US2935582A - Detection and alarm apparatus for guarding swimming pools and the like - Google Patents

Description

` children,

l l false alarms.

itis-another object of th' nnracrronmn ALA-,natuurrampen r Guagnano swim/imo racism *maar ,of

x Supertron -('orpprzttion, los ngeles, Calif., a corpnration ofCalxforma @molen "i a i This nvention'irelates to apparatus, and more particularly fto-yi an improved devicel for detecting the preseneeofa person inan unattendedswimmingpoolandl l *.Hsoundingan-alamf A `In recentyears,` there-hasbcen a tremendous increase in the` number .of private Swimmingpools inV residential areas, and suchnpools constitute an attraction'for small Although most young children cannot swim, v they `are nevertheless attractedt'o the watenand enjoy l y playing around lthe edge ofthe pool.. As a consequence,;

` many children .havelallen intounattendedprivate pools In manycities, studies have been made of ways and i f means toprevent drowning, andVV in many cases have're# sulted inthe passage of city ordinancesrequiring that fencing be placed around all private pools,with an access 1 gate which is to-be locked while the pool is unattended,

As is well known,` however, children are also attracted to fences, and enjoy'climbing over them. Although fences are effective to prevent very `small children and babies x from having vaccess to the pool, they present little `or no obstacle to manyactivechildren. Q l

H It frequently vhappens that an activeyoungster who Vor inoperative as desired, and which causes an alarm to 1 the pool when it; is unattended. 'Y C A further object of' this yinvention .is to provide deteci tion and alarm apparatus for Swimmingpools which,`

random .disturbances onthe snrcannot befactivatedby. f' face of the water.Vr l

be sounded lonly. whenobjects-or persons enter .A still further obect of lysize falls into the pool."

" lt is also an object of this invention to. provide an improved swimming pool alarm system whichiis com 1 priseclof a minimum number of component parts of Y `simple design and rugged construction, capable of L liable operation over a long operating life, which is relai 2 @tively inexpensive, and whichismore-reliable than priorV 1" cannot swim will climb overV a sani fence, .and falll in 4become a barrier.whichunduly` delays personsatternptingto gain access to the pooll tosave'the child. Undoubtedly., many children could have been saved had it not been `necessary tofuseup time gettinga gate unlockedand opened.

`Not only isencing an unsatisfactory solution; l:quite expensive, Yand itgdetracts Afrorntbe appearance of the landscaping, l l

that they areunduly subject to sounding false alarms, as

in response. vto disturbance of the surface of the water dueto stro-ag winds and the like;` Some prior art sysbeen to provide alarm systems, `to arouse the persons within Vthe vicinity of a pool if a art swimming pool alarm systems are `'characterized inA tems use floats which can be movedtoactivate an alarm.

" In theseffalse alarms may be sounded in response to gusts of wind moving the oat, or from birds landing on` the floats,

Still a further d iculty tems is that they are not suliciently sensitive to arise in thl overallwater level where the surface of the water is Y cam. Por example, ifa child .enters or slides slowlyinto the water at some distancet'rom the detection system, the alarm will notfbe activated. l

' vIt isan object vof this inventionto provide a detectionv system for use in swimming pools, which is charactercaused by obiects or`personscoveringI thefpool, and which art swimming pool alarm systems Figure 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, yof,

my detection system, showing the location of three com` partments and a contact closure element to beoperated upon a rise inthe watez" level to close `for sounding an alarm;

in water pressures on the opposite sidesl of the panel;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view10f the lower` portion of theA detection. device, showing the arrangement of openings toadmitrwater into the various compartments in a v:manner lto 'inset-resounding of `the alarm only in response to an increase in the level of the t w pool caused by a `person or object entering the pool; and Figure 4 is a side elevation view of the detection device :in position in a pool, fin'readlnessl to 'detect thefpresen `of a person or object .entering in thewater. w 3

Referring to the drawing', my invention vct'lrnprisesa housingl() having three separate compartments y11, 12, 13. In the device illustrated, one corrtpartment 11 is formed by a panel 14 which is parallel to and co-extensive with one wail' ISof the bousingFThe remaining compartments 12, 13 are formed by a panel 16 parallel to the v, v side walls 17, 18 and extending fromY the panel 14, to y the opposite wall19. f

The -vdifferent` compartments are `provided with aI pair of spaced'apertures 22, 23 leading more slowly than throughthe compartment 13. To this end, both the apertures 22, 23 are smaller than the opening constituted by the'plura'lity of apertures 21, and the aperture 225s smaller hanthe opening'23. Also, both t of the openings 22,123 are'located at points below the .ized by a sensitivity to detectonlychanges in water level i openings 21, and hcncebelow the surface of water in ooml partment 11.` l l 7C- V. invention vto provideY swim-"1 .f ming' pool'alarm apparatus which can be madeoperative- If the level lof this invenn'rzvn'is'to"provide11,` y detection device for a. swimming pool alarm which makes 1 it unnecessary to use fences and like barriers around the pool, and which is highly reliable in warning persons in` the vicinity of an lunattended pool whenachildoi any a setof contacta` Figure 2 is a sectional view of the panel separating two of the compartments, and showing the contact closure element pivotally mounted thereon for actuation by a -v diaphragm portion Vof `the panel in'response to a difference in fluid` communca- L A` tion with the exterior o`f` the housing 10, and for this ,y purpose the wall 15"(see Figure 3 is provided with a 1 plurality of apertures 2l, and-the adjacent panel 14 water `surrounding;the housing 10 i creases, andis turbulennvthe vfact that the'aperturesl permit Awater totlow readilyfintocompartment 1I means j 5 the surfacey of thewater reflect suchA turbulence.'

4 Since the openings 22, Zitate disposed below the aper-i l `1 `tures 21, and since they are relativelysmall, water ows l t: 12, 13.. l

` lf the'ohiect or person whichcanses the imi-ease inthe level of the water surrounding the housingltl' is removed,

such compartment 11 tends .quicklyftoadiust'to the sur-v rounding water' level.

' `waterows vro'rnthe .compartment 12 throughthc'aper-,-

turenevenmoreslowly. i 'i in my? invention the different rates of water flow 'are' l of the' panel 16,an`d cover such opening;`as on one side of thepauel, with aV diaphragm 27- (seeFigure 2) which moves with respectto the opening 2.6 when pressuresonV the `opposite sides thereof arey uneq`ual. Movement of the water level-in the compartiment V12.- For actuating the alarm 25, Iprovide an elongated ele-'l ment of conductive material, such as a metal rod 28,` which is vertically disposedadjacent the Y'panel 16, and whichispivotally mounted adjacent its lower endv to the the compartrnentslZ, 13 at slower rates (and also- 1 at different rates inasmuch as the openings 22` and 23 are f i ict different size), and thewater level in the compartments 12,13 rises smoothly, ie.,y there is substantially no so thatthe suriace of the surrounding waterreturns'to its l Y previous level,"` the water in the compartment 11 readily.

` owsout of -the apertures 21 so that the. water level vinl .Aj

"the diaphragm 27 is utilized to actuate the alarm ZS-When Itho surrounding viaterlevel increases, i.ve.,-when the water level in the compartment 13 increases more rapidly'thanl 'f panel. 1n the embodimentshown, the pivotal mounting effected by inserting'the rod ZSthrou'gh a short cylindrif t cal conductive ulcrum member 30, and. journaling the f t Vends of such member in a non-conductive (c g., plastic) 1 elementl `whichis secured to the panel 116g Titus, .the rod 28 is provided with afulcrum adjacent its lower end,

eonlparimentlllwill i' However, water tiowsV outpf theV compartment 13VV through the aperture 23 `more slowlyzand: i

- response to aqdesired f'upon increment of the @of the rod 28 isdisposed below the wire Land I pro- [vide a conductive element 42, such as metal ribbon, wire z or` the like, on the upper ofthe rod to engage the wire 40 y "rod to the point `adjacent the panel 16.

wires 4G, licornev into 'contact andf the alarm sounds in .of a person or object falling into the pool. 20 `utilizedto'activate analarrn 25'when'atpe1son'enters-a v swimmngpoolinwhich the housing lis disposed, and to g, HT deactivate the alarm when the person. leaves the'pciol.V For As previously mentioned, the removalof a person or object from the pool results in water flowing outof the @various compartmentsfasthe surroundingipool'lt'ater-` yreturns to its previous level.` Since water passing out of the this purpose, I provide'an opening 26 near the lower end compartment 13 does so more rapidly than water passing Q @son or object is. removed) to cause the diaphragm to move Vit() Y so that slight movemcntof the lower end thereof `will rey i sultxirxl a relativelylarge movement of itsnpperend'.' f TherodfLZB-issecureiifat its lower-end nacweightil, and in such a manner that theweightv33 normally rests .is a short `cylindrical' element, preferably ot` non-couduc- Figure 2)- isfaflixed to vthe weight element adjacent one i the weight 33 is disposedbctwecn the lower end of the rod and the diaphragm Z7. Accordingly, the weight 33 urges l the lcwvcrend` ofthe rod 28 toward the diaphragm 27.,

i i the'diaplniagrn` 27 to the left (in Figures l and 2) causes thewe'ight 33 to-be movedl to the left, i.e., counterclocltf "Fromthe foregoing, it will be seen that movement off tive material. The lower end of the rod 28 (as shown in end thereof. yl`hus`,vthe `greater portion of the mass of lto the right; The weight 33followssuchmovement, and j.' .causes the rod -2'8 to move counter-cloclzwiscto disengage if 1 the'wire contacts 40, 42, whereupon the alarm circuit yis 'l 1 broken. f i

l When the vpool is in use and under surveillance, it will, u

of 'course be undesirable to have the alarm sounding While persons are swimming. All that is necessary vto prevent `the detection system from. activating the alarm' isvtopro# vide asirnple switch titll in one of the leads to thealarm circuit.- Theswitch 50 is opened-when it is 4notdesirable to actuate the alarm, and is closed `when the pool is not "i inuse.

e Referring to Figure 4, thehousing 10 is shown disposed i i 1in waterfso 4that the level of lthewater is well'above the Adiaphragm 27.- The top 51 ofthe housing 10 is vented,

as'at 52 to insure equalization of air pressures inside the housing with the outside air pressure. Although the water level is shown considerably higher than the diaphragm 27,

` t fit willbe recognized that thc housing neednot be inserted so far, it heing-suhcient that a portion of the diaphragm lies on thenorrnal level of the water. :.Whilel have described my invention modifications may be made without departing from `the i In such arrangement, the `aperture 23 may be replaced f with an aperture or apertures in the portion Vof the panel 1 1 6 separating the chambers 11 and 13. Also, the'wall 15 may be shortened at its lower end, so that the apertures f l,

22 and/or 23 may connect their chambers directly `to the surrounding water. Accordingly, l do not intend that myk exceptas by theappended.claims.`

- 1 wise, therebyto move the upper end o f the rod 2S elockwise toward the panel 16.k If the diaphram 27 is moved to" end-oftherod 28 to move away from the 25with the above-described movev ments of the rod 28, tlielead-in wires 35, 36 of the alarmV y apparatus `are conductively connected to. .respective` Vtex'-V initialv pins 37, 38 secured in thepanel 16, terrninalttlV conductively` connected, asy awit-e 39,' to the metalk ftilr erm` 30.1 when the lloft ze t .-novedto a position.V ad- .iaeent'the panel 16, connection i.

'37,1 thereby Atocornplete .the alam?. circuit.'

i andro/connecte wire-tubetweea gl made with the terminal i 7 0 i QV'. Although thev rodv 28 can befriladefto` move Vdirectly i Y' -againstfthe terminal 37, 1 prefer tofloeate such texrninaljv i *bm the upper andV anden yf-separa of, me mazze invention be limited,

Iclairn:V

I 1. An valarm system comprising: a housing to be iml Alrriersed in a uid medium .having a partition therein to provide a pair of compartments, said compartmentseach t ,4

htrvingran opening therein so that they are in uid corn-V munication -with the surrounding medium, said openings /beinglshapedy to permit tluidto pass into and out offone` compartment more rapidly 'than the other compartmenjn t diaphragrnbetween said compartments movable` in the f presence of adilference in fluid pressures within said corn-1 partmentsiandindicat'ing means operablehy said. dia-'r` Y phragnttoprovide perceptible.indicationsof-movernent of i With Vthe above described arrangement ofthe wires 40, i 142the apparatus can be adjusted at thetime of to insure the proper 'sensitivity for the system. may .f be necessary for such reasons as, that in assembling n apparatus, the fulmini-member 3U may not be 'placed `t t i at the same location on the panel 1li-at which detection f devices, orthe panel'lt may not be located in precisely `the same position in )all housings. All that is needed -to vf vmalte the necessary adjustment is to bend the wire eir-V tension 42 on. the'rodtor the wire'40tonthe'panel) to? i `ward or away from the panel to the positionwherein the 'i minimum weight-teg.,` 10 pounds) l with reference z vto a particularillustration, it will be apparent that many f 1J f2. .Appmtusto detect increases inthe level ofthesur'- l' face of a liquid comprising: a housing to be immersedin` the liquid, said housing having a pair of compartments; a

i y f n diaphragm between the eompartm mts, at least part of said .diaphragm being below the normal level of the liquid when the-housing is immersed therein; means toadmt the liquid.. into said compartments atdiierent rates,l said l operatmg uponanf increase inlevel ofthe liquid tocansea y. ment relativiste-the increase in *the* other; and indicating il, lface of a liquid comprising: a housing to be immersed in u said diaphragm bei-1g below' the normal level of the liquid when the housing is immersed therein; means to admit the i operating upon an increase in level of theliquid to cause a temporary greatervxncrease in the level in one comparti ment relativito the increase in the other; and indicating..

f means operable by said` diaphragm to provide perceptiblev movable: withsaid diaphragm for closing an alarm circuit upon an increasein thelevel of the liquid above thenor- ,t mal level thereof.

mersed in a `huid-medium having a partition therein to t provide a pairv of compartments, saidcompartments each having an opening thereinsothat they are Yin ud communication withthe surrounding medium, said openings being shaped to permit'fiuidfto pass into and out of one p diaphragm 'between said compartments movable inthe i l presence ot a `dilierence inv fluid pressures within said cbamberseand indicating'means operable by said da'- cluding a contactclosureelement movable with said diathe leveltof the liquidabove the normallevel thereof. 4 i5. itipparatus to detect increases `inthe levelof the sur-` face of a liquid comprisingi `a housing to be` immersed in uid communication with the surroundingfliquid, the uid to permitliquid to dow into and out of them at slower `tiovv into and out of one of them -then the other; a dia- 6.Apparatus to detect increases in the level, of the surface ofa liquid comprising: ahousing to be immersed u the liquid, vsaidlhousinghaving a pairxofcompartments; l,

a diaphragm-*between the compartments, at least .part of I f t; liquid uinto' saidicomparnnents at different rates, said means "perrnitting'the liquid fto `risei to. the normal level l thereof when` they housing is' immersed therein,y saidmeans indicationsofl movement of fluid into said compartments, t y said indicatingmeans including a contact closure element y 4. An alarm `system conipriidng: ahousing to het-im# v compartment more rapidly, thanl the other compartment; a

phragm to provide perceptible indications of movement of fluid into said compartments, said indicating means int phragmvfor closing analarm circuit" upon anincreasein t the liquid having a plurality of `compartments therein in connectionsfor two of said compartments being adapted- 1 phrngm bctweenrsaid two compartments; and indicating* f means operable by said diaphragm to provide perceptible Q t t indications of movement of fluid Vintos'aid compartments.

" in aura mancasse was me mmsing'nqsayme 1 -lluid connections `for two of saidA compartments being 'y adapted to permit liquidto flow into and out of them at slower rates than through the remainder, andto permit y liquid to dow into and out of one of them then the ltion forms one wall for both said second and third i compartments, said irst partition having n pair of spaced 4' other; aV diaphragm between said two compartments; Aand indicating. means operable by `said diaphragm to provide i perceptible ind-icationsjoifmovement of duid into said compartments, said indicating means including a'contact i' `closure element movable vvitlrsaidA diaphragm farcies-ing l an circuit upon aznV increase in the level 'ofthe v liquid abovevthenormal level thereof.` `means operable by said'diaphragm to provide lperceptible indicationsfoi` movement of duid into said compartments.

Apparatus to detect increases inthe level of the sur?` 7. An alarm system comprising: Aa housing having "threefcompartments, oneV compartment being in iiuid communication with the exterior ofthe housing, the jremaining compartments cach being M -tion with' said one compartment, the kilud connections being such that lluidy passes into Land" out of said one compartment more rapidly `than `the `rc1-:mining compart-v -A rnents, andnuid passes into and outv of one of said yreumning compartments morerrapidly than the othe" L la movable'riiaphragm ,between said remaining f n. t compartments; means for vproducing awarningsignal;Y y Y and a` switchor said `means' having a fixed contact and f a movable contact, said movable contact being adapted contact when liuid ows intosaidy compartments.

8." A device for detecting `an increase in the leve-lof i i water in a swimming pool comprising:` a housing to be Partly immerse/drin the pool having a pair` of abutting K' partitions arranged to form'rst, second and third compartments therein, wherein said secondpa'rtmon separates Isaid second and third compartments, and said first partiapertures of diilerent sizes adjacent the lower portions oisaidV second and thirdA compartments, said housing having a plurality of apertures in the outer wall thereof adjacentsaid rst compartment which are disposed above said spaced apertures; a movable diaphragm forming part of said second partition, part of said diaphragm being bei l low-the normal level of thepoolsaconductive'rodrpivotr J ally mounted adjacent its lower end on said second partt-A tion; a weight secured to the lower end of said rod and adapted to rest against said diaphragm; and a pair of electrical termmalssecuredto said second #partition connection to an external alarm circuit, one of sard termi nais `being located adjacent the upper end of said rod; t

ratesthan through the remainder, and to permit liquid to other'of said terminals being conductvely connected tot 'i y said rod, said rod normally'being spacedffrom said second t l partition, said rod being adapted upon movement of the References Cited in the le of this patent t y UNrrEn s'mrss PATENTS g y Krum- May 14, Vuns f inthe liquid:havingapluralityy ofscompartments therein 2,811,599 vStatham Oct. 29. 19x57

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