EP0474680B1 - Inflatable cushion with matching water-tight container - Google Patents

Abstract

The container (1) consists of an upper part (5) and a lower part (6) and is divised by an intermediate piece (7) into two separate, water-tight compartments (8, 9). One compartment contains a collapsed, inflatable cushion the size, shape and fittings of which are adapted to the compartment of the container in which it is housed. The other compartment may contain gold, jewelry and other objects. The water-tight container may house various types of cushion for different purposes, such as beach cushions, life-saving cushion for sporting accidents, small life-jackets, etc. A screw connection (10) or a suitable water-tight plug-in connection provides a water-tight connection between the two parts and the intermediate piece. These connections are designed so that, if desired, the intermediate piece can be removed and the upper and lower parts can be connected directly to each other to form a single compartment of approximately twice the size.

Description

The present innovation relates to an inflatable cushion with an adapted waterproof container, which the user can also wear when swimming or other water-intensive sports.

However, these known containers consist only of two halves that can be screwed together, inside of which there is a continuous cavity.

Furthermore, US-A-3 975 785 shows a two-part, waterproof capsule, each containing a pressurized gas cartridge and an inflatable collar. However, the capsule is not designed so that the tightness of the other chamber is retained when the one chamber is removed.

Furthermore FR-A-766 439 shows a capsule with a middle part and two screw caps which can be screwed onto the ends of the middle part. However, this capsule is not intended for an inflatable cushion inside and its top and bottom parts cannot be attached to one another without intermediate pieces.

In the present innovation, the container according to claim 1 consists of an upper and a lower part and an intermediate piece, whereby two separate, watertight cavities are created, one cavity containing a collapsible, inflatable cushion, which in its shape and dimensions and others Embodiments are adapted to the receiving cavity of the container. This pillow can be used as a normal mat for sunbathing etc., but is mainly intended as an emergency pillow for sports accidents etc. There are a number of different pillow shapes that can be considered, from simple, rectangular, obliquely sloping pillows to those with a U-shaped cross section or depressions in the middle of the pillow in order to keep the head of the person to be supported in a defined position.

Appropriate configurations of the container according to claim 1 are the subject of dependent claims 2-11.

In a special embodiment, the relatively flat pillow can be approximately C-shaped with a cut-out in the middle which corresponds approximately to the size of the neck, so that such a pillow is like a simple life jacket when empty around the neck of a person Float can be placed, and after inflating its head holds vertically and carries it above the water surface.

The watertight connection between the two parts and the intermediate piece takes place via a screw connection or via a suitable, watertight plug connection. These connections are designed in such a way that, after removal of the intermediate piece, an upper and lower part can also be connected directly to one another, in order to achieve a single, approximately double-sized cavity. However, this will only happen in exceptional cases, since the normal application will be that the inflatable cushion is located in one of the two cavities, while valuables are to be accommodated in the other cavity in a water-protected manner.

The user carries this waterproof container either on a hanging cord around the neck, which is passed through an eyelet of the container, or by means of a fastening clip, which is accommodated in the outer wall of one of the two parts, on the swimwear. With a circular cross section, as is necessary for a screw connection, the container can either have a cross section increasing from top to bottom or also have the largest cross section in the area of the intermediate piece.

When designing the pillow, care must be taken that the nozzle for inflating the pillow is arranged at such a position that when the folded or rolled-up pillow is inserted into one of the cavities it projects in the direction of the opening of this cavity, at the same time as a handle to be able to pull the pillow out of the cavity. For this purpose, the neck will preferably be attached to one end of the shortest edge of the pillow, since the pillow is wound around this short edge, for example to insert this roller into the cavity of the container. In order to be able to remove the pillow from the container in a particularly simple manner, the connecting piece for inflating the pillow is advantageously designed in the form of a nipple, that is to say it has a flattened thickening at its end. The intermediate piece can then contain a recess adapted to this nipple shape, into which the nipple is inserted. As a result, when the intermediate piece is removed from the corresponding part of the container, the folded cushion is automatically removed from the container.

Exemplary embodiments according to the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1

den geschlossenen Behälter mit Zwischenstück,

Fig. 2

den oberen Teil des Behälters mit dem an der rückwärtigen Außenwand dieses oberen Teiles angeordneten Klipp zum Einhängen des Behälters an der Badekleidung.

Fig. 3 a bis 3 e

unterschiedliche Ausbildungsformen des Kissens.

Fig. 4

eine Querschnittsdarstellung einer besonderen Ausführungs des Zwischenstückes sowie des Stutzens zum Aufblasen des Kissens.

Fig. 5

eine Querschnittdarstellung entlang der Linie A-A der Fig. 4.

Fig. 6

eine Dearstellung des Behälters mit flacher, rechteckiger Querschnittsform.

Show it:

Fig. 1

the closed container with adapter,

Fig. 2

the upper part of the container with the clip arranged on the rear outer wall of this upper part for hanging the container on the swimwear.

3 a to 3 e

different forms of pillow training.

Fig. 4

a cross-sectional view of a special embodiment of the intermediate piece and the nozzle for inflating the cushion.

Fig. 5

3 shows a cross-sectional illustration along the line AA in FIG. 4.

Fig. 6

a position of the container with a flat, rectangular cross-sectional shape.

Fig. 1 shows the container 1 in the closed state, which in Fig. 1 consists of the upper part 5, the lower part 6, the intermediate piece 7 and the seals 10.

In the left part of FIG. 1, the container in the region of the intermediate piece 7 is shown broken away, the threads being recognizable by means of which the lower part 6 is screwed into the intermediate piece 7 and the intermediate piece 7 into the upper part 5. Between the individual parts there is a circumferential, annular seal 10 for sealing the thread. These threads each have the same nominal diameter, so that after removal of the intermediate piece 7, the lower part 6 can also be screwed directly into the upper part 5. Since the seals 10 are each on the part that carry the corresponding external thread, the upper of the seals 10 of FIG. 1 will remain on the intermediate piece 7, while the lower of the seals 10 remains on the lower part 6 in this procedure, so that at Screwing the lower part 6 to the upper part 5 there is a seal between the two parts.

While the entire container 1 is shown in FIG. 1 with a round cross-section which increases slightly from top to bottom, as is necessary for a thread, FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a flat container 11, which has a substantially rectangular shape Has cross-section and also consists of an upper part 25 and a lower part 26, the upper part 25 being chamfered towards the upper edge. Both in FIG. 1 and in FIG. 6, an eyelet 3 is provided in the vicinity of the upper edge of the container, which is used to pass a neck cord 4. Since in a solution with a rectangular cross section, screwing by means of a thread is not possible, a plug connection was chosen in FIG. 6, the Tightness is ensured by a circumferential ring bead, which engages in a correspondingly shaped, circumferential groove of the latching part. A sufficient flexibility of the individual part must be provided for the interlocking, so that production is preferably made of plastic material.

A special feature of the solution of FIG. 6 is that here the intermediate piece 27 is again divisible, so that one part of the intermediate piece 27 can remain on the upper part 25 of the container for closing, while the other part of the intermediate piece 27 can be closed can remain on the lower part 26 of the container. This separation is possible according to FIG. 6 in that the two parts of the intermediate piece 27 are displaced relative to one another along the parting plane and can thereby be snapped into or taken apart by a type of dovetail guide or the like. In this way, two separate containers can be obtained from the container 11, each of which is sealed in a watertight manner, and which can be securely connected to one another with just a single movement.

Here, too, an analogous configuration of the beads or the correspondingly oppositely shaped circumferential grooves ensures that the intermediate piece 7 can be completely omitted and an upper and lower part 5 or 6 of the container 1 can be snapped directly into one another in order to achieve a large, continuous cavity, instead of the cavities 8 and 9, as is also possible with the container of FIG. 1. While it is absolutely necessary for the plug-in connection of FIG. 6 that the material is correspondingly flexible in order to be able to disengage and engage this plug-in connection, it is necessary for the screw connection according to FIG. 1, on the other hand, that the parts of the container at least in the area of thread are sufficiently rigid to ensure a uniform and permanent pressing of the seals 10 and thus a sufficient tightness of the cavities 8 and 9. On the other hand, however, it is desirable to make the container 1 in its entirety as soft and elastic as possible, since this not only increases the convenience when carrying it, but also minimizes the risk of disability and injury. In addition, it is desirable for various reasons to add fragrances to the material from which the container 1 or its upper and lower parts 5 and 6 are made, which are continuously released over a very long period of time. The dispensing of fragrances is on the one hand advantageous for marketing if the container 1 is produced in an external shape and design that is modeled, for example, on a fruit or a living being, since in this case the implanted fragrances also correspond to those of the fruit shown, etc. can. On the other hand, the incorporation and permanent release of fragrances may also be advantageous for safety reasons: On the one hand, one is currently in the process of synthesizing fragrances that have an extremely repellent effect on certain fish species, which can be used, for example, to protect a diver from predatory fish attacks such as hot water. On the other hand, such fragrances can also be used to make it easier to find a missing person.

However, the possibility of incorporating fragrances depends on the type of base plastic used. It has been shown here that the incorporation of such fragrances and, above all, their uniform release in small quantities can be effected in a simple manner, particularly in the case of soft and deformable plastic materials. For this reason, therefore, it is preferably soft plastic material to be used for at least part of the container. However, since screw connections in particular must consist of rigid material, since otherwise the tightness of the screw connection is not guaranteed, only the parts of the upper and lower parts 5 and 16 facing away from the threads are suitable for soft design in screwed containers. In contrast, the threads themselves and preferably the entire intermediate piece 7 would have to be made relatively hard.

Fig. 2 shows the container 1 from the rear, consisting only of the upper part 5 and intermediate piece 7. The lower part 6 is removed in the present case, and thus in Fig. 2 there is also only a seal 10 between the upper part 5 and the intermediate piece 7 can be seen, while the lower seal 10 of FIG. 1 with the lower part 6 has been removed. Since the intermediate piece 7 is of course sealed in the transverse direction of the longitudinal axis of the container 1, a sealed cavity 8 is present in the upper part 5, as is required, for example, for storing valuable objects. For this reason, the inner diameter of the upper part 5 should be at least the size of a two-mark piece.

Furthermore, the clip 13 can be seen in FIG. 2, which is incorporated into the rear outer surface of the upper part 5 in order to be able to hang the container 1 onto clothes, for example, by means of this clip 13. The clip itself can be made of the same material as the upper part 5 and thus be made in one piece with it, or it can consist of separate material, for example rust-free metal, which is firmly connected to the upper part 5 of the container 1, for example riveted .

3 a-3 e show different embodiments of the design of the pillow 2. While the pillow forms the 3a-3d are intended to serve as conveniently as possible and, for rescue cases, also secure storage of the head on a solid surface, the pillow shape of FIG. 3e serves a different purpose.

3 a shows a pillow with a substantially U-shaped cross section. In this embodiment, the free legs of the U can be placed on the ground, while the head to be supported rests on the connecting leg. In this way, not only a different storage height, but also a different flexibility of the cushion 2 can be set by varying the air pressure when inflating. Furthermore, this U-shape has the advantage that in the cases where the most stable possible support of the head, such as accident victims, the U-shaped contour can be turned so that the head in the free space between the protruding legs of the U supports which support the head from falling sideways. The large outer radius at the transition between the connecting middle and the free outer legs provides good support of the middle area with respect to the free legs with increasing inflation pressure. The length of the free legs of the U should represent the shortest extension of the pillow.

3c represents a modification in which the outer contour of the U-shape is angular. Although this causes a somewhat poorer support behavior when the cushion is placed on the free legs and the underlying cavity, on the other hand, the manufacture of the inflatable cushion from parts cut at right angles in most places is considerably simplified.

Manufacturing reasons therefore also speak for the shape of FIG. 3 b, in which a cuboid was assumed, the largest, opposite sides of which do not run parallel, but at a slight angle to each other, which results in an obliquely rising bearing surface, which enables a comfortable support of the head.

In contrast, the shape of the pillow of FIG. 3 d could be seen as a combination of the advantages of FIGS. 3 b and 3 c, because despite the relatively complicated shape, namely a basic shape according to FIG. 3 b with an incorporated depression, which is towards the narrow front is open, this pillow shape consists exclusively of straight parts and is therefore easy to manufacture as an inflatable pillow.

All of these forms of pillow 2 must of course be based on an adaptation to the interior of the lower part 6 of the container, since the pillow must be easy to insert into this cavity 9 when folded or rolled up. Advantageously, the air-free cushion is therefore rolled up, possibly after one or two folds, which results in a cylindrical winding body corresponding to the cylindrical inner shape of the cavity 9. When designing the pillow, it should be noted that the connecting piece 16 for inflating the pillow 2 is mounted such that it is facing the opening of this cavity 9 after being introduced into the cavity 9. This is the case if the connecting piece 16 is located at the end of an edge of the cushion 2, which lies in such a way that the cushion is rolled around an axis parallel to it when it is folded. As a rule, this will be the shortest outer edge, which defines one of the three directions of the approximately cuboid basic shape of the cushion 2. For example, the pillow shape of FIG. 3b is a flat cuboid shape, so that the vertical edges of this pillow have the shortest extension in the three spatial axes represent. Therefore, the nozzle 16 should be at the end of the vertical edges, without it being the shortest of the vertical edges.

The same naturally also applies to the shape of the cushion 2, as shown in Fig. 3 e. This pillow has a basic shape corresponding to a cuboid or also according to FIG. 3 b, the pillow, however, having an approximately C-shaped shape when viewed from above. This means that the free legs of this C-shape in the front area of the pillow come closer together again, but in the middle of the pillow 2 there is a free space 18 which is approximately so large that this pillow 2 is empty around the air Neck can be placed. If this pillow is then inflated, the inflation pressure means that it is no longer possible to remove the pillow 2 from the neck, so that this pillow shape, when inflated, acts like a life jacket for a swimmer, namely supports the head in the vertical position and holds it above the waterline . In order to make it easier for the user to fold and inflate the pillow himself, it is necessary to attach the nozzle 16 for inflating the pillow 2 to the front edge of the pillow, in order to enable inflation even after the empty pillow 2 has been folded over.

Advantageously, however, the cushion 2 is further adapted to the cavity of the container 1 in which it is to be accommodated. Since the lower cavity 9 is usually provided for this purpose, the connecting piece 16 for inflating the cushion 2 should have a nipple-shaped design, that is to say have a head that is thickened relative to the neck of the connecting piece. On the one hand, this thickening makes it easier to grip the nozzle 16, which, in addition to inflating the cushion 2, also serves to pull the cushion out of the container 1. This nipple shape also serves Nozzle 16 with a special design for attachment to the intermediate piece 7.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in addition to the continuous transverse plane 19 which is necessary for sealing the cavity 8 and 9, the intermediate piece 7 also has a second, only partially present transverse plane 20. The distance between these two transverse planes is large enough to accommodate the thickened head 21 of the nipple-shaped connector 16. This second transverse plane 20 extends from one side of the intermediate piece 7 beyond the center, but leaves a recess 17 open in the region of the axis of symmetry 22 of the intermediate piece 7, which is just large enough that the shaft 23 of the connecting piece 16 can be inserted. As a result, the connector 16 can now be inserted into the recess 17 of the transverse plane 20 of the intermediate piece 7 and clamped with appropriate dimensioning, the thickened head 21 of the connector 16 being located between the two transverse planes 19 and 20 of the intermediate piece 7.

This makes it possible to pull the pillow 2 directly out of the lower cavity 9 when removing the intermediate piece 7 from the lower part 6 or 26, without having to laboriously grasp and pull out the small nozzle 16 which is still inside the cavity 9 .

Of course, as shown in FIG. 4, a cover 24 is integrally connected to the head 21 of the nozzle 16, which cover has a stopper with which the inflation opening of the nozzle 16 is closed after inflation, as is generally known in the case of inflatable objects. Of course, instead of such a nozzle to be closed manually, a ball valve or similar automatically acting closure member could also be used, provided that External contours meet the described requirements for adaptation.

If, on the other hand, no preferred value is placed on achieving an overall cavity, corresponding to the sum of cavities 8 and 9, in a preferred embodiment the intermediate piece 7 and lower part 6 could be designed identically, namely with an opening and an external thread in the upper area and about cylindrical interior and cylindrical outer contour, and a lower end plate not located at the lowest point of this part, but rather slightly offset upwards, so that an internal thread can be introduced into the underlying, likewise cylindrical base. With such a design, several intermediate pieces 7 or lower parts 6 could be screwed together, as a result of which any number of watertight cavities 9 are created. The upper part 5 corresponds to the shape described so far, the axial length of the upper part 5 being selected according to the total length of the uppermost of the cavities 9 that are to be created. Accordingly, this upper part 5 can be made so short that it essentially no longer contains an upper cavity 8, but merely represents a lid for watertight sealing of the lower cavity 9.

Claims (11)

1. Inflatable cushion (2) with a watertight container (1) adapted thereto which is to be carried e.g. while swimming, such container (1)

   - being provided with an eye (3) for threading a carrying strap (4) therethrough,

   - consisting of at least one upper or a lower hollow part each (5, 6 or 25, 26) open at the front face, and of an intermediate piece (7 or 27) owing to which the container (1) is provided with separated, upper and lower cavities (8, 9),

   - the upper or lower part (5, 6 or 25, 26) respectively being attachable directly to one another even without such intermediate piece (7, 27),

   - the cushion (2) being adjusted, in its dimensions, to the container (1), so that it will fit into one of the separated cavities (8, 9) when in an non-inflated condition, and

   - the watertightness of each one of the said cavities (8, 9) being maintained when the other part (5, 6 or 25, 26) forming the respective other cavity (9, 8) is separated from teh intermediate piece (7 or 27).
2. Cushion (2) with a container (1) adapted thereto in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the said eye (3) is disposed at the upper edge of the upper part (5 or 25) and the cushion (2) is placed in the lower cavity (9).
3. Cushion with a container adapted thereto in accordance with claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cross section of the container (1) is continuously increasing from above downward.
4. Cushion with a container adapted thereto in accordance with claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cross section of the container (1) is largest in the area of the intermediate piece (7 or 27).
5. Cushion with a container adapted thereto in accordance with one of the above claims, characterized in that the intermediate pieces (7 or 27) are made of hard plastic and the upper and lower parts (5, 6 or 25, 26) are made at least partly of soft plastic.
6. Cushion with a container adapted thereto in accordance with one of the above claims, characterized in that the upper cavity (8) has a diameter of at least the size of a 2-DM coin.
7. Cushion with a container adapted thereto in accordance with one of the above claims, characterized in that the cushion has a depression (15) with a circular cross section.
8. Cushion with a container adapted thereto in accordance with one of the above claims, characterized in that the hose attachment (16) for inflating the cushion (2) is disposed at the cushion (2) in such a manner that, on accomodating the cushion (2) in a pressed condition in a cavity of the container (1) the said hose attachment (16) points in direction to the opening of such cavity.
9. Cushion with a container adapted thereto in accordance with one of the above claims, characterized in that the hose attachment (16) consists of a shaft (23) and a head (21) which is thickened with respect to said shaft (23).
10. Cushion with a container adapted thereto in accordance with claim 9, characterized in that the said intermediate piece (7 or 27) is provided with a recess (17) in an additional transversal plane (20), into which fits the shaft (23) of the hose attachment (16), so that the thickened head (21) of the said hose attachment (16) is accomodated between the two transversal planes (19 and 20) of the intermediate piece (7 or 27).
11. Cushion with a container adapted thereto in accordance with one of the above claims, characterized in that the intermediate piece (7) and teh lower part (6) are identically configured, namely

    - show, substantially over the axial length, a circular internal and external cross section respectively,

    - are provided with a male screw thread at the open front face end being equipped with a sealing, and

    - are provided with bottom at the opposite end, set back with respect to the end of the part (6 or intermediate piece 7 respectively), so that the wall protruding with respect thereto forms a socket the inner circumference of which is provided with a female screw thread which can be screwed onto a male screw thread of the same size as provided at the opposite end.

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