US20110081812A1

US20110081812A1 - Self-supporting Marker Buoy

Info

Publication number: US20110081812A1
Application number: US12/571,788
Authority: US
Inventors: Li-Chuan Tu
Original assignee: Shine Sport Facility Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shine Sport Facility Co Ltd
Priority date: 2009-10-01
Filing date: 2009-10-01
Publication date: 2011-04-07

Abstract

A self-supporting marker buoy includes an upper unit, a lower unit, and a rim-engaging cover. The upper unit is a frustum which further includes a base opening facing downwards, a hollow center, and a base rim around the base opening. The lower unit is an upside-down frustum, which further includes a top opening facing upwards, a hollow center, a top rim around the top opening, and a water entry at the bottom of the lower unit. The radius of the base opening of the upper unit is less than that of the top opening of the lower unit.

Description

1. FILED OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a maker buoy; and, in particular, it relates to a self-supporting marker buoy that floats stably by itself in water or stands in well balance on land, dispensing with a ballast-like object.

2. DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Marker buoys are used quite often to delimit the boundary for a pre-set area. Meanwhile, marker buoys seen in the market are generally made of floating materials such as Styrofoam, which are bound together with a heavy object via a line to make marker buoys float over the water within limits and without being drifting away.
The disadvantage of above-mentioned traditional marker buoys is that they are tied with a heavy object as a ballast, which requires more space for storage and is also less convenient in use.

3. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention therefore improves over conventional prior arts and provides a self-supporting marker buoy which is dispense with an extra ballast object. The unique design in the present invention does not require complicated implementation, either. The self-supporting marker buoy of the present invention is able to float over water with sufficient balance and serves as a target locator. The small volume this marker buoy has requires only a small storage space; and the simple design it has also makes it a lot easier to operate.
A self-supporting marker buoy disclosed in this application refers to a device, which is used to locate a target position in the water, includes an upper unit and a lower unit. Each of the upper unit and the lower unit is surrounded by an outer rim. An interface is used to engage border areas of the two rims together to make a shell-like marker buoy with a hollow center. A water hole is disposed at the bottom of the lower unit for water to come into the marker buoy. The marker buoy is able to float stably over the water whenever the air pressure inside the buoy is greater than the water pressure inside the buoy. Unlike conventional marker buoys, no ballasts are required in this invention.
To be more specific, the marker buoy disclosed in this application includes an upper unit, a lower unit, and a rim-engaging cover. Each of the upper unit and the lower unit further includes a base rim and a top rim, respectively. The upper unit and the lower unit is engaged via an interface which engages the base rim to the top rim to become a shell-like object with a hollow center. A water hole is disposed at the bottom of the lower unit for water to come in. Nevertheless, whenever the inside air pressure is greater than the inside water pressure, no more water can come into the marker buoy anymore. Meanwhile, the maker buoy is able to float stably over the water by carrying sufficient weight of water inside. Thus, the marker buoy functions well to serve as location marker in the water.
Preferably, the lower unit is of the shape of an upside-down frustum, while the upper unit is of the shape of a frustum. Accordingly, the overall shape of the marker buoy has a narrower top and wider base, which is well designed for balancing purpose.
Preferably, the interface between the upper unit and the lower unit is made of a tender and resilient materials.
Preferably, the interface between the upper unit and the lower unit is implemented as an elastic clip-on.
Preferably, to allow outside water to come quickly into the marker buoy, an air-flowing hole is disposed on the side of the lower unit.

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: An exploded view of the first preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2: An assembly view of the first preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3: A view of the first preferred embodiment of the invention in water.

FIG. 4: A view of the first preferred embodiment of the invention on ground.

FIG. 5: A view of the first preferred embodiment of the invention with air-flowing hole disposed on the side wall.

FIG. 6: An exploded view of the second preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7: An assembly view of the second preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8: A view of the second preferred embodiment of the invention in water.

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Referring to FIG. 1, a marker buoy 4 includes an upper unit 1, a lower unit 2, and a rim-engaging cover 3. The upper unit 1 of a shape of a frustum (i.e. a cone with the point cut off), which further includes a base opening facing downwards, a hollow center, and a base rim 11 around the base opening.
Corresponding to the upper unit in shape, the lower unit 2 is of a shape of an upside-down frustum, which further includes a top opening facing upwards, a hollow center, a top rim 21 around the top opening, and a water entry at the bottom of the lower unit. The radius of the base opening of the upper unit is less than that of the top opening of the lower unit.
The rim-border-engaging cover 3, made of tender and elastic materials and also has the shape of a rim, is used to seal and cover the border of both the base rim 11 and the top rim 21. Therefore, the length and radius of rim-border-engaging cover 3 is decided by those of the base rim 11 and the top rim 21.
In assembling, the upper unit 1 is first assembled with the lower unit 2 by having the base rim 11 of the upper unit 1 engage with the top rim 21 of the lower unit 2. The rim-engaging cover 3 then covers and seals up the border of both the base rim 11 and the top rim 21 that are exposed outside and have the largest radius of the base rim 11 and the top rim 21, respectively. FIG. 3 shows an assembled marker buoy disclosed in this application.
When in water, the marker buoy 4 illustrated in FIG. 3 allows water 5 to come inside through the water entry 22 at the bottom of the lower unit 2. When the air pressure inside the marker buoy 4 becomes greater than the hydraulic pressure of the water inside the marker buoy 4, no more water can enter the marker buoy 4 through the water entry 22 any more. In other words, when the air pressure inside the marker buoy 4 becomes greater than the hydraulic pressure of the water inside the marker buoy 4, it essentially blocks any water to come into the marker buoy 4, even though the water entry is implemented in this application as an opening which could never be realistically turned off.
Referring to FIG. 4, the marker buoy is also easily adapted to ground 6, which stands in well balance for making a boundary.
Referring to FIG. 5, preferably, an air-flowing hole 23 is disposed at a pre-determined height of the side wall of the lower unit 2. Due to the opposing air flowing effect originated from the air-flowing hole 23, water 5 can come quickly into the marker buoy to make air pressure larger than air pressure inside of buoy for a better balance.
Referring back to FIG. 1, the rim-engaging cover 3 in FIG. 1 can also be implemented as a clip-on 3′, as shown in FIG. 6. The clip-on has an opening channel or trough facing inwards (i.e. facing towards the center of the marker buoy), which tightly snap both the base rim 11 of the upper unit 1 and the top rim 21 of the lower unit 2 into the trough, as shown in FIG. 8.
Still referring to FIG. 8, when in water, some water 5 comes into the buoy 4 through the water entry 22. When the air pressure inside the marker buoy 4 becomes greater than the water pressure inside the marker buoy 4, it essentially blocks water 5 to come into the marker buoy 4. In the meantime, the marker buoy contains enough water inside for balancing itself without extra support.

Claims

1. A marker buoy, which includes

an upper unit, which further

a base opening with a radius B facing downwards,

an upper hollow center, and

a base rim around said base opening;

a lower unit, which further includes

a top opening with a radius T facing upwards,

a lower hollow center,

a top rim around said top opening, and

a water entry at the bottom of said lower unit; and

a rim-border-engaging cover.

2. The marker buoy as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper unit is of the shape of a frustum with a height of U, and said lower unit is of the shape of an upside-down frustum with a height L, wherein L is less than L, and said radius B of said base opening is less than said radius T of said top opening.

3. The marker buoy as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rim-border-engaging cover is made of tender and resilient materials.

4. The marker buoy as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rim-border-engaging cover is an elastic clip-on.

5. The marker buoy as claimed in claim 1, wherein an air-flowing hole is disposed at a pre-determined height of said lower unit.