BACKGROUND
Recreational rafts are often used in pools, rivers, lakes, oceans, and other bodies of water for entertainment and amusement. One popular type of recreational raft comprises a floatable foam pad having its front end curled to form a pillow portion. When lying on this raft in the water, a person rests his/her head on the pillow portion.
SUMMARY
My invention provides a floating friendship assembly wherein recreational rafts are connected together with their pillow portions facing each other. In this manner, friends on the connected rafts can easily talk and chat. And if the rafts are close enough, the friends can hold hands, clap palms (“high five”), and/or touch fists (“pound it”) at significant points in the conversation.
DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows two friends enjoying the floating friendship assembly.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the floating friendship assembly.
FIG. 3 shows how to make rafts of the assembly.
FIG. 4 shows some links for linking the rafts together.
FIG. 5 shows different linkage arrangements.
FIG. 6 shows some ways of attaching the linkage to the rafts and/or the links to each other.
FIG. 7 shows a floating friendship assembly with three rafts.
FIG. 8 shows a floating friendship assembly with four rafts.
DESCRIPTION
Referring now the drawings, and initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, a floating friendship assembly 10 is shown which comprises a first raft 21 and a second raft 22. The rafts 21/22 each include a pillow portion 31/32 with a channel 41/42 extending therethrough. A floatable link 50 joins the rafts 21-22 together so that the pillow portions 31-32 face each other. When friends lie on the rafts 21-22 with their heads resting on the pillow-portions 31-32 as shown in FIG. 1, they can easily talk and chat.
As shown in FIG. 3, a raft 20 for the floating friendship assembly 10 can formed from a pad 60 having a front part 70. The pad 60 is preferably rectangular with a width equal to the desired raft width and a length a bit longer than the desired raft length. Specifically, for example, the front part 70 can be about twice as long as the desired pillow width.
The pad 60 is made of material compatible for use as a recreational raft without inflation. A suitable material would be buoyant, would not absorb water like a sponge, would not stick to skin, would not get too hot in the sun, and would be light enough to carry (or at least drag). Conventionally, such pads 60 have been formed in one piece from closed cell foam or foam rubber materials (e.g., polyethylene (PE) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)).
The front end 70 of the pad 60 can be curled downward and its front edge bonded to the bottom surface of the pad 60 at a seam 80. The seam 80 can be accomplished by adhesive, heat-fusing, or any other suitable technique. In any event, the curled front end 70 surrounds an empty conduit. In the completed raft 20, the curled front end 70 forms the pillow portion 30 and the empty conduit forms the channel 40.
Referring now to FIG. 4, the linkage 50 comprises one or more links 90 which are preferably made of a floatable material (which may or may not be the same as the pad material). The links 60 can have a generally elongated geometry with a round, polygonal, or other cross-sectional shape. Additionally or alternatively, the links 90 can be solid or have a hollow core. These types of floatable links are often referred to as “noodles” and used independently for recreational water purposes.
As shown most clearly in FIG. 5, the linkage 50 extends at least partially through the pillow portion 31 of the first raft 21 and at least partially through the pillow portion 32 of the second raft 22. The linkage 50 can involve only one link 90a, two links 90a-90b, or more than two links 90a-90d. The links 90 can be attached to the rafts 21-22 and/or attached to each other.
As is shown in FIG. 6, the attachment of the linkage 50 and/or a link 90 to the rafts 21-22 can be accomplished by them being squeeze-fit into respective pillow portions 31-32. Additionally or alternatively, hooks 100 can be provided on the rafts 21-22 for engagement with the linkage material or loops 110 thereon, or hooks 100 can be provided on the linkage 50 for engagement with the pad material or loops 110 on the rafts 21-22. Other selectively removable attachment arrangements (e.g., magnetic, ties, dove-tails, etc.) are also feasible and foreseeable.
Moreover, a floating friendship assembly 10 wherein the rafts 21-22 are permanently linked together is possible and contemplated. The advantage, however, of selectively removable linkage 50 is that the rafts 21-22 and the links 90 can be used independently for recreational purposes. Additionally or alternatively, separate pieces may be easier to store, transport, and/or carry.
In FIG. 6, a floating friendship assembly 10 is shown with three rafts 21-23 whereby three friends can be arranged in a triangular fashion for some fun conversation. In FIG. 7, a floating friendship assembly 10 is shown with four rafts 21-24 (and four friends) situated in a cross pattern. More rafts (and more friends) could be added to the assembly 10 with appropriate modifications to the linkage 50 and the raft array.
One may now appreciate that my invention provides a floating friendship assembly 10 wherein recreational rafts 20 are connected together with their pillow portions 30 facing each other so that friends can easily talk and chat. Although the assembly 10 has been shown and described with respect to a certain embodiment or embodiments, it is obvious that equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings.
Patent Application
20120003887
