Floating Body

Abstract

A floating body upon which swimmers may rest has an inner central chamber open at its bottom to let in surrounding water, a valved conduit leading from the upper end of said chamber to the outside for letting a swimmer control the amount of water and air in said chamber and thus the amount of submergence of the body and a bolt extending through the center of the bottom of the body to allow an anchor to be attached thereto to allow the rotation of the body in the water, while the remainder of said body is enclosed providing a floatation chamber.

Description

This invention refers generally to floating bodies and more specifically to a floating body, which is intended to be used in the sea, in swimming pools and similar places where an artificial island, where swimmers may rest, is desired.

Floating bodies containing encapsuled air volumes and/or floating elements are known per se but they are difficult to use owing to their tendency to tilt. The difficulty of embarking such floating bodies is further increased by the fact that their upper supporting surface is located at a considerably higher level than the level of the surrounding water.

The main object of the invention is to eliminate the disadvantages referred to and to provide a floating body, which may rotate about a vertical axis, thus enhancing the amusement possibilities of the floating body. Further advantages and characteristics will be apparent from the following specification with reference to the accompanying drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodyment of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows the new floating body in a perspective view and

FIG. 2 is a central section through the floating body according to FIG. 1.

The floating body according to the drawing comprises an outer receptacle 1, which is preferably made from plastic, reinforced material. Resting against the bottom surface 2 of said outer receptacle is a flange and sealing elements portion 3 of an inner receptacle 4, the bottom 5 of which, faces upwardly and serves as a support for a cover 6. Also this cover and the inner receptacle may be made from reinforced plastic material, and the cover may be secured to the receptacle by means of screws or the like /not shown/ at the periphery of the cover. Also in the central portion the cover may be secured to the bottom 5 of the inner receptacle. From the bottom 5 of the inner receptacle projects downwardly a fastening element 7, which with its free end penetrates a hole 8 in the bottom surface of the outer receptacle. Said fastening element may be in the shape of a bolt having flanges and/or nuts 9, by means of which the inner receptacle may be pressed against the bottom of the outer receptacle. At its free end the fastening element 7 is provided with a rotatable securing means 10 for a rope or the like for anchoring the floating body. A conduit 11 which opens into the upper portion of the receptacle 4 extends preferably radially outwardly and ends in a manually operable control valve 12 for permitting air to leave the inner receptacle 4. The inner and outer receptacles form together an outer space 13, which contains air and floating elements 14 like pieces of sponge or cellular material and an inner space 15, which contains a certain amount of air. By means of holes 16 arranged in the bottom of the receptacle 1 water may enter into the space 15.

When the floating body is loaded and the control valve 12 is held open water will penetrate into the inner space 15 and when the control valve is closed said water amount will remain in the inner space 15 and will stabilize the floating body and maintain its draught. Thus it is possible to control the stability and draught of the floating body such that it will always be easy to go on board on the floating body and thanks to the water amount in the inner space 15 the draught of the floating body may be very deep, which contributes in making the floating body easy to go on board on. As will be apparent from the drawing, the floating body may be manufactured in the shape of a circular or rotational body and as the body is anchored at the center the floating body may be rotated, which makes a very amusing effect and inspires to water games. In contradistinction to known floating bodies this floating body may be anchored with a single, slack rope.

The invention is not limited to the embodyment illustrated but may be varied within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A floating body, preferably for bathing purposes comprising a hollow cylindrical body having a partition wall which divides the interior of said body into an outer annular section and an inner central section, said inner central section having in its lower portion at least one opening through which water may enter into said section and that the upper portion of said inner central section having an opening to the atmosphere and a manually operable control valve for controlling said inner central section upper opening in order to vary the draught of the floating body.

2. A floating body as claimed in claim 1, wherein said body includes an outer receptacle and an inner receptacle, the latter having the shape of a frustrum of a cone having a top wall facing upwardly, said inner receptacle being positioned centrally relative to said outer receptacle and being sealingly secured to the same such that an outer annular section and an inner section are obtained, a curved cover, the upper portion of said inner receptacle serving as a support for the central portion of said curved cover the outer portion of which is supported by the upper edges of said outer receptacle.

3. A floating body as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the upper portion of said inner section communicates with the free air a conduit one end of which opens into said inner section at the upper portion of the same and the opposite end opens into a said manually operable control valve mounted at the periphery of said floating body, immediately below the cover of said body.

4. A floating body as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that a downwardly projecting securing element attached to said inner receptacle and having its free end connected to the bottom of said outer receptacle in such manner that said inner receptacle is held against said bottom of said outer receptacle, sealing elements being arranged to sealingly separate the interior of said inner receptacle from the portion of said outer receptacle which surrounds said inner receptacle, whereby said securing element protrudes through the bottom of said outer receptacle and rotatable securing means is connected to the protruding end of said securing element.

5. A floating body as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the securing element is fastened to the top wall of said inner receptacle.