Appeal No. 2001-0180
Application No. 08/887,421
to the top of the raft on opposite sides thereof.
The straps can be extended over a motor vehicle such
as an automobile, as shown in FIG. 1, to secure the
vehicle in the raft.
In operation of the raft, it will be initially
deflated so that the vehicle can be run up on the
raft. The front wheels of the vehicle will be
positioned in the forward openings 32 and the rear
wheels will be positioned in the rear openings 34.
The raft may then be inflated through valve 44 until
the bottom of the vehicle is fully supported on the
inflated floor 30 and the wheels are suspended in
the openings with the lowermost points of the wheels
located just below the bottoms of the constricted
straight portions 50, 52 of the openings where they
begin to flare outwardly to form the obliquely
disposed lower walls 36, 38 and 40, 42. The rear
wheels of the vehicle will turn when the motor of
the vehicle is run so that the raft is propelled in
the water. The front wheels, which are disposed in
the larger openings and frictionally engage the
water, can be turned laterally to steer the raft by
traction. They have the same effect as a pair of
forwardly located parallel rudders. If the vehicle
has all four wheels driven by the engine, a more
rapid propelling action in the water will be had,
with the front wheels still turnable to steer the
raft. The straps 46 will be tied to the loops 48
after the vehicle V is fully positioned in the
compartment 22 and the raft fully inflated [column
1, line 65, through column 2, line 38].
It is not disputed that Curcio responds to all of the
limitations in claim 17 except for the one requiring “grommet
means at said front and rear ends for positioning said raft
under a vehicle and/or tethering the front and rear ends of
said raft to a stationary object in flood waters.”
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Last modified: November 3, 2007