Abstract:
An inflatable ride-on water toy comprising a stylized body that is connected to a separately inflated safety ring using a variety of configurations.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES 
       [0001]    None. 
       GOVERNMENTAL RIGHTS 
       [0002]    None. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The disclosed invention is an inflatable ride-on water toy. There are many shapes and sizes of inflatable ride-on water toys available on the market today. One of the most widely used designs for inflatable ride-on water toys is a one-piece body with shapes ranging from stylized horses, animals, or fictional characters to amorphous shapes. Many of these commercially available one-piece designs have large circular flotation areas designed to maximize the overall stability of the ride-on device. With these designs, the user has a platform on which to balance and ride the inflatable animal shape. The user adjusts the stability of the platform by inflating or deflating the toy. U.S. Pat. No. 2,404,729 discloses an inflatable ride-on water toy having a one-piece structure wherein four balloon legs serve to stabilize the toy so as to make the toy suitable for riding in the water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,661 discloses a one-piece ride-on water toy having handles that stabilize the user. U.S. Pat. No. 1,851,768 discloses a one-piece ride-on water toy shaped like a swan wherein two pontoons serve to stabilize the toy. There are other unitary designs that do not have concentric stabilizing structures but these designs are difficult to master in the water. U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0233676 A1 discloses an animal-like inflatable toy figure wherein the belly of the animal is designed to bounce and rock on the ground. 
         [0004]    One-piece designs are largely chosen because they are easier to manufacture on a commercial scale and have fewer parts to assemble by the customer. There are drawbacks to a one-piece design. First, the main adjustable feature is the amount of air and inflation pressure, so users are limited as to the range of adjustments that can be made to alter stability of the unit. Second, one-piece designs limit the safety options. As users ride the toy in the water they risk injuring themselves on nearby edges when falling off the toy. The present disclosure serves to address the foregoing problems. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    Disclosed is a multi-piece inflatable ride-on water toy wherein a stylized body is designed for maximum range of activity is connected via tethers to a separately inflated safety ring that protects a rider from injury. The invention comprises a stylized body, which accommodates a rider and simulates the motion of a bucking bull or wild horse. The stylized body is inflated using one or more air inlet ports and includes one or more handles for the user to grasp. When riding the stylized body the invention simulates a bull riding competition. 
         [0006]    A separate inflatable safety ring encircles the body of the toy and serves to protect the rider from injury. The safety ring is connected to the stylized body with a plurality of adjustable tethers. A user may preferentially adjust the tethers to select for a degree of stability in accordance with skill level. The tethers can be connected to the safety ring using several various mechanisms, all of which have the purpose of allowing quick detachment from the safety ring in the event the rider strikes one or more tethers. 
         [0007]    Pull ropes are connected to a rigid motion bar oriented transverse to the stylized body. The pull ropes allow non-riding participants to create motion with the goal of unseating the rider. These and other advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description which, when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings, disclose the embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the inflatable ride-on water toy 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the inflatable ride-on water toy 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the inflatable ride-on water toy 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a detailed view of the pull rope hook end, motion bar eyelet anchor, and motion bar sleeve 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a detailed view of the pull rope hook end, motion bar eyelet anchor, motion bar, and motion bar sleeve 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a detailed view of the tether adjustment buckle, tether-safety ring coupling, and tether-safety ring eyelet anchor 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a detailed view of the ball stud and socket anchor 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a frontal view of the socket anchor 
       
    
    
     LISTING OF COMPONENTS 
       [0000]    
       
           101 —Safety Ring 
           103 —Body 
           105 —Tether 
           107 —Tether Adjustment Buckle 
           108 —Tether-Safety Ring Eyelet Anchor 
           109 —Tether-Safety Ring Coupling 
           110 —Tether-Body Anchor Plate 
           111 —Air Inlet Port 
           113 —Motion Bar 
           114 —Motion Bar Eyelet Anchor 
           115 —Motion Bar Sleeve 
           117 —Pull Rope 
           118 —Pull Rope Hook End 
           119 —Mounting Handle 
           121 —Body Handle 
           123 —Ball Stud 
           125 —Socket Anchor 
           127 —Hook &amp; Loop Closure 
       
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     First Preferred Embodiment 
       [0034]    In this first preferred embodiment the ride-on inflatable water toy comprises an inflatable safety ring  101  connected to an inflatable body  103  with a plurality of tethers  105 . The safety ring  101  is oval in shape, although other shapes may be used. The safety ring  101  has at least one air inlet port  111  to allow for rapid inflation or deflation. The air inlet port  111  is preferably on the underside of the safety ring  101 , although it may be placed anywhere. The safety ring  101  encircles the inflatable body  103  and is laterally connected to the inflatable body  103  via a plurality of tethers  105 . The safety ring  101  has a plurality of connection points. 
         [0035]    The tethers  105  have two ends. In this first preferred embodiment, the first end is looped through a tether body anchor plate  110 , which is fused to the inflatable body  103 . At the second end, as shown in  FIG. 6  the tethers  105  connect to the safety ring  101  via tether-safety ring couplings  109  and tether-safety ring eyelet anchors  108 , which are connected to the safety ring  101 . The tethers  105  may comprise any material having sufficient tensile strength. 
         [0036]    In this first preferred embodiment, the tethers  105  are adjustable using tether adjustment buckles  107 . The tethers  105  and the tether adjustment buckles  107  serve two purposes. First, they serve to prevent the inflatable body  103  from interfering with the safety ring  101 . Second, they serve as the means by which the user can preferentially select the degree of stability of the inflatable body  103 . 
         [0037]    The tether-safety ring couplings  109  are designed such that if the rider falls off the body  103  and comes into contact with a tether  105 , the tether-safety ring coupling  109  may release from the safety ring  101  so as to minimize the risk of a rider from becoming entangled therein. 
         [0038]    The inflatable body  103  may be of any shape sufficient to support a rider in the water although the current disclosure embodies a bull. The inflatable body  103  has an air inlet port  111  to allow for inflation and deflation. The air inlet port  111  is preferably on the underside of the inflatable body  103 , although it may be placed anywhere on the body  103 . The body  103  has a plurality of connection points. 
         [0039]    The body handle  121  is attached to the inflatable body  103  in a manner similar to that shown in  FIG. 2  and may be comprised of any material having sufficient strength such as plastic, metal, or rope. The body handle  121  serves to help stabilize the rider while the non-riding participants attempt to unseat the rider, as though the rider were simulating a bull riding competition. 
         [0040]    The mounting handle  119  is preferably attached to the anterior of the inflatable body  103  substantially shown in  FIG. 1 . The mounting handle  119  allows a non-riding participant to stabilize the toy while the rider mounts the toy, whereby the non-riding participant holds the mounting handle  119  in order to prevent the body  103  from becoming unstable while the rider mounts the toy. The mounting handle  119  may be comprised of any material having sufficient durability such as wood, plastic, metal, or leather. 
         [0041]    Two motion bar sleeves  115  are located near the underside of the inflatable body  103 . As shown in  FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 5 , the motion bar sleeves  115  run transverse to the inflatable body  103  and are preferably located on the anterior and posterior ends of the inflatable body  103 . The motion bar sleeves  115  serve to connect the inflatable body  103  and the motion bars  113 . 
         [0042]    As shown in  FIG. 1-5 , the motion bars  113  are oriented transverse to the inflatable body  103  and are inserted into the motion bar sleeves  115 . The motion bars  113  are generally cylindrical in shape and are comprised of any material having sufficient durability, such as metal or plastic. The motion bars  113  have two ends with each having a motion bar eyelet anchor  114  so as to allow attachment of pull ropes  117 . 
         [0043]    The pull ropes  117  have a first and second end with the first end being loop shaped in nature and the second end having a pull rope hook end  118 . The first looped end serves as the means by which non-riding participant(s) hold the pull ropes  117 . The second end or pull rope hook end  118  serves as the means by which the pull ropes  117  attach to the motion bar  113  via the motion bar eyelet anchor  114 . The pull ropes  117  are of sufficient durability. The motion bars  113  in conjunction with the pull ropes  117  serve to efficiently transfer energy to the inflatable body  103 , thereby allowing non-riding participant(s) to create motion in the inflatable body  103  of the toy and unseat the rider. 
       Second Preferred Embodiment 
       [0044]    A second preferred embodiment of this inflatable ride-on water toy contains those elements set forth in the first preferred embodiment with the exception of the tether-safety ring coupling  109  and the tether-safety ring eyelet anchor  108 . In this second preferred embodiment the tethers  105  are attached to the safety ring  101  via a ball stud  123  and a socket anchor  125 , as shown in  FIG. 7, 8 . As referenced in the first preferred embodiment, the tethers  105  are adjustable via tether adjustment buckles  107 . In this second preferred embodiment, the ball stud and socket anchor  123 ,  125  are designed such that if during use the riding user falls off the body  103  and comes into contact with a tether  105 , the ball stud  123  will break-away from the socket anchor  125  so as to prevent the rider from becoming entangled therein. 
       Third Preferred Embodiment 
       [0045]    A third preferred embodiment of this inflatable ride-on water toy contains those elements set forth in the first preferred embodiment with the exception of the tether-safety ring coupling  109 , the tether-safety ring eyelet anchor  108 , the tether adjustment buckle  107 , and the tether-body anchor plate  110 . In this third preferred embodiment the body  103  and the safety ring  101  are connected using a plurality of tethers  105 , with different tethers serving as corresponding elements to a hook and loop closure  127 . By example, a first tether  105  is connected to and extends from the safety ring  101 , and using a hook and loop closure system  127 , such first tether  105  attaches to a second corresponding tether  105  that is mounted to and extends from the (stylized) body  103 . When mated together, the first tether  105  and the second tether  105  have a corresponding hook and loop closure  127  and the union creates a unitary tether  105  that connects the body  103  to the safety ring  101 . The distance between the safety ring  101  and the body  103  may be preferentially adjusted by changing the mating point at which corresponding tethers  105  would attach to each other using the hook and loop closure system  127 .