Abstract:
An assembly has a floating support having a periphery defined by at least one floatation device, with the periphery defining an interior space. The floating support further includes a first sheet material extending in the interior space and coupled to the floatation device(s). The assembly also has a panel having a foldable frame member that has a folded and an unfolded orientation, and a second sheet material covering portions of the frame member when the frame member is in the unfolded orientation. The panel has opposing end edges that are attached to the periphery of the floating support.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to collapsible structures, and in particular, to a collapsible floating assembly which may be twisted and folded to reduce the overall size of the assembly to facilitate convenient storage and use.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    Collapsible objects have recently become popular with both adults and children. Examples of such collapsible objects are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,812 (Norman), U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,794 (Zheng) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,385 (Zheng) in the form of collapsible structures. These structures can be used as play structures, shelters, tents, and storage structures, among other uses. These structures may be twisted and folded to reduce the overall size of the structures to facilitate convenient storage and use. As such, these structures are being enjoyed by many people in many different applications.  
           [0005]    Other examples of collapsible objects include blanket, mat and floating assemblies as illustrated in one or more of U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,283 (Zheng), U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,100 (Le Gette et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,391 (Le Gette et al.). These assemblies can be used as blankets, floor mats, and floating mats. These blankets and mats may be twisted and folded to reduce the overall size of the blanket or mat to facilitate convenient storage and use.  
         SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE  
         [0006]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved floating assembly that can be folded and collapsed into a smaller configuration for convenient storage and transportation.  
           [0007]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a floating assembly that offers flexibility in use.  
           [0008]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a floating assembly whose components can be separated for storage and cleaning.  
           [0009]    In order to accomplish the objects of the present invention, there is provided an assembly that has a floating support having a periphery defined by at least one floatation device, with the periphery defining an interior space. The floating support further includes a first sheet material extending in the interior space and coupled to the floatation device(s). The assembly also has a panel having a foldable frame member that has a folded and an unfolded orientation, and a second sheet material covering portions of the frame member when the frame member is in the unfolded orientation. The panel has opposing end edges that are attached to the periphery of the floating support. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a floating assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in use in its expanded configuration.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 1 taken along line A—A thereof in accordance with one embodiment.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 1 taken along line A—A thereof in accordance with another embodiment.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 1 taken along line B—B thereof.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 illustrates a removable attachment mechanism that can be used to removably attach the shade to the floating support in FIG. 1.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 6-11 illustrate how the assembly of FIG. 1 can be twisted and folded for compact storage. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0016]    The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.  
         [0017]    Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and  3 , the present invention provides a floating assembly  20  that can be used as a floating mat for supporting an adult, a child, an animal or any other object on a pool of water. The assembly  20  can assume any configuration, such as circular, oval, rectangular, square, trapezoidal, or irregular.  
         [0018]    The assembly  20  has two primary components, a floating support  22  and a shade  24 .  
         [0019]    The floating support  22  has a periphery  30  that is defined by one or more floatation devices. The floatation device(s) can be embodied in several forms. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a single floatation device  32  can be provided which extends around the entire circumference of the periphery  30 . As another example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, one or more floatation devices (e.g., FIG. 3 shows two floatation devices  34 ,  35 ) can be retained inside a peripheral sleeve  36 . The floatation devices  32 ,  34 ,  35  can be embodied in any desirable structure, including but not limited to one or more foam pieces, or one or more inflatable bags that are made of plastics, PVC, and similar materials known in the art. FIG. 3 illustrates the use of inflatable bags  34 ,  35 , each of which has a hollow interior that is adapted to receive an inflation medium (e.g., air or liquid) via a port  38  that extends through the sleeve  36 . As shown in FIG. 1, the single floatation device  32 , or the plurality of floatation devices  34  together, define a generally oval shape that extends completely within the confines of the peripheral sleeve  36 .  
         [0020]    A sheet material  40  extends within the internal space defined by the peripheral floatation device  32  or the sleeve  36 , and is held taut (i.e., in a stretched orientation) by the floatation devices  32  or  34 ,  35  when the floatation devices  32  or  34 , 35  are fully inflated. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, if the single floatation device  32  in FIG. 2 is embodied in the form of an inflatable bag, then the floatation device  32  can be stitched directly to the sheet material  40 . In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the sheet material  40  can be stitched directly to the sleeve  36 . The term “sheet material” is to be given its broadest meaning and should be made from strong, flexible yet lightweight materials and may include woven fabrics, sheet fabrics, meshed fabrics, nylons or even films. The sheet material  40  can be water-resistant and durable to withstand the wear and tear associated with extended use, and rough treatment by adults and children. The sheet material  40  can also allow water to pass therethrough, which can be facilitated by using a meshed material, or by providing openings  42  in the sheet material  40 .  
         [0021]    Accessories can be provided to the floating support  22 . For example, a specifically-shaped opening  44  can be provided on the sheet material  40  adjacent the sleeve  36  or floatation device  32  to function as a cup holder. As another example, an additional inflatable section  46  can be provided at one end  72  (i.e., the “head” end) of the floating support  22  to function as a pillow or cushion. The inflatable section  46  can be embodied in the form of a separate inflatable bag that is stitched or otherwise attached (fixedly or removably) to the sheet material  40 , or as part of any of the floatation devices  32 ,  34 ,  35  described above and inflated together with them.  
         [0022]    The shade  24  can be embodied in the form of a collapsible panel  50 . Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the panel  50  has a peripheral edge  52  that is defined by a peripheral frame retaining sleeve  54 . A continuous frame member  56  is retained or held within the frame retaining sleeve  54  such that the frame member  56  extends completely around the peripheral edge  52 .  
         [0023]    The continuous frame member  56  may be provided as one continuous loop, or may be a strip of material connected at both ends to form a continuous loop. The continuous frame member  56  is preferably formed of flexible coilable steel, although other materials such as plastics may also be used. The frame member  56  should be made of a material which is relatively strong and yet is flexible to a sufficient degree to allow it to be coiled. Thus, the frame member  56  is capable of assuming two positions, an open or expanded position such as shown in FIG. 1, or a folded position (see FIG. 11) in which the frame member is collapsed into a size which is much smaller than its open position. The frame member  56  may be merely retained within the frame retaining sleeve  54  without being connected thereto. Alternatively, the frame retaining sleeve  54  may be mechanically fastened, stitched, fused, or glued to the frame member  56  to retain the frame member  56  in position.  
         [0024]    A sheet material  60  extends within the internal space defined by the frame retaining sleeve  54 , and is held taut by the frame member  56  when the frame member  56  is in its open position. The sheet material  60  can be made from any of the materials described above for the sheet material  40 . The sheet material  60  is attached to the frame retaining sleeve  54 , which may be formed by folding a piece of fabric and applying a stitching  76 .  
         [0025]    The panel  50  can have a generally rectangular or oval configuration, and has two opposing end edges  62  and  64 . Each end edge  62 ,  64  can be either fixedly or removably attached to the sleeve  36  or the floatation device  32  on opposite sides of the floating support  22  adjacent one end of the floating support  22 , preferably adjacent the head end  72  of the floating support  22  where the pillow  46  is positioned. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates that the end edges  62 ,  64  are fixedly attached to the sleeve  36  or the floatation device  32  by stitching, with interconnecting fabric portions  66  provided to further facilitate this attachment by filling in the rounded corners of the end edges  62 ,  64 . FIG. 5 illustrates the use of a snap buckle  70  to removably connect the end edges  62 ,  64  to the sleeve  36  or the floatation device  32 . The removable connection between the end edges  62 ,  64  and the sleeve  36  or the floatation device  32  can also be accomplished by other known removable attachment mechanisms, such as but not limited to VELCRO™ pads, hooks, toggles and latches.  
         [0026]    The flexible and coilable nature of the frame member  56  allows the panel  50  to be flexed so that the end edges  62 ,  64  can be attached to the sleeve  36  or the floatation device  32  to enclose a covered space between the panel  50  and the floating support  22 . In this regard, the flexing of the panel  50  obviates the need to provide a plurality of panels to enclose the covered space. The floating support  22  functions to hold the panel  50  in its flexed configuration.  
         [0027]    In use, the user can inflate the floatation device(s)  32 ,  34 ,  35  and then place the assembly  20  onto a body of water (e.g., swimming pool, beach, lake, etc.). The user can then climb on to the top surface of the sheet material  40  and then lie on the assembly  20  as the assembly  20  floats on the water. The user can position his or her head on the pillow  46 , so that the panel  50  can function to shade the user&#39;s head from the sunlight.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIGS. 6-11 illustrate one method for collapsing and storing the assembly  20 . First, as shown in FIG. 6, the user deflates the floatation device(s)  32 ,  34 ,  35  so that the entire floating support  22  can have a generally flat profile. Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the floating support  22  can be rolled up from the foot end  74  towards the head end  72 , until the entire rolled-up floating support  22  is positioned under the panel  50  (see FIG. 8). At this time, the assembly  20  can be folded and collapsed into a compact configuration for storage. As shown in FIG. 9, the opposite end edges  62 ,  64  of the panel  50  are folded in (see arrows  80  and  82 ) to collapse the frame member  56  with the sheet material  60 . The floating support  22  is collapsed and folded along with the panel  56  because the materials used for the floating support  22  are soft and flexible. As shown in FIG. 10, the next step is to continue the folding and collapsing so that the initial size of the panel  50  is reduced. FIG. 11 shows the next step with the frame member  56 , sheet material  60 , and the floating support  22  collapsed on each other to provide for a small essentially compact configuration having a plurality of concentric frame members  56  and layers of the sheet material  60  so that the collapsed assembly  20  has a size which is a fraction of the size of the initial assembly  20 .  
         [0029]    In addition, a retaining member or strap  84  (shown in FIG. 11 only) may be attached to the peripheral edge  52  of the panel  50 , and may be used to tie or hold the collapsed assembly  20  in the collapsed position. Alternatively, a bag (not shown) may be used to store the collapsed assembly  20 .  
         [0030]    The assembly  20  can be expanded again by opening the coiled frame member  56 . The bias and resiliency of the frame member  56  will cause the frame member  56  (and the attached sheet material  60 ) to automatically open out to the expanded position shown in FIG. 8. At this point, the floating support  22  can be unrolled (i.e., by reversing the steps shown in FIGS. 6-8) and the user can re-inflate the floatation device(s)  32 ,  34 ,  35  for use.  
         [0031]    If the panel  50  is removably attached to the floating support  22 , the panel  50  can be separated from the floating support  22  so that either the panel  50  or the floating support  22  (or both) can be washed or replaced (if defective) separately. For example, different shades  24  (each having different indicia or designs imprinted on the sheet material  60 ) can be alternated for use by the user as desired. In addition, the panel  50  and the floating support  22  can be collapsed and stored separately. For example, the floating support  22  can be rolled up for storage, and the panel  50  can be twisted and folded according to the steps shown in FIGS. 9-11 to reduce the size of the panel  50  for storage.  
         [0032]    While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.