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US3798690A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Light-weight, inflated-structure boat

Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1972-02-11
•
Granted: 1974-03-26
•
Expires: 1992-02-11
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Abstract

Abstract A vehicle, preferably a raft or other boat (e.g., a life raft, outboard-motor boat, cabin-cruiser vessel or flying boat) having a light-weight, very buoyant frame that comprises strongly inflated, doughnut-shaped tubes arranged flatwise within boat skin means and foam plastic between the skins and tubes. The tubes have walls that are thin and light in weight, optionally non-extensible (preferably stiffly resilient) or expansible (preferably resilient) optionally of material non-permeable to gas (e.g., aluminum, dense plastic, very thin iron, very thin steel (preferably resilient), or glass). The preferably resilient skin means may comprise: molded, optionally fiber-reinforced plastic; or pieces of thin sheeting (of very thin iron such as common-can material, very thin resilient steel or resilient phosphor bronze; pieces of plastic sheeting; marine plywood; fabric - textile or metallic netting or other, more closely woven fabric (cloth), these pieces of sheeting, plywood or fabric being joined together (thus inclosing at least most of the tubes) by epoxy, silicone sealant or other bonding material and/or by rivets, bolts or thread. Stucco comprising cement and aggregate (filler) optionally may be applied in situ, the cement being optionally Portland-and-lime cement but preferably comprising plastic-when-applied rubber (e.g., pliobond) or epoxy or silicone sealant. In the central spaces of the doughnut-shaped tubes there is preferably located a tube-and-skin-bracing element (optionally a core of substantially rigid or stiffly resilient foam plastic), or a plate-glass or plexiglass window. The tubes are preferably connected at their contacting peripheries by material that is preferably resilient (optionally bonding material which for example may be silicone sealant, other plastic-when-applied rubber, or epoxy).

Inventors

  • 👤 A Moore

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-23 06:56
CPC Classifications
B; B63; B63B; B63B7/00; B63B7/06; B63B7/08; B63B5/00; B63B5/24

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim 16 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which said connecting means comprises bonding material.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 44 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, adapted to float in water, in which the said tubes of the upright walls have more volume than the tubes of said deck and the vehicle has a center of buoyancy above its center of gravity.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 51 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which the central spaces in at least some of the doughnut-shaped tubes of said upright walls are open from an area above said deck to the exterior of the vehicle, adapted to permit extension of a bather''s arms thru the tube openings.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 87 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which: at least the majority of the tubes of said deck are in juxtaposed fore-and-aft rows; the centers of these tubes in each of the said rows are substantially in a straight fore-and-aft line; the tubes of at least some of the adjacent pairs of said rows are staggered; the outermost side rows have fewer tubes than a middle one of the rows; and the forward and after ends of the vehicle are quasi-triangular in horizontal cross section.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 47 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which: said deck skin means comprises parallel, planar sheets of firm stiff material; the said tubes of the deck are between said sheets; and the vehicle includes flexible, waterproofed skin means on the tubes of said upright walls.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 14 words
Structure as set forth in claim 1, in which said vehicle is a boat.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 20 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, comprising porous-plastic filler material between adjacent external peripheries of said deck-frame tubes.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 17 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 8, in which said porous-plastic filler material comprises foamed plastic.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 19 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 8, comprising porous-plastic filler material in central spaces of said deck-frame tubes.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 24 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, comprising porous-plastic filler material between adjacent external peripheries of said deck-frame tubes and said wall-frame tubes.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 20 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 11, comprising porous-plastic filler material in at least some of said wall-frame tubes.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 42 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which: said upright walls comprise forward and after walls attached to a pair of side walls; and said vehicle comprises a top, attached to upper portions of said forward, after and side walls.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 51 words
Structure as set forth in claim 13, comprising a cabin boat, in which the said top is an upper deck and comprises: a top skin means; within said top skin means at least one top fore-and-aft row of aligned doughnut-shaped tubes; and gaseous material within the tubes of said top row.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 37 words
Structure as set forth in claim 14, in which each of said forward and after walls comprises: wall-skin means; doughnut-shaped tubes arranged flatwise within said last-named skin means; and gaseous material within each of said last-named tubes.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 18 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which said gaseous material comprises gas under above-atmospheric pressure.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 35 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, having a center of buoyancy above its center of gravity, in which the said gaseous material in at least some of the upright-wall tubes comprises lighter-than-air gas.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim 55 words
Structure as set forth in claim 1, comprising a topless vessel, adapted to float in water and to support at least one person, in which the volume of said wall-frame tubes is greater than that of said deck-frame tubes, and said vessel has a center of buoyancy above the top surface of said deck-skin means.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim 24 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, comprising a central element, lighter than water, in the central space of each doughnut-shaped deck tube.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim 15 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 19, in which said central element comprises plastic.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim 27 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 20, in which said plastic is foamed plastic, and said central element comprises a lighter-than-air unit in said foameD plastic.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim 37 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, floatable in water comprising a pair of catamaran floats, attached to said deck, each of said floats comprising float-skin means and doughnut-shaped tubes arranged flatwise in said float-skin means.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim 51 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 22, in which: each of said deck and float tubes comprises resilient tube-wall material; each of said deck-skin means and said float-skin means comprises resilient material; and said vehicle comprises a central tube-bracing element in the central space of each of said doughnut-shaped tubes.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim 25 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 23, in which said central element is circular in cross section and in weight is lighter than water.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim 38 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 23, in which: said tubes contain gas under above-atmospheric pressure; said tube-wall material is extensible; and said skin means and central element limit expansion of said tube-wall material under gaseous pressure.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim 91 words
A vehicle, comprising: a load-supporting deck, having: deck-skin means; and at least one fore-and-aft row of aligned, doughnut-shaped deck-frame tubes, assembled flatwise in said deck-skin means; a plurality of upright walls, each wall of at least one pair of said walls comprising: wall-skin means; a plurality of aligned, doughnut-shaped wall-frame tubes, associated flatwise in said skin means; and at least one windowed element in the central space of one of said doughnut-shaped wall-frame tubes; gaseous material inside each of said doughnut-shaped tubes; and vehicle-strength-providing means connecting said deck and walls together.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim 20 words
A vehicle as set forth in claim 26, comprising porous filler material between adjacent external peripheries of said deck-frame tubes.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US1704612A Cited
US2004411A Cited
US2797201A Cited
US3237218A Cited
US3450374A Cited
US3443776A Cited
US3490085A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1977-03-25 1977-09-24 1978-03-26 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1981-03-25 1981-09-24 1982-03-26 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1985-03-25 1985-09-24 1986-03-26 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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