US3088732A - Water roller - Google Patents

P. R. H ETLAND May 7, 1963

WATER ROLLER

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 16, 1959 AWE/VERS P. R. HETLAND May 7, 1963

WATER ROLLER

2 Sheets-

Sheet

2 Filed March 16, 1959 /NVENTOE 7mm E. HETLAND AW'OENEYS United States Patent O 3,088,732 WATER ROLLER Philip R. Hetland, 1015 S. River Drive, Moorhead, Minn. Filed Mar. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 799,574 3 Claims. (Cl. 272-1) This invention relates to a new and novel type of recreational water device. More particularly the invention relates to a water roller to be used by one or more participants to enjoy a new water sport.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line and looking in the direction of the

arrows

2 2 of FIGURE l to illustrate the structure for retaining the inflatable tubes in spaced relationship and for mounting the footholders;

IFIGURE

7 is a vertical sectional view of the water roller illustrated in FIGURE 6, said view being taken along the line and looking in the direction of the

arrow

7 7 of `FIGURE 6 to illustrate the structure for mountrrlilg and retaining the inflatable tubes in spaced relation- S 1P;

The

main frame

13 includes a pair of

rims

12 for mounting the tubes, said rims acting to keep the tubes circular and partially rigid and also serving as structure for the attachment of other elements of the frame to be described hereinafter. The rims and the tires mounted thereon have the same rotational axis and are retained in spaced, generally parallel relationship by a modified X- frame member 14 at the top as seen in FIGURE l which is secured to the

rims

12 at the respective end portions of said X-frame and at the bottom by the longitudinal frame i8. The modified X-frame (see FIGURES l and 2) includes a pair of spaced

handhold bars

16 which extend longitudinally between the two spaced, inflated tubes and are bent outwardly and downwardly at their :outer ends to have curved legs i5 formed integral therewith. The outer ends of the curved legs are removably secured to the respective `adjacent portions of the rims by means such as

cap screws

17. The radius of curvature of the curved legs is of a length similar to the radius of a cross-section of the tube. As a result, the curved legs are of a dimension such that they aid in retaining the adjacent tube on the rim. Two

short bars

23 connect the

handhold bars

16 at their ends, one

bar

23 being adjacent each of the

rims

12. Thus the modified X-frame comprises the

aforementioned handhold bars

16, four

curved legs

15 and two

short bars

23.

The

frame member

18 includes a pair of

rods

19 mounted to extend generally parallel to the X-frame, each rod being welded at one end to the inner periphery of the

rim

12 at a position diametrically across the rim from the X-frame. Each rod'extends approximately onehalf of the longitudinal distance to the opposite rim. A pipe 2i) covered with a

spongy material

21 to prevent bruising of the limbs of the participants using the water roller forms a snug fit over the adjacent end portions of each of the aforementioned rods thus joining said rods in elfect, to form a cross piece.

Attached to each of the

rods

19 are downwardly extending

U-shaped tubes

24 which extend in planes that are generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said rods and lie within close proximity of each of the inflated tubes. The transversely extending

web portion

24a of each of the U-shaped tubes is welded to the rods while

curved braces

22 are secured at one end to the rirn-s 12 and extend in an inwardly and downwardly direction to be secured at their opposite ends to the lower end of the adjacent

hollow legs

24b of the U-shaped tubes. Each of the curved braces may be concavely curved so that the generally at surface thus formed will extend over Va portion of the inner `surface of the rim and around a portion of the inflated tube to aid in retaining the adjacent tube on the rim. The pipe 2t) is covered with a spongy material since the participants may place their knees against said pipe as a means of obtaining additional leverage to rotate the water roller in the desired direction, while the tubes 24- are rigidly braced since a large force is exerted thereupon by the participants weight and movement.

A pair of parallel, longitudinally extending U-shaped

support members

27 having upwardly turned

legs

27a iat their end portions may also form part of the frame 1S, said upwardly turned legs being inserted in the respective hollow legs of the

U-shaped tube

24 and removably retained therein by nuts and

bolts

32. The bolts are extended through appropriate apertures 24e, 27C formed in each of the

legs

24b and the

upturned legs

27a, there being a plurality of spaced apertures 24C, 27C in said legs to form an adjustment to be described hereinafter.

Mounted on the web portion 27b of the support bracket in spaced relationship are a right and

left footholder

26. Each of the footholders includes an angle member 2S that is welded at its center portion to the web of the support bracket and has yan upwardly extending

element

28a formed integral therewith at its outer end. A

fabric web member

29 is secured to the inner end of the member 2S to be extended across the instep of a

foot

30, over the top of the foot and thence around the ankle and in back of the heel where it is secured to the upwardly extending

element

28a. Each footholder which may be considered to include the adjacent portion of the

support member

28 forms means for holding and supporting the foot of a user of the device. The reversely bent end portions formed on either end of the support bracket serve to prevent the loop of the fabric from slipping off of said bracket.

The structure of one of the embodiments of my invention having been described, I will now set forth the structure of a second embodiment of the invention. The second embodiment of a Water roller of my invention, generally designated 40, has the same general construction as the rst embodiment except for diiferences pointed out hereinafter. The water roller of the second embodiment includes a pair of

inllatable tubes

41 held in longitudinally spaced relationship by the

main frame

43. The

rnain yframe

43 includes a pair of spaced

rims

42 which serve to keep the tube circular and serve as a point of attachment for the other parts. The portion of the main frame that holds the tubes in spaced relationship includes the modified X-frame 46 attached to the bottom inner peripheral portion (as shown in FIGURE 6) of each of the rims and a pair of parallel longitudinally extending

bars

49 which are secured at their opposite end portions to the top portions of the respective rims. Each of the

bars

49 may include an outwardly extending curved leg portion having a radius of curvature slightly larger than the adjacent portion of the inflated tube around which it extends similarly as the curved legs of the irst embodiment; however, as presently illustrated, the bars are straight members.

The X-frame 46 includes a pair of

legs

47 diverging outwardly from one another to be iattached to spaced portions of the adjacent rim, there being a pair of legs formed at the opposite longitudinal end portions of the frame. Each pair of legs are joined by a longitudinally extending

member

48 which forms part of the X-frame. It is to be noted that the

legs

47 may be shaped similarly to the curved legs `15.

Secured to the X-frame and the longitudinal bars are a pair of U-shaped

hollow tubes

50 which may be considered as forming a portion of the frame. Each U- shaped tube is |inverted as shown in FIGURE 7 to have the

web

50a located near the top of the adjacent tube while the respective leg portions 5017 extend vertically downwardfrom the web to an elevation substantially lower than the bottom of the inflated tubes. The upper end of each tube so may Serve as a handheld bar.

Two longitudinally extending

support members

51 extend between the lower end of the two U-shaped tubes, one support member connecting the 'legs on one side and the other connecting those on the other side. The support member may be of the same construction as

support member

27 and may be adjustably mounted in a similar manner. Mounted on each of the support members in spaced 4relationship are a left and right footholder `52. The

footholders

52 may be of the same construction as the

footholders

28 of the rst embodiment.

A third embodiment of my invention (see FIGURE 8) generally designated 60, may be of the same construction as either of the first two embodiments except for the differences set forth hereinafter. For the purpose of describing the third embodiment it will be assumed that it includes a

main frame

64 of the same construction as the frame 13l of the first embodiment. The

frame

64 includes a modied

X-frame member

62 detachably secured to a pair of spaced rims (only one of said rims being shown and said modified X-frame being partially illustrated). Mounted on each

rim

65 is an inatable tube 61.

Secured to Veach of the tubes are a plurality of radially extending

vanes

63. The radially extending vanes may be formed integral with the inflatable tube (as shown in FIGURE 8), vulcanized to the inflatable tube, or may be removably attached to the outer periphery of the tube by means of a strap (not shown) which extends from one of the vertical edges of the vane, around the inner periphery of the tube, and removably secured to the opposite vert-ical edge of said vane. By providing the aforementioned radial vanes on each of the inflatable tubes, the tube will act as `a Water wheel and translatory motion will accompany the rotational motion of said tubes. The translatory motion Would be relatively straight; however, it can be directed along the surface of the water in one direction or another if the participants wish by putting more weight on the footholds adjacent the tube in the direction which they wish to direct the tube than on the other footholds. v

'Ihe water roller may be used in either shallow or deep water; however, it is preferable that the depth of the water be more than three feet. After the water roller has been placed in the water, the participants face one another with their feet in the footholders and their hands grasping the respective handholders. By a combination of motions somewhat akin to a simple swing and shifting of the persons weight, the apparatus can be made to oscillate and rotate. For example, assume that two persons have taken the positions just described and have achieved a state of balance. If the person on the lefthand side of the roller shown in FIGURE 2 moves so as to displace the 4downward component of his body Weight further from the rotational Aaxis of the water roller, the water roller will rotate in the direction of the

arrow

80 thus lowering the person on the left hand side feet first into the water. At the same time the person on the right hand `side will be lifted and if the roller continues to rotate go head over heels into the Water. In other words, one individual dives head first into the Water and comes out head first and the other individual goes in feet first and comes out feet first. As apparent, the person that goes head rst into the water would be dependent upon the shifting of weights of the participants with respect to the rotational axis of the water roller. The rotation of the water roller can be continued through a full revolution or several revolutions or stopped after one revolution by properly shifting the body weights. The person on the right of course contributes to the force causing the rotation by properly shifting his weight. Eventually a swinging rhythm can be developed by the participants as they move through a revolution. In order to facilitate the operation of the roller when persons of different heights and weights use it, the footholder support members are made adjustable Within the U- Ishaped tube by providing a plurality of spaced apertures in each of the support legs and the U-shaped tube legs and bolts for holding said members in an adjusted position.

As may be noted in FIGURES 3 and r4 the footholders Iare somewhat similar to the types used on water skis and are of quite sturdy construction since at times, a persons weight is hanging from said footholders. In order for a participant to place a

foot

30 in one of the footholders the toes `are first pointed out, then the foot is slipped through the footholders, and finally the toes are pointed straight ahead as illustrated in FIGURE 4. Although the footholders will retain the foot in position, there is little danger of the participant bein-g held in a dangling posi-tion against his will, since the foot can be easily released by merely relaxing it and letting the toes point out.

As previously stated, the water roller may be constructed to be dismantled after being used to minimize the space necessary for transporting and for storing it. For example, in

water roller

10, after the

bolts

17 are removed, the modified X-frame may be disconnected from the remaining portions of the frame; and after the

bolts

32 have been removed, the

support member

18 may be detached from the U-shaped foot-support member Z7. Next the two tubes and the rims on which they are mounted may be pulled apart by pulling the

rods

19 out of the

pipe

20. Now the water roller may be stored in a minimum lamount of space, provided of course, that the tubes are deflated.

With respect to the

pipe

20, the water roller could be constructed and rolled without the provision of said pipe and by using

shorter rods

19. However, the pipe does give added rigidity, serves as a knee rest and may be used to obtain additional leverage if desired.

If the water roller is to be used by one per-son, in order to have the center of gravity of the .single user close enough to the rotational axis to permit rolling, it is desirable that, for example, in the rst embodiment that the U-shaped support member Z7 on the opposite side be reversed. Thus in FIGURE 2, the person using the roller 'would be using the handholder y16 on the right side and place his feet in the footholders on the left side. It has been found that the

pipe

20 causes no inconvenience when the roller is used in the above manner.