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JP-7855235-B2 - Floats for lane ropes

JP7855235B2JP 7855235 B2JP7855235 B2JP 7855235B2JP-7855235-B2

Inventors

  • 市原 直樹
  • 林 英俊
  • 小澤 英郎

Assignees

  • 岐阜プラスチック工業株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20230120

Claims (8)

  1. A float attached to a rope that demarcates the surface of a swimming pool into lanes, A central mounting portion is provided at the center of the float so as to allow the rope to be inserted, The outer wall section that shields against waves transmitted from the pool water surface, An opening is provided in the outer wall portion, which allows waves transmitted from the pool water surface to be introduced into the space inside the float, Multiple wing plates are connected to the outer wall portion and the central mounting portion, and are extended in the direction in which the rope extends, so as to divide the space inside the float into multiple adjacent individual spaces, The float comprises a connecting section that connects these multiple wing plates to each other and has a water passage that allows waves introduced into the space inside the float through the opening to be discharged, In the individual spaces formed by the adjacent pair of blades, the adjacent connecting portion, and the adjacent outer wall portion, the water within the individual space is capable of flowing to adjacent individual spaces, and the kinetic energy of the waves transmitted through the water within the individual space imparts kinetic energy to the blades, the connecting portion, and the outer wall portion, causing the entire float to oscillate. A float for a lane rope, characterized in that when the volume of an individual space partitioned by at least a pair of adjacent wing plates, the outer wall portion adjacent to the wing plates, and the connecting portion adjacent to the wing plates is A1, and the area of the water passage related to this individual space is B1, the ratio of A1 to B1 is set to an allowable value that is above the lower limit and below the upper limit (i.e., the value obtained by dividing A1 by B1 is 66.6 or more and 200 or less) .
  2. The float for a lane rope according to claim 1, characterized in that, when A1 is the volume of an individual space partitioned by at least a pair of adjacent wing plates, the outer wall portion adjacent to the wing plates, and the connecting portion adjacent to the wing plates, and C1 is the area of the opening related to this individual space, the ratio of A1 to C1 is set to an allowable value that is above the lower limit and below the upper limit (i.e., the value obtained by dividing A1 by C1 is 40 or more and 66.6 or less) .
  3. The lane rope float according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the connecting portion is provided with a guiding portion that guides the waves introduced into the float's internal space through the opening.
  4. The guide portion is characterized by having a projection that protrudes in the direction in which the rope extends, as described in claim 3.
  5. The float for a lane rope according to claim 4, characterized in that the guiding portion has a tapered surface in part, and this tapered surface guides the waves in the space toward the water inlet.
  6. The lane rope float according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, in the connection portion connecting the outer wall portion and the wing plate, when the wing plate is placed on the water surface, a crossover portion is provided on one side of the portion cut in the direction perpendicular to the water surface and in the direction in which the rope extends, and a breakwater portion is provided on the opposite side, and the crossover portion is attached to the rope so that it is located on the pool water surface side and the breakwater portion is located in the pool water.
  7. A float attached to a rope that demarcates the surface of a swimming pool into lanes, A central mounting portion is provided at the center of the float so as to allow the rope to be inserted, The outer wall section that shields against waves transmitted from the pool water surface, An opening is provided in the outer wall portion, which allows waves transmitted from the pool water surface to be introduced into the space inside the float, Multiple wing plates are connected to the outer wall portion and the central mounting portion, and are extended in the direction in which the rope extends so as to divide the space inside the float into multiple spaces, The float comprises a connecting section that connects these multiple wing plates to each other and has a water passage that allows waves introduced into the space inside the float through the opening to be discharged, A float for a lane rope, characterized in that the connecting portion is provided with a guiding portion that guides waves introduced into the space inside the float through the opening.
  8. A float attached to a rope that demarcates the surface of a swimming pool into lanes, A central mounting portion is provided at the center of the float so as to allow the rope to be inserted, The outer wall section that shields against waves transmitted from the pool water surface, An opening is provided in the outer wall portion, which allows waves transmitted from the pool water surface to be introduced into the space inside the float, Multiple wing plates are connected to the outer wall portion and the central mounting portion, and are extended in the direction in which the rope extends so as to divide the space inside the float into multiple spaces, The float comprises a connecting section that connects these multiple wing plates to each other and has a water passage that allows waves introduced into the space inside the float through the opening to be discharged, A float for a lane rope, characterized in that, in the connection portion connecting the outer wall portion and the wing plate, when the wing plate is placed on the water surface, a crossover portion is provided on one side of the portion cut in the direction perpendicular to the water surface and in the direction in which the rope extends, and a breakwater portion is provided on the opposite side, and the crossover portion is attached to the rope such that it is located on the pool water surface side and the breakwater portion is located in the pool water.

Description

This invention relates to a float that can be attached to a rope used to demarcate lanes on the water surface or underwater (hereinafter collectively referred to as "water surface") within a swimming pool. In competitive swimming pools, numerous lane ropes are stretched to demarcate each swimmer's lane, and many floats are attached to each rope (see Patent Document 1). Regarding these floats, in recent years, there has been a demand for improved wave-dissipating functionality to reduce the waves created on the water surface by swimmers (hereinafter referred to as "wave dissipation"). In particular, in swimming competitions with many participants, swimmers hope to compete in calm conditions with no waves, so as not to be negatively affected by waves flowing in from other lanes. Utility Model Registration No. 3039436 Publication This is a perspective view showing a float according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a partial enlarged view focusing on one individual space within the aforementioned float.This is an enlarged view showing a part of the connecting section, water inlet, and guide section of the float.This is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the connection portion and its surrounding area in the aforementioned float.This is an explanatory diagram showing the individual spaces within the aforementioned float.This is an explanatory diagram showing an opening provided in the outer wall of the float.This is an explanatory diagram showing the water outlet in the float.A photograph showing waves being generated on the water's surface by swimmers, and these waves not dissipating.A photograph showing the situation where the waves have been dampened by the aforementioned floats, resulting in a calm water surface. Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows the entire float 10 of this embodiment. The float 10 is integrally molded by injection molding of a foamed synthetic resin material, and is made of a material that floats on water to quickly dissipate waves traveling on the surface or underwater (hereinafter collectively referred to as "water surface") of the water stored in the pool. Specific examples of materials include polypropylene and polyethylene, and the specific gravity of the entire float is 1 or less. However, if a float or the like is attached to the float, the specific gravity of the float portion other than the float may be 1 or more. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the float 10 has a cylindrical portion 12 at its center for inserting a rope 11 (hypothetically shown). The cylindrical portion 12 has an opening 12A extending in the direction of the rope 11's extension (direction of arrow 11A) across the pool. By inserting the rope 11 into the opening 12A, the float 10 can be attached to the rope 11, thus the cylindrical portion 12 functions as a central attachment point. Here, since the float 10 has a point-symmetric structure with respect to a central point within the cylindrical portion 12, for convenience, the configuration of one side (left side of the center line 10A) will be described, the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the opposite side (right side of the center line 10A) will be omitted. Multiple (six in this embodiment) wing plates 13 extend from the outside of the cylindrical portion 12. Specifically, each wing plate 13 extends a predetermined length in the direction of arrow 11A and extends outward at 60-degree intervals from the outside of the cylindrical portion 12. Each wing plate 13 is provided with a connecting portion 14 that connects it to one another, and a circumferential outer wall portion 15 is formed on the outer edge of the six wing plates 13 to connect them to each other. This outer wall portion 15, adjacent connecting portions 14, adjacent pairs of wing plates 13, and the cylindrical portion 12 form small spaces (hereinafter referred to as "individual spaces" 16) that divide the entire space inside the float 10 into six almost equal parts. Note that the points where the cylindrical portion 12 and the wing plates 13 are connected can be changed as appropriate, and a configuration can be adopted in which the wing plates 13 do not come into contact with the outside of the cylindrical portion 12. In this case, the individual space 16 is formed by an adjacent pair of wing plates 13, an adjacent connecting portion 14, and an adjacent outer wall portion 15. Furthermore, the outer wall portion 15 is provided with a shielding portion 17 that shields against waves transmitted from the pool water surface D1 outside the float 10, and this shielding portion 17 has an opening 18 that allows waves transmitted from the pool water surface D1 to be introduced into the individual spaces 16. Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, the shielding portion 17 facing the opening 18 is a curve that follows the outer surface of the outer wall portion 15, and fur