Ships – Boats – boat component – or attachment – Inflatable
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-17
2001-02-27
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Ships
Boats, boat component, or attachment
Inflatable
Reexamination Certificate
active
06192822
ABSTRACT:
The present invention concerns improvements made to pneumatic boat with auxiliary cushioning floats, comprising at least one inflatable fender forming two approximately parallel branches connecting at the front to form a bow and a transom extending between these two branches, each of the branches being constituted, at least in their approximately parallel parts, by several superposed tubular compartments placed side by side longitudinally having a poly-lobed cross section the major axis of which is inclined to the horizontal.
Boats of this type are known (see particularly FR 2 398 660, FR 2 510 054) in which a lateral canvas is fixed tangentially to some at least of the compartments on the external side of the branch being considered: they are completely satisfactory given their improved characteristics of navigability at high speeds (comfort, aptitude for keeping above the water line, heading hold, etc.) while retaining at low and medium speeds a correct immersion of the propeller, and they are enjoying considerable growth.
However, it seems desirable to modify their structure so as to make their manufacture and maintenance more straightforward and more cost effective.
To these ends, a pneumatic boat of the aforementioned type is characterized, being arranged in accordance with the invention, in that one at least of the lower compartments of each branch includes a flexible casing integral with the compartment immediately above and a detachable float retained in the said casing, and in that the said casing and the said float are mutually shaped so that the float is applied by the casing against the compartment immediately above and that the external lateral part of the casing is stretched between the said float and the said compartment immediately above extending approximately tangentially to these and forming with a horizontal plane an average angle of between 5 and 45° approximately.
In a preferred version of the type of boat targeted by the invention, each branch of the fender is formed of two inflatable compartments presenting in cross section a bi-lobed shape, and that it is the lower compartment which is constituted by a casing integral with the upper compartment and containing the above-mentioned detachable float.
Preferably also, each upper compartment possesses a section above that of the other compartments, and particularly of the detachable float.
In one possible mode of implementation, the detachable float includes at least one elongated body made of a floating material, particularly of synthetic material; in another mode of implementation, preferred since it retains the property of deflation and folding of the boat, each detachable float includes at least one inflatable elongated body. In one or other case, the float may be all in one piece or on the contrary constituted by several elongated bodies placed behind each other in the casing.
As a result of the buoyancy of the auxiliary compartment being conferred on the detachable float, the casing which contains the latter no longer has to be closed in a sealed way. Therefore, each casing may have a closed front end, preferably streamlined and pierced to advantage with at least one hole suitable to allow passage for a flexible connection enabling the float to be drawn in a deflated state into the casing for its insertion into the latter, and an open back end, preferably equipped with retaining means able to be slackened suitable for preventing the float from escaping out of the casing.
In practice, it is to advantage, in the case of an inflatable pneumatic float, that each detachable float includes a front portion with a top which is, from front to back, successively increasing, then decreasing and a consecutive portion which is approximately of cylindrical revolution.
Such an arrangement obtains a correct positioning of the tensioned casing and of the float inside the latter.
By means of the arrangement appropriate to the invention, the manufacture of auxiliary compartments is simplified. Indeed, whereas in previous boats these compartments, made sealed, had to be given different forms for the left side and the right side, in the boat of the invention, only the casings, made non-sealed, have to be different for the right and left sides. As for the floats, they are all identical and can be mounted equally well on the left or on the right, whereas it is their manufacture which is the most restricting when they come in an inflatable form given that they must then be sealed.
In addition, being detachable, inflatable floats are easier to repair in the event of a leak; they can particularly be repaired in situ, whereas the repair of an auxiliary float of a previous boat frequently required return to the workshop.
Furthermore, the detachability of the floats leaves choice in their manufacture without modification of the boat structure. They can be equally well inflatable or made of floating solid material, particularly in the form of a solid cylindrical body of synthetic foam, polystyrene, etc.
In the case of an inflatable design, the floats are protected by the casings against mechanical friction, wear and tearing particularly in rocky shallows, which increases the reliability of the boat.
Generally speaking, the improved arrangement introduced by the invention in pneumatic boats of the type targeted in the preamble proves cost effective in both manufacture and maintenance.
Lastly, it may prove to be advantageous, at least for certain applications, for the float to be at least longitudinally shaped with an approximately curvilinear triangular cross section appropriate to fill all the space defined between the casing and the adjacent compartment and to keep the casing in its position and in its shape.
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Hernando Joseph
Lavorata Marc
Kilpatrick & Stockton LLP
Morano S. Joseph
Russell Dean W.
Vasudeva Ajay
Zodiac International
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