Method and apparatus for ready installation and re-installation of a flexible liner for swimming pools

Claim 2

In a swimming pool assembly whose side wall is retained in a substantially vertical condition by an assembled frame, said side wall supporting a water-retaining flexible liner removably secured at the top of the side wall, said pool assembly including: (A) a plurality of uprights provided as a part of the frame each having a securing and supporting means disposed near one end thereof; (b) a coping carried by and detachably secured to the uprights when the uprights are in an erected substantially vertical condition, this coping having a securing and retaining means adapted to mate with the uprights; (c) cooperative means provided in the forming of the uprights for selectively supporting and securing the coping and the upright at one of two vertically disposed positions whereby at its lower position the coping is positioned to provide a protective and concealing means of and for the top of the side wall and the flexible liner and at its upper position the coping is secured a short distance above the top of the side wall to expose for manipulation the top of the side wall and the liner, and (d) means for removably securing the water-retaining flexible liner to the top of the side wall and when in its secured condition and with the coping in its lower condition water may be stored in the pool to a level substantially to the top of the side wall and liner and with the coping in its second and elevated position the means for securing the liner to the wall as well as the top of the liner and the top of the side wall are exposed so that said securing means may be removed for the replacement, repair, rearrangement and the like of the liner without disassembly of the pool frame.

Claim 3

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 1 in which the coping has an attached depending member which is slidably retained by the upper end of an upright and in which the depending member and the upper end of the upright have cooperative securing means for retaining the coping at its lower retained position and in which an additional retaining means is provided in one of the cooperative portions provided by the depending member and the upper end of the upright by which the coping may be retained at its upper position.

Claim 4

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 2 in which the retaining means is at least one hole provided in a depending portion of this depending member and a mating hole is provided in the upper portion of the upright and in which an additional hole is formed in one of the cooperative portions provided by the depending member and the upright and in which a pin member is placed in aligned holes to support the deck at either of the desired heights.

Claim 5

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 3 in which the depending member extending downwardly from the coping is a T-bar whose stem portion is normal to the coping and includes two holes spaced vertically in this stem and in which the upright has one hole near its upper end, said hole in the upright adapted to mate with either of the holes in the T-bar.

Claim 6

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 3 in which the depending member from the coping is a T-bar whose stem portion is normal to the coping and includes two holes spaced vertically in the upright and one hole formed in the stem of the T-bar, said hole in the stem adapted to mate with either of the holes in the uprights.

Claim 7

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 3 in which the pin member is a bolt and associated therewith is a nut by which the bolt is tightened and retained.

Claim 8

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 3 in which the means for removably securing the water-retaining liner to the side wall is a U-clip.

Claim 9

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 3 in which a deck is attached to the coping so that as the coping is moved from its lower position to its upper position the deck is moved with the coping.

Claim 10

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 8 in which the outer edges of the deck are retained by a rear extrusion carried by a back brace, the lower end of this back brace being carried by the upright which carries the coping, the securing of the back brace to the upright being provided by a clip which is movable up and down the upright and is retained in either of two positions by means of a plurality of holes in the clip and the upriGht, these holes disposed in a pattern so as to provide two selected height supporting means.

Claim 11

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 1 in which the upright is provided with an attaching means at the lower end thereof, said upright being slidably retained on a pool support ring by means of an upright clip, the clip and upright having compatible and cooperative retaining means whereby the upright may be retained in either of two vertical conditions to thereby position the coping as carried by the upright at the selected of the two vertical heights.

Claim 12

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 10 in which the upright clip carried by the ring has two vertically spaced holes and the attaching means for the lower end of the upright includes at least one hole through which a pin may be selectively inserted into either one of the two holes in the upright clip.

Claim 13

In a swimming pool assembly whose side wall is retained in a substantially vertical condition by an assembled frame, this side wall supporting a water-retaining flexible liner removably secured at the top of the side wall, said pool assembly including: (a) a plurality of uprights provided as a part of the frame each having a securing and supporting means disposed near one end thereof; (b) a deck-like member carried by and detachably secured to the uprights when the uprights are in an erected substantially vertical condition, this deck-like member having a securing and retaining means adapted to mate with the uprights; (c) cooperative means provided in the forming of the uprights for selectively supporting and securing the deck-like member and the upright at one of two vertically disposed positions whereby at its lower position the deck-like member is formed and positioned to provide a protective and concealing means of and for the top of the side wall and the flexible liner and at its upper position the deck-like member is secured a short distance above the top of the side wall to expose for manipulation the top of the side wall and the liner, and (d) means for removably securing the water-retaining flexible liner to the top of the side wall and with the deck-like member in the lower secured condition water may be stored in the pool substantially to the top of the side wall and liner and when the deck-like member is raised to its elevated position the means for securing the liner to the wall as well as the top of the liner and the top of the side wall are exposed so that said securing means may be removed for the replacement, repair, rearrangement and the like of the liner without disassembly of the pool frame.

Claim 14

In a swimming pool assembly whose side wall is retained in a substantially vertical condition by an assembled frame, this side wall supporting a water-retaining flexible liner removably secured at the top of the side wall, said pool assembly including: (a) a plurality of uprights provided as a part of the frame each having a securing and supporting means disposed near one end thereof; (b) a deck-like member carried by and detachably secured to the uprights when the uprights are in an erected substantially vertical condition, this deck-like member having a securing and retaining means adapted to mate with the uprights; (c) cooperative means provided in the forming of the uprights for selectively supporting and securing the deck-like member and the upright at one of two vertically disposed positions whereby at its lower position the deck-like member is formed and positioned to provide a protective and concealing means of and for the top of the side wall and the flexible liner and at its upper position the deck-like member is secured a short distance above the top of the side wall to expose for manipulation the top of the side wall and the liner, and (d) means for removably securing the water-retaining flexible liner to the top of the side wall and with the deck-like member in the lower secured condition water may be stored in the pool substantially to the top of the side wall and liner and when the deck-like member is raised to its elevated position the means for securing the liner to the wall as well as the top of the liner and the top of the side wall are exposed so that said securing means may be removed for the replacement, repair, rearrangement and the like of the liner without disassembly of the pool frame.

Claim 15

A swimming pool assembly as in claim 12 in which the deck-like member in an assembled condition includes a downwardly extending inner flange which in its lower condition conceals the means for securing the water-retaining flexible liner to the top of the side wall.

Claim 16

In a swimming pool whose side walls are supported by an assembled frame including a plurality of uprights and in which the water is retained by a flexible liner, the method of maintaining a coping at either of two selected heights one of which provides protection for the securing means by which the flexible liner is attached and supported by the side wall, the other height exposing this securing means for the flexible liner, said method including the steps of: (a) forming the uprights by which an associated coping member is cooperatively supported and retained with at least one securing and positioning means; (b) forming on the cooperative means of the coping at least one securing and positioning means disposed to mate with the securing and positioning means on the upright so as to provide one height relationship of the coping to the top of the upright; (c) forming an additional securing and positioning means in one of the cooperative portions providing the retained support of the coping on the upright, this additional securing and positioning means providing a vertical displacement of the coping at a second position which is a short distance from the first position, and (d) manipulating the securing and positioning means on both the coping and uprights to position and secure the coping in a protective and concealing position above the means for securing the top of the liner to the side wall and with a further manipulation to release the coping from its protective and concealing lower position to a supported condition a short vertical distance above the means for securing the flexible cover to the side wall, the coping in this vertically displaced position exposing the means for the securing of the liner so that said means may be released for the replacement, repair, rearrangement and the like of the liner without disassembly of the pool frame.

Claim 17

In a swimming pool whose side walls are supported by an assembled frame including a plurality of uprights and in which the water is retained by a flexible liner, the method of maintaining a coping at either of two selected heights one of which provides protection for the securing means by which the flexible liner is attached and supported by the side wall, the other height exposing this securing means for the flexible liner, said method including the steps of: (a) forming the uprights by which an associated coping member is cooperatively supported and retained with at least one securing and positioning means; (b) forming on the cooperative means of the coping at least one securing and positioning means disposed to mate with the securing and positioning means on the upright so as to provide one height relationship of the coping to the top of the upright; (c) forming an additional securing and positioning means in one of the cooperative portions providing the retained support of the coping on the upright, this additional securing and positioning means providing a vertical displacement of the coping at a second position which is a short distance from the first position, and (d) manipulating the securing and positioning means on both the coping and uprights to position and secure the coping in a protective and concealing position above the means for securing the top of the liner to the side wall and with a further manipulation to release the coping from its protective and concealing lower position to a supported condition a short vertical distance above the means for securing the flexible cover to the side wall, the coping in this vertically displaced position exposing the means for the securing of the liner so that said means may be released for the replacement, repair, rearrangement and the like of the liner without disassembly of the pool frame.

Claim 18

The method of providing a movable coping as in claim 14 which further includes the attaching of a deck to the coping and supporting the outer edges of the deck so that the coping may be raised and lowered without disassembly of the support frame and removal of the deck.

Claim 19

The method of providing a movable coping as in claim 15 which further includes securing the outer deck support to a back brace and further removably securing the lower end of the back brace at one of two selected positions as established by securing means as provided on the upright carrying the coping.

Claim 20

The method of providing a movable coping as in claim 15 in which there is included the further steps of forming on the lower ring a plurality of substantially vertically extending clips each adapted to engage and mate with the lower end of an upright and in the lower end of each upright and the upstanding clip are formed holes sized to accept and pass a bolt, and in which two holes are vertically arranged and formed in one of the cooperating portions formed on the lower end of the upright and the clip.

Claim 21

In a swimming pool whose side walls are supported by an assembled frame including a plurality of uprights and in which the water is retained by a flexible liner, the method of maintaining a coping at either of two selected heights, one of which provides protection for the securing means by which the flexible liner is attached and supported by the side wall, the other height exposing the securing means for the flexible liner, said method including the steps of: (a) forming the uprights so that an associated coping member may be secured to the top portion thereof and with the lower end having at least one securing and positioning means for retaining association with an assembled bottom ring, and the like; (b) forming a plurality of cooperative means on the bottom ring portion of the pool frame assembly each having at least one securing and positioning means provided on a support means disposed to mate with the securing and positioning means on each of the uprights so as to provide one height relationship of the upright to the bottom ring; (c) forming an additional securing and positioning means in one of the cooperative portions providing the retained support of the upright to and on the bottom ring, this additional securing and positioning means providing a vertical displacement of the upright at a second position which is a short distance from the first position; and (d) manipulating the securing and positioning means on both the upright and the securing means on the bottom ring to position and secure the upright and attached coping in a protective and concealing position above the means for securing the top of the liner to the side wall and with a further manipulation of the upright and the securing means on the bottom ring to move the upright and attached coping from its protective and concealing lower position to a supported condition a short vertical distance above the means for securing the flexible cover to the side wall, the coping in this vertically displaced position exposing the means for the securing of the liner so that said means may be released for the replacement, repair, rearrangement and the like of the liner without disassembly of the pool frame.

Claim 22

In a swimming pool whose side walls are supported by an assembled frame including a plurality of uprights and in which the water is retained by a flexible liner, the method of maintaining a coping at either of two selected heights, one of which provides protection for the securing means by which the flexible liner is attached and supported by the side wall, the other height exposing the securing means for the flexible liner, said method including the steps of: (a) forming the uprights so that an associated coping member may be secured to the top portion thereof and with the lower end having at least one securing and positioning means for retaining association with an assembled bottom ring, and the like; (b) forming a plurality of cooperative means on the bottom ring portion of the pool frame assembly each having at least one securing and positioning means provided on a support means disposed to mate with the securing and positioning means on each of the uprights so as to provide one height relationship of the upright to the bottom ring; (c) forming an additional securing and positioning means in one of the cooperative portions providing the retained support of the upright to and on the bottom ring, this additional securing and positioning means providing a vertical displacement of the upright at a second position which is a short distance from the first position; and (d) manipulating the securing and positioning means on both the upright and the securing means on the bottom ring to position and secure the upright and attached coping in a protective and concealing position above the means for securing the top of the liner to the side wall and with a further manipulation of the upright and the securing means on the bottom ring to move the upright and attached coping from its protective and concealing lower position to a supported condition a short vertical distance above the means for securing the flexible cover to the side wall, the coping in this vertically displaced position exposing the means for the securing of the liner so that said means may be released for the replacement, repair, rearrangement and the like of the liner without disassembly of the pool frame.