MODULAR ARTIFICIAL POOL, SUCH AS A MODULAR SWIMMING POOL, AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SUCH A POOL

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of European Application No. EP24305318.8, filed Feb. 29, 2024, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention concerns the field of artificial pools, such as that of swimming pools.

The invention has more particularly for object an artificial pool notably of the swimming pool type and a method of producing such a pool.

PRIOR ART

Equipping a building with an artificial pool, such as a swimming pool, is relatively long and costly. In fact, in addition to the groundworks for forming the excavation in which the artificial pool will be arranged, it is necessary to employ a mason to pour a slab that will form the bottom of the artificial pool and to erect the lateral walls of the pool. It is only after the slab and these lateral walls have set that it is possible to equip the pool by installing a coating (generally a liner or tiles) and providing a system for filtering the water. Because of the relatively long drying times, the installation of the swimming pool can take up to three months.

In order to remedy these drawbacks, without having to employ the lower quality and less adaptable solutions of composite shell swimming pools, it is known to produce modular pools from metal panels. Such pools are generally made based on a welded metal framework onto which are welded panels forming the lateral walls, the panels themselves being welded to one another. These welds can be produced in the factory, necessitating exceptional transportation of the artificial pool or at least part of it to the installation site, necessitating equipment and specialist technicians to travel to the site.

Nevertheless, although such a solution enables a considerable saving of time compared to the concrete artificial pools referred to above and possibly making it possible for some of the production time to take place in the factory when the welds are made there, the production times remain relatively long and can necessitate the use of exceptional transportation for moving the artificial pool from the factory to the installation site.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION

The invention aims to remedy at least some of the above drawbacks and thus has in particular for object providing an artificial pool which, while having the modular design and the quality of concrete artificial pools and modular artificial pools with metal panels, can easily and rapidly be installed on site without necessitating exceptional transportation.

To this end the invention concerns an artificial pool, notably of the swimming pool type, the artificial pool having at least four lateral walls, two successive lateral walls being connected to one another by an edge, the artificial pool comprising:

• • a plurality of panels arranged along the perimeter of the artificial pool, two successive panels being removably fixed to one another in such a manner that the panels of said plurality of panels together form the lateral walls of the artificial pool,
  • a plurality of lateral uprights arranged along the perimeter of the artificial pool, each lateral upright being removably fixed to at least one panel and preferably being fixed to the at least one panel at the level of a junction with another panel,
  • for each of the lateral walls of the artificial pool, at least one respective first crossmember arranged along said lateral wall, said first crossmember being fixed to each panel forming part of said lateral wall either via the lateral upright fixed to said panel or via a fixing part removably fixed to said panel,
    • the artificial pool further comprising first angle irons, the first crossmembers being removably fixed together at the level of the edges by said first angle irons in such a manner as to form a first frame.

The combination of a removable assembly, such as for example a screwed or bolted assembly, and modular elements in the form of the panels and the lateral uprights, allow the production of an artificial pool the dimensions of which can easily be adapted while allowing rapid installation on site. In fact, such a pool does not necessitate a long step of drying the lateral walls, as is the case with concrete pools, or complex assemblies such as by welding a framework, welding plates to one another or welding plates to such a frame. Removable assembly is generally much simpler and can be carried out simultaneously by a number of not necessarily specialist workers. The invention therefore opens up the possibility of installing a modular pool in a few days.

Furthermore, this use of a removable assembly is not to the detriment of the solidity and the quality of the artificial pool, since the first frame, formed by the first crossmembers, is fixed by the lateral uprights, and possibly fixing parts, to each panel, and therefore allows good recovery of forces. Because of this, the risks linked to the pressure of the water intended to be contained in said artificial pool are contained, even eliminated, and the artificial pool therefore has a solidity similar to that of pools based on welded panels.

Thus the invention enables the production of an artificial pool benefitting from the adaptability advantages offered by concrete artificial pools and modular artificial pools using welded metal panels while allowing particularly rapid installation without necessitating use of exceptional transportation from the factory to the installation site.

Finally, the use of such a removable fixing renders the artificial pool in accordance with the invention easily recyclable. In fact, in contrast to prior art artificial pools, either made of concrete, and therefore difficult to recycle, or consisting of welded panels, and thus necessitating cutting operations, the artificial pool in accordance with the invention necessitates only removal of the removable fixing elements to separate the assemblies of elements constituting the pool. These elements are then perfectly able to be used again to form a new artificial pool, only the coating having to be changed, or easily transferred to appropriate recycling facilities.

By removably fixed is meant hereinabove and in the remainder of the present document fixed by a reversible mechanical assembly such as screws, rivets, bolts. Such removable fixing excludes definitive or semi-definitive fixing by welding and gluing.

The artificial pool may further comprise for each lateral wall at least one respective second crossmember arranged along said lateral wall parallel to the first crossmember corresponding to said lateral wall, said second crossmember being fixed to each panel forming part of said lateral wall either via the lateral upright fixed to said panel or via a fixing part removably fixed to said panel,

• • the second crossmembers being connected to one another at the level of the edges either by the first angle irons or by second angle irons of the artificial pool in such a manner as to form a second frame parallel to the first frame.

With such second crossmembers and the second frame that they allow to be formed, the artificial pool features a recovery of forces applied to the panels and therefore good resistance to the pressure of the water intended to be contained in the pool. Because of this, the risks linked to the pressure of the water intended to be contained in said artificial pool are perfectly contained, even eliminated, and because of this the artificial pool has the optimum solidity.

Each lateral upright may be intended to be fixed to the ground.

Such fixing to the ground enables transfer of some of the forces exerted on the panels to ground level, favoring the solidity of the present pool.

The artificial pool may further comprise at least one support strut element removably fixed to at least one panel, the artificial pool preferably comprising four lateral walls, two longitudinal walls and two walls transverse to said longitudinal walls, and the artificial pool comprising for each longitudinal wall at least two support strut elements.

Such support strut elements enable transfer to the ground of some of the horizontal forces on the panels, such as those exerted by the water intended to be contained in the pool. In this way the pool has good stability relative to the pressure exerted by said water.

The artificial pool may comprise for at least one of the lateral walls at least two support struts arranged along said lateral wall, and the artificial pool further comprising for said lateral wall at least one secondary crossmember, said secondary crossmember being fixed to said at least two support struts.

Such secondary crossmembers enable good distribution of forces on the support strut elements. These secondary crossmembers can therefore contribute to the good pressure resistance of the pool in accordance with the invention.

The artificial pool may further comprise a platform accommodated at least in part in a volume delimited by the at least four lateral walls, said platform being mounted to be mobile between a first, so-called low position and a second, so-called high position in such a manner as to modify an apparent depth of said artificial pool.

Such a platform enables production of a variable depth pool, thus offering the possibility of adapting the depth of the pool depending on the intended activity in the latter and the persons wanting to use it. In accordance with one possibility of the invention, such a platform can also be used, in the high position, as an element for closing the pool. Thus, given this possibility, the platform in this high position can participate in the formation of a patio both enabling making the pool safe and allowing the use of the space occupied by the pool for other purposes when the pool is not occupied.

The artificial pool may further comprise:

• • a system for actuating the platform arranged outside the volume delimited by the at least four lateral walls,
  • at least four cables connecting the platform to the actuating system, movement of said cables being driven by the actuating system, and at least four pulleys arranged along the lateral walls in such a manner as to guide a respective cable to apply vertical traction to the platform, the actuating system preferably comprising a cylinder the two ends of travel of which respectively correspond to the first position and the second position.

The artificial pool may comprise an upper frame fixed to the panels on an upper part of the latter, the upper frame having two longitudinal sides and two lateral sides, each longitudinal and/or lateral side of the upper frame, preferably each longitudinal side, has a section of U general shape accommodating between the arms of the U rolling members such as pulleys, and said frame being configured to allow:

• • removable fixing of the upper frame to the panels by the bottom of the U, the rolling elements then being adapted to provide a support for a sliding cover, and
  • removable fixing of the upper frame to the panels by its arms, the artificial pool being a pool according to the invention and comprising the platform, the rolling elements forming the at least four pulleys arranged along the lateral walls in such a manner as to guide the respective cable.

Such an upper frame offers the possibility of using the same upper frame either for winding or unwinding a sliding cover of the pool or to form a mobile bottom conforming to the present embodiment. Thus it is perfectly possible to adapt the configuration of the artificial pool without having to provide a plurality of separate upper frames.

Such an actuation system enables movement of the platform in a manner perfectly integrated into the artificial pool in accordance with the invention.

The panels can be identical and each panel advantageously has:

• • a width between 25 and 100 cm, even between 40 and 75 cm, or again between 45 and 55 cm, this width being particularly advantageously substantially equal to 50 cm,
  • a height between 50 and 220 cm, even between 75 and 190 cm, the height advantageously being selected from 80, 100, 120, 140, 160 and 180 cm.

The use of identical panels renders the pool in accordance with the invention entirely modular, only the number of panels and the length of the crossmembers adapted to obtain the pool with the required dimensions having to change.

Each panel may comprise a bent plate at least two longitudinal edges of which are bent, two successive panels of a lateral wall being assembled to one another by means of their longitudinal edges.

Such bends favor the assembly of the panels with the lateral uprights and the fixing parts, if any.

The invention also concerns a method of assembling an artificial pool, notably of the swimming pool type, the artificial pool having at least four lateral walls, two successive lateral walls being connected to one another by an edge, said method comprising the following steps:

• • providing a plurality of panels intended to be arranged along the perimeter of the artificial pool and together to form the lateral walls of the artificial pool,
  • providing a plurality of lateral uprights intended to be arranged along the perimeter of the artificial pool,
  • providing for each lateral wall of the artificial pool at least one respective first crossmember intended to be arranged along said lateral wall,
  • providing first angle irons,
  • arranging the panels along the perimeter of the artificial pool and removably fixing the panels to one another in such a manner that two successive panels are removably fixed to one another and the panels of said plurality of panels together form the lateral walls of the artificial pool,
  • arranging the lateral uprights along the exterior perimeter of the artificial pool and removably fixing each lateral upright to at least one panel, said lateral upright preferably being fixed to the at least one panel at the level of a junction with another panel,
  • arranging each first crossmember along said corresponding lateral wall and fixing said first crossmember to each panel constituting said lateral wall either via the lateral upright fixed to said panel or via a fixing part removably fixed to said panel, the first crossmembers being removably fixed to one another at the level of the edges by the first angle irons in such a manner as to form a first frame.

Such a method enables an artificial pool in accordance with the invention to be produced and the benefit of the advantages associated therewith to be obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be better understood after reading the description of embodiments provided by way of non-limiting illustration only with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an artificial pool in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 depicts an artificial pool in accordance with a second embodiment having a variable depth,

FIGS. 3A and 3B are respectively a view from above and a side view of the artificial pool in a variant of the artificial pool depicted in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 depicts an actuator of the artificial pool depicted in FIGS. 3A and 3B,

FIGS. 5A to 5D are respectively a perspective view of an upper frame of the artificial pool depicted in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a close-up perspective view of a pulley element of such a frame, a section of the same pulley element, and a view in section of this frame and a mobile bottom, said upper frame integrating a transmission system between the actuator and a mobile bottom of the pool,

FIGS. 6A to 6C are respectively a perspective view of the mobile bottom of the artificial pool depicted in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a close-up view of a corner of said mobile bottom and a close-up view in section at the level of a traction point of said mobile bottom.

Identical, similar or equivalent parts in the various figures bear the same reference numbers so as to facilitate passing from one figure to another.

The figures are clarified because the various parts represented in the figures are not necessarily represented to the same scale.

The various possibilities (variants and embodiments) must be understood as not mutually exclusive and may be combined with one another.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a modular artificial pool 100 in accordance with the invention.

While such an artificial pool 100 in accordance with the invention can in particular be an artificial pool of the swimming pool type, it can obviously be of some other type such as a pond in a garden.

In accordance with the invention, the artificial pool 100 has at least four lateral walls 101, 102, two successive lateral walls 101, 102 being connected to one another by an edge 103. In a usual configuration of the invention the artificial pool 100 includes four lateral walls 101, 102, including two longitudinal walls 101 and two walls 102 transverse to said longitudinal walls 101. Of course, the invention is not limited to only this configuration and the artificial pool 100 in accordance with the invention may comprise six to eight lateral walls 101, 102 without departing from the scope of the invention.

It will be noted that in a usual configuration of the invention the bottom of the artificial pool 100 may be formed by a slab 106 shown in FIG. 2. Alternatively, the bottom of the artificial pool 100 may be formed by a floor, for example by one or more metal plates or by some other support that is not shown. In accordance with this possibility, as is also shown in FIG. 2, the bottom may comprise a set of beams 107 serving as a base for the metal plates or other supports. In this variant in which the bottom of the artificial pool 100 is not formed by a concrete slab the artificial pool 100 may be formed on some other type of surface, such as a bed of sand or a beaten and stabilized earth surface.

Likewise, it will be noted that when a horizontal or vertical direction is referred to, or more generally a horizontal or vertical qualifier is used, this direction or this qualifier is relative to the elements of the artificial pool as they are oriented when the artificial pool 100 is installed on site, it being understood that the lateral walls 101, 102 of the artificial pool 100 are vertical and that the bottom is horizontal. Thus if, for example, it is mentioned hereinafter that the lateral uprights 120 extend vertically, it is to be understood that these lateral uprights 120 are vertical when they equip the artificial pool 100, being installed along the vertical walls and extending parallel to the latter and perpendicularly to the bottom. Thus, if these elements are not equipping the artificial pool 100, for example before assembling them to form the artificial pool 100, the qualifiers horizontal and vertical do not apply and these elements may have any other orientation.

As shown in FIG. 1, the artificial pool 100 comprises:

• • a plurality of panels 110 arranged along the perimeter of the artificial pool 100, two successive panels 110 being removably fixed to one another in such a manner that the panels 110 of said plurality of panels together form the lateral walls 101, 102 of the artificial pool 100,
  • a plurality of lateral uprights 120 arranged along the perimeter of the artificial pool 100, each lateral upright 120, 121 being removably fixed to at least one panel 110 and fixed to the at least one panel 110 at the level of a junction with another panel 110,
  • for each of the lateral walls 101, 102 of the artificial pool 100 a first respective crossmember 131 arranged along said lateral wall 101, 102, said first crossmembers 101, 102 being fixed to each panel 110 forming part of said lateral wall 101, 102 either via the lateral upright 120, 121 fixed to said panel 110 or via a fixing part 123 removably fixed to said panel 110,
  • for each lateral wall 101, 102 a second respective crossmember 133 arranged along said lateral wall 101, 102 parallel to the first crossmember 131 corresponding to said lateral wall 101, 102, said second crossmember 133 being fixed to each panel 110 forming part of said lateral wall 101, 102 either via the lateral upright 120, 121 fixed to said panel 110 or via a fixing part 122 removably fixed to said panel 110.

The artificial pool 100 further comprises first angle irons 140, the first crossmembers 131 being removably fixed together at the level of the edges 103 by said first angle irons 140 in such a manner as to form a first frame 132. In the same manner, the second crossmembers 133 are removably fixed together at the level of the edges 103 by these same first angle irons 140 in such a manner as to form a second frame 134 parallel to the first frame 132.

Of course, if in a usual configuration the pool comprises two frames 132, 134, one of which is a lower frame near a lower part of the lateral walls 101, 102 and the other is an upper frame near an upper part of the lateral walls 101, 102, it may equally well comprise a single frame between the lower part and the upper part of the lateral walls 101, 102 or three or even more frames, without this departing from the scope of the invention. Note likewise that, although the first crossmembers 131 and the second crossmembers 133 are fixed by the same first angle irons 140, without departing from the scope of the invention and in accordance with a possibility that is not depicted, it is perfectly feasible to envisage the second crossmembers 133 being connected together by second angle irons distinct from the first angle irons 140.

As shown in FIG. 1, each panel 110 comprises a rectangular plate. To be more specific, each panel 110 may be a bent plate two longitudinal edges of which are bent in such a manner as to allow assembly of two successive panels 110 of a lateral wall 101, 102 by means of their longitudinal edges. Each panel 110 also has two bent lateral edges transverse to the longitudinal edges. All the bends of the longitudinal and lateral edges are made in the same direction in such a manner that the panels 110 have their bends oriented toward the exterior of the artificial pool 100 during assembly thereof to form the lateral walls 101, 102.

In order to allow removable assembly of the panels, for example by means of bolts, the longitudinal edges of the panels may be perforated. In exactly the same manner and in particular, as is the case for the artificial pool 100 in accordance with the second embodiment described later with reference to FIG. 2, to enable assembly of an upper frame the lateral edges may be perforated. In order to reinforce the panels 110, as shown in FIG. 1, the latter may be equipped with brackets 110A connecting together the longitudinal and lateral edges.

Accordingly, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, for each lateral wall 101, 102 each panel 110 is assembled to the next panel along said lateral wall 101, 102 by one of its longitudinal edges, said longitudinal edge being assembled to the longitudinal edge of the next panel by a removable fixing system, such as by nuts and bolts arranged in the perforations formed along the longitudinal edges.

In terms of dimensions, the panels 110 each have the following dimensions:

• • a width between 25 and 100 cm, even between 40 and 75 cm, or again between 45 and 55 cm, this width being particularly advantageously substantially equal to 50 cm,
  • a height between 50 and 220 cm, even between 75 and 190 cm, the height advantageously being selected from 80, 100, 120, 140, 160 and 180 cm.

Accordingly, in the present embodiment the panels have a width of 50 cm and a height of 180 cm. In this way the artificial pool 100 depicted in the figure has a width of 3 m, a length of 8 m and a depth of 1.8 m.

In addition to this assembly with the next panel 110, each panel 110 is itself assembled to at least one lateral upright 120 and at least one fixing part 123, namely, in the present embodiment, two fixing parts 123 one associated with the first crossmember 131 and the other associated with the second crossmember 133. Each panel 110 is preferably removably fixed to a lateral upright 120 or a fixing part 123, 140 at the level of a junction between two successive panels 110, that is to say the longitudinal edges of these two successive panels 110. To be more specific, the fixing of the lateral upright 120 or the fixing parts 123 to these two successive panels 110 can advantageously be carried out during the assembly of these two panels 110, the lateral upright 120 or the fixing parts 123 then being assembled to these two panels 110 on an internal side of a longitudinal edge of one of these two panels 110.

In the present embodiment, the lateral uprights 120 take the form of a U-section with one of the arms of the U extended by flanges defining between them passages for the first and second crossmembers 131, 132 via which they are fixed to the panel 110. In this way when each vertical lateral upright 120 is fixed to a panel 110 by its flanges the gap between the two flanges forms a space to receive either the first crossmember 131 or the second crossmember 133. As discussed hereinafter with reference to the second embodiment and FIG. 2, the U-section is able to accommodate guide elements of an upper frame 153.

Each fixing part 123 has a U-shape or is stirrup shaped, with a bottom and two arms, and is shaped to be removably fixed to a panel 110. In this way, after fixing the fixing part 123 to the corresponding panel 110 the space delimited between the bottom and the two arms of the fixing part 123 and the longitudinal edge of the panel 110 forms a passage for either the first or the second crossmember 131, 133.

In addition to the lateral uprights 120 and the fixing parts 123, each of the first and second crossmembers 131, 132 is also removably fixed to the two angle irons 140 of the corresponding lateral wall 101, 102. Each angle iron 140 has a longitudinal general shape, with a V-shape lateral section, each of the arms of the V including rectangular openings at least a part of which forms a gap to receive either the first crossmember 131 or the second crossmember 132. The lateral and exterior longitudinal edges of the arms of the V are bent in a direction exterior to the V. In a similar manner to the lateral uprights 120, each angle iron 140 has perforations to enable fixing of said angle iron 140 to the first and second crossmembers 131, 133 and to the panels 110 corresponding to said edge 103.

In order for the artificial pool 100 to have a high resistance to forces exerted by the water that it is intended to contain, the artificial pool 100 may comprise support strut elements 121. To be more specific, and in a usual configuration of the invention, the artificial pool 100 may comprise for each longitudinal wall 101 at least two support strut elements 121, in the present embodiment and as shown in FIG. 1 three support strut elements 121.

Each support strut element 121 takes the form of a right-angle triangular metal plate at least two main edges of which are bent, namely the edge corresponding to the hypotenuse and the horizontal edge. To be more specific, to provide good force transfer in a direction oblique to the vertical the side corresponding to the hypotenuse has a U-shape double bend. The horizontal edge includes perforations in order to enable fixing of the support strut to the ground.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the support strut elements 121 may be of two types, a first type of support strut element 121A shaped to be fixed to a vertical upright 120 and a second type of support strut element 121B shaped to be associated with the fixing parts 123.

The first type of support strut element 121A has its vertical edge bent and includes perforations along said bend to enable it to be fixed to the lateral upright 120.

Like the vertical uprights 120, the second type of support strut element 121B has its vertical edge extended by flanges defining between them passages for the first and second crossmembers 131, 132. These flanges include perforations in order to enable them to be fixed to the longitudinal edges of the panels 110.

Whether the support strut element 121 is of the first type or the second type, it has along its surface in a vertical direction passages for one or more secondary crossmembers 135, in the present embodiment a single secondary crossmember 135, so as to enable transfer of forces between the support strut elements 121 of the same longitudinal wall 102. Thus in the present embodiment the artificial pool comprises two secondary crossmembers 135 each associated with a respective longitudinal wall 121.

Of course, like prior art pools, the artificial pool 100 in accordance with the present embodiment is intended to have a coating, for example a liner or tiles, and can comprise equipment such as a pumping system, a contraflow generation system (to enable swimming against a current), decompression or drainage pits, a water processing system, etc. Such coatings and equipment being known in the prior art, they are not described as such in the present document.

Such an artificial pool 100 can be assembled using a production method comprising the following steps:

• • providing a plurality of panels 110 intended to be arranged along the perimeter of the artificial pool 100 and together to form the lateral walls 101, 102 of the artificial pool 100,
  • providing a plurality of lateral uprights 120 intended to be arranged along the perimeter of the artificial pool 100,
  • providing for each lateral wall 101, 102 of the artificial pool 100 respective first and second crossmembers 131, 133 intended to be arranged along said lateral wall 101, 102,
  • providing first angle irons 140,
  • providing support strut elements 121,
  • arranging the panels 110 along the perimeter of the artificial pool 100 and removably fixing the panels 110 together in such a manner that two successive panels 110 are removably fixed to one another and the panels 110 of said plurality of panels together form the lateral walls 101, 102 of the artificial pool 100,
  • arranging the uprights along the exterior perimeter of the artificial pool and removably fixing each lateral upright 120 to at least one panel 110, said lateral upright 120 preferably being fixed to the at least one panel at the level of a junction with another panel 110,
  • arranging each first and each second crossmember 131, 133 along said corresponding lateral wall 101, 102 and fixing said first and second crossmembers 131, 133 to each panel 110 constituting said lateral wall 101, 102 either via the lateral upright 120 fixed to said panel 110 or via a fixing part 123 removably fixed to said removable panel 110, the first and second crossmembers 131, 133 being removably fixed together at the level of the edges by the first angle irons 140 in such a manner as to form first and second frames 132, 134.

Once the artificial pool 100 has been assembled in this way it can be provided with a coating in order to seal it and have the required equipment installed.

FIG. 2 depicts an artificial pool 100 in accordance with a second embodiment similar to the first embodiment and in which a platform 105 is provided that is housed at least in part in a volume delimited by the at least four lateral walls 101, 102, said platform 105, or mobile bottom, being mobile between a so-called lower first position and a so-called upper second position in such a manner as to modify an apparent depth of said artificial pool 100.

Note that in the present document the terms “platform” and “mobile bottom” are used interchangeably, so that the term “mobile bottom” can be substituted for “platform” and vice versa.

In accordance with one possibility of the invention, the second position can be an out of the water position in which the platform 105 closes the artificial pool 101 and participates in the formation of a patio.

An artificial pool 100 in accordance with the second embodiment differs from the artificial pool 100 in accordance with the first embodiment in that it comprises a mobile platform 105 and elements associated with that platform, in particular actuating elements.

Furthermore, in order to depict the modular design possibilities offered by the invention, the various elements of the artificial pool 100 are also depicted in FIGS. 3A to 6C, which concern an artificial pool 100 in accordance with a variant of the second embodiment that differs from the artificial pool 100 in accordance with the second embodiment in that it has a length of 6 m instead of 8 m. As for the remainder, apart from the differences linked to this difference in length, notably the fact that the artificial pool 100 comprises only four support strut elements 121, the artificial pool as depicted in FIGS. 3A to 6C has an identical configuration to that of the artificial pool 100 in accordance with the second embodiment. Because of this, in the remainder of this document elements common to the artificial pool 100 in accordance with the second embodiment and its variant are described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6C without specifying the embodiment and the variant to which this relates.

The platform 105 takes the form of a second assembly of beams 105A and, as depicted in FIGS. 5D, a covering 105B such as tiles, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or wood slats, supported by the second set of beams 105A.

In order to render the platform 105 mobile, the artificial pool 100 in accordance with the second embodiment and its variant comprises:

• • a system 140 for actuating the platform arranged outside the volume delimited by the at least four lateral walls 101, 102,
  • at least four cables 151, in the present embodiment and its variant six cables 151 shown only in FIG. 2, connecting the platform 105 to the actuating system 140, movement of said cables 151 being driven by the actuating system 140, and
  • at least four first pulleys 156, in the present embodiment and its variant six pulleys 156, arranged along the lateral walls 101, 102 in such a manner as to guide a respective cable 151 toward traction points 1053 of the platform 105 to apply vertical traction to it.

As FIG. 4 shows, the actuating system 140 comprises a cylinder 141 the two ends of travel of which respectively correspond to the first position and the second position. To be more specific, the actuating system further comprises:

• • a casing 143 shaped to be fixed to one of the lateral walls 102 of the artificial pool 100, the cylinder 141 being fastened to the casing 143,
  • a shuttle and pulley system 142 comprising:
    • a shuttle movement of which is driven by the piston of the cylinder 141 and comprising four secondary pulleys,
    • four attachments and four other secondary pulleys fastened to the casing opposite the cylinder in such a manner that each cable 151 attached to a respective attachment passes over a respective pulley of the shuttle to then pass over a respective other secondary pulley.
      With such a configuration the movement of the cylinder 141 enables duplicate driving of movement of the four cables 151.

In order to guide the cables at each end of the platform, in addition to the four first pulleys the artificial pool 100 further comprises the upper frame 153 fixed to the lateral uprights 120. The upper frame 153 includes two arms to enable fixing of the casing 143 and two longitudinal housings 153A, 153B each associated with one of the longitudinal walls 102 to guide the cables 151 in order to feed them to the traction points 1051 of the platform 105. To this end, as shown in FIGS. 5B to 5D, the upper frame 153 comprises:

• • guide pulleys 154 guiding the cables along the longitudinal housings 153A, 153B, and
  • first pulleys 156 arranged regularly along the upper frame 153, here along the longitudinal edges near each corner and at a median location on each longitudinal edge, and with their rotation axis perpendicular to the corresponding longitudinal wall in order to guide the corresponding cable 151 from the horizontal direction in the corresponding longitudinal housing 153A, 153B to a vertical direction in order to apply traction to the platform 105.

In accordance with one possibility of the invention the upper frame 153 can have two longitudinal sides and two lateral sides; each longitudinal side has a section of U general shape accommodating, between the arms of the U, rolling elements such as pulleys. In accordance with this possibility the upper frame 153 is configured to allow:

• • removable fixing to the panels 110 via the bottom of the U, the rolling elements then being able to provide a support for a sliding cover, not shown, and
  • removable fixing to the panels 110 via these arms, the artificial pool in accordance with the present embodiment comprising the platform 105 and the rolling elements forming the first pulleys arranged along the lateral walls 101, 102 in such a manner as to guide the respective cable 151.

Such an upper frame 153 offers the possibility of using the same upper frame 153 either for winding and unwinding a sliding cover of the pool or, in accordance with the present embodiment, providing a mobile bottom. It is therefore entirely possible to adapt the configuration of the artificial pool 100 without having to provide a plurality of different upper frames 153. Note also that in the present embodiment the longitudinal housings 153A, 153B correspond to the housing delimited by the arms of the U of the longitudinal sides of the upper frame 153.

In the same manner and as depicted in FIGS. 6A to 6C, in order to allow vertical traction on the platform during its movement between the first and second positions, the platform 105 comprises:

• • at least four traction points 1052, also termed anchor points, to which the cables 151 are intended to be fixed, six such points in the present embodiment and its variant, four traction points 1052 being associated with the four corners of the platform 105 and two other traction points 1052 each being arranged on a median portion of the respective longitudinal edge of the platform 105,
  • third pulleys each associated with a traction point 1052 to guide the corresponding cable 151 toward said traction point 1052,
  • guide and centering pads 1053 shaped to guide and center the platform during its movement between the first and second positions.

Thanks to such a conformation and the guiding of the cables 151 made possible by the various pulleys 1052, 156, 153, the movement of the piston of the cylinder 141, and therefore of the shuttle, enables pulling on or releasing the traction on the cables 151 and therefore raising or lowering the platform 105 in the artificial pool 100, thereby enabling the apparent depth thereof to be changed.

Of course, it will be noted that in configurations already known from the prior art the artificial pool 100 and its platform 105 may comprise equipment conformed to adapt to the movement of the platform 105, such as fixed benches or steps.