Abstract:
An article of manufacture is disclosed comprising a circular or nearly circular elastic band of suitable diameter, length, depth and width, and at least one foot integrated onto the elastic band. Also disclosed is the foot releasably attached to said elastic band via a means for attaching. Also disclosed is the foot further comprising an aperture in said foot. Also disclosed is the foot further comprising a means for connecting in said foot. Also disclosed is a means for interlocking attached to the means for connecting in said foot, either permanently or releasably attached to said foot.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This Nonprovisional Application for Patent incorporates by reference (to the extent it does not conflict with the disclosure herein) and claims the benefit and priority of pending Provisional Application having Ser. No. 61/010,168 filed Jan. 4, 2008 entitled “Cylinder Anti-Roll/Slide Device,” commonly owned with the instant Application. 
     
    
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
       [0002]    A portion of the disclosure of this Patent document, including the drawings and Appendices, contain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the Patent document or the Patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office Patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    Versions and embodiments of the present invention relate generally to devices for cylinders. More particularly, versions of the invention relate to cylinders used to contain gases under pressure. Specifically, a version of the invention relates to a scuba tank cylinder (air tank) anti-roll and/or anti-slide safety device and new, useful and unobvious versions thereof. 
         [0005]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0006]    As is well understood by one skilled in the art, for many years the traditional method for transporting scuba tanks (and other similar type tanks) in cars, truck, boats and other vehicles has been to simply stack them next to each other and/or put towels between the scuba tanks to prevent them from rolling and/or hitting each other. For instance, sometimes scuba tanks are transported in the bed of a pick-up truck or trunk of a car, especially for recreation scuba divers that are not professionals. The traditional transportation device (or lack thereof) has disadvantages, especially when in moving vehicles that may make emergency stops from hitting the brakes to avoid a collision or involved in a crash with a stationary object or other vehicle. First of all, the heavy tanks (usually made of steel or aluminum) become flying projectiles from the pick-up truck bed or trunk of a car that may cause damage and/or injuries to the occupants. 
         [0007]    Secondly, these tanks have valves attached to the top to allow the compressed air (or other gases) to be dispersed in a controlled manner; if a transportation accident causes this valve to be severed from the tank, the rapidly escaping gas essentially makes the tank act as a rocket with potential deadly consequences. Additionally, the tanks may bump and/or collide with each other in the vehicle while moving, causing cosmetic blemishes on the tanks. 
         [0008]    What is needed today for safe transportation of cylinders in moving vehicles is a anti-roll/anti-skid device to prevent rolling, sliding and/or bumping of the cylinders either alone or among multiple tanks. This new, useful and unobvious “Cylinder Anti-Roll/Slide Safety Device” solves this need. Versions of the invention utilize a band that is placed around the tank(s). 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present versions of the invention address at least one, some or all of the above-referenced needs in the art by providing new, useful and unobvious devices in versions of the invention for anti-roll and anti-slide features for use with cylinders. 
         [0010]    The preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes soft, flexible rubber or rubber-like material. Other embodiments may use rigid, semi-rigid and/or flexible materials of various elasticity, depending on the user&#39;s desires, need or type use. 
         [0011]    Benefits, features and problems solved by versions of the invention include these objects/advantages: It is an object and/or advantage of versions of the invention to prevent the scuba tanks form bumping (the device may also be called a “tank bumper”) and banging into one another. Another object and/or advantage is to allow versions to use soft rubber that makes the article a non-slip product that serves as a anti-slip device. Another object and/or advantage is to allow versions of the invention to have at least one foot molded into an elastic band of suitable width, length and thickness that prevents the tank form rolling on any flat surface. Another object and/or advantage is in other versions the feet also serve to hold the tank next to it from rolling and interlocks a row of tanks together. Another object and/or advantage is to allow versions of the band to protect the tank from being damaged or chipped. Another object and/or advantage is to allow versions of the tank bumper to be thin enough as to not interfere in the strapping of the tank on to the buoyancy compensator. Another object and/or advantage is to allow versions of the band to hold and fit flush on to the back pack or buoyancy compensator flat by having the feet lie flat against the back pack. Another object and/or advantage is to allow versions to use soft non slip rubber prevent the tanks from sliding in the bed of a pickup truck. Rolling is prevented due to the lateral movement but the soft rubber prevents slipping of the tank along the length of the longitudinal axis. Another object and/or advantage of versions of the invention is it prevents the buoyancy compensator form slipping from the holder when used with scuba gear. At least one object and/or advantage is accomplished by at least one, some or all versions of the present invention. 
         [0012]    The foregoing objects, benefits and advantages of versions of the invention are illustrative of those which can be addressed by versions of the invention and not intended to be limiting or exhaustive of the possible advantages that can be realized. These and other advantages will be apparent from the description herein or can be learned from practicing versions of the invention, both as embodied herein as examples or as modified in view of any variations which may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the invention resides in the novel devices, methods, arrangements, systems, combinations and improvements herein shown and described as examples and not limited therein. 
         [0013]    It is understood that the versions of the inventions are new methods, devices and systems for cylinder anti-roll/anti-slide safety. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    In the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a section view of a version of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a partial section bottom view of another embodiment of the invention and releasably attached feet. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a bottom view of an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a section view of an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
       [0022]    While the present invention will be described with reference to the details of the embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings (and some embodiments not shown in the drawings), these details are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0023]    The core of the version of the preferred embodiment of the invention is depicted in  FIG. 4 . The dimensions shown are for illustration and example only, as the device is scalable to any desired and/or suitable size. 
         [0024]    It is also understood that whenever and/or is used in this patent application it means any combination or permutation of all, one, some, a plurality or none of each of the item or list mentioned, which is not intended to be limiting but merely for example and illustration. It is also understood that (s) designates either singular or plural. It is also understood that that “or” is an inclusive “or” to include all items in a list and not intended to be limiting and means any combination or permutation of all, one, some, a plurality or none of each of the item or list mentioned. It is also understood that “including” means “including but not limited to” any combination or permutation of all, one, some, a plurality or none of each of the item or list mentioned. 
         [0025]    The apparatus of the invention is conveniently fabricated in the preferred embodiment by conventional and standard methods of forming, molding, injecting, heating, pressurizing, releasing and finishing in the rubber and plastic fabrication and injection molding arts using conventional and standard materials. 
         [0026]    For example, versions of the invention and incorporated components may be fabricated from aluminum, steel or other like metals or any other suitable material as will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. The present invention (or components of) may also be fabricated in best mode from non-metallic materials for lighter weight, reduced cost and resistance to corrosion. These non-metallic materials include, among others, conventional polymers such as, for example, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyurethane, polyethylene, phenol formaldehyde resins, polybutylene, Teflon and the like. 
         [0027]    Plastics (any one of a large and varied group of materials consisting wholly or in part of combinations of carbon with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and other organic and inorganic elements; while solid in the finished state, at some stage in its manufacture, it is made liquid, and thus capable of being formed into various shapes, usually through the application of heat and/or pressure), such as monomer (one unit—the building block for polymer molecules) or polymer (many monomer units strung together to make long molecules) used in polymerization (the process of combining short molecules to make long molecules) may be used. 
         [0028]    Thermoplastics (plastics that can be repeatedly softened and hardened by heating and cooling) as well as Thermosets (plastics that are cross-linked during polymerization and cannot be softened without degrading some linkages) may also be used. 
         [0029]    Thermoplastic resin types such as crystalline (thermoplastics containing areas of dense molecular alignments known as crystallinity), amorphous (thermoplastics with no crystallinity in the solid state), liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) (stiff, rod-like structures organized in large paralleled arrays in both melted and solid states) may also be used. 
         [0030]    All components may be referenced in plural for convenience, as only at least one of all components are necessary, if desired, for proper operation and use in other embodiments. Ideally, all components (or some components) are injection molded from non-metallic materials (plastic and/or rubber, including natural and/or synthetic rubber and/or rubber-like compositions) as previously mentioned above. 
         [0031]    The components may be attached, connected, linked, related, affixed, disposed on, integrated into, adjoined, combined, bonded, united, associated, joined, tied, secured, bound, rigidly attached, flexibly attached, attached with rotational freedom in at one least axis, and/or integrated onto each other as desired by the operator. 
         [0032]    To make the invention in its preferred embodiment, one skilled in the art would assemble and/or fabricate, for example, the main component comprising an elastic band  1 . Then at least one foot  2  may be integrated into the band when fabricated (using molds) or releasably attached to the band via an attachment means  4 . The attachment means may be of any suitable type—loop, aperture, glue, sewn, webbing, fastener, screw, bolt, weld, connector link, grommet, snap, rivet, thread, rope, twine, rod, dowel, hook, plug, connector, and/or any other means, either attached/secured permanently, temporarily and/or releasably attached. 
         [0033]    Another version may use apertures  3  or other connection means  3  for use with a cord to thread through the at least one foot of the device, as shown in  FIG. 6 . The connection means may be of any suitable type—loop, aperture, glue, sewn, webbing, fastener, screw, bolt, weld, connector link, grommet, snap, rivet, thread, rope, twine, rod, dowel, hook, plug, connector, and/or any other means, either attached/secured permanently, temporarily and/or releasably attached. 
         [0034]    For example, a hole drilled through the foot of the device in one version of the device allows extra products to be attached to the cylinders. This might be used in the case of needing extra spear shafts when using Hawaiian Slings, &amp; or lineless spear shafts. The holes would be used as a spare holders for extra shafts if the diver loses the spear he shot at the fish, allowing the diver to maintain his dive with out surfacing to reclaim another spear shaft.  1  or  2  sears shafts can be carried and are out of the way located on the back of the cylinder. 
         [0035]    Additionally, the holes (or other type attachment means) drilled into the foot allows a stretchable bungee to be secured between 2 or more versions of the device. This will allow the cylinders to be locked together either by using a insert-able interlocking device such as shown on the attachment or by using any device with hooks to lock and or stretch around the cylinder that can then be hooked into the holes. The cord or bungee that is hooked between the devices will hold the cylinders in place regardless where they are located. The cord can be hooked into the foot and then be locked to a stationary device such as the boat or dock. This means for interlocking  5  may comprise a bungee, cord, connector link, thread, rope, twine, rod, dowel, wire, connector, and/or any other means, either attached/secured permanently, temporarily and/or releasably attached. 
         [0036]    To use the invention in this embodiment, particularly with a scuba tank, the operator would stretch and place/slide the device around the scuba tank (or any other type tank) from either the top or bottom end of the tank to the desired location. To remove the device, the above procedure would be reversed; grasp the band (or feet on the band) and stretch and place/slide the band off from the tank top or bottom. 
         [0037]    The above-referenced lists, options, functions, instructions, applications, interactions, items, products, goods, groups and sub-groups are merely intended as illustration and examples, and are not intended by the inventor to in any way limit the addition, deletion or modification of any said lists, options, functions, instructions, commands, applications, interactions, items, products, goods, groups and sub-groups as might be desirable or useful to someone skilled in the art. All components of the above-mentioned system are well known in the art. 
         [0038]    As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, such as a person in the plastic and/or rubber injection molding industry, scuba gear designer, compressed gas tank designer or other similar-type individuals, various modifications and adaptations of the structure and method of use above-described will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims. Although the foregoing invention has been described in detail by way of illustration and example, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the particular description and specific embodiments described but may comprise any combination of the above elements and variations thereof, many of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Additionally, the acts and actions of fabricating, assembling, using, and maintaining the preferred embodiment of this invention is well known by those skilled in the art. The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. 
         [0039]    An article of manufacture for use with scuba tanks, comprising: