Pneumatic seesaw apparatus

An elongated unitary inflatable vessel of thin, flexible sheet material includes a pair of relatively large volume, generally circular-shaped, hollow seats at opposite ends interconnected by an integrally formed central conduit of relatively smaller transverse cross-section. Each seat includes an upper seating surface for supporting a person in an elevated position above the floor and the person on one seat may force the seating surface downwardly toward the floor thereby moving air from the seat into the conduit to raise the elevation of the opposite seat and provide a seesaw action.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to pneumatic seesaw apparatus and more 
particularly to pneumatic amusement devices particularly well suited for 
use by young children and the like. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Teeter-totters or seesaws have long been popular with young children and 
air inflatable devices including large figure toys or beach toys, have 
been increasingly popular as the manufacture of thin, flexible plastic 
films or sheet material has been developed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,578,318; 
3,836,141; 3,884,463 and 3,997,157 disclose pneumatic amusement and seesaw 
type devices and games that have been provided heretofore. 
OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved 
pneumatic seesaw or teeter-totter for use by young children and the like. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved pneumatic 
amusement device which is light in weight, readily collapsible and 
inflatable with air and which provides education, exercise and amusement 
for one or more persons such as young children. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and 
improved pneumatic seesaw apparatus designed for use by young children to 
improve motor skills and at the same time, provide social interaction 
between two young children playing together. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and 
improved pneumatic seesaw device which is easily stored away and requires 
little storage space when not in use and which is easily inflated into an 
enlarged condition, ready for use. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and 
improved pneumatic seesaw apparatus having a unique and pleasing design 
appearance without sharp edges or corners so that the likelihood of injury 
during handling or play with the apparatus is minimized. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention are 
accomplished in a new and improved pneumatic seesaw comprising an 
elongated, hollow, unitary, air-tight pressure vessel formed of thin, 
flexible, plastic film or sheet material and adapted to contain a volume 
of air under pressure. The seesaw apparatus includes a pair of relatively 
large volume, generally circular-shaped, hollow seats at opposite ends 
interconnected by an integral, centrally disposed, hollow tubular conduit 
with an internal volume substantially less than that of the 
circular-shaped seat and having a transverse dimension and cross-sectional 
area substantially less than that of the seats. Each seat includes an 
upper seating surface for supporting a person such as a child in an 
elevated position above the floor and the child on one seat may force the 
upper seating surface downwardly towards the floor thereby to move air 
from the seat into the conduit for elevating the child on the opposite 
seat and vice versa.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now more particularly to the drawings, therein is illustrated a 
new and improved pneumatic seesaw apparatus or teeter-totter constructed 
in accordance with the features of the present invention and referred to 
generally by the reference numeral 10. Generally, the seesaw apparatus is 
formed in the shape of a large dog bone or flattened dumbbell and includes 
a pair of relatively large volume, generally circular-shaped seats 12 at 
opposite ends and internally interconnected with each other through a 
relatively narrow, elongated central conduit portion 14. Each seat 12 is 
adapted to support a person such as a young child 16 in sitting position 
above the surface of a floor 18 or other surface. 
As illustrated, the pneumatic seesaw is generally dumbbell shaped and is 
formed by an upper piece of thin, flat, flexible, resilient, plastic film 
or sheet material 20 and a similar shaped lower piece 22. The upper and 
lower pieces are joined together by heat sealing in a seam 24 extending 
around the peripheral edge and the seam is positioned at a mid level of 
the seesaw when inflated with air as shown in FIG. 3. The peripheral, heat 
sealed seam 24 provides a degree of rigidity and strength for the 
apparatus when inflated. The upper and lower halves are initially made of 
patterns cut out from flat stock or sheets such as thin, strong, polyvinyl 
chloride film or the like. The upper and lower patterns 20 and 22 are 
gathered together around the peripheral edges at the seam 24 when the heat 
sealing process takes place so that the generally cylindrical-shaped seats 
12 take the profile of an ellipse when viewed in vertical cross-section 
when inflated as shown in FIG. 3. 
The interconnecting, intermediate, conduit portion 14 is of a similar, but 
smaller elliptically-shaped, transverse cross-section, and the underside 
of the central conduit portion is normally spaced above the floor surface 
18 providing an open space 26 as illustrated. An air valve mechanism 28 is 
provided on the upper half 20 of the apparatus along the center of the 
conduit portion 14 and the mechanism is of the type adapted to accommodate 
either a mechanical air pump or permit a person to blow into a valve stem 
to inflate the apparatus 10 by lung power. The air valve mechanism 
includes a removable stopper which is used to close off the valve stem 
after inflation and the stopper is removable to permit the air in the 
apparatus to rapidly escape so that the seesaw may be flattened out after 
complete deflation. When the apparatus is in a flattened out, deflated 
condition, very little space is required for storage when the apparatus is 
not being used. 
The seesaw apparatus includes a pair of handles in the form of loops 30 
formed of elongated strips of strong, thin, flexible material and each is 
looped around the narrow central conduit portion 14 so that an upper 
portion may be conveniently grasped by a child 16 sitting on a seat 
portion. 
In operation, a volume of air under pressure inside the inflatable seesaw 
apparatus is selected to have a pressure sufficient to support a child in 
sitting position on each of the seats 12 at a level elevated above the 
floor surface 18. In order to seesaw up and down, one child places his 
feet on the floor and lifts his body upwardly to release the weight 
exerted on the seat below. When this occurs, some of the volume of air in 
the other seat and conduit moves in to raise the upper surface of the seat 
and then the child permits his body to move downwardly onto the seat with 
force as indicated by the arrow "A". Some of the air in the seat beneath 
this child is then forced into the conduit section 14 and the upper 
surface on the opposite seat raises causing the child thereon to be raised 
as indicated by the arrow "B". The seesaw process is then repeated in 
reverse and two children may thus act to achieve a seesaw action back and 
forth as the air volume within the apparatus 10 is displaced back and 
forth between the seats 12 at opposite ends to raise and lower the 
respective seats under the children on the seesaw. Sufficient air pressure 
is introduced into the inflatable apparatus before play is commenced so 
that the upper half 20 of the seats 12 does not tend to bottom out against 
the floor 18 during normal play. When heavier children use the apparatus, 
the inflating air pressure is, of course, increased and with lighter or 
smaller children, the air pressure may be decreased somewhat. The straps 
30 are loosely connected about the intermediate conduit portion 14 and 
provide a convenient means for holding on during the seesaw action. 
The pneumatic seesaw apparatus 10 is useful in developing motor skills of 
young children and can serve as a source of amusement during long hours of 
play and social interaction between two or more young children. 
Although the present invention has been described with reference to a 
single illustrated embodiment thereof, it should be understood that 
numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those 
skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the 
principles of this invention.