Air and foam collar for watercraft
OwnerWilliam M. Hanseninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A collar assembly for a watercraft includes an elongate tubular casing with a lengthwise sealable opening. A foam core is removably positioned in the tubular casing, and includes a body portion and a plurality of circumferentially spaced foam springs that extend outwardly to engage the tubular casing, to bias the foam core towards a center position in the tubular casing. In some embodiments a body portion of the foam core has a circular cross section, and the foam springs are co-formed with the body portion. In some embodiments the foam core comprises a plurality of longitudinal sections that are enclosed in a membrane having an inflation valve that extends through the tubular casing.
Claims20
An inflatable flotation assembly for a watercraft comprising:
- an elongate tubular casing having a sealable opening extending along a length of the tubular casing;
- a foam core configured to be inserted into the tubular casing through the sealable opening, the foam core comprising:
- a body portion having an outer surface;
- and
- at least three circumferentially spaced apart foam springs extending outwardly from the outer surface of the body portion, wherein the foam springs are sized and configured to bias against an interior surface of the tubular casing such that the at least three foam springs bias the body portion toward a centered position in the tubular casing.
A rigid hull inflatable boat comprising:
- a hull;
- a tubular casing configured to be mounted to a perimeter of the hull, the tube assembly having a sealable opening extending along a length of the tubular casing;
- and
- a foam core inserted into the tubular casing through the sealable opening, the foam core comprising a plurality of foam core segments disposed in the tubular casing, wherein each of the foam core segments comprise a foam member having a body portion and a plurality of elongate foam springs extending outwardly from the body portion to bias against the tubular casing, and a sealable membrane enclosing the foam member, wherein the sealable membrane has an inflation valve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.