Patent Application
20210284302
The invention relates generally to floating structures with underwater viewing devices, and more particularly to inflatable hand-held flotation craft having an integrated underwater viewing window.
Viewing the underwater world has been a challenge throughout time because the human eye is incapable of focused vision in water without a stable, non-glare airspace between the eye and the body of water. Unfortunately, merely positioning one's head near the water surface does not render a clear view of what lies beneath due to natural light reflection as well as water ripples or waves. As a result, trying to observe the water underworld while floating at the water surface is not possible absent the use of goggles or a mask, or a specially-designed viewing screen.
Although goggles and snorkeling/scuba masks are now commonplace, each providing a stable, non-glare airspace so that a person can see clearly underwater, not everyone has access to such apparatus. Even when goggles or masks are available to borrow or rent, the potential for disease transmission causes many people to reject the offer. In addition to these equipment access issues, not all people have the ability to wear goggles or snorkeling/scuba masks. For example, many people that wish to see what is underwater are physically and/or psychologically incapable of, or resistant to, partially submerging their head below water as is required to use goggles or a mask for underwater viewing.
To avoid these issues associated with wearable underwater vision apparatus (i.e., goggles and snorkeling/scuba masks), the prior art has proposed various non-wearable apparatus to observe the underwater while floating on water. Such types of apparatus are designed so that an underwater viewing device is permanently fixed to a boat or raft or some form of personal swim craft. Examples of these types of devices may be found in: U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,417 to Warren issued May 15, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,955 to Hackett issued Dec. 19, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,569 to Harkrider issued Jun. 5, 2001; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,927,164 to Kuchler, issued Apr. 19, 2011. All of these prior art references are hereby incorporated by reference and relied upon.
One notable example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,424 to Harkrider, issued Jun. 3, 2003. Harkrider '424 is directed toward a personal swim craft fitted with a liquid-filled viewing area that is fixed within the craft. The viewing area is formed by a walled cavity, sealed at its upper and lower openings with transparent panes, located near the fore end of the swim craft. The void between the transparent panes is filled with water via a pluggable vent. The upper pane of the viewing area is slanted aft to allow extraneous water to run off into scuppers or vertical vents adjacent to the aft perimeter edge of the upper pane. The lower pane is flat horizontal. The vents allow the escape of air bubbles that may become trapped below the outer surface of the lower transparent pane. When the craft is floating on the water, the flat bottom transparent pane is submerged and the water contained within the viewing area cavity forms a column of transparent liquid that effectively “rises above” the surface level of the body of water. The user lies prone on the craft, with their forehead resting on the head support, so that their eyes are directly over the viewing window.
Another example, which is illustrative of the current state of the art, includes the personal inflatable watercraft with viewing window formerly marketed under the brand name “Jelly Fish™” by iSnorkel.com of Dexter, Mich. The Jelly Fish™ was a small, hand-held viewing window that was ideally suited to use in connection with highly buoyant salt water settings, or fresh water conditions when the user also wore an auxiliary personal flotation device (PFD) like a life jacket. Especially for larger-bodied users, the Jelly Fish™ was not conducive to fresh-water applications unless buoyancy was supplemented by a PFD, a wetsuit, or the like. The Jelly Fish™ had one handle, on the top bow/fore that was not well-suited for one-handed use in water due to the tendency to cause tipping under pressure.
Recording video (videography) has become a popular practice during outdoor adventure activities, such as hiking, skydiving and skiing. Practically speaking, it is difficult to hold a video camera while recording video during many outdoor adventure type sporting activities. To address this issue, some camera makers (e.g. GoPro™) provide various mounting methods for hands-free operation of the camera. For example, some hands-free mounting options include helmet mounts, body mounts, and wrist strap mounts. Such wearable mounts have proven to be convenient and relatively secure in terms of protecting the camera against damage or loss during the activity.
However, video-recording remains somewhat difficult to implement in certain water sports, such as flotation-based snorkeling. Flotation-based snorkeling consists of floating on the water surface in an inflatable craft, often in a large body of water like the ocean or a freshwater lake or a swimming pool. Recording video and images while floating has been difficult for a user because of the constant movement and also because practically every surface of an inflatable craft is flexible and yields under the load (mass) of a video camera. In other words, shaking movement of a video camera is compounded in the case of flotation snorkeling by the bobbling movement of the craft plus the spongy nature of the available mounting surfaces. Furthermore, when a person is involved in flotation-based snorkeling they may need to steer themselves with a swimming hand motion at times, which could make holding a video camera awkward or limiting.
In addition to video cameras, there is also a need for providing a convenient method to store items that could be damaged by water and/or easily lost during the course of a water-sports activity like flotation snorkeling. For example, identity documents and paper money can be damaged by water. Car keys and room keys and credit cards can be easily lost while rafting and snorkeling. Water-proof containers, sometimes called “dry boxes” have been developed for this purpose. However, there is not always a convenient method to secure a dry box to an inflatable craft. And when a method of securing the dry box is available, rarely is the dry box in a convenient and easily accessed location for the user. Most inflatable water craft currently offer little or no location for such placement, other than on the body of the user. Placing a dry box or video camera in the pocket of a bathing suit is naturally cumbersome and uncomfortable.
In addition to video cameras and dry boxes, flotation snorkelers often need a convenient way to secure other accessories in a readily accessible manner. For example, illumination devices and cellular phones and GPS devices are among the many other types of accessories commonly carried into the water by snorkelers.
Turning to another issue that is peculiar to the sport of flotation snorkeling, a growing number of states and jurisdictions are requiring snorkelers and skin divers who venture into a navigable body of water (i.e., if they are wearing a mask and snorkel to look underwater, thus making the person a “skin diver”), to display a recreational “dive flag” (See Florida Dive Flag Law, Florida Statutes 327.331). The dive flag lets nearby vessels know that they should keep well clear and maintain a slow speed in the vicinity. In North America, a dive flag is conventionally red with a white stripe running diagonally from the upper left corner to the lower right corner. Finding a suitable location and method to attach a dive flag to an inflatable raft may be difficult. A related issue involves the use of signaling flags on inflatable crafts that are deployed in groups, such as from water-sport outfitters, cruise ships tour operators, and coastal resorts to name but a few. In some cases, a business that manages group activities will provide rental equipment for numerous different groups that are all deployed simultaneously. It may be desirable to maintain visual awareness of which equipment rentals are associated with each group. Unique flags (e.g., color-coded, symbols, etc.) could be used to distinguish the various groups. However, finding a suitable location and method to attach a flag to an inflatable craft has proven difficult. And still another related issue involves advertising opportunities for businesses that cater to the clientele of water-sport outfitters, cruise ships, coastal resorts and the like. For example, a local retailer or eatery, or a major beverage company or clothing brand, may wish to target advertisements to people that rent flotation snorkeling equipment. There is, unfortunately, not a convenient way to use flags and other aerial features in connection with these marking and advertising ambitions within the flotation snorkeling industry.
There is therefore a need for an inflatable style of personal underwater viewing apparatus that is convenient to transport, that is robust enough to enjoy a long service life, and that is readily adaptable to situations where the user may or may not be wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) or wetsuit, and that can be easily reconfigured for use in low-buoyancy fresh water or high-buoyancy salt water. Ideally, the personal watercraft will enable a stable mounting for a camera or a flag or other accessory item that affords convenient accessibility.
An inflatable hand-held snorkeling float assembly comprises a see-through underwater viewing module. The viewing module has a top glass and a bottom glass joined together by a collapsible sidewall. A pneumatic chamber surrounds the viewing module. The chamber defines a central longitudinal axis and a central transverse axis. The chamber has a top deck and a spaced-apart bottom deck joined together by a bow and a stern and a port side and a starboard side. A starboard handle extends from the starboard side of the chamber. A port handle extends from the port side of the chamber. The top glass and the bottom glass are equally-angled away from one another relative to the central longitudinal axis. Similarly, the top deck and the bottom deck are equally-angled away from one another relative to the central longitudinal axis. The equal angular configurations provide flotation symmetry about the central longitudinal axis for roll-inverted usage while enabling flotation asymmetry about the central transverse axis for pitch-inverted usage in different buoyancy conditions.
The present invention enables the snorkeling float to be employed in any one of at least three (and possibly even four) holding orientations depending on the buoyancy enhancement needs of the user and/or the preferred placement of accessories either above or below the waterline. Because top and bottom glasses are equally-angled away from one another relative to the central longitudinal axis, and furthermore because the top and bottom decks are also equally-angled away from one another relative to the central longitudinal axis, the snorkeling float can be used with or without a personal flotation device (PFD) or flotation enhancements (e.g., wetsuit), as well as in both fresh and salt water settings. When certain optional accessories are provided, the snorkeling float can be deployed in locations that require dive flags or other identity markers, and with enhanced convenience for videography applications. When not in use, the snorkeling float can be deflated for conveniently carried storage and travel.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily appreciated when considered in connection with the following detailed description and appended drawings, wherein:
This invention provides underwater viewing capability integrated into a hand-held personal swim craft that can be deflated to a compacted state for convenient transport, that is robust, that is easy to maintain, and that will readily accommodate use in fresh and salt water for PFD-assisted users as well as non-PFD assisted users while orienting the viewing window so that it provides an optimal forward-looking field of view in all orientations and regardless of whether the user is wearing a PFD. The personal swim flotation craft, referred to herein as a snorkeling float, is generally shown at 20 in the accompanying illustrations. The snorkeling float 20 is designed to float on the water surface while being held between the outstretched hands of a user floating prone in a body of water. The snorkeling float 20 includes a see-through underwater viewing module 22 located so that the user can conveniently gaze through the viewing module 22 below the surface of the water. A pneumatic chamber 24 surrounds the viewing module 22. In the illustrated example, a single pneumatic chamber 24 is provided, however in other contemplated constructions multiple pneumatic chambers may be employed. Although a filling valve is not shown, it is contemplated that the chamber 24 is inflated and deflated through any suitable type of inflation valve.
The viewing module 22 is an inflatable cylinder designed to either be left empty/void or filled with water (e.g. sea water or fresh water) so that submerged features can be clearly observed from an above-surface vantage in a manner like that of the Harkrider '424 personal swim craft described above. The viewing module 22 of the present invention may have a generally circular shape as defined by a top glass 26 (
The collapsible sidewall of the viewing module 22 that connects the spaced-apart top glass 26 and bottom glass 28 may be integrally formed by the surrounding chamber 24. When the chamber 24 is fully deflated, the viewing module 22 collapses so that the top glass 26 and bottom glass 28 may be brought substantially into surface-to-surface contact with one another. Alternatively, the viewing module 22 may be formed as a removable structure that fits into a complementary-shaped aperture in the chamber 24. In this latter example, the modular viewing module would also be collapsible. Collapsibility enables the snorkeling float 20 to be very compactly stored for travel, shipping and when not in use. However, when the chamber 24 is fully inflated, as shown throughout the Figures, the top glass 26 and bottom glass 28 are separated from one another by the internal air pressure.
Preferably, the chamber 24 is designed so that the top glass 26 and bottom glass 28 are symmetrically angled to one another in the fully inflated condition, creating a prismatic effect. That is, when viewed from the side as in
In terms of symmetry,
As mentioned above, the interior space inside the viewing module 22 can be left void (air filled) or in the alternative filled with water through a hole in the top glass 26 which is fitted with a re-sealable bung or plug 30 (
When viewed from above, as in
The pneumatic chamber 24 can be seen as presenting top and bottom decks, or surfaces, that are angled relative to one another in a wedge-like shape that generally coincides with the wedge shape of the viewing module 22. The top deck coincides with the top glass 26, whereas the bottom deck coincides with the bottom glass 28. As described above in connection with
The chamber angle (2β) as measured in-between each plane TD-BD (i.e., between the decks) would be between about 5° and 15° in order to provide asymmetric buoyancy when inverted, as described below in connection with
Thus, the angles α, β of the glasses 26, 28 and decks TD, BD are all about the same measures (i.e., α≈β) thus producing an isosceles trapezoid with a line of symmetry about the longitudinal axis A. Because of this symmetry, the flotation characteristics of the snorkeling float 20 are substantially identical whether floating with bottom deck wet or top deck wet in roll-inverted scenarios. However, in pitch-inverted scenarios, the flotation characteristics are beneficially asymmetric. The snorkeling float 20 also may possess symmetry about a vertical plane containing the central longitudinal axis A but perpendicularly intersecting the central transverse axis B.
U.S. Design patent No., issued Dec. 19, 2017, shows one exemplary embodiment of an accessory mount 40 suitable for use in conjunction with this invention. The entire disclosure of D805,597 is hereby incorporated by reference. Each accessory mount 40 allows the user to install up to two amphibious cameras or other accessory features 42. Many consumers already own multiple camera set-ups that will install easily as accessories 42 to the accessory mount 40. In one contemplated application, the accessory 42 comprises a sealed container in the form of a camera housing of the type used to store a Go-Pro® camera. Naturally, the accessory 42 could be light or something different, or perhaps a dive flag 44 (
In one possible configuration, the flexible arm 46 could take the form of a gooseneck flex mount extension with a positional-range exceeding 180° that also allows camera rotation and even positioning below the waterline (e.g.,
In use, the snorkeling float 20 has at least three primary holding orientations represented, respectively, in
Each of the orientations will be described in further detail below, beginning with the primary holding orientation of
In this primary holding orientation, the user is able to gently increase their own positive buoyancy by resting their chin on the stern 34, in conjunction with placing hands aside the craft 20 on the handles 38. The thicker dimension of the bow 32 combined with the user's chin at rest on the stern 34, imparts a backwardly angled slant or tilt to the top glass 26 which is inviting for underwater observation through the viewing module 22. The top glass 26 of the viewing module 22 does not submerge, which would otherwise negatively impact visual performance by adding a layer of water atop the window glass 26.
The user may add accessories 42 including camera(s), a dive flag 44 (required in some jurisdictions), and other devices as may be desirable. This is the only holding orientation that allows the user to mount a marking flag 44 upward while using a flexible mount extension 46 curled downwards to also have a submerged camera 42 (or to have a second camera above the waterline instead of a marker flag 44).
The secondary holding orientation is depicted in
As in
In cases where the optional accessory mount 40 is omitted, the primary and secondary holding orientations are essential identical. And furthermore, the tertiary holding orientation also becomes “roll-invertible”. In this scenario, the user may roll-invert the float 20 without concern for which direction is “up,” as the snorkeling float 20 will function exactly the same in either bow 32 forward condition or in either stern 34 forward condition. Thus, when the optional accessory mount 40 is omitted, the snorkeling float 20 becomes somewhat easier to use in that the specific holding orientation is as simple paying attention to whether the bow 32 is pointing forward or the stern 34 is pointing forward.
From the primary holding orientation, the user may roll-invert the float 20 about its transverse axis B to the tertiary holding orientation depicted in
A possible fourth holding orientation is contemplated wherein the stern 34 is pointing forward and the accessory mount 40 is above water-line. This fourth holding orientation is not illustrated, but can be understood by roll-inverting the snorkeling float 20 from the tertiary orientation (of
Because the snorkeling float 20 is held in front of the prone floating user, a forward-looking natural FOV 50 is assumed in the mind of the user. By correlating the user's natural FOV 50 with the projected FOV 52 that is underwater in the same forward-looking direction, the user will have a greater sense of control and reduced disorientation effects that sometimes occur with novice users. The prismatic viewing module 22 projects the user's vision in a forward-looking direction, albeit slightly magnified due to the optical effects created by the wedge-shape. Thus, the user will intuitively understand that the images visible through the viewing module 22 represent underwater images in the advancing direction. In other words, the shape and orientation of the viewing module 22 allow the user to see what is front of them just as they would normally expect when looking through air. The refraction effects depicted in
It will therefore be appreciated that the snorkeling float 20 may be employed in any one of three (primary, secondary, tertiary) holding orientations depending on the buoyancy enhancement needs of the user and/or the preferred placement of accessories 42, 44 either above or below the waterline. Because top and bottom glasses 26, 28 are equally-angled (α) away from one another relative to the central longitudinal axis A, and furthermore because the top and bottom decks (as represented by best fit planes TD, BD) are also equally-angled (β) away from one another relative to the central longitudinal axis A, a flotation symmetry (i.e., symmetry of buoyancy with respect to the user) results for roll-inverted usage. However, because of the wedge-like (or more particularly the isosceles trapezoid) shape of the chamber 24, flotation asymmetry (i.e., asymmetry of buoyancy with respect to the user) results about the central transverse axis B for pitch-inverted usage in different buoyancy conditions. As a result, the snorkeling float 20 can be used in both fresh and salt water settings, with or without a personal flotation device (PFD), in locations that require dive flags 44 or other identity markers, and with enhanced convenience for videography applications. When not in use, the snorkeling float 20 can be deflated for conveniently carried storage and travel.
The foregoing invention has been described in accordance with the relevant legal standards, thus the description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosed embodiment may become apparent to those skilled in the art and fall within the scope of the invention. Furthermore, particular features of one embodiment can replace corresponding features in another embodiment or can supplement other embodiments unless otherwise indicated by the drawings or this specification.
This application claims priority to U.S. Design patent application No. 29/588,923 filed Dec. 23, 2016 and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/461,468 filed Feb. 21, 2017, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference and relied upon.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US17/68106 | 12/22/2017 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62461468 | Feb 2017 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 29588923 | Dec 2016 | US |
| Child | 16338577 | US |
