Self inflating marine fender

Abstract

A self inflating fender for marine use having a flexible, air tight cover that surrounds and closely conforms to the external shape of an uncompressed open cell foam core. An air valve allows the fender to retain either an uncompressed state to act as a fender or a compressed state for easy storage. The fender self inflates from the compressed state when the air valve is opened and the open cell foam core is allowed to expand back to its original shape. End flaps integral with the cover have grommetted holes for attaching the fender. An alternative is surrounding the open cell foam core with a bladder which contains an air valve. The bladder is then surrounded by a fending cover that closely conforms to the open cell foam core uncompressed shape. The fending cover has stitched ends incorporating loops for attachment and an access hole for the air valve.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention relates to a boat fender and more particularly, to a boat fender that is self inflating.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Since the advent of planked hulled boats, fenders of all types and descriptions have been used to protect a boat's hull from damage while tied to shore or to another boat. In order for fenders to be effective in protecting the boat, they have to be large and numerous. This, however, creates a problem if the fenders are to be stored in an unobtrusive location on the boat when underway because space is so precious. An obvious solution is to have inflatable fenders which can be compressed for storage thereby requiring much less space. Porteous describes the basic inflatable fender in U.S. Pat. No. 1,361,902 which is still in common use today. Differing configurations of an inflatable fender are described by Gilbert in U.S. Pat. No. 2,028,060, Russell in U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,566, Fenton in U.S. Pat. No. 3,988,997 and Eisner in U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,980. Kirlin in U.S. Pat. No. 2,179,125 describes an inflatable fender using a bladder inside a casing. All these fenders could be compressed for compact storage but re-inflation requires an external source of air or a pump with dedicated man power for operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The self inflating fender of the present invention addresses the problem mentioned in prior art by providing both a savings on space and manpower. When desired, the fender can be easily compressed to a much smaller size for storage by opening its air valve, applying an external force to it such as folding it and sifting on it and then closing its air valve thereby causing it to remain in its compressed size and allowing it to be stored away in an unobtrusive location. To recondition it, the air valve is opened which allows the fender to expand back to its original size and then with the air valve closed, the fender can be deployed. This is easily done under adverse conditions by an inexperienced crew.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the self inflating fender with an air tight cover disposed vertically in an uncompressed state.

[0007] FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1.

[0008] FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

[0009] FIG. 4 is the same view as FIG. 2 but showing the self inflating fender with an air tight cover in a compressed state and folded.

[0010] FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the self inflating fender with a bladder and fending cover disposed vertically in an uncompressed state.

[0011] FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5.

[0012] FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

[0013] FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 5.

[0014] FIG. 9 is the same view as FIG. 6 but showing the self inflating fender with a bladder and fending cover in a compressed state and folded.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] A self inflating fender with an air tight cover, generally designated 10, of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. It consists of an air tight cover 11, a manual air valve 12 that controls air flow in and out of the air tight cover 11, flaps 13 integral with the cover 11 and grommetted openings 14 in the flaps 13 which provide a means of attaching the fender 10 to a boat, dock or other appropriate structure. FIG. 3 shows why the fender 10 is self inflating. The air tight cover 11 surrounds and closely conforms to the uncompressed shape of an open cell foam core 15 which can easily be compressed to a significantly smaller size but when released, will expand back to its original shape. FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show the foam core 15 uncompressed with the fender 10 in a state to act as a fending device provided that the air valve 12 is closed so it can hold its shape. FIG. 4 shows the fender 10 in a compressed state. This is accomplished by opening the air valve 12 and compressing the fender 10 with an external force until the foam core 15 has been compressed to a significantly smaller size and then closing the air valve 12. Under these conditions, atmospheric air pressure will keep the fender 10 compressed and it can be folded as shown in FIG. 4 for easy storage. Opening the air valve 12 will release the restriction of atmospheric air pressure and the fender 10 will expand back to its uncompressed size because of the expansion of the open cell foam core 15.

[0016] A self inflating fender with a bladder and fending cover, generally designated 20, of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. It consists of a fending cover 21 composed of flexible lay flat tubing, an opening 22 in the fending cover 21, an air valve 23 protruding through the opening 22 and stitches 24 closing the ends of the fending cover 21. Incorporated in the stitching 24 is fabric webbing 25 with loops 26 for attaching the fender 20 to a boat, dock or appropriate structure. FIG. 7 shows more detail of the fabric webbing 25 and the loops 26 for attachment. FIG. 8 shows why the fender 20 is self inflating. The fending cover 21 surrounds and closely conforms to the uncompressed shape of the open cell foam core 27 which can easily be compressed to a significantly smaller size but when released, will expand back to its original shape. Between the fending cover 21 and the foam core 27 is an air tight bladder 28 that surrounds the foam core 27 and is connected to the air valve 23 which controls air flow in and out of the bladder 28. FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 8 show the foam core 27 uncompressed with the fender 20 in a state to act as a fending device provided that the air valve 23 is closed so it can hold its shape. FIG. 9 shows the fender 20 in a compressed state. This is accomplished by opening the air valve 23 and compressing the fender 20 with an external force until the foam core 27 has been compressed to a significantly smaller size and then closing the air valve 23. Under these conditions, atmospheric air pressure will keep the fender 20 compressed and it can be folded as shown in FIG. 9 for easy storage. Opening the air valve 23 will release the restriction of atmospheric air pressure and the fender 20 will expand back to its uncompressed size because of the expansion of the open cell foam core 27.

[0017] Although only one preferred embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A self inflating fender comprising:

a core of compressible material which can be easily compressed to a significantly smaller size but will assume its original shape when released;

a flexible, air tight cover completely surrounding and closely matching the uncompressed external shape of said core of compressible material;

a means of air control that controls air flow in and out of said air tight cover; and

a means of attachment for attaching said fender to a boat, dock or other appropriate structure.

2. A self inflating fender as recited in claim 1, in which said core of compressible material is in the shape of an elongated right circular cylinder having two opposing ends and consists of open cell foam.

3. A self inflating fender as recited in claim 2, in which said air tight cover is composed of a flexible vinyl tube with two opposing ends which extend beyond said opposing ends of said core of compressible material and are heat sealed to make said cover air tight and also to form a pair of flaps integral to said cover.

4. A self inflating fender as recited in claim 3, in which said flaps have grommetted openings and provide said means of attachment.

5. A self inflating fender as recited in claim 4, in which said means of air control is a manual air valve that when open will allow entrapped air to escape from inside said air tight cover when said fender is compressed to a smaller size or allow air to flow into said air tight cover when said fender is allowed to expand from said compressed smaller size to an uncompressed larger size because of the expansion of said core of compressible material and when closed will hold said fender in said compressed smaller size thus allowing easier storage or will hold said air tight cover in said uncompressed larger size thus allowing said air tight cover to act as a fending device.

6. A self inflating fender comprising:

a core of compressible material which can be easily compressed to a significantly smaller size but will assume its original shape when released;

an air tight bladder completely surrounding said core of resilient material;

a means of air control that controls air flow in and out of said bladder;

a flexible fending cover closely matching the uncompressed external shape of said core of compressible material and completely surrounding said bladder with an access hole for said means of air control; and

a means of attachment for attaching said fender to a boat, dock or other appropriate structure.

7. A self inflating fender as recited in claim 6, in which said core of compressible material is in the shape of an elongated right circular cylinder having two opposing ends and consists of open cell foam.

8. A self inflating fender as recited in claim 7, in which said bladder is constructed of light weight vinyl film with said means of air control being a manual air valve that when open will allow entrapped air to escape from inside said bladder when said bladder is compressed to a smaller size or allow air to flow into said bladder when said bladder is allowed to expand from said compressed smaller size to an uncompressed larger size because of the expansion of said core of compressible material and when closed will hold said bladder in said compressed smaller size thus allowing easier storage of said self inflating fender or will hold said bladder in said uncompressed larger size thus allowing said bladder to hold said fending cover in an enlarged state so as to act as a fending device.

9. A self inflating fender as recited in claim 8, in which said fending cover is a lay flat, flexible, abrasive resistant, reinforced vinyl tube with two opposing ends which extend beyond said opposing ends of said core of compressible material and are stitched closed so that said cover completely surrounds said bladder.

10. A self inflating fender as recited in claim 9, in which loops formed from fabric webbing are incorporated into the stitching closed of said two opposing ends of said fending cover thereby providing said means of attachment.