Patent Publication Number: US-11639213-B2

Title: Floatation device

Description:
This disclosure claims the benefit of priority of an earlier filed provisional patent application, namely, U.S. Application No. 63/031,673 filed on May 29, 2020. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The field relates to a floatation device for holding a container such that the container floats upright in water. 
     BACKGROUND 
     While relaxing in pools, lakes, or other bodies of water, people often enjoy a beverage while within the water. Relaxation dictates that one expends as little mental effort as possible to keep the beverage upright and within reach while swimming, floating, or otherwise enjoying the water. A beverage container incorporating a means for floatation may be used to address this problem. 
     Over the years, a variety of flotation devices for beverages have been developed and marketed. These devices usually involve a fixed shape that is typically ring-shaped and Incorporate a material with a density less than that of water, for example air, expanded polystyrene, or other materials. The problem with many of these devices is the inability to adjust to a variety of object shapes and sizes, especially when dealing with objects that present with internal buoyancy and centers of gravity that are variable over time. For example, to be supported in water in a stable fashion, a plastic cup full of a beverage has a higher center of gravity and a lower internal buoyancy than that same cup wherein most of the drink has been consumed. Supporting such a container over time requires the flotation device&#39;s ability to adjust to those changes in ways to provide optimal support and stability at all times. 
     Improvements in devices for providing variably buoyant, adjustable, floating support with a high degree of stability in the water would be welcome. Such improvements are detailed in this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, reference numerals designate like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG.  1    is a top view of an embodiment of a floatation device. 
         FIG.  2    is a sectional top view of a floatation device. 
         FIGS.  3  and  4    are sectional side views of an embodiment of a beverage floatation device encircling a beverage container. 
         FIGS.  5 - 10    are sectional top views of additional embodiments of floatation devices. 
         FIGS.  11 - 15    are sectional top views of additional embodiments of floatation devices. 
         FIG.  16    is a sectional side view of an embodiment of a floatation device encircling a candle within a container. 
         FIGS.  17 - 21    are sectional side views of embodiments of buoyant inserts for use in a floatation device. 
         FIG.  22    provides a sectional top view of a game device comprising a plurality of the floatation devices. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIGS.  1 - 16    depict various embodiments of a floatation device  10  that may be used to hold a container, depicted here for a beverage in  FIGS.  3 - 4    or a candle in  FIG.  16   , such that the container floats upright in water. The floatation device  10  is formed such that it may accommodate containers of varying and irregular sizes and will keep such containers upright while floating in water. 
     In one embodiment as shown in  FIGS.  1 - 2   , the floatation device  10  is formed by placing buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55  inside an elastic casing  30  and incorporating spacers between each of the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 . The buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55  as depicted here are hollow plastic spheres such as ping pong balls. Other materials in other shapes, such as are shown in  FIGS.  20  and  21   , may be substituted to insert within the elastic casing so long as such materials have a density less than that of water and preferably with sufficient rigidity that they will not become deformed by repetitive use. Examples of such materials include substantially plastic shapes, expanded polystyrene shapes, cork shapes, foam shapes, low-density polyethylene shapes, and polypropylene shapes. 
     It may be desirable for a buoyant insert  50  to incorporate a weight, either as the way in which it is manufactured or, should the buoyant insert  50  have a hollow interior, by incorporating a weight able to freely move within the buoyant insert  50 . Incorporation of a weight at or toward the lower portion of the buoyant insert  50  will increase the moment of inertia of the buoyant insert  50 , thereby resisting changes in motion resulting from external forces exerted on the buoyant insert  50  and increasing the overall stability of the floatation device  10 . For example,  FIGS.  17  and  20    depict forms partially filled with water  60 ,  FIGS.  18  and  21    depicts a buoyant insert  50  containing a coin  61 , and  FIG.  19    shows a buoyant insert  50  partially filled with sand  62 . 
     The elastic casing  30  should be formed from elastic material able to be stretched and then return to its original size. The material ideally should be sufficiently durable to withstand repeated use and exposure to sun and water, shed water, be stain resistant, and able to be easily cleaned. Options for such material include but are not limited to nylon, spandex or elastane, polyester, silicone, some combination thereof, or any other material capable of being formed into a hollow tube and having sufficient elasticity to perform as described herein. The material preferably should be pleasing to the eye and may incorporate a pattern, graphic design, word or phrase, or even a trademark should the device be used as a form of advertising or in the event the manufacturer wishes to include its source identifier on the device. 
     One of the benefits of the design of the floatation device  10  can be seen in  FIGS.  3  and  4   . The elastic casing  30  allows an object being supported to be adjusted within the floatation device  10  to provide maximum stability of the object in the water. The elastic casing  30  may stretch to accommodate a variety of shapes and sizes of containers or even to secure a single container in multiple positions. If the floatation device  10  is used to maintain a container  12  in an upright fashion, it is likely that a beverage contained therein will be consumed by the user of the device. As the amount of beverage in the beverage container  12  changes, the center of gravity of the container  12  also changes. Due to the ability of the elastic casing  30  to stretch, the user may slide the floatation device  10  down as the beverage is consumed and the center of gravity shifts to a higher point in the container  12 . 
     It is anticipated that the friction between a container and the aperture  31  of the floatation device  10  would alone be sufficient to hold a container in place. Still, it may be desirable to provide some additional means for increasing friction between the ring and a container. The application of elastomeric material to the aperture  31  of the elastic casing  30  is one such option (not depicted). Other options may include attaching an elastic band to the aperture  31  of the elastic casing  30  wherein such band has less elasticity than the elastic casing or incorporating a section of stretch stitching stitched through the aperture  31  of the elastic casing  30 . 
       FIGS.  5 - 10    depict several embodiments of a floatation device  10 , each having a different number of buoyant inserts to give the elastic casing  30  different regular polygon shapes with the buoyant inserts forming the vertices of the shape. Several shapes in the physical universe offer a greater degree of stability than others. A fixed-ring, circular shape is one such example and for years has formed the basis for many devices, particularly those involving compressed air pushed inside an airtight tube. However, other shapes in nature also exhibit enhanced stability. It is these other shapes, namely, regular polygons, that are utilized in this disclosure. In developing a floatation device, whether it is used to support a beverage, a candle, another lighting element, or something else, the combination of the relative sizes of the equidistant buoyant components, the overall dimensions of the object to be supported, and the ability to make adjustments as to where the supported object&#39;s center of gravity is located, may dictate different polygons. A three- or four-sided floatation device  10 , containing three or four buoyant inserts, will provide sufficient stability for smaller containers. A greater number of sides, and thus a greater number of buoyant inserts, may be necessary for a floatation device  10  used with larger objects. 
     The spacers between the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55  in the floatation device  10  serve to hold the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55  relatively securely in place and substantially equidistant from one another within the elastic casing  30 . In view of the elasticity of the elastic casing  30 , one skilled in the art will appreciate that the equidistance spacing will likely be approximate rather than precise. This incorporation of spacers allows for increased stability of the floatation device  10  by maintaining the floatation device  10  in a regular polygon shape with the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55  serving as the vertices and the aperture  31  being situated at the place of greatest stability, namely, at the incenter of the polygon. There are more than a few methods for accomplishing this. 
     Stitching may be used as spacers between the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 , stitched to form a section of reduced elasticity between each of the buoyant inserts As shown in  FIG.  2   , a plurality of stitched seams  70 ,  71 ,  72 ,  73 ,  74 ,  75  are incorporated, one between each of the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 , creating fully separate chambers within the elastic casing  30  for the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 . Depending on the material used for the elastic casing  30 , there may be other means for creating seams. 
     Spacers may also comprise sections of stitches between each of the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  5 , each forming a section of reduced elasticity. For example, sections of thread may be stitched in a loop on the elastic casing  30  between each of the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 . As shown in  FIG.  11   , another option would be to incorporate a series of drop-stitched thread sections  80 ,  81 ,  82 ,  83 ,  84 ,  85 , one between each of the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 , creating separate chambers within the elastic casing  30 . Separate chambers for the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55  within the elastic casing  30  may also be formed by securing pieces of netting between the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55  (not shown). 
       FIG.  12    shows yet another method for separating the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 . Sections of stitched thread  90 ,  91 ,  92 ,  93 ,  94 ,  95  may be stitched onto but not through the elastic casing  30 , creating sections of the elastic casing  30  where the materials is compressed such that it is not as pliable as the unstitched sections. There exists a myriad of other options for compressing sections of the elastic casing  30 , including but not limited to plastic rings, plastic beads, elastomeric rings, elastomeric beads, or rings of elastic fabric (not shown). 
       FIGS.  13  and  14    depict embodiments of the floatation device  10  incorporating additional forms within the elastic casing  30  and between the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55  to serve as spacers. A variety of shapes for spacer inserts would serve the purpose of maintaining the alignment of the buoyant inserts  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 —conical buoyant inserts, cylindrical buoyant inserts, or polyhedronal buoyant inserts. Springs are incorporated as spacers within the elastic casing  30  in the embodiment depicted in  FIG.  15   . 
     Where there are people who desire to enjoy a beverage while enjoying themselves within a body of water, some may desire to group multiple beverages together so that friends may set their drinks together or a single user may access multiple beverages at once, for example, for a game of beer pong. This calls for a floatation unit  100  capable of keeping a plurality of beverage containers separately accessible as shown in  FIG.  21   . The embodiment depicted comprises six individual floatation devices  101 ,  102 ,  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106  held together by a series of connectors  110 ,  111 ,  112 ,  113 ,  114 ,  115 ,  116 ,  117 ,  118 ,  119 ,  120 . The connectors  110 ,  111 ,  112 ,  113 ,  114 ,  115 ,  116 ,  117 ,  118 ,  119 ,  120  may be zip ties, cords, plastic snap rings, metallic retaining or binder rings, metal opening o-rings, or anything else capable of securely connecting the individual floatation devices  101 ,  102 ,  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106  into a particular formation and may be more or fewer in number than depicted. 
     Those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications and adaptions to the above description of illustrated implementations are possible without departing from the intended scope of the disclosure. The specific implementations of the embodiments described herein are provided for illustrative purposes only since various equivalent modifications are possible. Accordingly, the description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the disclosure to the specific forms as disclosed.