US3688775A — Sun bathing and tanning apparatus

Claim 1

Independent Claim 250 words

A sun bathing apparatus comprising a water container that is readily portable to enable it to be manually moved into a suitable location for use by a person wishing to sun bathe, said container having a generally rectangular shaped bottom wall and a plurality of inter-connected side walls formed of flexible, airimpervious material, and mounted adjacent the respective edges of said bottom wall and extending upward therefrom in water-tight relationship therewith, each of said inter-connections between said side walls also being water-tight, thereby to make the container water-tight from the bottom wall to the top edges of said side walls, each of said side walls being hollow and inflatable, pressure-responsive check valve means mounted in one of said side walls to enable said side walls to be inflated to a predetermined pressure, said bottom wall and said side walls all being collapsible thereby to render the apparatus readily foldable into a bundle that is manually portable, an inflatable cushion positioned within said side walls on said bottom wall, means for inflating said cushion to a predetermined pressure, said cushion being generally coextensive in shape with the bottom wall of the container and being adapted when inflated to support the weight of a person in spaced relationship away from said bottom wall on its upper surface whereby a person may sun bathe on said cushion in a pool of water confined within said container and thereby hasten the tanning effect of rays of the sun while maintaining a comfortable body temperature.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 250 words

A sun bathing apparatus comprising a water container that is readily portable to enable it to be manually moved into a suitable location for use by a person wishing to sun bathe, said container having a generally rectangular shaped bottom wall and a plurality of inter-connected side walls formed of flexible, airimpervious material, and mounted adjacent the respective edges of said bottom wall and extending upward therefrom in water-tight relationship therewith, each of said inter-connections between said side walls also being water-tight, thereby to make the container water-tight from the bottom wall to the top edges of said side walls, each of said side walls being hollow and inflatable, pressure-responsive check valve means mounted in one of said side walls to enable said side walls to be inflated to a predetermined pressure, said bottom wall and said side walls all being collapsible thereby to render the apparatus readily foldable into a bundle that is manually portable, an inflatable cushion positioned within said side walls on said bottom wall, means for inflating said cushion to a predetermined pressure, said cushion being generally coextensive in shape with the bottom wall of the container and being adapted when inflated to support the weight of a person in spaced relationship away from said bottom wall on its upper surface whereby a person may sun bathe on said cushion in a pool of water confined within said container and thereby hasten the tanning effect of rays of the sun while maintaining a comfortable body temperature.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 132 words

An invention as defined in claim 1 including means defining a water conduit adjacent a number of the upper edges of said side walls, means defining a plurality of apertures in said conduit at spaced-apart points along substantially the entire length thereof, whereby water can be sprinkled through said apertures from said conduit onto a person lying on said cushion, means for releasably connecting said conduit to a source of water under pressure, and manually operable valve means for controlling a flow of waTer from said source into said conduit whereby a person lying on said cushion can conveniently manipulate said valve means to selectively sprinkle water from said conduit onto his body thereby to moisten it and enhance the tanning effect of the sun on his body while simultaneously cooling it.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 44 words

An invention as defined in claim 2 wherein means defining an air passage between the interior of said side walls and the interior of said inflatable cushion are provided whereby said side walls and said cushion can be inflated simultaneously through said check valve.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 46 words

An invention as defined in claim 2 including an inflatable pillow formed integral with said cushion, and including a second pressure-responsive check valve mounted in one wall of said cushion for inflating it and said pillow by forcing air under pressure through said second check valve.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 60 words

An invention as defined in claim 2 including a combination carrier-hanger handle mounted on one of the side walls of said container that is remote from said means for inflating the cushion, and locking means for retaining the container in a predetermined bundled configuration when it is deflated, whereby the handle may be conveniently used to manually transport said container.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 61 words

An invention as defined in claim 2 including means forming an efficient light-reflecting surface on substantially the entire area of the inner surfaces of the two longer side walls of said container, thereby to afford reflecting surfaces that are operable to cause indirect rays of sun light to be directed onto both sides of a person lying on the inflatable cushion.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 36 words

An invention as defined in claim 6 wherein said light reflecting surfaces are formed of a layer of aluminum paint that is adhered to said inner surfaces of the two longer side walls of the container.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 103 words

An invention as defined in claim 7 wherein each of said side walls is tubular in cross section, said tubular cross-section comprising four generally flat wall sections, the uppermost and lowermost of said generally flat wall sections being substantially parallel to the bottom wall of said container and the outermost wall section being substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall of said container when the side walls are inflated, the innermost wall section being positioned at an angle between 100* and 140* with respect to the bottom wall, thereby to reflect sunlight in a direction upward and outward with respect to said bottom wall.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 52 words

An invention as defined in claim 8 including tray means mounted on the top surface of at least one of said generally flat uppermost wall sections to afford slip-resistant means for supporting a liquid beverage container in a position thereon that is readily accessible to a person lying on said inflatable cushion.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 90 words

An invention as defined in claim 8 including a flexible awning means mounted on one of the side walls, and including manually positionable awning support means for selectively holding the awning in an extended position over one end of said inflatable cushion thereby to shade that end of the cushion from the direct rays of the sun so a person lying on the cushion can conveniently position his head in this shaded area to protect it from overexposure to the sun while the remainder of the body is being tanned.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 62 words

An invention as defined in claim 2 including a manually operable water-drain valve mounted through one of said side walls adjacent the bottom thereof, whereby the level of water trapped in said container may be controlled by suitably balancing the rate of flow into said container from the apertured conduit against the rate of flow from the container through said water-drain valve.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1975-09-05	1976-03-06	1976-09-05	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1979-09-05	1980-03-06	1980-09-05	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1983-09-05	1984-03-06	1984-09-05	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Sun bathing and tanning apparatus

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