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(11) | EP 0 071 427 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Rollable dinghy arrangement |
| (57) To facilitate manipulation of a dinghy by rolling it along the ground, a handle 17
having a pair of spaced-apart collars 19 is pushed Into a socket 16 until said socket
16 is disposed between the collars 19. A slight lateral or angular displacement of
the handle 17 ensures the collars 19 will engage the ends of the socket 16 and prevent
handle withdrawal. Equipment suspended from handle 17 will contribute to handle retention. |
[0002] I have already proposed, in my prior United Kingdom patent Application No. 79 03623, a dinghy which is of circular configuration, when viewed in plan,and which is provided, at its centre, with a socket or like means, enabling a handle to be fitted to the dinghy. With this handle in position, the dinghy can be turned onto its periphery, like a wheel, and can be rolled along, by use of the handle which enables the dinghy both to be propelled and to be steered, and the arrangement serves to facilitate handling and movement of the dinghy whilst it is on land. It permits the dinghy to be moved about, for instance between a storage location and the edge of the sea or a lake, by one man even though the dinghy may be of a weight not readily liftable by one person.
[0003] In my aforesaid prior patent application I have proposed various handle/socket arrangements in a dinghy as-above discussed. For instance, in one proposal, a circumferential groove around the handle is engaged by a spring-loaded retaining peg which, accordingly, serves to prevent unintentional separation of the handle from the dinghy.
[0004] A dinghy user will, in general, have with him, various items of equipment which he wishes to take with him and, perhaps, to use when he has reached his destination. For convenience of carrying, these items of equipment may be provided in a carrying bag having loops, carrying handles or one or more drawstrings, which bag can be hung upon the handle of the dinghy whilst the latter is being rolled over the ground.
[0005] Experience shows that mechanisms, in dinghys, involving moving parts, do not find much favour. Such mechanisms are generally susceptible to deterioration from contact with water and particularly seawater and can very quickly become inoperative. Moreover a handle arrangement involving the manipulation of a retainer mechanism for its fitting or removal can be regarded as a nuisance by a user or potential purchaser of the dinghy, espec- ially when account is taken of the fact that the user may require to carry supplementary equipment as has just been referred to.
[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement as above discussed wherein the handle arrangement can be engaged with the dinghy in a simple and convenient manner which does not involve mechanisms having moving parts, and which enables the handle to be detached in a correspondingly simple and convenient manner.
[0007] With this object in view, the present invention provides a rollable dinghy arrangement comprising a dinghy which is circular in plan and has centrally thereof a socket arrangement providing a tubular socket or the like having therethrough a hole for reception of a pole or oar which will serve as a handle for manipulating the dinghy by rolling over the ground, characterised in that the handle comprises a shank whereon are provided a spaced-apart pair of collars of external diameter less than the diameter of the hole so that the handle may be fitted into the socket with one of the collars at each end of the socket or'the like.
[0008] With the handle so fitted, the dinghy can be manipulated without any great risk of the handle shifting axially relative to the dinghy, since such shifting is obstructed by the collars. In other words, in use, the handle will take up a position sufficiently offset to prevent disengagement.
[0009] In order that the invention may be fully understood, it will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:-
Fig. 1 is a perspective view from above illustrating the dinghy of a preferred embodiment of the dinghy arrangement of the invention (i.e. the handle is omitted);
Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, to a reduced scale, illustrating the same embodiment of the dinghy arrangement of the invention in its condition and position for rolling; and
Fig. 3° is a diagrammatic elevation, to a further reduced scale illustrating how the dinghy of Figs. 1 and 2 can be moved about by rolling.
[0010] As shown in the drawing, the preferred embodiment of the dinghy assembly of the invention comprises a basic rollable dinghy having an inflatable annular circular body 10 of tough plastics or rubber, preferably compartmented to ensure buoyance even in the event of a puncture, and provided with an integral floor 11. Formed in the body 10 are locators 12 for rowlocks 13 which may, if desired, be removable.
[0011] 14 Welded-on holders/at two diametrically - opposed locations on the top of the body 10 serve to receive the ends of a transverse board 15 which can, if desired, serve as a seat for occupants of the dinghy.
[0012] Provided through the transverse board 15, substantially at the centre of the dinghy, when viewed in plan, is a generally cylindrical socket 16. This serves to receive, removably, a handle 17 by which the dinghy may be rolled and manipulated when on land and on its edge. This handle 17 is in the form of a pole of diameter smaller than the diameter of the socket 16, and provided thereon, at its lower end 18, and at a spacing greater than the axial length of the socket 16 are a pair of flange-like collars 19 whose outside diameter is less than the diameter of the socket 16.
[0013] For fitting the handle 17 to the dinghy, it is only necessary to insert the respective end 18 of the handle 17 into the socket 16 so that it penetrates to.the extent of the socket 16 being disposed between the two collars 19. Then, a slight vertical, angular and/or lateral movement of the handle 17 ensures that the collars 19 will engage with the respective ends of the socket 16 and prevent handle withdrawal. Of course, when the dinghy is being manipulated, the disposition of the handle 17 relative to the socket 16 will, in general, always be such that the collars will obstruct handle removal. As indicated in Fig. 3, any weight, such as a bag 20 carrying oars 21 and other equipment, suspended from the handle 17 will contribute to handle retention. A user 22 can, thus, roll the dinghy like a wheel while gripping the handle 17 which may be used to steer and control the dinghy.
1. A rollable dinghy arrangement comprising a dinghy which is circular in plan and
has centrally thereof a socket arrangement providing a tubular socket or the like
having therethrough a hole for reception of a pole or oar which will serve as a handle
for manipulating the dinghy by rolling over the ground, characterised in that the
handle comprises a shank whereon are provided a spaced-apart pair of collars of external
diameter less than the diameter of the hole so that the handle may be fitted into
the socket with one of the collars at each end of the socket or the like.
2. A rollable dinghy arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the socket arrangement
is provided through a transverse board extending across the top of the dinghy.
3. A rollable dinghy arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference
to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.