Amusement devices – Inflatable or pneumatic
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-15
2001-11-27
Nguyen, Kien T. (Department: 3712)
Amusement devices
Inflatable or pneumatic
C472S136000, C482S035000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06322454
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field
The invention is in the field of inflatable recreational devices which, when inflated, can be climbed and played upon.
2. State of the Art
There are various inflatable devices which can be used as recreational devices. For example, there are large inflatable bodies on which people, particularly children, walk or jump for amusement purposes. There are large inflatable cylinders which have hand and foot holds secured thereto so the sides of the cylinders form practice climbing walls for the practice of rock climbing. These bodies are generally formed by air impervious material forming a closed interior space that can be filled with a fluid, such as air, to inflate the body. The body takes a natural form when inflated. For example, if the material is in an elongate, relatively thin form the inflated structure will be of an air mattress or pillow form and increased inflation will cause rounding of the body, similar to a tube. A single tube would be rounded and not form a flat surface. Where relatively flat surfaces are desired, such as for air mattresses or similar inflatable structures, the body may include a series of baffles or tubes attached to opposite sides of the body to tie the opposite sides together to create relatively flat sides to the structure. If more than one baffle or tube is used, the baffles or tubes are arranged parallel to one another.
Many of the large inflated bodies, such as the walking and jumping surfaces, are inflated on a continuous basis by a blower continually supplying air to the interior of the body. This means that the body has to be connected by a hose to the blower, and the blower has to be connected to a source of power. This limits the positioning of the body and causes some safety problems with wires extending to the blower and hoses extending from the blower to the body.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, an inflatable recreational device, such as an inflatable climbing mountain, includes a gas tight, flexible body having an interior to be filled with an inflating fluid, such as air. A valve communicating with the interior of the body allows gas to flow to or from the body when the valve is open and to seal the body when the valve is closed. Several valves or other auxiliary sealable openings may be provided to allow more fluid flow to the body during inflation to reduce inflation time.
A plurality of connecting means in the interior of the body interconnect portions of the body to one another to shape the body when inflated thereby modifying the shape of the body over the shape that it would otherwise take when inflated. At least some of the connecting means are nonparallel to other of the connecting means and extend at various angles to various parts of the body to create the desired shape. Thus, where the device takes the form of a climbing mountain, the connecting means shape the mountain to provide a mountain shape rather than the rounded balloon shape that an inflated body would otherwise take. The connecting means can also create indentations in the inflated body where desired to provide climbing holds for hands or feet or for other desired purposes. Hand and foot holds can also be attached and generally will be attached to the surface of the device, if and where desired to assist the user in climbing the device.
The device will generally include at least one generally or substantially flat side which can form the bottom of the device, such as the bottom of a mountain shape which forms a surface upon which the device can rest on the ground or a floor, or upon which the device can float in a body of water. A generally or substantially flat surface includes a surface with bulges and indetations such that the surface is generally flat when taken as a whole. The substantially flat side can also form the top of the device where people can assemble and play on the device such as by tilting it back and forth if a rounded side is on the ground or floor, or is supporting the device in a body of water.
Where a substantially flat side is formed, connecting means will be arranged inside the device in a manner to hold the desired side substantially flat. This will usually involve providing more connections for the connecting means to that side than to other sides of the body. The connecting means will extend from such side to various other portions of the body.
It has been found that connecting means can be positioned in the device by securing D-rings to the inside surface of the body at various locations, such as by a glue mount, with the connecting means in the form of straps or webbing, being secured between pairs of D-rings. Several of the straps can be secured to a single D-ring. Ends of the straps can also be directly secured to the inside surfaces of the body, or secured in a variety of other ways.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3744191 (1973-07-01), Bird
patent: 4802734 (1989-02-01), Walter
patent: 5092587 (1992-03-01), Ulner et al.
patent: 5242652 (1993-09-01), Savigny
patent: 5254058 (1993-10-01), Savigny
patent: 5549195 (1996-08-01), Aulagner et al.
patent: 5678357 (1997-10-01), Rubio et al.
patent: 5970661 (1999-10-01), Bishop et al.
patent: 2666017 (1992-02-01), None
patent: 2671016 (1992-07-01), None
Aviva Sports L.L.C.
Mallinckrodt Robert R.
Mallinckrodt & Mallinckrodt
Nguyen Kien T.
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