Floating platform for decorative articles

A floating platform for supporting articles in a swimming pool or other body of water. The platform has a toroidal outer chamber filled with air, a toroidal middle chamber filled with water, and a toroidal inner chamber filled with air. An article supporting member that may take the form of one or more upstanding hollow columns projects upwardly from the inner chamber. The article supporting member in one embodiment is in fluid communication with the inner chamber but in a second embodiment it is not. In either embodiment, a decorative article such as an inflated flamingo, dolphin or other work of art may be in fluid communication with the support member or members. The weight of the water in the middle chamber provides a stable foundation to maintain the supported article in an upright disposition, and the pressure of the air in the inner and outer chambers maintains the water in the middle chamber in an evenly distributed disposition.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates, generally, to platforms for supporting articles, 
and more particularly relates to a floating platform for supporting an 
inflated article. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The present inventor filed a patent application entitled "(insert title of 
application") or (insert filing date). That application, still pending, 
disclosed a floating platform of generally disc-shaped configuration, 
i.e., the platform appears circular when seen in plan view; when viewed in 
side elevation, the platform is seen to have an upper chamber and a lower 
chamber. The lower chamber is filled with water to anchor the platform, 
and the upper chamber is filled with air to provide buoyancy. Moreover, 
the upper chamber is in fluid communication with a hollow upstanding 
article support means that projects upwardly therefrom, and an inflated 
decorative article is supported by such support means. 
While the platform just described has utility, it has been found that the 
weight of the water in the lower chamber does not stabilize the platform 
to the extend desired. Thus, there is a need for a floating platform of 
increased stability. 
The prior art also includes means for displaying decorative articles such 
as dolphins in pools where the article is maintianed in an upright 
position by means of weights. However, this type of display immerses the 
article to be displayed in water and thus hides from view a substantial 
amount of the display article. 
Thus, there is also a need for a device that can display articles above the 
water line so that the entire article can be seen. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention has four parts that cooperate with one another to 
provide a floating platform of increased stability and versatility: an 
air-filled outer chamber, a water-filled middle chamber, an air-filled 
inner chamber and an air filled article supporting means in the form of 
one or more hollow columns that project upwardly from the inner chamber. 
Each of the three chambers is of toroidal configuration. The air in the 
outer and inner chambers surrounds the water in the middle chamber and 
compresses it, forcing it to maintain its toroidal shape. 
The article supporting means may or may not be in fluid communication with 
the inner chamber, depending upon the embodiment constructed. Where it is 
desired to isolate the article supporting means from the inner chamber, a 
wall impermeable to gaseous fluids separates the two and each member is 
provided with its own gaseous fluid inlet means. Where no wall separates 
the two, a common inlet means is provided. 
It is the primary object of this invention to provide a stable floating 
platform for decorative works of art of the type that would enhance the 
appearance of a swimming pool. 
A more fundamental object is to provide floating platforms for the support 
of sundry other items, whether decorative or not, in environments other 
than swimming pools. 
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, 
combination of elements and arrangements of parts that will be exemplified 
in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention 
will be indicated in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to FIG. 1, it will there be seen that the inventive structure 
is designated by the reference numeral 10 as a whole. 
The platform 10 includes a toroidal outer chamber 12, a concentric toroidal 
middle chamber 14, and a concentric disc-shaped inner chamber 16. 
Annular wall 18 divides outer chamber 12 from middle chamber 14, and 
annular wall 20 divides middle chamber 14 from inner chamber 16. 
A pair of laterally spaced, hollow columns 22, 24 are secured to and 
project upwardly from inner chamber 16, as best shown by FIGS. 2-4. These 
columns are used to support an inflatable article such as the flamingo 26 
shown in FIG. 4. 
A single, centered column 28, shown in phantom lnes in FIG. 1, could be 
employed in lieu of columns 22, 24, however, or more than two columns 
could be employed as well since any plurality of columns are within the 
scope of this invention. 
Outer chamber 12 is filled with a gaseous fluid such as air at inlet means 
30 (FIG. 4); inner chamber 14 is filled with a liquid fluid such as water 
at inlet means 32 and inner chamber 16 is filled with a gaseous fluid such 
as air at inlet means 34. 
As shown in FIG. 3, article support members 22, 24 are in fluid 
communication with inner chamber 16 and as shown in FIG. 4, the interior 
of the decorative article 26 is in fluid communication with supports 22, 
24 as well. Thus, air introduced into inlet means 34 will fill inner 
chamber 16, columns 22, 24 and the inflated decorative article 26. 
Where it is desired to isolate the columns 22, 24 from inner chamber 16, a 
separate inlet means 36 on the figure 26 or a separate inlet means 38 on 
either support column would be employed. 
Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, it will there be observed that annular 
walls 18 and 20 assume a convex shape as depicted when the respective 
chambers are filled with air and water. Middle chamber 14 is charged with 
water as aforesaid, which water presses both radially outwardly and 
radially inwardly to bear against annular walls 18 and 20, respectively. 
Air in chambers 12 and 16 maintains the water in chamber 14 in a definite 
toroidal configuration, however. The air pressure that both surrounds and 
is surrounded by the water serves to bottle the water in a manner 
remniscient of the magnetic bottling of plasma in Tokomak-type fusion 
reactors. 
Accordingly, the stability and effectiveness of the platform are 
considerable. The inner and outer chambers provide the desired buoyancy 
while the middle chamber provides weight to keep the platform 10 from 
tipping over in windy conditions. 
The platform has been shown as toroidal in configuration, but any other 
geometrical configuration could be employed as well. Thus, FIG. 1 should 
be construed as depicting a triangular or other polygonal platform as 
well. 
FIG. 5 depicts how a decorative article in the form of a dolphin is 
displayed in a pool in accordance with the techniques of the prior art. 
The dolphin 40 is provided with a weighted end 42 which maintains it in 
upright position, but the major portion of the dolphin is underwater and 
hidden from view. 
FIG. 6 shows how the complete body of a dolphin or other animal can be 
displayed above water with the inventive device 10. A dolphin 44 is shown 
supported by a single article support column 28. 
In FIGS. 4 and 6 the article supported by the article support members has 
at least one portion which extends downwardly to the level of the platform 
10 so as to further stabilize the article and platform. 
Thus, it is clear that the versatility of the novel platform 10 opens up a 
new arena for creative design of pool decorations. Moreover, the design of 
a toroidal chamber of water sandwiched between toroidal chambers of air 
has applications extending to open water platforms for sundry items as 
well. 
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, and those made 
apparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained and 
since certain changes may be made in the above construction without 
departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters 
contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying 
drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover 
all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein 
described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a 
matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.