Buoys – rafts – and aquatic devices – Body supporting buoyant device – With seat
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-01
2001-05-01
Basinger, Sherman (Department: 3617)
Buoys, rafts, and aquatic devices
Body supporting buoyant device
With seat
C297S452410
Reexamination Certificate
active
06224444
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to structures for supporting humans either seated, reclining, or otherwise not standing upright and more particularly to inflatable chairs and similar furniture adapted for recreational use in pools or other bodies of calm water.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,111 to Klimenko, incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference, illustrates and describes bodies of furniture typically referred to as chairs and sofas. As detailed in the Klimenko patent, these bodies are inflatable, with valves provided for filling enclosed inner spaces within the bodies with air. The bodies additionally may include internal support beams (made usually of plastic material) and contain one or more plastic containers in their armrest portions or otherwise.
Although adapted for myriad uses, certain commercial versions of the inflatable structures of the Klimenko patent are not optimized for use in bodies of water such as swimming pools. For example, the commercial versions lack low-riding ballast and accordingly have relatively high centers of gravity. This in turn contributes to likely instability should the structures be used in pools, as users would have difficulty maintaining the balance of the structures when they are seated. The assignee of the Klimenko patent thus does not market commercial versions for use in bodies of water (whether calm, like pools, or otherwise).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, by contrast, provides inflatable structures with greater stability for use in bodies of generally-calm water such as swimming pools. Examples of stability-enhancing components of the structures are outrigger-style pontoons (floats) and roll-up (and foldable) mattresses, each of which may be inflated if appropriate to do so. These components additionally need not inhibit use of the structures in other circumstances, such as on beaches and by poolsides. Some or all of the components may be detachable, moreover, if necessary or desired. Likewise, the structures may contain fittings (connectors) allowing them to be linked one to the others, typically (but not necessarily) side-by-side.
In some embodiments of the invention, the inflatable structures are chairs having seat and back portions as well as armrests. Incorporated into one or more armrests may be cupholders of the type illustrated in the Klimenko patent, although other cupholders may be used instead if desired or such cupholders alternatively may be omitted. Made primarily of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), these embodiments of the chairs are formed into more than one internal compartment. As a consequence, the compartments may be inflated (with air) separately or, preferably, one may be filled with water to create ballast. In the latter case, the ballast-containing compartment typically is intended to be underneath the seat portions of the chairs.
Fittings may be included on any or all of the front, back, and sides of the chairs. Certain embodiments containing fittings have them on each of the front, back, and sides, with those on the back designed to permit attachment of an inflatable outrigger pontoon for improved balance on water. If a mattress is attached to a chair (preferably—although not necessarily—permanently), front fittings may be used to help retain the mattress in a rolled-up position, while side fittings permit one chair to be connected to another chair (or other object) on either or both of its sides. Those skilled in the art will, of course, recognize that fittings need not necessarily be included anywhere on structures of the present invention and that, if included, may be of any type suitable for the purposes for which the structures are to be used.
Pontoons attachable to structures of the invention may themselves be inflated with air or, if desired, filled otherwise with liquid, solid, or gaseous substances. Appropriate inflation or filling of the pontoons can enhance stability of the structures to which they are attached, especially when the structures are used to support seated persons in swimming pools. As well, the pontoons typically may be detached from the chairs of the invention, facilitating deflation and storage of both the chairs and the pontoons.
Attachable mattresses of the present invention likewise are usually inflated with air. Designed to function in at least three positions, the mattresses may in many cases improve the balance and consequent stability of the inflatable chairs when used in swimming pools. When rolled up, for example, a mattress forms an outrigger adjacent the front of its corresponding chair, assisting the pontoon to maintain the balance of the chair in water. The mattress can also be unrolled to receive and support human legs above the water line, again facilitating balancing of the chair as the user stretches his or her legs. In a third position, the mattress may be folded underneath and attached to the bottom of a chair as, for example, when the chair is to be used poolside or stored. Embodiments of the structures of the present invention may further include braided cords or other suitable means permitting the structures to be tied down in windy or other adverse conditions.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide inflatable recreational structures with enhanced stability in bodies of water such as swimming pools.
It is another object of the present invention to provide inflatable chairs and other objects to which one or more pontoons may be attached as outriggers.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide inflatable structures to which inflatable mattresses may be attached.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide inflatable structures having ballast compartments and in which the mattresses may be utilized in multiple positions, including as rolled-up, unrolled, or folded underneath the structures.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide inflatable structures which may include fittings on one or more sides, such fittings facilitating attachment of each structure to other like structures and objects including pontoons and mattresses.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide inflatable structures having armrests incorporating cupholders.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the remainder of the text and the drawings of this application.
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patent: 5951111 (1999-09-01), Klimenko
patent: 6059360 (2000-05-01), Bedard
patent: 6086150 (2000-05-01), Scheurer et al.
Basinger Sherman
Kilpatrick & Stockton LLP
Russell Dean W.
Sevylor U.S.A., Inc.
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