Inflatable towable vehicle

Details Inflatable towable vehicle Inflatable towable vehicle

1999-12-10

2001-04-24

Basinger, Sherman (Department: 3617)

Buoys, rafts, and aquatic devices

Water skimming or walking device

Inflatable

C114S345000, C114S346000, C441S067000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06220908

ABSTRACT:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of inflatable towable vehicles, and more particularly to an inflatable towable vehicle having a tapered hull.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inflatable towable vehicles are well known in the art and generally comprise an inflatable ring with a central passenger cockpit having a floor sealed to the lower edge of the ring, and typically fabricated of various plastics, such as polyvinylchloride (PVC). The profiles of the hulls of these known vehicles are generally blunt and provide significant resistance to the water or snow over which the vehicle is being towed.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical hull design that minimizes water and snow resistance.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved towable vehicle and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly stated, the present invention provides an inflatable towable vehicle including a tapered hull. The hull is formed of a plurality of concentrically disposed inflatable rings with chambers which have progressively increasing diameters from the outermost ring to the innermost ring. Interior connecting webs form shared walls for the adjacent chambers, and openings in the webs allow fluid communication between the chambers so that a single inflation valve can be used to simultaneously inflate all of the chambers. When inflated, the centers of the chambers are horizontally aligned to yield a hull profile that is tapered from both the top and the bottom. The passenger cockpit is defined by the open area in from the innermost ring, and a floor including an inflatable section and a drain opening. The tapered hull acts to minimize resistance to the water or snow over which the vehicle is being towed, and results in an aesthetically appealing vehicle profile.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2496460 (1950-02-01), Evans
patent: 2816299 (1957-12-01), Holladay
patent: 2933739 (1960-04-01), Miler et al.
patent: 5231951 (1993-08-01), Tagar et al.
patent: 625129 (1949-06-01), None

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