Patent Application
20130267135
1. Field of the Invention
At least one example in accordance with the present invention relates generally to floating pool and beach toys for children.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Flotation tubes are commonly utilized to keep young children (babies or toddlers) floating at the surface of a body of water while preventing the child from becoming submerged in the water. For example, flotation tubes such as inflatable bubbles, foam bubbles, life preservers and inflatable arm bands are oftentimes attached to a child to keep the child afloat. Young children are often placed on or in flotation tubes such as inflatable boats to keep the child above water. Older children may use flotation devices as training tools to learn how to swim.
According to one aspect, a recreational floatation device is disclosed. In one embodiment, the device includes a U-shaped body having a front portion and members substantially parallel to each other, and extending from the front portion, and a kickboard detachably coupled to the flotation device, disposed between the parallel members, wherein the kickboard is configured to be positioned within the flotation device in a plurality of positions.
In one example, the kickboard placed in a first position of the plurality of positions is configured to be coupled to the U-shaped body and substantially positioned between the parallel members of the flotation device. The kickboard can be placed in a second position of the plurality of positions and can be configured to be coupled to the U-shaped body and partially extending outside of the flotation device. The kickboard can also be placed in a third position of the plurality of positions and can be configured to be detached and removed from the flotation device.
In one example, the flotation device comprises an inflatable tube, a seat and an upper support, wherein the flotation tube is contoured around the seat and the upper support. In another example, the kickboard is contoured on one side to fit around a torso of a user. In at least one example, the upper support and the parallel members form a space configured to fit the kickboard. The seat can be configured to support weight of a user in a sitting position. The upper support can be contoured to allow at least a portion of the kickboard to rest uniformly on top of the upper support. In addition, the seat can comprise two openings configured to allow user's legs to fit through the two openings.
In another example, the flotation device and the kickboard are inflatable. The kickboard can be configured to be detachably coupled to the flotation device using hook and loop fasteners. The hook and loop fasteners can comprise a first portion of the hook and loop fasteners is disposed on the kickboard and a second portion of the hook and loop fasteners is disposed on the flotation device. In another example, the kickboard can configured to be detachably coupled to the flotation device using fastening straps.
According to another aspect, a recreational floatation device comprises a main body having a front portion and members extending substantially parallel from the front portion, a seat portion attached to the main body between the two parallel members and adjacent to the front portion, for receiving and supporting a user of the recreational flotation device in a seated portion, and a floating board removably attachable to said main body, when positioned between the parallel members.
In a first position, the floating board can be entirely positioned within the main body and removably attached thereto. In a second position, the floating board is partly positioned within the main body and removably attached thereto. In one example, the recreational flotation device further comprises a support member disposed between the parallel members and adjacent the seat portion, for supporting the floating board when the floating board is placed between the members. The seat portion of the flotation device can include at least one opening. In one example, the kickboard is configured to be detachably coupled to the flotation device using a releasable fastening mechanism.
Still other aspects, embodiments, and advantages of these exemplary aspects and embodiments, are discussed in detail below. Any embodiment disclosed herein may be combined with any other embodiment in any manner consistent with at least one of the objects, aims, and needs disclosed herein, and references to “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “an alternate embodiment,” “various embodiments,” “one embodiment” or the like are not necessarily mutually exclusive and are intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of such terms herein are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. The accompanying drawings are included to provide illustration and a further understanding of the various aspects and embodiments, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings, together with the remainder of the specification, serve to explain principles and operations of the described and claimed aspects and embodiments.
Various aspects of at least one embodiment are discussed below with reference to the accompanying figures, which are not intended to be drawn to scale. Where technical features in the figures, detailed description or any claim are followed by references signs, the reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the figures, detailed description, and claims. Accordingly, neither the reference signs nor their absence are intended to have any limiting effect on the scope of any claim elements. In the figures, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every figure. The figures are provided for the purposes of illustration and explanation and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. In the figures:
As described above, typical inflatable boats (or baby boats) are used for young children for entertainment and safety purposes.
Another type of flotation device is a swimming board or a kickboard, which is normally used as a training device to teach older children how to swim. A typical kickboard may include a flat rectangular body having a front and a back portion. The front portion may be rounded to provide smoother movement through water and the back portion may be contoured to fit around a child's torso. The front portion may include apertures or slits used as hand holds. In using the kickboard, the child typically lies on top of the kickboard in a swimming position while holding on to the front portion of the kickboard, and the child's legs kick to propel the child through the water. The front portion of the kickboard emerges from the water, while the back portion supports the weight of the child, keeping the child afloat.
The transition from sitting in the water to using the kickboard to learn how to swim can be challenging for a child. Therefore, embodiments described herein and illustrated in
The boat portion 204 includes a well 206 having apertures 208, an upper support 220, a flotation tube 210, and fastening straps 212. As shown in this example, the kickboard 202 includes two pairs of apertures or slits 216, which can be used as hand-holds as further described below. In the boat stage, the child's legs fit through the apertures 208 and the child sits in the well 206. The well 206 is submerged in water while the flotation tube 210 supports the weight of the floating child.
The flotation tube 210 has an elongated shape forming a “U-shape” with a rounded front portion, which partially surrounds the well 206 and the upper support 220 (shown in
According to one embodiment, the flotation tube 210 may include one or more inflatable chambers, with each of the chambers including a separate valve that allows each chamber to be inflated and/or deflated independently. In one example, the length of the flotation tube 210 is approximately 26 inches while the width of the flotation device is 25.5 inches. The flotation tube 210 may include one or more arches 214 forming hand-holds, as shown in
The well 206 is contoured and includes the apertures 208. The well 206 functions as a seat in the boat stage of assembly and supports the weight of the child in a sitting position. The apertures 208 may have an oval shape with a diameter large enough to easily allow the legs of a child to fit through in both the boat stage and in the extended stage of assembly. In one example, the length of the apertures is approximately 4.5 inches and the width of the apertures is approximately 3.25 inches.
The upper support 220 is contoured in a way as to allow a portion of the kickboard to rest uniformly on top of the upper support 220, in the boat stage of assembly or when the kickboard is stored within the boat portion 204. In one example, the well 206 can extend below the bottom plane of the flotation device. However, in other examples, the well 206 can be flush with the bottom plane of the flotation device. In one embodiment, the well 206 and the upper support 220 are smaller than the total length of the flotation tube 210.
According to other embodiments, the well 206, together with the upper support 220, can extend through the length of the flotation tube 210, as shown in
In one example, the kickboard 202 has an elongated shape and further includes a front end 224 and a rear portion 226. In one embodiment, as shown in
In one embodiment, the kickboard includes two pairs of apertures or slits 216 which are disposed in the front end 224 and the rear portion 226 of the kickboard 202; first pair of slits in the front end 224 and second pair in the rear portion 226. In one example, the first pair of slits may be disposed perpendicular to the length of the kickboard and the second pair of slits is disposed parallel to the length of the kickboard. It is appreciated that the slits can be included in other orientations on the flotation device 200. The slits serve can dual functions. First, in one example, the slits can be configured to allow the fastening straps 212 to couple the kickboard 202 to the flotation tube 210, as shown in
In an alternative embodiment, the kickboard 202 is uniform in shape and does not include slits 216 or fastening straps 212. Illustrated in
As shown in
Referring again to
In at least one embodiment, as shown in
According to one embodiment, elements of both the kickboard 202 and the boat portion 204 as described herein may be constructed of plastic material. For example, in one embodiment, the plastic material is Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), reinforced PVC, PVC mesh, laminated PVC or any other plastic material.
Illustrated in
In this embodiment, the kickboard 202 can be placed in any position in relation to the boat portion 204 and can be progressively secured further away from the well 206 to accommodate for the growing size of the child. The hook and loop fasteners 222 provide enough strength to keep the kickboard in place, while a child is placed onto the kickboard. As shown in
As described above, children can sometimes feel cautious transitioning from a fully supportive, sitting flotation device to a less supportive kickboard. But through use of flotation device 200 in the various stages as described above, the child can gradually become accustomed to the swimming position. The flotation device 200 can be transformed from the boat stage to the extended stage and then to the separation stage to fit the child's stages of growth and comfort in the water.
It is to be appreciated that embodiments of the methods and apparatuses discussed herein are not limited in application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The methods and apparatuses are capable of implementation in other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Examples of specific implementations are provided herein for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. In particular, acts, elements and features discussed in connection with any one or more embodiments are not intended to be excluded from a similar role in any other embodiments.
Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Any references to embodiments or elements or acts of the systems and methods herein referred to in the singular may also embrace embodiments including a plurality of these elements, and any references in plural to any embodiment or element or act herein may also embrace embodiments including only a single element. References in the singular or plural form are not intended to limit the presently disclosed systems or methods, their components, acts, or elements. The use herein of “including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. References to “or” may be construed as inclusive so that any terms described using “or” may indicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the described terms. Any references to front and back, left and right, top and bottom, upper and lower, and vertical and horizontal are intended for convenience of description, not to limit the present systems and methods or their components to any one positional or spatial orientation.
Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure and are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only, and the scope of the invention should be determined from proper construction of the appended claims, and their equivalents.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/620,169, entitled “RECREATIONAL FLOTATION DEVICE,” filed on Apr. 4, 2012, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61620169 | Apr 2012 | US |
