn from said pool through the filter unit by said pump.

Claim 15

A filter unit for a swimming pool comprising: a. a container of generally cylindrical form adapted for vertical mounting on the side of a swimming pool tank and covered by a removable lid member, b. a first water ingress means in the form of a passageway provided in the sidewall of said container near the upper end thereof communicating with the surface water level of said pool, c. a removable debris basket of cylindrical form fitting inside said filter container and positioned beneath said first water ingress means, d. a removable cover plate member of circular disc form positioned beneath said debris basket and in watertight sealing engagement with the interior wall of said filter container, said cover plate member being provided with variable flow control means permitting the passage of water therethrough, e. a second water ingress means mounted in the sidewall of said filter container beneath said cover plate member and coupled to a water drain in the bottom of said pool, f. a removable basket member nesting inside said container and positioned beneath said second water ingress means, said basket member having a forAminous bottom, g. a layer of fine sand material contained within said basket member and having a mesh size slightly larger than the openings in said basket bottom, and h. a water egress means situated in the lower end of said container beneath said basket member and coupled to a pump for drawing water from said pool through said container.

Claim 16

A filter unit for a swimming pool comprising: a. a container of generally cylindrical form adapted for vertical mounting on the side of a swimming pool tank and covered by a removable lid member, b. a first water ingress means in the form of a passageway provided in the sidewall of said container near the upper end thereof communicating with the surface water level of said pool, c. a removable debris basket of cylindrical form fitting inside said filter container and positioned beneath said first water ingress means, d. a removable cover plate member of circular disc form positioned beneath said debris basket and in watertight sealing engagement with the interior wall of said filter container, said cover plate member being provided with variable flow control means permitting the passage of water therethrough, e. a second water ingress means mounted in the sidewall of said filter container beneath said cover plate member and coupled to a water drain in the bottom of said pool, f. a removable basket member nesting inside said container and positioned beneath said second water ingress means, said basket member having a forAminous bottom, g. a layer of fine sand material contained within said basket member and having a mesh size slightly larger than the openings in said basket bottom, and h. a water egress means situated in the lower end of said container beneath said basket member and coupled to a pump for drawing water from said pool through said container.

Claim 17

The filter unit of claim 14 further characterized in that the space inside said container beneath said basket member is substantially filled with sand material.

Claim 18

The filter unit of claim 15 wherein said sand filling is comprised of two strata of differing mesh size, the first stratum located immediately beneath said basket member being of substantially the same mesh size as the sand layer contained in said basket member, and the second stratum having a mesh size substantially greater than said first sand stratum.

Claim 19

The filter unit of claim 16 wherein said water egress means is in the form of an underdrain element embedded in said second sand stratum and having apertures therein for extracting water from said filter container which are of smaller size than the particles comprising said second sand stratum, but of greater size than the particles comprising said first sand stratum.

Claim 20

The filter unit of claim 14 further characterized in that said basket member is of a generally squat cylindrical configuration, with a bottom formed of a sheet of wire screening of the prescribed mesh size and a sidewall which is nonpervious from said bottom to the normal level of said sand layer contained therein and above said normal sand level said sidewall is perforated with a plurality of apertures so as to permit the draining of water radially from said basket when it is withdrawn from said filter unit.

Claim 21

The filter unit of claim 14 further characterized in that a compartment is formed on the vertical wall surface of said container near the upper end thereof having a passageway communicating with the surface water level of said pool, said compartment containing (a) a float valve means controlling the addition of water to the pool from a water supply source, and (b) an overflow device coupled to a discharge line for draining away excess water from said pool.

Claim 22

The filter unit of claim 19 further provided with a weir of buoyant material pivotably mounted in the passageway of said first water ingress means for skimming the surface of said pool water drawn into said unit.

Claim 23

A compact, integrated filter unit for a swimming pool comprising a housing containing therein: a. water ingress means for communicating with the surface water level of said pool, b. a weir element for surface skimming the pool water entering said unit, c. a removable debris basket for collecting large scale debris, d. a filtration element for extracting minute impurities from the water flowing through said unit, e. water egress means for coupling to a pump drawing water from said pool through said unit, f. a fill device responsive to the surface water level of said pool for causing water to be added when the pool level drops below a predetermined minimum threshold, and g. an overflow device adapted to couple to a discharge line for draining away water from the pool when the pool level reaches a predetermined maximum threshold.

Claim 24

A compact, integrated filter unit for a swimming pool comprising a housing containing therein: a. water ingress means for communicating with the surface water level of said pool, b. a weir element for surface skimming the pool water entering said unit, c. a removable debris basket for collecting large scale debris, d. a filtration element for extracting minute impurities from the water flowing through said unit, e. water egress means for coupling to a pump drawing water from said pool through said unit, f. a fill device responsive to the surface water level of said pool for causing water to be added when the pool level drops below a predetermined minimum threshold, and g. an overflow device adapted to couple to a discharge line for draining away water from the pool when the pool level reaches a predetermined maximum threshold.

Claim 25

The filter unit of claim 21 wherein said housing further contains an additional water ingress means adapted to couple to a water drain in the bottom of said pool.

Claim 26

The filter unit of claim 22 further characterized in that flow control means are provided in said housing for adjusting the relative flows of water permitted to be drawn into said unit through the respective water ingress means.