US2216871A - Float - Google Patents

Description

R. M. BANKS ET AL FLOAT Grimm run .m 21, 1933 3 Sheets-She et 1 I INVENTORS REG/NAL M BAN/rs BY DOROTHVA fi/uwr ATTORNEYS R. M. BANK$ AL 2,216,871

Original I'ilod July 21. 1938a 55 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS a m fiMm T D M A L M 0 3% R0 Y Oct. 8, 1940. R. M. B'ANKS El AL FLOAT .Qriginal Filod July 21. 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 SELl/AGE INVENTORS EEG/N440 MEAN/(s .0020 7710 14. BAN/(J.

@121, ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 8, 1940 PATENTOFFICE FLOAT Reginald M.Banks and Dorothy A. Banks,

1 Woodmere, N. Y.

Continuation of application Serial No. 220,456,

July 21, 1938. Serial No. 261,624

1 15 Claims.

Our invention relates to a float adapted particularly, although not tional purposes. 1 1,

The invention, in an important aspect, relates necessarily," for recreato a float formed from one or more buoying means disposed within a suitable supporting casing.

The invention, in another importantaspect, relates to' theprovision of buoying' means and an associatable casing of such character thatthe 11 parts may readily be assembled 'orfdisassembled by a simple operation. s e 1 r U According to the preferred form of ourinvention the casing comprises a plurality ofsubstantially circular or disc-like compartments ,each adapted to houseaninfiated annular tube and arranged in series abutting along a common sec- .tor line of suflicientlength"to give substantially longitudinal rigidity to the'float when the tubes are inflated, the adjacent} compartmentsbeing separated by a. partition along said sector line and preferably stout enough to prevent the inflated'tube in eithercompartmentfrom substantially bulging the partition across the normal sec tor line if 3 the, tubes in the coinpartments should be unevenly inflated. I .The casing is preferably of stout material such as cant 19.5.1 to give considerable rigidity to. the float when the tubes are inflated, and provisionismadeLfor insertion and removal of thetubes from their respective co partments and foradmitting and draining water into and gfrqm the 1 compartments so that waterproofing material is unnecessary, thus giving the casing greater life without undue ,expense 11 .1 uVarious other objects, advantages and features of our invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. .1 Our invention; resides injthe float, surf -mattress, float casing, casing blank, constructions and features of the character hereinafter described and claimed. 1 1

.For an illustrationofsome of the many forms lour inventionmay take, reference is to be had "to the accompanying drawings, in .Whicht;

1 l Fig.11 is a plan viewshowing afloat as .constructedinaccordancewithyour invention; 1 1 Fig. 2 is an.elevational-viewofthe float shown inFig.1; 1 1 1 e 1 Fig.-3,is a transverse, vertical sectional view, partly in elevation,taken onthe line 3,31 of Fig. -1 1ooking in the direction of the arrows; 1

ajfeature or the invention;

- and n1attr'esses have been used to some ex- This application March 13, 1939,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view, partlyin elevation, showing another feature of the invention;

Fig. 7 is a plan view showing the blanks from which are formed the enclosing casing of our novel float;

;Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a modification of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing another modification of the invention;

, Figs. 10 through 16' inclusive represent a more simplifiedmodification of our invention.

Fig. 1D isa perspective view showing this modiflcation of the invention.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view taken on the line H--ll of Fig. 10 looking in the directio n of the arrows. Fig. 12 is atransverse vertical sectional view, partly in elevation and takenbn the line l2-l2 of Fig'. 10 looking in the direction of the arrows. 1'

Fig. 13 is a transversevertical sectional view, partly in elevation, showing a modification of Fig;12. 1

Fig. 14"is a plan view of the blankwhich forms the upper side of the casing for the float shown 1 in Fig. 10.

Fig. .15 is a plan View showing the blank from which the lowerside of the casing is formed. "Fig. 16is aplan' viewshowing' in detailthe manner in which the blanks are stitched together to show the feature shown in Fig. 11.

at. seashore resorts, it is customary for many batli ers to"ride, the surf "or breakers and, to facilitate the enjoyment of this sport, surf boards tent. .However, the useof such boards is'objectionablein certain'respect's and the known mattresseshave certain objections, Therefore we have devised a, surf float? of thech aracte'r hereinaiter described, While thepreferred use of the inventionis as stated above, it is to be under- .stood that th e invention is nothto be thus restricted. I 'Ihus, the herein described float may be used for various other purposes such, for ex- 5 ample; as a life-preserver, as a boat for children, I

as a rest station in a pool, as an-anchoredbuoy,

etc.

1 1 Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3,4, '1, 10, 11 ,12 and 13, the novel float of our invention is ,50 shown as comprising an outer casing or envelope A; formedapreferably from suitable flexible material such,;for example, as rubber or, as herein illustrated, from canvas or other fabric.- Pref- 1 erably, the casingA defines two compartments 55 separated by a transverse partition I formed in any suitable manner, for example, as hereinafter described.

In accordance with one method, the casing A may be formed by suitably securing together two similarly shaped blanks a, a of the character shown in Fig. '7. As clearly appears, each of these blanks comprises generally circular, diaphragm like end sections 17, b merging into a central neck section 0 along a common section line having. a length somewhat less than the diameter of said end sections b, b.

In order to form the casing.A,1 each of the blanks a, a is folded along the neck section line 0 to obtain a configuration as .indicated at d in Fig. 5. 'I'hereupon, these'folds are stitched or otherwise suitably secured together, the stitch lines in the assembled construction being indicated by the broken lines e, Figs. 3 and 5, and said stitch lines terminating short of the ends of the folds, Fig. 3. In this manner, each blank a is formed with a folded section d which may be transversely disposed with respect to the blank plane. When said blanks are assembled in symmetrical relation as described above, these two folds d are disposed in facing relation, Fig. 5, and each fold d has secured thereto, in suitable manner, the fabric strip 3a of a slide fastener 3. In lieu of a slide fastener, it will be understood that any other suitable means may be provided for readily opening and closing this passage. 01', if desired,suitable means may be provided for permanently securing the aforesaid folds d together so as to form the desired transverse wall I.-

After completion of the foregoing, the two blanks a, a are symmetrically disposed and the margins thereof are stitchedv or otherwise permanently secured together in suitable manner. All of the circular margins of the blanks a, a are thus permanently secured together except in one area of the casing A where adjacent margins of the blanks a, a form a passage provided with means for readily opening or closing the same, this means being of any suitable character such, for example, as a slide fastener 2. This marginal stitching extends closely adjacent the ends of the aforesaid stitch lines e and, therefore, the two blanks are maintained in the desired casingforming configuration.

In accordance with our invention, each compartment of the casing A is adapted to receive a buoying means which may beof any suitable character. As herein illustrated, such buoying means is exemplified asa conventional inner tube B of an automobile tire, each compartment of said casing A receiving a single tube B. In order to position the tubes B in their respective casing compartments, the slide fasteners 2 and 3 are operated to open the passage into the casing A and the passage through the partition I. Then, a tube B is placed in that compartment of said casing A at the right, Fig. 1, and the slide fastener 3 is operated to close the partition passage.

Finally, a tube B is placed in that compartment of said casing A at the left, Fig. 1, and the slide fastener 2 is operated to close the passage into the casing.

In accordance with the invention, each end section b of one of the blanks a is provided with a-passage f sufliciently large for the passage,

therethrough of a human hand and a conduit 4 delivering air underpressure through a nozzle '5 adapted to be applied to the valve stem '6 of the tube B, the passages f, preferably, being centrally located in the respective end sections 1). In this manner, each tube B may be inflated to suitable extent after having been inserted in the casing A in non-inflated or partially inflated condition as described above.

Further in accordance with the invention, each end section b of both blanks a, a is provided with a series of small passages .g. arranged, preferably, in generally circular rows and utilizable as hereafter described. These passages g should be so located that, when the tubes B are inflated, they are disposed closely adjacent the surfaces of the respective tubes B but are not sealed thereby, Fig. 4. Inasmuch as the partition I is stout enough to cause adjacent surfaces of the two tubes B to conform to the sector line I and thus assume flattened portions as shown in Fig. 1, the adjacent passages g should take a corresponding configuration so as to avoid sealing thereof by the inflated tubes B. It will be understood that the above described passages f and g should be suitably bound or have the respectivegrummets or eyelets 1 associated therewithso as to avoid tearing of the casing material.

In view of the foregoing, it follows that the above described compartments for the respective tubes B are provided, preferably, with a plurality of passages as described. In addition, it may be desirable to eliminate other casing material from one or both sides of said compartments in order to save material, decrease weight, etc.

Although the hereinbefore described transverse partition I has been disclosed as formed in a particular manner, it shall be understood that the invention is not to be so limited. Thus, for example, said partition 1 maybe of any suitable along their respective fold-lines CC as will hereinafter be described in more detail, and such modified partition or barrier need not be provided with an opening or passage through which a tube is to be passed. Also the slide fastener opening 2 in the end of compartment A, Figs. 1 and 4, may be omitted. A construction of this type is simple,

cheaper to construct and less apt to get out of order. With a construction of this character and as indicated in Figs. 8 and 10, it will be understood that each compartment of the float casing should be provided with asuitably located passage so that a tube B may be passed thereinto and withdrawn therefrom.

Referring particularly to Figs. 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15, the modified casing A mentioned above, in which the transverse partition I affords no access between the tube compartment, Figs. 11 and 12, will now be described in more detail.

The casing A defines two compartments separated by a transverse partition I, and is formed by suitably securing together two similarly shaped blanks a, a of the character shown in Figs. 14 and 15. These blanks are substantially of the same configuration as the blanks a, (1 shown in Fig. 7 except the substantially circular end sections b, b do not merge together but are separated by a narrow rectangular shaped neck section C, the necessity for which will now be explained. Looking at Figs. 3 and 5 it will be seen that there is not sufficient material in the blanks of Fig. 7 to allow their respective folds d to be directly stitched to one another, had it been so desired, but the fabricstrip 3a of the slidefastener 3 was employed tospan the gap between and fasten the respective"folds-together to form terial for more extensive folds. It .is for this reason that the narrow strip of material C isleft between the two end sections b, b when cutting the blanks of Figs. 14 and-15. i l I In order to form the casing partition I, each of the blanks a, a is folded along their respective line 0, 0, Figs. 14,.15.and 16, which line runs through the middle of each central neck section C. The respective folds are then stitched securely along their respective stitch line e, e Fig. 16, these stitch lines in the assembled construction being indicated bythe broken lines e, e, Figs. 11 andl2, said stitching being terminated short of the ends of the folds, Fig. 16. Theblanks are then symmetrically superimposed one on the other so that their respective folds are disposed in' facing" relationship, Fig. 11, and slightly overlapping. The

folds are then stitched to one anotheralong a line adjacent to and. parallel withltheir respective center line 0,0. I l Having thus formed the transverse partition wall between the two tube compartments, the corresponding circularendv sections 1). of the respective blanks are secured together by stitching about their circumferential margins. This marginal stitching extends closely adjacent the end lines of the aforesaid stitch lines e, Fig. 11, maintaining the blanks in casing forming relation.

It'is preferable to have all seam selvages disposed on the inner surface of the casing. This may be done by stitching the corresponding end sections together while they are reversed, and after each is stitched turning them right side out. In accordance with the present modification a somewhat larger central opening f is provided in each compartment, Fig. 10, to allow not only for the inflation of'the tubes therethrough, but also for the insertion and removal of the deflated tubes therefrom. The casing-is also provided on both top and bottom with the heretofore described drainage passages framed with the eyelets 1.

From a consideration of Figs. 1, 4 and 11 it will be observed that the transverse partition! serves w to prevent undesired shifting movement ofxthe partition or fold-defining stitch lines converge towards one another, a rounded-out V or wedgelike surface is presented, which centers the tubes and guides them into their desired relationship while being inflated. I If desirable, the casing A may have a plurality of fabric loops 8 suitably'attached thereto and, further, if desired, each sideof said-:casing A may have the ends of a rope 9; or equivalent; attached thereto 'in suitable manner, as by the tabs Ill, Fig. 2. Theseloops 8 or ropes 9 may be grasped by hand when thefloat is to be transported from place to place. i It shall be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the utilization of the loops 8 and ropes 9'. i

In view of the foregoing description, it will be understood that the float, when disassembled, mayreadily be'tran'sported with the tubes B noninflated and with the casing A in rollor package formation.- Little space is required under these circumstances. When the float is to be used, the tubes lB are inserted as described. Thereafterthe tubes Bare inflated by air under pressure as ob.- k

tained from a'suitable source.

Assuming that the size of the casing A is properly proportioned to the diameter of the tubes B, the float, when thus assembled, appears substantially as shown on the drawings. That is, said tubes B maintain the casing A under tension with slight, if any, free space therein except that encompassed by the tubes B.

Inasmuch as the surfaces of the casing A spanning the tubes B are thus maintained under tension and the connecting sector I of the two com.- partments is of suflicient width, it follows that the upper casing surface of the float, when in the water, is maintained plane and taut and advan- 'tageously serves "as a quite rigid support for the bather recumbent thereon without objectionable sag of the upper casing surface.

The float, when assembled in operative condition as described above, .weighs but a few pounds and may readily be carried from place to place or into the surf. When used for surf-ridingxpurposes, it may easily be mounted by the bather and, while passing through-the surf, the resilience afforded by thetubes B is a factor rendering injury to another bather unlikely in the event of a collision.

f Afterthe ride through the surf has been completed; the bather may readily elevate the float whereupon such water as remains trapped therein will escape from the interior thereof bywayof the passages ,f and. As stated, substantially the only free space within the float is that encompassed by the tubes B and, therefore, the provision of the aforesaid passages renders it possible to easily drain the float in a substantially complete manner in but a few moments. When thus drained, the weight of the wet float is only slightly greater than when dry.

The invention, as hereinbefore specifically described, relates to the provision'of a float comprising a single pair of tubes B. It shall be understood, however, that the invention is not to be thus-limited. Thus, for example, from a broad aspect, the float of our'invention may be formed by using a single tube B, either of the endless or non-endless type, and an associated casing A having a configuration corresponding therewith.

Further, the float of our invention may comprise more than a single pair of thetubesB. Thus; as illustrated in Fig, 8, there may be provided amodifled casing Al which, by the provision of' two transverse partitions I, forms three compartments each of which is adapted to receive a tube.

It will be understood that the casing or envelope of our novel float may be constructed otherwise than as hereinbefore' described. Thus, as indicated in Fig. 9, the casing may advantageously be formed; if desired, from upper and lower blanksor sheets h, h, these being secured together by atransverse-peripheral casing section 2, all of these casing sections being stitched or otherwise secured together in any suitable manner.

Under some circumstances, thehereinbefore described casings may be formed from suitable waterproof material such as rubber, treated canvas, etc. With such a construction, the above described passages f and g and the openings 1, are omitted and the valve stems of the tubes B extend through suitable water-tight connections terminating exteriorly of the casing.

With either a waterproof or non-waterproof float casing, it may be desirable to pack suitable buoyant material, such as balsa Wood, cork or the like in the space encompassed by the tubes B.

Further, under some circumstances, it may be desirable to support each tube B by a suitable interior rim which is adapted to be detachably associated therewith in suitable manner.

a. While the invention has been described with respect to certain particular.preferred examples which give satisfactory results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

This is a continuation of our application for Letters Patent Serial Number 220,456, filed July '21, 1938.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A float comprising a casing arranged to define a plurality of chambers, and endless expansible tubes positioned in the respective chambers, said casing comprising upper and lower sections spanning the space across said tubes, said tubes, when inflated, maintaining said upper and lower casing sections substantially taut and spaced a substantial distance apart so as to define a plurality of chambers bounded in part by said tubes, said chambers having passages admitting a quantity of water, during use of the float, and for draining the water from said chambers when the float is elevated from the water.

2. A float comprising a casing arranged to define a plurality of chambers, and endless expansible tubes positioned in the respective chambers, said casing comprising upper and lower sections spanningv the space across said tubes, said tubes, when inflated, maintaining said upper and lower casing sections substantially taut and spaced a substantial distance apart so as to define av plurality of chambers bounded in part by said tubes, said chambers having passages admitting a quantity of water, during use of the float, and for draining the water from said chambers when the float is elevated from the water, said tubes, when inflated, imparting buoyancy to the float, said casing being constructed and arranged to prevent undesired shifting movement of said tubes.

3. A float comprising a casing arranged to define a plurality of chambers, and endless expansible tubes positioned in the respective chambers, said casing comprising upper and lower sections spanning the space across said tubes, said tubes, when inflated, maintaining said upper and lower casing sections substantially taut and spaced a substantial distance apart so as to define a plurality of chambers bounded in part by said tubes, said chambers having passages admitting a quantity of water, during use of the float, and for draining the water from said chambers'when the float is elevated from the water, and a transverse partition barrier means between said chambers for preventing undesired shifting movement of said tubes.

4. A float comprising a casing arranged to define a plurality of chambers, and endless expansible tubes positioned in the respective chambers, said casing comprising upper and lower sections, spanning the space across said tubes, said tubes, when inflated, maintaining said upper and lower casing sections substantially taut and spaced a substantial distance apart so as to define a plurality of chambers bounded in part by said tubes, and transverse partition barrier means between said chambers for preventing undesired shifting movement of said tubes.

5. A float comprising a casing having a passage giving access to the interior thereof, means for readily opening or closing said passage, a transverse partition dividing said casing intoseparate annular tube enveloping chambers and having'a passage therethrough, means for readily opening or closing said second named passage, an endless expansible tube adapted to be positioned in one of said chambers after both of said passages have been opened, and an endless expansible tube adapted to be positioned in another of said chambers after said second named passage has been closed, said casing comprising upper and lower sections spanning the space across said tubes, said tubes, when inflated, maintaining said upper and lower casing sections substantially taut and spaced a substantial distance apart so as to define a plurality of chambers bounded in part by said tubes, said tubes, when inflated, imparting buoyancy to the float.

6. A float comprising a casing having a passage giving access to the interior thereof, means for readily opening or closing said passage, a transverse partition dividing said casing into separate annular tube enveloping chambers and having a passage therethrough, means for readily opening or closing said second named passage, an endless expansible tube adapted to be positioned in one of said chambers after both of said passages have been opened, and an endless expansible tube adapted to be positioned in another of said chambers after said second named passage has been closed, said casing comprising upper and lower sections spanning the space across said tubes, said tubes, when inflated, maintaining said upper and lower casing sections substantially taut and spaced a substantial distance apart so as to define a plurality of chambers bounded in part by said tubes, said chambers having passages admitting a quantity of water, during use of the float, and for draining the water from said chambers when the float is elevated from the water.

7. A float comprising a casing having a passage giving access to the interior thereof, means for readily opening or closing said passage, a transverse partition dividing said casing into separate chambers and having a passage therethrough, means for readily opening or closing said second named passage, the opposite ends of said casing being of generally circular configuration, and said partition being transversely arranged with respect to the longitudinal casing axis, an endless expansible tube adapted to be positioned in one of said chambers after both of said passages have been opened, and an endless expansible tube adapted to be positioned in another of said chambers after said second named passage has been'closed, said tubes, when inflated, imparting buoyancy to the float.

8. A float comprising a casing having a pasthe other, means formedin said casing for insage giving access to the interior thereof, means for readily opening or closing said passage, a transverse partition dividing said casing into separate chambers and having a passage therethrough, means for readily opening or closing said second named passage, the opposite ends of said casing being of generally circular configuration, and said partition'being transversely arranged withv respect to the longitudinal casing an endless expansible tube adapted to be positioned in one of said chambers after both of said passages have been opened, and an endless expansible tube adapted to be positioned in another of said chambers after said second named passage has been closed, said chambers having passages admitting a quantity of water, during use of the float, and draining the water from said chambers when the float is elevated.

9. A casing for a float of the character described, said casing being formed from a pair of blanks: secured in casing-forming relation at their edges and each end of said casing being of generally circular configuration, a transverse partition dividing said casing into separate chambers, said chambers each having a passage giving access to the interior thereof for the-insertion of an annular shaped inflatable tube, said casing comprising upperand lower sections spanning the space across saidtubes, said tubes, when inflated, maintaining said upper and lower casing sections substantially taut and spaced a substantial distance apart so as to define a plurality of chambers bounded in part by said tubes.

10. In a float of the character described, a flexible casing and two annular tubes: adapted to be enclosed therein, said tubes, when inflated, lying inthe same plane and each being substantially tangent to the other; saidcasing comprising upper and lower casing sections spanning the space across said inflated tubes and said upper and lower sections being held taut and substantially parallel to each other by said tubes, a plurality of passages through at least one of said casing sections for admitting water to the interior of the casing as ballast for the float when in use, said passages being located adjacent the circumferences of at least one of said sections and near the tubes to allow for complete drainage when the float is raised.

11. A float comprising a casing formed from flexible material, and two annular shaped buoying means enclosed within said, casing; .said buoying means both bein-gpositioned in a common plane and each substantially tangent to serting or removing said buoying means.

12. A casing of flexible material for a float of the character described, said casing comprising a pair of blanks, each blank having substantially the configuration of a figure 8 with a short central neck section disposed between two generally circular sections, each blank secured together around its edges in casing-forming relation, the respective neck portions being joined together to form a transverse partition dividing said casing into separate chambers, eachadapted to enclose an annular inflatable tube.

13. A casing of flexible material for a float of the character described, said casing comprising a pair' of blanks, each blank having substantially the configuration of a figure 8 with a short central neck section disposed between two generally circular sections, each blank secured together around its: edges in casing-forming relation, the respective neck portions being joined together to form a transverse partition dividing said easing into separate chambers, each adapted to enclose an annular inflatable tube, a plurality of annular series of drainage elements in said casing. for draining water from said chambers, and means opening into each chamber through which a tube may be inserted and inflated. i

14. A casing for a float of the character described, said casing comprising a pair of blanks, each blank secured to the other in casing-forming relationship at its edges, each of said blanks being of generally circular configuration and a pair of blanks, each secured to the other in casing-forming relationship at its edges, a transverse partition dividing said casing into two separate substantially circular tube-enclosing chambers, a plurality of annular series of drainage elements in said blanks for draining water from said chambers, and means opening into each,

chamber through which the respective tubes may be inserted and inflated.

REGINALD M. BANKS.

DOROTHY A. BANKS.

Images