GB2616327A

GB2616327A - A water sports board

Info

Publication number: GB2616327A
Application number: GB2216528.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dos Santos Thibaud
Original assignee: Ozone Kitesurf Ltd
Current assignee: Ozone Kitesurf Ltd
Priority date: 2022-11-07
Filing date: 2022-11-07
Publication date: 2023-09-06
Anticipated expiration: 2042-11-07
Also published as: GB202216528D0; GB2616327B

Abstract

A water sports board 1comprises: an inflatable body 50; a first rigid platform 10 on top of an upper surface of the inflatable body; a rigid pod (20, Fig 2) extending downwardly from the first rigid platform and through an aperture (55, Fig 2) of the inflatable body to a lower surface of the inflatable body the rigid pod comprising a second rigid platform (30, Fig 2) at the lower surface of the inflatable body; and a hydrofoil device 70 comprising a mount (71, Fig 2) for mounting the hydrofoil device to the second rigid platform.

Description

A WATER SPORTS BOARD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a water sports board, in particular a water sports board comprising a hydrofoil device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Water sports boards such as windsurfing boards, kitesurfing boards and surfing boards are well known, as are hydrofoil devices. In recent years, the addition of hydrofoil devices to water sports boards has become more and more common. Hydrofoil devices allow the board to rise up from the water once a certain speed of travel is reached, reducing the resistance presented by the water against the travel of the board, and enabling speeds to rise higher than before. There are a few industry standards in place for the interface between the hydrofoil device and the water sports board, such that most hydrofoil devices can be fitted to a multitude of different water sports boards, and are often sold separately from water sports boards.

Water sports boards are also bulky, and so considerable effort has been put towards developing water sports boards having an inflatable body that can be deflated to a much smaller size and stowed away for transport/storage. One of the problems with water sports boards having inflatable bodies is that they lack the rigidity of conventional water sports boards, and this present a particular problem when a hydrofoil device is to be fitted to the board. The user of the water sports board requires accurate transmission of forces from their feet to the hydrofoil in order to control the movement of the hydrofoil through the water, and the presence of an inflatable body between the user's feet and the hydrofoil does not allow accurate transmission of forces since the inflatable body tends to squash and allows the hydrofoil to wallow somewhat in relation to the user's feet.

US 2022/0212761 Al addresses this problem by providing a rigid platform upon which the user stands, and a mast of the hydrofoil device is connected to the platform and extends down through an aperture in the inflatable body and into the water. Then, there is no squashable inflatable layer in between the user's feet and the hydrofoil device, providing the user with more precise and responsive control. But, hydrofoil devices intended for water sports boards commonly have a flange at an upper end of a mast, the flange for fitting to the water sports board, and so the aperture in the inflatable body has to be large enough to receive the flange. Since the mast is much smaller than the flange, in practice this leaves a large gap between the mast and the inflatable body once the flange has been fitted to the rigid platform. The gap results in increased water resistance and makes it more difficult to get the board up to a speed where it will rise up from the water under the influence of the hydrofoil device. Foam inserts are commercially available to fill the gap, but these constitute additional components which is undesirable, and which may cause difficulty if they become lost or damaged.

It is therefore an object of the invention to improve upon the known art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a the invention, there is provided a water sports board comprising: an inflatable body; a first rigid platform on top of an upper surface of the inflatable body; a rigid pod extending downwardly from the first rigid platform and through an aperture of the inflatable body to a lower surface of the inflatable body, the rigid pod comprising a second rigid platform at the lower surface of the inflatable body; and a hydrofoil device comprising a mount for mounting the hydrofoil device to the second rigid platform.

Since the rigid pod provides a second rigid platform at the lower surface of the hydrofoil body, to which the hydrofoil device can be attached, there is no need to pass any flange of the hydrofoil device up through the aperture in the inflatable body, there is no mast narrower than the flange left to reside within the aperture, and there is no need for any foam inserts to fill any gap between the mast and the edges of the aperture anymore.

Instead, the hydrofoil device can be mounted to the second rigid platform in just the same manner as it would be mounted to the base of a more conventional non-inflatable water sports board. This also allows the hydrofoil device to perform as the designer originally intended, since the hydrofoil elements will be the correct distance away from the user's feet, instead of ending up closer to the user's feet as a result of the flange being mounted near the top of the board rather than at the bottom of the board.

The invention may be applied to various types of water sports board, for example but not limited to wingfoil boards, wingsurf boards, kitefoil boards and Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) foil boards.

It will be appreciated that the first and second platforms and the pod are referred to herein as first and second rigid platforms and a rigid pod, since they are rigid in comparison to the inflatable body, which is inherently more flexible or squashable. Their rigidity results in improved transmission of forces from the user's feet to the hydrofoil device. The first rigid platform provides a surface for the user of the water sports board to stand upon, and the second rigid platform has a fixed position relative to the first rigid platform via the rigid pod, the second rigid platform for mounting the hydrofoil device.

The hydrofoil device typically comprises a mast having the mount at one end of the mast and one or more hydrofoils mounted to the mast. The mount may for example comprise a flange at an upper end of the mast, the flange configured to mount against the second rigid platform with the flange and the second rigid platform extending in parallel planes to one another. Since the flange and the second rigid platform extend in parallel planes to one another, the flange and the second rigid platform connect with one another over a large area to help transmit bending forces that are applied along the mast through to the rigid pod, with minimal relative movement between the mast and the rigid pod.

The second rigid platform may have a length greater than a length of the flange of the mast, and the second rigid platform may additionally have a width greater than a width of the flange of the mast, to ensure the full area of the flange will be supported by the second rigid platform.

The second rigid platform may comprise a plurality of tracks extending in a direction along a length of the water sports board, and the mount may be configured to mount at a variable position along the tracks. This allows the hydrofoil device to be moved forwardly or rearwardly along the board, to adjust the handling characteristics of the water sports board according to user preference. This adjustability is not practical in the known mounting system of US 2022/0212761 Al, since the aperture becomes too large if it has to accommodate a range of different positions of the mount of the hydrofoil on the rigid platform where the user stands, and an even greater area needs to be filled with foam inserts.

The first rigid platform and the upper surface of the inflatable body may extend in parallel planes to one another, allowing the first rigid platform to lay flat upon the top of the inflatable body and transmit the forces from the hydrofoil device and rigid pod to the inflatable body. The first rigid platform may be provided with screws, bolts or adhesive for attaching the first rigid platform to the inflatable body. The first rigid platform may have length of between 30% and 70% of a length of the water sports board, and so it may connect with the water sports board over a wide area.

The second rigid platform and the lower surface of the inflatable body may extend in substantially parallel planes to one another, so that when mounted to the second rigid platform the hydrofoil device will extend from the water sports board at a same or similar angle to if it was mounted to the lower surface of the inflatable body. This will be the angle that the designer originally intended the hydrofoil device to be set at, since the hydrofoil device will have been designed with non-inflatable boards in mind, in which the hydrofoil device is attached to the lower surface of the board.

Preferably, the second rigid platform is substantially co-planer with the lower surface of the inflatable body. This allows the combination of the second rigid platform and the lower surface of the inflatable body to together present a substantially flat exterior surface, to minimise water resistance during travel of the board through the water.

The first rigid platform and the rigid pod may be repeatedly removable and attachable to the inflatable body. This enables the first rigid platform and the rigid pod to be moved between different shapes or sizes of inflatable bodies, depending on user requirements. To allow fitment of the first rigid platform and the pod to inflatable bodies of varying thicknesses, the rigid pod may be adjustable to adjust a distance of the second rigid platform from the first rigid platform. For example, the rigid pod may comprise a plurality of layers which can be added or removed from the rigid pod to adjust the distance of the second rigid platform from the first rigid platform. A range of inflatable bodies may be sold for use with the first rigid platform and first pod, and the range of inflatable bodies may have thicknesses corresponding to the possible thicknesses that the rigid pod can be adjusted to.

Preferably, a cross-section of the rigid pod taken at a point along the extension of the rigid pod from the first rigid platform to the second rigid platform, has a width that is no less than seven times a length of the cross section. The width is in a direction across the width of the water sports board and the length is in a direction along the length of the water sports board. This minimum width aids the pod in resisting lateral (side-to-side) forces transmitted between the first and second rigid platforms in use.

The rigid pod may comprise an outside surface along the extension of the rigid pod from the first rigid platform to the second rigid platform, wherein the outside surface extends all of the way around the rigid pod, and wherein an area of contact of the inflatable body with the outside surface extends all of the way around the rigid pod. The outside surface defines the sides of the rigid pod. Since the inflatable body contacts the outside surface all of the way around the rigid pod, the rigid pod is securely held by the inflatable body and cannot move towards/away from the inflatable body in the plane of the water sports board during use. In addition, the rigid pod contributes to the overall rigidity of the sports board, and so in contrast to the system of US 2022/0212761 Al a large aperture size does not create any rigidity problems. The aperture can be made as large as needed to provide a firm attachment to the mount of the hydrofoil device.

The aperture is defined by an interior surface of the inflatable body, and the interior surface preferably extends both along the aperture axially and all of the way around the aperture. Accordingly, the interior surface of the inflatable body may press against the outside surface of the rigid pod around the full circumference or full perimeter of the rigid pod as the rigid pod passes through the aperture, under the influence of the air pressure inside the inflatable body. The references to the inflatable body herein refer to the inflatable body when it is in an inflated state, unless explicitly stated otherwise. It will be understood that the inflatable body can be deflated and deformed for transport/storage if needed.

The aperture is preferably closer to a rear of the water sports board than a front of the water sports board, and may be centred between 10% and 40% of the distance from the rear of the water sports board to the front of the water sports board.

The first rigid platform and the rigid pod may be repeatedly removable and attachable to one another, to further modularise the system. The rigid pod may comprise a flange that fits between the first rigid platform and the upper surface of the inflatable body, to prevent withdrawal of the rigid pod in a downward direction through the aperture. This ensures the rigid pod cannot be accidently pulled downwardly out of the board under forces exerted by the hydrofoil device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a schematic perspective diagram of a water sports board in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 shows an schematic exploded diagram of the water sports board of Fig. 1, comprising a first rigid platform with a rigid pod, and inflatable body, and a hydrofoil device; Fig. 3 shows a schematic perspective diagram of the underside of the water sports board of Fig. 1 without the hydrofoil device; Fig. 4 shows a range of inflatable bodies to which the first rigid platform and rigid pod of Fig. 2 may be fitted; Fig. 5 shows a partial schematic diagram showing a close-up view of the rigid pod being fitted into the inflatable body; and Fig. 6 shows a partial cross-sectional diagram of the first rigid platform, rigid pod and hydrofoil device.

The figures are not to scale, and same or similar reference signs denote same or similar features.

The schematic diagram of Fig. 1 shows a water sports board, generally designated at 1. The water sports board 1 comprises a first rigid platform 10 upon which a user of the board may stand. The first rigid platform 10 may be formed of any rigid material such as carbon fibre or fibreglass, and may be affixed to the top of an inflatable body 50 using bolts 10. The first rigid platform 10 may lie flat on top of the inflatable body 50, in a parallel plane with the upper surface of the inflatable body 50.

The water sports board may have a front end 2, a rear end 3 and sides 4 extending from the rear end to the front end. The first rigid platform 10 may be mounted nearer the rear 3 than the front 2, and centrally between the sides 4. The inflatable body 50 may be filled with air under pressure, and so can maintain its shape and resist the forces exerted by the user standing on the first rigid platform 10. The first rigid platform 10 may be bolted to the upper surface of the inflatable body 50 to help the inflatable body 50 maintain its shape and resist the forces exerted by the user. Other methods of attachment of the first rigid platform to the inflatable body could be used in alternate embodiments, for example a hook-andloop fastener could be used instead of bolts. The inflatable body 50 may for example be formed by an airtight canvas material, and suitable materials are well known in the art. There may be an inflation port 54 near the front 2 of the water sports board for inflating and deflating the inflatable body 50.

The first rigid platform 10 may be generally rectangular, may extend over greater than 40% of the area of the upper surface of the water sports board, and preferably extends to within 15cm of the rear 3 and within 15cm of the sides of the water sports board to provide a large area for the user to stand on. Preferably the first rigid platform does not extend all the way to the rear 3 and/or does not extend all the way to the sides of the water sports board, since this is not necessary to provide sufficient rigidity to the water sports board and the user is unlikely to want to stand at the very edges of the water sports board. The first rigid platform 10 may be substantially planar. The inflatable body 50 may define the overall shape and extent of the water sports board 1, and the water sports board 1 may have a length dimension Ln, a width dimension Wd, and a height dimension Ht. Thus, the inflatable body 50 may have a same length as the length of the whole water sports board 1 and a same width as the width of the whole water sports board 1.

The first rigid platform 10 preferably defines the upper surface of the water sports board, and may have a grippy covering such as a plastics or rubberised foam material to provide friction against the user's feet. In some embodiments, the first rigid platform 10 may be fitted with footstraps to help the user stay attached to water sports board 1 in use and transmit forces to the water sports board 1. The user may for example hold a windsurf / wingsurf wing to generate forward motion, or use a kite or windsurf sail.

The inflatable body 50 may have inserts beneath the first rigid platform 10 to receive the bolts 12, however alternative fixing means to bolts could be used in alternative embodiments, for example clips or even adhesives in a case where the first rigid platform 10 is not removable from the inflatable body 50.

Beneath the inflatable body 50, the water sports board 1 may comprise a hydrofoil device 70. The hydrofoil device 70 may have a mast 70 that extends downwardly into the water, and a boom fuselage 74 at a lowermost end of the mast 72, the boom extending perpendicular to the mast 70 in a direction along the length Ln of the water sports board 1. The boom 74 may support a front hydrofoil 76 and a rear hydrofoil 78, the front and rear hydrofoils 76 and 78 configured to generate lift as the water sports board 1 moves forwardly through the water. Some hydrofoil devices may have only one wing attached to the mast. The hydrofoil device 70 may be constructed of various materials, for example carbon fibre, fiberglass, plastics or aluminium.

The schematic diagram of Fig. 2 shows an exploded diagram of the water sports board 1, in which the first rigid platform 10 and the hydrofoil device 70 have been separated from the inflatable body 50. The first rigid platform 10 may locate on top of an upper surface 52 of the inflatable body 50, and normally be held there by the bolts 12. The first rigid platform 10 may have a rigid pod 20 attached to it with bolts 14. The rigid pod 20 may comprise a first end that is fixed to the first rigid platform 10 beneath the first rigid platform 10. The rigid pod 20 may extend downwardly from the underside of the first rigid platform 10, in a direction generally perpendicular to the first rigid platform 10, and may terminate with second rigid platform 30 at second end of the rigid pod 20 that is opposite to the first end. The second rigid platform 30 may be generally planar, and the first and second rigid platforms may be in parallel planes to one another. In an alternate embodiment, the rigid pod 20 may be permanently fixed to the first rigid platform 10, for example the rigid pod 20 and the first rigid platform 10 may be integrally formed as one piece.

The rigid pod 20 may have an outer surface 25 extending around the sides of the rigid pod, as the rigid pod extends from the first rigid platform 10 at the first end of the rigid pod to the second rigid platform 30 at the second end of the rigid pod. In this embodiment, the cross-section of the rigid pod 20 has a length around five times longer than a width of the cross-section, and the cross-section is generally rectangular with chamfered corners. The rigid pod 20 may be positioned towards the rear of the first rigid platform 10, centrally across the width of the rigid pod 20 and centrally across the width of the overall water sports board 1. The rigid pod 20 is typically formed of materials such as carbon fibre or fiberglass, which are more rigid than the inflatable body 50 that relies on air pressure to keep its shape.

The inflatable body 50 may comprise an aperture 55 for receiving the rigid pod 20. The aperture 55 may be located centrally across the width of the inflatable body 50 and centrally across the width of the water sports board 1, and may have a centre located around 10% to 30% of the length of the inflatable body 50 and of the water sports board 1. The aperture 55 may be defined by an interior surface 56 that extends from the upper surface of the inflatable body 50 to the lower surface of the inflatable body 50, and extends all of the way around the aperture 55. Thus, the aperture 55 goes all of the way through the inflatable body 50.

The cross-section of the aperture 55 may be sized to substantially match the cross-section of the rigid pod 20, such that the rigid pod 20 can be inserted into the aperture 50. Due to the flexible and squashable nature of the inflatable body 50, the rigid pod 20 is best inserted into the aperture 55 before the inflatable body 50 has been inflated, since insertion is unlikely to be possible when the inflatable body 50 has been inflated. After inflation, the interior surface 56 of the inflatable body may press against the outer surface 25 of the rigid pod all of the way around the perimeter of the rigid pod, and the chamfered corners of the rigid pod 20 may help prevent any damage to the inflatable body 50.

The length of extension of the rigid pod 20 from the first rigid platform 10 to the second rigid platform 30 may substantially match the depth of the inflatable body 50 from the upper to the lower surfaces of the inflatable body 50 around the aperture 50. Therefore, once the rigid pod 20 has been fully inserted into the aperture 55 and the inflatable body inflated, the second rigid platform 30 is substantially co-planar with the lower surface of the inflatable body 50 (see Fig. 3).

The hydrofoil device 70 may comprise a flange 71 that is at an upper end of the hydrofoil device, at an opposite end of the mast 72 from the boom 42. The flange 71 may extend over a plane that is substantially perpendicular to the mast 72, and the flange 71 may define a mount for mounting the hydrofoil device to the second rigid platform 30. The flange 71 and the second rigid platform 30 may be in parallel planes when the flange 71 is mounted to the second rigid plafform 30, and the second rigid platform 30 may extend over a larger area than the flange 71 to ensure the flange 71 will be supported by the second rigid platform over the full area of the flange 71.

The schematic diagram of Fig. 3 shows the underside of the water sports board 1, opposite from the top side visible in Fig 1. The hydrofoil device 70 has been omitted from Fig. 3 for clarity, and it can been seen how the second rigid platform 30 may be exposed at the bottom of the inflatable body 50, generally co-planar with the bottom of the inflatable body 50. The second rigid platform 30 comprises two tracks 32 and 34, which may be parallel with one another and extend in a direction along the length of the water sports board. The two tracks 32 and 34 may receive bolts that connect the second rigid platform 30 to the flange 71 of the hydrofoil device 70. The position of the hydrofoil device 70 along the length of the water sports board may be altered by moving the bolts along the tracks 32 and 34 until the desired position is reached and the bolts are then fully tightened.

The first rigid platform 10 and rigid pod 20 with its second rigid platform 30 may be removable from the inflatable body 50 once the inflatable body 50 has been deflated, and applied to other inflatable bodies. Thus, the user can save needing multiple ones of the first rigid platform 10 and rigid pod 20 to accommodate their multiple inflatable bodies 50, and just switch the first rigid platform 10 and rigid pod 20 to whichever inflatable body 50 they wish to use. The schematic diagram of Fig. 4 shows a range of three different inflatable bodies 50a, 50b and 50c that the user may select between. Since the inflatable bodies 50a, 50b and 50c all have the same width and length of aperture, only one type of first rigid platform 10 and rigid pod 20 is needed to fit into them.

It can be seen in Fig. 4 how the inflatable body 50a is thinner than the inflatable bodies 50b and 50c, and this has implications for how far down the second rigid platform 30 will appear relative to the bottom of the inflatable body. Clearly, if the second rigid platform 30 appears flush with the bottom of the inflatable body 50c, then it will protrude from the bottom of the thinner inflatable body 50a. It is more desirable for the second rigid platform 30 to protrude a little from the aperture than not to reach as far as the bottom surface of the inflatable body leaving some of the aperture unfilled, however the rigid pod 20 may be configured to have an adjustable length between the first and second rigid plafforms to avoid this problem, as will now be described with reference to Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 shows that the rigid pod 20 may comprise a plurality of layers to define the extension of the rigid pod from the first rigid platform 10 to the second rigid platform 30. The rigid pod 20 may comprise a first rigid segment 24 that attached beneath the first rigid platform 10, two second rigid segments 27 that attach beneath the first rigid segment 24, one second rigid segment 27 beneath the other second rigid segment 27, and a third rigid segment 30 that attaches beneath the two second rigid segments 27 and which constitutes the second rigid platform 30. The number of the second rigid segments 27 that are used in the rigid pod 20 can be altered to vary the extension (depth) of the rigid pod 20 to work with different thicknesses of inflatable bodies 50, 50a, 50b, 50c, etc. The rigid segments 24, 27 and 30 each have holes 14a which receive the bolts 14 (see Fig. 1 and Fig. 3) to secure the rigid segments to each other and to the first rigid platform 10. Thus, the rigid segments may be all stacked upon one another to define the rigid pod 20, and their sides may together form the outside surface 25. The rigid segments may have complimentary interlocking features on their upper and lower surfaces to help keep them in line along a common axis between the first and second rigid platforms.

The first rigid segment 24 may have a flange 22 that extends beyond the outer surface 25 of the rigid pod 20 at the end of the first rigid segment 24 that contacts the first rigid platform 10. The flange 22 may extend beyond the outer surface 25 all of the way around the rigid pod 20, and the flange 22 may extend in a plane parallel to the plane that the first rigid plate 10 extends in. Accordingly, the flange 22 may extend beyond the cross-section of the aperture 55, and sit between the upper surface of the inflatable body 50 and the first rigid platform 10. This is most easily seen in the schematic diagram of Fig. 6, showing a cross-sectional view through the water sports board 1 with the rigid pod 20 inside the aperture 55 and the first rigid plate 10 and hydrofoil device 70 separated from the rigid pod 20. The flange 22 is shown above the top of the inflatable body 50, the four rigid segments of the rigid pod 20 extend as far as the bottom surface of the inflatable body 50, and the interior surface 56 of the inflatable body presses against the outside surface 25 of the rigid pod.

Many other variations of the described embodiments falling within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A water sports board comprising:an inflatable body;a first rigid platform on top of an upper surface of the inflatable body; a rigid pod extending downwardly from the first rigid platform and through an aperture of the inflatable body to a lower surface of the inflatable body, the rigid pod comprising a second rigid platform at the lower surface of the inflatable body; and a hydrofoil device comprising a mount for mounting the hydrofoil device to the second rigid platform.
2. The water sports board of claim 1, wherein the hydrofoil device comprises a mast having the mount at one end of the mast and one or more hydrofoils mounted to the mast.
3. The water sports board of claim 1 or 2, wherein the mount comprises a flange, the flange configured to mount against the second rigid platform with the flange and the second rigid platform extending in parallel planes to one another.
4. The water sports board of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the second rigid platform comprises a plurality of tracks extending in a direction along a length of the water sports board, and wherein the mount is configured to mount at a variable position along the tracks.
5. The water sports board of any preceding claim, wherein the first rigid platform and the upper surface of the inflatable body extend in parallel planes to one another and the second rigid platform and the lower surface of the inflatable body extend in parallel planes to one another.
6. The water sports board of any preceding claim, wherein the first and second rigid platforms are in parallel planes to one another.
7. The water sports board of any preceding claim, wherein the second rigid platform is substantially co-planer with the lower surface of the inflatable body.
8. The water sports board of any preceding claim, wherein the rigid pod is adjustable to adjust a distance of the second rigid platform from the first rigid platform.
9. The water sports board of claim 8, wherein the rigid pod comprises a plurality of layers which can be added or removed from the rigid pod to adjust the distance of the second rigid platform from the first rigid platform.
10. The water sports board of any preceding claim, wherein a cross-section of the rigid pod taken at a point along the extension of the rigid pod from the first rigid platform to the second rigid platform, has a width that is no less than seven times a length of the cross section.
11. The water sports board of any preceding claim, wherein the rigid pod comprises an outside surface along the extension of the rigid pod from the first rigid platform to the second rigid platform, wherein the outside surface extends all of the way around the rigid pod, and wherein an area of contact of the inflatable body with the outside surface extends all of the way around the rigid pod.
12. The water sports board of any preceding claim, wherein the aperture is defined by an interior surface of the inflatable body, and wherein the interior surface extends both along the aperture and all of the way around the aperture.
13. The water sports board of any preceding claim, wherein the first rigid platform and the rigid pod are repeatedly removable and attachable to the inflatable body.
14. The water sports board of any preceding claim, wherein the first rigid platform and the rigid pod are repeatedly removable and attachable to one another.
15. The water sports board of any preceding claim, wherein the rigid pod comprises a flange that fits between the first rigid platform and the upper surface of the inflatable body to prevent withdrawal of the rigid pod in a downward direction through the aperture.