Pool lane bumper

Abstract

A bumper that can be placed near the end of a lane and thereby prevent swimmers colliding with the pool wall. The bumper may be partially or completely air-filled or fabricated from a material that renders the bumper buoyant or semi-submerged (e.g., foam); a solid bumper may or may not need to be inflated and may not need to be filled. The bumper may be directly attached to the pool wall using, e.g., an eye hook or ess hook mounted in the wall, or indirectly attached to the pool wall using, e.g., an attachment to a pool lane line.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A pool safety apparatus comprising:
 a bumper; and   at least one mechanism for fixing the position of the bumper in a pool.   
     
     
         2 . The pool safety apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the at least one mechanism affixes the bumper to a lane line. 
     
     
         3 . The pool safety apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the at least one mechanism affixes the bumper to a bolt or S-hook attached to the pool. 
     
     
         4 . The pool safety apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the bumper is fabricated from rubber, nylon, vinyl, plastic, open cell foam, closed cell foam, or polyester. 
     
     
         5 . The pool safety apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the at least one mechanism comprises a D-ring hinge, Velcro, a suction cup, magnets, glue, concrete, adhesive, a bolt, a screw, grommet, or a bracket. 
     
     
         6 . The pool safety apparatus of  claim 5  wherein the at least one mechanism further comprises a tether. 
     
     
         7 . The pool safety apparatus of  claim 6  wherein the tether is elastic, non-elastic, adjustable, or flexible. 
     
     
         8 . The pool safety apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the bumper further comprises a structure for adjusting the buoyancy of the bumper. 
     
     
         9 . The pool safety apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the structure is a valve or an watertight zipper. 
     
     
         10 . The pool safety apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the bumper is filled at least in part with water or sand to offset its buoyancy.  
     
     
         11 . A method for deploying a pool safety apparatus, the method comprising:
 placing a bumper in a pool; and   fixing the position of the bumper in the pool.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein fixing the bumper position comprises affixing the bumper to a lane line. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  wherein fixing the bumper position comprises affixing the bumper to a bolt or S-hook attached to the pool. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the bumper is fabricated from rubber, nylon, vinyl, plastic, open cell foam, closed cell foam, or polyester. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the position of the bumper is fixed using a D-ring hinge, grommet, Velcro, a suction cup, magnets, glue, concrete, adhesive, a bolt, a screw, or a bracket. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the position of the bumper is additionally fixed using a tether. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the tether is elastic, adjustable, or flexible. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the bumper further comprises a structure for adjusting the buoyancy of the bumper, and the method further comprises adjusting the buoyancy of the bumper using the structure. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein using the structure fills the bumper at least in part with water or sand to offset its buoyancy. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the structure is a valve or a watertight zipper.