Abstract:
The subject of this disclosure relates to a diving apparatus and a method for marking a diver&#39;s&#39; location. The disclosure provides a receptacle for diving equipment which is configured to float upon the surface of the water and optionally support a flag and pole to mark the diver&#39;s relative position underwater. An anchoring system is also disclosed coupling the apparatus to the sea floor or river bottom to maintain position of the apparatus in the general location of the diver. The apparatus further includes a perimeter ring handle, a receptacle for storing equipment, and a method for supporting a diver.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 60/895,377, filed Mar. 16, 2007. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
   a) Field of the Disclosure 
   This disclosure relates to the field of diving apparatuses. In particular, this disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method for marking a diver&#39;s location, and providing a receptacle for diving equipment. A perimeter support handle is also disclosed, to support the diver when resting at the water&#39;s surface. The apparatus in one form is a floating device, configured with a receptacle for equipment, optional receptacle for a dive flag, and a device and method for attaching to an anchoring system. 
   b) Background Art 
   U.S. Pat. No. 2,917,755 (Peck) discloses a ring-shaped flotation device configured with an anchoring apparatus and furthermore configured to hold a lantern above the surface of the water for night fishing.  FIG. 1  shows in detail how this is accomplished. The configuration of the central portion of this patent is specifically designed to retain a lantern. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,773 (Bourke) discloses a dive buoy dry box assembly. This patent includes several elements not including the counterweight portion  14  and a sealed dry box portion  16 . A great deal of this patent is directed at the means by which the anchor line is spooled from and retracted back in to the ring portion  12 . While this patent does disclose a floating apparatus for holding materials while diving and further include an upright diving flag. This reference is very explicit that this is a place to store items such that they will stay dry. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,813 (Adams) discloses a float and flag assembly for use by divers. This patent discloses a ring shaped flotation having an upright dive flag and a very shallow portion on the upper surface this portion is shallow 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,922 (Feldkamp et al.) discloses a hands-free dive flag connector wherein a ring flotation is coupled to an upright dive flag and is furthermore connected by way of a recoiling line to a diver such that the upright dive flag follows along on the surface above the diver in action. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,796 (Kung) discloses a floating sound system for use in a swimming pool or the like. The radio portion of the patent is fitted with threads, such that it screws into a central portion of the flotation device. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,229 (Whitt) discloses an anchor organization for mounting a float tube to the bottom surface and associated body of water. This patent discloses a way to anchor a ring float to the bottom of the body of water of varying depths. This operates similar to a kite reel. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,458 (Church) discloses a marker buoy having an inflatable portion such that the inflatable portion can be deflated when it is not desired that the buoy portion maintain on the surface of the water or for storage. This patent operates in the same manner as the U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,922 previously discussed. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,752 (Dickson) discloses a small wave-following buoy having a floating device and an upright portion for communications and a subsurface portion used for balance. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,510 (Curd) discloses an essentially all plastic lightweight buoy. This patent is not a ring shaped device. It can be circular or square in configuration. It has an upright portion for lighted channel markers or the like. Neither the addition of an upright dive flag, a peripheral ring handle portion, a central storage portion, nor an auger type anchor system is disclosed. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,090 (Semmens) discloses a recreational device comprising a generally bowl-shaped base. 
   SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
   In the sport and business of underwater diving it is often desired to have a support apparatus on the surface of the water which is capable of marking the general location of the diver to boaters and other users for safety. It is further desired to have a device to operate as a receptacle for diving equipment not always needed underwater, or small items found underwater which the diver wishes to keep, such as shells or artifacts. At times it is desired that such a surface marker would float along the current with the diver, and at other times it may be desirable for the surface marker to be temporarily fixed to the seafloor or river bottom such that the diver can remain underwater within the general location of the anchoring system and not be concerned about the marker floating away. The apparatus of this disclosure in one form encompasses all of these aspects. 
   Thus, disclosed herein is a diving apparatus having in combination a buoyant member, a frame, a perimeter hand support, a containment structure, and optionally an apparatus for supporting a flagpole and dive flag. The buoyant member as discussed for ease of understanding will have an inner surface defining a central region and an outer perimeter surface. The frame is coupled to the buoyant member, and in one form this is accomplished by a plurality of frames support members wrapping substantially around the buoyant member to maintain its relative position therewith. Cord members, such as ropes, can also be utilized to secure the buoyant member to the frame members. A perimeter hand support is optionally coupled to the frame and supported at a distance from the buoyant member such that a diver can grasp the entire hand support and still utilize the buoyant location of the buoyant member. A containment structure is disposed within the previously discussed central region and aids the diver in containing elements that are required on the water but not necessarily on the person of the diver at all times. It may be desired that the containment structure is not entirely enclosed such that the diver would be able to place items within the containment structure without having to fuss about with latches or hatches. If an inflatable buoyant member is utilized, it will be desirable to not puncture the inflatable buoyant member thus releasing its buoyant support. It may be desired to provide a canvas-like material covering for the inflatable buoyant member to maintain its shape and further protect the surface of the inflatable point member. Indicia such as a dive flag, a red cross indicating first aid, owner&#39;s information such as address and phone number, or advertising indicia may be disposed upon the surface of the canvas-like covering, for example by embroidery. If a rigid or hard foam or optionally enclosed aluminum chamber is utilized for the buoyant member, it may also be desirable that the surface of the buoyant member not be compromised in the attachment of the frame. It may also be desired to have coverings of different colors to indicate different dive groups. For example, green coverings could indicate tech divers, while red tubes could indicate sport divers. 
   Holes in the surface allow some portion of water therein and tend to speed up the decomposition of the interior portion. As the containment structure is a partially enclosed region, rain, waves, or water dripping from the diver upon placing elements therein would tend to add unnecessary weight to the apparatus. Therefore, a plurality of surfaces defining openings are included in the containment structure to allow such water and other liquids to pass therethrough. It may also be desirable to form a drain hole in the underside of the perimeter handle to keep water from being contained therein. 
   As earlier stated, it is often preferable for the diving apparatus to be maintained in a general location about the diver, and thus an anchoring system may be employed to maintain such positioning. This may be relative to the seafloor or river bottom or optionally may be in relation to the current. Many different anchoring systems are available including screw type, auger-style anchors, Bruce anchors, mushroom anchors, sea anchors and the like. Sea (or parachute) anchors would have the added benefit that if the diver wished to float along with the current the apparatus would follow generally with the diver, and would not be substantially affected by surface winds and wave action. These anchor systems may be coupled to the device by a rode which will be described in other parts of this disclosure. As the buoyant member may not be a rigid element, it may be desirable in one form to have the anchor system couple to the buoyant member at the containment structure or the frame. It may optionally be preferred to couple the anchor system to the perimeter hand support. The weakest points of an anchoring system are the ends where the rode is coupled at one end to the anchor and at the other end to the apparatus. Thus it may be preferable to have an attachment bar coupled to the containment structure configured to rotate, thus reducing the angle between the anchor rode and the containment structure. Present analysis indicates this will significantly increase the lifespan of the anchoring system at this connection point. 
   While buoyant members are common in many shapes and sizes, a ring buoy style point member is very common in the art of diving having a generally torroidal shape. As this specific arrangement is very common, it may be desirable to utilize such rigid buoyant members in this apparatus. 
   While the containment structure previously discussed may be coupled to the buoyant member via the frame, it may optionally be desired to couple the containment structure directly to the buoyant member. While there are many different variations of a method to couple the containment structure to the frame or the buoyant member, including screws, rivets etc., including welding, welding may often be the most desired means of coupling such members in an aquatic environment. 
   The buoyant member not only operates to contain elements used by the diver but also is utilized as a marker for boats and other safety regulations, the buoyant member may be painted in a color contrasting with the surface water. Blaze orange, red, and fluorescent yellow are very common colors for to increase the visibility of buoyant members. The colors listed above, and their functional equivalents, increase the visibility of the apparatus while in use as surface water often appears colored from a bright blue to a dark gray. It may also be preferable to contain a ring member, especially an inflatable inner-tube style apparatus, within a canvas-like cover. This canvas-like cover would have the additional benefit of being able to comprise embroidery or other markings to indicate ownership or the location of specific first-aid kits or divers. 
   To increase visibility of the apparatus to boaters and other users of that aquatic area, it may be desirable to include a pole receiver operatively configured to receive a flagpole. This flagpole may have on its terminal end a dive flag which is generally a red field with a white diagonal stripe. These dive flags are very common in the art, and in some areas are a legal necessity. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a side view of one embodiment of the disclosure; 
       FIG. 2  shows a top view of one embodiment of the disclosure; 
       FIG. 3  shows a side view of one embodiment of the disclosure; 
       FIG. 4  shows a cross sectional view of one form of the disclosure along line  4  of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 5  shows a cross sectional view of one form of the disclosure along line  5  of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 6  shows a top view of another embodiment of the disclosure; 
       FIG. 7  shows a bottom view of another embodiment of the disclosure; and 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of one form of auger anchor. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Discussed herein is a detailed description of one form of a buoyant apparatus  20 . Before further discussing the main embodiment, an axes system  10  is defined as shown in  FIG. 1  and comprises a vertical axis  12  and a radial axis  14 . The radial axis generally extends radially outward from a center axis  16  shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     FIG. 1  shows a side view of the apparatus  20  which comprises a buoyant member  22  and a frame  24 . The buoyant member  22  in one form is a toroidal shape, and in general, has a central region  26  with a center chamber and an outer portion  28 . Further, as shown in  FIG. 1 , there is an upper surface  30 , and a lower surface  32 . In one form, the buoyant member  22  can be a conventional inflatable flotation device such as an inner tube or a rigid member Styrofoam flotation member. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , there is shown a side view of one configuration of the frame  24 . Of course, in one form the frame  24  is comprised of a multitude of components, but it can alternatively be configured as a unitary structure, or comprised of a plurality of separate components which are fastened together by conventional methods. The frame  24  in one form comprises a plurality of elements: the perimeter hand support  40 , frame supports  42 , cylindrical member  44 , and base  46 . Such methods may include the use of aircraft “Huck” fasteners  48  for long-lasting durability. 
   While many different materials can be used to produce the frame  24 , it may be desirable to make them out of plastic or metal. A specific form of the disclosure would be produced by using stainless steel to create the frame portion  24  of the apparatus  20 . In this embodiment, the added benefit of a long-lasting frame portion which would not be compromised by a humid environment, or by salt water. 
   The perimeter hand support  40 , in one form, is positioned around the outer portion  28  of the buoyant member  22 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The frame is connected to a plurality of frame supports  42 , which in one form extend radially inwardly and are attached to the cylindrical member  44 . In one form, the frame supports  42  do not extend around the entire cross-sectional diameter of the buoyant member  22 . While it may be advantageous to utilize frame supports which do completely surround the buoyant member, and therefore, securely maintain its position by utilizing frame support members which do not extend completely around the buoyant member, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the frame  24  may be removed from the buoyant member  22  for maintenance or replacement of either member. As shown in  FIG. 6 , a drain hole  86  may be disposed in the underside of the perimeter handle to allow water to drain therefrom. Furthermore, a cord member  88  may be utilized to couple the frame support  42  to the buoyant member  22 . In one embodiment, the cord member  88  may be a rope, or similar apparatus, and may utilize the openings  50  to couple the buoyant member  22  to the base  46 . 
   In one form, the cylindrical member  44  and the base  46  comprise a containment structure  18 . The central region is operatively configured to hold gear and other material therein. In one form, this can be a sheet-metal structure which is pop riveted, or fastened by other means  48 , or could be a plastic injection structure which is blow molded or configured by a plurality of manufacturing techniques. In the lower portion, surfaces defining openings indicated at  50  can be utilized to allow water or other liquids to pass through the central region  26  of the apparatus  20 .  FIG. 2  shows a top view of the unit where the plurality of frame supports  42  are shown, and the perimeter hand rail  40  is shown extending beyond the outer perimeter surface of the buoyant member  22 . In this form, a diver or individual in the water can grasp the outer member easily without having any substantial obstructions. Further, it can be appreciated that divers could deposit their gear into the central region  26 . 
   For divers diving without a support vessel, a diver-down flag  34  (a red flag with a white diagonal stripe) should be floating in the surface in the divers&#39; area. Boaters are legally bound to stay away from a diver-down flag. Thus, it is important to provide a method for suspending this flag above the surface of the water under which a diver or divers are operating. In one form of the disclosure a formed flag holder  38 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , is disposed on the apparatus  20 . While any number of such flag holders are possible, a formed flag holder  38  disposed on the inner surface of the connection ring  62  would keep the center of effort of the weight generated by the weight of the flag  34  and pole  36  near the center of the device, and would not significantly offset the balance of the apparatus  20 . These flags  34  and poles  36  are very well-known in the art and thus are not shown in  FIG. 5 . 
   Referring now to  FIG. 1 , it can be seen that the connection member  60  in one form comprises a connection point where an anchor line  32  can be attached thereto. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the connection member  60  can be a separate element, and can be coupled to the base  46  by any number of fasteners, adhesive, or may be a unitary structure. In one form, a connection ring  62  is utilized. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the base  46  has a partially frusto conical surface  64  facing upward to supply enough room between the upper surface of the connection members  60  and the surface  64  to allow for a connector to fasten thereto. In one form, an augur-like anchor is screwed down to the bottom floor of the body of water and an anchor line connects this augur-like member to the buoyant apparatus  20  to anchor the apparatus  20  in a desired location. 
   An augur anchor  220  is disclosed in one form. The augur anchor  220  consists of several elements, the first being a ground penetrating portion  222 , the second being a handle portion  224 , and the third being a rode attachment portion  226 . The ground penetrating portion has a first end  226  which may taper to a point while the second end  228  couples to a carrying handle  232 . A plurality of blades  230  are disposed between the first end  226  and the second end  228  of the ground penetrating portion  222 . These blades  230  act to maintain the position of the augur anchor  220  in the sea floor while in operation. The handle portion  224  consists of a plurality of driving handles  248  which, as can be seen, may be formed to provide excellent surface for driving the first end  226  into the sea floor while rotating the auger anchor  220 . A plurality of extensions  246  are disclosed with couple the rode attachment portion  226  to the handle portion  224 . As an alternative, the handle portion  224  may be coupled closer to the first end  226  perhaps at the carrying handle portion  232  or at the flared portion  234 . The rode attachment portion  226  consists of a plurality of extensions  236  which form a partially enclosed loop ending in a plurality of downward protrusions  238 . Each of the extensions  236  form an opening  242  permitting the passage of a portion of an anchor rode  252  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The downward protrusions  238  further act to keep the anchor rode  252  within the opening  242 . A loop may be formed in the end of the anchor rode  252 , and in the process of coupling to the anchor  220 , the loop may pass between the plurality of extensions  236  into the opening  240  and then rotated through 90° to position it within the opening  242 . This is similar to the action of a traditional lap link common in chain use. 
   While an auger-style anchor  220  of  FIG. 8  is one option, a Bruce anchor  54   b , mushroom anchor  54   c , or other anchoring devices would work just as well. Even a permanent fixture such as a sunken ship or reef may be utilized to maintain position of the apparatus. Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a form of the apparatus  20  is disclosed to better show the anchor attachment bar  60 . 
   The frame  24  includes a plurality of frame supports  42  having on their first end a connection portion  66 . The connection portion  66  may have a plurality of surfaces defining voids or connecting holes  68  which are configured to couple to the connection ring  62  by way of screws, rivets, or aircraft “Huck” fasteners  48  for long-lasting durability. The connection ring  62  in one form has a plurality of holes  70  which are configured to line up with holes  68  in the base  46 . The connector  62  also has in one form a raised portion  72  which will be discussed later but can be easily seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Furthermore,  FIG. 4  shows a cutaway view of this part of the apparatus  20  in an assembled mode which shows fasteners  48 . 
     FIG. 4  shows the formed flag holder  38  coupled to the connection ring  62 . The pole receiver  38  is coupled to the connection ring  62  by way of fasteners as previously discussed. Referring back to  FIG. 3 , the next portion is a connection ring  62  which may be a unitary cylindrical element, and which may include a frusto conical surface, a partial hemisphere, or may be a flat unit formed to a cylinder. It is also conceived that the connection ring  62  may be a non-solid element. For example, the connection portion  66  of the frame supports  42  may couple directly to the base  46  or be formed of one unitary structure, and satisfy the same desires of this disclosure. The connection ring  62  has a top edge  74  and a bottom edge  76 . The bottom edge  76  may have a plurality of holes  70  which are configured to accept fasteners  48  and couple to the base  46 . The base  46  furthermore has openings  50  which allow water to pass through the base  46 . This keeps the central region  26  from filling with water, and furthermore stabilizes the apparatus  20  when in use. 
   As shown in  FIG. 5 , the lower retaining ring  78  has a plurality of holes  80  which can be utilized to couple the lower retaining ring  78  to the base  46  supported by an upper retaining ring  82 . The next portion, the anchor attachment  60 , has a plurality of brace portions  84  configured to rotatably couple to the base  46  and be retained by the upper retaining ring  82 , as shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 2 . The anchor attachment bar  60  is comprised of a brace portion  84  which rotatably couples to the apparatus  20 , and includes a bent portion  86  configured to attach to an anchoring system  56 . The anchoring system  56  comprises an anchor line  52 , an anchor  54 , and an anchor attachment bar  60 . To make it easier to couple the anchoring system  56  to the apparatus  20 , the base  46  may have a raised portion  72  forming an indent in the bottom of the apparatus  20 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  4  and  5 . This raised portion  72  may be formed as a portion of the base  46 , or may be a separately formed element which is later coupled to the base  46 . Optionally this raised portion  72  may be omitted forming a much larger void in the bottom of the base  46 . 
   The base  46  may also have attached thereon an auxiliary plate  90 . The auxiliary plate  90  may be connected to the base  46  by way of fasteners  92  or other methods, including adhesive and welding. The auxiliary plate  90  as shown in  FIG. 7  may also have a doubling, or backing plate  94  as shown in  FIG. 6 . This backing plate  94  would form a very stable connection between the base  46  and the auxiliary plate  90  by way of the fasteners  92 . A plurality of partial loops or rings  95  may also be disposed on the lower surface of the auxiliary plate  90 . These rings  95  may be in the form of loops which form a stable attachment point for auxiliary items needing to be coupled to the underside of the apparatus when it is in use. The rings  95  may be welded to the auxiliary plate  90 , or may in one form be bolted thereto. As shown in  FIG. 7 , a plurality of three rings  95  are shown; however, larger apparatuses may contain more rings. It is also possible to have fewer rings for smaller apparatuses, or for specialty operations. Using a standard truck tire inner-tube, for example, 250 pounds or more of chain or similar material may be suspended from these loops underwater with little or no difficulty. Additional SCUBA tanks could also be suspended at different depths to facilitate decompression of divers returning to the surface after a deep or prolonged dive. 
   Anchoring systems are very well-known in the art and generally consist of an anchor  54  which can either claw into the bottom of the body of water like a claw or Bruce  54   b  or auger  54   a , or alternatively may comprise of a heavy object such as a cinderblock, concrete block, or other heavy object which need not penetrate the bottom of the body of water. The bottom of the body of water may be the sea floor, lake bottom, or river bottom. This anchor is then connected to a rode (anchor line  52 ) which in turn couples to the device to be anchored (in this case, the apparatus  20 ). The rode may also consist of a plurality of elements, such as with sailboats which commonly use a length of chain coupled to the boat, which is in turn is coupled to a rope, which is then coupled to the anchor. The apparatus  20  in one form utilizes a light weight rode, and a collapsible anchor or screw-auger-type anchor  54   d , which would make the entire system very light and easy to transport to a diving location. 
   It may be desirable to have the apparatus configured in such a way that downward force exerted upon the perimeter handle by a diver fully equipped for diving will exert a force upon the perimeter handle  40  insufficient to overcome the upward force exerted by the buoyant member about a center of effort to submerge or to topple the apparatus. For example, a full-grown man wearing a wet suit in diving gear may have a wet weight exceeding 250 pounds. Thus, the buoyancy force of the buoyant member must exceed 250 pounds on that side of the center of effort. As another example, two divers each having a wet weight of 250 pounds exerting downward force upon the apparatus on opposite sides of the buoyant member would require at least 500 pounds of buoyancy to offset their weight and keep them afloat. This disregards the wet weight of any equipment contained within the containment structure, and the wet weight of the anchoring system. 
   While the apparatus may be configured in a wide range of sizes, one embodiment of the disclosure would have an overall diameter of between 24 and 48 inches, and a thickness of between 10 and 24 inches. The perimeter handle may be disposed such that a distance of between two and 6 inches separates the outer perimeter of the buoyancy member from the hand support. This would allow a diver wearing thick gloves, such as those made of neoprene, to fully grasp the perimeter handle. The perimeter handle may be a tube-like element, having a cross-sectional diameter of between three quarters and two inches. 
   The perimeter handle  40  may optionally be a sectional handle meaning one or more handles may be coupled to the frame  24 . A plurality of handles may be utilized so that one or more divers can get one or more hand attached to the apparatus  20 , thus supporting them in the water. 
   While the present invention is illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments are described in detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications within the scope of the appended claims will readily appear to those sufficed in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicants&#39; general concept.