Polygonally shaped inflatable raft apparatus

A inflatable raft having multiple inflation members formed into a polygonal shape wherein the panel segments include inner and outer flaps which form an overlap or closing seam wherein the outer flap includes an extended outer flap segment to form a modular member for interconnection with respect to a raft floor or cover apparatus. The extended outer flap segment also facilitates heat sealing for securement of a cover, canopy or floor with respect to an inflatable polygonal construction. The configuration of the polygonal inflatable raft with the extended outer flap segment can be used singly to form a flotation raft or can be used doubly to form an invertible inflation raft apparatus or a canopy covered inflatable raft apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention pertains generally to the field of raft designs and, 
in particular, to inflatable raft configurations having multiple straight 
outer panels sections defining inflatable chambers therein for 
establishing raft buoyancy. The polygonal shape for an inflatable raft is 
well known as being reliable and durable during harsh usage conditions 
wherein a plurality of linear inflatable sections are formed into an 
overall polygonal shape. 
The present invention further pertains to those polygonal shaped inflatable 
rafts which are vertically invertible and also those inflatable rafts 
which can include covers or canopies extending thereover. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Many prior art designs have been patented for inflatable rafts utilizing 
multiple flotation chambers defined in a plurality of outer panels such as 
U.S. Pat. No. 838,691 patented Dec. 18, 1906 to J. W. Dalton and assigned 
to Dalton Life-Saving Appliance Co. on a "Breeches Buoy"; and U.S. Pat. 
No. 1,884,705 patented Oct. 25, 1932 to W. E. Huffman on a "Pneumatic 
Boat"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,884 patented Feb. 5, 1952 to H. L. Kirby 
and assigned to Helen V. Peez on a "Life Raft"; and U.S. Pat. No. 
2,689,812 patented Sep. 21, 1954 to R. Mollica et al and assigned to 
United States Rubber Company on a "Method Of Making Inflatable Fabric 
Lined Rubber Articles"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,752,616 patented Jul. 3, 1956 
to J. Coates et al on "Inflatable Life Rafts"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,854,049 
patented Sep. 30, 1958 to S. Wyllie and assigned to Elliot Equipment 
Limited on "Collapsible Storage Tanks"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,467 
patented Mar. 10, 1959 to A Lund on a "Collapsible Raft"; and U.S. Pat. 
No. 2,933,739 patented Apr. 26, 1960 to R. Miller et al and assigned to 
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company on a "Life Raft"; and U.S. Pat. No. 
3,056,980 patented Oct. 9, 1962 to F. Holladay on "Plastic Sheeting 
Articles And Manufacture"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,930 patented Jan. 15, 
1963 to R. Fraebel and assigned to The Garrett Corporation on a "Spaced 
Tube Inflatable Life Raft"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,406 patented Apr. 21, 
1964 to J. Jones-Hinton et al and assigned to Dunlop Rubber Company 
Limited on "Radar Reflectors And Life Rafts Incorporating Same"; and U.S. 
Pat. No. 3,336,613 patented Aug. 22, 1967 to F. Wales on a "Life 
Preserver"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,428,978 patented Feb. 25, 1969 to C. 
Johnson on a "Shark Screen"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,084 patented Apr. 4, 
1972 to M. Hartman on an "Inflatable Structure"; and U.S. Pat. No. 
3,685,066 patented Aug. 22, 1972 to D. Edwards on a "Liferaft Inflation 
System"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,761 patented Oct. 30, 1973 to R. Cramer 
and assigned to The Bendix Corporation on an "Inflatable Life Raft"; and 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,983 patented Oct. 29, 1974 to W. Tangen and assigned 
to Gewako S. A. on an "Arrangement Related To Inflatable Life Rafts"; and 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,006 patented Mar. 11, 1975 to M. Hashimoto on a 
"Stabilizing Device For Buoyant Body"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,325 
patented Jan. 23, 1979 to J. Lehman and assigned to Warner-Lehman 
Corporation on an "Inflatable Flying Saucer Toy"; and U.S. Pat. No. 
4,517,914 patented May 21, 1985 to V. Geracitano on an "Inflatable 
Reversible Liferaft"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,319 patented Oct. 8, 1985 to 
M. Ferronniere et al and assigned to Zodiac on "Pneumatic Boats Of The 
Inflatable-Deflatable Type"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,443 patented Jul. 7, 
1987 to D. Edwards et al and assigned to RFD Limited on an "Inflatable 
Liferaft"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,326 patented May 17, 1988 to R. Harding 
and assigned to Avon Inflatables Limited on a "Self-Bailing Inflatable 
Boat"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,446 patented Jun. 14, 1988 to R. Sussman on 
an "Inflatable Sailboat"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,894 patented Jun. 14, 
1988 to C. Nealey and assigned to Brt Plc on a "Liferaft"; and U.S. Pat. 
No. 5,136,962 patented Aug. 11, 1992 to J. Palmer, Jr. et al on "Aquatic 
Vessels". 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides an inflatable raft apparatus having a 
polygonally shaped inflatable construction formed of a plurality of 
individual tubular shaped panel members. These panel members are end 
joined with respect to one another to form this polygonal shape. Each 
panel member is formed with an outer flap along one of the straight outer 
ends and an inner flap along the other opposite straight outer end. These 
flaps are secured to each other to seal the inflatable panel. Each panel 
member also includes arcuate side edges such that when the inner flap and 
the outer flap are heat sealed to one another to form the closing seam the 
panel will present an outer edge which is easily end joined to adjacent 
similar panel constructions. This shape will be more fully discussed in 
the detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
With the inner flap and the outer flap secured with respect to one another 
in an overlap seam the main panel wall will assume a generally tubular 
shape to define an opening in each end which will connect with a similarly 
shaped opening of an adjacently positioned main panel wall within the 
polygonal inflatable construction. The present invention provides an 
extended outer flap segment extending away from the outer flap and being 
integral therewith to facilitate attachment of peripheral items thereto. 
The use of a single piece of integral material for forming the inner flap 
as well as the main panel wall extending therefrom and the outer flap as 
well as the extended outer flap segment extending away from the outer flap 
provides a unique overall construction not shown in the prior art. The use 
of the extended outer flap segment provides a means for easily securing of 
a cover or a floor or both with respect to a single raft configuration. 
The extended outer flap segment also provides a means for securing 
multiple polygonally shaped inflatable raft segments with respect to one 
another to form an invertible raft or a covered raft design. 
Prior art inflatable raft designs do make use of an overlap seam used as 
the closing seam between an inner and outer flap of a main panel wall. 
With the present invention, however, the use of a single piece of material 
to form this entire structure as well as forming the extended outer flap 
segment provides a novel construction having unique aspects for assembly 
of such inflatable rafts. 
The extended outer flap segment of the present invention can extend 
inwardly from the polygonal inflatable member to form a floor therewithin. 
In a similar manner, however, the extended outer flap segment of the 
present invention can extend outwardly if it is desired to attach a floor 
or other member outside of the polygonally shaped inflatable member rather 
than therewithin. Furthermore, the extended outer flap segment of the 
present invention can extend solely upwardly or upwardly and inwardly to 
facilitate positioning of the canopy or cover above an inflatable raft 
apparatus. Each of these designs will be more fully explained in the 
detailed description of the preferred embodiment. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein a raft floor can be easily 
secured to the extended outer flap segment. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein heat sealing can be used to 
attach the floor to the extended outer flap segment. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein heat sealing can be utilized to 
attach the outer flap to the inner flap to form a closing overlap seam 
which is fully sealed. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein the inflatable members can be 
formed into a regular polygon shape. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein the inflatable members can be 
formed into an irregular polygon shape having different length panels or 
an odd number thereof. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein the axes of the buoyancy 
chambers defined within the panel members are linear to form the straight 
outer dimensions of the polygon shape. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein internal taping can be utilized 
extending over the heat sealed closing seam between the outer flap and the 
inner flap to facilitate sealing of the closing seal therebetween. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein V-shaped tape means can be 
utilized secured to the outer flap and inner flap to facilitate heat 
sealing and affixing of the overlap seam therebetween. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein the number of adhesive 
interconnections utilized on an inflatable raft can be minimized in order 
to eliminate this secondary operation. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein the number of seams which may be 
heat sealed within a polygonally shaped inflatable apparatus can be 
maximized to minimize labor costs and manual assembly steps. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein the amount of adhesive utilized 
in the process of assembling of an inflatable raft apparatus can be 
minimized to eliminate environmental concerns associated with such 
adhesives. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein a dual inflatable invertible 
structure can be easily achieved with the same modular design as utilized 
with a single unit inflatable raft apparatus. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein the polygonal shaped inflatable 
raft basic construction can be utilized inverted to provide the extended 
outer flap segment to facilitate connection of the cover and/or canopy 
member extending over the raft. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonally shaped 
inflatable raft apparatus having an extended outer flap segment integral 
therewith and extending therefrom wherein the same basic structure can be 
maintained to achieve the full strength and operational characteristics of 
prior art raft configurations while eliminating adhesively cemented seams 
to facilitate reliability and efficiency of the final raft design.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The present invention provides a raft 10 having a flotation member 12 of a 
general polygonal shape. Flotation member 12 is formed of a plurality of 
individual panel members 14 which are inflatable. Each panel member is 
generally tubular in shape and is formed by interconnecting an inner flap 
means 16 with an outer flap means 18 thereof to form a closing seam 20 
formed by overlapping the inner and outer flaps with respect to one 
another. The main panel wall 22 of panel member 14 extends from the inner 
flap 16 to the outer flap 18 and assumes a generally circular arc 24 in 
cross-sectional shape in order to form the tubular flotation member. The 
general configuration of such an inflatable raft is shown in FIG. 1. 
FIG. 7 shows the individual panel member 14 of the prior art prior to 
interconnecting of the inner flap 16 with respect to the outer flap 18 to 
form the closing seal 20. As shown in FIG. 7 when this panel is formed 
into the cylindrical shape the inner flap 16 will be secured to the outer 
flap 18. Each of these two flaps are linear and are adapted to be secured 
to one another to form the overlapping closing seal 20. When the closing 
seam 20 is closed the line 106 will form the innermost line of the tubular 
section as shown in FIG. 2 whereas the outermost line 108 will be the 
outermost point of the panel member 14 as also shown in FIG. 2. It should 
also be noted that the uppermost line 110 showing the blank in FIG. 7 will 
be in a position shown by reference numeral 110 in FIG. 3. Finally the 
lowermost line 112 will be positioned at the location of each of the flaps 
16 and 18 and will be the lowermost point of the circular arc 24 of the 
panel member 14. 
For theoretical constructional purposes this panel is a continuous member 
and can be cut along line 106, 108, 110 or 112 with the inner and outer 
flaps 16 and 18 attached at whichever of these points is desired to be 
cut. This would provide the closing seam in the configuration shown in 
FIG. 2 at points 106, 108, 110 or 112 as desired. In the prior art, such a 
choice of positioning was not deemed to be particularly significant. 
However, with the present invention utilizing an extended outer flap 
segment 30 integral with the outer flap 18 and extending away therefrom, 
the particular chosen position of the closing seam 20 where the inner and 
outer flap means 16 and 18 interconnect is particularly important since 
this will be the point where attachment of additional structures will be 
significantly facilitated. 
It should be noted in the configuration shown in FIG. 7 as well as in FIG. 
8 that the lateral edges 102 of the panel blank 100 are arcuate. In the 
configuration of the present invention shown in FIG. 8 the outer flap 
means 18 is shown on the left side of the figure with the extended outer 
flap segment 30 extending to the left therefrom. It should be noted that 
the extended outer flap segment 30 defines straight lateral extended sides 
104 extending therefrom which are tangential to the arcuate lateral edges 
102 of the main panel member 14 at the point of interconnection thereto. 
It is the inclusion of this integrally formed extended outer flap segment 
30 which provides the advantages of a modular construction and 
significantly expands the possibility of usage of heat sealing in regard 
to inflatable constructions. 
When the panel blank 100 of the present invention shown in FIG. 8 is formed 
through a circular arc 24 into a tubular shape 26 as shown best in FIG. 2, 
a buoyancy chamber 28 will be defined therein. This buoyancy chamber will 
be interconnected with respect to adjacent buoyancy chamber of adjacently 
positioned panel members 14 such that the buoyancy chambers 28 of each 
adjacent panel chamber will be in fluid flow communication with respect to 
one another to facilitate simultaneous inflation thereof. 
The present invention is particularly usable with respect to a floor means 
32 which preferably is of a planar and polygonal shape such that the outer 
periphery 34 of the floor 32 is adapted to be secured with respect to the 
extended outer flap segments 30 as shown best in FIG. 2. With this 
configuration, a means is provided for heat sealing of the floor means 32 
in place due to the fact that the point of securement with respect to the 
inflatable panel members 14 is now remotely positioned from the buoyancy 
chamber 28 thereof. Thus heat sealing rather than adhesive can be used to 
make this interconnection. 
On the other hand in the prior art configuration as shown best in FIG. 3, 
the adhesive connection 90 is made between the floor 32 and the tubular 
inflatable member in view of the fact that the prior art does not teach 
the usage of an extended outer flap segment 30 which would be integral 
with the panel member 14. Since floor 32 is attached directly to the 
inflatable main panel wall 22 this interconnection in prior art designs 
had to be made by adhesive rather than heat sealing. The present invention 
positions this interconnection remotely from the buoyancy chamber 28 and, 
as such, allows for heat sealing to hold the floor 32 in proper position. 
The extended outer flap segment 30 is preferably of a trapezoidal shape. 
This trapezoidal shape can be best shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. The extended 
outer flap segment 30 can extend inwardly as shown in FIG. 1 and the 
interior portion of FIG. 2 but also could be configured extending 
outwardly as shown in FIG. 6. The side cross-sectional views of the 
extended outer flap segment 30 extending inwardly is shown in FIG. 2 
whereas the side cross-sectional view of the extended outer flap segment 
30 extending outwardly is shown in FIG. 9. As such, the floor can be 
positioned within the polygonally shaped flotation member 12 or can be 
positioned outside thereof if such a configuration is desired merely by 
reversing the positioning of the seams such that the outer flap 18 extends 
over the inner flap in the outwardly projecting direction rather than the 
inwardly projecting direction. 
The present invention is usable with a regular polygon shape 38 or can be 
used with an irregular polygon shape 40. The irregular polygon shape can 
have different lengths in the individual polygonal segments or can have an 
even or odd total number of sides. 
The heat seal 42 between the floor and the skirt is best shown in FIG. 2 
and is remotely positioned from the inflatable flotation member 12 and the 
panel members 14. Heat sealing has been shown to be more reliable both as 
being durable and achieving full sealing. Adhesive seals such as those 
used in the prior art at 90 can sometimes deteriorate and can bleed 
dangerous chemicals into the water environment. Therefore under the 
consideration of a formerly reliable raft design as well as being 
environmental responsible, the usage of heat sealing over adhesive sealing 
is significantly advantageous. 
It should be appreciated that the longitudinal openings 46 facilitate 
communication between adjacent tubular chambers. Also in the additional 
elements interconnected to the main flotation member 12 such as arches or 
other external structure can also be interconnected for fluid flow 
communication to facilitate simultaneous inflation thereof when the main 
inflation member 12 is inflated. 
It should be appreciated that in prior art configurations, as shown in FIG. 
3, an inner sealing tape 48 is used as well as an outer sealing tape 50. 
Preferably the outer sealing tape is V-shaped. It should be further 
appreciated that the present invention although providing an alternative 
means for securing of a floor 32 with respect to the panel members 14 does 
allow for full usage of the conventional inner and outer sealing tapes 48 
and 50 as shown in the prior art. These tapes can be utilized to further 
secure the closing seal 20 and for strengthening and assuring full sealing 
thereof. 
The present invention is particularly usable for forming a single raft 
utilizing an internal polygonally shaped floor as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
However the present invention is also useful in utilizing the basic 
singular modular design shown in the FIG. 2 configuration for forming more 
complex structures such as the invertible raft 92 shown in FIG. 4 or the 
covered raft 94 as shown in FIG. 6. 
The invertible raft 92 shown in FIG. 4 includes a first polygonally shaped 
flotation member 58 having a first panel 60 and a first inner flap 62 and 
a first outer flap 64 sealed with respect to one another along a first 
closing seam 66. A first panel wall section 68 extends between the inner 
and outer flaps 62 and 64 to define a first buoyancy chamber 70 therein. A 
first extended outer flap segment 72 extends inwardly from the first outer 
flap 64 to facilitate attaching of an inner floor thereto. 
In a similar configuration a second polygonally shaped flotation member 74 
is formed by a plurality of second panel members 76 which are end joined 
together and are each individually formed by securement of a second inner 
flap 78 with respect to a second outer flap 80 to form a second closing 
seam 82. The second panel wall section will extend between the individual 
flaps 78 and 80 to form a second buoyancy chamber 86 therein. A second 
extended outer flap segment 88 will extend inwardly from the second outer 
flap 80. With this configuration the first extended outer flap segment 72 
and the second extended outer flap segment 88 will be positioned 
immediately adjacent to one another preferably with the floor member 32 
secured thereto and positioned therebetween. With this configuration the 
raft design shown in FIG. 4 is fully invertible and, as such, is made 
extremely difficult to capsize. It is also preferable that the first panel 
member 60 and the second panel member 76 themselves be individually 
interconnected to facilitate structural integrity of the design. 
In an alternative configuration as shown in FIG. 5 the closing seam is 
chosen on the opposite sides of the first and second panel members 60 and 
76 respectively. With this configuration the panel members can be 
interconnected with respect to one another such as at interconnection 
point 96 and also can include reinforcing material 98 extending 
therebetween to strengthen this interconnection. With this configuration 
the first flotation member 58 shown in FIG. 5 as the lower flotation 
member will achieve the standard floor design shown in the configuration 
of FIG. 2. On the other hand, however, the second flotation member 74 
shown as the upper flotation member in FIG. 5 will allow a cover member 54 
or canopy 56 to be secured thereto to extend over the raft to provide 
additional protection to users thereof. 
As such, you can see that the single basic modular configuration shown in 
FIG. 2 can be used to form a basic raft design as shown in FIG. 2 as well 
as an inflatable raft design as shown in FIG. 4 as well as a covered raft 
design as shown in FIG. 5. This modularity of the design is made possible 
by the use of the extended outer flap segment 30 which provides a point 
for connection to a tubular inflatable panel member 14 at a remote 
location thereof such that heat sealing is made possible and the 
attachment of different types of external construction is made possible.