Seat plate for a pool

Abstract

A seat plate ( 100 ) for use with aboveground swimming pools includes a member ( 101 ) that is capable of accepting the top edge ( 109 ) of a pool wall ( 107 ), and has a generally flat bottom surface ( 103 ) that extends over and is supported by an adjacent deck ( 105 ). When installed, the seat plate ( 100 ) forms a smooth and gapless surface at the edge of the pool. A gap ( 111 ) between the pool wall ( 109 ) and the decking ( 105 ) that facilitates installation, repair, maintenance, and winterization of the pool is retained beneath the seat plate ( 100 ).

1 . A seat plate comprising: 
 a member that is capable of accepting a top edge of a pool wall and has a first end and a second end that attach to adjacent pool supports; and    a generally flat bottom surface of the member that extends over and is supported by a surface of a deck that is adjacent to the pool wall.    
   
   
       2 . The seat plate of  claim 1 , wherein the member is a generally flat L-shaped panel.  
   
   
       3 . The seat plate of  claim 1 , further comprising a generally smooth upper surface of the member that is disposed opposite to the generally flat bottom surface.  
   
   
       4 . The seat plate of  claim 3 , further comprising a lateral edge of the member, wherein the lateral edge is disposed above the deck and forms a generally smooth transition from the surface of the deck to the upper surface of the member.  
   
   
       5 . The seat plate of  claim 4 , wherein the transition is formed by a tapered surface.  
   
   
       6 . The seat plate of  claim 5 , wherein the tapered surface is a beveled surface.  
   
   
       7 . The seat plate of  claim 5 , wherein the tapered surface is a curved surface.  
   
   
       8 . The seat plate of  claim 4 , wherein the lateral edge includes a lip as part of the transition.  
   
   
       9 . The seat plate of  claim 1 , further comprising a stop attached to the bottom surface of the member.  
   
   
       10 . The seat plate of  claim 9 , wherein the stop is disposed proximately close to an end of the deck.  
   
   
       11 . The seat plate of  claim 1  and a seat cap wherein the seat cap comprises: 
 a seat cap member that is capable of accepting the top edge of a pool wall disposed near the pool support and the ends of adjacent seat plates that are attached to the pool support; and    a generally flat bottom surface of the member that extends over and is supported by the deck adjacent to the pool wall.    
   
   
       12 . The seat plate of  claim 1 , wherein the seat plate is formed from metal.  
   
   
       13 . A method comprising the steps of: 
 installing a pool wall that is formed in sections between pool supports;    installing a deck adjacent to the pool wall; and    attaching a seat plate to the pool supports so that a member of the seat plate covers a top edge of the pool wall and extends over and is supported by a deck.    
   
   
       14 . A method of  claim 13 , further comprising the steps of trimming an edge the deck to a desirable length as determined by a stop attached to a bottom surface to the seat plate.  
   
   
       15 . A method of  claim 13 , further comprising the steps of installing a seat cap over the ends of adjacent seat plates attached to the same pool support.