US3780686A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Float
Assignee: BEACH BUOY Inc
•
Filing: 1971-09-24
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Granted: 1973-12-25
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Expires: 1991-09-24
Abstract
Abstract A float comprising a deck component has an upper deck wall and, in one embodiment, generally conical supports for said wall, the space about said supports being filled or partially filled either with air or buoyant material. Air is vented to atmosphere, preferably centrally through a port or ports to which air is guided either by a conical bottom surface of the deck component, or by channel means of progressively decreasing depth. A depending flaring skirt has a buoyancy preferably no greater than the weight of the float so that the float when unloaded rides with the bottom of the central vent substantially at water level. Water between the central vent and the peripheral skirt is trapped. A weight tending to tilt the float is opposed because water thus trapped within the skirt is lifted above normal level at the high side of the float. The moment arm of a superimposed weight carried on the float is less than the moment arm of the lifted water because the superimposed weight is limited in position by the form of the deck. The difference in dimension between the skirt and the deck component not only provides increased stability but facilitates nesting.
Inventors
- 👤 E Brill
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 20:20
CPC Classifications
B; B63; B63B; B63B35/00; B63B35/58; B63B22/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
169 words
A nestable float comprising a deck component and a skirt joined with and extending downwardly below the deck component and having at least its major portion offset outwardly therefrom and peripherally enclosing downwardly open space beneath said deck component, said deck component having an upper wall and a side wall and having a cove shoulder offset inwardly from the side wall and downwardly from the upper wall, boss means projecting across the shoulder and provided with apertures, a rope trained along said shoulder and extending through said apertures, and means for anchoring the rope against material displacement with respect to the apertures through which it passes, said rope being provided interiorly with expanders constituting said anchoring means and disposed at each side of each boss means, said expanders increasing the over-all dimension of the rope adjacent said apertures to a size such that the rope cannot pass through the apertures, said shoulder accommodating said rope when another float is nested over the float on which the rope is mounted.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
169 words
A nestable float comprising a deck component and a skirt joined with and extending downwardly below the deck component and having at least its major portion offset outwardly therefrom and peripherally enclosing downwardly open space beneath said deck component, said deck component having an upper wall and a side wall and having a cove shoulder offset inwardly from the side wall and downwardly from the upper wall, boss means projecting across the shoulder and provided with apertures, a rope trained along said shoulder and extending through said apertures, and means for anchoring the rope against material displacement with respect to the apertures through which it passes, said rope being provided interiorly with expanders constituting said anchoring means and disposed at each side of each boss means, said expanders increasing the over-all dimension of the rope adjacent said apertures to a size such that the rope cannot pass through the apertures, said shoulder accommodating said rope when another float is nested over the float on which the rope is mounted.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
176 words
A nestable float comprising a deck component and a skirt joined with and extending downwardly below the deck component, said skirt having at least its major portion offset outwardly from the deck component and peripherally enclosing downwardly open and unobstructed space beneath said deck component, said skirt having a greater interior dimension than the exterior dimension of the deck component whereby the deck component of one float will nest within the skirt of another like float, the upper edge of the deck component being offset inwardly of the skirt to dispose edge loading of the float inwardly of the greatest periphery of the float, and an air vent passage from said space to the atmosphere, said air vent passage being substantially at the center of said space and leading upwardly through said deck component, said deck component having at least a partial lower wall having inverted channels of depth progressively increasing toward the vent passage for guiding to said vent passage air which is trapped within the skirt when the float is put in the water.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
176 words
A nestable float comprising a deck component and a skirt joined with and extending downwardly below the deck component, said skirt having at least its major portion offset outwardly from the deck component and peripherally enclosing downwardly open and unobstructed space beneath said deck component, said skirt having a greater interior dimension than the exterior dimension of the deck component whereby the deck component of one float will nest within the skirt of another like float, the upper edge of the deck component being offset inwardly of the skirt to dispose edge loading of the float inwardly of the greatest periphery of the float, and an air vent passage from said space to the atmosphere, said air vent passage being substantially at the center of said space and leading upwardly through said deck component, said deck component having at least a partial lower wall having inverted channels of depth progressively increasing toward the vent passage for guiding to said vent passage air which is trapped within the skirt when the float is put in the water.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
148 words
A nestable float comprising a deck component and a skirt joined with and extending downwardly below the deck component, said skirt having at least its major portion offset outwardly from the deck component and peripherally enclosing downwardly open and unobstructed space beneath said deck component, said skirt having a greater interior dimension than the exterior dimension of the deck component whereby the deck component of one float will nest within the skirt of another like float, the upper edge of the deck component being offset inwardly of the skirt to dispose edge loading of the float inwardly of the greatest periphEry of the float, and an air vent passage from said space to the atmosphere, said air vent passage being substantially at the center of said space and leading upwardly through said deck component, said deck component having a well-defined lower wall slightly pitched toward said vent passage.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
148 words
A nestable float comprising a deck component and a skirt joined with and extending downwardly below the deck component, said skirt having at least its major portion offset outwardly from the deck component and peripherally enclosing downwardly open and unobstructed space beneath said deck component, said skirt having a greater interior dimension than the exterior dimension of the deck component whereby the deck component of one float will nest within the skirt of another like float, the upper edge of the deck component being offset inwardly of the skirt to dispose edge loading of the float inwardly of the greatest periphEry of the float, and an air vent passage from said space to the atmosphere, said air vent passage being substantially at the center of said space and leading upwardly through said deck component, said deck component having a well-defined lower wall slightly pitched toward said vent passage.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
172 words
A nestable float comprising a deck component and a skirt joined with and extending downwardly below the deck component, said skirt having at least its major portion offset outwardly from the deck component and peripherally enclosing downwardly open and unobstructed space beneath said deck component, said skirt having a greater interior dimension than the exterior dimension of the deck component whereby the deck component of one float will nest within the skirt of another like float, the upper edge of the deck component being offset inwardly of the skirt to dispose edge loading of the float inwardly of the greatest periphery of the float, and an air vent passage from said space to the atmosphere, said air vent passage being substantially at the center of said space and leading upwardly through said deck component, said air passage including a seat, and a fitting disposed in said seat, said fitting having a drain and air venting duct means and a central bore, said fitting having a top substantially flush with the upper wall.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
172 words
A nestable float comprising a deck component and a skirt joined with and extending downwardly below the deck component, said skirt having at least its major portion offset outwardly from the deck component and peripherally enclosing downwardly open and unobstructed space beneath said deck component, said skirt having a greater interior dimension than the exterior dimension of the deck component whereby the deck component of one float will nest within the skirt of another like float, the upper edge of the deck component being offset inwardly of the skirt to dispose edge loading of the float inwardly of the greatest periphery of the float, and an air vent passage from said space to the atmosphere, said air vent passage being substantially at the center of said space and leading upwardly through said deck component, said air passage including a seat, and a fitting disposed in said seat, said fitting having a drain and air venting duct means and a central bore, said fitting having a top substantially flush with the upper wall.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
126 words
A nestable float comprising a deck component and a skirt joined with and extending downwardly below the deck component, said skirt having at least its major portion offset outwardly from the deck component and peripherally enclosing downwardly open and unobstructed space beneath said deck component, said skirt having a greater interior dimension than the exterior dimension of the deck component whereby the deck component of one float will nest within the skirt of another like float, the upper edge of the deck component being offset inwardly of the skirt to dispose edge loading of the float inwardly of the greatest periphery of the float, and an air vent passage from said space to the atmosphere, said skirt having side and bottom walls enclosing a buoyant substance.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
126 words
A nestable float comprising a deck component and a skirt joined with and extending downwardly below the deck component, said skirt having at least its major portion offset outwardly from the deck component and peripherally enclosing downwardly open and unobstructed space beneath said deck component, said skirt having a greater interior dimension than the exterior dimension of the deck component whereby the deck component of one float will nest within the skirt of another like float, the upper edge of the deck component being offset inwardly of the skirt to dispose edge loading of the float inwardly of the greatest periphery of the float, and an air vent passage from said space to the atmosphere, said skirt having side and bottom walls enclosing a buoyant substance.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
A float according to claim 5 in which the skirt and deck component progressively increase in dimension downwardly.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
17 words
A float according to claim 1 in which the deck component has a somewhat concave upper surface.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
A float according to claim 5 in which said air vent passage is substantially at the center of said space and leads upwardly through said deck component.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
33 words
A float according to claim 5 in which the deck component has a lower wall spaced beneath the upper wall, the space between such walls being at least partially filled with buoyant material.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
20 words
The float of claim 5 in which said deck component has a side wall with circumferentially spaced vertical reinforcing channels.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
37 words
The float of claim 5 in which said skirt has a buoyancy no greater than the weight of the float whereby the unloaded float has said deck component substantially above water level and its skirt substantially therebeneath.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
40 words
A float according to claim 11 in which said buoyant skirt imposes its buoyancy on the deck component at a materially greater moment arm than that of any load to which the deck component may normally be subjected in use.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
52 words
The float of claim 5 in which the deck component has an upper wall and a side wall joined to the upper wall and means constituting at least a skeletonized lower wall joined to the side wall, and spacers extending from said lower wall toward said upper wall and providing support therefor.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
37 words
A float according to claim 13 in which the upper ends of the spacers terminate short of the deck and contact therewith to provide support therefor only when the deck is loaded and flexed toward the spacer.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
23 words
A float according to claim 13 in which the spacers are fused at their upper ends with the under surface of the deck.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
37 words
A float according to claim 13 in which said spacers are generally tubular and have closed upper ends suPporting the upper wall and have lower ends opening into said space and marginally connected with the lower wall.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
20 words
A float according to claim 16 in which said tubular spacers provide game pockets exposed when the float is inverted.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
21 words
A float according to claim 16 in which said tubular spacers are elongated horizontally and have at least one side concave.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
29 words
A float according to claim 16 in which said tubular spacers taper gradually throughout most of their height and have abruptly increased taper in approaching their closed upper ends.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-12-24 | 1977-06-25 | 1977-12-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-12-24 | 1981-06-25 | 1981-12-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-12-24 | 1985-06-25 | 1985-12-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |