Hydraulic and earth engineering – Fluid control – treatment – or containment – Wave generation or enhancement
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-23
2001-06-05
Bagnell, David (Department: 3672)
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Fluid control, treatment, or containment
Wave generation or enhancement
C405S052000, C052S169700, C004S491000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241422
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to wave generators for recreation facilities such as swimming pools and water rides, and more particularly to wave generators and related pools and water rides which generate waves through the use of caissons.
Waves are often generated in the water of swimming pools, river water rides and similar recreational facilities through the use of various hydraulic or pneumatic/hydraulic wave generators. Many of these wave generators produce waves through the use of compartments called caissons installed in the water. Generally speaking, each of these caissons has a fluid-tight upper portion and a lower portion which extends beneath the quiescent level of the water in which the waves are to be generated. Each caisson communicates with the swimming pool or water ride in which it is installed through a submerged passage. Some typical wave generators are described and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,661 issued to Baker on Jul. 7, 1981 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,077 issued to Raike on Mar. 14, 1989.
Previously, caissons have been built out of concrete so as to withstand the pressures produced on the water within them which cause waves to be generated. The concrete caissons have been constructed by building forms in which concrete was to be poured and then assembling grids of reinforcement rods or rebars within the forms to hold the concrete in place during use. Typically, where one of the vertical walls of a caisson was one foot thick, grids of rebars had to be set within the forms so that they were about three inches from each of the two vertical sides of the concrete walls.
Constructing these caissons was a labor intensive task which would typically involve the use of eight or ten persons over the course of six or eight weeks of time. The time required to install the caissons is often important to owners of the facilities at which they are being installed. Normally it is desirable to open wave swimming pools or water rides in the middle or later part of May to be ready for the summer season. However, construction normally cannot begin until the end of winter and the end of spring rains which might make construction impracticable. A six to eight week caisson construction schedule can often make it difficult to have the facility completed and fully operational in May.
Additionally, concrete caisson walls have tended to wear and crack as a result of the forces produced while waves are being generated. This has required repeated maintenance and has decreased the normal useful life of the caissons. Furthermore, concrete walls within the caissons are often not as smooth as desirable, adversely affecting the generation of waves.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with this invention, a set of caissons is constructed having its vertical walls prefabricated out of stainless steel. There is a side wall at each end of the set of caissons and a stainless steel back wall extending transverse the back of these caissons, with each of these side and back walls extending from the ceiling to the floor of the caissons. The set of caissons includes partition walls extending to the floor between adjacent caissons and to the ceiling of these caissons as required by the wave generator. Stainless steel baffle dividers can also be installed within selected caissons to inhibit the production of waves within individual caissons. Additionally, a stainless steel front wall traverses the front of the set of caissons and extends from the ceiling of the caissons to a selected distance above the floor of the caissons. At least the partition walls and the front wall are prefabricated out of a plurality of sheets of stainless steel which allows spaces therebetween to enable concrete to be poured between the sheets of stainless steel of each such wall. Buttresses can be provided to support the back wall and the sides walls. As will be explained below in accordance with one preferred embodiment of this invention, the bottoms of the stainless steel of all walls which extend to the floor of the caisson can be buried within the concrete floor of the caisson.
The prefabricated stainless steel walls of the caisson and any necessary associated buttresses are received at the location where they are to be installed. They are assembled at that location and can be installed so that the bottoms of the stainless steel of all the walls which extend to the floor of the caissons are located below the upper level of the floor before any concrete is poured for the floor. Concrete is then poured for the floor of the caissons. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, concrete is also poured to a selected level within those stainless steel walls which extend to the floor and are constructed with spaces between sheets of stainless steel. This causes concrete to set up on both sides of the bottoms of the stainless steel of all of the walls which extend to the floor of the caissons. Concrete can then be poured between the sheets of stainless steel of those walls with spaces to receive concrete to fill these walls. Thereafter, a metal ceiling is installed over the caissons, and concrete is poured to form a slab on the metal ceiling.
The structure of these caissons, which includes prefabricated stainless steel walls having concrete within them, and the method of installing them, all in accordance with this invention, have shortened the time of installation of the caissons from a period of about six to eight weeks using eight or ten persons for construction to a period of about one week using four persons. They have resulted in stainless steel caisson outer walls which are not only more aesthetic, but also wearing better and are more effective in wave generation than previous concrete walled caissons.
This invention does not reside in any one of the individual features of the caissons or individual steps of the method of constructing caissons which are disclosed above and in the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments and claimed below. Rather, this invention is distinguished from prior art by its particular combination of features of the caissons and steps of the methods disclosed. Important features of this invention have been disclosed in the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments as shown and described below to illustrate the best mode contemplated to date for carrying out this invention.
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Bagnell David
Goebel, Jr. Edward W.
Lee Jong-Suk
MacDonald Illig Jones & Britton LLP
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